The role of informal learning spaces in enhancing student engagement with mathematical sciences

By helping create a shared, supportive, learning community, the creative use of custom-designed spaces outside the classroom has a major impact on student engagement. The intention is to create spaces that promote peer interaction within and across year groups, encourage closer working relationships between staff and students and support specific coursework activities – particularly group work. Such spaces make better use of time since students are motivated to stay and work during long gaps in their timetable, can provide a sense of ‘home’ within the institution and can lead to a cohesive community of practice. In this paper, we describe how this has been achieved and currently delivered in Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam University and provide some detailed analysis of the student usage of the space

Recommended Toys for the Playroom

When working with children in counseling, it is often difficult to decide which toys to include in the playroom. Landreth (2012) recommends that toys be intentionally selected instead of collected. Play is a child’s universal language and toys are their words; therefore; each and every toy should be purposeful (Landreth, 2012). The carefully chosen toys allow children an ability to express a full range of emotions, with toy categories including the following: real-life toys, acting-out aggressive-release toys, and toys for reactive expression and emotional release. Real-life toys may include toys that can represent figures and materials in the child’s life such as puppets, dolls, vehicles, a play kitchen, a cash register, and food. Acting-out aggressive release toys include toys such as a bop bag, play guns, and a shark. Finally, toys for reactive expression and emotional release may include paints, sand, and Play Doh. With these toys in the playroom, the therapist is able to establish a positive relationship with the child in which the child can express a wide range of feelings, explore real-life experiences, test limits, develop a positive self-image, develop self-understanding, and develop self-control (Landreth, 2012). Further recommendations for specific toys to include in your playroom as well as detailed information regarding structuring your playroom can be found in Landreth (2012)

The reality of remembrance in Camperdown Memorial Rest Park

Nestled at the back of Newtown, behind the bustling King St and amongst the Camperdown suburbia, lies Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, a frequent spot for gatherings with friends, and a beloved dog hang-out for owners and canines alike. However, not many people know of the deep cultural significance that this park holds for Aboriginal people. The strong historical importance that lies beneath the surface of the park and within the park’s closed off section are found within Camperdown Cemetery

Bycatch and discard survival rate in a small-scale bivalve dredge fishery along the Algarve coast (southern Portugal)

Although the bivalve dredge used on the Algarve coast (southern Portugal) is highly selective for the target species, in some periods of the year the bycatch can exceed the catch of the commercial species. The present study aimed to quantify the bycatch and discards, estimate damage and mortality, and propose management measures to minimize discards and mortality. A total of 15 fishing surveys (60 tows) were performed using two types of dredges (“DDredge” targeting Donax trunculus and “SDredge” targeting Spisula solida and Chamelea gallina). Of the 85257 individuals (392.4 kg) of 52 taxa that were caught, 73.4% belonged to the target species, 22.1% to commercially undersized target species and 4.5% to bycatch species. Bycatch rates were lower for SDredge (13.5% in number and 6.3% in weight) than for DDredge (46.0% in number and 32.9% in weight). Damage and mortality rates were also lower using SDredge (1.3% and 1.0% of the total catches, respectively) than using DDredge (4.0% and 2.8% of the total catches). Survival experiments revealed the diverse vulnerability of the taxa and confirmed the influence of the damage score on the mortality rate. The results gathered in the present study encourage the adoption of a bycatch reduction device to reduce both direct and indirect mortality.This study was performed within the framework of the research project “Science Technology and Society Initiative to Minimize Unwanted Catches in European Fisheries (MINOUW)” funded by the Research and Innovation Action (RIA) of the EU Horizon 2020 programme.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antibiotic resistance in Gram negative bacteria isolated from fish sold in Western Australia

