Towards a model of effective use of video for teacher professional development

Based on previous research, this paper proposes an emerging model to outline the learning outcomes that teacher education programmes using video should consider. Besides cognitive and psychomotor learning, the affective and social needs of teachers are also highlighted in the model to inform the development of video-mediated teacher professional activities. Three broad strategies are identified in the model for bringing forth the learning outcomes, namely, critical reflection, meaningful comparison and productive discussion. These interact to shape the landscape of teacher professional learning. The model also identifies the key role of facilitators and the importance of video selection in enhancing teacher learning via video-mediated activities. It is suggested that the emergent model can serve as a heuristic guide on effective use of video for teacher professional development.postprintThe International Seminar, hosted by the national network of Science Learning Centres and University of York Science Education Group (UYSEG), York, U.K., February 2010

Estradiol induces apoptosis via activation of miRNA-23a and p53: implication for gender difference in liver cancer development

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Agent-based modeling and neural network for residential customer demand response

In this paper, both bottom-up and top-down models for demand response with agent-base approach and neural networks have been investigated. Simulations have been carried out with practical load data from the UK and Canada. Results show that each approach has its advantages and disadvantages depending on difference application scenarios. © 2013 IEEE

Effect of nucleos(t)ide analogues therapy on HBsAg, intrahepatic HBV DNA and covalently closed circular DNA levels

BACKGROUND: We aimed to study 1) the effects of 1-year nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy on HBsAg and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) levels; and 2) the possible use of HBsAg reduction as a marker for cccDNA reduction. METHODS: We recruited 124 NA-treated patients with ...postprin

Investigation on July 2012 Indian blackout

Twice Indian blackouts occurred at the end of July in 2012 left over 600 million of people in the dark for several hours. In these two-day, Indian grid disturbances were regarded as the most serious and large-scale blackout in the world in history. A report has been generated by the enquiry committee which was organized by the Ministry of Power, Government of India, to investigate the factors which led to the initiation of the grid disturbance. Recommendations were also generated by the committee in order to provide the plan for Indian grid enhancement. Further to the recommendations by Enquiry Committee, this paper will give further suggestions to minimize blackouts in future. An insight into decision support requirement for power network operation will be made

Interleukin-1β increases the risk of gastric cancer through induction of aberrant DNA methylation in a mouse model

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Sequence Variations of Full-Length Hepatitis B Virus Genomes in Chinese Patients with HBsAg-Negative Hepatitis B Infection

BACKGROUND: The underlying mechanism of HBsAg-negative hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is notoriously difficult to elucidate because of the extremely low DNA levels which define the condition. We used a highly efficient amplification method to overcome this obstacle and achieved our aim which was to identify specific mutations or sequence variations associated with this entity. METHODS: A total of 185 sera and 60 liver biopsies from HBsAg-negative, HBV DNA-positive subjects or known chronic hepatitis B (CHB) subjects with HBsAg seroclearance were amplified by rolling circle amplification followed by full-length HBV genome sequencing. Eleven HBsAg-positive CHB subjects were included as controls. The effects of pivotal mutations identified on regulatory regions on promoter activities were analyzed. RESULTS: 22 and 11 full-length HBV genomes were amplified from HBsAg-negative and control subjects respectively. HBV genotype C was the dominant strain. A higher mutation frequency was observed in HBsAg-negative subjects than controls, irrespective of genotype. The nucleotide diversity over the entire HBV genome was significantly higher in HBsAg-negative subjects compared with controls (p = 0.008) and compared with 49 reference sequences from CHB patients (p = 0.025). In addition, HBsAg-negative subjects had significantly higher amino acid substitutions in the four viral genes than controls (all p<0.001). Many mutations were uniquely found in HBsAg-negative subjects, including deletions in promoter regions (13.6%), abolishment of pre-S2/S start codon (18.2%), disruption of pre-S2/S mRNA splicing site (4.5%), nucleotide duplications (9.1%), and missense mutations in "alpha" determinant region, contributing to defects in HBsAg production. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest an accumulation of multiple mutations constraining viral transcriptional activities contribute to HBsAg-negativity in HBV infection.published_or_final_versio

Does stress perfusion imaging improve the diagnostic accuracy of late gadolinium enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance for establishing the etiology of heart failure?

Background Late gadolinium enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) has excellent specificity, sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy for differentiating between ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICM). CMR first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging (perfusion-CMR) may also play role in distinguishing heart failure of ischemic and non-ischemic origins, although the utility of additional of stress perfusion imaging in such patients is unclear. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess whether the addition of adenosine stress perfusion imaging to LGE-CMR is of incremental value for differentiating ICM and NICM in patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) of uncertain etiology. Methods We retrospectively identified 100 consecutive adult patients (median age 69 years (IQR 59–73)) with severe LVSD (mean LV EF 26.6 ± 7.0%) referred for perfusion-CMR to establish the underlying etiology of heart failure. The cause of heart failure was first determined on examination of CMR cine and LGE images in isolation. Subsequent examination of complete adenosine stress perfusion-CMR studies (cine, LGE and perfusion images) was performed to identify whether this altered the initial diagnosis. Results On LGE-CMR, 38 patients were diagnosed with ICM, 46 with NICM and 16 with dual pathology. With perfusion-CMR, there were 39 ICM, 44 NICM and 17 dual pathology diagnoses. There was excellent agreement in diagnoses between LGE-CMR and perfusion-CMR (κ 0.968, p<0.001). The addition of adenosine stress perfusion images to LGE-CMR altered the diagnosis in only two of the 100 patients. Conclusion The addition of adenosine stress perfusion-CMR to cine and LGE-CMR provides minimal incremental diagnostic yield for determining the etiology of heart failure in patients with severe LVSD