1,721,177 research outputs found
Datasets for PhD thesis: Mechanistic determinants of musculoskeletal health throughout childhood: findings from the Southampton Women’s Survey and the MAVIDOS trial
No full textThis dataset supports the thesis "Mechanistic determinants of musculoskeletal health throughout childhood: findings from the Southampton Women’s Survey and the MAVIDOS trial" by Curtis.
Datasets from the Southampton Women's Survey and MAVIDOS trial of gestational Vitamin D supplementation are held by the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton. Both studies were approved by the Southampton and South West Hampshire Research Ethics Committee, with full approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency. Due to the confidential nature of the data, access restricted to researchers affiliated with the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton who have signed the MRCLEU confidentiality agreements. Contact Vanessa Cox, IT manager, [email protected] for futher information. Datasets are stored within the MRCLEU.</span
Understanding the Danish Forest School Approach, Early Years Education in Practice by Jane Williams-Siegfredsen
No full textCurtis, Elizabeth (2013): Book Review. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 168, DOI: 10.26203/erar-nx22, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.26203/erar-nx2
Creating supportive learning environments
No full textEffective classroom management is necessary to create a supportive learning environment and a supportive learning environment is essential if students' learning experiences are to be meaningful. In this chapter we will examine the key features which constitute a supportive learning environment. We will look at the importance of classroom management with different approaches and strategies to maintaining it such as Kounis's concept of "withitness" and Dreikur's logical consequences. We discuss the Humanist approach to classroom management that advocates the need for developing supportive relationships between the teacher and the students. We will also identify features needed to create a classroom climate conducive to positive learning outcomes as well as consider the role of emotions in learning and how attending to this element supports students' learning
Individual differences in thinking and learning
No full textIn this chapter we will focus on individual differences and how such differences influence thinking and learning. An understanding of the processes of learning and thinking is an essential tool for effective learning in classrooms. We will examine cognitive views of learning which emphasises the importance of thinking processes, as well as metacognition, or knowledge and thought about learning itself. We will also examine the reasons why independent thinking and self-regulated learning are such important aspects in an effective learning environment, as well as giving you some strategies to enhance self-regulation in your students. Additionally, we will examine the concept of intelligence, looking at the psychometric approach, Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences and Sternberg's theory of intelligence. Lastly, we will briefly explore the concepts of giftedness, talent and creativity
Mechanistic determinants of musculoskeletal health throughout childhood: findings from the Southampton Women’s Survey and the MAVIDOS trial
No full textPoor intrauterine and childhood growth have been linked with the risk of osteoporosis in later life, a relationship mediated through a variety of interacting factors. The aim of this work was to use epidemiological methods to contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms early in life which relate to offspring musculoskeletal development, focusing on epigenetic change, vitamin D and alterations in maternal bone turnover. These were investigated through a large prospective mother-offspring cohort, the Southampton Women’s Survey (SWS) and a unique randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy (MAVIDOS). In the SWS, DNA methylation at a locus linked to ageing and cell cycle regulation (CDKN2A) has been shown to be associated with childhood bone mass. Higher levels of methylation in umbilical cord of specific CpG dinucleotides within the CDKN2A gene locus were associated with lower total whole body minus head bone area, BMC and areal BMD at 4 and 6 years [a 10% increase in methylation was associated with a decrease in BMC of 4-9 g at age 4 years, p ≤ 0.001, n = 538]. Then, building on previous observations in the SWS, methylation at another locus, linked to vitamin D signalling (RXRA), was altered by maternal vitamin D supplementation, and associated with neonatal bone mass, in the MAVIDOS trial. For example, mean difference in % methylation between the supplemented and placebo groups at one CpG site, CpG 5 [-1.98% (95%CI: -3.65 to - 0.32), p = 0.02, n = 447]. In the same trial, the relationship between maternal vitamin D supplementation and a urinary marker of maternal bone resorption was studied (C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen, CTX). Median CTX increased in both placebo and cholecalciferol supplemented groups, but the increase from early to late pregnancy was greater in the placebo group [111% (IQR 47, 211%) n = 188] than ii the cholecalciferol supplemented group [89% (IQR 23, 83%) n = 184; p difference = 0.02]. Higher maternal CTX was associated with lower DXA measures of bone mass at the total hip and lumbar spine in the early postpartum period. In MAVIDOS, maternal pregnancy cholecalciferol supplementation (vs placebo) led to greater offspring neonatal bone indices in winter births only. However, on reassessment at age 4 years, it was found to be associated with greater offspring measures of whole body (less head) bone mineral density [0.18 SD, 95% CI 0.00, 0.35] and lean mass [0.17 SD, 95% CI 0.00, 0.34], regardless of season of birth. These findings inform our understanding of the early life mechanisms related to maternal vitamin D status, epigenetic marks, maternal bone health and offspring musculoskeletal development and may guide future public health interventions aimed at preventing osteoporotic fractures and sarcopenia.<br/
Cardiovascular safety of calcium, magnesium and strontium: what does the evidence say?
