A curriculum for excellence review of research literature

Research suggests that the arts play significant part in the education of all pupils. The findings of numerous, wide-ranging studies indicate that the Expressive Arts fulfil a vital function in the development learners, meeting many of the outcomes described in the "Purposes of the Curriculum 3-18" diagram outlined on page 15 of "A Curriculum for Excellence". In the following review of recent research, it is evident that the arts provide meaningful contexts through which learners can actively participate in a wide range of learning experiences. It is evident that learning should take place in the arts: each separate discipline has its own knowledge and skills base. But learning also takes place through the arts. Because of the high level of active engagement and enjoyment experienced during good Expressive Arts lessons, learners gain a sense of achievement and increased self-esteem. Across the arts areas, learners are offered a very wide and varied range of experiences, enabling them to communicate in a number of ways, for example, orally, visually, through body language and through music. The collaborative nature of many arts activities enables learners to develop skills in working cooperatively with others, often in problem-solving, creative situations. The arts also offer many opportunities for learners to be pro-active and enterprising within meaningful and relevant contexts

De vermaatschappelijking van het gemeenschappelijk landbouwbeleid : een inventarisatie van visies in Brussel en diverse EU-lidastaten

In dit rapport wordt voor een selectie van EU-lidstaten beschreven wat de toekomstvisies zijn voor het Gemeenschappelijk Landbouwbeleid (GLB). De visies in Nederland, Engeland, Duitsland, Frankrijk en Litouwen zijn geanalyseerd. Daarbij ligt de focus op het GLB in relatie tot maatschappelijke doelen, ofwel, in hoeverre komt in de toekomstvisies naar voren dat men het GLB (meer) wil verbinden met maatschappelijke doelen als natuur, milieu, landschap en dierenwelzijn. Er is gekeken naar de toekomstvisies zoals geformuleerd door regeringen, maar ook naar adviescommissies, wetenschappelijke instituten, natuur- en milieubeweging, belangenorganisaties vanuit de landbouw, en de publieke opinie

Factors affecting the embedding of optical fibre sensors in advanced composite structures

Composite materials offer tremendous benefits for engineering applications and arc now specified for use in several safety critical studies. However, despite extensive materials research and development, they do have a number of areas where their behaviour is still not fully understood. This is particularly so with the more complex mechanical parameters in larger structures. Current structural design attempts to allow for these unknowns by overdesigning, extensive testing and frequent inspection. Embedded optical fibre sensors offer the potential to monitor many of these parameters, and are additionally of a similar physical and mechanical nature to the reinforcement fibre used in advanced composites

Programma beheer : leren van omliggende landen

De EU schrijft voor dat regelingen voor agrarisch natuurbeheer geëvalueerd worden op effectiviteit en efficiëntie, maar schrijft geen methodiek voor. Dit artikel vergelijkt de situatie in Engeland, Noordrijn-Westfalen, Vlaanderen, Frankrijk en Denemarken met die van Nederland. Daarbij ligt de nadruk op de vraag in hoeverre regelingen centraal dan wel decentraal worden aangestuur

The structure of blocks with a Klein four defect group

We prove Erdmann’s conjecture [16] stating that every block with a Klein four defect group has a simple module with trivial source, and deduce from this that Puig’s finiteness conjecture holds for source algebras of blocks with a Klein four defect group. The proof uses the classification of finite simple groups

Patterns of efavirenz use as first-line antiretroviral therapy in the United States: 1999-2015

Background: Efavirenz has been a mainstay of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for over 15 years in the US. Its association with neuropsychiatric side effects may influence clinical prescribing and management. Methods: We included HIV-infected adults enrolled in care at seven sites across the US, who initiated combination ART between 1999 and 2015. We examined the proportion initiating and continuing on efavirenz, overall and by mental health status. Log binomial and Cox models were used to estimate associations between mental health, clinical and sociodemographic characteristics and initiating or switching from efavirenz as first-line ART. Results: Of the 8,230 participants included, 3,710 (45%) initiated efavirenz. In multivariable analyses, prior mono- or dual-ART, ART initiation after 2006, being female, intravenous drug use, antidepressant prescription, previous mental health diagnosis and baseline CD4+ T-cell count >350 cells/mm3 were inversely associated with initiating efavirenz. Participants initiating efavirenz had a faster time to a regimen switch, compared with those initiating an efavirenz-free regimen (P-value <0.01). Among efavirenz initiators, starting efavirenz in more recent time periods and a previous mental health diagnosis were associated with faster time to switching from efavirenz. Despite this, 40-50% of participants with a previous mental health diagnosis initiated and continued on efavirenz for much of the follow-up period. Conclusions: Multiple clinical factors, including mental health diagnoses, appeared to influence efavirenz use. While mental health diagnosis status and more recent treatment starts were associated with shorter duration of efavirenz therapy, a previous mental health diagnosis did not preclude efavirenz initiation or continuation in many participants

