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Bike positional configuration changes strongly affect cycling performance. While consensus has emerged on saddle height optimisation, there is none for the relationship between other bike positional variables and cycling performance. Accordingly, this systematic review examines the effect of all major positional variables on performance in cycling, assessing differences between cycling disciplines and sex where possible. The systematic review, conducted per PRISMA guidelines, searched databases including Embase, Web of Science, Medline, and CINAHL, screening 16,578 studies. Of these, 47 were fully analysed. Study quality assessment using the NIH tool revealed none rated "good", 5 "fair" and 33 "poor". The analysis involved 724 participants (90 female, 454 male, 180 sex unstated). Studies focused on trunk angle/upper body position, handlebar height, Q factor, foot position, saddle fore-aft/height, seat tube angle and crank length. Participant cycling disciplines were often unspecified and few papers address women cyclists specifically. Key findings were associated with changing saddle height, trunk angle and saddle fore-aft. For trunk angle, accounting for the biomechanical and physiological effects as well as aerodynamic changes is important. Saddle fore-aft affects the hip angle and trunk angle. There are no clear recommendations for crank length, handlebar height, Q factor or cleat position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the phenomenon whereby disabled people's homes are being occupied (i.e. cuckooed) by local perpetrators and/or county lines organised criminal groups. This study employs a qualitative biographical methodology that collects data from disabled people who have been victimised this way and practitioners who have worked with them. The findings illustrate that social isolation, loneliness and a lack of community services can create a space where the exploitation of disabled people can flourish. We conclude by demonstrating that cuckooing predominantly occurs at a local level, perpetrated by local people, rather than by county lines organised criminal groups; that, in fact, local cuckooing can predate county lines takeovers. Cuckooing refers to an individual or a group of individuals targeting a person with the intent of taking over their homes. Cuckooing has gained recent media attention because of its association with county lines, which describes how organised criminals develop new drug markets in areas that have traditionally not had a drug problem. The findings suggest that cuckooing occurs because disabled people often find themselves socially isolated within their communities which leaves them at risk of exploitation. This article suggests that cuckooing is not just a method of exploitation employed by county lines organised criminal groups, but it is, more commonly, a problem associated with the exploitation of disabled people at a local level by local people. The research illustrates that this form of crime occurs through a lack of adult services, arising because of nationally driven austerity policies, and this leads to disabled people being identified as 'easy targets' who have homes that are valuable resources/commodities for others to use and exploit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results are presented on the oxidation behaviour of two chromia-forming steels, over the temperature range 800°C to 900°C, regions of premature localised breakaway oxidation were observed. SiO2 formation along emergent grain boundaries encapsulated smaller grains, acting as diffusion barriers to the replenishment of chromium from deeper in the alloy. Rapid depletion of chromium from these isolated grains continued with increasing time until the concentration was insufficient to maintain a protective Cr2O3 resulting in the localised chemical failure and formation of breakaway oxides. A finite difference model was used to demonstrate the effect of SiO2 formation. It was also found that the low concentration of silicon restricted the encapsulation process to only the smaller grains at the surface and protective oxidation was re-established underneath at the alloy surface. The predicted lifetime of components with wall thicknesses of 2 mm was calculated to be in excess of 30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on the significant shift that has heralded the normalisation of the further education researcher, including practitioners with multiple professional identities and skill sets who are comfortably inhabiting multiple spaces and communities. Further education sector offers an interface between industry, the arts, and private sectors. Further education colleges have developed partnerships between industry, curriculum makers, and university partners.

Aspectual verbs (e.g. begin) and intensional verbs (e.g. want) can both take entity-denoting NPs as a complement (begin/want the book) and acquire an implicit meaning (e.g. reading). Linguistic theory posits that such enriched implicit meanings can be acquired either by semantic enrichment with aspectual verbs or by syntactic enrichment with intensional verbs. To investigate whether semantic and syntactic enrichment share enrichment operations, we conducted a structural priming study. Experiment 1 repeated the verb on prime and target trials and found evidence for enrichment priming for both verb types. Experiment 2 crossed the verb type and found no evidence for priming. These results suggest that enrichment operations are distinct for aspectual and intensional verbs. However, Experiment 3 repeated Experiment 1 without lexical boost and found no enrichment priming within the verb type. Thus, producing an enriched structure may not robustly activate enrichment structures, leaving open questions concerning shared mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how governance in the further education (FE) sector in Northern Ireland (NI) has been shaped by policy frameworks implemented at local, regional, national and UK levels. Despite the unique ways in which FE policy has developed alongside the other devolved nations, very little research has considered the NI context and its complexity. In this paper we first examine the history of FE provision in NI, and the development of FE in NI in relation to the rest of the United Kingdom (UK). Following this, we examine the impact of recent FE policy on governance structures and governing practices across the six regionalised colleges operating in NI today by presenting some insights gained from ethnographic observations of governing boards in action and interviews with key policy actors. Our analysis of the empirical data reveals key challenges facing FE governing bodies in NI in relation to financial and budgetary concerns, the multiple relationships between colleges and the various government departments, and the uncertainty presented by the suspension and subsequent reinstatement of Stormont and the EU Exit (Brexit). We conclude by offering reflection on these analyses in relation to FE governance in NI going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drinking water quality leaving water treatment works is known to deteriorate as it makes its way through distribution networks. As deterioration rates are related to the condition of the network and how it is operated, it is important to determine the location and magnitude so that causes can be determined and effective maintenance implemented. Water quality is typically monitored at outlets of service reservoirs to help track changing water quality. However, these results do not confirm whether the issue is linked to the network between treatment and the service reservoir, the service reservoir itself, or both. The work in this paper investigates the value of using inlet monitoring at service reservoirs to overcome this limitation. Results show that monitoring at both the inlet and outlet of service reservoirs provides valuable information on asset performance and highlights the location and extent of deterioration helping inform cost-efficient resource provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water companies have been working to introduce strategies to reduce discolouration customer contacts via non-specialist 'business as usual' practices. A greater understanding of discolouration material behaviour, however, is still needed to accurately inform the mobilisation response and regeneration rates in mains of different materials. The Variable Condition Discolouration Model (VCDM) that tracks both accumulation and mobilisation processes has been validated in some pipe materials using long-term time series data. This paper investigates calibration for a 15 km cast iron (CI) main, using daily turbidity responses with VCDM parameter sensitivity and temporal stability investigated using a statistical approach comparing three periods of the data. Results highlight the VCDM as widely applicable to determine long-term discolouration behaviour and improve behavioural understanding. In this case, analysis of different time periods indicates flow-conditioning not only improves network resilience but can also reduce mobilisation rates and discolouration risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before accumulation of recent experimental evidence, prediction was thought to be too prone to failure and thus too costly for language comprehension. Although prediction is now widely assumed, questions about the costs of prediction failure and recovery still remain. An event-related potentials study using highly constraining Italian sentence contexts addressed these questions. It manipulated how predictive local contexts were for target nouns after cueing comprehenders to the status of global sentential predictions with article gender congruence. Predictive local contexts reduced target noun N400 amplitude when the preceding article's gender was congruent with global predictions, but not when gender was incongruent. This suggests that prediction failure impeded the facilitative use of local context for target nouns. Predictive local contexts following gender incongruence also elicited a broader late frontal positivity on target nouns, suggesting further recovery difficulties. Prediction failures, therefore, are not cost-free, and recovery from these failures requires further consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and co-occurring problematic substance use is a health concern among Canadian military veterans. There are complex pathways to their problematic use of substances, including high-risk use of licit and illicit substances both pre and post PTSD diagnosis as well as access to prescribed PTSD medication with a potential for misuse. Methods: This exploratory case study examines whether and how the introduction of a psychiatric service dog (PSD) for veterans diagnosed with PTSD assists with addressing their problematic use of substances, both illicit and licit, including prescribed medications. Veterans' prescription histories were reviewed one