Conscientiousness and laboriousness as academic achievement predictors in a Spanish students sample

To understand academic performance of students, the variable of conscientiousness from personality inventory Big Five, has been recognized as an important key. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship established between the personality factor conscientiousness itself and two of its facets, laboriousness and planning, with academic performance, and observe if there are genre differences in consciousness personality factor. A total of 456 Spanish students of high school and college participated in the study. They were requested to answer a personality report and a self inform questionnaire. The results show that both conscientiousness as a personality dimension and the consideration of laboriousness facet are able to predict academic performance, especially with regard to student’s exam marks, classroom attendance and dedication to study. The genre variable pointed out that feminine genre is more conscious than male in that personality factor. From a practical perspective, these results indicate that the establishment of a routine of continuous work is suitable for improving student grades and their adaptation to the educational environment.

Where there is smoke, there is (the potential for) fire: soft indicators of research and policy impact

There is a growing literature examining the impact of research on informing policy, and of research and policy on practice. Research and policy do not have the same types of impact on practice but can be evaluated using similar approaches. Sometimes the literature provides a platform for methodological debate but mostly it is concerned with how research can link to improvements in the process and outcomes of education, how it can promote innovative policies and practice, and how it may be successfully disseminated. Whether research-informed or research-based, policy and its implementation is often assessed on such 'hard' indicators of impact as changes in the number of students gaining five or more A to C grades in national examinations or a percentage fall in the number of exclusions in inner city schools. Such measures are necessarily crude, with large samples smoothing out errors and disguising instances of significant success or failure. Even when 'measurable' in such a fashion, however, the impact of any educational change or intervention may require a period of years to become observable. This paper considers circumstances in which short-term change may be implausible or difficult to observe. It explores how impact is currently theorized and researched and promotes the concept of 'soft' indicators of impact in circumstances in which the pursuit of conventional quantitative and qualitative evidence is rendered impractical within a reasonable cost and timeframe. Such indicators are characterized by their avowedly subjective, anecdotal and impressionistic provenance and have particular importance in the context of complex community education issues where the assessment of any impact often faces considerable problems of access. These indicators include the testimonies of those on whom the research intervention or policy focuses (for example, students, adult learners), the formative effects that are often reported (for example, by head teachers, community leaders) and media coverage. The collation and convergence of a wide variety of soft indicators (Where there is smoke …) is argued to offer a credible means of identifying subtle processes that are often neglected as evidence of potential and actual impact (… there is fire).

Transport Properties of Self-Consolidating Concrete

The permeability of concrete is influenced by the porosity and the interconnectivity of the pores in the cement paste and the microcracks in concrete, especially in the interface of paste-aggregate. The movements of gases, liquids, and ions through concrete is important because of their interactions with concrete constituents, including pore water, which can alter the integrity of concrete directly and indirectly, leading to the deterioration of structures. This study reports the findings from an investigation carried out to study the effect of the mixture variations on the durability of medium- and high-strength self-consolidating concrete (SCC). The mixture variations studied include the type of mineral admixtures, such as limestone powder (LSP) and pulverized fuel ash (PFA), and viscositymodifying admixtures (VMA) for both medium- and high-strength SCC. Air permeability, water permeability, capillary absorption, and chloride diffusivity were used to assess the durability of SCC mixtures in comparison with normal, vibrated concretes. The results showed that SCC mixtures, for medium- and high-strength grades using PFA followed by LSP, have lower permeability properties compared with normal concretes. SCC made with VMA had a higher sorptivity, air permeability, and water permeability compared with other SCC mixtures, which can be attributed to higher watercement ratio (w/c) and lack of pore filling effect. An in-place migration coefficient was obtained using the in-place ion migration test. This was used to compare the potential diffusivity of different concretes. The results indicated that SCC, for both grades of strength, made with PFA showed much lower diffusivity values in comparison with other mixtures, whereas the SCC mixtures with VMA showed higher diffusivity.

Bond and Interfacial Properties of Reinforcement in Self-Compacting Concrete

This paper reports a study carried out to assess the impact of the use of self-compacting concrete (SCC) on bond and interfacial properties around steel reinforcement in practical concrete element. The pull-out tests were carried out to determine bond strength between reinforcing steel bar and concrete, and the depth-sensing nano-indentation technique was used to evaluate the elastic modulus and micro-strength of the interracial transition zone (ITZ) around steel reinforcement. The bond and interracial properties around deformed steel bars in different SCC mixes with strength grades of 35 MPa and 60 MPa (C35, C60) were examined together with those in conventional vibrated reference concrete with the same strength grades. The results showed that the maximum bond strength decreased when the diameter of the steel bar increased from 12 to 20 mm. The normalised bond strengths of the SCC mixes were found to be about 10-40% higher than those of the reference mixes for both bar diameters (12 and 20 mm). The study of the interfacial properties revealed that the elastic modulus and the micro-strength of the ITZ were lower on the bottom side of a horizontal steel bar than on the top side, particularly for the vibrated reference concrete. The difference of ITZ properties between top and bottom side of the horizontal steel bar appeared to be less pronounced for the SCC mixes than for the corresponding reference mixes.