Background Information The global misuse and overuse of antibiotics in human medicine and the animal production industry is contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This is a serious threat to modern medicine and public health. Antibiotic resistant organisms can cause severe infections in humans which are difficult to treat, and in some cases impossible to resolve which can lead to premature death. Several studies have been conducted across the globe to assess the use of antibiotics in the seafood industry and the associated health risks, however, limited studies have recently explored this risk in an Australian setting. Aims This thesis aimed to investigate the presence of antibiotic residues in seafood sold in Western Australia. Furthermore, the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in Gram negative bacteria isolated from fish sold in Perth, Western Australia was assessed. The impact of country of origin on the presence of antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistant bacteria in seafood samples has also been considered. Methodology Historical data was accessed from the Local Health Authorities Analytical Committee regarding the presence of eight antibiotic types in 253 seafood samples purchased throughout Western Australia between May and June 2017. Forty-four fish samples, a mix of local and imported from Asian countries, were sourced from retail shops located in the metropolitan area of Perth between September and November 2017. Gram negative bacteria were isolated by homogenisation of the fish with a Luria Bertani Broth and incubation on media selective for Gram negative bacteria. A series of preliminary microbial identification tests were conducted on selected bacterial isolates. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight confirmed the identification of the bacteria to species level. The identified bacteria (n = 35) were analysed for antibiotic susceptibility to eight antibiotic types using the standard disc diffusion method. Results The majority of seafood samples were free from antibiotic residue contamination and compliant with Australian legislation. A single non-compliant sample contained antibiotic residues below the level required to pose an immediate health risk to the consumer. This result suggests the Australian consumer has limited risk of consuming antibiotic residues in seafood. Thirty-five Gram negative bacterial isolates from ten genera were identified. The majority of the antibiotic resistance observed in the bacteria was either explained by intrinsic resistance or was similar to previous reports. Potential acquired antibiotic resistance was observed in four Acinetobacter species and a Rhizobium isolate which were isolated from commonly farmed fish from Australia (n = 1), China (n = 1) and Vietnam (n = 3). It is possible the fish may have been exposed to antibiotics during the production cycle. However, this result must be read with caution since there are limited standardised breakpoint guidelines for these particular species and, therefore the results were inferred using guidelines for other, similar, bacterial species. From these results, it appears that there is limited risk to consumer health from exposure to antibiotic resistant bacteria via consumption of seafood, however, only a limited number of samples were assessed, and Gram positive bacteria were not evaluated in this study. These results are reassuring but suggest that vigilance is required to ensure that the risk to consumers is minimised. Where antibiotics are used inappropriately in environmental settings, the risk of environmental bacteria developing further antibiotic resistance will remain. Routine surveillance of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria in domestic and imported food of animal origin is recommended to monitor this potential risk to human public health

Couples and clinics: online learning and information provision to make decisions about fertility treatment in the context of neoliberalism and patriarchy in the U.K.

Infertility, a complex medical and social issue, affects one in six couples worldwide. This study explores the experiences of heterosexual couples with infertility by analysing data from semi-structured interviews and delves into the dynamics of learning about infertility and making decisions about treatment within the United Kingdom. This study adopts a dual theoretical lens, situating data within the context of neoliberal and patriarchal policies and perspectives to explore the intricacies of choice and the burdens on couples to learn about infertility. Using Reflective Thematic Analysis, the findings reveal that the lack of adequate information provided through schools, media, GPs, and fertility clinics leads couples with infertility to Google. Seeking health information online can be empowering but there is a lack of consensus within the field of infertility, for both what practitioners recommend and what is available on the internet. Therefore, searching for information online can be confusing and overwhelming, which renders the process burdensome for couples. Despite the shared nature of infertility diagnoses within a couple, there is an unequal distribution of labour for seeking health information online; women bear the burden of learning about and making decisions regarding infertility. Drawing upon the findings, this study argues neoliberal policies and perspectives, specifically the focus on privatisation of care, individual choice and responsibility, and profit over care, have placed the burden of learning on couples. Additionally, within those couples, patriarchal influences have disproportionately placed the burden on women. Thus, to reduce imbalances in learning about infertility, this study calls for more regulation of the fertility industry and a move towards patient-centred care in the infertility industry. Online resources could be greatly improved to better support couples; however, health practitioners should actively engage with both partners within a couple to balance the burdens of learning, educating, and decision making across the triad and ensure that the couple’s perspectives and preferences are considered in the fertility treatment process. Ultimately, this study contributes to previous research on the lived experiences of infertility and online health information seeking behaviour and aims to contribute to social change

