Unleashing the full potential of teachers: Personal ecologies and funds of knowledge/identity as resources for curriculum making

In this paper we take a credit/asset view of the breadth of knowledge and expertise that teachers have to contribute to curriculum and curriculum making from their everyday and professional experiences. We argue and illustrate the value of teachers grounding their funds of knowledge and identity in designing curriculum that connects with their students and the local context. Teacher funds of knowledge and identity are part of their personal learning ecology. Barron (2006) defines this as encompassing the ideas/knowledge, relationships, and material and virtual resources that people draw on within and across their everyday lives. The ability to mobilise a personal ecology that goes beyond academic or formal/professional knowledge would seem to be a crucial capability for teachers as they localise curricula. Even more so when teachers aim to do this in ways that foster engagement, develop agency and progress student ‘achievement.’ We offer suggestions for researchers, school leaders and teachers interested in exploring the nature and use of funds of knowledge/identity within a learning ecology framing

Diagnostic Validity of the Physical Examination Maneuvers for Hip Pathology: A Systematic Review

Background: There is a number of physical examination maneuvers used to diagnose hip pathology but the diagnostic validity of these maneuvers is unclear. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate current knowledge regarding the diagnostic validity of the physical examination maneuvers for hip pathology. Methods: We conducted a literature search of the electronic databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane, and SPORTDiscus. The methodological quality of each eligible study was assessed and classified according to Sackett and Haynes’ phases of diagnostic research, whereby Phase I and II studies represent proof of concept and Phase III studies are applicable to a clinical setting. Results: Eight studies were classified as phase III diagnostic studies, four of which were methodologically rigorous. In diagnosing labral tears of the hip, neither the impingement test (sensitivity=0.51-0.78, specificity=0.10-0.89) nor FABER test (sensitivity=0.60, specificity=0.75) demonstrated evidence to support the use of these tests clinically. In diagnosing gluteal tendon pathology the Trendelenburg test demonstrated some evidence for use in a clinical setting (sensitivity=0.23-0.73, specificity=0.77-0.94). Conclusion: The diagnostic validity of clinical tests to diagnose the presence or absence of hip pathology remains uncertain. The majority of studies supporting validity of these tests lacked methodological rigor, and thus cannot provide evidence to support the use of a test in clinical practice

LPS ligand and culture additives improve production of monomeric MD-1 and 2 in Pichia pastoris by decreasing aggregation and intermolecular disulfide bonding.

Myeloid differentiation proteins MD-1 and MD-2 have both been shown to form a heterogeneous collection of oligomers when expressed in absence of their respective receptor, RP105 and TLR4. The biological relevance of these oligomers is not clear. Only monomeric proteins have been found to be active and able to trigger an immune response to endotoxin by modulating the TLR4 pathway. In this study, we produced variants of MD-1 and MD-2 in Pichia pastoris. To minimize the time and expense of initial expression tests, small-scale cultures have been set up to allow the rapid identification of the highest expressing clone and the optimal expression conditions. The expression vectors used, the site of linearization and the locus of integration affected the yield of transformation. Next we screened culture additives and found that they significantly increased the fraction of monomeric proteins secreted in the culture medium (up to 15% of the total MD protein produced). We confirmed their presence by size-exclusion chromatography. Optimal anti-aggregation agents were protein-dependent except for LPS that presented stabilizing effects for all MD proteins. Contrary to previous reports, this study suggests that MD-1 can bind to LPS.WELLCOME TRUST; ward Number RG47206.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pep.2010.11.018

The TLR4 D299G and T399I SNPs Are Constitutively Active to Up-Regulate Expression of Trif-Dependent Genes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Critical residues involved in Toll-like receptor 4 activation by cationic lipid nanocarriers are not located at the lipopolysaccharide-binding interface.

DiC14-amidine is a cationic lipid that was originally designed as a lipid nanocarrier for nucleic acid transport, and turned out to be a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) agonist as well. We found that while E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a TLR4 agonist in all species, diC14-amidine nanoliposomes are full agonists for human, mouse and cat receptors but weak horse agonists. Taking advantage of this unusual species specificity, we used chimeric constructs based on the human and horse sequences and identified two regions in the human TLR4 that modulate the agonist activity of diC14-amidine. Interestingly, these regions lie outside the known LPS-binding domain. Competition experiments also support our hypothesis that diC14-amidine interacts primarily with TLR4 hydrophobic crevices located at the edges of the TLR4/TLR4* dimerization interface. We have characterized potential binding modes using molecular docking analysis and suggest that diC14-amidine nanoliposomes activate TLR4 by facilitating its dimerization in a process that is myeloid differentiation 2 (MD-2)-dependent and cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14)-independent. Our data suggest that TLR4 may be activated through binding at different anchoring points, expanding the repertoire of TLR4 ligands to non-MD-2-binding lipids.C.L. is a IEF Marie Curie Action Research Fellow (TLR4-CAT PIEF-GA-2012-326481) and would like to thank the Wiener-Anspach Foundation for financial support. K.L.I. was supported by a HBLB Veterinary Research Training scholarship. This work was supported by program grant support from the Wellcome Trust and the MRC to N.J.G and C.E.B.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00018-015-1915-

Concert recording 2018-04-07

[Track 1]. A musical joke. I. Allegro II. Menuetto and trio III. Adagio cantabile IV. Presto / W.A. Mozart -- [Track 2]. Piano quintet, op. 87. I. Allegro [Track 3]. II. Menuetto and trio [Track 4]. III. Largo IV. Allegro agitato / J.N. Hummel -- [Track 5]. Piano sextet, op. 110 (Allegro vivace) / F. Mendelssohn

Concert recording 2017-11-20b

[Track 1]. Soccorrete, luci avare , op. 2 from La Travagliata [Track 2]. Spesso per entro al petto , op. 2 from La Fanciuletta semolice / Barbara Strozzi -- [Track 3]. Exultate, jubilate KV 165. I. Allegro [Track 4]. II. Andante III. Allegro / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 5]. From Mörike-Lieder. Verborgenheit , op. 1 no. 11 [Track 6]. Nimmersatte, Liebe , op. 19 no. 19 [Track 7]. Er ist\u27s , op. 79 no. 23 / Hugo Wolf -- [Track 8]. Three songs. I. Insomnia & so on [Track 9]. II. You [Track 10]. III. Drifting at midday / Ching-chu Hu -- [Track 11]. Kommt ein schlanker bursch gegangen from Der Freischütz / Carl Maria von Weber -- [Track 12]. Ah! Je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir from Faust / Charles Gounod

Introducing EMMIE: An evidence rating scale to encourage mixed-method crime prevention synthesis reviews

Objectives This short report describes the need for, and the development of, a coding system to distil the quality and coverage of systematic reviews of the evidence relating to crime prevention interventions. The starting point for the coding system concerns the evidence needs of policymakers and practitioners. Methods The coding scheme (EMMIE) proposed builds on previous scales that have been developed to assess the probity, coverage and utility of evidence both in health and criminal justice. It also draws on the principles of realist synthesis and review. Results The proposed EMMIE scale identifies five dimensions to which systematic reviews intended to inform crime prevention should speak. These are the Effect of intervention, the identification of the causal Mechanism(s) through which interventions are intended to work, the factors that Moderate their impact, the articulation of practical Implementation issues, and the Economic costs of intervention

An "ethical moment" in data sharing

This study draws on interviews with forty-nine members of a biomedical research community in the UK that is involved in negotiating data sharing and access. During an interview, an interviewee used the words “ethical moment” to describe a confrontation between collaborators in relation to data sharing. In this article, I use this as a lens for thinking about relations between “the conceptual and the empirical” in a way that allows both analyst and actor to challenge the status quo and consider other ethical possibilities. Drawing on actor network theory (ANT), I approach “the empirical” using the concepts of controversy and ontological uncertainty as methodological tools to tackle the problem of ethics. I suggest that these concepts also provide a bridge for understanding the ontological structure of the virtual and the actual, as described in Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition. While other science and technology studies scholars have sought to draw on Deleuze, this article addresses the integration of ethics and empirical research. It arises as a critical reaction to existing treatments of this problem as found in empirical ethics, especially in the sociology of bioethics, and indirectly in ANT texts