Endorsement by City Principals

Articles concerning the endorsement of simplified spelling by city principals

Re-reading 1 Kings 21:1-16 Between Community-based Activism and University-based Pedagogy

Biblical studies in the School of Religion, Philosophy, and Classics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has been partially constituted by the community-based activism of the Ujamaa Centre for Community Development and Research over a period of more than thirty years. This essay reflects on a particular series of contrapuntal movements in which 1 Kings 21:1-16 has been interpreted within this interface of community-based activism and formal academic pedagogy, moving between Contextual Bible Study workshops with unemployed African youth and classroom-based learning with African undergraduate and postgraduate students. We give particular attention in this essay to how interpretive space is reconstituted through this intentional collaboration

Climate change adaptation, flood risks and policy coherence in integrated water resources management in England

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) assumes coherence between cognate aspects of water governance at the river basin scale, for example water quality, energy production and agriculture objectives. But critics argue that IWRM is often less ‘integrated’ in practice, raising concerns over inter-sectoral coherence between implementing institutions. One increasingly significant aspect of IWRM is adaptation to climate change-related risks, including threats from flooding, which are particularly salient in England. Although multiple institutional mechanisms exist for flood risk management (FRM), their coherence remains a critical question for national adaptation. This paper therefore (1) maps the multi-level institutional frameworks determining both IWRM and FRM in England; (2) examines their interaction via various inter-institutional coordinating mechanisms; and (3) assesses the degree of coherence. The analysis suggests that cognate EU strategic objectives for flood risk assessment demonstrate relatively high vertical and horizontal coherence with river basin planning. However, there is less coherence with flood risk requirements for land-use planning and national flood protection objectives. Overall, this complex governance arrangement actually demonstrates de-coherence over time due to ongoing institutional fragmentation. Recommendations for increasing IWRM coherence in England or re-coherence based on greater spatial planning and coordination of water-use and land-use strategies are proposed

Acetylcholinesterase Reactivators Antagonize Epileptiform ~u r a i n g Induced by Paraoxon in ~u i n e a Pig Hippocampal Slices

ABSTRACT The electrophysldoglcal actions of paraoxon, an irreversible blocker of acetylcholinesterase, and their antagonism by a series of organophosphate cholinesterase reactivators, were studied in area CAI of the guinea pig hippocampus in vitro. To avoid indirect effects H i e d by excitation of CA3 neurons, the CA2/3 regions were removed routinely before the recording of extracellular field potentials in CAI. Under these c o n d i s , paraoxon (1 gM) induced regular burst activity (rate, 2-1 O/min; amplitude, 0.2-1 mV; duration, 100-500 msec). The antagonism of this burst activity by atropine (0.3-1.0 MM) and pirenzepine (1.0 pM) suggested the involvement of muscarinic cholinoceptors in the mediation of this response. The reduction in frequency of paraoxon-induced bursting by the cholinesterase reactivators was taken as an index of their efficacies. The four oxime compounds tested were all active in the low micromolar range (rank order of potencies: obidoxime > HGG 12 = HL6 7 > HI 6). In experiments without paraoxon, these oximes di d not depress either evoked population spikes in normal artificial cerebrospinal fluid or bursts induced by superfusion with Mg++-free artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Thus, an unspeafic inhibitory effect of oximes can be excluded. It is concluded that the in vitro hippocampus provides a suitable system for the quantitative electrophysidogical evaluation of cholinesterase reactivators in the central nervous system. Organophosphorus compounds, which irreversibly inhibit the enzyme AChE, induce a severe poisoning which is characterized by convulsions and paralysis, respiratory failure and, finally, death. It is not known, however, whether symptoms related to the CNS, like convulsions, are due solely to the accumulation of ACh in the brain The hippocampus has been shown to develop epileptiform activity after application of various convulsants ( Klee et al., 1982) and is known to play an important role in the generation and conduction of seizures, also with respect to cholinergic systems ( Turski et al., 1983). The presence of a neuroanatomically and histochemically defined cholinergic input to this brain structure (Lewis et al., 1967; Female guinea pigs (180-250 g) were decapitated under ether anesthesia. Both hippocampi were dhected from the removed brain and transverse slices (0.5 mm) were cut using a Vibmlice (Campden Instruments, London, UK). The slices were stored in a carbogen-gaseed (96% 02-556 C 0 2 ) chamber filled with ACSF of the following composition (millimolar): NaCl, 118; KCl, 3.0; NaHC03, 25; NaH2P04, 1.2; MgC12, 1.0; CaC12, 1.5; and glucose, 10. After at least 1 hr, slices were transferred to an experimental chamber in which they were submerged and superfused continuously with gassed ACSF (pH 7.4). The bath temperature was maintained between 29 and 31'C. The exchange time of the bath was about 2 min. In moat experiments, paraoxon was added to the ACSF to give a final concentration of 1 rM. AChE reactivators and other drugs were added to the paraoxon-containing superfusate in ABBREVIATK)NS: AChE, acetylcholinesterase; CNS, central nervous system; ACh, acetylcholine; ACSF, artifidal cerebrospinal fluid; W, bursting frequency

