Un-leashing the true potential in rural Kenya today: a strategic initiative with the ICT ministry

Paper presented at ICT conference of 2009.Paper presented at Strathmore ICT Conference, 200

Perspectives des étudiants sur l'éducation financière transdisciplinaire en Ontario

In increasingly uncertain economic times, education curricula around the world are changing to include the topic of financial literacy for students. This article reports the findings of a financial literacy study that examined the perspectives of students on their experiences with transdisciplinary teaching and learning of personal financial literacy. In this study, 344 post-secondary students reflected on their educational experiences in Ontario secondary schools by completing a quantitative survey composed of questions and self-assessments related to personal financial literacy curricula. While students felt that personal financial literacy education was important, they felt that there was a need for more knowledge and understanding in secondary school. Further, survey data identified variations in the personal financial literacy education students received that was linked to the stream (advanced or general) students were enrolled in. The findings are discussed, with particular attention to how students’ perspectives can inform policy and curriculum design moving forward.Dans un contexte économique de plus en plus incertain, les programmes d'enseignement du monde entier évoluent pour inclure le thème de la littératie financière des élèves. Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude sur la littératie financière qui a examiné les points de vue des étudiants sur leurs expériences de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage transdisciplinaires de la littératie financière personnelle. Dans le cadre de cette étude, 344 étudiants de l'enseignement postsecondaire ont réfléchi à leurs expériences éducatives dans les écoles secondaires de l'Ontario en répondant à une enquête quantitative composée de questions et d'auto-évaluations liées aux programmes de la littératie en matière de finances personnelles. Alors que les étudiants estimaient que l'éducation à la littératie financière personnelle est importante, ils pensaient qu'il est nécessaire d'approfondir les connaissances et la compréhension à l'école secondaire. En outre, les données de l'enquête ont mis en évidence des variations dans l'éducation à la littératie financière personnelle reçue par les élèves, en fonction de la filière (avancée ou générale) dans laquelle ils sont inscrits. Les résultats sont discutés, en accordant une attention particulière à la façon dont les perspectives des étudiants peuvent éclairer la politique et la conception des programmes d'études

Combined fluorescence lifetime and surface topographical imaging of biological tissue

In this work a combined fluorescence lifetime and surface topographical imaging system is demonstrated. Based around a 126 × 192 time resolved single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array operating in time correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) mode, both the fluorescence lifetime and time of flight (ToF) can be calculated on a pixel by pixel basis. Initial tests on fluorescent samples show it is able to provide 4 mm resolution in distance and 0.4 ns resolution in lifetime. This combined modality has potential biomedical applications such as surgical guidance, endoscopy and diagnostic imaging. The system is demonstrated on both ovine and human pulmonary tissue samples, where it offers excellent fluorescence lifetime contrast whilst also giving a measure of the distance to the sample surfac

Do Pharmacy Intervention Reports Adequately Describe Their Interventions? A Template for Intervention Description and Replication Analysis of Reports included in a Systematic Review

Funding: Funding was provided by the Chief Scientist Office, grant number CZH/4/1041. MidB was also funded by the Professor Roy Weir Career Development Fellowship. MW was funded by a Health Foundation Improvement Science Fellowship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

PTF11eon/SN2011dh: Discovery of a Type IIb Supernova From a Compact Progenitor in the Nearby Galaxy M51

On May 31, 2011 UT a supernova (SN) exploded in the nearby galaxy M51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy). We discovered this event using small telescopes equipped with CCD cameras, as well as by the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) survey, and rapidly confirmed it to be a Type II supernova. Our early light curve and spectroscopy indicates that PTF11eon resulted from the explosion of a relatively compact progenitor star as evidenced by the rapid shock-breakout cooling seen in the light curve, the relatively low temperature in early-time spectra and the prompt appearance of low-ionization spectral features. The spectra of PTF11eon are dominated by H lines out to day 10 after explosion, but initial signs of He appear to be present. Assuming that He lines continue to develop in the near future, this SN is likely a member of the cIIb (compact IIb; Chevalier and Soderberg 2010) class, with progenitor radius larger than that of SN 2008ax and smaller than the eIIb (extended IIb) SN 1993J progenitor. Our data imply that the object identified in pre-explosion Hubble Space Telescope images at the SN location is possibly a companion to the progenitor or a blended source, and not the progenitor star itself, as its radius (~10^13 cm) would be highly inconsistent with constraints from our post-explosion photometric and spectroscopic data

