bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Component skills that underpin listening comprehension and reading comprehension in learners with English as first and additional language
Authors: Babayiğit Selma , Shapiro Laura
Published: December 2019

Aims

The primary aim of this study is to augment our understanding of the component skills that underpin second‐language learners' text comprehension by examining the direct and indirect roles of vocabulary knowledge and grammatical skills in second‐language learners' listening and reading comprehension.

Methods

Our sample included 134 learners with English as an additional language (EAL) and 74 with English as first language (EL1) (Mage = 123.76, SD = 5.02 months).

Results

Our path analyses underscored the central role of English vocabulary and grammar in EAL learners' text comprehension. Both made independent and direct contributions to EAL learners' listening and reading comprehension levels. There were also indirect relations between vocabulary and grammar, and reading comprehension through listening comprehension. Similar results were observed for the EL1 group. We also found an association between weaknesses in EAL learners' vocabulary and grammatical skills and their underperformance on listening comprehension and reading comprehension.

Conclusions

EAL learners' oral language, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension development should be examined in tandem and beyond the primary‐school years to clarify the long‐term implications of the observed EAL gap at primary‐school levels. Finally, our findings suggest that both vocabulary knowledge and grammatical skills need to be targeted to support children's listening and reading comprehension. This is important for both EAL and EL1 learners but particularly for the former whose English oral language skills may lag behind those of their EL1 peers.
What makes for a successful sociology? A response to “Against a descriptive turn”
Authors: Savage Mike
Published: December 2019

This paper responds to Nick Gane's “Against a descriptive turn”. I argue that descriptive research strategies are more open and inclusive than those which purport to be causal  where explanatory adequacy is assessed by expert insiders. I also show how open descriptive strategies can assist a wider explanatory purpose when these are conceived in non‐positivist ways. I argue that epochalist sociology lacks an adequate temporal ontology because it collapses descriptive specificity back into overarching epoch descriptions. Finally, I argue that if the entire range of publications associated with the Great British Class Survey are considered, that it has demonstrated  a productive way of recognising  the significance of class which has facilitated major research advances in its wake.
Inhomogeneity of capillaroscopic findings in systemic sclerosis
Authors: Lambova Sevdalina Nikolova , Müller‐Ladner Ulf
Published: December 2019

Background

Despite the great interest in capillaroscopy in systemic sclerosis (SSc), research on the possible combinations of different microvascular phenomena at different fingers in SSc patients have not been performed until now.

Objective

To assess the diversity of capillaroscopic findings in SSc.

Methods

The study includes analysis of the capillaroscopic findings in 40 SSc patients who were divided into the following categories: “scleroderma”, type pattern ‐ “early”, “active”, “late” phase, normal and/or nonspecific findings. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t test.

Results

In 77% of the patients, inhomogeneity of the capillaroscopic findings of the fingers was detected. The most frequent combinations of capillaroscopic patterns were “early + active” (n = 7), “active + late” phase (n = 7), “active” phase + normal and/or nonspecific findings (n = 6), “early + active” phase + normal and/or nonspecific findings (n = 4). Concomitant presence of normal and/or nonspecific findings and “late” phase was detected in only 3 cases.

Conclusion

Inhomogeneity of the capillaroscopic findings in SSc is a frequent phenomenon. The results indicate that combinations of “scleroderma” type capillaroscopic findings from different phases could be observed as well as concomitant appearance of pathological and normal/or nonspecific findings of different digits. This phenomenon could be a result of the complex action of different factors eg, disease duration, severity of Raynaud's phenomenon, presence of digital ulcers, local action of different angiogenic and angiostatic factors, gradual transition from one phase to another due to the extensive capillary area, therapeutic interventions.
Cellular senescence and chronological age in various human tissues: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Tuttle Camilla S. L. , Waaijer Mariette E. C. , Slee‐Valentijn Monique S. , Stijnen Theo , Westendorp Rudi , Maier Andrea B.
Published: December 2019

Senescent cells in tissues and organs are considered to be pivotal to not only the aging process but also the onset of chronic disease. Accumulating evidence from animal experiments indicates that the magnitude of senescence can vary within and between aged tissue samples from the same animal. However, whether this variation in senescence translates across to human tissue samples is unknown. To address this fundamental question, we have conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of all available literature investigating the magnitude of senescence and its association with chronological age in human tissue samples. While senescence is higher in aged tissue samples, the magnitude of senescence varies considerably depending upon tissue type, tissue section, and marker used to detect senescence. These findings echo animal experiments demonstrating that senescence levels may vary between organs within the same animal.
Enchantment as Method
Authors: Stainova Yana
Published: December 2019

