Wrexham University

Comprehensive in scope, Food Polysaccharides and Their Applications, Second Edition explains the production aspects and the chemical and physical properties of the main classes of polysaccharaides consumed as food, highlighting their nutritional value and their technological characteristics. Chapters in this new edition detail the source,

A method for the rapid computation of polar molecular surface area (PSA) is described. It is shown that consideration of only a single conformer when computing PSA gives an excellent correlation with intestinal absorption data-as good as previously reported methods employing multiple conformers. Circumventing a time-consuming conformational analysis opens the possibility of computationally screening large numbers of compounds for problems relating to absorption prior to synthesis. The robustness of the criterion for identifying poorly absorbed compounds (PSA >/= 140 A(2)) is illustrated through its application to a diverse test set of 74 drugs. The PSA-based method is also compared to an experimental method for absorption prediction recently described in the literature.

Surrogate model assisted evolutionary algorithms (SAEAs) have recently attracted much attention due to the growing need for computationally expensive optimization in many real-world applications. Most current SAEAs, however, focus on small-scale problems. SAEAs for medium-scale problems (i.e., 20-50 decision variables) have not yet been well studied. In this paper, a Gaussian process surrogate model assisted evolutionary algorithm for medium-scale computationally expensive optimization problems (GPEME) is proposed and investigated. Its major components are a surrogate model-aware search mechanism for expensive optimization problems when a high-quality surrogate model is difficult to build and dimension reduction techniques for tackling the “curse of dimensionality.” A new framework is developed and used in GPEME, which carefully coordinates the surrogate modeling and the evolutionary search, so that the search can focus on a small promising area and is supported by the constructed surrogate model. Sammon mapping is introduced to transform the decision variables from tens of dimensions to a few dimensions, in order to take advantage of Gaussian process surrogate modeling in a low-dimensional space. Empirical studies on benchmark problems with 20, 30, and 50 variables and a real-world power amplifier design automation problem with 17 variables show the high efficiency and effectiveness of GPEME. Compared to three state-of-the-art SAEAs, better or similar solutions can be obtained with 12% to 50% exact function evaluations.

The current prominence and future promises of the Internet of Things (IoT), Internet of Everything (IoE) and Internet of Nano Things (IoNT) are extensively reviewed and a summary survey report is presented. The analysis clearly distinguishes between IoT and IoE which are wrongly considered to be the same by many people. Upon examining the current advancement in the fields of IoT, IoE and IoNT, the paper presents scenarios for the possible future expansion of their applications.

In its first edition this book successfully enabled readers, with little or no prior knowledge of computing or statistics, to develop reliable and valid tests and scales for assessment or research purposes. In this edition, the author has thoroughly updated the text to include new recent advances in computer software and provide information on relevant internet resources. The book contains detailed guidelines for locating and constructing psychological measures, including descriptions of popular psychological measures and step-by-step instructions for composing a measure, entering data and computing reliability and validity of test results. Advanced techniques such as factor analysis, analysis of covariance and multiple regression analysis are presented for the beginner.An Introduction to Psychological Tests and Scales provides a clear, concise and jargon-free primer for all those embarking in fieldwork or research analysis. It will be an invaluable tool for undergraduates and postgraduates in psychology and a useful text for students and professionals in related disciplines.

Previous research on the binding and gelation of calcium/alginate in aqueous solution were mostly conducted in the (semi-)concentrated regime, and it did not provide details of the binding process and the formation of egg-box junctions. In the present investigation, the binding of calcium to alginate, of low and high molecular weight and different guluronate/mannuronate ratios, was investigated in dilute solutions using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), Ca2+-selective potentiometry, and viscometry techniques. The results reveal three distinct and successive steps in the binding of calcium to alginate with increased concentration of Ca ions. They were assigned to (i) interaction of Ca2+ with a single guluronate unit forming monocomplexes; (ii) propagation and formation of egg-box dimers via pairing of these monocomplexes; and (iii) lateral association of the egg-box dimers, generating multimers. The third step has different association modes depending on the molecular weight of alginate. The boundaries between these steps are reasonably critical, and they closely correlate with the Ca/guluronate stoichiometry expected for egg-box dimers and multimers with 2/1 helical chains. The formation of egg-box dimers and their subsequent association are thermodynamically equivalent processes and can be fitted by a model of independent binding sites. The binding of Ca to alginates of different guluronate contents is controlled by a balance between enthalpy and entropy.

