University of Salford

About: University of Salford is a education organization based out in Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Thin film. The organization has 13049 authors who have published 22957 publications receiving 537330 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Salford Manchester & The University of Salford Manchester.

Developing Employability Skills: Peer Assessment in Higher Education.

Abstract: Purpose – Reports examining graduate employment issues suggest that employers are concerned by the lack of employability skills exhibited by entry‐level job applications. It is also suggested that employers consider it the responsibility of educational institutions to develop such skills. The current study seeks to identify peer assessment as a potential strategy for developing employability skills and aims to examine – from a students' perspective – the process of introducing peer assessment into higher education teaching programmes.Design/methodology/approach – The focus of the study was on the assessment of students' attitudes towards both being assessed by and assessing other students' work. Data were gathered from a sample of undergraduate students following a structured peer assessment exercise.Findings – In line with previous work, the study found that students expressed a positive attitude towards peer assessment but had concerns relating to their capability to assess peers and to the responsibili...

Pre-operative Nutrition Support in Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Surgery.

Abstract: Background Post-operative management in gastrointestinal (GI) surgery is becoming well established with 'Enhanced Recovery After Surgery' protocols starting 24 hours prior to surgery with carbohydrate loading and early oral or enteral feeding given to patients the first day following surgery. However, whether or not nutritional intervention should be initiated earlier in the preoperative period remains unclear. Poor pre-operative nutritional status has been linked consistently to an increase in post-operative complications and poorer surgical outcome. Objectives To review the literature on preoperative nutritional support in patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery (GI). Search methods The searches were initially run in March 2011 and subsequently updated in February 2012. Databases including all EBM Reviews (Cochrane DSR, ACP Journal Club, DARE, CCTR, CMR, HTA and NHSEED) MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, British Nursing Index Archive using OvidSP were included and a search was run on each database separately after which duplicates were excluded. Selection criteria The inclusion criteria were randomised controlled trials that evaluated pre-operative nutritional support in GI surgical participants using a nutritional formula delivered by a parenteral, enteral or oral route. The primary outcomes included post-operative complications and length of hospital stay. Data collection and analysis Two observers screened the abstracts for inclusion in the review and performed data extraction. Bias was assessed for each of the included studies using the bias assessment tables in the Cochrane Software Review Manager (version 5.1, Cochrane Collaboration). The trials were analysed using risk ratios with Mantel-Haenszel in fixed effects methods displayed with heterogeneity. Meta-analyses were undertaken on trials evaluating immune enhancing (IE) nutrition, standard oral supplements, enteral and parenteral nutrition (PN) which were administered pre-operatively. Study characteristics were summarised in tables. Dichotomous and ratio data were entered into meta-analyses for the primary outcomes. These were then summarised in tables with assumed and corresponding risk with relative effect giving 95% confidence intervals. Main results The searches identified 9900 titles and, after excluding duplicates, 6433 titles were initially screened. After the initial title screen, 6266 were excluded. Abstracts were screened for 167 studies and 33 articles were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria, of which 13 were included in the review after an assessment of the complete manuscripts. Seven trials evaluating IE nutrition were included in the review, of which 6 were combined in a meta-analysis. These studies showed a low to moderate level of heterogeneity and significantly reduced total post-operative complications (risk ratio (RR) 0.67 CI 0.53 to 0.84). Three trials evaluating PN were included in a meta-analysis and a significant reduction in post-operative complications was demonstrated (RR 0.64 95% CI 0.46 to 0.87) with low heterogeneity, in predominantly malnourished participants. Two trials evaluating enteral nutrition (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.10) and 3 trials evaluating standard oral supplements (RR 1.01 95% CI 0.56 to 1.10) were included, neither of which showed any difference in the primary outcomes. Authors' conclusions There have been significant benefits demonstrated with pre-operative administration of IE nutrition in some high quality trials. However, bias was identified which may limit the generalizability of these results to all GI surgical candidates and the data needs to be placed in context with other recent innovations in surgical management (eg-ERAS). Some unwanted effects have also been reported with components of IE nutrition in critical care patients and it is unknown whether there would be detrimental effects by administering IE nutrition to patients who could require critical care support after their surgery. The studies evaluating PN demonstrated that the provision of PN to predominantly malnourished surgical candidates reduced post-operative complications; however, these data may not be applicable to current clinical practice, not least because they have involved a high degree of 'hyperalimentation'. Trials evaluating enteral or oral nutrition were inconclusive and further studies are required to select GI surgical patients for these nutritional interventions.

Pore-size distribution in typical adsorbent systems

Abstract: Pore-size distribution data are calculated from nitrogen desorption isotherms on 36 samples of silica and alumina. Several methods for calculating t, the thickness of an adsorbed layer, have been proposed, but all suffer from uncertainties and no one method can be taken to be universally applicable to all adsorbents. This paper shows the effect upon the distribution results produced by changing the method for the calculation of t. It is convenient, but not necessarily theoretically correct, to take a comparison of cumulative area and BET area as a basis for the choice of the best values for t. From this comparison and an examination of the smoothness of the distribution curve, the expression for t in picometers (pm) given by de Boer: t = 354 − 5 ln P Po 1 3 is recommended.

Active and tunable metamaterials

Abstract: Metamaterial research is an extremely important global activity that promises to change our lives in many different ways. These include making objects invisible and the dramatic impact of metamaterials upon the energy and medical sectors of society. Behind all of the applications, however, lies the business of creating metamaterials that are not going to be crippled by the kind of loss that is naturally heralded by use of resonant responses in their construction. This review sets out some solutions to the management of loss and gain, coupled to controlled and nonlinear behavior, and discusses some critical consequences concerning stability. Under the general heading of active and tunable metamaterials, an international spectrum of authors collaborates here to present a set of solutions that addresses these issues in several directions. As will be appreciated, the range of possible solutions is really fascinating, and it is hoped that these discussions will act as a further stimulus to the field.

BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene

Abstract: Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grain: BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km(2) (158 cm(2)) to 100 km(2) (1,000,000,000,000 cm(2)).Time period and grainBio: TIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurement: BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.