This article proposes enchantment as an ethnographic method that attunes us to the world‐building potential of dreams and the imagination, as well as to the structural forces that simultaneously constitute human lives. To be enchanted is to experience wonder, to let oneself be moved. This concept emerges from my fieldwork with young musicians in Venezuela who, as residents of urban barrios, confront structural violence and sociopolitical crises. I study how through music and stories they conjure worlds they call their own, acts of creation that persist in spite of social decay. By engaging in flights of the imagination of possibilities foreclosed by their material environments, and by portraying and experiencing themselves and their communities otherwise, they refuse to be determined by dominant logics and rationalities. Letting myself be enchanted by and with them allows me to account for spaces of experience that may escape measurement yet have latent social and political potential. A method of enchantment counterbalances the emphasis on structures of domination espoused by critical thinking in the social sciences. Holding the critical and enchanted approach in creative tension allows us to recognize the creative potential of play, fantasy, and music that emanate from their own force in the crevices of systems of power that sway people’s destinies.
Retinal microvasculature in pituitary adenoma patients: is optical coherence tomography angiography useful?
Authors: Dallorto Laura , Lavia Carlo , Jeannerot Arnaud‐Louis , Shor Natalia , Jublanc Christel , Boch Anne‐Laure , Bodaghi Bahram , Tadayoni Ramin , Touitou Valérie , Bonnin Sophie
Published: December 2019

Purpose

To examine retinal vascular changes in the peripapillary and macular areas in patients with pituitary adenoma (PA) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Methods

Cross‐sectional, retrospective study of 17 consecutive PA patients and 16 healthy subjects. All patients underwent a neuro‐ophthalmological examination to assess the presence of optic neuropathy (ON). Static automated perimetry (SAP), macular and optic disc structural OCT [retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thicknesses] and OCTA were performed. Pituitary adenoma (PA) patients with ON were compared to those without ON and to healthy subjects.

Results

Optic neuropathy (ON) was found in 16 eyes of nine PA patients. Peripapillary vessel density (ppVD) and macular vessel density (VD) in the superficial vascular plexus were significantly decreased in PA eyes with ON, compared to healthy eyes (45.21 ± 5.69 versus 50.52 ± 2.14% and 43.79 ± 5.03% versus 48.96 ± 2.94%, respectively). No significant difference in VD was observed in the macular deep vascular complex (DVC) between groups. Pituitary adenoma (PA) patients with ON had a mean ppVD reduction by 10.51% compared to healthy subjects. RNFL and GCC thicknesses were significantly reduced in PA eyes with ON compared to the other groups. Peripapillary VD (ppVD) significantly correlated with RNFL thickness and SAP mean deviation.

Conclusions

Optical coherence tomography angiography showed a significant decrease in ppVD and superficial macular VD in PA eyes with ON compared to healthy eyes, according to RNFL and GCC thinning. Together with the absence of DVC alterations, it may provide further insights into neurovascular coupling.
Optimal approximate conversions of odds ratios and hazard ratios to risk ratios
Authors: VanderWeele Tyler J.
Published: December 2019

Odds ratios approximate risk ratios when the outcome under consideration is rare but can diverge substantially from risk ratios when the outcome is common. In this paper, we derive optimal analytic conversions of odds ratios and hazard ratios to risk ratios that are minimax for the bias ratio when outcome probabilities are specified to fall in any fixed interval. The results for hazard ratios are derived under a proportional hazard assumption for the exposure. For outcome probabilities specified to lie in symmetric intervals centered around 0.5, it is shown that the square‐root transformation of the odds ratio is the optimal minimax conversion for the risk ratio. General results for any nonsymmetric interval are given both for odds ratio and for hazard ratio conversions. The results are principally useful when odds ratios or hazard ratios are reported in papers, and the reader does not have access to the data or to information about the overall outcome prevalence.
Random forests and selected samples
Authors: Cook Jonathan A. , Siddiqui Saad
Published: December 2019

This paper presents a procedure for recovering causal coefficients from selected samples that uses random forests, a popular machine‐learning algorithm. This proposed method makes few assumptions regarding the selection equation and the distribution of the error terms. Our Monte Carlo results indicate that our method performs well, even when the selection and outcome equations contain the same variables, as long as the selection equation is nonlinear. The method can also be used when there are many variables in the selection equation. We also compare the results of our procedure with other parametric and semiparametric methods using real data.
Exhumed hydrocarbon traps on the North Atlantic margin: Stratigraphy, palaeontology, provenance and bitumen distribution, an integrated approach
Authors: Andrews Steven D. , Decou Audrey , Braham Bill , Kelly Simon R. A. , Robinson Paula , Morton Andrew C. , Marshall John E. A. , Hyden Fiona
Published: December 2019

