38 research outputs found
Reading Teachers’ Perspectives on Professional Development in Phonological Methods and Implementation of Instructional Strategies
The problem addressed through this research study was although kindergarten through Grade 3 (K–3) reading teachers have received specific professional development in phonological methods, a gap in practice exists with the implementation of instructional strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore K–3 reading teachers\u27 perspectives regarding their professional development in phonological methods and what further professional development is needed for consistent and effective implementation of instructional strategies to support student achievement in phonemic awareness and phonics. Flavell\u27s theory of thinking about thinking, otherwise known as metacognition, was the grounding conceptual framework. The research questions guided the study by exploring the teachers’ perspectives about their professional development, which professional development had the most effect on their teaching, and which opportunities are needed to enhance implementation. A basic qualitative approach using a participant interview protocol with predetermined questions was used to collect data from 10 K–3 reading teachers. Interview data were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis. The following four themes emerged from the data analysis: merging multiple professional developments leads to inconsistent implementation, teachers prefer curriculum alignment and instructional integrity, teachers value professional development leading to intentional phonics instruction, and teachers want organizational commitment to continuous improvement. This study may contribute to positive social change by providing professional development designers and educators with information when making decisions about professional development in phonological methods
Reading Teachers’ Perspectives on Professional Development in Phonological Methods and Implementation of Instructional Strategies
The problem addressed through this research study was although kindergarten through Grade 3 (K–3) reading teachers have received specific professional development in phonological methods, a gap in practice exists with the implementation of instructional strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore K–3 reading teachers\u27 perspectives regarding their professional development in phonological methods and what further professional development is needed for consistent and effective implementation of instructional strategies to support student achievement in phonemic awareness and phonics. Flavell\u27s theory of thinking about thinking, otherwise known as metacognition, was the grounding conceptual framework. The research questions guided the study by exploring the teachers’ perspectives about their professional development, which professional development had the most effect on their teaching, and which opportunities are needed to enhance implementation. A basic qualitative approach using a participant interview protocol with predetermined questions was used to collect data from 10 K–3 reading teachers. Interview data were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis. The following four themes emerged from the data analysis: merging multiple professional developments leads to inconsistent implementation, teachers prefer curriculum alignment and instructional integrity, teachers value professional development leading to intentional phonics instruction, and teachers want organizational commitment to continuous improvement. This study may contribute to positive social change by providing professional development designers and educators with information when making decisions about professional development in phonological methods
Reading Teachers’ Perspectives on Professional Development in Phonological Methods and Implementation of Instructional Strategies
The problem addressed through this research study was although kindergarten through Grade 3 (K–3) reading teachers have received specific professional development in phonological methods, a gap in practice exists with the implementation of instructional strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore K–3 reading teachers\u27 perspectives regarding their professional development in phonological methods and what further professional development is needed for consistent and effective implementation of instructional strategies to support student achievement in phonemic awareness and phonics. Flavell\u27s theory of thinking about thinking, otherwise known as metacognition, was the grounding conceptual framework. The research questions guided the study by exploring the teachers’ perspectives about their professional development, which professional development had the most effect on their teaching, and which opportunities are needed to enhance implementation. A basic qualitative approach using a participant interview protocol with predetermined questions was used to collect data from 10 K–3 reading teachers. Interview data were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis. The following four themes emerged from the data analysis: merging multiple professional developments leads to inconsistent implementation, teachers prefer curriculum alignment and instructional integrity, teachers value professional development leading to intentional phonics instruction, and teachers want organizational commitment to continuous improvement. This study may contribute to positive social change by providing professional development designers and educators with information when making decisions about professional development in phonological methods
Should outbreak response immunization be recommended for measles outbreaks in middle- and low-income countries? An update.
