Unit Plans

[First paragraph] Careful unit planning as a framework for daily lesson plans can help teachers individualize instruction, manage time and classroom behavior, bring cohesive-ness to a series of related daily lessons, and ultimately improve student achievement. Principals can help teachers by providing clear expectations and a consistent framework for unit planning. School and district philosophy will help determine the particular model chosen from the wide variety available. Following is one format

Capacity building to reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality

In sub-Saharan Africa midwifery educators are in short supply and opportunities to pursue advanced education are severely restricted. Postgraduate programmes that encourage critical thinking and strategic planning in midwifery education, practice, management and research are required to empower midwives to lead their profession. A unique user-led distance learning programme was developed by adopting a participatory approach to developing a curriculum for a Masters in Midwifery and Women's Health. Midwives from the East Central and South Africa (ECSA) region and the UK participated along with a representative from the Commonwealth Secretariat and International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). The curriculum was based on shared goals but adaptable to cultural and local context. Brainstorming sessions, informal workshops and formal consensus methods were used to reach decisions regarding modules and subsequent content. This article describes the process of developing a shared curriculum, the challenges faced in working across and within regions, and participants’ views of contributing to the end product. </jats:p

Components of Effective Leadership

[First paragraph] The effective schools literature demonstrates that the principal\u27s leadership is key to the revitalization of schools. The purpose of this article is to feature those components of leadership on which principals need to place attention and to provide suggested activities to enhance these components

Leadership Styles

[First paragraph] Effective schools literature shows clearly that the leadership of the principal is key to the effectiveness of the school (Hoy and Miskell, 1982, and Arnn and Mangieri, 1988). To be effective, principals must use leadership styles appropriate to the situation

Grievances

[First Paragraph] The Virginia Board of Education has adopted a procedure for resolving disputes concerning the application of local board policies, rules, and regulations as they impact the work or disciplinary actions of teachers. It is vital that the principal be aware of the process and the timeline involved in the grievance procedure since the solution should be secured at the lowest administrative level in the process. It is beyond the scope of this article to provide every detail of the grievance process. For a complete detailing of procedure, please refer to Chapter 15, Article 3, Sections 22.1-306 through 22.1-314 of the Code of Virginia

Virginia\u27s Plan for Dual Enrollment

[First paragraph] There is a plan where Virginia pays Average Daily Membership (ADM) monies to a school system for a student attending a community college - and the community college collects the Full Time Equivalency (FTE) from the State. Principals must be aware of this dual enrollment plan for secondary students with community colleges approved in September of 1988. This plan provides options for students which were not available before. Dual enrollment allows high school students to accumulate credits for graduation while simultaneously earning college credit. The courses to be offered are to be mutually agreed upon by the school division and the community college

Subcutaneous nerve stimulation for rate control in ambulatory dogs with persistent atrial fibrillation

Background Subcutaneous nerve stimulation (ScNS) damages the stellate ganglion and improves rhythm control of atrial fibrillation (AF) in ambulatory dogs. Objective The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that thoracic ScNS can improve rate control in persistent AF. Methods We created persistent AF in 13 dogs and randomly assigned them to ScNS (n = 6) and sham control (n = 7) groups. 18F-2-Fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging of the brain stem was performed at baseline and at the end of the study. Results The average stellate ganglion nerve activity reduced from 4.00 ± 1.68 μV after the induction of persistent AF to 1.72 ± 0.42 μV (P = .032) after ScNS. In contrast, the average stellate ganglion nerve activity increased from 3.01 ± 1.26 μV during AF to 5.52 ± 2.69 μV after sham stimulation (P = .023). The mean ventricular rate during persistent AF reduced from 149 ± 36 to 84 ± 16 beats/min (P = .011) in the ScNS group, but no changes were observed in the sham control group. The left ventricular ejection fraction remained unchanged in the ScNS group but reduced significantly in the sham control group. Immunostaining showed damaged ganglion cells in bilateral stellate ganglia and increased brain stem glial cell reaction in the ScNS group but not in the control group. The 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose uptake in the pons and medulla was significantly (P = .011) higher in the ScNS group than the sham control group at the end of the study. Conclusion Thoracic ScNS causes neural remodeling in the brain stem and stellate ganglia, controls the ventricular rate, and preserves the left ventricular ejection fraction in ambulatory dogs with persistent AF

