Impaired clearance of ceftizoxime and cefotaxime after orthotopic liver transplantation.

The pharmacokinetics of ceftizoxime (CZX) and of cefotaxime (CTX) were studied in five children and five adults after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Delayed clearance of CZX (clearance of 0.21 to 1.26 ml/min per kg [body weight]) and CTX (clearance of 0.40 to 1.49 ml/min per kg) occurred in 7 of the 10 OLT patients. We conclude that abnormal CZX and CTX clearance is common after OLT and may be associated with minimal change in serum creatinine

Assessing trainee secondary teachers on school placement: Subject knowledge and overall teaching grades.

Schools and Initial Teacher Training/Education providers have joint responsibility for developing trainee subject knowledge. Due to the current curriculum and training emphasis placed upon the importance of subject knowledge, the relationship between it and overall teaching grades is of interest when monitoring trainee assessment data collated from school mentors in placement schools. This paper reports a statistical analysis of numerical grades awarded on progress review forms completed by mentors using the teaching competencies described in the Teachers’ Standards. It includes the assessment data gathered from two consecutive cohorts of secondary Post Graduate Diploma in Education trainees whilst on school placement experience. All the schools were in partnership with a single Higher Education provider in the North West of England. The focus for the analysis was the distribution of grades assigned to trainees in English National Curriculum core subjects for overall teaching and two standards with descriptors covering aspects of teacher subject knowledge. Of twenty-four comparisons, only six indicated significant differences. In these instances, more high grades than expected were assigned for the standard describing teacher subject content and curriculum knowledge compared to the standard describing pedagogy and/or overall teaching

Can effect sizes give any clues to the way mentors ascribe numerical grades when assessing secondary trainee teachers against the Teachers’ Standards in England?

Some teacher educators use numerical grades when assessing teaching competencies. In this situation, statistical analysis can be used to monitor consistency and look for correlations between assessment outcomes across teacher training partnerships and at different stages in training. Another approach is to calculate effect size metrics. These do not claim statistical significance but do seek to explain the practical impact of patterns in quantitative data. This study looks at number grade assessment data from a large secondary initial teacher education programme across schools working in partnership with a higher education provider in the Northwest of England. The proportion of variance between numerical grades for individual Teachers’ Standards and overall teaching was calculated at each formal review point over three consecutive years. Despite the complex process involved in assessing teaching competencies against performance criteria and the potential for subjective variation between individual assessors, the data consistently demonstrated underlying patterns. These suggested that quality assurance and management of assessment issues could have been a major influence on the assessors

The dynamics of magnetic Rossby waves in spherical dynamo simulations: A signature of strong-field dynamos?

We investigate slow magnetic Rossby waves in convection-driven dynamos in rotating spherical shells. Quasi-geostrophic waves riding on a mean zonal flow may account for some of the geomagnetic westward drifts and have the potential to allow the toroidal field strength within the planetary fluid core to be estimated. We extend the work of Hori et al. (2015) to include a wider range of models, and perform a detailed analysis of the results. We find that a predicted dispersion relation matches well with the longitudinal drifts observed in our strong-field dynamos. We discuss the validity of our linear theory, since we also find that the nonlinear Lorentz terms influence the observed waveforms. These wave motions are excited by convective instability, which determines the preferred azimuthal wavenumbers. Studies of linear rotating magnetoconvection have suggested that slow magnetic Rossby modes emerge in the magnetostrophic regime, in which the Lorentz and Coriolis forces are in balance in the vorticity equation. We confirm this to be predominant balance for the slow waves we have detected in nonlinear dynamo systems. We also show that a completely different wave regime emerges if the magnetic field is not present. Finally we report the corresponding radial magnetic field variations observed at the surface of the shell in our simulations and discuss the detectability of these waves in the geomagnetic secular variation

Paradigm shift from student to researcher: An academic preparation program for international students

