Promoting EFL learning towards peaceful global citizenship

This paper addresses SDG target 4.7 through the lens of Nancy Fraser’s (2008) conceptualisation of parity-of-participation. Her three-pillar conceptualisation includes the equitable distribution of material wealth, egalitarian status among all people, and equal access to representation. This paper attempts to apply her three pillars of participation to the primary classroom which has rarely been attempted before and never in the context of a middle income country. Drawing on interviews, surveys and drawingswith nearly 400 primary-school children in Egypt, we explore how they perceive participation within their classrooms and how participation may influence learning and future life. We conclude by noting that there is an irony in some children’s responses, whereby they display a strong ambition to speak English well, yet believe that they will learn to speak by being passive and silent in the classroom. Other children, however, critique the status quo and suggest more participatory approaches to learning English that will both improve their English mastery and model parity-of-participation in ways that may support their development into adults who strive to live peacefully together as global citizens

‘The teacher who helps children learn best’: affect and authority in the traditional primary classroom

This paper draws on the views of nearly 400 Year 5 pupils across nine classes in three government primary schools in Alexandria, Egypt. It explores how they perceived the role of affect in their classroom; and their teachers’ authority. By presenting pupils with sentences to complete, our research explored how the prevailing traditional approach to teaching influenced pupils in their English classroom. We also collected data by interviewing 38 pupils individually and carrying out Group Interviews with the pupils’ teachers. We concluded that pupils were acutely aware of how their feelings and their relationship to the teacher influenced their capacity to learn cognitively. Many of them said that they did not respect those teachers who refused to exercise an ethic of care in the classroom. In these cases, they did not see their teachers as authoritative; and pupils’ learning was impeded

Tangible Interaction with In-Car Smart Intelligence

Interacting with a car was once a tactile experience, which is on the decline with the rise of car assistants, where the dominant form of interaction is through screen displays and voice recognition. These interaction modalities within a car are not the only options available. In this paper, we discuss reintroducing tactility into the automotive experience. This work presents a tactile embodiment of an intelligent car system, different from previous studies, to improve engagement and emotional connection between users and future intelligent cars. A prototype tool was designed to embody an intelligent car system. It was used to investigate how to interact with and control a smart-comfort system to improve user comfort. The tool invited users to interact through touch. Users could use their hands to physically agree or disagree with changes made by the system with the system moving in response, creating a bi-directional interaction symbiosis that re-prioritises tactility

Measurement Duration but Not Distance, Angle, and Neighbour-Proximity Affects Precision in Enteric Methane Emissions when Using the Laser Methane Detector Technique in Lactating Dairy Cows

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Methane that is breathed out and eructed from ruminants is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Although metabolic chambers are the “gold standard” for measuring methane from livestock, their application in production farms is very limited. There is a need to develop proxy methods that can be applied in such production environments. The proprietary Laser Methane Detector (LMD) has been trialed for the previous decade and has demonstrated its usefulness as a non-invasive and portable instrument to determine methane output from ruminants. In validating the reliability and stability of the data generated by the LMD, the current study gives answers to some very practical assumptions used in the use of the LMD and enhances the confidence in its use in ruminants. ABSTRACT: The laser methane detector (LMD), is a proprietary hand-held open path laser measuring device. Its measurements are based on infrared absorption spectroscopy using a semiconductor laser as a collimated excitation source. In the current study, LMD measurements were carried out in two experiments using 20 and 71 lactating dairy cows in Spain and Scotland, respectively. The study aimed at testing four assumptions that may impact on the reliability and repeatability of the LMD measurements of ruminants. The study has verified that there is no difference in enteric methane measurements taken from a distance of 3 m than from those taken at a distance of 2 m; there was no effect to the measurements when the measurement angle was adjusted from 90° to 45°; that the presence of an adjacent animal had no effect on the methane measurements; and that measurements lasting up to 240 s are more precise than those taken for a shorter duration. The results indicate that angle, proximity to other animals, and distance had no effects and that measurements need to last a minimum of 240 s to maintain precision

