Comparative analyses for beta human chorionic gonadotropin

Serum Beta human chorionic gonadotropin (BhCG) was measured in 25 healthy controls and 75 cases with gestational trophoblastic neoplasms and testicular tumor using RIA kit from BARC, Bombay and ELISA kit from Abbott Diagnostics, USA. Regression Analysis of the values obtained for controls and cases by both the methods were statistically significant P 0.001.     

Temporal Trends of Malondialdehyde in Stored Human Plasma

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is widely used as oxidative stress biomarker in biomedical research. Plasma is stored in deep freezers generally till analysis. Effect of such storage on MDA values, which may be variable and prolong, was incidentally observed in the ongoing study which is to estimate oxidative stress with oral iron. Plasma from blood samples of pregnant women (20–30 years age) in third trimester of singleton pregnancy (n = 139), consuming oral iron tablets was stored at −20 °C with intention of MDA estimation, as soon as possible. However logistic problems led this storage for prolonged and variable period (1–708 days). When values of MDA estimated using “Ohkawa” 79 method and readings were plotted against time to check the temporal effect, it showed a hyperbolic curve. Standard deviation (SD) was lowest when samples were tested within 3 weeks time. The samples analyzed within 3 weeks had mean ± SD value of 31.59 ± 26.11 μmol/L, while 123.7 ± 93.97 and 366.5 ± 189.8 μmol/L for samples stored for 1–3 and 4 months to 1 year respectively. Mean ± SD were 539.9 ± 196.8 in the samples store for more than a year. Rate of change in values was also lowest (0.0433 μmol/L/day) in the samples tested within first 3 weeks, which rose to 1.2 μmol/L/day during 3 month’s storage. This rate peaked at storage of 120 days (1.87 μmol/L/day) and fell to 0.502 μmol/L/day in the second year of storage. It is concluded that at −20 °C, only 3 weeks of storage time should be considered valid for fairly acceptable stability in MDA values.     

The new primary school curriculum project: Malaysia, 1982

The major goal of the Malaysian education system is that of promoting national unity among her constituent ethnic groups, namely, Malays and other indigenous groups, Chinese and Indians. This objective has been operationalised nationally in terms of a common school system, common curriculum content, common public examinations and the use of Bahasa Malaysia as the main medium of instruction.In recent investigations, the traditional subject-based, content-loaded primary school curriculum has been reviewed and found to be wanting, in that significant numbers of school leavers have been assessed as almost illiterate. This signalled the need for a skills-based primary school curriculum, which the Curriculum Development Centre launched in January 1982. Its innovatory aspects are manifest, amongst other features, in a reduced dependency on textbooks, more flexible teaching and learning strategies based on ability groupings, and enrichment and compensatory components as well as a more conscious awareness of the all-round development of the individual child.Observations to date indicate that while schooling seems to have become more pleasurable and activity-oriented, the programme may have been launched too hastily, resulting in teachers who have not quite grasped the essentials of the new approach as well as a scarcity in appropriate teaching materials.

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Zusammenfassung Das Hauptziel des malaiischen Erziehungssystems ist es, nationale Einheit unter ethnischen Gruppen, d.h. den Malaien und anderen einheimischen Gruppen — Chinesen und Indianern — zu fördern. Dieses Ziel ist in Form eines gemeinsamen Schulsystems, gemeinsamen inhaltlichen Curriculums, gemeinsamer öffentlicher Examen und unter Anwendung von Malaiisch (Bahasa Malaysia) als das Hauptlehrmedium durchgeführt worden.Vor kurzem ist in Untersuchungen das traditionelle fachorientierte und stofflichüberladene Primarschulcurriculum kritisiert und — da eine nicht geringe Zahl von Schulabgängern als fast analphabetisch eingestuft worden sind — als unzureichend beurteilt worden. Dies signalisierte die Notwendigkeit für ein entwicklungsorientiertes Primarschulcurriculum, welches das Curriculum Development Centre dann im Januar 1982 auch erstellt hat. Seine innovativen Aspekte zeigen sich u.a. in der verminderten Abhängigkeit von Textbüchern, in flexibleren, auf Fähigkeitsgruppen basierten Lehr- und Lernstrategien, in den Komponenten der Bereicherung und Kompensation, sie zeigen sich aber auch darin, daß man sich der gesamtheitlichen Entwicklung des einzelnen Kindes stärker bewußt geworden ist.Bisherige Beobachtungen deuten an, daß während der Schulbesuch angenehmer und aktivitätsbezogener geworden ist, das Programm wohl zu schnell gestartet wurde. Das hatte zur Folge, daß Lehrer die wichtigsten Aspekte des neuen Versuchs nicht völlig verstanden und es am passenden Lehrmaterial mangelte.