The study functions as marketing intelligence inputs for the UK Government, the British Council as well as academic marketing planners for constructing their marketing opportunities‐threats audits, it investigates international students’ perception about the UK education and it researches UK performance in the world markets for international education. UK education has been known to be the best in the world. For many years, the UK universities have enjoyed a high reputation and have benefited in accelerating its market penetration worldwide. Unfortunately, this superiority has begun to decline. Other countries are strongly emerging with their quality education. The study shows that UK competitors achieved a remarkable growth of their international students’ enrolment while the UK achieves only a marginal growth with declining market penetration abroad. The findings confirmed the central importance of pricing, product and promotional variables in designing and marketing UK education abroad.

The terms gels and hydrogels are used interchangeably by food and biomaterials scientists to describe polymeric cross-linked network structures. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, and are categorised principally as weak or strong depending on their flow behaviour in steady-state Edible gels are used widely in the food industry and mainly refer to gelling polysaccharides (i.e. hydrocolloids) The term hydrogel describes three-dimensional network structures obtained from a class of synthetic and/or natural polymers which can absorb and retain significant amount of water The hydrogel structure is created by the hydrophilic groups or domains present in a polymeric network upon the hydration in an aqueous environment. This chapter reviews the preparation methods of hydrogels from hydrophilic polymers of synthetic and natural origin with emphasis on water soluble natural biopolymers (hydrocolloids). Recent advances in radiation cross-linking methods for the preparation of hydrogel are particularly addressed. Additionally, methods to characterise these hydrogels and their proposed applications are also reviewed.

This paper discusses the Espressif Systems latest product ESP32 designed for Internet of Things and embedded system related projects. The ESP32 is a low-cost, low-power system on a chip series of microcontrollers with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities and a highly integrated structure powered by a dual-core Tensilica Xtensa LX6 microprocessor. This paper provides a comparative analysis of the ESP32 with some other market competitors and introduces the microcontroller specification, features and programming details. A portable, wireless oscilloscope based on the ESP-WROOM-32 and a mobile application is described in detail as an example of successful practical implementation of the device.

In recent years, various methods from the evolutionary computation (EC) field have been applied to electromagnetic (EM) design problems and have shown promising results. However, due to the high computational cost of the EM simulations, the efficiency of directly using evolutionary algorithms is often very low (e.g., several weeks' optimization time), which limits the application of these methods for many industrial applications. To address this problem, a new method, called surrogate model assisted differential evolution for antenna synthesis (SADEA), is presented in this paper. The key ideas are: (1) A Gaussian Process (GP) surrogate model is constructed on-line to predict the performances of the candidate designs, saving a lot of computationally expensive EM simulations. (2) A novel surrogate model-aware evolutionary search mechanism is proposed, directing effective global search even when a traditional high-quality surrogate model is not available. Three complex antennas and two mathematical benchmark problems are selected as examples. Compared with the widely used differential evolution and particle swarm optimization, SADEA can obtain comparable results, but achieves a 3 to 7 times speed enhancement for antenna design optimization.

