The struggle for academic rigour in assessment education

This article explores the meaning of academic rigour in relation to a fourth year assessment education course for pre-service teachers. We present the requirements for a course to be considered academically rigorous, describe the course we offered in the light of these criteria and then present the students’ responses. Our findings indicate differing perspectives between lecturers and students on what it means to learn about assessment and to be academically rigorous. Whereas the lecturers were expecting engagement with assessment theory and practice from all students, many students ‘tuned out’ whenever the course did not engage them in practical examples related to their subject specialisation. Only exceptional students moved beyond compliance with course requirements. The struggle for academic rigour involves developing a better alignment between lecturer and student expectations. This has implications for more explicit explanation of course purposes as well as increased cooperation with subject specialisation methodology courses

Interactive effects of temperature and grazing by seagrass limpets (Siphonaria compressa and Fissurella mutabilis) on seagrass (Zostera capensis)

Climate change is a reality. One of the main ecological concerns regarding climate change is the predicted increase in atmospheric and sea temperatures. The latter is expected to rise by roughly 2.5°C by the end of 2050 with dramatic impacts on marine ecosystems predicted around the world. Seagrass ecosystems are a good example of vital ecosystems that are threatened by climate change and other anthropogenic factors. A decline in global seagrass cover of 29% has been estimated over the last century, and at a local level, cover of the seagrass Zostera capensis has declined by 38% over the last 50 years in Langebaan Lagoon, with associated losses of invertebrate abundance by 70% in certain areas. Two limpets, Siphonaria compressa and Fissurella mutabilis depend on Zostera capensis for their survival in Langebaan Lagoon, feeding on epiphytic diatoms, filamentous algae and bacteria growing on blades on seagrass. Siphonaria compressa occurs exclusively in beds of Zostera capensis and is currently listed as critically endangered. Increasing sea temperatures have been found to directly and indirectly affect seagrass growth and survival. Temperature changes influence epiphytic microalgal growth on seagrass blades, thereby limiting light and nutrient availability to seagrasses. Key grazers, however, can potentially limit microalgal growth on seagrasses, but this function is dependant on how they respond to temperature change. Therefore, understanding the effects of temperature on seagrasses and their grazing limpets is vital to seagrass health and ultimately their persistence in marine ecosystems. To quantify the latter, a mesocosm experiment was conducted to assess the interactive effect of temperature changes and grazing by the limpets S. compressa and F. mutabilis on the seagrass Z. capensis. One of the main outcomes of the experiment was that Increasing temperatures significantly enhanced algae biomass fouling seagrass leaves. At the same time, limpet feeding significantly decreases algal fouling, especially at higher temperatures. S. compressa was significantly more effective at removing algae from the blades of Z. capensis than F. mutabilis, particularly at higher temperatures. Increasing temperatures and the feedback from grazer presence had no substantial impact on the growth of Z. capensis but vi significantly influenced the survival of the seagrass blades. Another important result for predicting future effects of temperature rise on seagrass ecosystems was that mortality of F. mutabilis was significantly greater than S. compressa at higher temperatures. Overall, the study demonstrates that increasing temperatures clearly impacts the dynamics of seagrass ecosystems, either directly by impacting seagrasses or indirectly, by increasing algal fouling. The presence of limpets is also vital in controlling the levels of algae, with S. compressa performing more of a beneficial role in keeping blades of seagrass free of fouling. These findings are relevant for the conservation of seagrasses in Langebaan Lagoon, as they indicate the importance of preserving populations of the endangered limpet S. compressa in order to maintain healthy functioning seagrass ecosystems under future warming scenarios

Периодическая моторная деятельность желудка при нарушении функции слюнных желез в раннем постнатальном онтогенезе собаки