Previous work has demonstrated the presence of a number of exhumed hydrocarbon traps in central East Greenland. Re‐evaluation of the stratigraphy alongside detailed investigation of the occurrence of bitumen within the Mols Bjerge and Laplace Bjerg exhumed hydrocarbon traps provides new perspectives on these structures, as well as the petroleum geology of East Greenland and the wider North Atlantic. Sedimentological and stratigraphic studies, augmented with palynological and provenance investigations, have constrained the dating and correlation of the strata exposed in the Mols Bjerge and Laplace Bjerg. Petrographic analysis, alongside analysis of the bitumen identified, has highlighted a much wider distribution of hydrocarbon than previously recognized. It was previously considered that Jurassic strata formed the main reservoir interval within the Mols Bjerge and Laplace Bjerg exhumed hydrocarbon traps. It is shown here that the reservoir intervals in the Laplace Bjerg trap lie within the Late Triassic Ørsted Dal and Vega Sund members, which contain up to 18% pyrobitumen and were previously misidentified as Jurassic. The Jurassic Bristol Elv Formation is the most extensively bitumen stained unit in the Mols Bjerge trap. However, occurrences of pyrobitumen (up to 3%) are recorded throughout the Triassic stratigraphy, including the Early Triassic Wordie Creek Formation. Faults, thick calcrete development and regionally continuous mudstone units play an important role in compartmentalizing the palaeohydrocarbon accumulations.
Cross‐cultural adaptation, validity, and reliability of the Turkish version of Assistance to Participate Scale
Authors: Yarar Feride , Aslan Telci Emine , Kılavuz Oren Gönül , Kara Guzin , Cetisli Korkmaz Nilufer , Engin Simsek Ibrahim , Karahan Sevilay
Published: December 2019

Background

The Assistance to Participate Scale is a questionnaire to evaluate activity participation of children with developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Assistance to Participate Scale.

Methods

Ninety‐eight mothers' children with developmental disabilities were included in this study. The Assistance to Participate Scale, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory were applied to all subjects. To evaluate reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, minimal detectable change (MDC) with standard error of measurement (SEM), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for test–retest were used. The relationship between Assistance to Participate Scale, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory was investigated, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used for construct validity.

Results

Cronbach's alpha value of the scale was found.93, demonstrating that this value has excellent internal consistency. Test–retest reliability was found 0.99 (ICC 95% CI [0.995, 0.998]; SEM:0.57, MDC:1.58). For construct validity, the correlations between Assistance to Participate Scale, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory total scores and items were significant (p < .001). Factor analysis showed that the questionnaire had unidimensional and the explained variance was 0.84%.

Conclusions

The Turkish version of the Assistance to Participate Scale is valid and reliable scale for children with developmental disabilities.
Association of depression and anxiety with different aspects of dental anxiety in pregnant mothers and their partners
Authors: Lahti Satu M. , Tolvanen Mimmi M. , Humphris Gerald , Freeman Ruth , Rantavuori Kari , Karlsson Linnea , Karlsson Hasse
Published: December 2019

Objectives

The aim was to confirm the factor structure of Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and to investigate whether the association of these factors with general anxiety and depression varied across gender.

Methods

The FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (www.finnbrain.fi) data from the first collection point at gestational week 14 were used. Of the invited participants (n = 5790), 3808 (66%) expectant mothers and 2623 fathers or other partners of the mother agreed to participate, and 3095 (81.3%) mothers and 2011 (76.7%) fathers returned the self‐report questionnaire. Dental anxiety was measured with the MDAS, general anxiety symptoms with Symptom Checklist‐90 (anxiety subscale) and depressive symptoms with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) was conducted to test the equivalence of the factor structure and multiple group SEM (MGSEM) to test the configural invariance (unconstrained model) and metric invariance (structural weights model), across genders.

Results

Of those consenting, 3022 (98%) women and 1935 (96%) men answered the MDAS. The MGCFA indicated good convergent validity for the two‐factor model for MDAS, but somewhat low discriminant validity (factors demonstrated 72% shared variance). The MDAS items loaded clearly higher for the assigned factor than to the other factor (differences in loadings >0.2), indicating that the 2‐factor model has merit. According to the final MGSEM model, anxiety symptoms were directly related to anticipatory dental anxiety, but not to treatment‐related dental anxiety.

Conclusions

When assessing dental anxiety with MDAS, considering also its two factors may help clinicians in understanding the nature of patient's dental anxiety.
Commercial Gentrification Indexes: Using Business Directories to Map Urban Change at the Street Level
Authors: Kosta Ervin B.
Published: December 2019

This article presents the case for utilizing business directories in building commercial gentrification indexes as tools for research on neighborhood change. It reviews several existing methods of capturing retail change within the growing literature, codifies them as the boutique index, the food index, and the ethnic index, and discusses methodological issues that emerge in building them. A comparative case study of two Little Italies in NYC employs multiple indexes to reveal that the food index––rather than ethnic index––provided the key variable in understanding how consumption practices marked different trajectories of neighborhood change. Whereas the sociological literature on gentrification has primarily relied on socioeconomic indicators and housing data, changing retail landscapes have been understudied and measuring commercial gentrification remains a site–specific, ad–hoc endeavor. To overcome this gap, the article calls for methodological standardization across different sites to increase attention to the role of commercial spaces in accounts of gentrification.
Sustainable Cycling for all? Race and Gender–Based Bicycling Inequalities in Portland, Oregon
Authors: Lubitow Amy , Tompkins Kyla , Feldman Madeleine
Published: December 2019

