100 research outputs found
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Personal and professional traits of Oregon homemaking teachers identified as effective by students
This study was designed to determine personal and professional
traits of effective and ineffective selected home economics teachers of
sophomore girls and to discover if characteristics of effective and
ineffective teachers varied between large schools of 1,000 or more
pupils and small schools with 500 or fewer students.
A survey sheet was sent to 221 Oregon homemaking teachers in
large and small high schools and senior high schools. From the 43
percent returned survey sheets, 32 teachers, 16 from large schools
and 16 from small schools, who had a minimum of 15 sophomore girls
were selected to participate in the study.
The Teacher's Biographical Information questionnaire on the
personal and professional traits of teachers which has no established
validity was constructed, tested, and sent to the 32 selected teachers
along with Ray's Student's Estimate of Teacher Concern, a measuring
device for teacher effectiveness, to be completed by the sophomore
girls in the teacher's homemaking class(s). Of the packets sent out,
28 or 87 percent were returned in time to be used in the study.
The individual student mean scores on the Student's Estimate
of Teacher Concern (SETC) for each teacher were determined and then
combined to produce a single mean score for the teacher. Quartiles
were established according to the mean scores with each quartile containing
seven teachers. Teachers whose mean score fell into the
fourth quartile were classified as effective while the teachers whose
scores were in the first quartile were considered to be ineffective
according to the SETC.
The answers on the Teacher's Biographical Information (TBI)
were recorded for each teacher according to quartiles and school size.
For every question on the TBI, the answers indicated by the teachers
in the first and fourth quartiles were correlated for both school sizes
together and for large and small schools separately. The level of
significance for the correlations was determined at the .01, .05 and
.10 levels.
Effective teachers as opposed to ineffective teachers tended to
spend more time on home visits and guiding home experiences, to participate
in more counseling activities, to spend more time in connection
with committee and staff meetings, to have gone less than a year
since last receiving college credit, and to teach home economics
classes with both boys and girls. Some characteristics of effective and ineffective teachers differed
between large and small schools. Significant characteristics of
effective teachers in small schools found in this study were: the
teachers had taken a college credit course within the last year, taught
home economics classes for boys and girls, spent a minimum of an
hour a month attending committee and staff meetings, worked on home
visits, guided home experiences, and spent more time on non-class
school activities. Ineffective teachers significantly varied from this
pattern. Effective teachers in large schools were involved in school
money-making projects, participated in counseling activities and had
taken graduate courses in child development and child psychology.
There were no significant personal characteristics associated with
either effective or ineffective teachers
Antioxidant activity of chitooligosaccharides upon two biological systems: erythrocytes and bacteriophages
Most of the reports to date on the antioxidant capacity of chitosans and chitooligosaccharides (COS) are based on strictly chemical methods. When studying antioxidants with potential in vivo applications, the method used to evaluate the antioxidant activity should be representative of the conditions in which the antioxidant might have a protective effect. In this work we evaluate the antioxidant activity of two COS mixtures and a low MW chitosan (LMWC) upon two biological oxidizable substrates – erythrocytes and phages, subjected to accelerated oxidation conditions. Our results suggest that COS/LMWC can be used as antioxidants in biological systems. All the tested compounds reduced either the hemolytic and DNA damage, by inhibiting H2O2- and AAPH-radicals. However, the results obtained for these biological assays did not reveal a dose dependence, contrary to the chemical assay, suggesting that the protective concentrations should be established, in order to prevent enhancement of the oxidative damage – i.e. a prooxidant effect.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Stratford City: Principles and Practices for Success
Health and other professionals in London Borough of Newham recognise that there are many challenges and opportunities for the promotion of health and the provision of health services with the construction of the Olympic park and new homes, retail outlets and business adjacent to the site. In particular, incorporating new residents into existing communities and existing health services with an expanded provision requires foresight and careful planning. This report aims to contribute to their thinking, planning and decision-making. Research findings from a range of sources including reviews of academic literature and case studies are used to propose some principles and practices to inform decision-making by health and other professions. Our proposals recommend a focus on developing and sustaining a healthy place rather than on ill-health and illness. We outline the reasons why we think that this perspective is preferable and how it may be achieved
Clinical grade ACE2 as a universal agent to block SARS-CoV-2 variants