The relationship between efavirenz as initial antiretroviral therapy and suicidal thoughts among HIV-infected adults in routine care

Background: Evidence about the effect of initiating efavirenz-containing combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) as the first-line therapy on suicidal thoughts remains conflicting. Methods: Using data from a cohort of HIV-infected adults enrolled in routine care across 5 sites in the United States, we included participants with a baseline patient-reported outcome measure and detectable viral load who initiated ART between 2011 and 2014. Participants were followed until the earliest of the following: first suicidal thoughts, discontinuation of initial ART regimen, death, loss to care (>12 months with no HIV appointments), or administrative censoring (2014-2015). Suicidal thoughts were measured using a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item. We used weighted marginal structural Cox models to estimate the effect of initiating efavirenz-containing ART, versus efavirenz-free ART, on the hazard of active or passive suicidal thoughts after ART initiation, accounting for confounding by channeling bias. Results: Overall, 597 participants were followed for a median of 19 months (13, 132 total person-months); 147 (25%) initiated efavirenz-containing ART. At ART initiation, 38% of participants reported suicidal thoughts or depressive symptoms. Initiating efavirenz-based ART was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) for suicidal thoughts below the null in the crude analysis [HR, 0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.53 to 1.45] and above the null in the weighted analysis (HR, 1.21; 95% CI: 0.66 to 2.28). Among those with a prior mental health issue, the weighted HR was 1.76 (95% CI: 0.45 to 6.86). Conclusions: After accounting for measured channeling bias, we observed no strong evidence that initiating efavirenz-containing ART increased the hazard of suicidal thoughts

Influence of Dietary Oil Content and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) on Lipid Metabolism Enzyme Activities and Gene Expression in Tissues of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.)

The overall objective is to test the hypothesis that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has beneficial effects in Atlantic salmon through affecting lipid and fatty acid metabolism. The specific aims of the present study were to determine the effects of CLA on some key pathways of fatty acid metabolism including fatty acid oxidation and highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) synthesis. Salmon smolts were fed diets containing two levels of fish oil (low, ~18% and high, ~34%) containing three levels of CLA (a 1:1 mixture of 9-cis,trans-11 and trans-10,cis-12 at 0, 1 and 2% of diet) for 3 months. The effects of dietary CLA on HUFA synthesis and β-oxidation were measured and the expression of key genes in the fatty acid oxidation and HUFA synthesis pathways, and potentially important transcription factors, peroxisome proliferators activated receptors (PPARs), determined in selected tissues. Liver HUFA synthesis and desaturase gene expression was increased by dietary CLA and decreased by high dietary oil content. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-I) activity and gene expression were generally increased by CLA in muscle tissues although dietary oil content had relatively little effect. In general CPT-I activity or gene expression was not correlated with β-oxidation. Dietary CLA tended to increase PPARα and β gene expression in both liver and muscle tissues, and PPARγ in liver. In summary, gene expression and activity of the fatty acid pathways were altered in response to dietary CLA and/or oil content, with data suggesting that PPARs are also regulated in response to CLA. Correlations were observed between dietary CLA, liver HUFA synthesis and desaturase gene expression, and liver PPARα expression, and also between dietary CLA, CPT-I expression and activity, and PPARα expression in muscle tissues. In conclusion, this study suggests that dietary CLA has effects on fatty acid metabolism in Atlantic salmon and on PPAR transcription factors. However, further work is required to assess the potential of CLA as a dietary supplement, and the role of PPARs in the regulation of lipid metabolism in fish