A systematic review protocol on the use of teaching portfolios for educators in further and higher education.

portfolio and undergraduate students have suggested that a teachingportfolio may have a benefit for educators in higher education as a means to providerelevancy and focus to their teaching.Design. The objectives of the review are to evaluate how a teaching portfolio assistseducators in teaching and learning; to evaluate the effects of maintaining a teachingportfolio for educators in relation to personal development; to explore the type ofportfolio used; to determine whether a teaching portfolio is perceived more beneficialfor various grades and professional types; and to determine any motivatingfactors or workplace incentives behind its implementation and completion. A searchof the following databases will be made MEDLINE, CINAHL, BREI, ERIC andAUEI. The review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute guidance for systematicreviews of quantitative and qualitative research.Conclusion. The review will offer clarity and direction on the use of teachingportfolios, for educators, policymakers, supervisory managers and researchers involvedin further and higher education.

Viscoelastic Material Models of Polypropylene for Thermoforming Applications

Polypropylene (PP), a semi-crystalline material, is typically solid phase thermoformed at temperatures associated with crystalline melting, generally in the 150° to 160°Celsius range. In this very narrow thermoforming window the mechanical properties of the material rapidly decline with increasing temperature and these large changes in properties make Polypropylene one of the more difficult materials to process by thermoforming. Measurement of the deformation behaviour of a material under processing conditions is particularly important for accurate numerical modelling of thermoforming processes. This paper presents the findings of a study into the physical behaviour of industrial thermoforming grades of Polypropylene. Practical tests were performed using custom built materials testing machines and thermoforming equipment at Queen′s University Belfast. Numerical simulations of these processes were constructed to replicate thermoforming conditions using industry standard Finite Element Analysis software, namely ABAQUS and custom built user material model subroutines. Several variant constitutive models were used to represent the behaviour of the Polypropylene materials during processing. This included a range of phenomenological, rheological and blended constitutive models. The paper discusses approaches to modelling industrial plug-assisted thermoforming operations using Finite Element Analysis techniques and the range of material models constructed and investigated. It directly compares practical results to numerical predictions. The paper culminates discussing the learning points from using Finite Element Methods to simulate the plug-assisted thermoforming of Polypropylene, which presents complex contact, thermal, friction and material modelling challenges. The paper makes recommendations as to the relative importance of these inputs in general terms with regard to correlating to experimentally gathered data. The paper also presents recommendations as to the approaches to be taken to secure simulation predictions of improved accuracy.

Stereotactic radiosurgery for intractable cluster headache: an initial report from the North American Gamma Knife Consortium.

Abstract Object The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) when used for patients with intractable cluster headache (CH). Methods Four participating centers of the North American Gamma Knife Consortium identified 17 patients who underwent GKS for intractable CH between 1996 and 2008. The median patient age was 47 years (range 26-83 years). The median duration of pain before GKS was 10 years (range 1.3-40 years). Seven patients underwent unsuccessful prior surgical procedures, including microvascular decompression (2 patients), microvascular decompression with glycerol rhizotomy (2 patients), deep brain stimulation (1 patient), trigeminal ganglion stimulation (1 patient), and prior GKS (1 patient). Fourteen patients had associated autonomic symptoms. The radiosurgical target was the trigeminal nerve (TN) root and the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) in 8 patients, only the TN in 8 patients, and only the SPG in 1 patient. The median maximum TN and SPG dose was 80 Gy. Results Favorable pain relief (Barrow Neurological Institute Grades I-IIIb) was achieved and maintained in 10 (59%) of 17 patients at a median follow-up of 34 months. Three patients required additional procedures (repeat GKS in 2 patients, hypothalamic deep brain stimulation in 1 patient). Eight (50%) of 16 patients who had their TN irradiated developed facial sensory dysfunction after GKS. Conclusions Gamma Knife surgery for intractable, medically refractory CH provided lasting pain reduction in approximately 60% of patients, but was associated with a significantly greater chance of facial sensory disturbances than GKS used for trigeminal neuralgia.

