ATTITUDES TO THE USE OF L1 AND TRANSLATION IN SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

This research addresses the controversial methodological issue of own-language use and particularly translation in second and foreign language teaching and learning.  In recent years, a re-evaluation of the assumption of a monolingual approach has begun, and this study focuses on the attitudes and opinions of experienced TESOL/TEFL practitioners in the UK and abroad.  A combined approach was adopted using both semi-structured questionnaires and personal interviews to explore many of the contentious issues raised in the literature and traditionally held objections to use of L1 and translation.  Any meaningful differences between views of UK and rest of world respondents were also sought.  The findings, whilst highlighting the wide diversity of individual opinions, nevertheless indicate perhaps surprisingly, a considerable degree of overall support for judicious use of the L1 and translation in appropriate circumstances.  Thus, 68% of respondents disagree that the Direct Method is the most appropriate technique and 86% do agree that carefully planned translation activity can play a useful role in the L2 communicative classroom, with 82% agreeing to the use of an eclectic approach. The overall findings firmly suggest the time is ripe to place use of L1 and translation back onto the language teaching agenda.  Recommendations for practical classroom applications and further research are also made

Reality Check of Laboratory Service Effectiveness during Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Victoria, Australia

TOC summary: The greatest challenges were insufficient staff and test reagents

The relative role of intrinsic and extrinsic drivers in regulating population change and survival of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)

DATA AVAILABILITY : The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the figshare repository https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14368043.v1.CODE AVAILABILITY : The code generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the figshare repository https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14368043.v1.Evaluating how intrinsic (intraspecific density), extrinsic (interspecific density and prey density) and anthropogenic (management intervention) factors affect African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) population performance is key to implementing effective conservation strategies. Lions (Panthera leo) can affect wild dog populations, and in small and highly managed protected areas, populations of wild dogs and lions often co-occur at high densities. It is unknown what mediates these co-occurring high densities and how trophic interactions facilitate the persistence of wild dogs in areas with high lion densities. In this study, we modelled how intrinsic and extrinsic factors affected population change and survival of 590 individually identifiable wild dogs in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park (HiP), South Africa, an area with high lion density. The wild dog population in HiP grew significantly and comprised one of the highest population densities and the largest pack sizes in Africa. Pup survival rate was also the highest known in Africa, and the median individual survival was 29 months. During low lion density periods, the rate of wild dog population change increased despite low prey density, while at higher lion density, the rate of population change decreased only when prey density decreased. Survival for all age classes increased as population density increased, suggesting there is an important density-dependent effect on survival for all age classes that manifests at the population level. While increasing lion density had negative effects on adult and yearling survival, it did not affect pup survival. Our results suggest that both intrinsic and extrinsic drivers regulated the HiP wild dog population. Importantly, populations of wild dogs in small (~ 900 km2), fenced protected areas are highly adaptable and can co-exist at high levels of interspecific competition over many generations as long as there is an intact and abundant prey base.The National Research Foundation of South Africa Scarce Skills Development Fund; the Rufford Small Grants Foundation; the Endangered Wildlife Trust (South Africa); the Wildlife ACT Fund (South Africa) and the Claude Leon Foundation.https://link.springer.com/journal/429912023-09-06hj2023Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

Opening the Woods: Towards a Quantification of Neolithic Clearance Around the Somerset Levels and Moors

Environmental reconstructions from pollen records collected within archaeological landscapes have traditionally taken a broadly narrative approach, with few attempts made at hypothesis testing or formal assessment of uncertainty. This disjuncture between the traditional interpretive approach to palynological data and the requirement for detailed, locally specific reconstructions of the landscapes in which people lived has arguably hindered closer integration of palaeoecological and archaeological datasets in recent decades. Here we implement a fundamentally different method for reconstructing past land cover from pollen records to the landscapes of and around the Somerset Levels and Moors — the Multiple Scenario Approach (MSA) — to reconstruct land cover for a series of 200-year timeslices covering the period 4200–2000 cal BC. Modelling of both archaeological and sediment chronologies enables integration of reconstructed changes in land cover with archaeological evidence of contemporary Neolithic human activity. The MSA reconstructions are presented as a series of land cover maps and as graphs of quantitative measures of woodland clearance tracked over time. Our reconstructions provide a more nuanced understanding of the scale and timing of Neolithic clearance than has previously been available from narrative based interpretations of pollen data. While the archaeological record tends to promote a view of long-term continuity in terms of the persistent building of wooden structures in the wetlands, our new interpretation of the palynological data contributes a more dynamic and varying narrative. Our case study demonstrates the potential for further integration of archaeological and palynological datasets, enabling us to get closer to the landscapes in which people lived