Threonine 149 Phosphorylation Enhances ΔFosB Transcriptional Activity to Control Psychomotor Responses to Cocaine

Stable changes in neuronal gene expression have been studied as mediators of addicted states. Of particular interest is the transcription factor ΔFosB, a truncated and stable FosB gene product whose expression in nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key reward region, is induced by chronic exposure to virtually all drugs of abuse and regulates their psychomotor and rewarding effects. Phosphorylation at Ser[superscript 27] contributes to ΔFosB's stability and accumulation following repeated exposure to drugs, and our recent work demonstrates that the protein kinase CaMKIIα phosphorylates ΔFosB at Ser[superscript 27] and regulates its stability in vivo. Here, we identify two additional sites on ΔFosB that are phosphorylated in vitro by CaMKIIα, Thr[superscript 149] and Thr[superscript 180], and demonstrate their regulation in vivo by chronic cocaine. We show that phosphomimetic mutation of Thr[superscript 149] (T149D) dramatically increases AP-1 transcriptional activity while alanine mutation does not affect transcriptional activity when compared with wild-type (WT) ΔFosB. Using in vivo viral-mediated gene transfer of ΔFosB-T149D or ΔFosB-T149A in mouse NAc, we determined that overexpression of ΔFosB-T149D in NAc leads to greater locomotor activity in response to an initial low dose of cocaine than does WT ΔFosB, while overexpression of ΔFosB-T149A does not produce the psychomotor sensitization to chronic low-dose cocaine seen after overexpression of WT ΔFosB and abrogates the sensitization seen in control animals at higher cocaine doses. We further demonstrate that mutation of Thr[superscript 149] does not affect the stability of ΔFosB overexpressed in mouse NAc, suggesting that the behavioral effects of these mutations are driven by their altered transcriptional properties

Final report on project SP1210: Lowland peatland systems in England and Wales – evaluating greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon balances

Lowland peatlands represent one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the UK. As a result of widespread habitat modification and drainage to support agriculture and peat extraction, they have been converted from natural carbon sinks into major carbon sources, and are now amongst the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the UK land-use sector. Despite this, they have previously received relatively little policy attention, and measures to reduce GHG emissions either through re-wetting and restoration or improved management of agricultural land remain at a relatively early stage. In part, this has stemmed from a lack of reliable measurements on the carbon and GHG balance of UK lowland peatlands. This project aimed to address this evidence gap via an unprecedented programme of consistent, multi year field measurements at a total of 15 lowland peatland sites in England and Wales, ranging from conservation managed ‘near-natural’ ecosystems to intensively managed agricultural and extraction sites. The use of standardised measurement and data analysis protocols allowed the magnitude of GHG emissions and removals by peatlands to be quantified across this heterogeneous data set, and for controlling factors to be identified. The network of seven flux towers established during the project is believed to be unique on peatlands globally, and has provided new insights into the processes the control GHG fluxes in lowland peatlands. The work undertaken is intended to support the future development and implementation of agricultural management and restoration measures aimed at reducing the contribution of these important ecosystems to UK GHG emissions

A pilot qualitative investigation of stakeholders’ experiences and opinions of equine insect bite hypersensitivity in England

Equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH), commonly known as sweet itch or summer eczema, is a frustrating recurrent skin disease in the equine industry involving an immune reaction to the bites of Culicoides spp. midges. To investigate the impact of IBH in the field, an exploratory pilot study was conducted with equine stakeholders in one region of central England. Nine semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with horse owners and an equine veterinarian. The aim was to gain an understanding of experiences with IBH, and to gauge opinions on the value of the various management strategies horse owners use to control IBH. Awareness of IBH was generally high, particularly in those individuals who had previous experience with the condition. Those with previous experience of IBH commented on the significant effect on daily routines, and the associated cost implications. Most participants supported an integrated approach to hypersensitivity management, and this most commonly involved a combination of physical barriers and chemical repellents, but sometimes included feed supplementation. Overall, attitudes towards IBH suggested that the condition is a notable welfare and economic concern for stakeholders, but veterinary involvement tended to only be in more severe cases. Further research is required in the future to improve understanding, management and potential treatment of this condition