Le drame français dans la période romantique

In French. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Language AND Content? How do Curriculum Teachers of Year 12 English Language Learners Combine Two Disciplines?

The provision of language instruction in secondary schools for students who speak English as an additional language (EAL) is moving from the domain of the English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classroom where it traditionally lay. Increasingly, curriculum teachers are urged to take responsibility for language learning within their subject areas. How are curriculum teachers responding? Has this affected their professional relationships with ESOL teachers? What is the nature of the professional engagement between language and content specialists? This qualitative investigation uses an exploratory case study approach to examine the beliefs and teaching approaches identified by secondary school curriculum teachers as beneficial to learning for EAL students in their classes. Data were gathered using a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observations for seven participant teachers, then analysed thematically using a conceptual framework derived from content-based language teaching principles. The findings were that these teachers’ approaches to teaching language appear to be shaped by their disciplinary beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge. Their openness to applying a systematic language focus to their teaching seemed to relate to whether their curriculum area was characterised as ‘hard’ or ‘soft’. They struggled to differentiate between language and literacy learning and largely assumed language to mean vocabulary. This indicates that many language challenges facing EAL learners may be invisible to their teachers. Curriculum teachers’ unfamiliarity with research-based language teaching has implications for teacher education and professional development. This study suggests the urgency for compulsory pre-service teaching courses to illustrate how disciplinary meaning is shaped by specific language forms. It also indicates that curriculum teachers with specialist qualifications in teaching EAL learners may provide a powerful link between ESOL and subject expertise

THE EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT IN AN INDONESIAN CONTEXT

Creating long-life learners has become a long-term educational goal in many educational settings including Indonesia. An initial step towards this goal is to develop autonomy in students. Currently, learner autonomy or independence in learning has been promoted in higher education through the concept of Merdeka Belajar (freedom of learning) by the Minister of Education and Culture. In high schools, the 2013 curriculum has also emphasized learner autonomy development. Thus it is necessary to look back at how teachers perceived the concept of learner autonomy long before the concept of Merdeka Belajar was introduced. This article reports a quantitative study that investigated English teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy and its development in Indonesia. This study was conducted in 2014 using a questionnaire and involved 145 high school English teachers in Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The findings revealed that these Indonesian teachers held positive perceptions of learner autonomy and strongly supported psychological elements of learner autonomy. These EFL teachers also showed strong support for social aspects of autonomy. These junior high school teachers perceived social interaction and cooperation as important for promoting learner autonomy in the Indonesian context

Much more than talking: An emergent bilingual learner’s interactions in a New Zealand early childhood centre

This qualitative study uses a sociocultural perspective to examine the interactions of a child from a Chinese speaking home with his peers in a New Zealand early childhood centre. He was 3 years 3 months at the time of data collection. Data were gathered in three five-minute video recordings taken over a period of three weeks during free play in a group of children. Deductive coding revealed themes of active interaction, emotion, influence, and verbal interaction. The analysis, using Hawkins’ (2004) perspectives of learning environments, indicated that the use of culturally inclusive resources during free play allowed the children to create a community of learners and scaffold social and linguistic learning. The teacher chose to observe these interactions. One implication is that free play in an early childhood education environment without direct teacher guidance can be an important part of facilitating the learning of emergent bilingual children

Simultaneous multiple-excitation multiphoton microscopy yields increased imaging sensitivity and specificity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) offers many advantages over conventional wide-field and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) for imaging biological samples such as 3D resolution of excitation, reduced phototoxicity, and deeper tissue imaging. However, adapting MPM for critical multi-color measurements presents a challenge because of the largely overlapping two-photon absorption (TPA) peaks of common biological fluorophores. Currently, most multi-color MPM relies on the absorbance at one intermediate wavelength of multiple dyes, which introduces problems such as decreased and unequal excitation efficiency across the set of dyes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we describe an MPM system incorporating two, independently controlled sources of two-photon excitation whose wavelengths are adjusted to maximally excite one dye while minimally exciting the other. We report increased signal-to-noise ratios and decreased false positive emission bleed-through using this novel multiple-excitation MPM (ME-MPM) compared to conventional single-excitation MPM (SE-MPM) in a variety of multi-color imaging applications.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Similar to the tremendous gain in popularity of CLSM after the introduction of multi-color imaging, we anticipate that the ME-MPM system will further increase the popularity of MPM. In addition, ME-MPM provides an excellent tool to more rapidly design and optimize pairs of fluorescence probes for multi-color two-photon imaging, such as CFP/YFP or GFP/DsRed for CLSM.</p