Amidst findings of increased bicycling in the United States, research continues to demonstrate that women and racial minorities are underrepresented as cyclists in the United States (Buehler and Pucher 2012). While quantitative data may reveal estimates of these disparities, we know little about the motivations or deterrents related to cycling as they are experienced by individuals. This article draws from 30 in–depth interviews with women and people of color in Portland, Oregon to clarify ongoing barriers to bicycling that prevent those who own a bike (and are thus not limited strictly by economic barriers) from becoming more routine cyclists. Findings suggest that barriers for marginalized cyclists range from concerns about development and gentrification to overt racial and gender discrimination experienced while riding. These findings suggest that cycling mobilities are critically linked to intersecting and overlapping identities and those efforts to increase diversity in bike ridership must acknowledge the unique challenges experienced by marginalized groups. We conclude this article by offering suggestions from research participants regarding interventions that might reduce social barriers to biking.
The Contemporary Defended Neighborhood: Maintaining Stability and Diversity through Processes of Community Defense
Authors: Kadowaki Joy
Published: December 2019

This article extends Suttles’ (1972) theory of the defended neighborhood by applying the framework to a contemporary context and exploring the social processes that residents of a diverse community used to defend their neighborhood from change. Drawing on data from an ethnography of Beverly—a stably diverse, highly efficacious, upper middle–class neighborhood on Chicago's far southwest side—I identify and examine three defensive processes used by residents: cultivating neighbors and a culture of surveillance, demarcating and enforcing boundaries, and the creation of an insider housing market. I show how residents employed these neighborhood defense processes to maintain desirable conditions and stable diversity in their community. Defensive processes, however, also resulted in collateral consequences for Black residents, who experienced more scrutiny and surveillance than did White residents. These findings demonstrate how residents’ defensive processes can promote neighborhood stability, but may also result in the social exclusion of perceived outsiders including their own neighbors.
Assessing the effectiveness of development co‐operation: Method matters
Authors: Hall Jo
Published: December 2019

Motivation

The Great Aid Debate is at an impasse between those who believe aid works and those who do not. The impasse is in part because people are arguing about the answers to different questions and in part because the methods historically used are not fit for purpose. The methods have not helped advance our understanding about how and why aid works.

Research questions

Are there better questions and ways of measuring effectiveness that are better suited to developing and testing theories of aid, at a level more useful for policy‐makers in promoting more effective development co‐operation?

Approach and methods

The article reviews the literature on aid effectiveness, development effectiveness and evaluation methods. It focuses on the questions these methods aimed to answer and the methods adopted. The literature broadly covers two questions at the macro level: “Does aid work?” and “How effectively is aid managed?” and a third question at the micro level: “How effective is each aid project?”

Findings

A focus on the wrong questions and/or methods at the macro level has been at the expense of explicit aid theory as opposed to development theory. The micro level is too small to be useful in informing policy.

A more useful question at a meso level is: “What types of development co‐operation work in which contexts and why?” A trend of systematic reviews which rely on randomized control trials (RCTs) falls into similar traps as historical measures. Theory‐based evaluation approaches are more explanatory as they investigate the mechanisms by which different types of development co‐operation work.

Policy implications

I propose that a meso level of analysis that sits above the level of individual initiatives and draws on the explanatory powers of theory‐based evaluation and mechanisms will yield more useful theories about how different types of development co‐operation work. It will also provide development co‐operation policy‐makers insights into what types of development co‐operation are more likely to work effectively in different contexts, potentially allowing them to make better decisions.
The third‐generation retinoid adapalene triggered DNA damage to induce S‐phase arrest in HaCat cells
Authors: Wang Cheng , Li Hongyang , Ma Pengcheng , Sun Jianfang , Li Lingjun , Wei Jun , Tao Lei , Qian Kun
Published: December 2019

Epidermal proliferative diseases consisted of a series of common skin diseases, most of which were recurrent chronic skin diseases, and had greatly negative influence on the life quality of patient. Retinoids exhibited vital roles in the treatment of many skin diseases. Our recent study demonstrated that adapalene significantly inhibited the growth of HaCat cells, and the inhibitory activity was stronger than other retinoids, such as all‐trans‐retinoic acid, acitretin, isotretinoin, tazarotene, and bexarotene. Further study showed that adapalene suppressed the colony formation of HaCat cells, and it dramatically triggered S‐phase arrest and apoptosis, rather than G1 phase arrest which was reported in other retinoids in several studies. Additionally, adapalene treatment greatly upregulated the protein expression of DNA damage marker γ‐H2AX, which was in accord with the results of the elongation of tail moment by comet electrophoresis analysis. Moreover, DNA damage was triggered and DNA repair was suppressed synchronously with adapalene treatment, which accounted for the mechanism of S‐phase arrest induced by adapalene. In summary, our recent work demonstrated that adapalene showed strong anti‐proliferation activity in HaCat cells and could be an alternative agent for the epidermal proliferative disease.
The feasibility and safety of sharp recanalization for superior vena cava occlusion in hemodialysis patients: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Yang Ling , Yang Letian , Zhao Yuliang , Wang Yating , Yu Yang , Salerno Stephen , Li Yi , Fu Ping , Cui Tianlei
Published: December 2019

Introduction: Hemodialysis catheter‐related superior vena cava (SVC) occlusions can cause considerable morbidity for patients and be challenging to treat if refractory to conventional guide wire transversal. This pilot study assessed the feasibility and safety of sharp recanalization of SVC occlusion in hemodialysis patients.

Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled hemodialysis patients treated in West China Hospital diagnosed with SVC occlusion who failed traditional guide wire transversal from January 2014 to November 2017. In brief, a guide wire from the femoral approach was advanced to the lower end of the obstructive lesion to act as a target, while the stiff end of hydrophilic wire was advanced though a jugular approach. Under fluoroscopic guidance in biplane imaging, the occlusive SVC lesion was penetrated with the stiff wire that was snared and pulled through. Graded dilation of the SVC and subsequent tunneled‐cuffed catheter implantation were performed. Demographic information and clinical outcomes were recorded and evaluated.

Findings: Sixteen patients with a mean age of 62 ± 13 years (13 females and 3 males) who received SVC sharp recanalization were included in this study. The sharp recanalization procedure was successfully performed in 14 patients (87.5%). Two patients were complicated with SVC laceration and hemopericardium but remained asymptomatic and required no surgical repair. One patient suffered ventricular fibrillation during procedure. Despite the return of spontaneous circulation, the patient unfortunately died of gastrointestinal tract bleeding after 3 days in ICU. Follow‐up suggested the 6‐month catheter patency to be 92.85% and 12‐month catheter patency to be 58.33%. No long‐term procedure‐related complications were recorded.

Discussion: Sharp recanalization might be a feasible strategy in managing SVC occlusion in hemodialysis patients. The potential life‐threatening complications (cardiac arrhythmia and SVC laceration) necessitate strict eligibility screening, skillful operation, and avoidance of over‐dilation of SVC.
Current perspectives on peanut allergy
Authors: Frith Katie , Katelaris Constance H.
Published: December 2019

Peanut allergy is increasingly prevalent and for most patients is a life‐long condition, with the potential to cause life‐threatening reactions. Accurate diagnosis and appropriate management are essential to minimise risks due to accidental peanut exposure. Current management strategies focus on strict allergen avoidance and access to emergency medicines to treat potential reactions; however, active approaches are an area of intense research. Promising new methods of food allergen immunotherapy are set to change the approach to managing peanut allergic patients in the near future.
Association between urinary urgency and falls among rural dwelling older women
Authors: Park Jeongok , Lee Kyoungjin , Lee Kayoung
Published: December 2019

Aim

To examine the association between urinary urgency and falls in older women living in rural areas in South Korea.

Design

A secondary analysis was conducted using cross‐sectional data.

Methods

This study used dataset obtained from 246 women aged 65 years or older living in 15 rural mountain communities in South Korea between February 2016–March 2016. Falls were measured by self‐reports including the number, location, reasons of falls during the past year. Frequency of urinary urgency and nocturia were assessed by self‐reports. Covariates included age, body mass index, self‐reported health problems. Mixed‐effects negative binomial regression was used to analyse the association between urinary urgency and the number of falls.

Results

The mean age of the 246 women was 77.3 years. Among the sample, 30.1% experienced at least one fall in the past year and 16% had required hospital treatments. The analysis showed that urinary urgency and osteoporosis were significantly associated with a greater number of falls after adjusting for other covariates. Among those who had experienced falls, nearly 60% reported that the reasons for falls were environmental factors, such as slippery floors or uneven sidewalks/thresholds.

Conclusion

Improving urinary urgency may be a strategy to decrease the fall risk in older women. Accordingly, community nurses can provide intervention programs on lifestyle and behavioural changes such as bladder training, dietary modification and pelvic floor muscle training. Interventions for fall prevention need to be developed while considering the unique features of indoor and outdoor environments.

Impact

The findings have implications for healthcare providers and policy makers with regard to the development of safer indoor and outdoor environments for older women living in rural areas by remodelling their residential spaces and neighbourhoods. In addition, more prospective studies using larger samples are needed to investigate the causal mechanism between urinary urgency and falls.
The effect of pedagogical GAME model on students' PISA scientific competencies
Authors: Tsai Chun‐Yen , Lin Huann‐shyang , Liu Shu‐Chiu
Published: December 2019

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of a pedagogical model of digital games on students' scientific competencies that are advocated by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). As a single game‐based learning strategy may not be enough to enhance such competencies, the online game in the current study incorporated the design of the proposed pedagogical gamification, assessment, modeling, and enquiry (GAME) model. The participants were 69 sixth grade students at one primary school in Taiwan. A quasi‐experimental design was adopted. The experimental group students learned with the GAME model, whereas the comparison group students only learned with traditional learning way. The results showed that the learning gain in scientific competencies of the experimental group was better than those of the comparison group. This study revealed that the GAME model has potential to promote students' PISA scientific competencies. It is suggested that the integral GAME model may serve as one kind of strategies to enhance students' scientific competencies.
Atrial septum biopsy for direct substrate characterization in atrial fibrillation
Authors: Sepehri Shamloo Alireza , Husser Daniela , Buettner Petra , Klingel Karin , Hindricks Gerhard , Bollmann Andreas
Published: December 2019

