Reviewing Capability in National Currciulum Assessment

It is good practice in design and technologyperiodically to step outside the preoccupyingactivity of trying to get something to work out,and to review what is happening. Thisencourages reflective practice and enables usto take stock, assess how things are progressingand to modify our actions accordingly.This year has seen a considerable amount ofreflective activity as practitioners have beenreviewing the current state of technology education whilst trying to make NationalCurriculum theory work out in practice.This article highlights some of the underlyingdifficulties for National Curriculum design andtechnology and its assessment as they havetypically been experienced by teachers over thelast three years. I also wish to explore some ofthe reasons why the difficulties have arisen, since this helps us to see how practice might beimproved. In so doing I will be drawing on theexperience and insights gained throughworking within the Technology EducationResearch Unit (fERU), Goldsmiths' College,which has brought me into contact withhundreds of teachers and pupils across Englandand Wales

Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the mentioned authors;Planning Primary Design and Technology - reviewed by Melanie FasciatoThe Food Story - reviewed by Ali FarrellMechanisms Projects - reviewed by Ian WilfordElectronic Building Blocks - reviewed by Ian WilfordProducts and Packages: A Partnership Investigated - reviewed by Ali FarrellWorking with Materials - Wood Metal Plastic - reviewed by David FosterEngineers in School - reviewed by Richard Foulge

Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the mentioned authors;The Story of the Can - reviewed by Marion RutlandExploring Food Cans - reviewed by Marion RutlandJames Dyson: Against the Odds - reviewed by David SpendloveDesign and Make It! Key Stage 3 Assessment Resources: Product Design and Food and Textiles - reviewed by Ali FarrellIn Target Design and Technology Key Stage 3 - reviewed by Ali FarrellThe Chocolate Challenge - reviewed by Anne RiggsFocus on Design Technology: Resistant Materials - reviewed by Chris SnellThe Food File - reviewed by Melanie FasciatoThe Usbourne Complete Book of the Internet and the World Wide Web - reviewed by Alan CrossTechno Designers - reviewed by Jenny JupeBasic Food Hygiene Interactive CD-ROM - reviewed by Jenny JupeThe University of Greenwich D&T Resource Materials - reviewed by Michael Lawranc

Comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of three current guidelines for the evaluation of asymptomatic pancreatic cystic neoplasms.

Asymptomatic pancreatic cysts are a common clinical problem but only a minority of these cases progress to cancer. Our aim was to compare the accuracy to detect malignancy of the 2015 American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), the 2012 International Consensus/Fukuoka (Fukuoka guidelines [FG]), and the 2010 American College of Radiology (ACR) guidelines.We conducted a retrospective study at 3 referral centers for all patients who underwent resection for an asymptomatic pancreatic cyst between January 2008 and December 2013. We compared the accuracy of 3 guidelines in predicting high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or cancer in resected cysts. We performed logistic regression analyses to examine the association between cyst features and risk of HGD or cancer.A total of 269 patients met inclusion criteria. A total of 228 (84.8%) had a benign diagnosis or low-grade dysplasia on surgical pathology, and 41 patients (15.2%) had either HGD (n = 14) or invasive cancer (n = 27). Of the 41 patients with HGD or cancer on resection, only 3 patients would have met the AGA guideline\u27s indications for resection based on the preoperative cyst characteristics, whereas 30/41 patients would have met the FG criteria for resection and 22/41 patients met the ACR criteria. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of HGD, and/or cancer of the AGA guidelines were 7.3%, 88.2%, 10%, and 84.1%, compared to 73.2%, 45.6%, 19.5%, and 90.4% for the FG and 53.7%, 61%, 19.8%, and 88% for the ACR guidelines. In multivariable analysis, cyst size \u3e3 cm, compared to ≤3 cm, (odds ratio [OR] = 2.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.11, 4.2) and each year increase in age (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.11) were positively associated with risk of HGD or cancer on resection.In patients with asymptomatic branch duct-intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms or mucinous cystic neoplasms who underwent resection, the prevalence rate of HGD or cancer was 15.2%. Using the 2015 AGA criteria for resection would have missed 92.6% of patients with HGD or cancer. The more inclusive FG and ACR had a higher sensitivity for HGD or cancer but lower specificity. Given the current deficiencies of these guidelines, it will be important to determine the acceptable rate of false-positives in order to prevent a single true-positive

Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the mentioned authors;Technology Education - A World Wide Concern - reviewed by Dr Thomas GinnerLiving Materials - Practical Activities in Science and Technology - reviewed by David FosterSTEP Design and Technology: Resistant Materials - reviewed by Les PorterSTEP Design and Technology: Food - reviewed by Jenny JupeTERU Diagnostic Tests in Design and Technology - reviewed by Bill GoddardUnderstanding Practice in Design and Technology - reviewed by Melanie FasciatoTeaching Design and Technology - reviewed by John HillD&T Alive at Alton Towers Key Stage 3 - reviewed by John DurrellSucceeding with Autocad - reviewed by P WhittakerTIckle the Senses! - reviewed by Ali FarrellThe Fast Food Diner - reviewed by Margaret Jepso

A low complexity peak-to-average power ratio reduction scheme using gray codes

A low-complexity peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction scheme in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system is proposed. The proposed scheme utilizes a new phase sequence based on a gray code structure and a similarity measurement block. Due to the ordered phase sequences, a noteworthy reduction capacity is obtained in terms of the number of multiplication and addition operations and the side information. Simulations are performed with quadrature phase shift keying modulation and a Saleh model power amplifier. The proposed scheme offers a significant PAPR reduction and bit error rate performance at approximately the same total complexity compared to the conventional partial transmit sequence and the enhanced partial transmit sequence (EPTS) techniques. The results show that at the same PAPR reduction, this scheme provides a complexity reduction of at least 42.3 % over that of the EPTS technique

Perceptions of extended-release buprenorphine injections for opioid use disorder among people who regularly use opioids in Australia

2019 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction Aims: To examine perceptions of extended-release (XR) buprenorphine injections among people who regularly use opioids in Australia. Design: Cross-sectional survey prior to implementation. XR-buprenorphine was registered in Australia in November 2018. Setting: Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart. Participants. A total of 402 people who regularly use opioids interviewed December 2017 to March 2018. Measurements: Primary outcome concerned the proportion of participants who believed XR-buprenorphine would be a good treatment option for them, preferred weekly versus monthly injections and perceived advantages/disadvantages of XR-buprenorphine. Independent variables concerned the demographic characteristics and features of current opioid agonist treatment (OAT; medication-type, dose, prescriber/dosing setting, unsupervised doses, out-of-pocket expenses and travel distance). Findings: Sixty-eight per cent [95% confidence interval (CI) = 63-73%] believed XR-buprenorphine was a good treatment option for them. They were more likely to report being younger [26-35 versus \u3e 55 years; odds ratio (OR) = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.12-8.89; P = 0.029], being female (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.04-2.69; P = 0.034), \u3c 10 years school education (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.12-3.12; P = 0.016) and past-month heroin (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.15-2.85; P = 0.006) and methamphetamine use (OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.20-3.01; P = 0.006). Fifty-four per cent reported no preference for weekly versus monthly injections, 7% preferred weekly and 39% preferred monthly. Among OAT recipients (n = 255), believing XR-buprenorphine was a good treatment option was associated with shorter treatment episodes (1-2 versus ≥ 2 years; OR = 3.93, 95% CI = 1.26-12.22; P = 0.018), fewer unsupervised doses (≤ 8 doses past-month versus no take-aways; OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.27-0.93; P = 0.028) and longer travel distance (≥ 5 versus \u3c 5 km; OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.20-3.65; P = 0.009). Sixty-nine per cent reported \u27no problems or concerns\u27 with potential differences in availability, flexibility and location of XR-buprenorphine. Conclusions: Among regular opioid users in Australia, perceptions of extended-release buprenorphine as a good treatment option are associated with being female, recent illicit drug use and factors relating to the (in)convenience of current opioid agonist treatment

Calcifications in atherosclerotic plaques and impact on plaque biomechanics

The catastrophic mechanical rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque is the underlying cause of the majority of cardiovascular events. The infestation of vascular calcification in the plaques creates a mechanically complex tissue composite. Local stress concentrations and plaque tissue strength properties are the governing parameters required to predict plaque ruptures. Advanced imaging techniques have permitted insight into fundamental mechanisms driving the initiating inflammatory-driven vascular calcification of the diseased intima at the (sub-) micron scale and up to the macroscale. Clinical studies have potentiated the biomechanical relevance of calcification through the derivation of links between local plaque rupture and specific macrocalcification geometrical features. The clinical implications of the data presented in this review indicate that the combination of imaging, experimental testing, and computational modelling efforts are crucial to predict the rupture risk for atherosclerotic plaques. Specialised experimental tests and mo