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with increased health risks across the life course. We aimed to estimate the annual health and financial burden of ACEs for 28 European countries. METHODS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Criminal Justice Databases, and Education Resources Information Center for quantitative studies (published Jan 1, 1990, to Sept 8, 2020) that reported prevalence of ACEs and risks of health outcomes associated with ACEs. Pooled relative risks were calculated for associations between ACEs and harmful alcohol use, smoking, illicit drug use, high body-mass index, depression, anxiety, interpersonal violence, cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and respiratory disease. Country-level ACE prevalence was calculated using available data. Country-level population attributable fractions (PAFs) due to ACEs were generated and applied to 2019 estimates of disability-adjusted life-years. Financial costs (US$ in 2019) were estimated using an adapted human capital approach. FINDINGS: In most countries, interpersonal violence had the largest PAFs due to ACEs (range 14·7-53·5%), followed by harmful alcohol use (15·7-45·0%), illicit drug use (15·2-44·9%), and anxiety (13·9%-44·8%). Harmful alcohol use, smoking, and cancer had the highest ACE-attributable costs in many countries. Total ACE-attributable costs ranged from $0·1 billion (Montenegro) to $129·4 billion (Germany) and were equivalent to between 1·1% (Sweden and Turkey) and 6·0% (Ukraine) of nations' gross domestic products. INTERPRETATION: Availability of ACE data varies widely between countries and country-level estimates cannot be directly compared. However, findings suggest ACEs are associated with major health and financial costs across European countries. The cost of not investing to prevent ACEs must be recognised, particularly as countries look to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which interrupted services and education, and potentially increased risk factors for ACEs. FUNDING: WHO Regional Office for Europe.

In this review paper, a comprehensive study on the concept, theory, and applications of composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TLs) by considering their use in antenna system designs have been provided. It is shown that CRLH-TLs with negative permittivity (ε <; 0) and negative permeability (μ <; 0) have unique properties that do not occur naturally. Therefore, they are referred to as artificial structures called “metamaterials”. These artificial structures include series left-handed (LH) capacitances (C <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">L</sub> ), shunt LH inductances (L <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">L</sub> ), series right-handed (RH) inductances (LR), and shunt RH capacitances (CR) that are realized by slots or interdigital capacitors, stubs or via-holes, unwanted current flowing on the surface, and gap distance between the surface and ground-plane, respectively. In the most cases, it is also shown that structures based on CRLH metamaterial-TLs are superior than their conventional alternatives, since they have smaller dimensions, lower-profile, wider bandwidth, better radiation patterns, higher gain and efficiency, which make them easier and more cost-effective to manufacture and mass produce. Hence, a broad range of metamaterial-based design possibilities are introduced to highlight the improvement of the performance parameters that are rare and not often discussed in available literature. Therefore, this survey provides a wide overview of key early-stage concepts of metematerial-based designs as a thorough reference for specialist antennas and microwave circuits designers. To analyze the critical features of metamaterial theory and concept, several examples are used. Comparisons on the basis of physical size, bandwidth, materials, gain, efficiency, and radiation patterns are made for all the examples that are based on CRLH metamaterialTLs. As revealed in all the metematerial design examples, foot-print area decrement is an important issue of study that have a strong impact for the enlargement of the next generation wireless communication systems.

The recent increase in published work relating to the supervision of nurses and in particular mentorship suggests that nurses value the opportunities that such schemes present for developing practice. Much of the literature surrounding mentorship concerns the supervision of students in practice settings but more recently, especially following the changes to post-registration education, attention has shifted to the supervision of qualified nurses. Although the principles of supervision for students and qualified nurses are the same, differences do occur in supervisory practices. This review examines the literature associated with the supervision of student nurses and focuses on the nature and practice of mentorship in practice settings. The literature reveals that confusion exists regarding both the concept of mentorship and the role of the mentor. Many authors propose models or frameworks for mentoring activities. These tend to outline the stages of the mentoring process and the relationship between mentor and mentee. No one model is seen as more appropriate than another and choice usually depends upon the mentor's familiarity with a particular framework. It is also evident that there is inconsistency in the length and level of preparatory courses for mentors. As yet there is in the United Kingdom no national minimum requirement or common preparation route and in practice mentors are prepared by way of the appropriate National Board Teaching and Assessing module and/or short local 2-day course.

