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Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a serious eating disorder, characterised by problematic eating habits that cause significant nutritional deficiencies. Having only been recently acknowledged as a distinct category, there is little research regarding best practice guidelines, especially among the adult population. In addition, ARFID often coexists with autism, and very little is known about how the diagnoses affect each other, further complicating treatment options. This case study reflects on the treatment of a young autistic woman with ARFID within an inpatient eating disorder setting. Using principles of food exposure, food trials were introduced as a way to increase food variety as well as overall nutrition. Results are promising, with the patient reaching a much safer weight and being able to increase her repertoire of food. While results are not generalisable to a wider population, it is hoped that similar approach could be used with other individuals who have ARFID and autism when aiming to increase nutrition and variety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threshold concepts were introduced nearly 10 years ago by Ray Land and Jan Meyer. This work has spawned four international conferences and hundreds of papers. Although the idea has clearly gained traction in higher education, this sub-field does not yet have a fully fledged research methodology or a strong critical discourse about methodology. This paper seeks to begin such a dialogue by analysing three projects carried out by the authors, each focused broadly on identifying and understanding threshold concepts in engineering. Each of the projects used interviews with students and academics, but differed in six main ways that seem to make a difference to the research outcomes. This paper considers the gaps in the research and why they matter, briefly outlines the methods used in each of the three case study projects, and then discusses differences in project goals, researchers' backgrounds, curricular context, participants' experiences, negotiated or independent knowledge and degree of comprehensiveness sought in the studies. The implications of these six differences are explored. The authors argue that research in this sub-field of higher education pedagogical research needs to be clearer and more explicit about the methods that are used They conclude that the field would benefit from bringing together researchers who have been developing complementary research methods to compare and contrast these approaches and to develop more rigorous protocols for research on threshold concepts.

There is an increasing interest in the humanitarian engineering curriculum, and a service-learning placement could be an important component of such a curriculum. International placements offer some important pedagogical advantages, but also have some practical and ethical limitations. Local community-based placements have the potential to be transformative for both the student and the community, although this potential is not always seen. In order to investigate the role of local placements, qualitative research interviews were conducted. Thirty-two semi-structured research interviews were conducted and analysed, resulting in a distinct outcome space. It is concluded that local humanitarian engineering placements greatly complement international placements and are strongly recommended if international placements are conducted. More importantly it is seen that we are better suited to address the marginalised in our own community, although it is often easier to see the needs of an outside populace.

In this paper, we have explored how students in a cross-disciplinary course on engineering and social justice approached the idea of using social justice as a "lens" for looking at engineering. We have used an adapted phenomenographic approach [Marton, F., and Booth, S., 1997. "Learning and awareness". Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum], together with Meyer and Land's [Meyer, J.H.F., and Land, R., 2003. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: linkages to ways of thinking and practising within the disciplines. "ETL Project Occasional Report 4" [online]. Available from: http://www.tla.ed.ac.uk/etl/docs/ETLreport4.pdf [Accessed 1 January 2009]] threshold concept framework, to study the variation present among the students in the class as they attempt to pass through the threshold of this lens. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with students. We examine the liminal space that students hover in for several weeks, not knowing whether or if they will eventually pass through the portal into new territories. We found nine conceptions of increasing complexity present among the students in the class. We suggest that the students' collective experiences illustrate potential journeys along a spectrum of liminality and through the threshold. We conclude with some implications for what can be done to facilitate the students' transition through the threshold, thereby contributing to the development of this aspect of engineering education. (Contains 2 figures.)

In the present paper we question how engineering education (and engineering) can support greater participation and inclusiveness in decision making and science and technology. We consider the work "relating" to engineering and society that is conducted by the scholars of science and technology studies, but which is rarely read or considered by the engineering educators who could draw on it. We consider the results of an initial analysis of data collected from interviews with the science, technology and society (STS) faculty across North America and Europe. STS looks at how technology affects society and how society affects technology, while engineers "create" technology. Consequently the current authors suggest that it would be of great relevance to both engineering and STS to join up the thinking across these two arenas by focusing on a question that is not privy to the disciplines: is how can we create a socially just and sustainable future for all? We shall consider questions asked in STS of technology (engineering), e.g. what is its impact on society, who owns the technology, what are the political artefacts of the technology and we consider their influence on engineering (education). Using a phenomenographic approach to the research, 12 categories of description have emerged. Three of these categories are highlighted in this paper: participation; politics and policy; and citizenship, as they reflected themes that are rarely "discussed" in engineering curricula but which appear to be uppermost in the STS arena. Participation was described in a range of ways, from approaches to participation to the case for and against it. In politics and policy much was made of the interplay between scientists and politicians and the power and knowledge games between these two arenas. Citizenship is a hotly discussed topic and is evident in a number of government agendas. Approaches to enhancing citizenship are discussed in a myriad of ventures, e.g. through public participation, being critical of information and through education. (Contains 1 figure.)

