Prioritization and Assessment of Educational Goals

The problem of this study was to determine the prioritization and assessment of educational goals in a selected school system. The purpose of this study was to engage citizens, administrators, teachers, and students in the prioritization and assessment of unified educational goals for public schools. The sample size for the study consisted of 117 participants in the following groups: (1) representative community group; (2) administrator group; (3) teacher group; and (4) student group. Separate meetings for each group were conducted, and each participant was asked to complete Phi Delta Kappa\u27s Individual Goal Rating Sheet and the Individual Rating of the Level of Performance of Current School Programs. Five research questions were tested to ascertain if a significant difference existed in the perceptions of community members, administrators, teachers, and students in the priority ranking and assessment ranking of 18 educational goals; to ascertain if a significant difference existed between the total mean priority ranking and the total mean assessment ranking of the educational goals; and to ascertain if a significant difference existed within the four participant groups in the priority ranking and assessment ranking of the educational goals. The Kruskal Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance was used to test hypotheses 1 and 2. The t test for independent samples was used in testing hypothesis 3, and the Friedman Two-Way Analysis of Variance was used to test hypotheses 4 and 5. The most significant findings of this study were: A significant difference was found in the priority ranking of 11 of the 18 educational goals. The student group differed the most in assigning priorities to the goals. Community members, administrators, and teachers ranked Goal 4, Develop skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as the top priority goal. Students ranked Goal 9, Develop skills to enter a specific field of work, as the top priority. A significant difference was found in the assessment ranking of 3 of the 18 goals. Again, the students differed the most from the other three groups. A significant positive t value was found in four goals, which meant that the assessment mean was lower than the priority mean. A significant difference was found within each of the participant groups regarding the priorities given to the goals. A significant difference was found within the representative community group, the administrator group, and the teacher group--but not within the student group--regarding the assessment rankings given to the 18 educational goals

Outdoor Allergens

Outdoor allergens are an important part of the exposures that lead to allergic disease. Understanding the role of outdoor allergens requires a knowledge of the nature of outdoor allergen-bearing particles, the distributions of their source, and the nature of the aerosols (particle types, sizes, dynamics of concentrations). Primary sources for outdoor allergens include vascular plants (pollen, fern spores, soy dust), and fungi (spores, hyphae). Nonvascular plants, algae, and arthropods contribute small numbers of allergen-bearing particles. Particles are released from sources into the air by wind, rain, mechanical disturbance, or active discharge mechanisms. Once airborne, they follow the physical laws that apply to all airborne particles. Although some outdoor allergens penetrate indoor spaces, exposure occurs mostly outdoors. Even short-term peak outdoor exposures can be important in eliciting acute symptoms. Monitoring of airborne biological particles is usually by particle impaction and microscopic examination. Centrally located monitoring stations give regional-scale measurements for aeroallergen levels. Evidence for the role of outdoor allergens in allergic rhinitis is strong and is rapidly increasing for a role in asthma. Pollen and fungal spore exposures have both been implicated in acute exacerbations of asthma, and sensitivity to some fungal spores predicts the existence of asthma. Synergism and/or antagonism probably occurs with other outdoor air particles and gases. Control involves avoidance of exposure (staying indoors, preventing entry of outdoor aerosols) as well as immunotherapy, which is effective for pollen but of limited effect for spores. Outdoor allergens have been the subject of only limited studies with respect to the epidemiology of asthma. Much remains to be studied with respect to prevalence patterns, exposure and disease relationships, and control

Investigating Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Improved Diagnosis and Prediction of Treatment Response in Wilms' Tumour Patients

Wilms’ tumour is the most common paediatric renal tumour. In Europe treatment involves pre-operative chemotherapy followed by surgery. Many patients receive MRI scans which include diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) throughout their diagnosis and treatment. This thesis retrospectively acquired Wilms’ tumour MRI data and prospectively acquired renal DWI data in healthy volunteers. Four models of diffusion were used throughout this thesis; mono-exponential, IVIM (intravoxel incoherent motion), stretched exponential, and kurtosis. In healthy volunteers, models were compared based on the reproducibility of the parameters, when calculated based on different b values and magnetic fields strengths. It was shown that ADC, D (IVIM), f (IVIM), Dk (kurtosis), and α (stretched exponential) had high levels of reproducibility whereas reproducibility was poorer in D* (IVIM), K (kurtosis) and DDC (stretched exponential). Model fits were compared in Wilms’ tumour and contralateral normal kidney data using the Akaike Information Criterion. It was shown that all raw DWI data favoured non- Gaussian models as opposed to a mono-exponential model. DWI data acquired in Wilms’ tumour favoured the stretched exponential model, and DWI data acquired in normal kidneys favoured the IVIM model. The volume of necrotic tissue post-chemotherapy is an important marker of treatment response. However, currently identification of necrosis relies on gadolinium contrast enhancement. It was shown that a combination of T1weighted imaging and ADC could provide an alternative method to visualising and quantifying necrosis, allowing future studies to estimate the volume fraction of necrosis in Wilms’ tumour without gadolinium. Finally, it was shown that certain Wilms’ tumour subtypes could be distinguished in vivo using DWI, whereas currently this relies on histological tissue analysis post- surgery. The parameters D* (IVIM) and K (kurtosis) provided the best stratification between subtypes, however, the earlier study demonstrated that the reproducibility of these parameters was poor, which may limit their clinical utility

