Using Learning Trajectories for Teacher Learning to Structure Professional Development

As a result of the increased focus on data literacy and data science across the world, there has been a large demand for professional development in statistics. However, exactly how these professional development opportunities should be structured remains an open question. The purpose of this paper is to describe the first iteration of a design experiment involving Project-SET (www.project-set.com) professional development program. Project-SET provided professional development to enhance teachers’ understanding of statistics concepts. The project constructed two learning trajectories for teacher learning and subsequently used the learning trajectories to structure the professional development curriculum. The main goal of this paper is to illustrate how the utilization of the teacher-learning trajectories to structure the professional development allowed participating teachers to develop several aspects of Statistics Knowledge for Teaching (Groth, 2013).     

Sequential Synthesis of 3 d–3 d, 3 d–4 d,and 3 d–5 d Hybrid Polyoxometalates and Application to the Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction Reactions

The Co₇(AlePy)₂ polyoxometalate, which encloses a {(PW₉)₂Co^II₇} core covalently bound to two free aminopyridine groups through bisphosphonate ligands ( AlePy ), has been isolated. It can be used as a precursor, allowing the synthesis of heterometallic hybrid compounds, as illustrated by the characterization of cobalt/zinc ( Co₇(AlePyZn)₂ ), cobalt/palladium ( Co₇(AlePyPd)₂ ), and cobalt/platinum ( Co₇(AlePyPt)₂ ) species. A composite based on the water‐insoluble precious metal‐free Co₇(AlePyZn)₂ compound and the low‐cost carbon material Vulcan XC‐72 has been selected as a cathode material ( Co₇Zn/C ) for oxygen reduction reaction studies. The electrocatalytic performances of the Co₇Zn/C hybrids were assessed at neutral and basic pH, showing that Co₇Zn/C exhibits high selectivity for the four‐electron reduction of O₂. Moreover, its durability is superior to that of a commercial Pt/C catalyst with 20 % loading. Also, comparative studies performed in the presence of methanol have indicated that Co₇Zn/C has a much better tolerance to the crossover effect than Pt/C . Altogether, these results indicate for the first time that, even in neutral media, polyoxometalate/carbon composites can represent low‐cost oxygen reduction catalysts that can function stably, for a long time, and with high performance.     

A column generation algorithm for tactical timber transportation planning

We present a tactical wood flow model that appears in the context of the Canadian forestry industry, and describe the implementation of a decision support system created for use by an industrial partner. In this problem, mill demands and harvested volumes of a heterogeneous set of log types are given over a multi-period planning horizon. Wood can be stored at the forest roadside before delivery at a financial cost. Rather than solve this as a network linear programme on the basis of out-and-back deliveries, we choose to model this problem as a generalization of a log-truck scheduling problem. By routing and scheduling the trucks in the resolution, this allows us to both anticipate potential backhaul opportunities for cost and fuel savings, and also minimize queuing times at log-loaders, management of which is a major concern in the industry. We model this problem as a mixed integer linear programme and solve it via column generation. The methodology is tested on several case studies.     

Strategic analysis of the dairy transportation problem

The dairy transportation problem (DTP) consists of determining the best routes to be performed for collecting milk from farms and delivering it to processing plants. We study the particular case of the province of Quebec, where the Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec is responsible for negotiating the transportation costs on behalf of producers. Several issues are highlighted in the actual process of designing contracts such as using historical data. We propose an approach based on scenario analysis that consists of revising both the steps and the information used to construct the routes. We develop a generalized tabu search algorithm that integrates the different characteristics of the DTP.     

