Classroom research as teacher-researcher

In the field of education, research projects that involve both the researcher and teacher being the same person are common today, as attested by the significant number of teacher-researcher studies. One issue confronting the dual role of teacher-researcher is the nature of interaction between the underlying goals that come with each of these roles. There are some researchers who express concern that the combination of these goals within the teacher-researcher may compromise either or both of the work of teaching and research in an unproductive way. This paper is an account of my adventure in attempting to fulfil both teaching and research goals in my work as teacher-researcher in a year 7 (Secondary One) geometry class in Singapore. My experience is then re-interpreted in the context of the ongoing conflicting-versus-complementary talk on the interaction between teacher/researcher &lsquo;selves&rsquo;. A model is proposed to account for the seemingly opposite sides of the camp as reported in the literature on this issue.<br /

The outcomes of Perthes’ (TOP) study: development of a core outcomes set for clinical trials in Perthes’ disease

Aims To identify a suite of the key physical, emotional, and social outcomes to be employed in clinical practice and research concerning Perthes' disease in children. Methods The study follows the guidelines of the COMET-Initiative (Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials). A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify a list of outcomes reported in previous studies, which was supplemented by a qualitative study exploring the experiences of families affected by Perthes’ disease. Collectively, these outcomes formed the basis of a Delphi survey (two rounds), where 18 patients with Perthes’ disease, 46 parents, and 36 orthopaedic surgeons rated each outcome for importance. The International Perthes Study Group (IPSG) (Dallas, Texas, USA (October 2018)) discussed outcomes that failed to reach any consensus (either ‘in’ or ‘out’) before a final consensus meeting with representatives of surgeons, patients, and parents. Results In total, 23 different outcome domains were identified from the systematic review, and a further ten from qualitative interviews. After round one of the Delphi survey, participants suggested five further outcome domains. A total of 38 outcomes were scored in round two of the Delphi. Among these, 16 outcomes were scored over the prespecified 70% threshold for importance (divided into six main categories: adverse events; life impact; resource use; pathophysiological manifestations; death; and technical considerations). Following the final consensus meeting, 14 outcomes were included in the final Core Outcome Set (COS). Conclusion Core Outcome Sets (COSs) are important to improve standardization of outcomes in clinical research and to aid communication between patients, clinicians, and funding bodies. The results of this study should be a catalyst to develop high-quality clinical research in order to determine the optimal treatments for children with Perthes’ disease

Establishing a core outcome set for peritoneal dialysis : report of the SONG-PD (standardized outcomes in nephrology-peritoneal dialysis) consensus workshop

Outcomes reported in randomized controlled trials in peritoneal dialysis (PD) are diverse, are measured inconsistently, and may not be important to patients, families, and clinicians. The Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology-Peritoneal Dialysis (SONG-PD) initiative aims to establish a core outcome set for trials in PD based on the shared priorities of all stakeholders. We convened an international SONG-PD stakeholder consensus workshop in May 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. Nineteen patients/caregivers and 51 health professionals attended. Participants discussed core outcome domains and implementation in trials in PD. Four themes relating to the formation of core outcome domains were identified: life participation as a main goal of PD, impact of fatigue, empowerment for preparation and planning, and separation of contributing factors from core factors. Considerations for implementation were identified: standardizing patient-reported outcomes, requiring a validated and feasible measure, simplicity of binary outcomes, responsiveness to interventions, and using positive terminology. All stakeholders supported inclusion of PD-related infection, cardiovascular disease, mortality, technique survival, and life participation as the core outcome domains for PD

Temporal fluctuations in seawater pCO<inf>2</inf> may be as important as mean differences when determining physiological sensitivity in natural systems