year prior to and one year after their match with a PSD. Interviews were held with the veterans at the second point in time to review their substance use. Results: A PSD assisted with decreasing the veterans' PTSD symptoms and provided a steady source of additional personalized support. The veterans decreased their problematic use of prescribed and other licit and illicit substances. The veterans also stabilized or decreased their use of prescription medication. Conclusion: Psychiatric service dogs are a potential complementary health practice for PTSD diagnosed veterans who problematically use substances. This finding supports a call for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Further education policy across the UK has diverged significantly over the last decade. While in both countries colleges have been subject to a programme of restructuring and rationalisation, Scotland now has a largely 'nationalised' sector while England has adopted a more market-led approach which has been characterised in some quarters as a 'free for all'. However, there are some signs that England is starting to turn away from this stance and it is, therefore, instructive to examine the influence of policy on the Scottish sector, particularly as England embarks on a programme of devolution to the regions. This paper draws on policy documents and interviews with key policy actors to examine the 'Scottish Approach' to policy and the effects of this on the performance of the sector. While this has undoubtedly resulted in a more coherent system it is argued that colleges have paid a price for this, foregoing much of their previous autonomy. Moreover, it is not clear that the approach has addressed the 'skills gap' as currently perceived. It is concluded that much can be learned by greater engagement across the border, informed by a clearer understanding of how policy contexts impact on the leadership and governance of colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article details the findings of a research project that aimed to interpret and understand the experiences of further education lecturers as they undertook initial teacher education. Using rigorous methods grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology, the research situated in colleges in Scotland and Wales structured as two significant case studies revealed that the 20 respondents had a reliance on both formal and informal mentoring from colleagues in developing their practice as lecturers. The support received from mentors supplemented the perceived deficiencies of formal training courses in preparing the respondents for supporting students with extended needs. The article analyses the relationship between formal university provided teacher education and the practicalities of supported work-based practice. The research foregrounds UK further education as a suitable and internationally important model for the broader study of utilised methods of professional learning and the relationships between mentoring and prescriptive qualifications. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of strengthening and developing mentoring and work-based professional learning partnerships within colleges and foregrounds the pertinence of this in relation to the next phase of FE development in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Exercise identity has considerable evidence as a correlate of physical activity (PA), but almost no research has focused on intervention. Theory suggests identity may be formed through indirect means of motivated behaviour change over time or through direct targeting of identity related antecedents. Using a parallel, single blind design, the purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility (recruitment, retention, and satisfaction) of these two types of interventions (indirect, direct) to increase exercise identity and subsequent PA. METHODS: Participants between the ages of 18–25 who were not meeting PA guidelines were recruited from the University of Victoria, and randomized at a 1:1 ratio to an indirect or direct intervention group. The indirect intervention group received information on the benefits of PA and behaviour change techniques such as planning. The direct intervention group received the same information, with the addition of identity-specific information. Intervention materials were delivered bi-weekly for 6 weeks. Feasibility and participant satisfaction at the study end-point were assessed using mixed methods, and both PA change and exercise identity change were assessed via self-report. RESULTS: Twenty participants were randomized to the direct or indirect intervention group (10 each), with 18 participants completing full study protocol. The recruitment rate was 26% and retention was 90%. Mean scores from the satisfaction survey (five-point scale) were high for both groups (indirect M = 2.69, SD = 0.62; direct M = 2.83, SD = 0.40). Both intervention groups increased their PA (η2 = 0.25), and exercise identity levels (η2 = 0.43) across six weeks. DISCUSSION: High feasibility ratings, both through retention, and survey and interview data show that the study could be extended to a full-scale RCT. Modifications to recruitment including oversampling to account for low recruitment rates may be useful. No adverse events were reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) is the focus of extensive efforts to conserve the species. A major component of their conservation program is the collection of faecal samples to determine their distribution and abundance throughout their range. In parts of their range, New England cottontail is sympatric with a non-native eastern cottontail (S. floridanus) and snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus). Because faecal samples from all three lagomorphs are indistinguishable, a reliable molecular genetic method for specimen identification is necessary. We tested the efficacy of a diagnostic character method by analyzing sequence data from 1770 faecal, blood, and tissue samples collected from five states in the Northeastern United States. The method amplified a portion of the mitochondrial DNA control region and identified numerous diagnostic characters for each species. Two suspected nuclear mitochondrial DNA sequences (NUMTs) also were identified when a universal primer was used in the polymerase chain reaction. Our study could be the first evidence of a NUMT in a lagomorph and highlights the importance of using taxon-specific primers for species identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented which discusess topics within the issue including factors affecting student motivation in higher education, and model of curriculum design in free education.