Tilpasset opplæring og hørselproblematikk

Masteroppgave i tilpassa opplæring - Universitetet i Nordland, 201

The North Shore Curriculum Assessment Final Report

Coastal Program Grant Agreement # 306-11-08; The North Shore Curriculum Assessment Conducted by Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.This document describes the results of a project to assess the needs of teachers and schools regarding coastal resources and environmental education in the Minnesota coastal zone. A survey was carried out on K-12 teachers at 55 schools in the coastal zone, and a series of community meetings was held. Key findings are extracted and reproduced below. “The majority of surveyed teachers stated that they are quite comfortable teaching environmental education lessons in their classroom, resulting in one of the higher rankings (4.20) given in any area of the survey. This is supported by the fact that 77% of the teachers from this survey stated that they teach outdoors and 68% of them are currently using an outdoor school site. These numbers seem to indicate that many schools have an outdoor setting in which to teach. This is supported by the lowest ranking (2.83) for environmental education resource needs of obtaining an outdoor school site. The teachers seemed to indicate that they were knowledgeable in the content areas of environmental education with the positive rankings in every area (all above 3.0). The teachers in this survey rated that their greatest level of knowledge was among the area of outdoor recreation. This area is an integral part of our region and many may have gained experiential knowledge that would support this finding. Teachers indicated that they were more knowledgeable (3.70) about general environmental issues (climate change, acid rain, etc.) rather than specific issues relating to the coastal zone, (fisheries, forestry and development). Specific coastal zone issues was rated the lowest (3.02) in this category. The data showed that a moderate number of teachers were unaware of many of the existing environmental education curricula. The data also showed that many teachers were aware of the listed curricula, but did not use them presently in their teaching. Overall, of the teachers that did indicate they used these curricular resources, there was a relatively low rate of usage of these resources, all with rankings below 2.50. Specific coastal resource management issues were ranked as the highest level of need in terms of a specific content area, which seems to correlate with the prior result that showed this area to be ranked as the lowest item in the teachers’ level of knowledge. Other needed content areas that were ranked highest in this category were aquatic ecosystems, birds, current interaction of humans upon natural resources (an area similar to coastal resource management issues), historical interactions of human cultures upon natural resources, earth sciences and wildlife. 93% of surveyed teachers responding that they teach about the environment, it was surprising to note that only 38% of them use the identified published EE curriculum. Instead, many teachers (46%) have developed their own curriculum to teach about the environment. In addition to teaching about the environment, a majority (64%) of the teachers are taking their students on field trips to Environmental Learning Centers or Nature Centers. However, most of these field trip opportunities are happening only once or twice during the school year. The data also revealed that 19.6% of the surveyed teachers are teaching about the environment every week, which seemed to be a high percentage given the number of respondents. The outcomes and knowledge gained from this project are to be used to assess the needs of environmental education curriculum in the coastal zone and subsequently make recommendations for future funding and efforts that best meet the needs of coastal area schools and educators.

A Computer Assisted Environmental Education Resource Program

Northeast Iowa is an exceptionally beautiful and unique region. Environmental education in the schools and communities of this area is a vital factor in enabling citizens to take a reasoned approach to the conservation and management of this region. Two observations precipitated the action which resulted in the project described in this paper. The first was that the local resources were vulnerable to being utilized in a potentially harmful manner and secondly, teachers did not seem to be taking full advantage of their local resources in their classroom instruction

Probiotic With or Without Fiber Controls Body Fat Mass, Associated With Serum Zonulin, in Overweight and Obese Adults—Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract The gut microbiota is interlinked with obesity, but direct evidence of effects of its modulation on body fat mass is still scarce. We investigated the possible effects of Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis 420 (B420) and the dietary fiber Litesse® Ultra polydextrose (LU) on body fat mass and other obesity-related parameters. 225 healthy volunteers (healthy, BMI 28–34.9) were randomized into four groups (1:1:1:1), using a computer-generated sequence, for 6months of double-blind, parallel treatment: 1) Placebo, microcrystalline cellulose, 12g/d; 2) LU, 12g/d; 3) B420, 1010CFU/d in microcrystalline cellulose, 12g/d; 4) LU+B420, 12g+1010CFU/d. Body composition was monitored with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and the primary outcome was relative change in body fat mass, comparing treatment groups to Placebo. Other outcomes included anthropometric measurements, food intake and blood and fecal biomarkers. The study was registered in Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01978691). There were marked differences in the results of the Intention-To-Treat (ITT; n=209) and Per Protocol (PP; n=134) study populations. The PP analysis included only those participants who completed the intervention with >80% product compliance and no antibiotic use. In addition, three participants were excluded from DXA analyses for PP due to a long delay between the end of intervention and the last DXA measurement. There were no significant differences between groups in body fat mass in the ITT population. However, LU+B420 and B420 seemed to improve weight management in the PP population. For relative change in body fat mass, LU+B420 showed a−4.5% (−1.4kg, P=0.02, N=37) difference to the Placebo group, whereas LU (+0.3%, P=1.00, N=35) and B420 (−3.0%, P=0.28, N=24) alone had no effect (overall ANOVA P=0.095, Placebo N=35). A post-hoc factorial analysis was significant for B420 (−4.0%, P=0.002 vs. Placebo). Changes in fat mass were most pronounced in the abdominal region, and were reflected by similar changes in waist circumference. B420 and LU+B420 also significantly reduced energy intake compared to Placebo. Changes in blood zonulin levels and hsCRP were associated with corresponding changes in trunk fat mass in the LU+B420 group and in the overall population. There were no differences between groups in the incidence of adverse events. This clinical trial demonstrates that a probiotic product with or without dietary fiber controls body fat mass. B420 and LU+B420 also reduced waist circumference and food intake, whereas LU alone had no effect on the measured outcomes.Peer reviewe

