An evaluation of guided reading in three primary schools in the Western Cape

CITATION: Kruizinga, A. & Nathanson, R. R. 2010. An evaluation of guided reading in three primary schools in the Western Cape. Per Linguam : a Journal of Language Learning, 26(2): 67-76, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5785/26-2-22.The original publication is available at http://perlinguam.journals.ac.zaGiven that the South African government intends to improve its literacy rates by implementing Guided Reading in the primary schools, teachers are challenged to give good quality Guided Reading instruction. The study which this article draws on evaluates how teachers understand and implement Guided Reading in Grade 1 and 2 at three public schools in the Western Cape. Data were drawn from observations of teachers using Fountas & Pinnell’s Guided Reading instruction and a Guided Reading Self-Assessment Inventory. Analyses of the above-mentioned quantitative and qualitative research data indicate that South African teachers have a superficial understanding of Guided Reading. The study suggests that South African teachers struggle to implement Guided Reading in the classroom, because they do not create Guided Reading groups based on ongoing assessment and the teachers do not have access to levelled Guided Reading books. Furthermore, the new policy requirements for Guided Reading appear to fail to offer teachers a sufficient explanation of Guided Reading. I argue that, without addressing these basic requirements, it is unlikely that Guided Reading will be implemented with any success in the South African classrooms.http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/22Publisher's versio

Information-theoretic active contour model for microscopy image segmentation using texture

High throughput technologies have increased the need for automated image analysis in a wide variety of microscopy techniques. Geometric active contour models provide a solution to automated image segmentation by incorporating statistical information in the detection of object boundaries. A statistical active contour may be defined by taking into account the optimisation of an information-theoretic measure between object and background. We focus on a product-type measure of divergence known as Cauchy-Schwartz distance which has numerical advantages over ratio-type measures. By using accurate shape derivation techniques, we define a new geometric active contour model for image segmentation combining Cauchy-Schwartz distance and Gabor energy texture filters. We demonstrate the versatility of this approach on images from the Brodatz dataset and phase-contrast microscopy images of cells

The international phase 4 validation study of the EORTC QLQ-SWB32: a stand-alone measure of spiritual wellbeing (SWB) for people receiving palliative care for cancer

The EORTC Quality of Life (QL) Group has just completed the final phase (field-testing and validation) of an international project to develop a stand-alone measure of spiritual wellbeing (SWB) for palliative cancer patients. Participants (n= 451) - from 14 countries on four continents; 54% female; 188 Christian, 50 Muslim, 156 with no religion - completed a provisional 36-item measure of SWB plus the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL (PAL), then took part in a structured debriefing interview. All items showed good score distribution across response categories. We assessed scale structure using Principal Component Analysis and Rasch analysis, and explored construct validity, and convergent/divergent validity with the PAL. Twenty-two items in four scoring scales (Relationship with Self, Relationships with Others, Relationship with Something Greater, and Existential) explained 53% of the variance. The measure also includes a global SWB item and nine other items. Scores on the PAL global QL item and Emotional Functioning scale weakly-moderately correlated with scores on the global SWB item and two of the four SWB scales. This new validated 32-item SWB measure addresses a distinct aspect of QL, and is now available for use in research and clinical practice, with a role as both a measurement and an intervention tool

Real-time photoacoustic assessment of radiofrequency ablation lesion formation in the left atrium

In interventional electrophysiology, catheter-based radiofrequency (RF) ablation procedures restore cardiac heart rhythm by interrupting aberrant conduction paths. Real-time feedback on lesion formation and post-treatment lesion assessment could overcome procedural challenges related to ablation of underlying structures and lesion gaps. This study aims to evaluate real-time visualization of lesion progression and continuity during intra-atrial ablation with photoacoustic (PA) imaging, using clinically deployable technology. A PA-enabled RF ablation catheter was used to ablate and illuminate porcine left atrium, both excised and intact in a passive beating heart ex-vivo, for photoacoustic signal generation. PA signals were received with an intracardiac echography catheter. Using the ratio of PA images acquired with excitation wavelengths of 790 nm and 930 nm, ablation lesions were successfully imaged through c

Recognition of architectural and electrical symbols by COSFIRE filters with inhibition

The automatic recognition of symbols can be used to automatically convert scanned drawings into digital representations compatible with computer aided design software. We propose a novel approach to automatically recognize architectural and electrical symbols. The proposed method extends the existing trainable COSFIRE approach by adding an inhibition mechanism that is inspired by shape-selective TEO neurons in visual cortex. A COSFIRE filter with inhibition takes as input excitatory and inhibitory responses from line and edge detectors. The type (excitatory or inhibitory) and the spatial arrangement of low level features are determined in an automatic configuration step that analyzes two types of prototype pattern called positive and negative. Excitatory features are extracted from a positive pattern and inhibitory features are extracted from one or more negative patterns. In our experiments we use four subsets of images with different noise levels from the Graphics Recognition data set (GREC 2011) and demonstrate that the inhibition mechanism that we introduce improves the effectiveness of recognition substantially

Approaches to assess IgE mediated allergy risks (sensitization and cross-reactivity) from new or modified dietary proteins

The development and introduction of new dietary protein sources has the potential to improve food supply sustainability. Understanding the potential allergenicity of these new or modified proteins is crucial to ensure protection of public health. Exposure to new proteins may result in de novo sensitization, with or without clinical allergy, or clinical reactions through cross-reactivity. In this paper we review the potential of current methodologies (in silico, in vitro degradation, in vitro IgE binding, animal models and clinical studies) to address these outcomes for risk assessment purposes for new proteins, and especially to identify and characterise the risk of sensitization for IgE mediated allergy from oral exposure. Existing tools and tests are capable of assessing potential crossreactivity. However, there are few possibilities to assess the hazard due to de novo sensitization. The only methods available are in vivo models, but many limitations exist to use them for assessing risk. We conclude that there is a need to understand which criteria adequately define allergenicity for risk assessment purposes, and from these criteria develop a more suitable battery of tests to distinguish between proteins of high and low allergenicity, which can then be applied to assess new proteins with unknown risks. © 2017 The Authors Chemicals/CAS: immunoglobulin E, 37341-29-

Tumor interactions with soluble factors and the nervous system

In the genomic era of cancer research, the development of metastases has been attributed to mutations in the tumor that enable the cells to migrate. However, gene analyses revealed that primary tumors and metastases were in some cases genetically identical and the question was raised whether metastasis formation might be an inherent feature of certain tumor cells. In contradiction to this view, the last decade of cancer research has brought to light, that tumor cell migration, similar to leukocyte and fibroblast migration, is a highly regulated process. The nervous system plays an important role in this regulation, at least in two respects: firstly, neurotransmitters are known to regulate the migratory activity of tumor cells, and secondly, nerve fibers are used as routes for perineural invasion. We also summarize here the current knowledge on the innervation of tumors. Such a process might establish a neuro-neoplastic synapse, with the close interaction of tumor cells and nerve cells supporting metastasis formation