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the current effectiveness of physical activity (PA) interventions to change affective judgements (AJ) and subsequent behaviour and explore potential moderators. Eligible studies were published in a peer-reviewed English journal and included an experimental design in the PA domain with a measure of AJ as the dependent variable, among adults (>17 years). Literature searches concluded in July 2017 using 11 common databases, with additional hand searching conducted in February 2018. The search yielded 32 independent studies. Random-effects meta-analysis showed positive changes in AJ favouring intervention over control groups, g = 0.43 (95% CI = 0.26-0.60). These changes predicted (β = 0.64) positive changes in PA, g = 0.38 (95% CI = 0.16-0.60), among a sub-sample (k = 14) of studies that also provided behavioural data. Moderator analyses showed the effects were inflated by potential publication bias, participant gender, baseline PA and focus of the intervention. AJ may show change from intervention but larger sample studies are required to obtain a more reliable effect size estimate. Further, few studies have employed behaviour change techniques that would align with the theoretical reasons for changes in AJ, so our evidence for practical intervention content is limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unusually heavy infestation of 45 adult females and 100% prevalence of the parasitic podapolipid mite, Podapolipus luzoni, was discovered in a population of the invasive tenebrionid beetle species, Gonocephalum adpressiforme, from Japan. Previously, Podapolipus luzoni was known from a single record from the Philippines from an unidentified tenebrionid beetle. We clarify the host range and distribution of the mite species, including its occurrence on Gonocephalum adpressiforme from the Philippines, and discuss its synonymy with Podapolipus alumniae, collected from the same host species in Hawaii. Diagnostic, light microscopy pictures of Podapolipus luzoni are provided. A 1230-bp fragment of the "barcode" CO1 gene was sequenced to facilitate DNA-based identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of the Frontier and Cobb-Douglas production functions in the measurement of company level productivity. The productivity of a typical British batch production company is measured using the production function concept. This approach utilizes the engineering concept of efficiency and this represents a major departure from the conventional measurement of company level productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a case study analysis of total productivity trends within a typical British batch production company. Two models of corporate productivity are tested using historical data for 1975-79 and the results are interpreted and discussed. The paper also demonstrates how the results could be extended to produce simple predictive models of company productivity and total unit cost. The authors conclude that measures of total company productivity offer a valuable aid to decision-making for production engineers and mangers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his Reconstruction-era speeches, Frederick Douglass faced a more complex rhetorical situation than prior to Emancipation: for the first time an African American man worked from within a major political party and to do this effectively Douglass pioneered a new kind of American exceptionalism rooted in America's "composite nationality" and founding social compact as well as his claim to a representative American identity. His rhetoric of Reconstruction contrasted with his ironic posture toward American principles in the era of slavery and the bitter period after "Southern Redemption," but his constitution of self and nationhood formed an important model later adopted by Barack Obama. This article specifically examines Frederick Douglass's 1872 stump speeches, Barack Obama's 2008 stump speeches, "Recollections of the Antislavery Conflict" (1873), and "A More Perfect Union" (2008). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the results of a research study conducted in two colleges of further education in Scotland and Wales. The aim of the study was to begin to understand the ongoing effects of initial lecturer education programmes. Using the accounts of respondent lecturers and detailed documentary analysis, an accurate picture of the professional learning provision in the two colleges and devolved sectors was constructed. The research found that induction practices, mentor support, model of initial lecturer education programmes and engagement with practice focused work-based learning all had significant impact on ongoing engagement with professional learning. The paper concludes with suggestions for practice related to the structuring of professional learning from induction to continuous career-long provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2008, health policy in England has been focusing increasingly on improving quality in healthcare services. To ensure quality improvements in community nursing, providers are required to meet several quality targets, including an incentive scheme known as Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN). This paper reports on a study of how financial incentives are used in district nursing, an area of care which is particularly difficult to measure and monitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the identity performances and writings of civil rights activist Susan B. Anthony and author Frederick Douglass during the Reconstruction. Topics discussed include self-representations of Anthony and Douglas in their writings, women's right and African American civil rights movements, and promotion social equality.