Determining Stroke Onset Time Using Quantitative MRI: High Accuracy, Sensitivity and Specificity Obtained from Magnetic Resonance Relaxation Times

Many ischaemic stroke patients are ineligible for thrombolytic therapy due to unknown onset time. Quantitative MRI (qMRI) is a potential surrogate for stroke timing. Rats were subjected to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion and qMRI parameters including hemispheric differences in apparent diffusion coefficient, T2-weighted signal intensities, T1 and T2 relaxation times (qT1, qT2) and f1, f2 and Voverlap were measured at hourly intervals at 4.7 or 9.4 T. Accuracy and sensitivity for identifying strokes scanned within and beyond 3 h of onset was determined. Accuracy for Voverlap, f2 and qT2 (>90%) was significantly higher than other parameters. At a specificity of 1, sensitivity was highest for Voverlap (0.90) and f2 (0.80), indicating promise of these qMRI indices in the clinical assessment of stroke onset time

Relationships among frozen-thawed semen fertility, physical parameters, certain routine sperm characteristics and testosterone in breeding Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) bulls

Aim: The present study was carried out to examine the relationships among frozen-thawed semen fertility, physical parameters, seminal quality, and testosterone concentration in Murrah buffalo bulls. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 breeding Murrah buffalo bulls (either progeny tested or under progeny testing program) were randomly selected from two government bull farms in Punjab. None of the bulls selected for this study had any preceding physical abnormality. A field fertility trial was conducted to determine the first service conception rate (FSCR). The number of females inseminated per bull semen was 10. All the bulls were inspected for structural soundness, measurement of scrotal circumference, testicular biometry, and internal pelvic area (IPA). Frozen-thawed semen was evaluated for total motility, progressive motility, viability, concentration, abnormality, and hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST). Testosterone was estimated in blood plasma, seminal plasma as well as frozen-thawed semen extracts for establishing relationship. Results: The FSCR was 48% in the bulls having a scrotal circumference of ≥44 cm, although, there was no significant correlation between FSCR and scrotal circumference. Similarly, no consistent relationship existed between sperm concentration and scrotal circumference. A positive correlation was observed between IPA and FSCR (r=0.294). Of the six post-thaw seminal components (total motility, progressive motility, viability, HOST (%), total abnormality and concentration) only total motility had a high significant (p<0.01) correlation with FSCR (r=0.694). Varied correlations existed between other seminal parameters and fertility. Using a simple regression analysis, the post-thaw motility, IPA, prepuce length and testosterone (independent variables) combined to explain approximately 62% of the variation in the FSCR (dependent variable). Conclusion: The present study indicated that despite low to high correlations between seminal characteristics, physical parameters, fertility, and testosterone; the observations support the importance of these components and their function in maintaining semen quality and subsequent fertility

A spatiotemporal theory for MRI T2 relaxation time and apparent diffusion coefficient in the brain during acute ischaemia:Application and validation in a rat acute stroke model

The objective of this study is to present a mathematical model which can describe the spatiotemporal progression of cerebral ischaemia and predict magnetic resonance observables including the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of water and transverse relaxation time T(2). This is motivated by the sensitivity of the ADC to the location of cerebral ischaemia and T(2) to its time-course, and that it has thus far proven challenging to relate observations of changes in these MR parameters to stroke timing, which is of considerable importance in making treatment choices in clinics. Our mathematical model, called the cytotoxic oedema/dissociation (CED) model, is based on the transit of water from the extra- to the intra-cellular environment (cytotoxic oedema) and concomitant degradation of supramacromolecular and macromolecular structures (such as microtubules and the cytoskeleton). It explains experimental observations of ADC and T(2), as well as identifying the rate of spread of effects of ischaemia through a tissue as a dominant system parameter. The model brings the direct extraction of the timing of ischaemic stroke from quantitative MRI closer to reality, as well as providing insight on ischaemia pathology by imaging in general. We anticipate that this may improve patient access to thrombolytic treatment as a future application

Stroke onset time estimation from multispectral quantitative magnetic resonance imaging in a rat model of focal permanent cerebral ischaemia

