Phytoplankton distribution in the river Thames, England

Not availabl

The use of digitalized out of class speaking activities to promote pronunciation skills in younger learners

Ankara : The Program of Curriculum and Instruction İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2015.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2015.Includes bibliographical references leaves 56-62.This study focused on developing young learners speaking skills through the use of digitalized out-of-class activities. The study was conducted as experimental research in a private primary school in Ankara, Turkey. The participants are both male and female and between the ages of 7 and 8. The research is supported by the acquisition of second language learning, student‟s willingness to communicate, parental involvement in language learning and the use of digitalized learning activities assigned as homework to develop young Turkish learners speaking skills. The study examined how through the use of focused practice activities children‟s pronunciation of English could be guided toward the target model. Previous research on willingness to communicate in L2 has mainly involved older learners. From the qualitative data gathered the findings suggest that providing students with the necessary tools and support can increase their willingness to communicate levels.Aydın, Jayne HutchingsM.S

Stepwise investigation of the influences of steric groups versus counter ions to target Cu/Dy complexes

From an investigation of varying the steric bulk of a flexible ligand, we have produced a family of structures using similar reaction conditions. Even small changes from a hydrogen atom to a methyl to an ethyl group on the ligand influences the structural outcome, which can also be steered by the nature of the metal source. We employed Schiff base ligands by combining o-vanillin and three different 2-amino-1,3-propandiol units, leading to H3L1 (R=hydrogen), H3L2 (R=methyl) and H3L3 (R=ethyl). The differing nuclearities of the three clusters, 1 to 3, originate mainly from the steric influence, while this effect is not seen in complex 4 to 6, where the general butterfly motif is maintained. We present here the synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic properties of six new CuII-LnIII complexes, providing valuable insight into future synthetic directions. The topological part includes a table of all CuII-DyIII complexes with nuclearities higher than four and their topological motif. The investigation of the magnetic behaviors reveal that all six complexes show frequency dependent signals in the out-of phase ac susceptibility, which is indicative for SMM behavior

Randomised controlled trial. Comparison Of iNfliximab and ciclosporin in STeroid Resistant Ulcerative Colitis:Trial design and protocol (CONSTRUCT)

Introduction: Many patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) present with acute exacerbations needing hospital admission. Treatment includes intravenous steroids but up to 40% of patients do not respond and require emergency colectomy. Mortality following emergency colectomy has fallen, but 10% of patients still die within 3 months of surgery. Infliximab and ciclosporin, both immunosuppressive drugs, offer hope for treating steroid-resistant UC as there is evidence of their short-term effectiveness. As there is little long-term evidence, this pragmatic randomised trial, known as Comparison Of iNfliximab and ciclosporin in STeroid Resistant Ulcerative Colitis: a Trial (CONSTRUCT), aims to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of infliximab and ciclosporin for steroid-resistant UC. Methods and analysis: Between May 2010 and February 2013, 52 UK centres recruited 270 patients admitted with acute severe UC who failed to respond to intravenous steroids but did not need surgery. We allocated them at random in equal proportions between infliximab and ciclosporin.The primary clinical outcome measure is quality-adjusted survival, that is survival weighted by Crohn's and Colitis Questionnaire (CCQ) participants' scores, analysed by Cox regression. Secondary outcome measures include: the CCQ—an extension of the validated but community-focused UK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) to include patients with acute severe colitis and stoma; two general quality of life measures—EQ-5D and SF-12; mortality; survival weighted by EQ-5D; emergency and planned colectomies; readmissions; incidence of adverse events including malignancies, serious infections and renal disorders; disease activity; National Health Service (NHS) costs and patient-borne costs. Interviews investigate participants’ views on therapies for acute severe UC and healthcare professionals’ views on the two drugs and their administration. Ethics and dissemination: The Research Ethics Committee for Wales has given ethical approval (Ref. 08/MRE09/42); each participating Trust or Health Board has given NHS Reseach & Development approval. We plan to present trial findings at international and national conferences and publish in high-impact peer-reviewed journals.11 page(s

2015 recommendations for the management of polymyalgia rheumatica: a European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology collaborative initiative

Therapy for polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) varies widely in clinical practice as international recommendations for PMR treatment are not currently available. In this paper, we report the 2015 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) recommendations for the management of PMR. We used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology as a framework for the project. Accordingly, the direction and strength of the recommendations are based on the quality of evidence, the balance between desirable and undesirable effects, patients'and clinicians'values and preferences, and resource use. Eight overarching principles and nine specific recommendations were developed covering several aspects of PMR, including basic and follow-up investigations of patients under treatment, risk factor assessment, medical access for patients and specialist referral, treatment strategies such as initial glucocorticoid (GC) doses and subsequent tapering regimens, use of intramuscular GCs and disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), as well as the roles of non-steroidal anti-rheumatic drugs and non-pharmacological interventions. These recommendations will inform primary, secondary and tertiary care physicians about an international consensus on the management of PMR. These recommendations should serve to inform clinicians about best practices in the care of patients with PMR