Eutarsopolipus jamaicaensis is described, illustrated and compared with nine related species of Eutarsopolipus in the biunguis group. E. jamaicaensis is an ectoparasite of Platynus punctus (Darlington) collected on a bromeliad plant in St. Andrew Parish of Jamaica, British West Indies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eutarsopolipus in the biunguis group, defined by Regenfuss (1968), are compared with species in the biunguis group added since 1968. Eutarsopolipus lindquisti Husband, 1998, known only from Arkona, Ontario, Canada is reported from the U.S.A. for the first time from Bibb County, Alabama and Des Moines, Iowa. The paratype of the larval female of E. lindquisti lacks a gnathosoma and is twisted. Complete larval females from Agonum extensicolle Say (Coleoptera) from Alabama and Iowa are compared with the type specimen of E. lindquisti and the larval female is redescribed. A revised key for nine species in the biunguis group of Eutarsopolipus is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synhospitalic species, Locustacarus trachealis Ewing, 1924, Podapolipus berlesei Lahille, 1906 and Podapolipoides eickworti Husband, 1993, hosted by Schistocerca nitens (Thunberg, 1815) from California, U.S.A. are reported. Keys to genera of podapolipid mites from Acrididae (Orthoptera), world-wide, and data for widely distributed American species of Podapolipidae from Acrididae are provided. Locustacarus trachealis was last collected in the United States in 1915 in Eastern Kansas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with advanced illness such as cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Parkinson's disease experience acute symptoms and are usually prescribed medications to manage these, alongside drugs to treat other co-morbid, long-term conditions. As such, the pharmacotherapeutic burden for these patients is high and polypharmacy is common. Previous studies have revealed the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing within this group of patients, and identified the need for attention to ‘deprescribing’. Deprescribing can be defined as a process of optimization of medication regimens through cessation of potentially inappropriate or unnecessary medications. Patients usually have reservations about taking medications and may be willing to discontinue one or more medications considered ‘inappropriate’. Similarly, healthcare professionals experience some challenges discussing deprescribing approaches to patients with advanced illness. This article reviews research on prescribing medicines to patients with advanced illness, focusing on the identification of the prevalence of inappropriate or unnecessary medicines to the initiation of the deprescribing process. The review demonstrates the paramount importance of further research exploring the perspective of healthcare professionals and patients on the subject of deprescribing to facilitate its further acceptance in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Matschie’s tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei), New Guinea pademelon (Thylogale browni), and small dorcopsis (Dorcopsulus vanheurni) are sympatric macropodid taxa, of conservation concern, that inhabit the Yopno–Urawa–Som (YUS) Conservation Area on the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. We sequenced three partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes from the three taxa to (i) investigate network structure; and (ii) identify conservation units within the YUS Conservation Area. All three taxa displayed a similar pattern in the spatial distribution of their mtDNA haplotypes and the Urawa and Som rivers on the Huon may have acted as a barrier to maternal gene flow. Matschie’s tree kangaroo and New Guinea pademelon within the YUS Conservation Area should be managed as single conservation units because mtDNA nucleotides were not fixed for a given geographic area. However, two distinct conservation units were identified for small dorcopsis from the two different mountain ranges within the YUS Conservation Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite significant on-going investment, water companies continue to receive an unacceptable number of discolouration related customer contacts. In this paper, data from intensive distribution system turbidity monitoring and cluster analysis of discolouration customer contacts indicate that a significant proportion of these contacts are due to material mobilising from the trunk main system, and operational flow increases are shown to have a higher discolouration risk than burst incidents. A trunk main discolouration incident highlighting this risk is discussed, demonstrating the need for pro-active trunk main risk assessments. To identify the source of the material event flow rates were modelled using the PODDS (prediction of discolouration in distribution systems) discolouration model. Best practice pro-active management is demonstrated in a case study where the PODDS model is used to implement managed incremental flow changes on a main with known discolouration risk with no discolouration impact to customers and significant cost savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the nature of provision of higher education (HE) within the further education (FE) context and discusses the prevalent cultures of delivery. Attention is drawn to the skills and pedagogic methods prevalent within