A new arenavirus in a cluster of fatal transplant-associated diseases

Three patients who received visceral-organ transplants from a single donor on the same day died of a febrile illness 4 to 6 weeks after transplantation. Culture, polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) and serologic assays, and oligonucleotide microarray analysis for a wide range of infectious agents were not informative. We evaluated RNA obtained from the liver and kidney transplant recipients. Unbiased high-throughput sequencing was used to identify microbial sequences not found by means of other methods. The specificity of sequences for a new candidate pathogen was confirmed by means of culture and by means of PCR, immunohistochemical, and serologic analyses. High-throughput sequencing yielded 103,632 sequences, of which 14 represented an Old World arenavirus. Additional sequence analysis showed that this new arenavirus was related to lymphocytic choriomeningitis viruses. Specific PCR assays based on a unique sequence confirmed the presence of the virus in the kidneys, liver, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid of the recipients. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed arenavirus antigen in the liver and kidney transplants in the recipients. IgM and IgG antiviral antibodies were detected in the serum of the donor. Seroconversion was evident in serum specimens obtained from one recipient at two time points

A new arenavirus in a cluster of fatal transplant-associated diseases

Three patients who received visceral-organ transplants from a single donor on the same day died of a febrile illness 4 to 6 weeks after transplantation. Culture, polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) and serologic assays, and oligonucleotide microarray analysis for a wide range of infectious agents were not informative. We evaluated RNA obtained from the liver and kidney transplant recipients. Unbiased high-throughput sequencing was used to identify microbial sequences not found by means of other methods. The specificity of sequences for a new candidate pathogen was confirmed by means of culture and by means of PCR, immunohistochemical, and serologic analyses. High-throughput sequencing yielded 103,632 sequences, of which 14 represented an Old World arenavirus. Additional sequence analysis showed that this new arenavirus was related to lymphocytic choriomeningitis viruses. Specific PCR assays based on a unique sequence confirmed the presence of the virus in the kidneys, liver, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid of the recipients. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed arenavirus antigen in the liver and kidney transplants in the recipients. IgM and IgG antiviral antibodies were detected in the serum of the donor. Seroconversion was evident in serum specimens obtained from one recipient at two time points

First Release Mar 1

ABSTRACT. Objective. To evaluate physician control of needle and syringe during aspiration-injection syringe procedures by comparing the new reciprocating procedure syringe to a traditional conventional syringe. Methods. Twenty-six physicians were tested for their individual ability to control the reciprocating and conventional syringes in typical aspiration-injection procedures using a novel quantitative needle-based displacement procedure model. Subsequently, the physicians performed 48 clinical aspiration-injection (arthrocentesis) procedures on 32 subjects randomized to the reciprocating or conventional syringes. Clinical outcomes included procedure time, patient pain, and operator satisfaction. Multivariate modeling methods were used to determine the experimental variables in the syringe control model most predictive of clinical outcome measures. Results. In the model system, the reciprocating syringe significantly improved physician control of the syringe and needle, with a 66% reduction in unintended forward penetration (p < 0.001) and a 68% reduction in unintended retraction (p < 0.001). In clinical arthrocentesis, improvements were also noted: 30% reduction in procedure time (p < 0.03), 57% reduction in patient pain (p < 0.001), and a 79% increase in physician satisfaction (p < 0.001). The variables in the experimental system -unintended forward penetration, unintended retraction, and operator satisfaction -independently predicted the outcomes of procedure time, patient pain, and physician satisfaction in the clinical study (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion. The reciprocating syringe reduces procedure time and patient pain and improves operator satisfaction with the procedure syringe. The reciprocating syringe improves physician performance in both the validated quantitative needle-based displacement model and in real aspiration-injection syringe procedures, including arthrocentesis

Detecting the start of an influenza outbreak using exponentially weighted moving average charts

Background. Influenza viruses cause seasonal outbreaks in temperate climates, usually during winter and early spring, and are endemic in tropical climates. The severity and length of influenza outbreaks vary from year to year. Quick and reliable detection of the start of an outbreak is needed to promote public health measures. Methods. We propose the use of an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart of laboratory confirmed influenza counts to detect the start and end of influenza outbreaks. Results. The chart is shown to provide timely signals in an example application with seven years of data from Victoria, Australia. Conclusions. The EWMA control chart could be applied in other applications to quickly detect influenza outbreaks