16,152 research outputs found
Reading at risk: why effective literacy practice is not effective.
No full textThe gap between high and low achievers in reading is wide in New Zealand compared to other countries as shown in PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2001 and 2006 studies. Students of minority backgrounds and low socio-economic status are over-represented in the low achieving category. As the primary response to reduce the achievement gap, the Government developed and distributed the literacy teaching reference Effective Literacy Practice in Years 1 to 4. This article examines Effective Literacy Practice against current scientificbased international research in the teaching of reading, with particular emphasis on the teaching of reading to students at risk. Research evidence shows that an explicit and systematic approach to teaching reading is critical to the success of reading achievement with at-risk students. With a heavy leaning towards incidental learning, Effective Literacy Practice fails to provide teachers with the necessary knowledge to effectively teach the critical components of reading
Thermogelling Inclusion Complex System for Fine-Tuned Osteochondral Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
No full textHow to control osteochondral differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells at a proper stage is a key issue for articular cartilage regeneration. To solve this problem, injectable scaffolds with different chemical functional groups were designed by introducing one equivalent of alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD) carboxylate and alpha-CD phosphate along poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-alanine) (PEG-L-PA) block copolymers. Dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy images, and two-dimensional NMR spectra indicated that the PEG-L-PA block copolymers formed inclusion complexes with alpha-CD derivatives. Aqueous solutions of PEG-L-PA block copolymers (P), alpha-CD carboxylate/PEG-L-PA block copolymers (PCC), and alpha-CD phosphate/PEG-L-PA block copolymers (PCP) underwent sol-to-gel transition as the temperature increased. The storage moduli of P, PCC, and PCP gels ranged from 1000 to 1300 Pa at 37 degrees C. Tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSCs) were incorporated in situ in the gel during thermogelation of P, PCC, and PCP, which became the three-dimensional cell culture systems with different functional groups. After 21 days of incubation of TMSCs in the P, PCC, and PCP systems, the chondrogenic differentiation biomarker of type II collagen significantly increased in the P system, whereas the osteogenic biomarkers of osteocalcin and runt-related transcription factor 2 significantly increased in the PCP system. Both chondrogenic and osteogenic biomarkers were highly expressed in the PCC system. This study proved that thermogelling inclusion complex systems consisting of PEG-L-PA block copolymers and alpha-CD derivatives could be an excellent injectable matrix for fine-controlling osteochondral differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells
Characteristics of PA cost-effectiveness studies by the first author, setting, number of PAs & design.
No full textCharacteristics of PA cost-effectiveness studies by the first author, setting, number of PAs & design.</p
Polypeptide Thermogel-Filled Silk Tube as a Bioactive Nerve Conduit
No full textTo repair nerve damages, nerve conduits are clinically used. However, when the gap distance is greater than 3 cm, nerve damages remain difficult to repair using current empty nerve conduits. To improve the nerve conduit, a silk nerve conduit (diameter = 5 mm and length = 3 cm) filled with a hydrogel matrix was prepared by injecting a thermogelling aqueous poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(l-alanine) (PEG-PA) solution containing stem cells and neurotropic factors into a silk tube at 37 °C. Successful differentiation of the incorporated stem cells into neuronal cells is a key factor for this system to be used as a nerve conduit. Therefore, neuronal differentiation of the incorporated stem cells in the thermogel-filled conduit system was investigated as a bioactive nerve conduit. The study found that the stem cells exhibited 20 to 60-fold increases in mRNA expression for the neuronal biomarkers of NFM and the glial biomarker of GFAP, in the PEG-PA thermogel-filled silk nerve conduit systems containing neurotropic factors of NGF and BDNF compared to control experiments. This article proved the potential of thermogel as an effective filler of a soft nerve conduit. The PEG-PA thermogel-filled silk conduit system incorporating stem cells and neurotropic factors can be promising as a bioactive nerve conduit system. © 2019 American Chemical Society
South African responses to Open Access publishing: a survey of the research community
Get PDFOpen access publishing offers wide benefits to the scholarly community and may also afford relief to financially embattled academic libraries. The progress of the open access model rests upon the acceptance and validation of open access journals and open archives or institutional repositories by the academic mainstream, particularly by publishing researchers. To what extent are the key actors in the South African research system aware of the advantages of open access? This article reports on the findings of a recent survey undertaken to assess the current awareness, concerns and depth of support for open access amongst local researchers, research managers and policy makers in South Africa. The study focuses on issues of quality, article or author charges and the established academic reward system. It concludes that within the prevailing framework, there is little prospect that academics would choose to publish within open access
journals. Recommendations for advocacy by the library community are proposed
The design and development of a decision support package for low back pain
Get PDFArthritis Care & Research is published by Wiley
Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and
distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited,