Although there are many Academic Preparation Programs designed for international postgraduate students, the importance of establishing “the role of the researcher” is rarely the focus of these programs. This role is a fundamental “threshold concept” (Meyer & Land, 2006) for postgraduate success which has the potential to be transformational at both Masters and PhD levels. This paper reports on an intensive academic preparation program (IAPP) for international postgraduate students commencing study at UNSW in 2009. This pilot program consisted of 40 hours facilitation prior to commencement of Semester 1, 2009. The program aimed to explore the “role of the researcher” by engaging in academic literacies fundamental to postgraduate expectations and empowering each student by acknowledging they were budding specialists in their disciplinary field. The design of the program encouraged personal responsibility for research and learning. This gave learners confidence to explore their reflective and critical learning process and to fine tune their research interests. Learning activities were designed to foster and record reflective practice. The use of a learning journal, group discussions and debriefings were central to the program and increased learners’ confidence as researchers. Student feedback of this pilot program was very positive and demonstrated its transformational nature. Based on this experience, we suggest that developing the “role of the researcher” offers another direction to consider when designing international preparation programs

Cassini detection of Enceladus' cold water-group plume ionosphere

This study reports direct detection by the Cassini plasma spectrometer of freshly-produced water-group ions (O+, OH+, H2O+, H3O+) and heavier water dimer ions (HxO(2))(+) very close to Enceladus where the plasma begins to emerge from the plume. The data were obtained during two close ( 52 and 25 km) flybys of Enceladus in 2008 and are similar to ion data in cometary comas. The ions are observed in detectors looking in the Cassini ram direction exhibiting energies consistent with the Cassini speed, indicative of a nearly stagnant plasma flow in the plume. North of Enceladus the plasma slowing commences about 4 to 6 Enceladus radii away, while south of Enceladus signatures of the plasma interaction with the plume are detected 22 Enceladus radii away. Citation: Tokar, R. L., R. E. Johnson, M. F. Thomsen, R. J. Wilson, D. T. Young, F. J. Crary, A. J. Coates, G. H. Jones, and C. S. Paty ( 2009), Cassini detection of Enceladus' cold water-group plume ionosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L13203, doi:10.1029/2009GL038923

Optimum selection of individual-level neonatal models in place of subject-specific priors for infant diffuse optical tomography

Diffuse optical tomography relies on anatomical models to simulate light transport. We investigate which cotside measures are best to choose an individual-level head model when subject-specific data is unavailable for neonatal infants

Visual learning and graphic design : a cooperative strategy

Abstract. The article discusses an exploratory study implemented at three campuses of the Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, in response to weak examination results in one of the subjects in the graphic design curriculum. The aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of utilising a combination of visual learning and cooperative learning strategies in this setting. A comparative assessment methodologies framework was utilised to measure how graphic design first-year learners experience these. The results suggest that although the learners enjoyed and saw value in some aspects of the visual learning and cooperative learning strategies, a combination was seen as disruptive to the learning environment and is thus unlikely to lead to a significant improvement in examination results in the long term

A systematic review of approaches to modelling lower limb muscle forces during gait : applicability to clinical gait analyses

Computational methods to estimate muscle forces during walking are becoming more common in biomechanical research but not yet in clinical gait analysis. This systematic review aims to identify the current state-of-the-art, examine the differences between approaches, and consider applicability of the current approaches in clinical gait analysis. A systematic database search identified studies including estimated muscle force profiles of the lower limb during healthy walking. These were rated for quality and the muscle force profiles digitised for comparison. From 13.449 identified studies, 22 were finally included which used four modelling approaches: static optimisation, enhanced static optimisation, forward dynamics and EMG-driven. These used a range of different musculoskeletal models, muscle-tendon characteristics and cost functions. There is visually broad agreement between and within approaches about when muscles are active throughout the gait cycle. There remain considerable differences (CV 7% to 151%, range of timing of peak forces in gait cycle 1% to 31%) in patterns and magnitudes of force between and within modelling approaches. The main source of this variability is not clear. Different musculoskeletal models, experimental protocols, and modelling approaches will clearly have an effect as will the variability of joint kinetics between healthy individuals. Limited validation of modelling approaches, particularly at the level of individual participants, makes it difficult to conclude if any of the approaches give consistently better estimates than others. While muscle force modelling has clear potential to enhance clinical gait analyses future research is needed to improve validation, accuracy and feasibility of implementation in clinical practice