The Role of the Teacher as Assessor: Developing Student Teacher’s Assessment Identity.

The closure of schools across the globe due to the Covid-19 pandemic had the potential to have a catastrophic impact on a fundamental pillar of initial teacher education: school placement. This paper maps a new “site” of professional practice for “school placement” called “Teacher Online Programme” (TOP) using Xu and Brown’s (2016) conceptual framework of teacher assessment literacy in practice. Its main focus lies in the integration of the assessment baseline knowledge into the programme under the seven elements proposed by the framework. A case study methodology informed the approach taken. Data was collected and analysed in three phases: the Teaching Online Programme Year 3 (TOP3) initiative; Student-teacher and Tutor Questionnaires and Student-teacher and Tutor focus group interviews. The findings highlight the complex and multifaceted process of building teacher assessment identity which nests in the larger purposes for education. They encourage an emergentist and collaborative approach to assessment knowledge and view working in communities of practice as a threshold for creativity and innovation

Influence of the metal/metal oxide redox cycle on the catalytic activity of methane oxidation over Pd and Ni doped hydroxyapatite

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. The methane oxidation reaction was investigated over Pd and Ni doped hydroxyapatite (HAP) catalysts. All catalysts were evaluated in both their reduced and oxidised forms, and the behaviour of the metals in the reaction was investigated. The obtained results demonstrated that the reaction proceeds through a redox cycle between metal oxide and reduced metal, however more stable catalysts with higher conversions were observed when the catalysts were pre-treated in oxygen. After CH 4 oxidation, all the samples were tested towards coke formation using TGA analysis; results showed that all the catalysts were resistant to the coking process under the conditions studied

Interleukin-33 regulates tissue remodelling and inhibits angiogenesis in the eye

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of central vision loss worldwide. Loss of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a major pathological hallmark in AMD with or without pathological neovascularization. Although activation of the immune system is implicated in disease progression, pathological pathways remain diverse and unclear. Here, we report an unexpected protective role of a pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-33 (IL-33) in ocular angiogenesis. IL-33 and its receptor (ST2) are expressed constitutively in human and murine retina and choroid. When RPE was activated, IL-33 expression was markedly elevated in vitro. We found that IL-33 regulated tissue remodelling by attenuating wound-healing responses, including reduction in migration of choroidal fibroblasts and retinal microvascular endothelial cells, and inhibition of collagen gel contraction. In vivo, local administration of recombinant IL-33 inhibited murine choroidal neovascularization (CNV) formation, a surrogate of human neovascular AMD, and this effect was ST2-dependent. Collectively, these data demonstrate IL-33 as a potential immunotherapy and distinguishes pathways for subverting AMD pathology

Structure of a Model Dye/Titania Interface: Geometry of Benzoate on Rutile-TiO2 (110)(1 x 1)

Scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction (PhD) and ab initio density functional theory calculations have been employed to investigate the adsorption geometry of benzoate ([C6H5COO]−) on rutile-TiO2(110)(1 × 1). PhD data indicate that the benzoate moiety binds to the surface through both of its oxygen atoms to two adjacent fivefold surface titanium atoms in an essentially upright geometry. Moreover, its phenyl (C6H5−) and carboxylate ([−COO]−) groups are determined to be coplanar, being aligned along the [001] azimuth. This experimental result is consistent with the benzoate geometry emerging from DFT calculations conducted for laterally rather well-separated adsorbates. At shorter interadsorbate distances, the theoretical modeling predicts a more tilted and twisted adsorption geometry, where the phenyl and carboxylate groups are no longer coplanar; i.e., interadsorbate interactions influence the configuration of adsorbed benzoate

Long-term results after liver transplantation for primary hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma

Background: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (PHEHE) is a multifocal, low-grade malignant neoplasia characterized by its epithelial-like appearance and vascular endothelial histogenesis. The outcome of 16 patients treated with orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the subject of this report. Methods: A retrospective study of 16 patients with HEHE (7 men, 9 women) with ages ranging from 24 to 58 years (mean 37 ± 10.6 years). Follow-up intervals ranged from 1 to 15 years (median of 4.5 years). Results: Actual patient survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was 100, 87.5, and 71.3%, respectively. Disease-free survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was 81.3, 68.8, and 60.2%, respectively. The 90-day operative mortality was 0. Involvement of the hilar lymph nodes or vascular invasion did not affect survival. The 5-year survival of HEHE compares favorably with that of hepatocellular carcinoma at the same stage (stage 4A): 71.3 versus 9.8% (p=0.001) Conclusions: The long-term survival obtained in this series justifies OLT for these tumors even in the presence of limited extrahepatic disease. © 1995 The Society of Surgical Oncology, Inc

High yield synthesis of hydroxyapatite (HAP) and Palladium Doped HAP via a wet chemical synthetic route

© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. A novel procedure for the synthesis of both hydroxyapatite (HAP) and palladium doped HAP via a wet chemical precipitation method is described herein. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy are utilised to characterise the synthesised material’s morphology, structure and crystallinity. The developed synthetic protocol produces high purity HAP with an average yield of 83.7 (±0.10)% and an average particle size of 58.2 (±0.98) nm, such synthesis has been achieved at room temperature and within a time period of less than 24 h. Additionally, in order to enhance the overall conductivity of the material, a range of Pd (2, 4 and 6 wt %) metal doped HAP has been synthesised, characterised and, for the first time, applied towards the competitive electrocatalytic detection of hydrazine, exhibiting a linear range of 50–400 μM with a limit of detection (3σ) of 30 µM

The impact of open versus closed format ICU admission practices on the outcome of high risk surgical patients: a cohort analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the year 2000, the organizational structure of the ICU in the Zaandam Medical Centre (ZMC) changed from an open to a closed format ICU. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of this organizational change on outcome in high risk surgical patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The medical records of all consecutive high risk surgical patients admitted to the ICU from 1996 to 1998 (open format) and from 2003 to 2005 (closed format), were reviewed. High-risk patients were defined according to the Identification of Risk in Surgical patients (IRIS) score. Parameters studied were: mortality, morbidity, ICU length of stay (LOS) and hospital LOS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mortality of ICU patients was 25.7% in the open format group and 15.8% in the closed format group (p = 0.01). Morbidity decreased from 48.6% to 46.1% (p = 0.6). The average length of hospital stay was 17 days in the open format group, and 21 days in the closed format group (p = 0.03).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>High risk surgical patients in the ICU are patients that have undergone complex and often extensive surgery. These patients are in need of specialized treatment and careful monitoring for maximum safety and optimal care. Our results suggest that closed format is a more favourable setting than open format to minimize the effects of high risk surgery, and to warrant safe outcome in this patient group.</p