FE that could offer significant benefits to the delivery of advanced-level apprenticeships and applied vocationally based higher education. Discussion turns to the recontextualisation of the HE provision in FE and the possible economic and social benefits of widening access to skills focussed higher-level training courses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Successful language comprehension often requires comprehenders to infer contrastive focus alternatives, but the mechanisms used to establish contrastive alternatives are still poorly understood. We propose that comprehenders establish contrastive alternatives by using selection mechanisms that distinguish contrastive from non-contrastive candidates. To examine this proposal, we investigated the time course of contrastive alternatives in two cross-modal priming experiments, manipulating contrastive focus on prime words and the contrastiveness of visual targets. Experiment 1 examined early processing where comprehenders are entertaining candidates for contrastive alternatives. Experiment 2 examined later processing where comprehenders have selected contrastive alternatives from the candidate set. Results demonstrated that when primes were contrastively focused, initially both contrastive and non-contrastive associates were facilitated, but, in subsequent processing, non-contrastive associates became deactivated while contrastive associates maintained facilitation. We argue that selection mechanisms distinguish contrastive from non-contrastive candidates by deactivating non-contrastive candidates, enabling comprehenders to draw proper inferences about speakers' implicit meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. To examine tumour control, via volume changes, and the complications of linear accelerator (LINAC)-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatment of vestibular schwannomas (VSs) on medium-term follow-up.Methods. Between September 2003 and November 2009 fifty consecutive patients with VSs treated with SRS using a marginal dose of 12.5 Gy utilizing a LINAC equipped with a micro-multileaf collimator were identified. Evaluation included serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and neurological and hearing examinations.Results. The median tumour volume at treatment was 2.4 (range: 0.24–10.59) cm3. The intracranial diameter of the tumours ranged between 7.7 and 28.7 (median: 15.8) mm. Follow-up MRI was available for analysis on 49 patients. The median radiological follow-up period was 5.8 (range: 1.4–9.2) years. The median tumour volume at last follow-up was 1.1 (range: 0.03–5.3) cm3. VS decreased in size in 45 (90%) patients, with a median reduction in tumour volume of 1.46 (range: 0.06–9.29) cm3or a median tumour size reduction of 59% of the baseline (range: 6–90%) in these patients. VS remained stable in 2 patients and increased in size in 2 patients. Only 1 patient (2%) required additional intervention (surgery). 15 patients had useful hearing pre-treatment; 10 post-treatment pure-tone audiograms of these patients were available. 5 (50%) patients still had useful hearing post treatment. Non-auditory adverse radiation effects included new (House–Brackmann grade II) or worsened facial nerve palsy (House–Brackmann grade II to grade V) in 2 (4%) patients and trigeminal sensory disturbance in 2 (4%) patients.Conclusions. At medium term, the vast majority of VSs treated with LINAC-based SRS exhibit tumour shrinkage. The slightly higher rate of facial nerve palsy compared with Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) results may be related to the learning curve. Other complications were similar to reported GKS results for VSs of comparable sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the initial findings of a research project that aims to investigate the impact of teacher training for lecturers in post-compulsory education on engagement with continuing professional development (CPD) for learning and teaching. The majority of colleges and universities operating in the UK now ensure that all teaching staff are given access to training in skills for learning and teaching. This training can take many different forms and this paper explores the potential differences in outcome and influence on engagement with CPD and lifelong learning of graduates from these programmes. For the study, 18 lecturers from different colleges (one large multi-campus college in Scotland and another in Wales) provided narrative accounts about their professional background, training and qualifications prior to initial lecturer training and their route into teaching in further education. Respondents then engaged in semi-structured interviews about their experiences in lecturer training and ongoing engagement with CPD and further learning post-training. The findings indicate that respondents feel insufficient emphasis is placed on vocational skills training, meeting special educational needs and classroom management techniques. Lecturers agree that CPD in learning and teaching is very important but the research data show lack of meaningful engagement with the training options currently available. Recommendations are made to colleges to increase the practical and vocational focus and content of teacher training for lecturers whilst acknowledging the importance of allowing novice practitioner status. The requirement for access to high-quality, valid and targeted