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Résumé L'objectif principal du système d'éducation Malais est de promouvoir l'unité nationale au sein des groupes ethniques qui constituent la population, c'est-à-dire les Malais et autres groupes indigènes, les Chinois et les Indiens. Cette politique a été mise en opération à l'échelle nationale par un système scolaire commun, un contenu curriculaire commun, des examens publics communs et l'emploi de la langue malaise comme principal véhicule d'instruction.Dans les recherches récentes, on a procédé à un réexamen du curriculum traditionnel de l'école primaire, divisé en matières académiques et encombré sur le plan de contenu dans la mesure où ce curriculum s'est avéré défectueux, la plupart des élèves l'achevant étant jugés presque analphabètes. Cette situation témoignait de la nécessité, pour l'école primaire, d'un curriculum qui soit centré sur les connaissances fondamentales, et que le Centre de Développement du Curriculum a lancé en janvier 1982. Les aspects innovateurs de ce curriculum se manifestent, entre autres traits, par une dépendance réduite vis-à-vis des manuels scolaires, par un enseignement plus flexible ainsi que par des stratégies d'apprentissage élaborées autour de la répartition des élèves en fonction de leurs aptitudes, et autour du renforcement et des composantes de l'enseignement correctif. On y remarque aussi une prise de conscience plus nette du développement complet de chaque enfant en tant qu'individu.Les observations faites à ce jour montrent que si l'enseignement semble être devenu plus agréable et mieux orienté sur l'activité, le programme a toutefois été lancé peut-être trop hâtivement, ce qui a eu pour conséquence que les enseignants n'ont pas tout à fait bien compris l'essentiel de la nouvelle approache et qu'il y a pénurie de matériel didactique approprié.

     

Foundation of basic arithmetic

This is the second of a series of articles, in which we demonstrate the utility of the place value system of representing numbers.     

Web-enabled supply chain management: Key antecedents and performance impacts

Despite increased interest and growing investments in web-based supply chain management (SCM) applications, firms face numerous challenges in successfully web-enabling their SCM activities. In this research, we focus on two main objectives – (i) to understand the key antecedents that affect the web-enablement of SCM activities; (ii) to document the performance impacts of web-enabled SCM efforts. Based on a large-scale, questionnaire survey of North American organizations, we assessed the influence of six factors namely – supplier synergy, information intensity, managerial IT knowledge, interoperable IT infrastructure, perceived IT returns on investments (ROI) and formal governance mechanisms – on the extent of web-enabled SCM. Our results revealed a strong positive influence of supplier synergy, information intensity, managerial IT knowledge, inter-operability and formal governance mechanisms on the extent of web-enabled SCM. We also found a negative association between relative cost–benefit perceptions and the extent of web-enabled SCM. Further, we also found strong positive association between extent of web-enabled SCM and the benefits realized from SCM efforts. We discuss the implications of our results for research and practice.     

Justice for All? Suspension Bans and Restorative Justice Programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District

To address disproportionalities in suspensions for students of color, many districts have prohibited schools from suspending students for willful defiance of school authorities and implemented restorative justice programs (RJP) that address student misconduct using alternative conflict resolution practices. However, there is limited evidence on the efficacy of these new policies. This article examines how the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) suspension ban and RJP are associated with student suspensions over time, as well as suspensions across different groups of students and schools targeted by these policies. We employ an interrupted time series design using 12 years of studentlevel administrative data from the 2003–2004 to 2014–2015 school years, which allows us to examine trends in student suspensions in LAUSD before and after its suspension ban in 2011–2012 and rollout of restorative justice practices and training to schools in 2014–2015. We find large rates of decline in suspensions in the years following LAUSD's suspension ban relative to the years leading up to the ban, as well as evidence of reduced suspension gaps between frequently disciplined students and their less-disciplined peers. Additionally, we find the district's public identification of schools most in need of continued reform, and provision of restorative justice training to these schools, is associated with further reductions in suspensions. Despite this progress, suspension gaps between black and non-black students, and between special education (SPED) and non-SPED students, still persist in our data, suggesting that districts may need more time and comprehensive strategies to fully resolve these inequities.     

Foundations of basic geometry

The basic notions of length, area and volume were not alien to the prehistoric civilizations. The pyramids, palaces and great baths built more than 4000 years ago provide ample evidence. We begin our investigation of geometry with a discussion of areas of simple geometric objects.