Like a fish in water? Experiences of Muslim families in the British education system

This article summarises the explorations of two Initial Teacher Education (ITE) lecturers looking particularly at Muslim families’ sense of belonging as they encounter the British education system. The study draws on Garcia’s (2009, Alstad, 2013) view of monoglossic and heteroglossic settings, and on Cremin’s (2015) proposition of the super-diversity of inner-city experiences. Case studies of individual families are used to create a picture that reflects the complexity and shifting nature of cultures, languages and identities in present-day Britain. Video and tape interviews are used and data coded and analysed to identify prevailing themes. The families and schools taking part are active participants in the research process, giving informed and ongoing consent, and having control of the resulting findings. Parents’ and children’s perceptions and experience have evolved in complex ways across the generations, and in ways that challenge the stereotypes that dominate media portrayals. Early findings suggest that existing paradigms for discussing identity fail to capture the increasingly complex and super-diverse realities. In a world where xenophobia currently fuels rigid and stereotypical views of cultures in general and Muslim cultures in particular, it is important that the complexity of families’ identities and relationships to the existing systems is seen, heard and appreciated

Bed Bottom

Patent for "a new and useful improvement in bed bottoms". The bed bottom fits any bedstead and it is cheap, portable, and durable

Abstract WP145: Intra-arterial Stem Cell Therapy for a Persistent Vegetative State Patient: A DTI Analysis of Recovery

Background: Cell therapy is promising in pre-clinical studies of global ischemia. The aim of this pilot study is to describe the first intra-arterial (IA) delivery of bone marrow derived ALD-401 cells in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) patient in the U.S. & findings on MRI Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Diffusion Tensor Tractography (DTT). Material: A 51-yr. woman developed PVS due to cardiac arrest. At 2 years post PVS state, experimental cell therapy was requested by the family. The FDA approved a one-time compassionate use IA delivery of ALD-401 cells. Bone marrow harvest from the patient, followed by processing with flow cytometry was completed to separate ALD-401 cells. Intra-arterial infusion of cells was done bilaterally into each supra-clinoid carotid. Post-infusion neurological assessments- National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), JFKr coma recovery scale, brainstem reflexes, modified Rankin Scores (mRS) and MRI DTI imaging were collected at 1-, 3-, 6-, 9-mo & 1 year Result: The patient had no adverse events peri-operatively. Over 1-year follow-up the patient had 1 hospitalization for UTI and postmenopausal bleeding. No other adverse events occurred. Minor clinical improvement was shown on assessment scales above. However, DTI-DTT analysis of Fractional Anisotropy (FA) showed improvement in the FA and ADC of white matter tracts starting 7 months post injection for the Cortical Spinal Tract (CST) and starting 4 months post injection for the Corpus Callosum (CC) months (see figure). Diffusion Tensor Tractography also showed qualitative improvement in organization and caliber of CC & CST over follow-up post intervention (see figure) Conclusion: Assessing minor neurological improvements in this severe PVS patient remains challenging; DTI-DTT MRI imaging detects changes in white mater tracts that could serve as biomarkers for recovery. Further follow-up clinical assessments and imaging will continue in this patient to define further recovery

Research in Teacher Education: Volume 6, No.1, May 2016

The Research in Teacher Education publication is published twice a year by the School of Education and Communities, University of East London, Water Lane, London E15 4LZ. The periodical offers a forum for informed debate and discussion on all aspects of teacher education. The publication showcases work from the teacher education teams at the School of Education and Communities and the wider teacher education community in the UK. The definition of ‘research’, in its broadest sense includes any gathering of data, information and ‘facts’ designed to advance knowledge. While nurturing and publicising the creative talent within teacher education the periodical seeks to stimulate, provoke and extend discussion and debate with other professionals associated with this field. In addition to contributions from the team of teacher educators at the School, each edition of Research in Teacher Education will publish research findings, book reviews and/or opinion pieces from guest writers associated with the School of Education and Communities

Abstract T MP5: Factors Determining Consent in a Randomized Trial of Intra-Arterial Stem Cell Therapy for Sub-Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background: Obtaining consent from eligible patients in randomized stroke trials can be challenging. Stem cells are controversial in general and may add further hurdles to consent. We investigated the rate of patient and legally authorized representative (LAR) consent and factors determining consent in the first US intra-arterial autologous stem cell Phase 2 multicenter trial: RECOVER Stroke. Methods: In this trial, eligible patients were identified at one week from stroke onset. We performed a retrospective analysis of all eligible patients who were approached for consent at 2 out of 8 actively recruiting centers in the trial. Analyzed data including age, gender, race, NIHSS, lesion location, prior recanlization therapy and mode of consent (self-consent, LAR-consent). Results: Of the 44 patients approached for consent at the two centers, 22 (50%) agreed to participate in the clinical research trial. A trend for higher rate of consent refusal in older patients was noted (mean age of consented patients was 61±11 vs 69±12 on patients with declined consent; p=0.06). The mode of consenting (self-consent vs. LAR-consent) had no impact consenting/refusal rates. Males gender was associated with a significantly higher rate of consent, as well as patients with lower NIHSS. Race and lesion location had no impact on the rates of consent refusal. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed male gender as the only variable independently associated with higher rate of consent (OR 7.2; 95%CI 1.6-31.5; p=0.008). The only variable independently associated with LAR-consenting after multivariate binary logistic regression was NIHSS (OR 1.15; 95%CI 1.01-1.31; p=0.03). Conclusions: There was a high rate of consent among eligible patients in the first US intra-arterial trial of stem cell therapy for stroke. Male gender was significantly associated with higher overall consent rate and lower NIHSS with proxy consenting

Transradial access in acute ischemic stroke intervention

To describe the feasibility and safety of transradial access (TRA) in the interventional management of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). A retrospective review of the local institutional AIS interventional databases of three tertiary academic centers was performed and the use of TRA identified. TRA was attempted in 15 (1.5%) of 1001 patients; it was used in 12 cases due to transfemoral access (TFA) failure and in 3 as the primary strategy. The mean age was 72.3±8.6 and 46% were male. Baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 19.5±8.7, two patients (14%) received intravenous tissue plasminogen activator, and mean time from last known normal to intra-arterial therapy was 17.0±20.1 h. Five patients had anterior circulation occlusive disease and 10 had vertebrobasilar occlusions. TRA was effective in allowing clot engagement in 13 of 15 cases: one patient had a hypoplastic radial artery that precluded sheath advancement and one had chronic innominate artery occlusion that could not be crossed. Mean time to switch from TFA to TRA was 1.9±1.3 h and the mean time from radial puncture to reperfusion was 2.2±1.0 h. Modified Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction 2b-3 reperfusion via TRA was achieved in 9 of 15 patients (60%). No radial puncture site complications were noted. At 90 days, two patients (13%) had a good clinical outcome and seven (50%) had died. Failure of TFA in the endovascular treatment of AIS is uncommon but leads to unacceptable delays in reperfusion and poor outcomes. Standardization of benchmarks for access switch could serve as a guide for neurointerventionalists. TRA is a valid approach for the endovascular treatment of AIS