Opportunities to study and explain academics' responses to the growth of external quality monitoring and the extension of institutions' own quality systems have remained largely unexploited. Based on a single-site case study of a university sector college (NewColl), the paper highlights the merits of close-up study in enabling questions to be posed that other approaches are not as well placed to address. With the aid of interview data, the 'implementation gap' between the intentions underpinning 'quality policy' and the actual outcomes is examined. A number of dimensions of the 'implementation gap' are identified, each deriving from situational factors affecting how academics view external and internal quality monitoring systems and frameworks. It is argued that if academics are to remain pivotal in efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning, then more attention needs to be paid, by institutions and external quality bodies, to the importance of the conditions and context of academics' work. Otherwise, quality monitoring is liable to be invested with a 'beast-like' presence requiring to be 'fed' with ritualistic practices by academics seeking to meet accountability requirements.

Abstract Charismatic mammals remain a linchpin in attracting publicity and funds for the conservation of native habitats and organisms. Unfortunately, the same animals are frequently scarce and difficult to survey. For many, confirming their presence through faecal surveys is the only cost‐effective approach. Here we show that, contrary to received opinion, expert naturalists fail reliably to distinguish pine marten Martes martes faeces (‘scats’) from those of foxes Vulpes vulpes . Moreover, their judgement fails completely when the animals and their scats are at their most scarce. This unexpected result from such a well‐studied species has important implications for the monitoring of endangered mammals. We recommend that in the future, a multi‐evidence approach should be adopted to monitor elusive mammals, involving DNA methods, cast hair identification, camera traps, and non‐leading ‘sighting’ questionaires. For national surveys, it may soon become cost‐effective to screen large numbers of samples using microarray technology.

The recent profusion of new nursing roles in the UK has led to much confusion in the minds of health care consumers, employers, nursing practitioners and educationalists regarding the meaning, scope of practice, preparation for, and expectations of such roles. Titles such as Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP), Higher Level Practitioner (HLP) and more recently Nurse Consultant (NC) are being adopted in a variety of care settings with little understanding or consensus as to the nature of or differences between such roles. Further, the former United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (1992) initiative for extending the scope of professional practice allows for the prospect that nurses can adopt additional clinical tasks or alter the nature of service provision provided that they acquire the appropriate education or training, levels of competence and are prepared to be accountable for their new practices. Consequently, nursing practice is becoming more diverse than ever before and the boundaries of inter- and intraprofessional practices are becoming increasingly blurred. The UKCC (1999a) has recently contributed to an understanding of the levels of clinical practice undertaken at the specialist level but the situation at advanced or consultant levels remains unclear.

Physical interactions between lamins and emerin were investigated by co-immunoprecipitation of in vitro translated proteins. Emerin interacted with in vitro translated lamins A, B1 and C in co-immunprecipitation reactions. Competition reactions revealed a clear preference for interactions between emerin and lamin C. Structural associations between lamins and emerin were investigated in four human cell lines displaying abnormal expression and/or localisation of lamins A and C. In each cell line absence of lamins A and C from the nuclear envelope (NE) was correlated with mis-localisation of endogenous and exogenous emerin to the ER. In two cell lines that did not express lamin A but did express lamin C, lamin C as well as emerin was mis-localised. When GFP-lamin A was expressed in SW13 cells (which normally express only very low levels of endogenous lamin A and mis-localise endogenous emerin and lamin C), all three proteins became associated with the NE. When GFP-lamin C was expressed in SW13 cells neither the endogenous nor the exogenous lamin C was localised to the NE and emerin remained in the ER. Finally, lamins A and C were selectively eliminated from the NE of HeLa cells using a dominant negative mutant of lamin B1. Elimination of these lamins from the lamina led to the accumulation of emerin as aggregates within the ER. Our data suggest that lamin A is essential for anchorage of emerin to the inner nuclear membrane and of lamin C to the lamina.

