Mathematically gifted and talented learners: Theory and practice

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 40(2), 213-228, 2009, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00207390802566907.There is growing recognition of the special needs of mathematically gifted learners. This article reviews policy developments and current research and theory on giftedness in mathematics. It includes a discussion of the nature of mathematical ability as well as the factors that make up giftedness in mathematics. The article is set in the context of current developments in Mathematics Education and Gifted Education in the UK and their implications for Science and Technology. It argues that early identification and appropriate provision for younger mathematically promising pupils capitalizes on an intellectual resource which could provide future mathematicans as well as specialists in Science or Technology. Drawing on a Vygotskian framework, it is suggested that the mathematically gifted require appropriate cognitive challenges as well as attitudinally and motivationally enhancing experiences. In the second half of this article we report on an initiative in which we worked with teachers to identify mathematically gifted pupils and to provide effective enrichment support for them, in a number of London Local Authorities. A number of significant issues are raised relating to the identification of mathematical talent, enrichment provision for students and teachers’ professional development

The M33 Globular Cluster System with PAndAS Data: The Last Outer Halo Cluster?

We use CFHT/MegaCam data to search for outer halo star clusters in M33 as part of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS). This work extends previous studies out to a projected radius of 50 kpc and covers over 40 square degrees. We find only one new unambiguous star cluster in addition to the five previously known in the M33 outer halo (10 kpc <= r <= 50 kpc). Although we identify 2440 cluster candidates of various degrees of confidence from our objective image search procedure, almost all of these are likely background contaminants, mostly faint unresolved galaxies. We measure the luminosity, color and structural parameters of the new cluster in addition to the five previously-known outer halo clusters. At a projected radius of 22 kpc, the new cluster is slightly smaller, fainter and redder than all but one of the other outer halo clusters, and has g' ~ 19.9, (g'-i') ~ 0.6, concentration parameter c ~ 1.0, a core radius r_c ~ 3.5 pc, and a half-light radius r_h ~ 5.5 pc. For M33 to have so few outer halo clusters compared to M31 suggests either tidal stripping of M33's outer halo clusters by M31, or a very different, much calmer accretion history of M33.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journa

The remnants of galaxy formation from a panoramic survey of the region around M31

In hierarchical cosmological models, galaxies grow in mass through the continual accretion of smaller ones. The tidal disruption of these systems is expected to result in loosely bound stars surrounding the galaxy, at distances that reach $10 - 100$ times the radius of the central disk. The number, luminosity and morphology of the relics of this process provide significant clues to galaxy formation history, but obtaining a comprehensive survey of these components is difficult because of their intrinsic faintness and vast extent. Here we report a panoramic survey of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). We detect stars and coherent structures that are almost certainly remnants of dwarf galaxies destroyed by the tidal field of M31. An improved census of their surviving counterparts implies that three-quarters of M31's satellites brighter than $M_V < -6$ await discovery. The brightest companion, Triangulum (M33), is surrounded by a stellar structure that provides persuasive evidence for a recent encounter with M31. This panorama of galaxy structure directly confirms the basic tenets of the hierarchical galaxy formation model and reveals the shared history of M31 and M33 in the unceasing build-up of galaxies.Comment: Published in Nature. Supplementary movie available at https://www.astrosci.ca/users/alan/PANDAS/Latest%20news%3A%20movie%20of%20orbit.htm

Methacholine bronchial provocation measured by spirometry versus wheeze detection in preschool children