"Then you get a teacher" - Guidelines for excellence in teaching

Background: Current literature calls for the explicit teaching to health-science educators of the skills, knowledge and dispositions that are required for successful teaching in higher education. Aims: This paper draws on evidence from an Oral Hygiene department at a South African university in order to illustrate these teaching-competency needs. Insights from the evidence are synthesised with current literature regarding best teaching practice, in support of an appropriate framework for the development of teaching competencies to health-science educators. Description: A qualitative approach, using a case study, was adopted. The cohort comprised fifteen students in the first-year Oral Hygiene cohort class and the ten educators who taught their programme. Data was collected through semistructured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The topics that emerged from the combined analysis of the interviews and the questionnaires were organised into a grid so that common themes could be identified. Current literature regarding teaching and learning was used as a framework for interpreting the empirical evidence, from which three categories emerged. The first category included suggestions from students regarding what to do to teach better. A review of the literature indicates that these competencies can be effectively learnt from self-help guides. The second category included requests for skills development. Literature review suggests that these might effectively be learnt from single-event workshops facilitated by more able peers. Responses in the final category highlighted the need for an underpinning theory of teaching and learning, and signalled the need for a more theoretically grounded and detailed approach to teacher development. Conclusion: The framework developed from the empirical study and current literature makes it possible for individual clinical teachers, and staff developers, to construct teaching-competency development plans that are pertinent to individual teachers’ needs, relevant and practical, educationally sound, and cost-effective in terms of time and effort

Structural Rearrangement Through Lanthanide Contraction in Dinuclear Complexes

A new series of lanthanide complexes was synthesized, and the geometry and preliminary magnetic measurements of the complexes were explored. The specific ligand used (<i>N</i>′-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)­benzhydrazide) (H₂hmb) was synthesized using a Schiff-base approach and was employed due to the presence of a coordination pocket that is able to accommodate magnetically selective lanthanide ions. The series can be divided into two groups that are categorized by a drastic structural rearrangement. The first group, Type I, contains six analogous complexes with the formula [M^III₂(Hhmb)₃­(NCS)₃]·2MeOH·py (M = Y <b>1</b>, Eu <b>2</b>, Gd <b>3</b>, Tb <b>4</b>, Dy <b>5</b>, Ho <b>6</b>), while the second group, Type II, contains two dinuclear complexes with formula [M^III₂(Hhmb)₂­(NCS)₄(MeOH)₂] (M = Er <b>7</b>, and Yb <b>8</b>). Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that all M^III ions in Type I exhibit monocapped distorted square antiprismatic geometries, while those of Type II exhibit distorted dodecahedron geometry. The direct current and alternating current magnetic measurements were carried out on all complexes, with <b>5</b>, <b>7</b>, and <b>8</b> exhibiting slow relaxation of the magnetization under an applied optimum dc field. Furthermore, complex <b>8</b> is the first example of a dinuclear Yb-based single-molecule magnet showing field-dependent multiple relaxation processes

Structural Rearrangement Through Lanthanide Contraction in Dinuclear Complexes

A new series of lanthanide complexes was synthesized, and the geometry and preliminary magnetic measurements of the complexes were explored. The specific ligand used (<i>N</i>′-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)­benzhydrazide) (H₂hmb) was synthesized using a Schiff-base approach and was employed due to the presence of a coordination pocket that is able to accommodate magnetically selective lanthanide ions. The series can be divided into two groups that are categorized by a drastic structural rearrangement. The first group, Type I, contains six analogous complexes with the formula [M^III₂(Hhmb)₃­(NCS)₃]·2MeOH·py (M = Y <b>1</b>, Eu <b>2</b>, Gd <b>3</b>, Tb <b>4</b>, Dy <b>5</b>, Ho <b>6</b>), while the second group, Type II, contains two dinuclear complexes with formula [M^III₂(Hhmb)₂­(NCS)₄(MeOH)₂] (M = Er <b>7</b>, and Yb <b>8</b>). Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that all M^III ions in Type I exhibit monocapped distorted square antiprismatic geometries, while those of Type II exhibit distorted dodecahedron geometry. The direct current and alternating current magnetic measurements were carried out on all complexes, with <b>5</b>, <b>7</b>, and <b>8</b> exhibiting slow relaxation of the magnetization under an applied optimum dc field. Furthermore, complex <b>8</b> is the first example of a dinuclear Yb-based single-molecule magnet showing field-dependent multiple relaxation processes