Pharmacist services for non-hospitalised patients

We are very grateful to the Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government, for funding this review (CZH/4/1041). The authors wish to thank the members of Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group who supported this review, particularly Ms Tamara Rader and Mr Paul Miller for conducting the searches, and Ms Julia Worswick for her continued and good‐natured assistance throughout the update. We are very grateful to Dr Imran Omar for providing additional technical support. We thank Ms Caroline Burnett, Ms Andrea Fraser, Mrs Bev Smith and Ms Lynn McKenzie for their administrative and clerical support of this review. We thank the referees whose comments improved the reporting and interpretation of this review. These include: External referees: Yoon K Loke; Newton Opiyo; Internal editor: Carmel Hughes; Statistical editor: Sofia Massa; Contact editor: Gillian Leng; Managing editor: Daniela Gonçalves‐Bradley We also thank National Institute for Health Research, via Cochrane Infrastructure funding to the EPOC Group. The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Systematic Reviews Programme, NIHR, NHS or the Department of Health.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Contribution of the clathrin adaptor AP-1 subunit µ1 to acidic cluster protein sorting.

Acidic clusters act as sorting signals for packaging cargo into clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs), and also facilitate down-regulation of MHC-I by HIV-1 Nef. To find acidic cluster sorting machinery, we performed a gene-trap screen and identified the medium subunit (µ1) of the clathrin adaptor AP-1 as a top hit. In µ1 knockout cells, intracellular CCVs still form, but acidic cluster proteins are depleted, although several other CCV components were either unaffected or increased, indicating that cells can compensate for long-term loss of AP-1. In vitro experiments showed that the basic patch on µ1 that interacts with the Nef acidic cluster also contributes to the binding of endogenous acidic cluster proteins. Surprisingly, µ1 mutant proteins lacking the basic patch and/or the tyrosine-based motif binding pocket could rescue the µ1 knockout phenotype completely. In contrast, these mutants failed to rescue Nef-induced down-regulation of MHC class I, suggesting a possible mechanism for attacking the virus while sparing the host cell

Abiraterone acetate plus prednisolone for metastatic patients starting hormone therapy: 5-year follow-up results from the STAMPEDE randomised trial (NCT00268476)

Abiraterone acetate plus prednisolone (AAP) previously demonstrated improved survival in STAMPEDE, a multiarm, multistage platform trial in men starting long-term hormone therapy for prostate cancer. This long-term analysis in metastatic patients was planned for 3 years after the first results. Standard-of-care (SOC) was androgen deprivation therapy. The comparison randomised patients 1:1 to SOC-alone with or without daily abiraterone acetate 1000 mg + prednisolone 5 mg (SOC + AAP), continued until disease progression. The primary outcome measure was overall survival. Metastatic disease risk group was classified retrospectively using baseline CT and bone scans by central radiological review and pathology reports. Analyses used Cox proportional hazards and flexible parametric models, accounting for baseline stratification factors. One thousand and three patients were contemporaneously randomised (November 2011 to January 2014): median age 67 years; 94% newly-diagnosed; metastatic disease risk group: 48% high, 44% low, 8% unassessable; median PSA 97 ng/mL. At 6.1 years median follow-up, 329 SOC-alone deaths (118 low-risk, 178 high-risk) and 244 SOC + AAP deaths (75 low-risk, 145 high-risk) were reported. Adjusted HR = 0.60 (95% CI: 0.50-0.71; P = 0.31 × 10−9) favoured SOC + AAP, with 5-years survival improved from 41% SOC-alone to 60% SOC + AAP. This was similar in low-risk (HR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.41-0.76) and high-risk (HR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.43-0.69) patients. Median and current maximum time on SOC + AAP was 2.4 and 8.1 years. Toxicity at 4 years postrandomisation was similar, with 16% patients in each group reporting grade 3 or higher toxicity. A sustained and substantial improvement in overall survival of all metastatic prostate cancer patients was achieved with SOC + abiraterone acetate + prednisolone, irrespective of metastatic disease risk group