CONFIDENCE dissemination meeting: summary on the scenario-based workshop

The CONFIDENCE dissemination workshop “Coping with uncertainties for improved modelling and decision making in nuclear emergencies” was held in December 2–5, 2019 (Bratislava, Slovak Republic). About 90 scientists and decision makers attended the workshop. The dissemination workshop allowed the presentation of the CONFIDENCE project results, demonstration of the applicability of the developed methods and tools in interactive discussion sessions and the collection of feedback from the participants. The results were disseminated not only in the form of presentations and posters but also through interactive workshops where all participants were involved in round table working groups. A fictive accidental release scenario taking place at a nuclear power plant was developed and used by each work package in the workshop to provide the basis for interactive sessions and discussions

Do stress and anxiety in early pregnancy affect the progress of labor: Evidence from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite widespread belief that anxiety causes longer labor, evidence of association is inconsistent. Data gathered as part of a prospective epidemiological longitudinal study were used to investigate associations between antenatal anxiety and pregnancy-specific stress, and labor progression was assessed by duration and use of augmentation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pregnant primiparous women completed measures for anxiety and pregnancy-specific stress at 20 weeks' gestation (n = 1145). Birth outcome data were extracted from medical records. Regression analyses and a path analysis assessed associations between antenatal anxiety and pregnancy-specific stress, and indices of labor progression (labor duration and augmentation). RESULTS: Anxiety/pregnancy-specific stress were not directly associated with duration of stage 1 labor (HIGH/LOW anxiety: mean difference = 13.94 minutes, SD = 20.66, 95% CI -26.60 to 54.49, P < .50)/(HIGH/LOW pregnancy-specific stress: mean difference = 12.05 minutes, SD = 16.09, 95% CI -19.52 to 43.63, P < .45). However, anxiety/pregnancy-specific stress were associated with epidural use (HIGH/LOW anxiety: 39% vs 31%, P < .042; HIGH/LOW pregnancy-specific stress: 38% vs 29%, P < .001), which was itself associated with longer labor (mean difference: 158.79 minutes, SD = 16.76, 95% CI 125.89-191.68, P < .001). Anxiety and pregnancy-specific stress were associated with increased likelihood of augmentation but these associations were nonsignificant after accounting for epidural, which was itself highly associated with augmentation. However, path analysis indicated an indirect effect linking pregnancy-specific stress, but not general anxiety, to labor duration and augmentation: elevated pregnancy-specific stress led to greater use of epidural, which was linked to both increased rates of augmentation, and increased labor duration. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to general belief, general anxiety and specific pregnancy stress were not directly linked to longer duration of stage one labor. However specific pregnancy stress was associated with epidural use, which in turn was significantly associated with risk of augmentation, and longer stage one labor. Identification of pregnancy-specific stress could help to identify women for whom psychological interventions could improve birth experience

Particular genomic and virulence traits associated with preterm infant-derived toxigenic Clostridium perfringens strains

Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic toxin-producing bacterium associated with intestinal diseases, particularly in neonatal humans and animals. Infant gut microbiome studies have recently indicated a link between C. perfringens and the preterm infant disease necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), with specific NEC cases associated with overabundant C. perfringens termed C. perfringens-associated NEC (CPA-NEC). In the present study, we carried out whole-genome sequencing of 272 C. perfringens isolates from 70 infants across 5 hospitals in the United Kingdom. In this retrospective analysis, we performed in-depth genomic analyses (virulence profiling, strain tracking and plasmid analysis) and experimentally characterized pathogenic traits of 31 strains, including 4 from CPA-NEC patients. We found that the gene encoding toxin perfringolysin O, pfoA, was largely deficient in a human-derived hypovirulent lineage, as well as certain colonization factors, in contrast to typical pfoA-encoding virulent lineages. We determined that infant-associated pfoA+ strains caused significantly more cellular damage than pfoA- strains in vitro, and further confirmed this virulence trait in vivo using an oral-challenge C57BL/6 murine model. These findings suggest both the importance of pfoA+ C. perfringens as a gut pathogen in preterm infants and areas for further investigation, including potential intervention and therapeutic strategies