BACKGROUND: Determination of PC(20)-FEV(1) during Methacholine bronchial provocation test (MCT) is considered to be impossible in preschool children, as it requires repetitive spirometry sets. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of determining PC(20)-FEV(1) in preschool age children and compares the results to the wheeze detection (PCW) method. METHODS: 55 preschool children (ages 2.8–6.4 years) with recurrent respiratory symptoms were recruited. Baseline spirometry and MCT were performed according to ATS/ERS guidelines and the following parameters were determined at baseline and after each inhalation: spirometry-indices, lung auscultation at tidal breathing, oxygen saturation, respiratory and heart rate. Comparison between PCW and PC(20)-FEV(1) and clinical parameters at these end-points was done by paired Student's t-tests. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Thirty-six of 55 children (65.4%) successfully performed spirometry-sets up to the point of PCW. PC(20)-FEV(1) occurred at a mean concentration of 1.70+/-2.01 while PCW occurred at a mean concentration of 4.37+/-3.40 mg/ml (p < 0.05). At PCW, all spirometry-parameters were markedly reduced: FVC by 41.3+/-16.4% (mean +/-SD); FEV(1) by 44.7+/-14.5%; PEFR by 40.5+/-14.5 and FEF(25–75) by 54.7+/-14.4% (P < 0.01 for all parameters). This reduction was accompanied by de-saturation, hyperpnoea, tachycardia and a response to bronchodilators. CONCLUSION: Determination of PC(20)-FEV(1) by spirometry is feasible in many preschool children. PC(20)-FEV(1) often appears at lower provocation dose than PCW. The lower dose may shorten the test and encourage participation. Significant decrease in spirometry indices at PCW suggests that PC(20)-FEV(1) determination may be safer

Reference values for serum creatinine in children younger than 1 year of age

Reliable reference values of enzymatically assayed serum creatinine categorized in small age intervals are lacking in young children. The aim of this study was to determine reference values for serum creatinine during the first year of life and study the influence of gender, weight and height on these values. Serum creatinine determinations between 2003 and 2008 were retrieved from the hospital database. Strict exclusion criteria ensured the selection of patients without kidney damage. Correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relation between height, weight and serum creatinine; the Mann–Whitney test was used to evaluate the relation between gender and serum creatinine. A broken stick model was designed to predict normal serum creatinine values. Mean serum creatinine values were found to decrease rapidly from 55 μmol/L on day 1 to 22 μmol/L in the second month of life; they then stabilized at 20 μmol/L until the seventh month, followed by a slight increase. No significant relation was found between serum creatinine and gender, weight and height. We present here reference values of serum creatinine in infants not at risk of decreased renal function. The absence of a relationship with gender, weight and height confirms that height-based equations to estimate glomerular filtration rate are less useful in patients of this age group

Locating mathematics within post-16 vocational education in England

The political importance of mathematics in post-16 education is clear. Far less clear is how mathematics does and should relate to vocational education. Successive mathematics curricula (e.g. core skills, key skills) have been developed in England with vocational learners in mind. Meanwhile, general mathematics qualifications remain largely disconnected from vocational learning. Following a brief historical survey of mathematics within vocational education, the paper presents findings from a nested case study of student groups in three large Further Education colleges in England. The primary unit of analysis herein is student groups learning Functional Mathematics in two vocational areas: construction and hairdressing. We show how approaches to organising teaching, developing connected curricula and classroom pedagogy tend to isolate or integrate mathematics from/with the vocational experience. Integrated approaches are shown to impact positively on student engagement and attitudes to learning mathematics. The paper concludes by discussing the potential impact of academic qualifications displacing vocationally relevant mathematics

Lithic technological responses to Late Pleistocene glacial cycling at Pinnacle Point Site 5-6, South Africa

There are multiple hypotheses for human responses to glacial cycling in the Late Pleistocene, including changes in population size, interconnectedness, and mobility. Lithic technological analysis informs us of human responses to environmental change because lithic assemblage characteristics are a reflection of raw material transport, reduction, and discard behaviors that depend on hunter-gatherer social and economic decisions. Pinnacle Point Site 5-6 (PP5-6), Western Cape, South Africa is an ideal locality for examining the influence of glacial cycling on early modern human behaviors because it preserves a long sequence spanning marine isotope stages (MIS) 5, 4, and 3 and is associated with robust records of paleoenvironmental change. The analysis presented here addresses the question, what, if any, lithic assemblage traits at PP5-6 represent changing behavioral responses to the MIS 5-4-3 interglacial-glacial cycle? It statistically evaluates changes in 93 traits with no a priori assumptions about which traits may significantly associate with MIS. In contrast to other studies that claim that there is little relationship between broad-scale patterns of climate change and lithic technology, we identified the following characteristics that are associated with MIS 4: increased use of quartz, increased evidence for outcrop sources of quartzite and silcrete, increased evidence for earlier stages of reduction in silcrete, evidence for increased flaking efficiency in all raw material types, and changes in tool types and function for silcrete. Based on these results, we suggest that foragers responded to MIS 4 glacial environmental conditions at PP5-6 with increased population or group sizes, 'place provisioning', longer and/or more intense site occupations, and decreased residential mobility. Several other traits, including silcrete frequency, do not exhibit an association with MIS. Backed pieces, once they appear in the PP5-6 record during MIS 4, persist through MIS 3. Changing paleoenvironments explain some, but not all temporal technological variability at PP5-6.Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada; NORAM; American-Scandinavian Foundation; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia [SFRH/BPD/73598/2010]; IGERT [DGE 0801634]; Hyde Family Foundations; Institute of Human Origins; National Science Foundation [BCS-9912465, BCS-0130713, BCS-0524087, BCS-1138073]; John Templeton Foundation to the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State Universit