У собак на первом году жизни регистрируются изменения моторной функции желудка и слюноотделения вне пищеварения. Целью данной работы явилось изучение влияния функций слюнных желез на формирование периодической деятельности желудка в раннем постнатальном онтогенезе. Исследование периодической моторной деятельности желудка вне пищеварения проведено на 58 щенках в возрасте 18 дней - 12 месяцев. Становление ритма моторной деятельности желудка оценивали при помощи записи миоэлектрической активности (МЭК) с использованием игольчатых биполярных электродов. Околоушные и подчелюстные слюнные железы удалялись у щенков в возрасте 21 день. Опыты ставились натощак, через 18 часов после приема пищи. У щенков до 30-дневного возраста наблюдаются преимущественно непрерывные, хаотические сокращения желудка тонического характера. Становление периода относительного покоя, нерегулярной и регулярной активности происходит в течение первого года жизни собаки. Причем период покоя и регулярной активности формируется за счет сокращения времени нерегулярной активности. Исследование сократительной деятельности желудка у щенков на фоне удаления больших слюнных желез по наличию МЭК показало малую продолжительность всех фаз по отношению к контрольным животным

Activation mapping in patients with coronary artery disease with multiple ventricular tachycardia configurations: Occurrence and therapeutic implications of widely separate apparent sites of origin

Catheter or intraoperative activation mapping studies, or both, were performed in 17 patients with coronary artery disease with two to four distinct configurations of ventricular tachycardia, resistant to a mean of 12.1 ± 6.0 antiarrhythmic drug trials per patient. Mapping studies were performed to guide anticipated surgical ablation of arrhythmias. Activation map data were adequate to determine sites of origin of 30 (64%) of 47 observed tachycardia configurations. These 30 ventricular tachycardias (26 observed clinically) were mapped to 22 separate endocardial sites of origin. Sites of origin of distinct tachycardias were identical or closely adjacent (within 3 cm) in six patients and widely separate (≥4 cm) in eight patients (47% of the group). Activation maps were not adequate to determine sites of origin of 17 (36%) of the 47 tachycardias, including all configurations in three patients.Fifteen patients underwent surgery for control of ventricular tachycardia: aggressive, map-guided endocardial resection (mean 26.5 ± 14.2 cm2) in 12 patients with identified sites of tachycardia origin and extensive resection of visible endocardial scar (2 patients) or encircling endocardial ventriculotomy (1 patient) in those in whom the sites of origin of all clinical tachycardias remained undetermined. Two inoperable patients were treated with amiodarone. During postoperative electrophysiologic tests (11 of 13 surgical survivors), ventricular tachyarrhythmias were initially uninducible in only 4 of 11 patients. However, in two patients only nonclinical arrhythmias (ventricular flutter) were induced. Six (21%) of 29 clinical tachycardias whose sites of origin were either not determined or not resected (right septum or papillary muscle) remained inducible in five patients. Using previously ineffective antiarrhythmic drugs, initially inducible arrhythmias became uninducible (two patients), or harder to induce than preoperatively (five patients). As a result of surgical resections alone or in combination with previously ineffective drugs (and amiodarone in two inoperable patients), there were no recurrences of ventricular tachycardia in 14 (93%) of 15 patients discharged during 19.0 ± 14.3 months of follow-up study.Thus, activation mapping may commonly reveal separate apparent sites of origin for clinically observed, morphologically distinct, highly drug-refractory ventricular tachycardias in patients with coronary artery disease with multiple tachycardia configurations. Extensive surgical resection of identified sites of origin may be required to ablate arrhythmias in these patients. Tachycardias whose sites of origin are not identified or resected may remain inducible. However, aggressive surgical excisions may alter regions involved in the genesis or maintenance of these arrhythmias because they become more difficult to induce postoperatively, more amenable to drug therapy and do not recur

Surgical management of children and young adults with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

The Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, as originally described, includes palpitations, tachycardia, and an abnormal electrocardiogram (short PR interval and wide QRS complex). The clinical manifestations are dependent upon a reentrant tachycardia supported by an accessory connection bridging the atrioventricular junction and frequently appear during the first two decades of life. Palpitations are the usual symptoms; less frequently, severe symptoms, such as syncope and sudden death, may result from very rapid atrioventricular conduction across the accessory connection during atrial fibrillation. We report the surgical management of 30 young patients with this syndrome, including 6 with life-threatening tachycardia. Surgical interruption of the accessory connection(s) was curative in 90% (27/30) of the patients; life-threatening symptoms were eliminated in the other three. Based on the limited knowledge of the natural history of the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, the individual patient symptoms, and the electrophysiologic properties of each patient's accessory pathway(s), an algorithm is presented outlining the treatment options. This experience strongly suggests that surgical treatment of the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is safe, effective, and possibly the preferred treatment for this disorder in selected young symptomatic patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41585/1/380_2005_Article_BF02058591.pd

COVID-19 through Adverse Outcome Pathways: Building networks to better understand the disease - 3rd CIAO AOP Design Workshop

ALTEX - Alternatives to Animal ExperimentationCopyright © 2022 the author(s). On April 28-29, 2021, 50 scientists from different fields of expertise met for the 3rd online CIAO workshop. The CIAO project “Modelling the Pathogenesis of COVID-19 using the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework” aims at building a holistic assembly of the available scientific knowledge on COVID-19 using the AOP framework. An individual AOP depicts the disease progression from the initial contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus through biological key events (KE) toward an adverse outcome such as respiratory distress, anosmia or multiorgan failure. Assembling the individual AOPs into a network highlights shared KEs as central biological nodes involved in multiple outcomes observed in COVID-19 patients. During the workshop, the KEs and AOPs established so far by the CIAO members were presented and posi­tioned on a timeline of the disease course. Modulating factors influencing the progression and severity of the disease were also addressed as well as factors beyond purely biological phenomena. CIAO relies on an interdisciplinary crowd­sourcing effort, therefore, approaches to expand the CIAO network by widening the crowd and reaching stakeholders were also discussed. To conclude the workshop, it was decided that the AOPs/KEs will be further consolidated, inte­grating virus variants and long COVID when relevant, while an outreach campaign will be launched to broaden the CIAO scientific crowd.The CIAO project is steered by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (EC-JRC), the Humane Society International (HSI), and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). For Jorid Birkelund Sørli, the research is supported by FIKA, Focused Research Effort on Chemicals in the Working Environment from the Danish Government. For Daniel Jacobson, this work was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for the US Department of Energy (LOIS:10074) and the National Institutes of Health 3RF1AG053303-01S2

Presenting the R package FlowCAr: Flow Network Construction and Analysis in R

<div>Video recording of Christopher Waspe's presentation, entitled "Presenting the R package FlowCAr: Flow Network Construction and Analysis in R" presented at SatRday Cape Town, UCT, 17 March 2018</div><div><br></div><div>Abstract:</div><div>FlowCAr is a R package which allows the user to understand the 'ins and outs' of any flow network. With limited data, a complex flow network can be accurately modeled, visualized and analysed. Using various sources of a data, the unknown information in a system can be solved and the system analysed.</div

"Beliefs of the district e-learning coordinators in the GDE about the pedagogical integration of ICTs in Gauteng Online schools".

Using a Mixed Methods Convergent Parallel Design this study examines the Behavioural Intentions of the District eLearning Coordinators (DELCs) in the Gauteng Department of Education. The study posits that the educational beliefs of the DELCs are a significant factor in influencing their Behavioural Intentions with regard to their role concerning the integration of Gauteng Online into teaching and learning. Its purpose is to explore whether the DELCs intend to perform their roles in constructivist “Just-in-time” ways. It does this by examining their pedagogical beliefs, their knowledge about technology integration as well as other salient beliefs as formulated in the Theory of Planned Behaviour and by finding out whether these have a bearing on their intentions to provide support and professional development for teachers in the GDE. The study draws on key theories like the Theory of Planned Behaviour, theory about teacher knowledge for technology integration – Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) amongst others to explore these beliefs and behavioural intentions