Jt Walls

Stability of the EasyOne ultrasonic spirometer for use in general practice.

Objective and background:  Spirometry is recommended for the diagnosis and management of chronic respiratory diseases in the community. Spirometer accuracy is critical, but few general practitioners meet the American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) recommendation for daily calibration. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and stability of a portable ultrasonic spirometer (EasyOne) that the manufacturer claims does not require regular calibration.

Fouling, surface bacteria and antibacterial agents of four bryozoan species found in Tasmania, Australia

Extracts from four species of bryozoans, found in Tasmanian coastal waters, have been demonstrated to exhibit selective antibacterial activity. The four species showed gradations in fouling by encrusting organisms and differential surface bacterial numbers. The two chemically defended species Amathia wilsoni and Orthoscuticella ventricosa had the most active antibacterial extracts and the lowest levels of fouling. In contrast, extracts of Cellaria pilosa and Bugularia dissimilis, which have no known secondary metabolites, had weak antibacterial properties, and colonies showed large numbers of encrusting fouling organisms. Counts of bacteria over the surfaces of the four species revealed that O. ventricosa had the lowest numbers; B. dissimilis and C. pilosa had higher numbers while A. wilsoni had the highest counts, but the most patchy distribution.

Localisation of the amathamide alkaloids in surface bacteria of Amathia wilsoni Kirkpatrick, 1888 (Bryozoa: Ctenostomata)

The marine bryozoan Amathia wilsoni contains several brominated secondary metabolites, the alkaloid amathamides A–F. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis coupled with scanning electron microscopy was used to localise bromine in sections of Amathia wilsoni. Bromine concentrations higher than background levels were only found on the surface of the bryozoan and not within any of the different internal cell types. The correlation between bromine levels and a rod-shaped bacterium, ubiquitous to the tip region, points to the bacterium being closely associated with the range of amathamides found in Amathia wilsoni.

Distribution of amathamide alkaloids within single colonies of the bryozoanAmathia wilsoni.

The content and distribution of amathamide alkaloids within single colonies of the bryozoanAmathia wilsoni (Ctenostomata) varied depending on the location in the colony. Three colonies in all, collected from the same site at the same time, were analyzed and gave very similar results. The outermost, more exposed, tips of the colony had an alkaloid content of nearly 9% of dry weight, while basal parts were apparently devoid of alkaloids. Samples taken midway between tips and base yielded intermediate concentrations of about 1%. Very little variation in the proportions of individual amathamides A, B, C, E occurred between exposed tips of the colonies. However, some differences in ratios were found between tips from exposed and more protected regions.

Development of a Sailing Dinghy Simulator

A sailing dinghy simulator was developed that recreated the task of sailing in the laboratory. The simulator comprised the deck of a sailing dinghy, a pivoting support frame, a control system, in strumentation, a mathematical model of sailing dinghy dynamics and a computer simulation with a three-dimensional graphics display. Pneumatic rams were used to apply motion feedback. Esti mated dinghy performance data were calibrated using on-water recordings of boat speed. A sailors ability in sailing to windward was assessed using the simulator. The sailor performed typical sailing tasks, including tacking, hiking and judging lay- lines, and their activities were recorded for subse quent analysis. It was found that the simulator successfully simulated dinghy sailing and that the recorded data were useful for analysis of sailor performance. The simulator may be used in the training and assessment af sailors, ranging from the raw beginner through the experienced sailor.

Bryozoan Secondary Metabolites and their Chemical Ecology

Publisher Summary Bryozoans are sedentary, colonial invertebrates that are widely distributed throughout the marine environment, but are less common in fresh water. Many of the compounds from bryozoans exhibit biological activity, most notably the anitineoplastic action of the bryostatins. Despite this, the chemical ecology of compounds from only four bryozoans has been investigated, often as crude extracts rather than pure compounds. One area worthy of more study, not least because of its economic implications, is the effects that bryozoan secondary metabolites have on potential fouling organisms. Meriting further investigation is the generality of the finding that, in the case of one bryozoan there is intercolonial variation of chemical defence. The two observations that pycnogonids sequester bryozoan metabolites show that this phenomenon deserves further study.

Expert-Driven Knowledge Discovery

Knowledge discovery techniques find new knowledge about a domain by analysing existing domain knowledge and examples of domain data. These techniques typically involve using a human expert and automated software analysis (data mining). Often the human expertise is used initially to choose which data is processed, and then finally to determine which results are relevant. However studies have noted that some domains contain data stores too extensive and detailed, and existing knowledge too complex, for effective data selection or efficient data mining. A different approach is suggested which involves the human expert more pervasively, taking advantage of their expertise at each step, while using data mining techniques to assist in discovering data trends and in verifying the experts findings. Preliminary results suggest that the approach can be successfully applied to discover new knowledge in a complex domain, and reveal many potential areas for research and development.