Measles caused mortality in >164,000 children in 2008, with most deaths occurring during outbreaks. Nonetheless, the impact and desirability of conducting measles outbreak response immunization (ORI) in middle- and low-income countries has been controversial. World Health Organization guidelines published in 1999 recommended against ORI in such settings, although recently these guidelines have been reversed for countries with measles mortality reduction goals
Ten-year mortality, disease progression, and treatment-related side effects in men with localised prostate cancer from the ProtecT randomised controlled trial according to treatment received
Background
The ProtecT trial reported intention-to-treat analysis of men with localised prostate cancer randomly allocated to active monitoring (AM), radical prostatectomy, and external beam radiotherapy.
Objective
To report outcomes according to treatment received in men in randomised and treatment choice cohorts.
Design, setting, and participants
This study focuses on secondary care. Men with clinically localised prostate cancer at one of nine UK centres were invited to participate in the treatment trial comparing AM, radical prostatectomy, and radiotherapy.
Intervention
Two cohorts included 1643 men who agreed to be randomised and 997 who declined randomisation and chose treatment.
Outcome measurements and statistical analysis
Analysis was carried out to assess mortality, metastasis and progression and health-related quality of life impacts on urinary, bowel, and sexual function using patient-reported outcome measures. Analysis was based on comparisons between groups defined by treatment received for both randomised and treatment choice cohorts in turn, with pooled estimates of intervention effect obtained using meta-analysis. Differences were estimated with adjustment for known prognostic factors using propensity scores.
Results and limitations
According to treatment received, more men receiving AM died of PCa (AM 1.85%, surgery 0.67%, radiotherapy 0.73%), whilst this difference remained consistent with chance in the randomised cohort (p = 0.08); stronger evidence was found in the exploratory analyses (randomised plus choice cohort) when AM was compared with the combined radical treatment group (p = 0.003). There was also strong evidence that metastasis (AM 5.6%, surgery 2.4%, radiotherapy 2.7%) and disease progression (AM 20.35%, surgery 5.87%, radiotherapy 6.62%) were more common in the AM group. Compared with AM, there were higher risks of sexual dysfunction (95% at 6 mo) and urinary incontinence (55% at 6 mo) after surgery, and of sexual dysfunction (88% at 6 mo) and bowel dysfunction (5% at 6 mo) after radiotherapy. The key limitations are the potential for bias when comparing groups defined by treatment received and changes in the protocol for AM during the lengthy follow-up required in trials of screen-detected PCa.
Conclusions
Analyses according to treatment received showed increased rates of disease-related events and lower rates of patient-reported harms in men managed by AM compared with men managed by radical treatment, and stronger evidence of greater PCa mortality in the AM group.
Patient summary
More than 95 out of every 100 men with low or intermediate risk localised prostate cancer do not die of prostate cancer within 10 yr, irrespective of whether treatment is by means of monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy. Side effects on sexual and bladder function are better after active monitoring, but the risks of spreading of prostate cancer are more common
Overview of the MOSAiC expedition: Physical oceanography
Arctic Ocean properties and processes are highly relevant to the regional and global coupled climate system,
yet still scarcely observed, especially in winter. Team OCEAN conducted a full year of physical oceanography
observations as part of the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of the Arctic Climate
(MOSAiC), a drift with the Arctic sea ice from October 2019 to September 2020. An international team
designed and implemented the program to characterize the Arctic Ocean system in unprecedented detail, from
the seafloor to the air-sea ice-ocean interface, from sub-mesoscales to pan-Arctic. The oceanographic
measurements were coordinated with the other teams to explore the ocean physics and linkages to the
climate and ecosystem. This paper introduces the major components of the physical oceanography program
and complements the other team overviews of the MOSAiC observational program. Team OCEAN’s sampling
strategy was designed around hydrographic ship-, ice- and autonomous platform-based measurements to
improve the understanding of regional circulation and mixing processes. Measurements were carried out
both routinely, with a regular schedule, and in response to storms or opening leads. Here we present alongdrift time series of hydrographic properties, allowing insights into the seasonal and regional evolution of the
water column from winter in the Laptev Sea to early summer in Fram Strait: freshening of the surface,
deepening of the mixed layer, increase in temperature and salinity of the Atlantic Water. We also highlight
the presence of Canada Basin deep water intrusions and a surface meltwater layer in leads. MOSAiC most
likely was the most comprehensive program ever conducted over the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. While data
analysis and interpretation are ongoing, the acquired datasets will support a wide range of physical
oceanography and multi-disciplinary research. They will provide a significant foundation for assessing and
advancing modeling capabilities in the Arctic Ocean
Functional and quality of life outcomes of localised prostate cancer treatments (prostate testing for cancer and treatment [ProtecT] study)
Objective
To investigate the functional and quality of life (QoL) outcomes of treatments for localised prostate cancer and inform treatment decision-making.