Threshold concepts were introduced nearly 10 years ago by Ray Land and Jan Meyer. This work has spawned four international conferences and hundreds of papers. Although the idea has clearly gained traction in higher education, this sub-field does not yet have a fully fledged research methodology or a strong critical discourse about methodology. This paper seeks to begin such a dialogue by analysing three projects carried out by the authors, each focused broadly on identifying and understanding threshold concepts in engineering. Each of the projects used interviews with students and academics, but differed in six main ways that seem to make a difference to the research outcomes. This paper considers the gaps in the research and why they matter, briefly outlines the methods used in each of the three case study projects, and then discusses differences in project goals, researchers' backgrounds, curricular context, participants' experiences, negotiated or independent knowledge and degree of comprehensiveness sought in the studies. The implications of these six differences are explored. The authors argue that research in this sub-field of higher education pedagogical research needs to be clearer and more explicit about the methods that are used They conclude that the field would benefit from bringing together researchers who have been developing complementary research methods to compare and contrast these approaches and to develop more rigorous protocols for research on threshold concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbicide usage in weed control represents a significant economic cost and environmental risk in Australian sugarcane production. Weed spot spraying has potential to increase sugarcane production while reducing chemical usage and environmentally damaging runoff. However, weed spot spraying is traditionally a laborious manual task. This paper reports on a precision machine vision system that was developed to automatically identify and target the difficult to control weed Panicum spp. (Guinea Grass) in sugarcane crops. The infield machine vision system comprised a camera and artificial illumination to enable day and night trials. Image analysis algorithms were developed to discriminate Guinea Grass and sugarcane based on colour and textural differences between the species. A positive weed identification from the image analysis activated solenoid-controlled spray nozzles. Evaluations of the system in a sugarcane crop established that the image analysis algorithm parameters required frequent recalibration during the day but that the requirement for recalibration was reduced at night with constant artificial illumination. The algorithm was only effective at detecting mature Guinea Grass. The developed technology is considered a viable alternative to manual spot spraying of mature Guinea Grass in sugarcane at night. A cost benefit analysis of the new weed control system indicated potential grower savings of $170/ha by adopting the technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the qualitative phenomenographic research conducted to understand the benefits and limitations of international humanitarian engineering placements. It cites that 32 semi-structured interviews were conducted in Ghana and Canada before an analysis has resulted in a distinct outcome space. It notes that successful international engineering humanitarian placement depends on intangible qualities, such as student's attitude, cultural awareness, and communication skills.

Academic engineers who are interested in teaching often find themselves, either formally or informally, taking on the role of 'education developer' for their department or faculty. The trend to move towards educational development within disciplines is fairly recent and brings with it a range of interesting opportunities and challenges. Here we will look at the various issues that might occur and provide a way of looking at these that enable faculty in this position to select the most appropriate alternative for their own context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the outcome and morbidity after major surgical interventions for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods: Retrospective case note analysis of 227 children referred to a tertiary referral centre between 1994 and 2002 for treatment of IBD. Results: 26 of 125 children with Crohn's disease (21%) required surgical management. 13 with disease proximal to the left colon underwent limited segmental resections and primary anastomosis, without significant morbidity. Primary surgery for 13 children with disease distal to the transverse colon included 6 subtotal-colectomies or panprocto-colectomies. All seven children undergoing conservative segmental resections (three with primary anastomosis, four with stoma formation), required further colonic resection or defunctioning stoma formation. All three children undergoing primary anastomosis developed a leak or fistula formation. 22 of 102 children with ulcerative colitis (22%) required surgery. Definitive procedures (n=17) included J-pouch ileoanal anastomosis (n=11), ileorectal anastomosis (n=2), straight ileoanal anastomosis (n=3), and proctectomy/ileostomy (n=1). Five children await restorative surgery after subtotal colectomy. Median daily stool frequency after J-pouch surgery was 5 (range 3–15), and 10 of 11 children reported full daytime continence. All three children with straight ileoanal anastomosis had unacceptable stool frequency and remain diverted. Conclusion: The complication rate after resectional surgery for IBD was 57% for Crohn's disease, and 31% for ulcerative colitis. In children with Crohn's disease, limited resection with primary anastomosis is safe proximal to the left colon. Where surgery is indicated for disease distal to the transverse colon, subtotal or panproctocolectomy is indicated, and an anastomosis should be avoided. Children with ulcerative colitis had a good functional outcome after J-pouch reconstruction. However, the overall failure rate of attempted reconstructive surgery was 24%, largely owing to the poor results of straight ileoanal anastomosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We undertook a study to test the hypothesis that fertiliser application would moderate the effects of insect herbivory on stem growth of plantation-grown Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Three-year-old E. globulus with damage from the Eucalypt weevil (Gonipterus scutellatus) ranging from 0–50% loss of total crown leaf area were fertilised with either nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) or the combination of N+P. Stem growth and crown condition were monitored for 12 months. Applications of N or N+P increased diameter and height increment for both treatments, suggesting nutrient limitations at the site. In the absence of fertiliser, diameter and height increment were significantly reduced when defoliation was more than 10%. The application of N+P or N alone increased diameter increment in all defoliation classes to at least the level of unfertilised trees with minimal defoliation. Application of P did not. While there was an overall improvement in crown condition over the experimental period, trees in the N only treatment displayed a greater improvement in crown condition, and less trees per plot had poorer crown condition, than did trees in the other treatments. It was concluded that fertilising with N offers a management tool to eucalypt growers concerned with loss of productivity following insect defoliation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many chemotherapeutic compounding units are confronted with the problem of product delivery to different care wards. We think that transport by a pharmacy agent does not permit appropriate traceability (wrong care service delivery), control of storage temperature and management of urgency. We have developed a delivery system based on the association of a pneumatic transport system (PTS) and monitored buffer storage area. Thus, after pharmaceutical inspection, chemotherapies are placed in specific and hermetic carriers in the PTS but not directly delivered to care units. In the monitored buffer storage, a robotic arm organizes chemotherapies and waits for the nurse call just before administration. This system permits a real traceability for each stage of the chemotherapy circuit and so, we are now able to certify that chemotherapeutics have been maintained at the correct temperature through continual monitoring. It’s an important prerequisite in standardization and reassignment. Finally, an important issue linked to the use of PTS is the risk of damaging the chemotherapeutics. Data obtained from literature and manufacturers for antibodies highlight the low risk to use a PTS.