Most studies assessing the impactsofocean acidification (OA) onbenthic marine invertebrates have used stable mean pH/pCO2 levelsto highlight variation in the physiological sensitivities in a range of taxa. However, many marine environments experience natural fluctuations in carbonate chemistry, and to date little attempt has been made to understand the effect of naturally fluctuating seawater pCO2 (pCO2sw) on the physiological capacity of organisms to maintain acid-base homeostasis. Here, for the first time, we exposed two species of sea urchin with different acid-base tolerances, Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula, to naturally fluctuating pCO2sw conditions at shallow water CO2 seep systems (Vulcano, Italy) and assessed their acid-base responses. Both sea urchin species experienced fluctuations in extracellular coelomic fluid pH, pCO2, and [HCO-3] (pHe, pCO2e, and [HCO-3]e, respectively) in line with fluctuations in pCO2sw. The less tolerant species, P. lividus, had the greatest capacity for [HCO-3]e buffering in response to acute pCO2sw fluctuations, but it also experienced greater extracellular hypercapnia and acidification and was thus unabletofully compensate for acid-basedisturbances. Conversely, themore tolerant A.lixula reliedonnon-bicarbonate protein buffering and greater respiratory control. In the light of these findings, we discuss the possible energetic consequences of increased reliance on bicarbonate buffering activity in P. lividus compared with A. lixula and how these differing physiological responses to acute fluctuations in pCO2sw may be as important as chronic responses to mean changes in pCO2sw when considering how CO2 emissions will affect survival and success of marine organisms within naturally assembled systems

Internet-based, culturally sensitive, problem-solving therapy for turkish migrants with depression: Randomized controlled trial

Background: Turkish migrants living in the Netherlands have a high prevalence of depressive disorders, but experience considerable obstacles to accessing professional help. Providing easily accessible Internet treatments may help to overcome these barriers. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally sensitive, guided, self-help, problem-solving intervention through the Internet for reducing depressive symptoms in Turkish migrants. Methods: A two-armed randomized controlled trial was conducted. The primary outcome measure was the severity of depressive symptoms; secondary outcome measures were somatic symptoms, anxiety, quality of life, and satisfaction with the treatment. Participants were assessed online at baseline, posttest (6 weeks after baseline), and 4 months after baseline. Posttest results were analyzed on the intention-to-treat sample. Missing values were estimated by means of multiple imputation. Differences in clinical outcome between groups were analyzed with a t test. Cohen's d was used to determine the between-groups effect size at posttreatment and follow-up. Results: Turkish adults (N=96) with depressive symptoms were randomized to the experimental group (n=49) or to a waitlist control group (n=47). High attrition rates were found among the 96 participants of which 42% (40/96) did not complete the posttest (6 weeks) and 62% (59/96) participants did not complete the follow-up assessment at 4 months. No significant difference between the experimental group and the control group was found for depression at posttest. Recovery occurred significantly more often in the experimental group (33%, 16/49) than in the control group (9%, 4/47) at posttest (P=.02). Because of the high attrition rate, a completers-only analysis was conducted at follow-up. The experimental group showed significant improvement in depression compared to the control group both at posttest (P=.01) and follow-up (P=.01). Conclusions: The results of this study did not show a significant effect on the reduction of depressive symptoms. However, the effect size at posttest was high, which might be an indicator of the possible effectiveness of the intervention when assessed in a larger sample and robust trial. Future research should replicate our study with adequately powered samples. © Burçin Ünlü Ince, Pim Cuijpers, Edith van 't Hof, Wouter van Ballegooijen, Helen Christensen, Heleen Riper

Primary glomus tumour of the pituitary gland: diagnostic challenges of a rare and potentially aggressive neoplasm