Why honey is effective as a medicine. 1. Its use in modern medicine

Honey has been used as a medicine for thousands of years and its curative properties are well documented. However, modern medicine turned its back on honey and it is only now, with the advent of multi-resistant bacteria, that the antibiotic properties of honey are being rediscovered

Intelligent Joystick Sensing the User's Emotion and Providing Biofeedback

Development of an intelligent joystick is proposed which senses the user’s bio-signals and recognises the user’s emotion. It provides biofeedback to the user as well as the user’s emotional state information to the computer allowing human-computer interaction over sensitive environment. While the user is interacting with a computer via a joystick the bio-signals can be collected through the user’s fingers touching it. The collected bio-signals information is mapped on a two-dimensional space to find out the quality and intensity of emotion continuously and in a real-time manner. The intelligent joystick has application within several fields such as healthcare, sport and game industries. In such cases, the user can be influenced, or suffer from medical problems while under stress during interaction with the machines. The intelligent joystick will provide feedback to the user and alert alarm about unhealthy conditions through the embedded actuators and allow the machine to adapt with the users’ emotional state

Global shifts, theoretical shifts: changing geographies of religion

10.1177/0309132510362602Progress in Human Geography346755-77

How do pharmacists in English general practices identify their impact? An exploratory qualitative study of measurement problems

Background: In England, there is an ongoing national pilot to expand pharmacists’ presence in general practice. Evaluation of the pilot includes numerical and survey-based Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and requires pharmacists to electronically record their activities, possibly by using activity codes. At the time of the study (2016), no national evaluation of pharmacists’ impact in this environment had been formally announced. The aim of this qualitative study was to identify problems that English pharmacists face when measuring and recording their impact in general practice. Methods: All pharmacists, general practitioners (GPs) and practice managers working across two West London pilot sites were invited, via e-mail, to participate in a focus group study. Appropriately trained facilitators conducted two audio-recorded, semi-structured focus groups, each lasting approximately one hour, to explore experiences and perceptions associated with the KPIs. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and the data analysed thematically. Results: In total, 13 pharmacists, one GP and one practice manager took part in the study. Four major themes were discerned: inappropriateness of the numerical national KPIs (“whether or not we actually have positive impact on KPIs is beyond our control”); depth and breadth of pharmacists’ activity (“we see a huge plethora of different patients and go through this holistic approach - everything is looked at”); awareness of practice based pharmacists’ roles (“I think the really important [thing] is that everyone knows what pharmacists in general practice are doing”); and central evaluation versus local initiatives (“the KPIs will be measured by National Health Service England regardless of what we think” versus “what I think is more pertinent, are there some local things we’re going to measure?”). Conclusions: Measures that will effectively capture pharmacists’ impact in general practice should be developed, along with a set of codes reflecting the whole spectrum of pharmacists’ activities. Our study also points out the significance of a transparent, robust national evaluation, including exploring the needs/expectations of practice staff and patients regarding pharmacists’ presence in general practice