Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Back to school : an observational study of adult students at secondary school

The objectives of this study were two-fold: to establish a profile of the adult student returning to secondary school on the basis of a selected sample [N=36], and to derive from an indepth and systematic view of the everyday experiences of this sample an account of the processes involved in becoming an adult student. In meeting these objectives, a further priority for the study was: to elaborate upon the application of field research techniques within an educational setting. This involved the provision of an ongoing autobiographical component to the report, detailing the 'processes, pitfalls, dilemmas, and discoveries' encountered during the development and implementation of methodological and analytic strategies. Throughout the 1984 school year, data was collected from the sample of adult students, school Principal, Dean of Adult Students and classroom teachers, using a selection of field research techniques (e.g., participant observation, interviews, questionnaires, diary accounts, and documentary materials). The data was gathered within a broadly categorised symbolic interactionist perspective and subjected to a 'grounded theory' form of analysis. This 'emergent' form of analysis, combined with the data gathering strategies, provided a basis for the elaboration of the social and cultural landscape necessary in this initial attempt at documenting the processes of becoming an adult student. The outcome of using these two approaches in tandem was the identification of six 'factors of influence' as organizational headings to subsume the day-to-day experiences of becoming an adult student: Returning to School; School Policy, Adult Status and the Role of the Dean; In the School; In the Classroom; Decision Points; and, Goal Achievements. Furthermore, two overriding themes indicated the processes through which the adult student was, at one and the same time, both 'integrated' into the overall school culture and 'differentiated' as a member of the separate adult student subculture. The notion of these processes of becoming was subjected to a theoretical elaboration incorporating the establishment of a conceptual model and explanatory constructs. From this cumulative form of theory development, linkages were indicated suggesting a group of 'common processes' existing across a variety of different comparative contexts. In addition to the recommendation that the further development of theories of such processes need to explore such linkages, the final sections of this report discuss a number of implications and uses which might be derived. For instance, it is suggested that this preliminary, yet extensive, investigation provides both descriptive data and theoretical categories which may be of use to: teachers, adult students, policy-makers and researchers interested in the study of adult students in secondary schools, developments within the areas of methodological and analytical strategies, and in elaborating the processes of becoming. Finally, an overall implication arising from the report is that the complex, dynamic and individualistic nature of the processes involved in becoming an adult student lends little support to deterministic models and theories, or to superficial accounts derived from 'one-shot methodologies and perspectives of such processes and experiences

Separate or mixed schooling : a revisionist study of secondary education in Marlborough (1946-1958) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Education at Massey University

The objectives of this study were twofold; to provide an in-depth and systematic account of secondary education in Marlborough from 1946 to 1958, focusing particularly on the debate over single-sex and co-educational schooling; and, to examine critically the ideologies and assumptions underlying the single-sex / co-education debate in Marlborough from 1946 to 1958. Two procedures were chosen as the most appropriate for fulfilling these two objectives. First, the presentation of a systematic and in-depth documentation of the events, issues, and people involved in the single-sex / co-education debate in Marlborough between 1946 and 1958. Data was obtained from newspaper clippings, interviews, and such documents as Board Minutes and Records. This data is presented in two phases: first, a descriptive account, in approximately chronological order, of the events and debate which characterised this 13-year period in the history of Marlborough College; and, second, through the presentation of a critical analysis of the underlying assumptions and ideologies. This critical analysis is based upon what is popularly referred to as a 'revisionist perspective' and involves the examination of two competing explanations of the historical data and the selection of a Marxist-Feminist framework as the most appropriate method for achieving the second major objective. The embryonic nature of such an investigation notwithstanding the study is seen to offer scope for further development, both as regards investigations into educational decision-making itself and in the application of the theoretical perspective to such historical analysis

Learning communities in education : Issues, strategies and contexts

https://ecommons.aku.edu/books/1030/thumbnail.jp

Gender issues: a school-based participatory research project

The issue of the gender-bound aspects of secondary education is one with an extensive history and literature (see, Brehony, 1984; Deem, 1978), and the subject changing research perspectives over recent history. While a complete analysis is beyond the scope of outlining the initial stages of this research project, an overview serves to establish the context of the investigation

Implications for food production potential of future urban expansion in Ontario

The paper describes the application of an evaluation system to assess the flexibility that would exist in the use of Ontario's agricultural land resources under alternative urban growth scenarios. A programming method is employed, but the analysis does not yield a "best" or "predicted" allocation of land use; rather, the system gauges the degree to which options in the use of land are affected by changes in conditions, and identifies those land areas which are strategically important for particular uses given the specified conditions. The conditions are specified to reflect possible patterns of urban and exurban development, both with and without policy controls. The analysis provides evaluations of both the pressures on the land resources if food production requirements are to be met, and the importance of particular land units for agriculture if the requirements are to be met, under the alternative urban growth scenarios