the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Objective: To develop a decision support package for people with low back pain (LBP) referred for physiotherapy. Methods: A programme of exploratory work including, literature reviews, a Delphi study, a nominal group with physiotherapists, focus groups with patients' and secondary analysis of existing interview data. Results: We developed an information booklet describing the evidence-based treatment modalities available in a physiotherapy department. This includes data on likely benefits and risks and how the intervention is delivered. The booklet specifically addresses questions identified as important in our exploratory work. Space is provided for patients to note down the pros and cons of each treatment and what matters to them when choosing treatments. The patient is subsequently directed to a section that explores any gaps in knowledge, values, support and choice before finally clarifying if a treatment decision is possible. At this stage they are encouraged to note down any questions or concerns they have to be discussed at the first physiotherapy consultation. This overall package includes patient material in the form of a booklet, posted prior to their consultation, plus the enhanced consultation with the specially trained physiotherapist. Patients then receive their chosen treatment. In addition we developed a training package for physiotherapists that explains the content of the booklet and supports them in using informed shared decision making in their consultation. Conclusion: This package has the potential to improve effectiveness of treatments and patient satisfaction for LBP by facilitating patient choice and thus matching patients more effectively to different treatments. © 2013 American College of Rheumatology
Pancreatic pseudocyst drainage in children by image-guided cystogastrostomy and stent insertion
No full textBACKGROUND: Endoscopic ultrasound is seldom available at paediatric centres; therefore drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts in children has traditionally been achieved by surgery. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the feasibility and safety of performing image-guided internal drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts with a flanged self-expanding covered nitinol pancreatic pseudocyst drainage stent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective case note review of children undergoing image-guided cystogastrostomy at two paediatric hospitals. Percutaneous access to the stomach was achieved via an existing gastrostomy tract or image-guided formation of a new tract. Under combined ultrasound, fluoroscopic or cone-beam CT guidance the pancreatic pseudocysts were punctured through the posterior wall of the stomach. A self-expanding covered nitinol stent was deployed to create a cystogastrostomy opening. RESULTS: Image-guided cystogastrostomy was performed in 6 children (4 male; median age 6 years, range 46 months to 15 years; median weight 18 kg, range 13.8-47 kg). Two children had prior failed attempts at surgical or endoscopic drainage. Median maximum cyst diameter was 11.5 cm (range 4.7-15.5 cm) pre-procedure. Technical success was 100%. There were no complications. There was complete pseudocyst resolution in five children and a small (2.1-cm) residual pseudocyst in one. Pseudocyst-related symptoms resolved in all children. CONCLUSION: Pancreatic pseudocyst drainage can be successfully performed in children by image-guided placement of a cystogastrostomy stent. In this cohort of six children there were no complications.sponsorship: Paolo De Coppi is supported by the National Institute for Health Research. Premal A. Patel is supported by a GIFT-SURG Wellcome Trust/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council programme grant. This study was supported by the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity and the National Institute for Health Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health in England. (National Institute for Health Research, GIFT-SURG Wellcome Trust/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council programme grant, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, National Institute for Health Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre)status: Publishe
Author Co-Citation Analysis (ACA): a powerful tool for representing implicit knowledge of scholar knowledge workers
Get PDFIn the last decade, knowledge has emerged as one of the most important and valuable organizational assets. Gradually this importance caused to emergence of new discipline entitled ―knowledge management‖. However one of the major challenges of knowledge management is conversion implicit or tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. Thus Making knowledge visible so that it can be better accessed, discussed, valued or generally managed is a long-standing objective in knowledge management. Accordingly in this paper author co- citation analysis (ACA) will be proposed as an efficient technique of knowledge visualization in academia (Scholar knowledge workers)
FIGURES 14–18 in Redescription of Draposa subhadrae (Patel & Reddy, 1993) (Araneae: Lycosidae, Pardosinae)
No full textFIGURES 14–18. SEM micrographs of male copulatory bulb of Draposa subhadrae. 14 ventro-prolateral; 15 embolic division, retrolateral; 16 ventro-retrolateral; 17–18 embolic division, caudal and retrolateral. 15, 17–18 show modified tip of embolus. Abbreviations: Ap apical process of subpaleal sclerite; Co? conductor (?), Em embolus, Pa paleal apophysis; Pp middle process of subpaleal sclerite; Ta tegular apophysis, Tl tegular lamella. Scale: 0.2 mm.Published as part of Marusik, Yuri M. & Omelko, Mikhail M., 2016, Redescription of Draposa subhadrae (Patel & Reddy, 1993) (Araneae: Lycosidae, Pardosinae), pp. 89-92 in Zootaxa 4107 (1) on page 91, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4107.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/25463
Relative (pa,pb,pa,pa−b)-difference sets in p-subgroups of SL(n,K)
No full textAbstractIn this note, we study relative (pa,pb,pa,pa−b)-relative difference sets in certain p-subgroups of SL(n,K), K=Fq, where q is a prime power
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