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A Survey of Computer Education Courses in Canadian Faculties of Education

Paralleling the rapid entry of microcomputers into the elementary and secondary schools of Canada has been the development of a broad range of credit courses, within faculties of education, designed to train teachers in the application of computer technology to teaching and learning. This survey of computer education courses and programs in Canadian faculties of education was conducted in February 1985, in order to provide baseline data for a continuing review of the nature and impact of these courses. The results of the survey confirm that the response of education faculties has been quite dramatic, with a total of 260 undergraduate and 85 graduate courses now being offered. However, categoriza- tion of the courses shows considerable diversity in both content and sequence. Further, there is no consistency among the various institutions in their requirements for computer-related experiences prior to teacher certification.En réponse à l'introduction rapide du micro-ordinateur dans les écoles primaires et secondaires du Canada, les facultés universitaires d'éducation ont développé un grand nombre de cours conçus spécialement pour entraîner les professeurs à utiliser l'informatique au niveau pédagogique. Le sondage de cours et de programmes concernant l'informatique offerts par les facultés canadiennes d'éducation effectué en février 1985, a eu pour but de procurer un data de base qui permettra de vérifier de façon régulière la nature et l'impact de ces cours. Les résultats du sondage confirment que la réaction des facultés d'éducation a été des plus vives. Nous avons, en effet, un total de 260 cours pour étudiants sous-gradués et de 85 cours pour étudiants gradués offerts aujourd'hui dans nos universités. La catégorisation de ces cours révèle toutefois une diversité considérable dans les domaines du contenu et du développement séquentiel. De plus, il existe un écart considérable parmi les diverses institutions quant aux demandes requises en matière d'informatique avant d'accorder aux enseignants leur diplôme

Hydrous silicate melts and the deep mantle H2O cycle

We report ab initio atomistic simulations of hydrous silicate melts under deep upper mantle to shallow lower mantle conditions and use them to parameterise density and viscosity across the ternary system MgO-SiO2-H2O (MSH). On the basis of phase relations in the MSH system, primary hydrous partial melts of the mantle have 40-50 mol% H2O. Our results show that these melts will be positively buoyant at the upper and lower boundaries of the mantle transition zone except in very iron-rich compositions, where ≳ 75% Mg is substituted by Fe. Hydrous partial melts will also be highly inviscid. Our results indicate that if melting occurs when wadsleyite transforms to olivine at 410 km, melts will be buoyant and ponding of melts is unexpected. Box models of mantle circulation incorporating the upward mobility of partial melts above and below the transition zone suggest that the upper mantle becomes efficiently hydrated at the expense of the transition zone such that large differences in H2O concentration between the upper mantle, transition zone and lower mantle are difficult to maintain on timescales of mantle recycling. The MORB source mantle with ∼0.02-0.04 wt% H2O may be indicative of the H2O content of the transition zone and lower mantle, resulting in a bulk mantle H2O content of the order 0.5 to 1 ocean mass, which is consistent with geochemical constraints and estimates of subduction ingassing

Forage and silage performance of wheat and triticale varieties in central Texas

Last updated: 10/19/201

Healthcare organizational performance: why changing the culture really matters

An organization may be considered as having three components: a structure, systems and culture. Culture is the most difficult part of the organization to affect. After all, culture has the key role in impacting and improving rganizational performance. The leadership of an organization and its key operations are paramount in shaping the culture. Leadership and organizational culture are inextricably intertwined. They are two sides of the same coin. Culture is a medium through which leadership travels and impacts organizational erformance. If leaders are to fulfil the challenges of the 21st century, they must first understand the dynamics of culture and their role as sculptors through behavioural and cognitive ways

A 4q35.2 subtelomeric deletion identified in a screen of patients with co-morbid psychiatric illness and mental retardation

BACKGROUND: Cryptic structural abnormalities within the subtelomeric regions of chromosomes have been the focus of much recent research because of their discovery in a percentage of people with mental retardation (UK terminology: learning disability). These studies focused on subjects (largely children) with various severities of intellectual impairment with or without additional physical clinical features such as dysmorphisms. However it is well established that prevalence of schizophrenia is around three times greater in those with mild mental retardation. The rates of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder have also been reported as increased in people with mental retardation. We describe here a screen for telomeric abnormalities in a cohort of 69 patients in which mental retardation co-exists with severe psychiatric illness. METHODS: We have applied two techniques, subtelomeric fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and multiplex amplifiable probe hybridisation (MAPH) to detect abnormalities in the patient group. RESULTS: A subtelomeric deletion was discovered involving loss of 4q in a patient with co-morbid schizoaffective disorder and mental retardation. CONCLUSION: The precise region of loss has been defined allowing us to identify genes that may contribute to the clinical phenotype through hemizygosity. Interestingly, the region of 4q loss exactly matches that linked to bipolar affective disorder in a large multiply affected Australian kindred

Correction: External validation of risk prediction models for incident colorectal cancer using UK Biobank.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Impact of rapid near-patient STI testing on service delivery outcomes in an integrated sexual health service in the United Kingdom:a controlled interrupted time series study

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of a new clinic-based rapid sexually transmitted infection testing, diagnosis and treatment service on healthcare delivery and resource needs in an integrated sexual health service. DESIGN: Controlled interrupted time series study. SETTING: Two integrated sexual health services (SHS) in UK: Unity Sexual Health in Bristol, UK (intervention site) and Croydon Sexual Health in London (control site). PARTICIPANTS: Electronic patient records for all 58 418 attendances during the period 1 year before and 1 year after the intervention. INTERVENTION: Introduction of an in-clinic rapid testing system for gonorrhoea and chlamydia in combination with revised treatment pathways. OUTCOME MEASURES: Time-to-test notification, staff capacity, cost per episode of care and overall service costs. We also assessed rates of gonorrhoea culture swabs, follow-up attendances and examinations. RESULTS: Time-to-notification and the rate of gonorrhoea swabs significantly decreased following implementation of the new system. There was no evidence of change in follow-up visits or examination rates for patients seen in clinic related to the new system. Staff capacity in clinics appeared to be maintained across the study period. Overall, the number of episodes per week was unchanged in the intervention site, and the mean cost per episode decreased by 7.5% (95% CI 5.7% to 9.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The clear improvement in time-to-notification, while maintaining activity at a lower overall cost, suggests that the implementation of clinic-based testing had the intended impact, which bolsters the case for more widespread rollout in sexual health services

Integrative genomic analyses of neurofibromatosis tumours identify SOX9 as a biomarker and survival gene

Understanding the biological pathways critical for common neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) peripheral nerve tumours is essential, as there is a lack of tumour biomarkers, prognostic factors and therapeutics. We used gene expression profiling to define transcriptional changes between primary normal Schwann cells (n = 10), NF1-derived primary benign neurofibroma Schwann cells (NFSCs) (n = 22), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST) cell lines (n = 13), benign neurofibromas (NF) (n = 26) and MPNST (n = 6). Dermal and plexiform NFs were indistinguishable. A prominent theme in the analysis was aberrant differentiation. NFs repressed gene programs normally active in Schwann cell precursors and immature Schwann cells. MPNST signatures strongly differed; genes up-regulated in sarcomas were significantly enriched for genes activated in neural crest cells. We validated the differential expression of 82 genes including the neural crest transcription factor SOX9 and SOX9 predicted targets. SOX9 immunoreactivity was robust in NF and MPSNT tissue sections and targeting SOX9 – strongly expressed in NF1-related tumours – caused MPNST cell death. SOX9 is a biomarker of NF and MPNST, and possibly a therapeutic target in NF1