The role of the respiratory microbiome in asthma

Asthma is a common airways disease and the human microbiome plays an increasingly recognised role in asthma pathogenesis. Furthermore, the respiratory microbiome varies with asthma phenotype, endotype and disease severity. Consequently, asthma therapies have a direct effect on the respiratory microbiome. Newer biological therapies have led to a significant paradigm shift in how we treat refractory Type 2 high asthma. While airway inflammation is the generally accepted mechanism of action of all asthma therapies, including both inhaled and systemic therapies, there is evidence to suggest that they may also alter the microbiome to create a more functionally balanced airway microenvironment while also influencing airway inflammation directly. This downregulated inflammatory cascade seen biochemically, and reflected in improved clinical outcomes, supports the hypothesis that biological therapies may in fact affect the microbiome-host immune system dynamic and thus represent a therapeutic target for exacerbations and disease control

Salivary immunoglobulin free light chains: reference ranges and responses to exercise in young and older adults

Background: Free light chains (FLCs) have a range of biological functions and may act as a broad marker of immune suppression and activation and inflammation. Measurement of salivary FLCs may provide practical advantages in a range of clinical populations. The aim of the present study was to develop normal reference ranges of FLCs in saliva and assess the effects of acute exercise on FLC levels in younger and older adults. Methods: Saliva FLC concentrations and secretion rates were measured in young (n = 88, aged 18-36) and older (n = 53, aged 60-80) adults. To assess FLC changes in response to acute exercise, young adults completed a constant work-rate cycling exercise trial at 60% VO 2max (n = 18) or a 1 h cycling time trial (TT) (n = 10) and older adults completed an incre-mental submaximal treadmill walking exercise test to 75% HR max (n = 53). Serum FLCs were measured at baseline and in response to exercise. Results: Older adults demonstrated significantly higher levels of salivary FLC parameters compared with young adults. Median (5-95 th percentile) concentrations were 0.45 (0.004-3.45) mg/L for kappa and 0.30 (0.08-1.54) mg/L for lambda in young adults; 3.91 (0.75-19.65) mg/L for kappa and 1.00 (0.02-4.50) mg/L for lambda in older adults. Overall median concentrations of salivary kappa and lambda FLCs were 10-fold and 20-fold lower than serum, respectively. Reductions in salivary FLC concentrations and secretion rates were observed immediately post-and at 1 h post exercise, but were only significant for the older cohort; FLCs began to recover between post and 1 h post-exercise. No changes in serum FLCs were observed in response to exercise. Conclusions: The ability to assess FLCs in saliva and the reference ranges provided will likely broaden the use of this biomarker in healthy and clinical populations. The elevated salivary FLCs in older adults may relate to a deterioration of oral health and be important in the context of inflammatory processes and diseases associated with ageing. Exercise did not affect serum FLCs, but reduced salivary FLCs, most notably in older adults, which may reflect reduced transport of FLCs from serum into saliva

How should we discuss genetic testing with women newly diagnosed with breast cancer? Design and implementation of a randomized controlled trial of two models of delivering education about treatment-focused genetic testing to younger women newly diagnosed with breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing offered shortly after a breast cancer diagnosis to inform women's treatment choices - treatment-focused genetic testing 'TFGT' - has entered clinical practice in specialist centers and is likely to be soon commonplace in acute breast cancer management, especially for younger women. Yet the optimal way to deliver information about TFGT to younger women newly diagnosed with breast cancer is not known, particularly for those who were not suspected of having a hereditary breast cancer syndrome prior to their cancer diagnosis. Also, little is known about the behavioral and psychosocial impact or cost effectiveness of educating patients about TFGT. This trial aims to examine the impact and efficiency of two models of educating younger women newly diagnosed with breast cancer about genetic testing in order to provide evidence for a safe and effective future clinical pathway for this service. DESIGN/METHODS: In this non-inferiority randomized controlled trial, 140 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer (aged less than 50 years) are being recruited from nine cancer centers in Australia. Eligible women with either a significant family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer or with other high risk features suggestive of a mutation detection rate of > 10% are invited by their surgeon prior to mastectomy or radiotherapy. After completing the first questionnaire, participants are randomized to receive either: (a) an educational pamphlet about genetic testing (intervention) or (b) a genetic counseling appointment at a family cancer center (standard care). Each participant is offered genetic testing for germline BRCA mutations. Decision-related and psychosocial outcomes are assessed over 12 months and include decisional conflict (primary outcome);uptake of bilateral mastectomy and/or risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy; cancer-specific- and general distress; family involvement in decision making; and decision regret. A process-oriented retrospective online survey will examine health professionals' attitudes toward TFGT; a health economic analysis will determine the cost effectiveness of the intervention. DISCUSSION: This trial will provide crucial information about the impact, efficiency and cost effectiveness of an educational pamphlet designed to inform younger women newly diagnosed with breast cancer about genetic testing. Issues regarding implementation of the trial are discussed

Adequacy of glycemic, lipid, and blood pressure management for patients with diabetes in a managed care setting