CPD is highlighted, with lecturers acknowledging the importance of training and expressing the desire to engage with relevant courses in learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved respirator test headforms are needed to measure the fit of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) for protection studies against viable airborne particles. A Static (i.e., non-moving, non-speaking) Advanced Headform (StAH) was developed for evaluating the fit of N95 FFRs. The StAH was developed based on the anthropometric dimensions of a digital headform reported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and has a silicone polymer skin with defined local tissue thicknesses. Quantitative fit factor evaluations were performed on seven N95 FFR models of various sizes and designs. Donnings were performed with and without a pre-test leak checking method. For each method, four replicate FFR samples of each of the seven models were tested with two donnings per replicate, resulting in a total of 56 tests per donning method. Each fit factor evaluation was comprised of three 86-sec exercises: “Normal Breathing” (NB, 11.2 liters per min (lpm)), “Deep Breathing” (DB, 20.4 lpm), then NB again. A fit factor for each exercise and an overall test fit factor were obtained. Analysis of variance methods were used to identify statistical differences among fit factors (analyzed as logarithms) for different FFR models, exercises, and testing methods. For each FFR model and for each testing method, the NB and DB fit factor data were not significantly different (P> 0.05). Significant differences were seen in the overall exercise fit factor data for the two donning methods among all FFR models (pooled data) and in the overall exercise fit factor data for the two testing methods within certain models. Utilization of the leak checking method improved the rate of obtaining overall exercise fit factors ≥100. The FFR models, which are expected to achieve overall fit factors ≥ 100 on human subjects, achieved overall exercise fit factors ≥ 100 on the StAH. Further research is needed to evaluate the correlation of FFRs fitted on the StAH to FFRs fitted on people. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition ofJournal of Occupational and Environmental Hygienefor the following free supplemental resource: a file providing detailed information on the advanced head form design and fabrication process.] [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Alam and Husband explore the ways in which two policies of central government, in both conception and expression, have operated in such a way as to promote the growth of Islamophobia in Britain. Policies of community cohesion developed in response to the riots in northern British cities in 2001, while the counter-terrorist polices that emerged following the bombings on mainland Britain in 2005 were targeted at Britain's Muslim populations. The rhetoric employed in the public sphere to legitimate these policies had the effect of making Islamic identity salient, and aberrant, in the context of twenty-first-century Britain. The scapegoating of Muslims, as essentially an alien wedge in British society with a deep resistance to entering into ‘the British way of life’, was attached to an interpretation of their demographic location in British cities so as to present them as both ‘self-segregating’ and ‘living parallel lives’. The emergence of ‘home-grown bombers’ resulted in the state maintaining a sense of risk to terrorist assault that fed off and into the existing securitization of urban life, consolidating a policy environment defined by the sense of an essentially permanent state of crisis. These exceptional circumstances permitted a suspension of previously sacrosanct principles of human rights and freedoms. The empirical evidence underpinning this paper reinforces the notion that these policies were mutually contradictory in practice, and that the penetration of social cohesion initiatives by the logics of surveillance resulted in a breakdown of trust between large sections of the British Muslim population and the agents of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For several decades, x-ray diffraction studies on europium (Eu) metal at high pressure were complicated by the presence of a rhombo-hedral contaminant phase,hR6, which has been recognised as such only recently. Using x-ray powder diffraction, we have determined thehR6 contaminant to undergo a phase transition to a cubic phase,cI12, at 34.8(12) GPa. Consideration of the volume per Eu atom of the two contaminant phases at the same pressure suggests that they have different stoichiometries or chemical compositions. We also report a phase transition in pure Eu from the incommensurately-modulated Eu-IV phase to Eu-V between 38 and 42 GPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three families and genera of parasitic mites are reported from one specimen of Schistocerca piceifrons collected in Yucatan, Mexico: Eutrombidium (Microtrombidiidae: Eutrombidiinae), Podapolipoides (Podapolipidae), and Proctotydeus (Iolinidae). A redescription of Eutrombidium locustarum (Walsh) from S. piceifrons including all active instars correlated through laboratory rearing is offered to clear misconceptions in the systematics of North American Eutrombidium. Podapolipoides yucatanensis n. sp. is described, illustrated, and compared with related species