Full text linkCalcium, magnesium and strontium have all been implicated in both musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health and disease. However, despite these three elements being closely chemically related, there is marked heterogeneity of their characteristics in relation to cardiovascular outcomes. In this narrative review, we describe the relevant evidential landscape, focusing on clinical trials where possible and incorporating findings from observational and causal analyses, to discern the relative roles of these elements in musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health. We conclude that calcium supplementation (for bone health) is most appropriately used in combination with vitamin D supplementation and targeted to those who are deficient in these nutrients, or in combination with antiosteoporosis medications. Whilst calcium supplementation is associated with gastrointestinal side effects and a small increased risk of renal stones, purported links with cardiovascular outcomes remain unconvincing. In normal physiology, no mechanism for an association has been elucidated and other considerations such as dose response and temporal relationships do not support a causal relationship. There is little evidence to support routine magnesium supplementation for musculoskeletal outcomes; greater dietary intake and serum concentrations appear protective against cardiovascular events. Strontium ranelate, which is now available again as a generic medication, has clear anti-fracture efficacy but is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic disease. Whilst a signal for increased risk of myocardial infarction has been detected in some studies, this is not supported by wider analyses. Strontium ranelate, under its current licence, thus provides a useful therapeutic option for severe osteoporosis in those who do not have cardiovascular risk factors
Kirder and the Re-organisation of Persian Mazdeism
No full textThe ascent of the Sasanian dynasty had an enormous impact on the future development of Zoroastrianism, particularly in western Iran. This assumption is based on objective evidence, which is unfortunately not always fully considered by historians in all its heavy implications. This evidence consists of ritual and theological Mazdean sources organised according to patterns extablished and fixed in Persia. The author analyzes the ritual and religious innovations carried out by the great Zoroastrian priest Kirder
Osteoporosis in 2022: care gaps to screening and personalised medicine
No full textOsteoporosis care has evolved markedly over the last 50 years, such that there are now an established clinical definition, validated methods of fracture risk assessment, and a range of effective pharmacological agents. However, it is apparent that both in the context of primary and secondary fracture prevention, there is a considerable gap between the population at high fracture risk and those actually receiving appropriate antiosteoporosis treatment. In this narrative review article, we document recent work describing the burden of disease, approaches to management, and service provision across Europe, emerging data on gaps in care, and existing/new ways in which these gaps may be addressed at the level of healthcare systems and policy. We conclude that although the field has come a long way in recent decades, there is still a long way to go, and a concerted, integrated effort is now required from all of us involved in this field to address these urgent issues to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients
The impact of fragility fractures and approaches to osteoporosis risk assessment worldwide
No full textOsteoporosis constitutes a major public health problem, through its association with age-related fractures, particularly of the hip, vertebrae, distal forearm and humerus. Substantial geographic variation has been noted in the incidence of osteoporotic fractures worldwide, with Western populations (North America, Europe and Oceania), reporting increases in hip fracture throughout the second half of the 20th century, with a stabilisation or decline in the last two decades. In developing populations however, particularly in Asia, the rates of osteoporotic fracture appears to be increasing. The massive global burden consequent to osteoporosis means that fracture risk assessment should be a high priority among health measures considered by policy makers.The WHO operational definition of osteoporosis, based on a measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), has been used globally since the mid-1990s. However, although this definition identifies those at greatest individual risk of fracture, in the population overall a greater total number of fractures occur in individuals with BMD values above threshold for osteoporosis diagnosis. A number of web-based tools to enable the inclusion of clinical risk factors, with or without BMD, in fracture prediction algorithms have been developed to improve the identification of individuals at high fracture risk, the most commonly used globally being FRAX®. Access to DXA, osteoporosis risk assessment, case finding and treatment varies worldwide, but despite such advances studies indicate that a minority of men and women at high fracture risk receive treatment. Importantly, research is ongoing to demonstrate the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of osteoporosis case finding and risk assessment strategies worldwide. The huge burden caused by osteoporosis related fractures to individuals, healthcare systems and societies should provide a clear impetus for the progression of such approaches
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