Introduction

The aim of this study was to describe and illustrate the technique of performing interatrial septum biopsy and to demonstrate its use for direct histological substrate characterization in atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods and Results

Biopsies were performed in four patients who underwent AF catheter ablation. Bipal 7 bioptome was directed through a steerable sheath directly onto the septum. Fluoroscopic views as well as echocardiography‐guided techniques were utilized to confirm that the tip was oriented towards the interatrial septum. The bioptome was then placed on the right atrial (RA) septum and maneuvered to obtain the specimens (at least 1 mm in size) from the posterior septal region of the RA, adjacent to the fossa ovalis. Bioptome placement and sample acquisition were successful in all patients at the first attempt. No patient developed any minor or major complications during the procedure and hospital stay. All the biopsy specimens had proper qualities for histological assessments and revealed a variety of pathologies including fibrosis, inflammation, and fatty infiltration.

Conclusion

Atrial septum biopsies could be safely performed guided by fluoroscopy and transesophageal echocardiography. The obtained specimens allowed for a detailed localized substrate characterization which is of great interest in AF.
The last stage in the life history of the European conger eel Conger conger: a transformation before death
Authors: Battaglia Pietro , Smith David , Ammendolia Giovanni , Cavallaro Mauro , Maggio Teresa , Consoli Pierpaolo , Guerrera Maria C. , Andaloro Franco , Romeo Teresa
Published: December 2019

The taxonomic, morphological and meristic features of a dark eel caught by commercial trawling off the Gulf of Patti, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, February 17, 2017, showed it to be a female Conger conger. Histological analysis of gonads demonstrated that the individual was in a post‐spawning phase. X‐ray radiographs showed widespread decalcification of skeleton and teeth loss, confirming a strong mobilisation of somatic energy reserves needed for reproductive development.
A CRITICAL REVIEW ON EVOLUTION OF RISK FACTORS AND FACTOR MODELS
Authors: Maiti Moinak
Published: December 2019

The purpose of this work is to critically evaluate the evolution of risk factors and factor models. A systematic and structured literature review is carried out to observe and understand the past trends and extant patterns/themes in the present research area, evaluate contributions and summarize knowledge, thereby identifying limitations, implications and potential directions of further research. The main message from the study is that evolution of risk factors and factor models are continuous and endless development. Still today over 300 risk factors are identified by the researchers and many other yet to be discovered but out of them all only few are significantly responsible in explaining the stock markets risk return relationship. Study classifies risk factors into two groups: global and specific risk factors. Study answer the question ‘whether evolution of risk factors and factor models are endless development’. Finally, the present study gives an appropriate direction to the future studies to be taken in terms of risk factors and factor models. Due to continuous evolution and changing of nature of the risk factor it seems quite impossible to have a stable efficient factor models that can explain stock market risk return relationship globally in long run.
SICK PAY INSURANCE AND SICKNESS ABSENCE: SOME EUROPEAN CROSS‐COUNTRY OBSERVATIONS AND A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH
Authors: Palme Mårten , Persson Mats
Published: December 2019

All European countries have some form of compulsory insurance against the loss of income due to temporary disability. The insurance schemes vary widely between countries both in terms of measurable entities (such as the compensation level) as well as in unmeasurable traits concerning the actual implementation of the programs. In this paper we use European Labour Force Survey data to study how the measurable differences in the programs is associated with differences in absence rates. We also summarize the theoretical literature on insurance principles in this field. Based on the empirical literature we then discuss how different forms of incentives may affect the work absence rate.
Managing Legitimacy in Business‐Driven Social Change: The Role of Relational Work
Authors: Girschik Verena
Published: December 2019

This paper examines how companies manage their legitimacy in driving social change, drawing attention to how companies proactively negotiate their involvement with nonmarket actors. Building on the legitimacy‐as‐process perspective, I argue that companies construct the legitimacy of their involvement by engaging in relational work, that is, by investing efforts in shaping their relations with others and thereby redefining roles and responsibilities. To explore the role of relational work in business‐driven social change, I present an inductive, interpretive study of a pharmaceutical company’s efforts to build a market for its products by improving diabetes care in Indonesia. Grounded in the empirical study, I develop a process model to explain how legitimacy is redefined from the bottom‐up, that is, how a company’s involvement is re‐negotiated in situ and crafted to attain the social approval of a wider audience. Advancing the micro‐foundations of nonmarket strategy, the model offers new insights into how companies can organize with nonmarket actors and how they can effectively publicize their involvement as socially responsible. I also discuss the model’s implications for a more critical research agenda on the political responsibilities of companies in social change.
Kinetics of phosphorus absorption and expressions of related transporters in primary cultured duodenal epithelial cells of chick embryos
Authors: Cao Sumei , Zhang Shumin , Liu Guoqing , Zhang Liyang , Lu Lin , Zhang Rijun , Liao Xiudong , Luo Xugang
Published: December 2019

