Understanding the Bare Breech Phenotype

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Placental restriction in multi-fetal pregnancies increases spontaneous ambulatory activity during daylight hours in young adult female sheep

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has adverse effects on metabolic health and early life, whereas physical activity is protective against later development of metabolic disease. Relationships between birth weight and physical activity in humans, and effects of IUGR on voluntary activity in rodents, are mixed and few studies have measured physical activity in a free-ranging environment. We hypothesized that induced restriction of placental growth and function (PR) in sheep would decrease spontaneous ambulatory activity (SAA) in free-ranging adolescent and young adult progeny from multi-fetal pregnancies. To test this hypothesis, we used Global Positioning System watches to continuously record SAA between 1800 and 1200 h the following day, twice during a 16-day recording period, in progeny of control (CON, n=5 males, 9 females) and PR pregnancies (n=9 males, 10 females) as adolescents (30 weeks) and as young adults (43 weeks). PR reduced size at birth overall, but not in survivors included in SAA studies. In adolescents, SAA did not differ between treatments and females were more active than males overall and during the day (each P&lt;0.001). In adults, daytime SAA was greater in PR than CON females (P=0.020), with a similar trend in males (P=0.053) and was greater in females than males (P=0.016). Adult SAA was negatively correlated with birth weight in females only. Contrary to our hypothesis, restricted placental function and small size at birth did not reduce progeny SAA. The mechanisms for increased daytime SAA in adult female PR and low birth weight sheep require further investigation.</jats:p

The pars triangularis in dyslexia and ADHD: A comprehensive approach.

Limited research has been conducted on the structure of the pars triangularis (PT) in dyslexia despite functional neuroimaging research finding it may play a role in phonological processing. Furthermore, research to date has not examined PT size in ADHD even though the right inferior frontal region has been implicated in the disorder. Hence, one of the purposes of this study was to examine the structure of the PT in dyslexia and ADHD. The other purposes included examining the PT in relation to overall expressive language ability and in relation to several specific linguistic functions given language functioning often is affected in both dyslexia and ADHD. Participants included 50 children: 10 with dyslexia, 15 with comorbid dyslexia/ADHD, 15 with ADHD, and 10 controls. Using a 2 (dyslexia or not) x 2 (ADHD or not) MANCOVA, findings revealed PT length and shape were comparable between those with and without dyslexia. However, children with ADHD had smaller right PT lengths than those without ADHD, and right anterior ascending ramus length was related to attention problems in the total sample. In terms of linguistic functioning, presence of an extra sulcus in the left PT was related to poor expressive language ability. In those with adequate expressive language functioning, left PT length was related to phonological awareness, phonological short-term memory and rapid automatic naming (RAN). Right PT length was related to RAN and semantic processing. Further work on PT morphology in relation to ADHD and linguistic functioning is warranted

Learning to Teach Argumentation: Research and development in the science classroom

The research reported in this study focuses on an investigation into the teaching of argumentation in secondary science classrooms. Over a one-year period, a group of 12 teachers from schools in the greater London area attended a series of workshops to develop materials and strategies to support the teaching of argumentation in scientific contexts. Data were collected at the beginning and end of the year by audio and video recording lessons where the teachers attempted to implement argumentation. To assess the quality of argumentation, analytical tools derived from Toulmin's argument pattern (TAP) were developed and applied to classroom transcripts. Analysis shows there was development in teachers' use of argumentation across the year. Results indicate that the pattern of use of argumentation is teacher-specific, as is the nature of change. To inform future professional development programmes, transcripts of five teachers, three showing a significant change and two no change, were analysed in more detail to identify features of teachers' oral contributions that facilitated and supported argumentation. The analysis showed that all teachers attempted to encourage a variety of processes involved in argumentation and that the teachers whose lessons included the highest quality of argumentation (TAP analysis) also encouraged higher order processes in their teaching. The analysis of teachers' facilitation of argumentation has helped to guide the development of in-service materials and to identify the barriers to learning in the professional development of less experienced teachers

Decorum or Deterrence? The Politics of Execution in Malawi, 1915-1966

This article is not the final print version. The print version is available at http://www.Bergpublishers.com.Capital punishment - specifically public execution - is here investigated not simply as a judicial punishment, but as a lens through which to view the civil and socio-political development of Malawi from the colonial to early independence eras. Public executions were an exceptional measure, employed at times of marked social and political unrest, being ordered by the colonial government in response to the Chilembwe Uprising in 1915 and by Prime Minister Banda in 1965 in the aftermath of the Cabinet crisis and Chipembere Uprising. This article looks at the continuities and changes in the practice and signification of these judicial killings

"The extreme penalty of the law": mercy and the death penalty as aspects of state power in colonial Nyasaland, c. 1903-47

Open access article.Capital punishment was the pinnacle of the colonial judicial system and its use of state violence, but has previously been neglected as a topic of historical research in Africa. This article is based on the case files and legal records of over 800 capital trials – predominantly for murder – dating between 1900 and 1947. It outlines the functioning of the legal system in Nyasaland and the tensions between “violence” and “humanitarianism” in the use and reform of the death penalty. Capital punishment was a political penalty as much as a judicial punishment, with both didactic and deterrent functions: it operated through mercy and the sparing of condemned lives as well as through executions. Mercy in Nyasaland was consistent with colonial political objectives and cultural values: it was decided not only on the facts of cases, but according to British conceptions of “justice”, “order”, “criminality”, and “African” behaviour. This article analyses the use of mercy in Nyasaland to provide a lens on the nature of colonial governance, and the tensions between African and colonial understandings of violence.Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) and the Beit Fund, University of Oxfor