A recessive homozygous p.Asp92Gly SDHD mutation causes prenatal cardiomyopathy and a severe mitochondrial complex II deficiency

Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) is a crucial metabolic enzyme complex that is involved in ATP production, playing roles in both the tricarboxylic cycle and the mitochondrial respiratory chain (complex II). Isolated complex II deficiency is one of the rarest oxidative phosphorylation disorders with mutations described in three structural subunits and one of the assembly factors; just one case is attributed to recessively inherited SDHD mutations. We report the pathological, biochemical, histochemical and molecular genetic investigations of a male neonate who had left ventricular hypertrophy detected on antenatal scan and died on day one of life. Subsequent postmortem examination confirmed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular non-compaction. Biochemical analysis of his skeletal muscle biopsy revealed evidence of a severe isolated complex II deficiency and candidate gene sequencing revealed a novel homozygous c.275A>G, p.(Asp92Gly) SDHD mutation which was shown to be recessively inherited through segregation studies. The affected amino acid has been reported as a Dutch founder mutation p.(Asp92Tyr) in families with hereditary head and neck paraganglioma. By introducing both mutations into Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we were able to confirm that the p.(Asp92Gly) mutation causes a more severe oxidative growth phenotype than the p.(Asp92Tyr) mutant, and provides functional evidence to support the pathogenicity of the patient’s SDHD mutation. This is only the second case of mitochondrial complex II deficiency due to inherited SDHD mutations and highlights the importance of sequencing all SDH genes in patients with biochemical and histochemical evidence of isolated mitochondrial complex II deficiency

Inhibition of neurite outgrowth in differentiating mouse N2a neuroblastoma cells by phenyl saligenin phosphate: Effects on MAP kinase (ERK 1/2) activation, neurofilament heavy chain phosphorylation and neuropathy target esterase activity

Sub-lethal concentrations of the organophosphate phenyl saligenin phosphate (PSP) inhibited the outgrowth of axon-like processes in differentiating mouse N2a neuroblastoma cells (IC50 2.5 μM). A transient rise in the phosphorylation state of neurofilament heavy chain (NFH) was detected on Western blots of cell extracts treated with 2.5 μM PSP for 4 h compared to untreated controls, as determined by a relative increase in reactivity with monoclonal antibody Ta51 (anti-phosphorylated NFH) compared to N52 (anti-total NFH). However, cross-reactivity of PSP-treated cell extracts was lower than that of untreated controls after 24 h exposure, as indicated by decreased reactivity with both antibodies. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis with these antibodies revealed the appearance of neurofilament aggregates in the cell bodies of treated cells and reduced axonal staining compared to controls. By contrast, there was no significant change in reactivity with anti-a tubulin antibody B512 at either time point. The activation state of the MAP kinase ERK 1/2 increased significantly after PSP treatment compared to controls, particularly at 4 h, as indicated by increased reactivity with monoclonal antibody E-4 (anti-phosphorylated MAP kinase) but not with polyclonal antibody K-23 (anti-total MAP kinase). The observed early changes were concomitant with almost complete inhibition of the activity of neuropathy target esterase (NTE), one of the proposed early molecular targets in organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN)

Sorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): impact of rationing in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is dependent upon tumour stage, performance status (PS), severity of underlying liver disease, and the availability of appropriate therapies. The unavailability of sorafenib may have a significantly adverse effect on the prognosis of UK patients with advanced HCC. During the study period, access to sorafenib was at the discretion of local health funding bodies, a process that may delay or deny access to the drug and that remains in place for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Here, we attempt to address the impact of this system on patients with advanced HCC in the United Kingdom. METHODS: This is a retrospective study performed in the two largest specialist hepatobiliary oncology units in the United Kingdom. Funding applications were made to local funding bodies for patients with advanced HCC for whom sorafenib was considered appropriate (advanced HCC not suitable for loco-regional therapies, compensated chronic liver disease, PS 0-2). RESULTS: A total of 133 applications were made, of which 57 (43%) were approved and 76 (57%) declined. Demographics and prognostic factors were balanced between the two groups. This cohort had a number of adverse prognostic features: patients were predominantly PS 1-2; the majority had multifocal disease with the largest lesion being >5 cm; and macroscopic vascular invasion, metastases, and AFP >,000 ng ml(-1), were each present in one-third of cases. The median time from application to funding decision was 17 days (range 3-260 days). For the primary 'intention-to-treat' analysis, median overall survival was 4.1 months when funding was declined, and 9.5 months when funding was approved (hazard ratio (HR) 0.48; 95% CI 0.3186-0.7267; P=0.0005). CONCLUSION: These data support the use of sorafenib for patients with advanced HCC as an effective intervention. In the United Kingdom, this applies to a relatively small group of patients, estimated to total ∼800 per year who, unfortunately, do not survive long enough to themselves lobby for the availability of this drug. These data provide a comparison of sorafenib with supportive care and demonstrate the potential detrimental impact on patient outcomes of rationing health-care resources on the basis of cost

Parental views on informed consent for expanded newborn screening

Background  An increasing array of rare inherited conditions can be detected as part of the universal newborn screening programme. The introduction and evaluation of these service developments require consideration of the ethical issues involved and appropriate mechanisms for informing parents and gaining consent if required. Exploration of parental views is needed to inform the debate and specifically consider whether more flexible protocols are needed to fit with the public perception of new developments in this context. Objective  This study has been undertaken to explore perceptions and attitudes of parents and future parents to an expanded newborn screening programme in the United Kingdom and the necessary information provision and consent processes. Design and participants  A mixed methods study involving focus groups (n = 29) and a web‐survey (n = 142) undertaken with parents and future parents. Results and conclusions  Parents want guaranteed information provision with clear decision‐making powers and an awareness of the choices available to them. The difference between existing screening provision and expanded screening was not considered to be significant enough by participants to warrant formal written, informed consent for expanded screening. It is argued that the ethical review processes need to be more flexible towards the provision of information and consent processes for service developments in newborn screening

Re-Treatment Tuberculosis Cases Categorised as “Other”: Are They Properly Managed?

BACKGROUND: Although the World Health Organization (WHO) provides information on the number of TB patients categorised as "other", there is limited information on treatment regimens or treatment outcomes for "other". Such information is important, as inappropriate treatment can lead to patients remaining infectious and becoming a potential source of drug resistance. Therefore, using a cohort of TB patients from a large registration centre in Lilongwe, Malawi, our study determined the proportion of all TB re-treatment patients who were registered as "other", and described their characteristics and treatment outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective observational study used routine program data to determine the proportion of all TB re-treatment patients who were registered as "other" and describe their characteristics and treatment outcomes between January 2006 and December 2008. RESULTS: 1,384 (12%) of 11,663 TB cases were registered as re-treatment cases. Of these, 898 (65%) were categorised as "other": 707 (79%) had sputum smear-negative pulmonary TB and 191 (21%) had extra pulmonary TB. Compared to the smear-positive relapse, re-treatment after default (RAD) and failure cases, smear-negative "other" cases were older than 34 years and less likely to have their HIV status ascertained. Among those with known HIV status, "other" TB cases were more likely to be HIV positive. Of TB patients categorised as "other", 462 (51%) were managed on the first-line regimen with a treatment success rate of 63%. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of re-treatment patients were categorised as "other". Many of these patients were HIV-infected and over half were treated with a first-line regimen, contrary to national guidelines. Treatment success was low. More attention to recording, diagnosis and management of these patients is warranted as incorrect treatment regimen and poor outcomes could lead to the development of drug resistant forms of TB

Adapting the DOTS Framework for Tuberculosis Control to the Management of Non-Communicable Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa

Anthony Harries and colleagues discuss how the DOTS paradigm could be adapted for controlling diseases such as diabetes in resource-poor countries