The recent and swift changes (at the philosophical, political and economic level) in the health and social care sectors asks for the assessment of the existence of a match between the competencies acquired in the occupational therapy education and those required at the workplace, in order to ensure the quality of graduates. A key challenge for the educators is how to plan efficient educational programmes which calls for the redefinition of curriculum goals relevant to the quality of practice. We looked for new strategies to address these questions in the form of a group-based research with two main objectives: (1) to identify the core competencies required for the occupational therapy practice at different work settings in Portugal; and (2) to identify the contents of an occupational therapy educational program, suitable to attain the core competencies found. Interviews, discussion with two panels of experts, questionnaires and the Delphi technique have been used involving a total of 120 Occupational Therapists working at different settings including at the two Portuguese occupational therapy schools. The research provides the background on how to base the occupational therapy course content in relationship to the needs of the workplace environment. Above all, this study is a contribution in finding methodologies by working with the practitioners’ experts in order to convert their knowledge and professional demands into educational programs.

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This document demonstrates that study and performance of newly-composed versions of four etudes from Ludwig Milde's Concert Etudes, Op. 26 (publ. post. 1935) can prepare advanced bassoon students for performance of not only the etudes themselves (which includes advanced techniques such as rapid single tonguing, double tonguing, difficult slurring, tapering, an execution of complicated scales and arpeggios in the context of a musical passage, half-hole, vibrato, flicking, and control of long notes in extreme registers), but also can be used to address both performing and technical issues not covered in Milde's study, such as the problems posed by ensemble playing, tone-color, and rhythm.The project analyzes a selection of four etudes from the Concert Etudes, Op. 26 in terms of harmony and form, explores the technical difficulties found in each one of them and their possible approaches, and provides arrangements for two bassoons, bassoon and piano, and bassoon quartet, giving the student a new palette of options for the study of the Concert Etudes, Op. 26 and new devices for the improvement of various techniques.

The three-dimensional (3-D) structure of gp32*I, a major proteolytic fragment of the DNA helix-destabilizing protein from bacteriophage T4, has been determined at 18 A resolution by electron microscopy of negatively stained crystals and computer image analysis. The crystalline areas processed in 3-D have the symmetry of the space group P2₁, with a = 47 Å, b = 63 Å, c = 65 Å, and α = β = γ = 90°. This P2₁ unit cell contains one gp32*I molecule per asymmetric unit. The molecule is roughly V-shaped, containing two large domains linked by a smaller domain occupying the base of the V. The total length of the molecule is about 110 Å with an average diameter of about 25 Å. Systematic analysis of the symmetry in images of untilted crystals determined that the crystal could display several types of projection symmetry, pgg, pg corresponding to P2₁ symmetry with the screw axis along the a axis of the crystal, and pg corresponding to P2₁ symmetry with the screw axis along the b axis. Among images displaying pg symmetry along the b axis, two types of images with noticeably different appearances were obtained. A hypothesis was formed that explained the different types of symmetry as the result of the growth of the gp32*I crystal in the space group P2₁ 2₁ 2₁, in steps of 1/2 of a unit cell along the thin direction of the crystal. Two different types of 1/2 unit cell thick steps were postulated. Computer simulations were used to generate synthetic images of untilted crystals containing either one, two or three steps of each kind. The results of the simulations prove that the space group of the gp32*I crystal is P2₁ 2₁ 2₁. They suggest that careful analysis of the symmetry in images of untilted gp32*I crystals can provide information about the thickness of the crystals. A strategy is presented for determining the structure of the gp32*I crystal at higher resolution by electron microscopy of frozen, hydrated crystals. This strategy includes the use of symmetry analysis as a tool for determining the thickness of the crystals so that data from crystals of the same thickness can be combined in 3-D. A similar approach may prove useful in the 3-D electron microscopic analysis of other thin, multi-layered crystals.

This study was an evaluation of thermite rail welding with the goal of the development of welds with improved mechanical properties. The first part of the study involved an in-depth evaluation of 14 thermite rail welds produced by the Department of Transportation using current production practices. These welds were produced using CrMo, CrV and Cr alloy rails, AREA CC rails (i.e., standard rails) and head-hardened rails which were welded with weld metal produced by the aluminothermic reaction of "standard" and "alloy" thermite charges. Temperature at various locations was measured during welding for both the rails and the weld metal. After welding, mechanical properties, macro- and microstructure, inclusion levels and residual stresses induced by the welding operation were all determined. Low impact properties and ductility (2-6 percent reduction in area) were observed in the thermite rail weld metal. These low properties were attributed to microstructure and, to a lesser extent, inclusion content. In order to improve the process by reducing the inclusion content, attempts were made to filter the molten thermite steel by passing it through zirconia/mullite filters. This was included in the second part of the study in which 9 plate welds we made using "standard" thermite charges. Filtering, at best, was only partly successful. However, it was observed that a 30 percent increase in yield strength and hardness was achieved in weld metal containing approximately 0.55 percent carbon and 0.06 percent vanadium. Normalization of the plate welds resulted in a significant improvement in the tensile ductility of as-cast weld metal. Weld metal of 0.55 percent carbon and 0.06 percent vanadium had ductilities in the range of 10-20 percent when the cooling rate exceeded 37 K(DEGREES)/min. through the transformation range. At cooling rates of four times this level, tensile properties equivalent to those of the "alloy" weld metal were obtained along with the enhanced tensile ductility. It was concluded that it is possible to produce a thermite weld with both improved strength and ductility by the judicious control of composition, the addition of microalloying elements and the application of an appropriate post-weld heat treatment, such as normalization.

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