The views of Pasifika students in New Zealand about communicating mathematically

This paper focuses on the perspectives of Years 7 and 8 Pasifika students on mathematics learning, in particular their views about the communication of solution strategies with others (their peers), and their teacher. Pasifika students' ideas about the importance of communicating their mathematical reasoning and strategies to peers and teachers were analysed and themes identified. While most students were in agreement about the importance of explaining their thinking to others, there was considerable variation in the reasons they gave for their views. The findings are interpreted in relation to socio-cultural theory and recent writing about requirements for citizenship in the twenty-first century.     

Mosaic Recombination Inflicted Various SARS-CoV-2 Lineages to Emerge into Novel Virus Variants: a Review Update

Human Coronaviruses (hCoVs) belongs to the enormous and dissimilar family of positive-sense, non-segmented, single-stranded RNA viruses. The RNA viruses are prone to high rates of mutational recombination resulting in emergence of evolutionary variant to alter various features including transmissibility and severity. The evolutionary changes affect the immune escape and reduce effectiveness of diagnostic and therapeutic measures by becoming undetectable by the currently available diagnostics and refractory to therapeutics and vaccines. Whole genome sequencing studies from various countries have adequately reported mosaic recombination between different lineage strain of SARS-CoV-2 whereby RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene reconnects with a homologous RNA strand at diverse position. This all lead to evolutionary emergence of new variant/ lineage as evident with the emergence of XBB in India at the time of writing this review. The continuous periodical genomic surveillance is utmost required for understanding the various lineages involved in recombination to emerge into hybrid variant. This may further help in assessing virus transmission dynamics, virulence and severity factor to help health authorities take appropriate timely action for prevention and control of any future COVID-19 outbreak.     

hs-CRP and oxidative stress in young CAD patients: A pilot study

Premature coronary artery disease (CAD) is common in India. We, therefore, studied oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, and high sensitivity-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in young CAD patients. Present study consisted of male CAD patients below 40 years and age and sex matched healthy controls (n=30 each). Fasting blood samples were analyzed for serum lipid profile, malondialdehyde, antioxidant enzymes and hs-CRP levels. Dyslipidemia was observed in 90% of the young CAD patients, of which 72.2% showed increased serum triglycerides and decreased HDL-cholesterol. LDL-cholesterol levels were high in 77.8%. Serum malondialdehyde and hs-CRP levels were increased significantly (p<0.0001) as compared to controls. hs-CRP levels were in high risk range in all the young patients. However, glutathione peroxidase activity was reduced significantly (p<0.05). Our data suggests that elevated hs-CRP levels along with dyslipidemia and oxidative stress adds to the predictive value of premature CAD in young Indians.     

Modulation of convulsive threshold of pentylene tetrazole by zinc

In the present study which was aimed to see the effect of zinc on pentylenetetrazole induced convulsive threshold in rats we found that zinc sulfate 100 μg intracerebroventricularly) and pentylenetetrazole (50 mg/kg intraperitoneally) produced dose related seizure activity; however, pretreatment with zinc decreased the threshold, increased the severity, incidence of multiple seizures and total duration of pentylenetetrazole induced seizures. Diazepam (5 mg/kg intraperitoneally) pretreatment increased the threshold and lowered the incidence of convulsions in zinc induced seizures which further confirms that the convulsive effect of zinc is through inhibition of gamma aimino butyric acid.     

School teachers' perception about distributed leadership practices for inclusive education in primary schools in Bangladesh

This article reports on the third phase of a larger study that explored the perceptions of teachers about distributed leadership practices for inclusive education (IE) in primary schools involved in IE reform in Bangladesh. The Distributed Leadership Practice for Inclusive Education scale was developed specifically for this study to collect data. Participants for the present study were head teachers and teachers from 308 public primary schools. The results of this study indicate that teachers perceived that distributed leadership practices for IE were present in primary schools in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that teachers' perceptions about distributed leadership practices for IE have a significant positive correlation with their satisfaction about the implementation of IE policy.     

Malaysian primary pre-service teachers’ perceptions of students’ disruptive behaviour

The purpose of this paper was to investigate Malaysian primary pre-service teachers’ perceptions of students’ disruptive behaviour and their self-reported strategies to prevent and to manage such behaviours. Results indicate that Malaysian pre-service teachers understand disruptive behaviours to be those that disrupt the learning and teaching process. They identified the cause of student disruptive behaviour as factors residing within the individual student. Pre-service teachers here reported preventative strategies in terms of changing teaching strategies and threats to use punishment. When addressing students’ disruptive behaviour, pre-service teachers reported that they would use one-to-one counselling with students and remove tokens or hold back rewards. A discussion regarding the implications for teacher education institutions and future research concludes this paper.     

Study on arsenic level in ground water of Delhi using hydride generator accessory coupled with atomic absorption spectrophotometer

Surveillance of drinking water is essentially a health measure intended to protect the public from water borne diseases. Hydride generator accessory coupled with atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to analyze arsenic level in 49 ground water samples collected from different areas of Delhi. Arsenic level in ground water samples was in the range of 0.0170 to 0.100 ppm (Mean-0.0431, Standard Deviation-0.0136, Std. error of Mean-0.00194) with minimum concentration at Raney Well No. 7 (0.0170 ppm) and maximum at Kotla Mubarak Pur (0.100 ppm). Arsenic containing sediments and percolation of chemicals into soil as the result of dumping of garbage rich in chemicals into open landfills could be the possible source of arsenic in ground water of Delhi. Extensive survey and continuous monitoring is required to be made to assess the magnitude of problem and earlier intervention.     

How Do we Measure Implementation of Inclusive Education in the Pacific Islands? A Process for Developing and Validating Disability-Inclusive Indicators

In recent years, countries of the Pacific have been moving strongly towards enhancing inclusive educational practices within a previously segregated education system. Through the Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF) approved by 14 Pacific Island Education Ministers in 2009, the implementation of regional policies of inclusive education is a priority. To ensure that progress is measurable, these countries have been working collaboratively with several Australian institutions to develop a set of contextually appropriate indicators for measuring disability-inclusive education. This article describes the process adopted in developing these indicators and initial findings regarding the key outcomes. The research is guided by three key principles of collaboration, a need for systemic change and ‘nothing about us without us’. The process adopts a three-stage approach which is outlined and key issues and implications discussed.