Comparing ‘apples with apples’: professional accounting practices in university classroom discourse

How are professional accounting practices represented in university classroom discourse and what are the implications of this for theory and practice in professional learning? Professional accounting practices order the world, and are also ordered. In reducing the complexities of social activity to abstract meanings that render it measurable, diverse and complex structures can be compared ‘apples with apples’. This study investigates the relocalization of professional accounting practices in university classroom discourse, working with tools from Legitimation Code Theory, systemic functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis. Findings draw on digital recordings of seminars presented by three lecturers in different subjects of a Master of Accounting program in an Australian metropolitan university. The analysis examines movements between context-independent and more context-dependent meanings in classroom discourse that mark shifts in emphasis from accounting as a system of representation, to accounting as interpersonal exchange. It considers two sets of social relations at play in the professional classroom: those between lecturers and students, and those within professional practice that are relocalized in classroom discourse. The framework developed in this study complements current research within the sociology of education. Discussion connects the analysis with recent explorations of knowledge practices in education within Legitimation Code Theory. It draws on foundational principles of a systemic functional model of language, considering the basis of professional practice and professional learning in interpersonal exchange. Conclusions are oriented towards theory and practice in professional learning, recognizing professional educators as agents of change and mediators of ways of thinking and acting in their field that are potentially transformative

Effect of continuous nutrient enrichment on microalgae colonizing hard substrates

In order to understand the effect of changing nutrient conditions on benthic microalgae on hard substrates, in-situ experiments with artificial substrates were conducted in Kiel Fjord, Western Baltic Sea. As an extension of previous investigations, we used artificial substrates without silicate and thus were able to supply nutrient media with different Si:N ratios to porous substrates, from where they trickled out continuously. The biofilm developing on these substrates showed a significant increase in biovolume due to N + P enrichment, while Si alone had only minor effects. The stoichiometric composition of the biomass indicated nitrogen limitation during most of the year. The C:N ratios were lowered by the N + P addition. The algae were dominated by diatoms in most cases, but rhodophytes and chlorophytes also became important. The nutrient treatment affected the taxonomic composition mostly at the species level. The significance of the results with regard to coastal eutrophication is discussed

Quantification and viability assessment of isolated bovine primordial and primary ovarian follicles retrieved through a standardized biopsy pick-up procedure

The feasibility of repeated collection and enzymatic isolation of large numbers of viable primordial and primary follicles from living donor cows were tested. Ovarian cortical biopsies were collected transvaginally by the Biopsy Pick-Up (BPU) device, a modification of an Ovum Pick-Up instrument. Follicles were enzymatically isolated from the retrieved cortical tissue samples, and follicle viability was determined by a live/dead fluorescent assay. Six cows were subjected to BPU once per week during 4 consecutive weeks, and in each BPU session 4 cortical tissue samples were collected per ovary. Over the 4-week trial period, a total of 1443 primordial and primary follicles were collected, 1358 (94%) of which were primordial and 85 (6%) were primary follicles. In each BPU session, an average 60.1 +/- 10.7 (mean +/- SEM) primordial and primary follicles were isolated per cow. The number of follicles varied considerably throughout the trial period and between cows. Statistical analysis of the data, however, did not support the presence of any distinct trends in the follicle yields over time or between cows. A total of 111 enzymatically isolated follicles were analyzed for viability with fluorescent probes. The vast majority of isolated follicles (92.8%) were totally viable. We conclude that the standardized BPU procedure generates sufficiently large numbers of vital primordial and primary follicles, thus validating BPU as a new tool for research into early bovine follicular development.status: publishe

Progression of low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (DFNA6/14-WFS1).

OBJECTIVE: To assess the audiometric profile and speech recognition characteristics in affected members of 2 families with DFNA6/14 harboring heterozygous mutations in the WFS1 gene that cause an autosomal dominant nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing impairment trait. DESIGN: Family study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center.Patients Thirteen patients from 2 recently identified Dutch families with DFNA6/14 (Dutch III and IV). METHODS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of pure-tone thresholds at octave frequencies of 0.25 to 8 kHz were performed, and speech phoneme recognition scores were assessed. Progression was evaluated by linear regression analysis with and without correction for presbycusis. Results : All individuals showed low-frequency hearing impairment. The 2-kHz frequency was more affected in the Dutch III family than in the Dutch IV family. Progressive hearing loss beyond presbycusis was found in the Dutch IV family and in 3 individuals in the Dutch III family. Annual threshold deterioration was between 0.6 and 1 dB per year at all frequencies. The speech recognition scores in the Dutch III family showed significantly more deterioration at increasing levels of hearing impairment compared with those in the Dutch IV family. CONCLUSION: Both families showed an autosomal dominant, progressive, low-frequency sensorineural hearing impairment caused by heterozygous WFS1 mutations

Stapes surgery in osteogenesis imperfecta: results of a new series.

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A novel locus for autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing loss, DFNA31, maps to chromosome 6p21.3.

Contains fulltext : 57228.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Non-syndromic hearing loss is the most genetically heterogeneous trait known in humans. To date, 51 loci for autosomal dominant non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (NSSHL) have been identified by linkage analysis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the genes involved in a Dutch family with NSSHL. METHODS: Linkage analysis in a large Dutch pedigree with progressive bilateral loss of the mid and high frequencies, in which a novel dominant locus for postlingual NSSHL (DFNA31) has been identified. RESULTS: DFNA31 was found to be located in a 7.5 cM region of chromosome 6p21.3 between D6S276 (telomeric) and D6S273 (centromeric), with a maximum two point LOD score of 5.99 for D6S1624. DNA sequencing of coding regions and exon/intron boundaries of two candidate genes (POU5F1, GABBR1) in this interval did not reveal disease causing mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Haplotype analysis indicated that the genetic defect in this family does not overlap the DFNA13 and DFNA21 regions that are also located on 6p. Identification of the disease gene will be of major importance in understanding the pathophysiology of hearing impairment