Astatine-211 based radionuclide therapy: Current clinical trial landscape

Astatine-211 (211At) has physical properties that make it one of the top candidates for use as a radiation source for alpha particle-based radionuclide therapy, also referred to as targeted alpha therapy (TAT). Here, we summarize the main results of the completed clinical trials, further describe ongoing trials, and discuss future prospects

Cardiovascular risk following conversion to belatacept from a calcineurin inhibitor in kidney transplant recipients: a randomized clinical trial

Rationale & Objective: In kidney transplant recipients (KTRs), a belatacept-based immunosuppressive regimen is associated with beneficial effects on cardiovascular (CV) risk factors compared with calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based regimens. Our objective was to compare the calculated CV risk between belatacept and CNI (predominantly tacrolimus) treatments using a validated model developed for KTRs.Study Design: Prospective, randomized, open-label, parallel-group, investigator-initiated, international multicenter trial.Setting & Participants: KTRs aged 18-80 years with a stable graft function (estimated glomerular filtration rate > 20 mL/min/1.73 m2), 3-60 months after transplantation, treated with tacrolimus or cyclosporine A, were eligible for inclusion.Intervention: Continuation with a CNI-based regimen or switch to belatacept for 12 months.Outcomes: Comparison of the change in the esti-mated 7-year risk of major adverse CV events and all-cause mortality, changes in traditional markers of CV health, as well as measures of arterial stiffness.Results: Among the 105 KTRs randomized, we found no differences between the treatment groups in the predicted risk for major adverse CV events or mortality. Diastolic blood pres-sure, measured both centrally by using a SphygmoCor device and peripherally, was lower after the belatacept treatment than after the CNI treatment. The mean changes in traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, including kidney transplant function, were otherwise similar in both the treatment groups. The belatacept group had 4 acute rejection episodes; 2 were severe rejections, of which 1 led to graft loss.Limitations: The heterogeneous baseline esti-mated glomerular filtration rate and time from transplantation to trial enrollment in the partici-pants. A limited study duration of 1 year.Conclusions: We found no effects on the calculated CV risk by switching to the belata-cept treatment. Participants in the belatacept group had not only lower central and peripheral diastolic blood pressure but also a higher rejection rate.Funding: The trial has received a financial grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb.Trial Registration: EudraCT no. 2013-001178-20.Nephrolog

Aidan Smerud - Doctor of Musical Arts - Doctoral Recital

Per questa bella mano / W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) -- Trauermusic eines kunsterfahrenen Canarienvogels / G.P. Telemann (1681-1767) -- Einstein on Mercer Street / Kevin Puts (b. 1972)Music, Moores School o

IgA Nephropathy – Mucosal Immunity and Treatment Options

In the present studies we have explored the link between food hypersensitivity and IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and evaluated treatment options in primary and recurrent disease. Approximately one third of our IgAN patients had a rectal mucosal sensitivity to gluten, as demonstrated by increased local mucosal nitric oxide production and/or myeloperoxidase release after gluten challenge. The gluten sensitivity seemed to be an innate immune reaction unrelated to the pathogenesis of celiac disease. Approximately half of the patients had a rectal mucosal sensitivity to soy or cow’s milk (CM). The levels of IgG antibodies to alfa-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin and casein were significantly higher in CM sensitive as compared with non-sensitive IgAN patients, indicating that an adaptive immune response might be involved in addition to the innate immune reaction observed. With the knowledge of gastrointestinal reactivity enteric treatment was considered as a potential new treatment approach of IgAN. A 6-month prospective trial demonstrated proof-of-concept for the use of enteric budesonide targeted to the ileocaecal region of IgAN patients. We observed a modest, but significant reduction in urine albumin, a minor reduction of serum creatinine and a modest increase of eGFR calculated by the MDRD equation. eGFR calculated from the Cockcroft-Gault formula and cystatin C was not changed. In a retrospective study recurrence of IgAN and graft loss was evaluated in Norwegian and Swedish patients having received a primary renal transplant due to IgAN. Adjusting for relevant covariates, a multiple Cox-regression analysis on time to IgAN recurrence showed that use of statins was associated with reduced risk of recurrence and reduced risk of graft loss. The time lag from diagnosis to first transplantation and female gender were also associated with lower risk of recurrence. Improved graft survival was associated with related donor, low donor age and no or low number of acute rejection episodes