of Podapolipoides. Revised keys to American Podapolipoides and Eutrombidium are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article addresses the relationships between media, media use and language retention. In pursuing this aim, we explore the utility of ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) as a fruitful conceptual tool. The extant research on the relationship between the media and language retention and development provides an encouragement to pursue in more detail the role of media in this process: in other words to address more explicitly the features of media operation, and their relationship to audiences, which interface with the dynamics of EV. Based on four case studies of bilingual communities, the article concludes that media can be an important vehicle in maintaining and supporting EV. The extent to which this can be reached depends mostly on objective factors, such as the institutional completeness of the media landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of 'wet pick' during printing is well known to paper coating and printing technologists. Recent work has highlighted the reversible effect of water on the tensile strength of coating layers, and has shown that the mineral and vegetable oils commonly used in ink formulations have a similar, if smaller, detrimental effect on strength. In this study, we show that the coating strength decreases as the dielectric constant of the penetrating fluid increases. In the adhesive science literature, a similar correlation has been observed for various types of adhesive joints, and can be explained in terms of ion-pair bonding. We have tested this theory for mineral-based paper coatings containing latex adhesive, and found that it underestimates the loss of strength observed experimentally. In the latex–mineral bond, contributions from other mechanisms such as van der Waals forces are also likely. This knowledge should ultimately allow the design of more effective pigment–binder combinations better able to withstand weakening in the presence of fluids used in printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on international conference bringing together researchers and practitioners in post-compulsory education from many different countries. Topics include professional education and development, adult learning, further and higher education, work-based learning, and community education; and preparing to share the work in a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

The immediate early gene zenk encodes transcriptional regulators and is believed to be one of the first steps in the formation of long-term memories associated with a given stimulus. In this study, we investigated the expression of ZENK protein product in brain regions that are likely involved in the processing of social stimuli, such as a potential mate. Male pigeons (Columba livia) were exposed to one of the following: (1) a live female pigeon, (2) a video playback of a female pigeon, (3) a video playback of a female cockatoo, or (4) an empty stimulus chamber. The brains were then processed immunohistochemically using an antibody against ZENK protein. When the stimulus was a live pigeon compared to all other stimuli, there were more numerous and more darkly-stained ZENK-positive cells in three “association” regions of the telencephalon: the hyperpallium apicale, the lateral portion of the intermediate nidopallium, and the medial nidopallium. There were no significant differences among the video-playback stimuli. The results suggest that the level of ZENK expression in these “association” regions was influenced not only by the visual presence of a potential mate, but by the presence of non-visual signals, the quality of the image, and the real-time interaction with the stimulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Tetrapolipus Berlese 1911 (Acari: Podapolipidae) known from three species collected from Batocera species (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Indonesia and New Guinea is reviewed and new distribution records from Africa, Australia, India, Malaysia and the Philippines are presented. Tetrapolipus diastocerae n. sp., Tetrapolipus afrobatocerae n. sp., Tetrapolipus ramarajui n. sp. and Tetrapolipus seemani n. sp. are described. Tetrapolipus diastocerae from Diastocera wallichi Hope and Tetrapolipus species from Anoplophora lucipor Newman, 1842 are the first records of Tetrapolipus from cerambycid beetles other than Batocera. Tetrapolipus afrobatocerae is the first record of the genus Tetrapolipus in Africa, Tetrapolipus hunteri Husband, 1973 is the first record of Tetrapolipus in Australia and the first record of Tetrapolipus sp. from the Philippines is presented. Kurosapolipus species from Macropophora species (Cerambycidae) in the Western Hemisphere are compared with Tetrapolipus in the Eastern Hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews several films including "Burnt Oranges," directed by Silvia Malagrino, "Hidden Faces," directed by Handan Ipekçi and "Caramel," directed by Nadine Labaki.

Dorsipes saxicolae n. sp. (Acari: Podapolipidae) is described from Amara (Paracelia) saxicola Zimm. (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from northeastern Iran. Dorsipes saxicolae is compared with 4 other species in the inflatus group of Dorsipes Regenfuss. A key to the species is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]