The recent emergence of multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants has caused considerable concern due to both reduced vaccine efficacy and escape from neutralizing antibody therapeutics. It is, therefore, paramount to develop therapeutic strategies that inhibit all known and future SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we report that all SARS-CoV-2 variants analyzed, including variants of concern (VOC) Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron, exhibit enhanced binding affinity to clinical grade and phase 2 tested recombinant human soluble ACE2 (APN01). Importantly, soluble ACE2 neutralized infection of VeroE6 cells and human lung epithelial cells by all current VOC strains with markedly enhanced potency when compared to reference SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Effective inhibition of infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants was validated and confirmed in two independent laboratories. These data show that SARS-CoV-2 variants that have emerged around the world, including current VOC and several variants of interest, can be inhibited by soluble ACE2, providing proof of principle of a pan-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic
Health, education, and social care provision after diagnosis of childhood visual disability
Aim: To investigate the health, education, and social care provision for children newly diagnosed with visual disability.Method: This was a national prospective study, the British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2), ascertaining new diagnoses of visual impairment or severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIBL), or equivalent vi-sion. Data collection was performed by managing clinicians up to 1-year follow-up, and included health and developmental needs, and health, education, and social care provision.Results: BCVIS2 identified 784 children newly diagnosed with visual impairment/SVIBL (313 with visual impairment, 471 with SVIBL). Most children had associated systemic disorders (559 [71%], 167 [54%] with visual impairment, and 392 [84%] with SVIBL). Care from multidisciplinary teams was provided for 549 children (70%). Two-thirds (515) had not received an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Fewer children with visual impairment had seen a specialist teacher (SVIBL 35%, visual impairment 28%, χ2p < 0.001), or had an EHCP (11% vs 7%, χ2p < 0 . 01).Interpretation: Families need additional support from managing clinicians to access recommended complex interventions such as the use of multidisciplinary teams and educational support. This need is pressing, as the population of children with visual impairment/SVIBL is expected to grow in size and complexity.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Subnational mapping of HIV incidence and mortality among individuals aged 15–49 years in sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–18 : a modelling study
Background: High-resolution estimates of HIV burden across space and time provide an important tool for tracking and monitoring the progress of prevention and control efforts and assist with improving the precision and efficiency of targeting efforts. We aimed to assess HIV incidence and HIV mortality for all second-level administrative units across sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: In this modelling study, we developed a framework that used the geographically specific HIV prevalence data collected in seroprevalence surveys and antenatal care clinics to train a model that estimates HIV incidence and mortality among individuals aged 15–49 years. We used a model-based geostatistical framework to estimate HIV prevalence at the second administrative level in 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for 2000–18 and sought data on the number of individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART) by second-level administrative unit. We then modified the Estimation and Projection Package (EPP) to use these HIV prevalence and treatment estimates to estimate HIV incidence and mortality by second-level administrative unit. Findings: The estimates suggest substantial variation in HIV incidence and mortality rates both between and within countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with 15 countries having a ten-times or greater difference in estimated HIV incidence between the second-level administrative units with the lowest and highest estimated incidence levels. Across all 44 countries in 2018, HIV incidence ranged from 2 ·8 (95% uncertainty interval 2·1–3·8) in Mauritania to 1585·9 (1369·4–1824·8) cases per 100 000 people in Lesotho and HIV mortality ranged from 0·8 (0·7–0·9) in Mauritania to 676· 5 (513· 6–888·0) deaths per 100 000 people in Lesotho. Variation in both incidence and mortality was substantially greater at the subnational level than at the national level and the highest estimated rates were accordingly higher. Among second-level administrative units, Guijá District, Gaza Province, Mozambique, had the highest estimated HIV incidence (4661·7 [2544·8–8120·3]) cases per 100000 people in 2018 and Inhassunge District, Zambezia Province, Mozambique, had the highest estimated HIV mortality rate (1163·0 [679·0–1866·8]) deaths per 100 000 people. Further, the rate of reduction in HIV incidence and mortality from 2000 to 2018, as well as the ratio of new infections to the number of people living with HIV was highly variable. Although most second-level administrative units had declines in the number of new cases (3316 [81· 1%] of 4087 units) and number of deaths (3325 [81·4%]), nearly all appeared well short of the targeted 75% reduction in new cases and deaths between 2010 and 2020. Interpretation: Our estimates suggest that most second-level administrative units in sub-Saharan Africa are falling short of the targeted 75% reduction in new cases and deaths by 2020, which is further compounded by substantial within-country variability. These estimates will help decision makers and programme implementers expand access to ART and better target health resources to higher burden subnational areas
Mitochondrial physiology
As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery
Mitochondrial physiology
As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery
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