Patients and Methods
Men aged 50–69 years diagnosed with localised prostate cancer by prostate-specific antigen testing and biopsies at nine UK centres in the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) trial were randomised to, or chose one of, three treatments. Of 2565 participants, 1135 men received active monitoring (AM), 750 a radical prostatectomy (RP), 603 external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with concurrent androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and 77 low-dose-rate brachytherapy (BT, not a randomised treatment). Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) completed annually for 6 years were analysed by initial treatment and censored for subsequent treatments. Mixed effects models were adjusted for baseline characteristics using propensity scores.
Results
Treatment-received analyses revealed different impacts of treatments over 6 years. Men remaining on AM experienced gradual declines in sexual and urinary function with age (e.g., increases in erectile dysfunction from 35% of men at baseline to 53% at 6 years and nocturia similarly from 20% to 38%). Radical treatment impacts were immediate and continued over 6 years. After RP, 95% of men reported erectile dysfunction persisting for 85% at 6 years, and after EBRT this was reported by 69% and 74%, respectively (P < 0.001 compared with AM). After RP, 36% of men reported urinary leakage requiring at least 1 pad/day, persisting for 20% at 6 years, compared with no change in men receiving EBRT or AM (P < 0.001). Worse bowel function and bother (e.g., bloody stools 6% at 6 years and faecal incontinence 10%) was experienced by men after EBRT than after RP or AM (P < 0.001) with lesser effects after BT. No treatment affected mental or physical QoL.
Conclusion
Treatment decision-making for localised prostate cancer can be informed by these 6-year functional and QoL outcomes
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway
Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant
Practices and programmes that enhance successful transition and participation in high school for Indigenous young people: a systematic review
This systematic review reports evidence on practices and programmes that enhance successful primary-secondary school transition and participation for Indigenous students in Australia. A thematic analysis found three sets of practices: the school context; bridging practices; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students cultural recognition. Two narratives thread through the practices: centrality of relationships; and the entangled nature of Indigenous culture, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student’s identity and successful transition and participation in high school. Attending to relationships with students, their families, communities and local Elders supports cultural identity, belonging and improves participation in high school. Future research, program development and implementation should acknowledge students’ unique needs and collaborate with students, their families and community. School staff ought to acknowledge the colonised context of education in Australia and increase the use of decolonising practices to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to transition to and participate in high school
Practices and programmes that enhance successful transition and participation in high school for Indigenous young people: a systematic review
This systematic review reports evidence on practices and programmes that enhance successful primary-secondary school transition and participation for Indigenous students in Australia. A thematic analysis found three sets of practices: the school context; bridging practices; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students cultural recognition. Two narratives thread through the practices: centrality of relationships; and the entangled nature of Indigenous culture, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student’s identity and successful transition and participation in high school. Attending to relationships with students, their families, communities and local Elders supports cultural identity, belonging and improves participation in high school. Future research, program development and implementation should acknowledge students’ unique needs and collaborate with students, their families and community. School staff ought to acknowledge the colonised context of education in Australia and increase the use of decolonising practices to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to transition to and participate in high school