Languages learning at Key Stage 2: a longitudinal study

This is the final report of a 3 year longitudinal study of the teaching of French, German and Spanish at Key Stage 2, funded from 2006-2009 by the Department for Children Schools and Families. The report covers the attitudes of teachers and children towards languages; the organisation and administration of languages within primary schools; current practice in the teaching of languages; the development of children's intercultural understanding; children's attainment in target language oracy and literacy; and concludes with a discussion of the future sustainability of languages in the primary curriculum and steps needed to secure this

[Study Protocol] Palliative long-term abdominal drains versus repeated drainage in individuals with untreatable ascites due to advanced cirrhosis: study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial

Background: UK deaths due to chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis have quadrupled over the last 40 years, making this condition now the third most common cause of premature death. Most patients with advanced cirrhosis (end–stage liver disease, [ESLD]) develop ascites. This is often managed with diuretics, but if refractory then the fluid is drained from the peritoneal cavity every 10-14 days by large volume paracentesis (LVP), a procedure requiring hospital admissions. As the life expectancy of patients with ESLD and refractory ascites (if ineligible for liver transplantation) is on average ≤ 6 months, frequent hospital visits are inappropriate from a palliative perspective. One alternative is long-term abdominal drains (LTAD), used successfully in patients whose ascites is due to malignancy. Although inserted in hospital, these drains allow ascites management outside of a hospital setting. LTAD have not been formally evaluated in patients with refractory ascites due to ESLD. Methods: Due to uncertainty about appropriate outcome measures and whether patients with ESLD would wish or be able to participate in a study, a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) was designed. Patients were consulted on trial design. We plan to recruit 48 patients with refractory ascites and randomise them (1:1) to either a) LTAD or b) current standard of care (LVP) for 12 weeks. Outcomes of interest include acceptability of LTAD to patients, carers and healthcare professionals as well as recruitment and retention rates. Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS), the Short Form Liver Disease Quality of Life (SF-LDQOL), the EuroQol (EQ-5D) and carer (Zarit Burden Interview [ZBI-12]) reported outcomes will also be assessed. Preliminary data on cost effectiveness will be collected and patients and healthcare professionals will be interviewed about their experience of the trial with a view to identifying barriers to recruitment. Discussion: LTAD could potentially improve end-of-life care in patients with refractory ascites due to ESLD by improving symptom control, reducing hospital visits and enabling some self-management. Our trial is designed to see if such patients can be recruited, as well as informing the design of a subsequent definitive trial. Trial registration: ISRCTN30697116, date assigned: 07/10/201

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Computer Based Learning and Laboratory Based Learning in Electric Circuits: A Literature Review

Computer based learning and laboratory-based learning are widely used nowadays mainly for teaching and learning of both teacher and students especially in teaching electrical circuits. This paper aims to review computer-based learning and laboratory-based learning, specifically other forms of CBL and LBL and how these methods are integrated in teaching and learning electrical circuits, and its advantages and disadvantages. In conducting this literature review, the researchers adapted the PRISMA method in which various journal articles are screened through different stages. Criterion was imposed to guide the researchers in the inclusion and exclusion process. It was found out that there are other forms of computer-based learning (CBL) such as the Java-based virtual laboratory and Grid computing laboratory. Also, integrating computer-based learning and laboratory-based learning would build a workable environment that helped in motivating students in exploring electrical circuits. There are various advantages of computer-based learning such as time saving and easy access to laboratory manuals. On the other hand, advantages of laboratory-based learning include the positive impact of interaction, group discussion, and collaboration that was delimited by the computer-based learning

Additional file 1: of Palliative long-term abdominal drains versus repeated drainage in individuals with untreatable ascites due to advanced cirrhosis: study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial

REDUCe Study. (PDF 69 kb

Language learning at Key Stage 2: findings from a longitudinal study

This paper discusses some of the findings from a 3-year longitudinal study of language learning in the upper stage of English primary schools, i.e. at Key Stage 2. This largely qualitative study (commissioned by the then Department for Children, Schools and Families) was designed to explore and document developing provision and practice in a sample of primary schools that had chosen to introduce language teaching ahead of the proposal that it should become part of statutory requirements. The research team examined the approaches and mechanisms these schools were using to develop and maintain language learning and teaching, teachers’ and children’s attitudes towardslanguage learning and children’s achievement in oracy and literacy, as well as considering the possible broader cross-curricular impact of language learning. This paper goes on to consider some of the implications for embedding languagelearning and teaching in English primary schools