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the kinetics of phosphorus (P) absorption and expressions of type IIb sodium‐dependent phosphate cotransporter (NaP‐IIb), inorganic phosphate transporters 1 and 2 (PiT‐1 and PiT‐2) in primary cultured duodenal epithelial cells of chick embryos. In experiment 1, the P absorptions across duodenal epithelial cell monolayers at different incubation time points (0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 min) were compared. In experiment 2, the kinetics of P absorption was performed at 40 min after incubation of duodenal epithelial cells with the media containing 0, 0.75, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 12.0, 24.0 and 48.0 mmol P/L as KH2PO4, and the mRNA and protein expression levels of NaP‐IIb, PiT‐1 and PiT‐2 in duodenal epithelial cells with the media containing 0, 6.0 and 48.0 mmol P/L were determined at 87 min after incubation. The results from experiment 1 showed that the P absorption increased linearly (p < .0001) from 0 to 80 min and the fastest increase occurred at 40 min; the asymptotic model was shown to have the best fit degree, and the optimal incubation time for saturable P absorption was determined to be 87 min. The kinetic curves of P absorption from experiment 2 demonstrated that P absorption was a mixed process of a non‐saturable diffusion plus a saturable carrier‐mediated transport across the duodenal epithelial cells. The high P concentration (48.0 mmol/L) decreased (p < .05) NaP‐IIb and PiT‐1 mRNA and protein levels and increased (p < .0001) PiT‐2 mRNA level. These results indicated that the P absorption across primary cultured duodenal epithelial cell monolayers of chick embryos was a mixed process of a non‐saturable diffusion plus a saturable carrier‐mediated transport and could be restricted by reducing the NaP‐IIb and PiT‐1 expressions while increasing the PiT‐2 expression at a high P concentration.
Discriminant analysis of four cultured populations of the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata martensii, using morphology and single‐nucleotide polymorphism markers
Authors: Huang Jing , Xu Meng , He Maoxian
Published: December 2019

In this study, genetic diversity and genetic structure were assessed in the four major cultured populations of P. fucata martensii from Shenzhen (SZ), Hainan (HN), Zhanjiang (ZJ), and hybrid (HY), based on morphological multivariate analysis and 25 single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. The morphological characteristics of HN and HY populations were similar, and the average discriminant accuracy was 75.6%. All SNP loci comprised two alleles, and the average observed (H
o) and expected (H
e) heterozygosity of HY, SZ, HN, and ZJ populations were 0.2236–0.2734 and 0.2374–0.2870, respectively. The average polymorphism information content values of HY, SZ, HN, and ZJ populations were 0.1923–0.2272. Gene flow between HY and HN populations was frequent, with an N
m value of 6.0928, while that between SZ and the other three populations was less frequent. The combined cluster, genetic distance, and gene flow analyses indicate that the genetic background of HY and HN populations is similar, and they can be regarded as a single population. The ZJ population might originate from the HY population, while the SZ population should be independent. These results could assist the management of germplasm resources and selective breeding of pearl oysters.
Assessing the performance of Spanish secondary education institutions: Distinguishing between transient and persistent inefficiency, separated from heterogeneity
Authors: Salas‐Velasco Manuel
Published: December 2019

This paper evaluated the performance of Spanish secondary schools whose 15‐year‐old students were assessed in mathematical competencies by the OECD (PISA program) in 2003 and 2012. The technique employed was the stochastic frontier analysis for panel data using a sample of schools which participated simultaneously in both waves. First, the parametric measurement of time‐varying technical inefficiency was done in this paper using three standard models. Second, we used the four random component stochastic frontier model proposed by Kumbhakar, Lien, and Hardaker [2014. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 41(2), 321–337] that distinguishes between residual or transient technical inefficiency and persistent technical inefficiency, separated from heterogeneity. Persistent (time invariant) inefficiency was a larger problem than residual (time varying) inefficiency when evaluating the educational performance of Spanish secondary schools over time. Finally, we introduced the recent model recommended by Badunenko and Kumbhakar [2017. European Journal of Operational Research, 260(2), 789–803] to accommodate heteroscedasticity associated with both heterogeneity and the noise terms, incorporating at the same time determinants of both persistent and time‐varying inefficiency. School inefficiency was presumably not caused by something unexpected within each year such as greater difficulty in hiring teachers, but rather by persistent factors such as classroom management—schools with better disciplinary climate tend to be less inefficient in educational production. In addition, we identified the motivation of the students of each school (interest in and enjoyment of mathematics) as the effect of heterogeneity on learning outcomes.
Ray fractions and carbohydrate dynamics of tree species along a 2750 m elevation gradient indicate climate response, not spatial storage limitation
Authors: Godfrey Jessie M. , Riggio Jason , Orozco Jessica , Guzmán‐Delgado Paula , Chin Alana R. O. , Zwieniecki Maciej A.
Published: December 2019

Parenchyma cells in the xylem store nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC), providing reserves of energy that fuel woody perennials through periods of stress and/or limitations to photosynthesis. If the capacity for storage is subject to selection, then the fraction of wood occupied by living parenchyma should increase towards stressful environments.

