A Creative Arts Approach in Teaching ESL at Ti-Ratana Orphanage, Desa Petaling, Malaysia

Drawing from Vygotsky's sociocultural learning theory, this research study attempts to explore the potential of the creative arts to teach English as a second language based on the sociocultural theory of learning. The "We Love English!" tuition program utilized the creative arts to teach English as a second language to students living at Ti-Ratana, a Buddhist home for children in Desa Petaling. As a participantobserver, the researcher served as the creative arts director, a volunteer teacher, and a monthly team leader. Research data sources included direct observations made during the lessons; interviews with six volunteer teachers, two program organizers, and one childminder; and analysis of pertinent primary documents. Through comprehensive content analysis, the data were analyzed, categorized, and organized according to specific units of data, which represent inductive and deductive themes in the data. The major findings of this study consist of significant themes that surfaced in all three data sources during analysis. Every effort was made to strengthen the validity and reliability of this study, including data triangulation, the creation of an audit trail, user generalizability, heavy researcher involvement, peer evaluation, thick, rich descriptions, and reflexivity to guard against researcher bias. In short, the data generated from this research study suggest that the creative activities utilized during the "We Love English!" tuition program have the potential to teach English as a second language by creating the necessary environment in which sociocultural learning can take place - namely, by facilitating relationships, promoting social interaction, and fostering zones of proximal development. The creative activities facilitated a friendly, English-speaking environment in which students and volunteer teachers could interact freely and, consequently, build relationships. The relationships between the students and volunteers also appeared to put the students at ease in an English-speaking environment and encourage them to practice English while making language learning more fun. Limitations to the study include lack of time and volunteer turnover. The use of rapid analysis technique following interviews was one method used to mitigate the results of the lack of time, and there were six consistent volunteers, which helped to reduce the effect of volunteer turnover. The findings of this study could contribute to the field of community development and language education. Specifically, this project could serve as a model for community development and educational programs geared towards teaching English as a second language through the creative arts, especially to children at risk. This research study could also provide suggestions related to creating environments conducive for children to interact and build relationships as well as to explore, create, manipulate, and solve problems - ultimately, to reach their maximum learning potential. By creating a comfortable, familiar environment in which sociocultural learning can be realized, a relational, interactive approach to education is critical for maximizing the potential of students, especially children at risk. Therefore, secondlanguage education programs should explore the option of incorporating the creative arts. Education programs that are already based on the sociocultural learning theory could benefit from increased attention to the creative arts. This study also encourages volunteerism, as the findings indicate that dedicated, consistent teachers are critical in order for the creative arts to be effective in fostering relationships and encouraging social interaction. In the end, this research project demonstrates that the creative arts, when utilized in an English tuition program, have the potential to catalyze relationships, increase student interaction, and foster zones of proximal development, all of which contribute to sociocultural learning. It is hoped that further research will provide more conclusive links between the creative arts and second language learning and acquisition

Comparison of Theoretical Starburst Photoionisation Models for Optical Diagnostics

We study and compare different examples of stellar evolutionary synthesis input parameters used to produce photoionisation model grids using the MAPPINGS V modelling code. The aim of this study is to (a) explore the systematic effects of various stellar evolutionary synthesis model parameters on the interpretation of emission lines in optical strong-line diagnostic diagrams, (b) characterise the combination of parameters able to reproduce the spread of local galaxies located in the star-forming region in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and (c) investigate the emission from extremely metal-poor galaxies using photoionisation models. We explore and compare the stellar input ionising spectrum (stellar population synthesis code [Starburst99, SLUG, BPASS], stellar evolutionary tracks, stellar atmospheres, star-formation history, sampling of the initial mass function) as well as parameters intrinsic to the H II region (metallicity, ionisation parameter, pressure, H II region boundedness). We also perform a comparison of the photoionisation codes MAPPINGS and CLOUDY. On the variations in the ionising spectrum model parameters, we find that the differences in strong emission-line ratios between varying models for a given input model parameter are small, on average ~0.1 dex. An average difference of ~0.1 dex in emission-line ratio is also found between models produced with MAPPINGS and CLOUDY. Large differences between the emission-line ratios are found when comparing intrinsic H II region parameters. We find that low-metallicity galaxies are better explained by a density-bounded H II region and higher pressures better encompass the spread of galaxies at high redshift.Comment: 33 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Self-consistent predictions for LIER-like emission lines from post-AGB stars