Children making sense of science

Abstract This study explored the effects that the incorporation of nature of science (NoS) activities in the primary science classroom had on children’s perceptions and understanding of science. We compared children’s ideas in four classes by inviting them to talk, draw and write about what science meant to them: two of the classes were taught by ‘NoS’ teachers who had completed an elective nature of science (NoS) course in the final year of their Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree. The ‘non-NoS’ teachers who did not attend this course taught the other two classes. All four teachers had graduated from the same initial teacher education institution with similar teaching grades and all had carried out the same science methods course during their B.Ed programme. We found that children taught by the teachers who had been NoS-trained developed more elaborate notions of nature of science, as might be expected. More importantly, their reflections on science and their science lessons evidenced a more in-depth and sophisticated articulation of the scientific process in terms of scientists “trying their best” and “sometimes getting it wrong” as well as “getting different answers”. Unlike children from non-NoS classes, those who had engaged in and reflected on NoS activities talked about their own science lessons in the sense of ‘doing science’. These children also expressed more positive attitudes about their science lessons than those from non-NoS classes. We therefore suggest that there is added value in including NoS activities in the primary science curriculum in that they seem to help children make sense of science and the scientific process, which could lead to improved attitudes towards school science. We argue that as opposed to considering the relevance of school science only in terms of children’s experience, relevance should include relevance to the world of science, and NoS activities can help children to link school science to science itself.

Characterization of Numb expression in astrocytomas

During early neurodevelopment, asymmetric segregation of Numb in mitotic progenitor cells influences the fate of daughter cells, whereby one daughter retains the progenitor phenotype while the other proceeds along a differentiation pathway. Numb has also been reported to function as a tumor suppressor in breast cancers and medulloblastomas. Given its role in maintaining neural progenitor pools in animal models and its reported role as a tumor suppressor, Numb could potentially contribute to astrocytoma oncogenesis. We characterized Numb expression in both human astrocytoma tissue samples and glioblastoma cell lines. We found that Numb is expressed in all grades of astrocytomas, being predominantly cytoplasmic in higher-grade astrocytomas but nuclear in pilocytic astrocytomas. Numb is also present in normal neurons, but not in normal astrocytes. In cultured glioblastoma cells, Numb concentrates in the perinuclear region and process tips. Numb expression in astrocytomas recapitulates that of progenitor cells during neurodevelopment, and suggests a role for Numb in astrocytoma oncogenesis.

Biaxial Deformation and Experimental Study of PET at Conditions Applicable to Stretch Blow Molding

This article is concerned with understanding the behavior of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the injection stretch blow molding (ISBM) process where it is typically biaxially stretched to form bottles for the packaging industry. A comprehensive experimental study was undertaken, analyzing the behavior of three different grades of PET under constant width (CW), simultaneous (EB), and sequential (SQ) equal biaxial deformation. Experiments were carried out at temperature and strain rate ranges of 80–110C and 1 /s to 32 /s, respectively, to different stretch ratios. Results show that the biaxial deformation behavior of PET exhibits a strong dependency on forming temperature, strain rate, stretch ratio,deformation mode, and molecular weight. The tests were also monitored via a high speed thermal image camera which showed an increase in temperature between 5C and 15C observed depending on the stretch conditions.

Clinical practice with anti-dementia drugs:a revised (second) consensus statement from the British Association for Psychopharmacology

The British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) coordinated a meeting of experts to review and revise its first (2006) Guidelines for clinical practice with anti-dementia drugs. As before, levels of evidence were rated using accepted standards which were then translated into grades of recommendation A to D, with A having the strongest evidence base (from randomized controlled trials) and D the weakest (case studies or expert opinion). Current clinical diagnostic criteria for dementia have sufficient accuracy to be applied in clinical practice (B) and brain imaging can improve diagnostic accuracy (B). Cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine) are effective for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (A) and memantine for moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (A). Until further evidence is available other drugs, including statins, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin E and Ginkgo biloba, cannot be recommended either for the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer's disease (A). Neither cholinesterase inhibitors nor memantine are effective in those with mild cognitive impairment (A). Cholinesterase inhibitors are not effective in frontotemporal dementia and may cause agitation (A), though selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may help behavioural (but not cognitive) features (B). Cholinesterase inhibitors should be used for the treatment of people with Lewy body dementias (Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)), especially for neuropsychiatric symptoms (A). Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine can produce cognitive improvements in DLB (A). There is no clear evidence that any intervention can prevent or delay the onset of dementia. Although the consensus statement focuses on medication, psychological interventions can be effective in addition to pharmacotherapy, both for cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms. Many novel pharmacological approaches involving strategies to reduce amyloid and/or tau deposition are in progress. Although results of pivotal studies are awaited, results to date have been equivocal and no disease-modifying agents are either licensed or can be currently recommended for clinical use.