Background Quantitative T2 relaxation magnetic resonance imaging allows estimation of stroke onset time. Aims We aimed to examine the accuracy of quantitative T1 and quantitative T2 relaxation times alone and in combination to provide estimates of stroke onset time in a rat model of permanent focal cerebral ischemia and map the spatial distribution of elevated quantitative T1 and quantitative T2 to assess tissue status. Methods Permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion was induced in Wistar rats. Animals were scanned at 9.4T for quantitative T1, quantitative T2, and Trace of Diffusion Tensor (Dav) up to 4 h post-middle cerebral artery occlusion. Time courses of differentials of quantitative T1 and quantitative T2 in ischemic and non-ischemic contralateral brain tissue (ΔT1, ΔT2) and volumes of tissue with elevated T1 and T2 relaxation times ( f1, f2) were determined. TTC staining was used to highlight permanent ischemic damage. Results ΔT1, ΔT2, f1, f2, and the volume of tissue with both elevated quantitative T1 and quantitative T2 (VOverlap) increased with time post-middle cerebral artery occlusion allowing stroke onset time to be estimated. VOverlap provided the most accurate estimate with an uncertainty of ±25 min. At all times-points regions with elevated relaxation times were smaller than areas with Dav defined ischemia. Conclusions Stroke onset time can be determined by quantitative T1 and quantitative T2 relaxation times and tissue volumes. Combining quantitative T1 and quantitative T2 provides the most accurate estimate and potentially identifies irreversibly damaged brain tissue. </jats:sec

Test-retest repeatability of ADC in prostate using the multi b-Value VERDICT acquisition

Purpose: VERDICT (Vascular, Extracellular, Restricted Diffusion for Cytometry in Tumours) MRI is a multi b-value, variable diffusion time DWI sequence that allows generation of ADC maps from different b-value and diffusion time combinations. The aim was to assess precision of prostate ADC measurements from varying b-value combinations using VERDICT and determine which protocol provides the most repeatable ADC. // Materials and Methods: Forty-one men (median age: 67.7 years) from a prior prospective VERDICT study (April 2016–October 2017) were analysed retrospectively. Men who were suspected of prostate cancer and scanned twice using VERDICT were included. ADC maps were formed using 5b-value combinations and the within-subject standard deviations (wSD) were calculated per ADC map. Three anatomical locations were analysed per subject: normal TZ (transition zone), normal PZ (peripheral zone), and index lesions. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed which b-value range had the lowest wSD, Spearman correlation and generalized linear model regression analysis determined whether wSD was related to ADC magnitude and ROI size. // Results: The mean lesion ADC for b0 b1500 had the lowest wSD in most zones (0.18–0.58x10-4 mm2/s). The wSD was unaffected by ADC magnitude (Lesion: p = 0.064, TZ: p = 0.368, PZ: p = 0.072) and lesion Likert score (p = 0.95). wSD showed a decrease with ROI size pooled over zones (p = 0.019, adjusted regression coefficient = -1.6x10-3, larger ROIs for TZ versus PZ versus lesions). ADC maps formed with a maximum b-value of 500 s/mm2 had the largest wSDs (1.90–10.24x10-4 mm2/s). // Conclusion: ADC maps generated from b0 b1500 have better repeatability in normal TZ, normal PZ, and index lesions

Interventions to improve continence for children and young people with neurodisability: a national survey of practitioner and family perspectives and experiences.

Objective Describe families’ experiences of interventions to improve continence in children and young people with neurodisability, and health professionals’ and school and social care staff’s perspectives regarding factors affecting intervention use. Design Four online surveys were developed and advertised to parent carers, young people with neurodisability, health professionals and school and social care staff, via societies, charities, professional contacts, schools, local authorities, and national parent carer and family forums, who shared invitations with their networks. Survey questions explored: difficulties helping children and young people use interventions; acceptability of interventions and waiting times; ease of use and availability of interventions, and facilitators and barriers to improving continence. Results 1028 parent carers, 26 young people, 352 health professionals and 202 school and social care staff registered to participate. Completed surveys were received from 579 (56.3%) parent carers, 20 (77%) young people, 193 (54.8%) health professionals, and 119 (58.9%) school and social care staff. Common parent carer-reported difficulties in using interventions to help their children and young people to learn to use the toilet included their child’s lack of understanding about what was required (reported by 337 of 556 (60.6%) parent carers who completed question) and their child’s lack of willingness (343 of 556, 61.7%). Almost all (142 of 156, 91%) health professionals reported lack of funding and resources as barriers to provision of continence services. Many young people (14 of 19, 74%) were unhappy using toilet facilities while out and about. Conclusions Perceptions that children lack understanding and willingness, and inadequate facilities impact the implementation of toileting interventions for children and young people with neurodisability. Greater understanding is needed for children to learn developmentally appropriate toileting skills. Further research is recommended around availability and acceptability of interventions to ensure quality of life is unaffected