Height and timing of growth spurt during puberty in young people living with vertically acquired HIV in Europe and Thailand

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV. Design: Pooled data from 12 paediatric HIV cohorts in Europe and Thailand. Methods: One thousand and ninety-four children initiating a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or boosted protease inhibitor based regimen aged 1-10 years were included. Super Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) models described growth from age 8 years using three parameters (average height, timing and shape of the growth spurt), dependent on age and height-for-age z-score (HAZ) (WHO references) at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Multivariate regression explored characteristics associated with these three parameters. Results: At ART initiation, median age and HAZ was 6.4 [interquartile range (IQR): 2.8, 9.0] years and -1.2 (IQR: -2.3 to -0.2), respectively. Median follow-up was 9.1 (IQR: 6.9, 11.4) years. In girls, older age and lower HAZ at ART initiation were independently associated with a growth spurt which occurred 0.41 (95% confidence interval 0.20-0.62) years later in children starting ART age 6 to 10 years compared with 1 to 2 years and 1.50 (1.21-1.78) years later in those starting with HAZ less than -3 compared with HAZ at least -1. Later growth spurts in girls resulted in continued height growth into later adolescence. In boys starting ART with HAZ less than -1, growth spurts were later in children starting ART in the oldest age group, but for HAZ at least -1, there was no association with age. Girls and boys who initiated ART with HAZ at least -1 maintained a similar height to the WHO reference mean. Conclusion: Stunting at ART initiation was associated with later growth spurts in girls. Children with HAZ at least -1 at ART initiation grew in height at the level expected in HIV negative children of a comparable age

Blended learning in the master’s program

The paper is devoted to the usage of a mixed learning model with elements of project activity in the master’s program. Master’s programs are implemented at the State University of Humanities and technology from the 2018/2019 academic year at the faculty of biology and chemistry. The main idea of implementing blended learning is to improve the quality of the educational process and the practical application of learning outcomes in teaching activities. The students involved in are this program are all practical teachers and have real opportunities to implement the results of the educational process in school practice. Within the framework of the educational program, a system has been developed to such as extend that ensures the process of creating and implementing author’s projects in the educational space of the school. The undergraduates create their own projects and implement them in the school environment. The projects are the product of training, which gives the opportunity of the educational program

Model for implementing project-based learning at a regional university

The project idea is to create a management model of student project activity in a particular University based on empirical research of universities that implement student project activities and analysis of accumulated theoretical data. The purpose of the master’s thesis is to form a management model of student project activities at the State Humanitarian University of technology. The developed model is based on the empirical experience of implementing student project activities in both domestic and foreign universities, as well as the results of a pre-project study that analyzed potential stakeholders. The main elements of the management model are: the formation of a digital project platform, the formation of a motivation system for students and teachers, the creation of a new structural division of the University-the project office and the criteria for evaluating the planned activities. The results of the work are: a management model of student project activities at the State Humanitarian University of technology