Who makes prescribing decisions in hospital inpatients?:An observational study

Errors involving drug prescriptions are a key target for patient safety initiatives. Recent studies have focused on error rates across different grades of doctors in order to target interventions. However, many prescriptions are not instigated by the doctor who writes them. It is important to clarify how often this occurs in order to interpret these studies and create interventions. This study aimed to provisionally quantify and describe prescriptions where the identity of the decision maker and prescription writer differed.

Does flexibility in secondary level mathematics curriculum affect degree performance?

The authors have much experience in developing mathematics skills of first-year engineering students and attempting to ensure a smooth transition from secondary school to university. Concerns exist due to there being flexibility in the choice of modules needed to obtain a secondary level (A-level) mathematics qualification. This qualification is based on some core (pure maths) modules and a selection from mechanics and statistics modules. A survey of aerospace and mechanical engineering students in Queen’s University Belfast revealed that a combination of both mechanics and statistics (the basic module in both) was by far the most popular choice and therefore only about one quarter of this cohort had studied mechanics beyond the basic module within school maths. Those students who studied the extra mechanics and who achieved top grades at school subsequently did better in two core, first-year engineering courses. However, students with a lower grade from school did not seem to gain any significant advantage in the first-year engineering courses despite having the extra mechanics background. This investigation ties in with ongoing and wider concerns with secondary level mathematics provision in the UK.

Guideline for the diagnosis and management of myelofibrosis

The guideline group regarding the diagnosis and management of myelofibrosis was selected to be representative of UK-based medical experts, together with a contribution from a single expert from the USA. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched systematically for publications in English from 1966 until August 2011 using a variety of key words. The writing group produced the draft guideline, which was subsequently revised by consensus of the members of the General Haematology and Haemato-oncology Task Forces of the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH). The guideline was then reviewed by a sounding board of UK haematologists, the BCSH and the British Society for Haematology Committee and comments incorporated where appropriate. The criteria used to state levels and grades of evidence are as outlined in the Procedure for Guidelines commissioned by the BCSH; the 'GRADE' system was used to score strength and quality of evidence. The objective of this guideline is to provide healthcare professionals with clear guidance on the investigation and management of primary myelofibrosis, as well as post-polycythaemic myelofibrosis (post-PV MF) and post-thrombocythemic myelofibrosis (post-ET MF) in both adult and paediatric patients.

PROSTATIC INTRAEPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA (PIN) - PERFORMANCE OF BAYESIAN BELIEF NETWORK FOR DIAGNOSIS AND GRADING

Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) diagnosis and grading are affected by uncertainties which arise from the fact that almost all knowledge of PIN histopathology is expressed in concepts, descriptive linguistic terms, and words. A Bayesian belief network (BBN) was therefore used to reduce the problem of uncertainty in diagnostic clue assessment, while still considering the dependences between elements in the reasoning sequence. A shallow network was used with an open-tree topology, with eight first-level descendant nodes for the diagnostic clues (evidence nodes), each independently linked by a conditional probability matrix to a root node containing the diagnostic alternatives (decision node). One of the evidence nodes was based on the tissue architecture and the others were based on cell features. The system was designed to be interactive, in that the histopathologist entered evidence into the network in the form of likelihood ratios for outcomes at each evidence node. The efficiency of the network was tested on a series of 110 prostate specimens, subdivided as follows: 22 cases of non-neoplastic prostate or benign prostatic tissue (NP), 22 PINs of low grade (PINlow), 22 PINs of high grade (PINhigh), 22 prostatic adenocarcinomas with cribriform pattern (PACcri), and 22 prostatic adenocarcinomas with large acinar pattern (PAClgac). The results obtained in the benign and malignant categories showed that the belief for the diagnostic alternatives is very high, the values being in general more than 0.8 and often close to 1.0. When considering the PIN lesions, the network classified and graded most of the cases with high certainty. However, there were some cases which showed values less than 0.8 (13 cases out of 44), thus indicating that there are situations in which the feature changes are intermediate between contiguous categories or grades. Discrepancy between morphological grading and the BBN results was observed in four out of 44 PIN cases: one PINlow was classified as PINhigh and three PINhigh were classified as PINlow. In conclusion, the network can grade PlN lesions and differentiate them from other prostate lesions with certainty. In particular, it offers a descriptive classifier which is readily implemented and which allows the use of linguistic, fuzzy variables.