Caroline Catz is an actor, director, and writer. Her short film “Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes” (2018) was selected for the BFI London Film Festival and the London Short Film Festival, and is now published here permanently in British Art Studies. In the interview that follows, she speaks with BAS editor Baillie Card about Derbyshire’s groundbreaking electronic music compositions, the creative affinities between Derbyshire and Taiwanese-British artist Li Yuan-chia, and the ethics of biography. A discussion of Derbyshire’s time at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and of the years after her departure in 1973, can be found in David Butler’s article in this issue, “Whatever Happened to Delia Derbyshire?”. For an exploration of Li Yuan-chia’s LYC Museum & Art Gallery, read Hammad Nasar’s article “Cumbrian Cosmopolitanisms”, also in this issue.

Examines the psychological effects of routine ultrasound examination in pregnancy. Effects of ultrasound examination on anxiety and stress; Discussion on the experimental evidence on the effects of ultrasound examination on attachment to the fetus; How the examination affects attitudes towards the pregnancy and fetus.

Recently, a number of advanced architecture machines have become commercially available. These new machines promise better cost performance than traditional computers, and some of them have the potential of competing with current supercomputers, such as the CRAY X-MP, in terms of maximum performance. This paper describes the methodology and results of a pilot study of the performance of a broad range of advanced architecture computers using a number of complete scientific application programs. The computers evaluated include: (1) shared-memory bus architecture machines such as the Alliant FX/8, the Encore Multimax, and the Sequent Balance and Symmetry (2) shared-memory network-connected machines such as the Butterfly (3) distributed-memory machines such as the NCUBE, Intel and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)/Caltech hypercubes (4) very long instruction word machines such as the Cydrome Cydra-5 (5) SIMD machines such m the Connection Machine (6) ‘traditional’ supercomputers such as the CRAY X-MP, CRAY-2 and SCS-40. Seven application codes from a number of scientific disciplines have been used in the study, although not all the codes were run on every machine. The methodology and guidelines for establishing a standard set of benchmark programs for advanced architecture computers are discussed. The CRAYs offer the best performance on the benchmark suite; the shared memory multiprocessor machines generally permitted some parallelism, and when coupled with substantial floating point capabilities (as in the Alliant FX/8 and Sequent Symmetry), provided an order of magnitude less speed than the CRAYs. Likewise, the early generation hypercubes studied here generally ran slower than the CRAYs, but permitted substantial parallelism from each of the application codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the use of laparoscopy in the management of the impalpable testis.Design: A retrospective analysis of the clinical findings, interventions, and outcome in 87 consecutive boys undergoing laparoscopy for 97 impalpable testes.Results: Fifty seven testes were either absent (n = 35) or present as a small remnant (n = 22), which was removed at contemporaneous groin exploration. There were 27 intra-abdominal testes, including four hypoplastic testes, which were removed laparoscopically. The 13 remaining viable testes were located in the groin. Conventional orchidopexy followed laparoscopy for 21 testes, and was successful in 17 cases. Two stage laparoscopically assisted Fowler Stevens orchidopexies were performed for 13 intra-abdominal testes, with eight satisfactory results. Ultrasound evaluation significantly reduced the number of conventional orchidopexies following laparoscopy.Implications: Laparoscopy is a rational and safe approach for precise localisation of the impalpable testis. Laparoscopically assisted two stage orchidopexy is a successful treatment procedure for intra-abdominal testes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]