Ray parenchyma fraction (RPF) and seasonal NSC dynamics were quantified for 12 conifers and three oaks along a transect spanning warm dry foothills (500 m above sea level) to cold wet treeline (3250 m asl) in California's central Sierra Nevada.

Mean RPF was higher for both conifer and oak species with warmer dryer ranges. [Correction added after first publication 30 January 2020: In the preceding sentence ‘Mean
RPF was lower’ was changed to ‘Mean RPF was higher’.] RPF variability increased with elevation or in relation to associated climatic variables in conifers – treeline‐dominant Pinus albicaulis had the lowest mean RPF measured (c. 3.7%), but the highest environmentally standardized variability index. Conifer RPF variability was explained by environment, increasing predominantly towards cooler wetter range edges. In oaks, NSC was explained by environment – values increasing for evergreen and decreasing for deciduous oaks with elevation. Lastly, all species surveyed appear to prioritize filling available RPF with sugar to achieve molarities that balance reasonable tensions over starch to maximize stored carbon.

RPF responds to environment but is unlikely to spatially constrain NSC storage.
Isolating the entire pulmonary venous component versus isolating the pulmonary veins for persistent atrial fibrillation: A propensity‐matched analysis
Authors: Elbatran Ahmed I , Gallagher Mark M , Li Anthony , Sohal Manav , Bajpai Abhay , Samir Rania , Tawfik Mazen , Nabil Ahmed , Abou‐Elmaaty Nabih Mervat , Saba Magdi M
Published: December 2019

Background

The outcomes of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) are suboptimal. The entire pulmonary venous component (PV‐Comp), consisting of the pulmonary veins, their antra, and the area between the antra, provides triggers and substrate for AF. PV‐Comp isolation is an alternative strategy for persistent AF ablation.

Methods

Among 328 patients with persistent AF who underwent a first radiofrequency ablation procedure, 200 patients (PVI, n = 100; PV‐Comp isolation, n = 100) were selected by propensity score matching. Both groups were followed up for 1 year.

Results

At 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐up, atrial tachyarrhythmia (AF/atrial tachycardia) recurred in 41 and 61 patients in PVI group and 22 (P = .006) and 33 patients (P < .001) in PV‐Comp isolation group, respectively. PV‐Comp isolation was associated with longer mean time to recurrence (PVI: 8 months, PV‐Comp isolation: 10 months, log‐rank P < .001) and a lower probability of recurrence (odds ratio [OR] = 0.32; 95% confidence of interval [CI] = 0.18‐0.56, P < .001), with no increase in procedural complications (PVI: 5 of 100, PV‐Comp isolation: 6 of 100, P = .76). Procedure duration was longer in PV‐Comp isolation group (PVI: 186 ± 42 min, PV‐Comp isolation: 238 ± 44 min, P < .001), as well as fluoroscopy time (PVI: 22 ± 16 min, PV‐Comp isolation: 31 ± 21 min, P = .001).

Conclusion

PV‐Comp isolation for persistent AF reduced atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence up to 1 year compared with PVI alone. While procedure and fluoroscopy time increased, there was no difference in procedural complications.
Assessment of the nursery species pool for restoring landscapes in southeastern Brazil
Authors: Vidal Cristina Y. , Naves Rafaela P. , Viani Ricardo A. G. , Rodrigues Ricardo R.
Published: December 2019

Brazil has committed to fulfilling international restoration goals and to enforcing environmental legislation that will require private landowners to undertake ecological restoration of 21 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes. To support a broad range of restoration practices, a well‐established supply chain capable of representing regional plant diversity is essential. This study investigated the restoration species pool in native plant nurseries in São Paulo state, located in southeastern Brazil, and evaluated their geographic distribution, similarity of their plant stocks, and the proportion of species represented from regional floras. Despite a lack of technical assistance and a significant presence of nonnative species (126 species, average 7.5 species/nursery), we found an impressive native species richness in plant nurseries (561 species, average 86.4 species/nursery) from both the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado domains, representing 38–44% of regional floras. There was a huge bias toward tree and shrub species (96.6%) and an absence or underrepresentation of other growth forms, as well as of savanna specialists, animal‐dispersed, and threatened species. The dissimilarity of species observed among the different nurseries surveyed highlights their role in representing regional diversity, which reflects their regional seed collection practices. Effective assistance and training are essential to address issues related to misidentification of species, underrepresentation of most functional plant groups, and the presence of nonnative species, as well as to support the supply chain, which is currently undergoing a market downturn.