WSTĘP. Przeprowadzono retrospektywną obserwację grupy osób korzystających z wielospecjalistycznego systemu opieki zdrowotnej (MCO, managed care organization) i uzyskujących zadowalającą kontrolę glikemii, odpowiednie stężenia lipidów i wartości ciśnienia tętniczego. MATERIAŁ I METODY. Na podstawie Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set 2000 z bazy danych MCO wybrano grupę leczonych chorych na cukrzycę w wieku 18 lat i starszych (n = 7114), którym w ciągu 2 lat przed interwencją wypisano receptę lub wykonano badania laboratoryjne. Analizowano charakterystykę demograficzną oraz odsetek pacjentów, u których określano stężenia HbA1c, lipidów i mierzono ciśnienie tętnicze oraz którzy spełniali kryteria dobrego wyrównania cukrzycy zgodne z zaleceniami Amerykańskiego Towarzystwa Diabetologicznego (ADA, American Diabetes Association) w całej grupie, a także w grupach pacjentów leczonych i nieleczonych. WYNIKI. Odsetek osób, u których określono stężenia HbA1c, cholesterolu i zmierzono ciśnienie tętnicze wynosił odpowiednio 77, 54 i 95%. Odsetek pacjentów uzyskujących cele terapii wynosił 37% dla HbA1c, 23% dla cholesterolu frakcji LDL i 41% dla ciśnienia skurczowego. Wśród wszystkich pacjentów u 72% celem leczenia była poprawa kontroli glikemii, 64% leczono z powodu nadciśnienia tętniczego, a jedynie 28% z powodu zaburzeń lipidowych. Wśród leczonych pacjentów mniej niż 1/3 uzyskiwała docelowe wartości HbA1c (29%) i cholesterolu frakcji LDL (32%), natomiast u 40% kontrola skurczowego ciśnienia tętniczego była zadowalająca. WNIOSKI. Stwierdzono, że mimo częstego wykonywania badań diagnostycznych w kierunku zaburzeń lipidowych, stężenia HbA1c i nadciśnienia tętniczego, niewielki odsetek pacjentów osiągał założone cele terapii. Aby uzyskać poprawę opieki nad chorymi na cukrzycę, konieczne jest wdrożenie bardziej intensywnego postępowania.INTRODUCTION. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the adequacy of glycemic, lipid, and blood pressure (BP) management for diabetic patients in a managed care organization (MCO). MATERIAL AND METHODS. Patients aged &#8805; 18 years with diabetes (n = 7,114) were retrospectively identified over a 2-year period from the MCO&#8217;s administrative database based on the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set 2000 selection criteria using pharmacy, laboratory, and encounter data. Analyses examined demographics and percentages of patients tested and meeting American Diabetes Association goals for HbA1c, lipids, and BP, both overall and for those receiving medication treatment versus no treatment. RESULTS. Testing rates for A1C, LDL cholesterol, and BP were 77, 54, and 95%, respectively. The percentage of patients tested who were at goal were 37% for A1C, 23% for LDL cholesterol, and 41% for systolic BP. Of the patients in our sample, 72% were treated for glycemic control, 64% were treated for BP control, and only 28% were treated for lipid control. Of the patients who received medication treatment, less than one-third were at goal for A1C (29%) and LDL cholesterol (32%), whereas 40% were at goal for systolic BP. CONCLUSIONS. We found that although a large percentage of diabetic patients were tested for A1C, LDL cholesterol, and systolic BP, a much smaller percentage had reached their respective goals. More aggressive glycemic, lipid, and BP management appears to be needed to improve care for these patients

Visualisation of macropinosome maturation by the recruitment of sorting nexins

We report that phosphoinositol-binding sorting nexin 5 ( SNX5) associates with newly formed macropinosomes induced by EGF stimulation. We used the recruitment of GFP-SNX5 to macropinosomes to track their maturation. Initially, GFP-SNX5 is sequestered to discrete subdomains of the macropinosome; these subdomains are subsequently incorporated into highly dynamic, often branched, tubular structures. Time-lapse videomicroscopy revealed the highly dynamic extension of SNX5-labelled tubules and their departure from the macropinosome body to follow predefined paths towards the perinuclear region of the cell, before fusing with early endosomal acceptor membranes. The extension and departure of these tubular structures occurs rapidly over 5-10 minutes and is dependent upon intact microtubules. As the tubular structures depart from the macropinosome there is a reduction in the surface area and an increase in tension of the limiting membrane of the macropinosome. In addition to the recruitment of SNX5 to the macropinosome, Rab5, SNX1 and EEA1 are also recruited by newly formed macropinosomes, followed by the accumulation of Rab7. SNX5 forms heterodimers with SNX1 and this interaction is required for endosome association of SNX5. We propose that the departure of SNX5-positive tubules represents a rapid mechanism of recycling components from macropinosomes thereby promoting their maturation into Rab7-positive structures. Collectively these findings provide a detailed real-time characterisation of the maturation process of the macropinocytic endosome