Emergence of Professional Identities of Novice Emirati Teachers

This article explores the emergence of Emirati novice teachers’ professional identity from a socio-cultural viewpoint where influences on identity are sourced internally through beliefs, attitudes, values and dispositions and externally through factors such as roles and responsibilities. Empirical data collected through individual and group interviews and analysed using content analysis, highlights both challenges and emergence of professional identity from point of graduation through to the end of the first year of teaching. The results show that influences on professional identity relate to challenges of raising learner outcomes in relation to delivery of the curriculum, managing the self in multiple contexts, and participating in school-based communities of practice. Teaching science and mathematics in English raises queries of ‘self’ as a teacher. Novice teachers’ emerging professional identity emphasises the ethics of teaching in the UAE

Perspectives of Emirati Married Women in Higher Education

Abstract United Arab Emirates (UAE) women have enthusiastically taken advantage of the educational opportunities available for all after the discovery of oil. Their access to higher education has expanded considerably, opening new opportunities to them for participation and career development. This exploratory study has attempted to gain an insight into the challenges married female Emirati students undergo during their learning journey to pursue the Bachelor of Education teaching degree. The study also examines motivating factors and strategies, albeit individual and/or institutional serving as support factors. The research has been positioned within a socio-cultural framework of the UAE context. This article delineates the complexities of balancing married life juxtaposed with the demands of being a student teacher within a 21 st century tomorrow's multicultural perspective school framework. The need for tertiary level supportive services empowering and inspiring these students is also discussed within the daily life family reality, community and society at large

The health of women and girls determines the health and well-being of our modern world: A White Paper From the International Council on Women's Health Issues

The International Council on Women's Health Issues (ICOWHI) is an international nonprofit association dedicated to the goal of promoting health, health care, and well-being of women and girls throughout the world through participation, empowerment, advocacy, education, and research. We are a multidisciplinary network of women's health providers, planners, and advocates from all over the globe. We constitute an international professional and lay network of those committed to improving women and girl's health and quality of life. This document provides a description of our organization mission, vision, and commitment to improving the health and well-being of women and girls globally

Strain Typing Methods and Molecular Epidemiology of Pneumocystis Pneumonia

Several typing methods, with different strengths and weaknesses, are available for studies of Pneumocystis pneumonia

Improving Outcomes in Infants of HIV-Infected Women in a Developing Country Setting

Since 1999 GHESKIO, a large voluntary counseling and HIV testing center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has had an ongoing collaboration with the Haitian Ministry of Health to reduce the rate of mother to child HIV transmission. There are limited data on the ability to administer complex regimens for reducing mother to child transmission and on risk factors for continued transmission and infant mortality within programmatic settings in developing countries.We analyzed data from 551 infants born to HIV-infected mothers seen at GHESKIO, between 1999 and 2005. HIV-infected mothers and their infants were given "short-course" monotherapy with antiretrovirals for prophylaxis; and, since 2003, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) when clinical or laboratory indications were met. Infected women seen in the pre-treatment era had 27% transmission rates, falling to 10% in this cohort of 551 infants, and to only 1.9% in infants of women on HAART. Mortality rate after HAART introduction (0.12 per year of follow-up [0.08-0.16]) was significantly lower than the period before the availability of such therapy (0.23 [0.16-0.30], P<0.0001). The effects of maternal health, infant feeding, completeness of prophylaxis, and birth weight on mortality and transmission were determined using univariate and multivariate analysis. Infant HIV-1 infection and low birth weight were associated with infant mortality in less than 15 month olds in multivariate analysis.Our findings demonstrate success in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission and mortality in a highly resource constrained setting. Elements contributing to programmatic success include provision of HAART in the context of a comprehensive program with pre and postnatal care for both mother and infant

Progesterone and prolactin levels in pregnant women living with HIV who delivered preterm and low birthweight infants: A nested case-control study

Background Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is associated with high rates of adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth and low birthweight. Studies suggest that progesterone and prolactin may play important intermediary roles. Methods We analyzed data from the Antenatal Component of the PROMISE trial, a multi-center study of pregnant women taking antiretroviral regimens (lopinavir/ritonavir-containing ART or zidovudine alone) to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. In a nested case-control study, we compared data from women who gave birth to preterm (<37 weeks gestation) and/or low birthweight (<2500 g) infants to matched individuals who did not. We measured serum progesterone and prolactin at 24–34 weeks gestation. We used conditional logistic regression to describe relationships between hormone levels, birth outcomes, and antiretroviral regimens. Results 299 women and their newborns were included (146 cases, 153 controls). When compared to women receiving zidovudine alone, those on ART had higher odds of progesterone levels under the 10th percentile (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]:2.34, 95%CI:1.41–3.89) and 25th percentile (AOR:2.07, 95%CI:1.46–2.94). However, higher levels of progesterone—rather than lower levels—were associated with our composite case outcome at the 10th percentile (AOR:1.88, 95%CI:0.77–4.59) and 25th percentile (AOR:1.96, 95%CI:1.06–3.61). Associations were not observed between prolactin, antiretroviral regimen, and birth outcomes. Conclusion We observed lower progesterone levels among women allocated to ART regimens; however, higher progesterone levels were associated with preterm birth and/or low birthweight. While features of the study design may have contributed to these findings, they nevertheless highlight the potentially complex mechanisms underpinning adverse birth outcomes and HIV

In-vivo optical detection of cancer using chlorin e6 – polyvinylpyrrolidone induced fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Photosensitizer based fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy is fast becoming a promising approach for cancer detection. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) formulated in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a potential exogenous fluorophore for fluorescence imaging and spectroscopic detection of human cancer tissue xenografted in preclinical models as well as in a patient.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fluorescence imaging was performed on MGH human bladder tumor xenografted on both the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and the murine model using a fluorescence endoscopy imaging system. In addition, fiber optic based fluorescence spectroscopy was performed on tumors and various normal organs in the same mice to validate the macroscopic images. In one patient, fluorescence imaging was performed on angiosarcoma lesions and normal skin in conjunction with fluorescence spectroscopy to validate Ce6-PVP induced fluorescence visual assessment of the lesions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Margins of tumor xenografts in the CAM model were clearly outlined under fluorescence imaging. Ce6-PVP-induced fluorescence imaging yielded a specificity of 83% on the CAM model. In mice, fluorescence intensity of Ce6-PVP was higher in bladder tumor compared to adjacent muscle and normal bladder. Clinical results confirmed that fluorescence imaging clearly captured the fluorescence of Ce6-PVP in angiosarcoma lesions and good correlation was found between fluorescence imaging and spectral measurement in the patient.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Combination of Ce6-PVP induced fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy could allow for optical detection and discrimination between cancer and the surrounding normal tissues. Ce6-PVP seems to be a promising fluorophore for fluorescence diagnosis of cancer.</p

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio