Using digital technologies to teach mathematics by English secondary school teachers: the barriers, constraints, teaching and learning opportunities and training provided

This thesis aims to explore ‘How English secondary school mathematics teachers could be better supported to integrate digital technologies into their teaching’ by answering four sub-questions: How were computers introduced into schools? Responses here present the history behind the present state of affairs. Using the voices of those involved when computers were first introduced, the origins of much that is “taken for granted” are explicated. What barriers and constraints do teachers face teachers when using ICT? The usefulness and reliability of the hardware and software are key here alongside the ease of access to ICT. More subtle influences uncovered are the influence of a “top-down” approach which results in teachers’ lacking autonomy and causes negative teacher beliefs about the merits of using digital technologies. How do teachers use ICT in the teaching and learning of mathematics? The merits, or otherwise, of using digital technologies for teaching are explored, uncovering a lack of awareness of the benefits of using ICT or the wide variety of resources and applications available to benefit pupil learning. Only a limited number of resources are used and often inefficiently. How could mathematics teachers training in the use of ICT for teaching be more effective? Teachers seem to “not know what there is to know” due in part to a lack of effective professional development. Findings here support ways teachers can be informed and supported outside the traditional professional development course. Ideas were explored from the perspective of the teachers who might potentially benefit from using educational technology as a tool to increase learning. Research has explored the use and benefits of specific software and hardware but here the teachers themselves are given a voice on what influences them to choose to use digital technologies in their teaching or not

Outcome feedback in physiotherapy: What works for whom in which circumstances?

A realist evaluation study researching the impact of feeding back patient reported outcome measures to patients with shoulder pain and the impact on behaviour

BSRLM geometry working group: establishing a professional development network to support teachers using dynamic mathematics software GeoGebra

The embedding of technology into mathematics teaching is known to be a complex process. GeoGebra, an open-source dynamic mathematics software that incorporates geometry and algebra into a single package, is proving popular with teachers - yet solely having access to such technology can be insufficient for the successful integration of technology into teaching. This paper reports on aspects of an NCETM-funded project that involved nine experienced teachers collaborating in developing ways of providing professional development and support for other teachers across England in the use of GeoGebra in teaching mathematics. The participating teachers tried various approaches to better integrate the use of GeoGebra into the mathematics curriculum (especially in geometry) and they designed and led professional development workshops for other teachers. As a result, the project initiated a core group which has started to be a source of support and professional development for other teachers of mathematics in the use of GeoGebra

Association of human papillomavirus 16 E2 with Rad50-interacting protein 1 enhances viral DNA replication

This work was supported by a Royal Society university research fellowship awarded to J.L.P. (UF110010). K.C.-L. is supported by a Medical Research Council research grant awarded to J.L.P. (MR/N023498/1).Rad50-interacting protein 1 (Rint1) associates with the DNA damage response protein Rad50 during the transition from the S phase to the G2/M phase and functions in radiation-induced G2 checkpoint control. It has also been demonstrated that Rint1 is essential in vesicle trafficking from the Golgi apparatus to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through an interaction with Zeste-White 10 (ZW10). We have isolated a novel interaction between Rint1 and the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) transcription and replication factor E2. E2 binds to Rint1 within its ZW10 interaction domain, and we show that in the absence of E2, Rint1 is localized to the ER and associates with ZW10. E2 expression results in a disruption of the Rint1-ZW10 interaction and an accumulation of nuclear Rint1, coincident with a significant reduction in vesicle movement from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. Interestingly, nuclear Rint1 and members of the Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 (MRN) complex were found in distinct E2 nuclear foci, which peaked during mid-S phase, indicating that the recruitment of Rint1 to E2 foci within the nucleus may also result in the recruitment of this DNA damage-sensing protein complex. We show that exogenous Rint1 expression enhances E2-dependent virus replication. Conversely, the overexpression of a truncated Rint1 protein that retains the E2 binding domain but not the Rad50 binding domain acts as a dominant negative inhibitor of E2-dependent HPV replication. Put together, these experiments demonstrate that the interaction between Rint1 and E2 has an important function in HPV replication.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Lymphotoxin-α Gene and Risk of Myocardial Infarction in 6,928 Cases and 2,712 Controls in the ISIS Case-Control Study

Lymphotoxin-α (LTA) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in the immune system and local inflammatory response. LTA is expressed in atherosclerotic plaques and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD). Polymorphisms in the gene encoding lymphotoxin-α (LTA) on Chromosome 6p21 have been associated with susceptibility to CHD, but results in different studies appear to be conflicting. We examined the association of seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the LTA gene, and their related haplotypes, with risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in the International Study of Infarct Survival (ISIS) case-control study involving 6,928 non-fatal MI cases and 2,712 unrelated controls. The seven SNPs (including the rs909253 and rs1041981 SNPs previously implicated in the risk of CHD) were in strong linkage disequilibrium with each other and contributed to six common haplotypes. Some of the haplotypes for LTA were associated with higher plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (p = 0.004) and lower concentrations of albumin (p = 0.023). However, none of the SNPs or related haplotypes were significantly associated with risk of MI. The results of the ISIS study were considered in the context of six previously published studies that had assessed this association, and this meta-analysis found no significant association with CHD risk using a recessive model and only a modest association using a dominant model (with narrow confidence intervals around these risk estimates). Overall, these studies provide reliable evidence that these common polymorphisms for the LTA gene are not strongly associated with susceptibility to coronary disease

Friend matters: sex differences in social language during autism diagnostic interviews

Background: Autistic individuals frequently experience social communication challenges. Girls are diagnosed with autism less often than boys even when their symptoms are equally severe, which may be due to insufficient understanding of the way autism manifests in girls. Differences in the behavioral presentation of autism, including how people talk about social topics, could contribute to these persistent problems with identification. Despite a growing body of research suggesting that autistic girls and boys present distinct symptom profiles in a variety of domains, including social attention, friendships, social motivation, and language, differences in the way that autistic boys and girls communicate verbally are not yet well understood. Closely analyzing boys’ and girls’ socially-focused language during semi-structured clinical assessments could shed light on potential sex differences in the behavioral presentation of autistic individuals that may prove useful for identifying and effectively supporting autistic girls. Here, we compare social word use in verbally fluent autistic girls and boys during the interview sections of the ADOS-2 Module 3 and measure associations with clinical phenotype. Methods: School-aged girls and boys with autism (N = 101, 25 females; aged 6–15) were matched on age, IQ, and parent/clinician ratings of autism symptom severity. Our primary analysis compared the number of social words produced by autistic boys and girls (normalized to account for differences in total word production). Social words are words that make reference to other people, including friends and family. Results: There was a significant main effect of sex on social word production, such that autistic girls used more social words than autistic boys. To identify the specific types of words driving this effect, additional subcategories of friend and family words were analyzed. There was a significant effect of sex on friend words, with girls using significantly more friend words than boys. However, there was no significant main effect of sex on family words, suggesting that sex differences in social word production may be driven by girls talking more about friends compared to boys, not family. To assess relationships between word use and clinical phenotype, we modeled ADOS-2 Social Affect (SA) scores as a function of social word production. In the overall sample, social word use correlated significantly with ADOS-2 SA scores, indicating that participants who used more social words were rated as less socially impaired by clinicians. However, when examined in each sex separately, this result only held for boys. Limitations: This study cannot speak to the ways in which social word use may differ for younger children, adults, or individuals who are not verbally fluent; in addition, there were more autistic boys than girls in our sample, making it difficult to detect small effects. Conclusions: Autistic girls used significantly more social words than boys during a diagnostic assessment—despite being matched on age, IQ, and both parent- and clinician-rated autism symptom severity. Sex differences in linguistic markers of social phenotype in autism are especially important in light of the late or missed diagnoses that disproportionately affect autistic girls. Specifically, heightened talk about social topics could complicate autism referral and diagnosis when non-clinician observers expect a male-typical pattern of reduced social focus, which autistic girls may not always exhibit

Biphasic regulation of the transcription factor ABORTED MICROSPORES (AMS) is essential for tapetum and pollen development in Arabidopsis

Viable pollen is essential for plant reproduction and crop yield. Its production requires coordinated expression at specific stages during anther development, involving early meiosis-associated events and late pollen wall formation. The ABORTED MICROSPORE (AMS) transcription factor is a master regulator of sporopollenin biosynthesis, secretion and pollen wall formation in Arabidopsis. Here we show it has complex regulation and additional essential roles earlier in pollen formation. • An inducible-AMS reporter was created for functional rescue, protein expression pattern analysis and to distinguish between direct and indirect targets. Mathematical modelling was used to create regulatory networks based on wildtype RNA and protein expression. • Dual activity of AMS was defined by biphasic protein expression in anther tapetal cells, with an initial peak around pollen meiosis and then later during pollen wall development. Direct AMS-regulated targets exhibit temporal regulation, indicating additional factors are associated with their regulation. • We demonstrate that AMS biphasic expression is essential for pollen development and defines distinct functional activities during early and late pollen development. Mathematical modelling suggests AMS may competitively form a protein complex with other tapetum-expressed transcription factors, and that biphasic regulation is due to repression of upstream regulators and promotion of AMS protein degradation

Biosynthesis of Salmonella enterica [NiFe]-hydrogenase-5 : probing the roles of system-specific accessory proteins

A subset of bacterial [NiFe]-hydrogenases have been shown to be capable of activating dihydrogen-catalysis under aerobic conditions; however, it remains relatively unclear how the assembly and activation of these enzymes is carried out in the presence of air. Acquiring this knowledge is important if a generic method for achieving production of O2-resistant [NiFe]-hydrogenases within heterologous hosts is to be developed. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium synthesizes the [NiFe]-hydrogenase-5 (Hyd-5) enzyme under aerobic conditions. As well as structural genes, the Hyd-5 operon also contains several accessory genes that are predicted to be involved in different stages of biosynthesis of the enzyme. In this work, deletions in the hydF, hydG, and hydH genes have been constructed. The hydF gene encodes a protein related to Ralstonia eutropha HoxO, which is known to interact with the small subunit of a [NiFe]-hydrogenase. HydG is predicted to be a fusion of the R. eutropha HoxQ and HoxR proteins, both of which have been implicated in the biosynthesis of an O2-tolerant hydrogenase, and HydH is a homologue of R. eutropha HoxV, which is a scaffold for [NiFe] cofactor assembly. It is shown here that HydG and HydH play essential roles in Hyd-5 biosynthesis. Hyd-5 can be isolated and characterized from a ΔhydF strain, indicating that HydF may not play the same vital role as the orthologous HoxO. This study, therefore, emphasises differences that can be observed when comparing the function of hydrogenase maturases in different biological systems