Design and analysis of a Schwarz coupling method for a dimensionally heterogeneous problem

In the present work, we propose and analyse an efficient iterative coupling method for a dimensionally heterogeneous problem. We consider the case of a 2D Laplace equation with non‐symmetric boundary conditions coupled with a corresponding 1D Laplace equation. We first show how to obtain the 1D model from the 2D one by integration along one direction, by analogy with the link between shallow water equations and the Navier–Stokes system. Then we focus on the design of a Schwarz‐like iterative coupling method. We discuss the choice of boundary conditions at coupling interfaces. We prove the convergence of such algorithms and give some theoretical results related to the choice of the location of the coupling interface, and to the control of the difference between a global 2D reference solution and the 2D coupled solution. These theoretical results are illustrated numerically. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of reactive species in processing materials at laboratory temperature by spray plasma devices

Processing the aerosol of metal salts in non-equilibrium plasma represents a promising technique that combines the advantages of spray pyrolysis with the high reactivity of plasmas at nearlaboratory temperature in order to produce mixed-oxides and perovskite materials. The aim of this paper is to describe the principles of this new technique and to present the various applications and latest developments. This technique’s capacity to deposit various mixed metal oxides with precise stoichiometry is demonstrated. It is shown that oxidant plasma species play a key role in the chemical transformation of starting materials into oxides at laboratory temperature, while the configuration of the reactor determines the morphology and texture of the deposited layers. Two different reactor configurations are presented. The porous layers of La _x Sr_1−x MnO₃ as the cathode for fuel cells were synthesised in a wave shock reactor configuration, while nanostructured ZnO-Al layers to form a transparent conductive cathode for photovoltaic cells were deposited in the spray plasma reactor of the latest generation for this technique. The experimental results emphasise the role of plasma species in the rate of chemical reactions and in the chemical composition of the deposited layers.     

Fat crystals and water-in-oil emulsion stability

Products such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and crude oil often exist as water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions during their processing or in final form. In many cases, their dispersed aqueous phase is encased in a crystal network and/or by interfacially-adsorbed (‘Pickering’) particles [paraffins, triacylglycerols, polymers, etc.] that promote emulsion kinetic stability by hindering droplet–droplet contact, coalescence and macroscopic phase separation. In processed foods, important questions remain regarding whether a continuous phase fat crystal network or Pickering crystal provides better stabilization. This review explores the following factors related to crystal-stabilized W/O emulsions: i) the key properties dictating fat crystal spatial distribution (at the interface or in the continuous phase); ii) how temperature and freeze–thaw emulsion destabilization are intimately linked with fat crystal spatial distribution, and; iii) why oil-soluble surfactant interactions with the continuous oil phase influence fat crystal wettability and emulsifier efficacy. It is shown that these parameters strongly govern W/O emulsion formation and stability.     

Functionalization and Rearrangement of Spirocyclohexadienyl Oxindoles: Experimental and Theoretical Investigations

The preparation and functionalization of spirocyclohexa‐2,5‐diene oxindoles is described. The spirocyclic core of the title compounds was installed by using a SmI₂‐mediated cyclization of aryl iodobenzamides. Epoxidation with CF₃CO₃H was then carried out and was shown to occur with a high level of diastereocontrol: the reagent approaches the diene moiety syn to the amide group, which is likely to be as a consequence of hydrogen bonding between the amide C?O bond and the peracid hydrogen. Carbanionic functionalization of the spirocyclohexa‐2,5‐diene oxindoles was then examined, leading to an unprecedented rearrangement of the strained spiro system into dearomatized phenanthridinones. Upon treatment with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) at ?40 °C, the dienes rearranged to provide a phenanthridinone lithium enolate intermediate that was trapped by electrophiles including alkyl halides and aldehydes. Interestingly, alkylation and hydroxyalkylation occurred with different regiocontrol. DFT calculations were performed that rationalize the observed skeleton rearrangement, emphasizing the role of LDA/diisopropylamine in this rearrangement. The proposed mechanism thus relies on a thermodynamically driven diisopropylamine‐mediated proton transfer with the cleavage of the diene–amide C?O bond as the key step.     

A column generation approach for location-routing problems with pickup and delivery

In this paper we formulate an integer programming model for the Location and Routing Problem with Pickup and Delivery. We propose a column generation scheme and implement, for the subproblem, a label-setting algorithm for the shortest path with pickup and delivery and time windows problem. We also propose a set of heuristics to speed up this process. To validate the model, we implement the column generation scheme and test it on different instances developed in this paper. We also provide an analysis of how the costs of opening depots and the fixed cost of routes affect the optimal solution.