'Fit for Purpose': a cohort-centric approach to MOOC design

How do you design a quality massive open online course (MOOC) that will be ‘fit for purpose’? The Understanding Dementia MOOC is an initiative of the University of Tasmania’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre (Wicking Centre). It is an outworking of institutional commitment to open education resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP). This paper describes the development of the university’s first MOOC, grounded in a philosophy that open learning design includes the criterion ‘fit for purpose’ and thus explicitly considers: the impetus for attempting a MOOC design; the goal (desired outcomes); the nature of the content; assumed capability thresholds of the intended cohort and; the technical and pedagogical design implications of the cohort’s learning readiness. The development team used a design-based research approach underpinned by an evaluation framework. This paper will discuss the interplay of factors which influenced decision-making, including the nature of expert content (packaged by the development team, translated by students and applied in individual contexts), the intended scope of influence, barriers to access in open learning design, pedagogical commitments including adult learning theory, technological constraints, as well as external stakeholder requirements. The paper concludes with a discussion of the impact of maintaining a clear purpose in making a specific body of knowledge available as open content. In particular, we suggest that considerations of content access are not simply physical or technical, but require tailoring the approach to threshold learning capabilities, as well as providing scaffolded content delivery such that individuals can translate their learning for their own contexts.Resumen¿Cómo se diseña un curso en línea masivo y abierto (MOOC) que sea «adecuado al propósito»? El curso MOOC Understanding Dementia (Comprender la demencia) es una iniciativa del Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre (Wicking Centre) de la Universidad de Tasmania y hace realidad el compromiso de la institución con los recursos educativos abiertos (REA) y las prácticas educativas abiertas (PEA). El presente artículo describe el desarrollo del primer MOOC de esta universidad, basado en la filosofía de que el diseño del aprendizaje abierto debe incluir el criterio de «adecuación al propósito» y, por ende, tener en consideración lo siguiente: el impulso para decidirse a diseñar un MOOC; el objetivo (los resultados deseados); la naturaleza del contenido; los umbrales de capacidad asumida del colectivo de estudiantes; y las implicaciones en el diseño pedagógico y técnico de la predisposición al aprendizaje del colectivo de estudiantes en cuestión. El equipo de desarrollo del proyecto utilizó un enfoque de investigación basado en el diseño y apoyado en un marco de evaluación. Este artículo analiza la interacción de los factores que influyeron en la toma de decisiones, como la naturaleza del contenido experto (recopilado por el equipo de desarrollo, traducido por los estudiantes y aplicado a contextos individuales), el ámbito de influencia perseguido, las barreras al acceso en el diseño del aprendizaje abierto, los compromisos pedagógicos (incluida la teoría del aprendizaje de adultos), las limitaciones tecnológicas, así como los requerimientos de otras partes interesadas externas. El artículo concluye analizando el impacto que supone mantener un propósito claro al poner a disposición un cuerpo específico de conocimientos como contenido abierto. En particular, los autores sugieren que las consideraciones relativas al acceso a los contenidos no son simplemente físicas o técnicas, sino que es necesario adaptarlos a las capacidades de aprendizaje umbral, además de proporcionar una provisión de contenidos con apoyo escalonado de modo que los individuos puedan trasladar el aprendizaje a su propio contexto.

Integrating muscle cell biochemistry and whole-body physiology in humans:(31)P-MRS data from the InSight trial.

We acquired 31P-MRS data from skeletal muscle of subjects of mixed gender and ethnicity, combined with a panel of physiological characteristics, and tested several long-standing hypotheses regarding relationships between muscle cell biochemistry and whole-body physiology with unusually high statistical power. We hypothesized that i) whole-body VO2max would correlate with muscle respiratory capacity, ii) resting muscle phosphocreatine concentration ([PCr]) would negatively correlate with delta efficiency and iii) muscle mitochondrial function would positively correlate with both resting VO2 and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Muscle respiratory capacity explained a quarter of the variation in VO2max (r2 = 26, p < .001, n = 87). There was an inverse correlation between muscle [PCr] and delta efficiency (r = −23, p = 046, n = 87). There was also a correlation between [PCr] recovery halftime and TDEE (r = −23, p = 035, n = 87). Our data not only provide insights into muscle cell chemistry and whole-body physiology but our mixed cohort means that our findings are broadly generalizable.

A technique for the assessment of sailboard harness line force

Even though sailboarding is a popular sport with many thousands of participants worldwide the forces experienced whilst sailboarding on water have not been documented. Harness line force is one of the key forces acting when sailboarding. The aim of this paper is to outline a method for measuring this force and to document its magnitude when sailboarding in a range of wind strengths (12 knots to 30 knots) using two different sail sizes (6.5 m2 in lighter winds and 5.0 m2 in stronger ones). A sailboard harness spreader bar was instrumented with a force transducer, amplifier and datalogger, to enable measurement of harness line force while sailboarding. Using this instrumented spreader bar an expert sailboarder sailed in a figure of eight fashion around two buoys lying across the wind. Average harness force measured during each leg of the figure of eight course was 381.6 +/- 43.2 N when using the 5 m2 sail and 415.0 +/- 66.7 N when using the 6.5 m2 sail. The average gybing time was 9.9 +/- 2.0 seconds when using the 5 m2 sail and significantly higher (p = 0.035) 12.2 +/- 1.3 seconds when using the 6.5 m2 sail. The results from this paper indicate that downsizing sail area to cope with the increased wind strength maintains harness force within a manageable range. For the subject in question the average harness line force was approximately 4.9 N/kg body weight.