Early type galaxies (ETGs) frequently show emission from warm ionized gas. These Low Ionization Emission Regions (LIERs) were originally attributed to a central, low-luminosity active galactic nuclei. However, the recent discovery of spatially-extended LIER emission suggests ionization by both a central source and an extended component that follows a stellar-like radial distribution. For passively-evolving galaxies with old stellar populations, hot post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are the only viable extended source of ionizing photons. In this work, we present the first prediction of LIER-like emission from post-AGB stars that is based on fully self-consistent stellar evolution and photoionization models. We show that models where post-AGB stars are the dominant source of ionizing photons reproduce the nebular emission signatures observed in ETGs, including LIER-like emission line ratios in standard optical diagnostic diagrams and H$\alpha$ equivalent widths of order 0.1-3 angstroms. We test the sensitivity of LIER-like emission to the details of post-AGB models, including the mass loss efficiency and convective mixing efficiency, and show that line strengths are relatively insensitive to post-AGB timescale variations. Finally, we examine the UV-optical colors of the models and the stellar populations responsible for the UV-excess observed in some ETGs. We find that allowing as little as 3% of the HB population to be uniformly distributed to very hot temperatures (30,000 K) produces realistic UV colors for old, quiescent ETGs.Comment: ApJ accepted. 20 pages, 8 figure

Drug Resistance in Cancer: An Overview

Cancers have the ability to develop resistance to traditional therapies, and the increasing prevalence of these drug resistant cancers necessitates further research and treatment development. This paper outlines the current knowledge of mechanisms that promote or enable drug resistance, such as drug inactivation, drug target alteration, drug efflux, DNA damage repair, cell death inhibition, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, as well as how inherent tumor cell heterogeneity plays a role in drug resistance. It also describes the epigenetic modifications that can induce drug resistance and considers how such epigenetic factors may contribute to the development of cancer progenitor cells, which are not killed by conventional cancer therapies. Lastly, this review concludes with a discussion on the best treatment options for existing drug resistant cancers, ways to prevent the formation of drug resistant cancers and cancer progenitor cells, and future directions of study

Ketamine and Other Psychedelics: potential and Problems

Join us for an in-depth look at the latest research, legal landscape, and clinical applications of ketamine and psychedelics like esketamine, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA. We’ll break down therapeutic potential, side effects, and the challenges these substances pose. We’ll also compare current use with what is supported in the literature

Lesion-Informed Design and Characterization of a Multi-Drug Compartment, Topical Nanofibrous Scaffold for Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a debilitating and disfiguring parasitic disease that predominantly manifests clinically as ulcerative skin lesions. Despite extensive global transmission, frontline treatments for CL have remained unchanged for decades due to underfunding and being overlooked scientifically. Consequently, available treatment options for CL demonstrate toxicity and varied efficacy. There exists the possibility of improving CL treatment options by developing new topical therapeutics. However, development is impeded by limited physiological and pharmacological knowledge of the CL lesion site. This work provides an improved understanding of the altered skin structure and barrier function both during acute CL infection and as a consequence of the treatment-initiated healing process. These physiological and histological findings were then leveraged to (1) create a mechanistic, physiologically-based dermal Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model of CL and (2) develop a multi-compartment, topical nanofibrous scaffold for CL using electrospinning and electrospraying techniques. By employing a nested Human-Centered Design approach with this clinical and engineering work, multi-functional scaffolds based on polycaprolactone and hyaluronan for improved treatment of CL were designed, fabricated, and iteratively evaluated. The resulting design consisting of a core-shell nanofiber scaffold with enmeshed particles considers (1) key altered physiological and pharmacological properties of ulcerative CL lesions, (2) the therapeutic design preferences of CL patients, and (3) certain available infrastructure and local environmental constraints. Scaffolds were designed to release gentamicin, miltefosine, and allantoin over distinct time scales to optimize therapeutic effect and promote CL lesion healing. The incorporation and release of active compounds from the construct was confirmed in vitro and in vivo. This work has direct implications for CL control in rural endemic areas where existing CL treatments are otherwise of limited feasibility and acceptability. More broadly, this work indicates a preliminary topical drug delivery platform and approach for tackling global health challenges that can be applied to other neglected tropical skin diseases