Cellulose-based electroconductive composites can be prepared by combining conducting electroactive materials with hydrophilic biocompatible cellulose. Inorganic nanoparticles, such as metal ions and oxides, carbon nanotubes, graphene and graphene oxide, conducting polymers, and ionic liquids (through doping, blending or coating) can be introduced into the cellulose matrix. Such composites can form a biocompatible interface for microelectronic devices, and provide a biocompatible matrix or scaffold for electrically stimulated drug release devices, implantable biosensors, and neuronal prostheses. Here the benefits of combining conventional and bacterial cellulose with these electroactive composites are described and future applications are considered.

Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight, is a major threat to potato production in northwestern Europe. Before 1980, the worldwide population of P. infestans outside Mexico appeared to be asexual and to consist of a single clonal lineage of A1 mating type characterized by a single genotype. It is widely believed that new strains migrated into Europe in 1976 and that this led to subsequent population changes including the introduction of the A2 mating type. The population characteristics of recently collected isolates in NW Europe show a diverse population including both mating types, sexual reproduction and oospores, although differences are observed between regions. Although it is difficult to find direct evidence that new strains are more aggressive, there are several indications from experiments and field epidemics that the aggressiveness of P. infestans has increased in the past 20 years. The relative importance of the different primary inoculum sources and specific measures for reducing their role, such as covering dumps with plastic and preventing seed tubers from becoming infected, is described for the different regions. In NW Europe, varieties with greater resistance tend not to be grown on a large scale. From the grower’s perspective, the savings in fungicide input that can be achieved with these varieties are not compensated by the higher (perceived) risk of blight. Fungicides play a crucial role in the integrated control of late blight. The spray strategies in NW Europe and a table of the specific attributes of the most important fungicides in Europe are presented. The development and use of decision support systems (DSSs) in NW Europe are described. In The Netherlands, it is estimated that almost 40% of potato growers use recommendations based on commercially available DSS. In the Nordic countries, a new DSS concept with a fixed 7-day spray interval and a variable dose rate is being tested. In the UK, commercially available DSSs are used for c. 8% of the area. The validity of Smith Periods for the new population of P. infestans in the UK is currently being evaluated.

A protocol has been developed to fractionate sugar beet pectin using hydrophobic affinity chromatography. Three samples eluted from the column using 4 M NaCl as solvent (fractions 1A, 1B, and 1C), two fractions eluted using 2 M NaCl (fractions 2A and 2B), and one fraction eluted using water (fraction 3). The fractions were shown to be very polydisperse, and differences between the GPC refractive index and UV absorbance (214 nm) elution profiles demonstrated chemical heterogeneity. They were found to contain significantly different proportions of protein (1A, 2.79%; 1B, 0.97%; 1C, 0.77%; 2A, 1.41%; 2B, 5.09%; and 3, 5.89%) and ferulic acid (approximately 1A, 0.5%; 1B, 0.5%; 1C, 0.9%; 2B, 1.5%; and 3, 2%). The weight-average molecular mass, M(w), of the fractions also varied (1A, 153 kDa; 1B, 155 kDa; 1C, 306 kDa; 2A, 562 kDa; 2B, 470 kDa; 3, 282 kDa). Three fractions, that is, 1A, 1B, and 3, produced orange oil emulsions with a relatively small droplet size that were stable over a period of weeks. The other three fractions (1C, 2A, and 2B with higher M(w) values) produced emulsions with an initially larger droplet size, and the droplet size increased considerably over time. The increased droplet size may be influenced by the viscosity of the aqueous continuous phase. There was no simple relationship between protein or ferulic acid content and emulsification ability. For example, fraction 1B, which contained the lowest proportion of both protein and ferulic acid, produced stable emulsions of similar droplet size to fraction 3, which contained the largest proportion of protein and ferulic acid. The role of protein in the emulsification process was investigated by measuring the amount of protein in the aqueous phase before and after emulsification. It was clearly demonstrated that proteinaceous material adsorbed at the oil-water interface. It is evident that the emulsification properties of sugar beet pectin are influenced by the accessibility of the protein and ferulic acid groups to the surface of the oil droplets, the proportion of ester groups, and the molecular mass distribution of the fractions.