Differentiated Instruction at Work. Reinforcing the art of classroom observation through the creation of a checklist for beginning and pre-service teachers

Professional experience is viewed as integral to shaping philosophy and acquiring skills in the area of classroom teaching. Classrooms are complex places, with educators implementing differentiated strategies to cater for student diversity. Pre-service teachers who observe these lessons often miss the intuitive practices, as there is much to absorb during a typical observation session. Equipping them with a checklist enhances this experience, giving them intentional guidelines with regard to observation. The current study, utilized a qualitative approach, to gain an understanding of specific dynamics that impact on a pre-service teacher’s professional experience. The intersection of data and the literature led to the creation of a checklist for use by beginning and pre-service teachers. The checklist may be used by teacher educators as an instrument to assist with the preparation of teachers, as it could help with honing in on key elements of observation of classroom practice and differentiated strategies

The Impact of Hypothyroidism on Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Introduction: Hypothyroidism either subclinical (SCH) or overt is independently associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). The combined effects of SCH and overt hypothyroidism on clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are largely unknown. Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the impact of subclinical and overt hypothyroidism among patients presenting with CAD undergoing PCI. Materials and Methods: A total of 102 patients who were referred to the Madras Medical Mission Hospital for PCI from September 2020 to March 2021 were enrolled in the study. These patients were categorized into three groups. Each group has 34 patients and was followed for one year. Group 1: Patients with normal TSH levels (TSH-0.45 -5mlU/Liter) and euthyroid at T3, T4 levels. Group 2: Patients with subclinical hypothyroidism with elevated TSH levels (TSH=5-15mlU/liter) and normal thyroid with T3, T4 levels. Group 3: Patients with a family history of overt hypothyroidism or high TSH levels(<15mlU/liter) and low T3 and T4 levels [16]. Results: We applied ANOVA to find the PCI outcomes. A p-value of <0.05 was accepted as significant. Age (p-0.03), recent myocardial infarction (p-0.04), diabetes mellitus (p<0.001), HbA1C (p-0.012), and systolic blood pressure (p-0.04) were found to be significant. Post-PCI bleeding complications (p<0.001) during one month, six months, and one-year follow-up were the main observation of the study. Conclusion: The prior history of DM and elevated HbA1c levels observed in the overt hypothyroid group indicate that DM was one of the key factors associated with overt hypothyroidism. Despite the fact that PCI was safe for patients with hypothyroidism, the risk of early post-PCI bleeding was of concern

Ketone body supplement label claims: what supplement has been supplemented?

Background: There is a keen interest in performance-enhancing supplementation and the associated benefits, despite reports of incorrect label claims made by manufacturers and the questionable efficacy of the supplements. The use of ketone body supplements as a source of fuel during exercise and sporting performance, in particular, is of interest to sportspeople. By increasing blood ketone body levels, with an accompanying decrease in blood glucose, may indicate a state of nutritional ketosis, whereby the body no longer relies on glucose metabolism but rather the metabolism of ketone bodies. This could be beneficial for long, slow steady-state endurance exercise. Discussion: There are numerous ketone body supplements on the market manufactured in South Africa and internationally. However, unlike medicines, the sports supplementation industry is poorly regulated. Furthermore, ketone body supplementation with regard to its effects on improving exercise and athletic performance is still unconvincing. Conclusion: Within the ever-changing sports supplementation industry, ketone body supplements are being used despite controversies regarding the accuracy and scientific merit of label claims. The ingredients and their quantities, as well as the performance benefits, need to be objectively validated

Transcendence of musculoskeletal injury in athletes with disability during major competition

Hamstring injuries are common in jumping and sprinting athletes. This case series documents acute grade I - II hamstring injuries in two Paralympic athletes. These athletes were able to transcend their injuries to compete 4 and 6 days after injury to attain personal best achievements

An agent-based model of the response to angioplasty and bare-metal stent deployment in an atherosclerotic blood vessel

Purpose: While animal models are widely used to investigate the development of restenosis in blood vessels following an intervention, computational models offer another means for investigating this phenomenon. A computational model of the response of a treated vessel would allow investigators to assess the effects of altering certain vessel- and stent-related variables. The authors aimed to develop a novel computational model of restenosis development following an angioplasty and bare-metal stent implantation in an atherosclerotic vessel using agent-based modeling techniques. The presented model is intended to demonstrate the body's response to the intervention and to explore how different vessel geometries or stent arrangements may affect restenosis development. Methods: The model was created on a two-dimensional grid space. It utilizes the post-procedural vessel lumen diameter and stent information as its input parameters. The simulation starting point of the model is an atherosclerotic vessel after an angioplasty and stent implantation procedure. The model subsequently generates the final lumen diameter, percent change in lumen cross-sectional area, time to lumen diameter stabilization, and local concentrations of inflammatory cytokines upon simulation completion. Simulation results were directly compared with the results from serial imaging studies and cytokine levels studies in atherosclerotic patients from the relevant literature. Results: The final lumen diameter results were all within one standard deviation of the mean lumen diameters reported in the comparison studies. The overlapping-stent simulations yielded results that matched published trends. The cytokine levels remained within the range of physiological levels throughout the simulations. Conclusion: We developed a novel computational model that successfully simulated the development of restenosis in a blood vessel following an angioplasty and bare-metal stent deployment based on the characteristics of the vessel crosssection and stent. A further development of this model could ultimately be used as a predictive tool to depict patient outcomes and inform treatment options. © 2014 Curtin, Zhou

A novel antibacterial and antifungal phenolic compound from the endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis mangiferae

A novel phenolic compound, 4-(2,4,7-trioxa-bicyclo[4.1.0]heptan-3-yl) phenol (1), was isolated from Pestalotiopsis mangiferae, an endophytic fungus associated with Mangifera indica Linn. The structure of the compound was elucidated on the basis of comprehensive spectral analysis (UV, IR, 1H-, 13C- and 2D-NMR, as well as HRESI–MS). Compound (1) shows potent antibacterial and antifungal activity against Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The transmission electron microscope study for the mode of inhibition of compound (1) on bacterial pathogens revealed the destruction of bacterial cells by cytoplasm agglutination with the formation of pores in cell wall membranes