Autonomic neuropathy predisposes to rosiglitazone-induced vascular leakage in insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised, controlled trial on thiazolidinedione-induced vascular leakage

Contains fulltext : 88447.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The mechanism of fluid-related complications caused by thiazolidinedione derivatives is unclear. One potential mechanism is thiazolidinedione-induced arterial vasodilatation, which results in vascular leakage and a fall in blood pressure, normally counterbalanced by sympathetic activation and subsequent renal fluid retention. We hypothesised that thiazolidinedione-induced vascular leakage will be particularly prominent in patients with autonomic neuropathy. METHODS: We conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study in 40 patients with type 2 diabetes on insulin treatment recruited from a university medical centre. The randomisation was performed by a central office using a randomisation schedule. Both treatment groups, placebo (n = 21) and rosiglitazone (n = 19), were stratified for sex and level of autonomic neuropathy as assessed by Ewing score (or=2.5). We investigated the effects of 16 weeks of treatment with rosiglitazone 4 mg twice daily on vascular leakage (transcapillary escape rate of albumin, TERalb), body weight, extracellular volume and plasma volume. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were included in the analysis. In patients with high Ewing scores (n = 16), rosiglitazone increased TERalb significantly (DeltaTERalb: rosiglitazone +2.43 +/- 0.45%/h, placebo -0.11 +/- 0.15%/h, p = 0.002), while rosiglitazone had no effect in the patients with low Ewing scores (n = 23). Rosiglitazone-induced increases in TERalb and Ewing score at baseline were correlated (r = 0.65, p = 0.02). There was no correlation between Ewing score and rosiglitazone-induced changes in fluid variables. One subject was withdrawn from the study because of atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Rosiglitazone may increase vascular leakage in insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes with autonomic neuropathy. Autonomic neuropathy did not exaggerate rosiglitazone-induced fluid retention. Therefore, autonomic neuropathy should be considered as a risk factor for thiazolidinedione-induced oedema, not for thiazolidinedione-induced fluid retention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00422955. FUNDING: GlaxoSmithKline.1 september 201

Pharmacokinetics of gemcitabine in non-small-cell lung cancer patients: impact of the 79A>C cytidine deaminase polymorphism

To study the impact of the 79A > C polymorphism in the cytidine deaminase (CDA) gene on the pharmacokinetics of gemcitabine and its metabolite 2',2'-difluorodeoxyuridine (dFdU) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Patients (n = 20) received gemcitabine 1,125 mg/m(2) as a 30 min i.v. infusion as part of treatment for NSCLC. Plasma samples were collected during 0-6 h after gemcitabine administration. Gemcitabine and dFdU were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. The CDA 79A > C genotype was determined with PCR and DNA sequencing. Gemcitabine was rapidly cleared from plasma and undetectable after 3 h. The allele frequency of the 79A > C polymorphism was 0.40. Diplotypes were distributed as A/A n = 8, A/C n = 8 ,and C/C n = 4. No significant differences were found between the different CDA genotypes and gemcitabine or dFdU AUC, clearance, or half-life. The 79A > C polymorphism in the CDA gene does not have a major consistent and signficant impact on gemcitabine pharmacokinetics