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2020-06-05, rev-recd 2020-08-14, accepted 2020-08-24, registration 2020-09-02, pub-electronic 2020-09-12, online 2020-09-12, pub-print 2021-05Publication status: PublishedFunder: University of ManchesterAbstract: Primary non-neuroendocrine tumours of the pituitary gland and sella are rare lesions often challenging to diagnose. We describe two cases of clinically aggressive primary glomus tumour of the pituitary gland. The lesions occurred in a 63-year-old male and a 30-year-old female who presented with headache, blurred vision and hypopituitarism. Neuroimaging demonstrated large sellar and suprasellar tumours invading the surrounding structures. Histologically, the lesions were characterised by angiocentric sheets and nests of atypical cells that expressed vimentin, smooth muscle actin and CD34. Perivascular deposition of collagen IV was also a feature. Case 2 expressed synaptophysin. INI-1 (SMARCB1) expression was preserved. Both lesions were mitotically active and demonstrated a Ki-67 labelling index of 30%. Next-generation sequencing performed in case 1 showed no mutations in the reading frame of 37 commonly mutated oncogenes, including BRAF and KRAS. Four pituitary glomus tumours have previously been reported, none of which showed features of malignant glomus tumour. Similar to our two patients, three previous examples displayed aggressive behaviour

Using matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) profiling in order to predict clinical outcomes of patients with heart failure

Background Current risk prediction models in heart failure (HF) including clinical characteristics and biomarkers only have moderate predictive value. The aim of this study was to use matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) profiling to determine if a combination of peptides identified with MALDI-MS will better predict clinical outcomes of patients with HF. Methods A cohort of 100 patients with HF were recruited in the biomarker discovery phase (50 patients who died or had a HF hospital admission vs. 50 patients who did not have an event). The peptide extraction from plasma samples was performed using reversed phase C18. Then samples were analysed using MALDI-MS. A multiple peptide biomarker model was discovered that was able to predict clinical outcomes for patients with HF. Finally, this model was validated in an independent cohort with 100 patients with HF. Results After normalisation and alignment of all the processed spectra, a total of 11,389 peptides (m/z) were detected using MALDI-MS. A multiple biomarker model was developed from 14 plasma peptides that was able to predict clinical outcomes in HF patients with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 1.000 (p = 0.0005). This model was validated in an independent cohort with 100 HF patients that yielded an AUC of 0.817 (p = 0.0005) in the biomarker validation phase. Addition of this model to the BIOSTAT risk prediction model increased the predictive probability for clinical outcomes of HF from an AUC value of 0.643 to an AUC of 0.823 (p = 0.0021). Moreover, using the prediction model of fourteen peptides and the composite model of the multiple biomarker of fourteen peptides with the BIOSTAT risk prediction model achieved a better predictive probability of time-to-event in prediction of clinical events in patients with HF (p = 0.0005). Conclusions The results obtained in this study suggest that a cluster of plasma peptides using MALDI-MS can reliably predict clinical outcomes in HF that may help enable precision medicine in HF

Dysglycaemia and South Asian ethnicity: a proteomic discovery and confirmation analysis highlights differences in ZAG

Aims To (1) explore and verify differences in the plasma proteome of white European (WE) and South Asian (SA) adults with normal glycaemic control (NGC) or non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH) and to (2) validate these findings using a separate WE and SA cohort at a high risk of NDH. Methods Mass spectrometry analysis was performed on fasted samples from 72 WE or SA men with NGC or NDH. These results were verified using specific biochemical assays and validated by repeating the analysis in an additional cohort of 30 WE and 30 SA adults. Proteomic results were analysed using independent samples t test and univariate analysis. The targeted assay results were analysed using generalised linear models with adjustment for appropriate covariates including age, BMI, fasting plasma glucose, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides and sex. Results Only zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein (ZAG) significantly differed between both ethnicities and glycaemic control groups. ZAG-specific biochemical assays verified the lower circulating ZAG in SAs (41.09 versus 37.07 (mg L−1); p = 0.014), but not the difference between NGC and NDH groups (p = 0.539). Validation of the ethnicity difference in a separate cohort confirmed that, after adjustment for covariates, ZAG was lower in SAs (p = 0.018). There was no association between ZAG and glycaemic control in the validation cohort. Conclusions Our analyses identified that ZAG is lower in SAs compared to WEs, but its difference between glycaemic control statuses was uncertain. Further research is needed to establish whether lower ZAG in SAs is associated with, or prognostic of, health outcomes, particularly regarding the risk of dysglycaemia