bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preparation and characterization of thermo‐responsive shape memory polycaprolactone/poly(ethylene‐co‐octene) blends for 4D printing
Authors: Zhu Lei , Liu Donglei , Luo Xin , Zhou Jingxiang , Zheng Junjie , Lai Ciyi
Published: June 2023

This work focuses on the development of a novel thermo‐responsive shape memory polymer (SMP) for 4D printing by blending polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(ethylene‐co‐octene) (POE) in various proportions. The SEM images of PCL/POE blends indicate an improvement in phase compatibility with increasing POE content and the formation of a co‐continuous structure. Based on the analysis of DSC curves, the range of transition temperature (Ttrans) was determined to be 55–60°C. Among the tested blends, PCL4/POE6 exhibits the most optimal shape memory performance, in which the shape fixation and recovery rates are above 90% and remain stable even after 10‐cycle testing. It indicates that the formation of co‐continuous phases shows a significant enhancement of shape memory properties. Subsequently, the 3D printing parameters were verified there is no obvious effect on shape memory performance. The network filling method was found to be suitable for printing, and the shape memory performance degraded after the layer thickness exceeded 0.22 mm. To sum up, the results can provide valuable insights and assistance for the development and application of materials with similar shape memory characteristics.
A hexaazatriphenylene‐based porous organic polymer for high performance supercapacitor
Authors: Xu Peiwen , Ouyang Shan , Bai Qiaoshuang , Ma Qian , Zhu Youlong
Published: June 2023

Porous organic polymers (POPs) with high physiochemical stability and pseudocapacitive activity are crucial for supercapacitors with high specific capacitance and long cycle life. We report herein a hexaazatrinaphthylene‐based POP (HPOP‐1) for high‐performance supercapacitor by introducing redox‐active hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATN) moiety through Sonogashira–Hagihara coupling reaction. HATN moiety can undergo a proton‐induced electron transfer redox reaction, which endows HPOP‐1 with high pseudocapacitive activity. As electrode materials for supercapacitor application, HPOP‐1 exhibits high specific capacitance (667 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1) and long‐term cyclic stability (90% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 5 A g−1) in a three‐electrode system with 1 M H2SO4 as the electrolyte. In addition, HPOP‐1 also exhibits a specific capacitance of 376 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 in 1 M KOH electrolyte. An asymmetric supercapacitor was further fabricated with HPOP‐1 as negative electrode and rGO as positive electrode, respectively. The device delivers a specific capacitance of 63 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and a rate performance of 37 F g−1 at 5 A g−1. Our work provides a facile approach for the design and preparation of pseudocapacitive POPs with high specific capacitance and long cycle life.
Evaluation of Bipolaris yamadae as a bioherbicidal agent against grass weeds in arable crops
Authors: Tan Min , Ding Yuyao , Bourdôt Graeme W , Qiang Sheng
Published: June 2023

BACKGROUND

Weeds are among the most damaging pests of agriculture, causing ≈10% worldwide reduction in crop productivity each year. Over‐reliance on synthetic chemical herbicides has caused weeds around the world to evolve resistance. Bioherbicides may be an alternative. However, among their many constraints including strict environmental requirements, complicated mass‐production and high product costs, limited pathogenicity and a narrow spectrum of activity are frequently encountered and are major barriers to commercialization.

RESULTS

We isolated a pathogenic fungus, HXDC‐1‐2, from diseased leaves of a gramineous weed, stiltgrass [Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus], from the edge of farmland in Guizhou province, China. HXDC‐1‐2 was identified as the fungal species Bipolaris yamadae based on the morphological characteristics and ITS‐GPDH‐EF1α multiple primer analysis. Its potential as a bioherbicide was evaluated by determining its weed control efficacy and crop safety. The ED50 and ED90 values of HXDC‐1‐2 on Echinochloa crus‐galli were 3.22 × 103 and 1.32 × 105 conidia mL−1, respectively. Host range tests revealed that 20 gramineous weeds including Setaria viridis, Leptochloa chinensis, Eleusine indica, Pseudosorghum zollingeri, Leptochloa panicea, Bromus catharticus, E. crus‐galli plants, were extremely susceptible whereas 77 crop species from 27 plant families including rice, wheat, barley, corn, soybean and cotton (excluding cowpea and sorghum) were unaffected.

CONCLUSION

Bipolaris yamadae strain HXDC‐1‐2 has great potential to be developed as a commercial broad‐spectrum bioherbicidal agent for controlling grass weeds in arable crops. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Tenuifolin in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease‐like phenotypes: Investigation of the mechanisms from the perspectives of calpain system, ferroptosis, and apoptosis
Authors: Li Congting , Gao Feng , Qu Yan , Zhao Panpan , Wang Xuncui , Zhu Guoqi
Published: June 2023

Polygala tenuifolia was documented to calm the mind and promote wisdom. However, its underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects of tenuifolin (Ten) on Alzheimer's disease (AD)‐like phenotypes. We first applied bioinformatics methods to screen the mechanisms of P. tenuifolia in the treatment of AD. Thereafter, the d‐galactose combined with Aβ1–42 (GCA) was applied to model AD‐like behaviors and investigate the action mechanisms of Ten, one active component of P. tenuifolia. The data showed that P. tenuifolia actioned through multi‐targets and multi‐pathways, including regulation of synaptic plasticity, apoptosis, and calcium signaling, and so forth. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that Ten prevented intracellular calcium overload, abnormal calpain system, and down‐regulation of BDNF/TrkB signaling induced by GCA. Moreover, Ten suppressed oxidative stress and ferroptosis in HT‐22 cells induced by GCA. Calpeptin and ferroptosis inhibitor prevented the decrease of cell viability induced by GCA. Interestingly, calpeptin did not interrupt GCA‐induced ferroptosis in HT‐22 cells but blocked the apoptosis. Animal experiments further demonstrated that Ten prevented GCA‐induced memory impairment in mice and increased synaptic protein expression while reducing m‐calpain expression. Ten prevents AD‐like phenotypes through multiple signaling by inhibiting oxidative stress and ferroptosis, maintaining the stability of calpain system, and suppressing neuronal apoptosis.
Improved Tomographic Estimates by Specialized Neural Networks
Authors: Guarneri Massimiliano , Gianani Ilaria , Barbieri Marco , Chiuri Andrea
Published: June 2023

Characterization of quantum objects, being states, processes, or measurements, complemented by previous knowledge about them is a valuable approach, especially as it leads to routine procedures for real‐life components. To this end, machine learning algorithms have demonstrated to successfully operate in presence of noise, especially for estimating specific physical parameters. Here, it is shown that a neural network (NN) can improve the tomographic estimate of parameters by including a convolutional stage. This technique is applied to quantum process tomography for the characterization of several quantum channels. A stable and reliable operation is demonstrated that is achievable by training the network only with simulated data. The obtained results show the viability of this approach as an effective tool based on a completely new paradigm for the employment of NNs operating on classical data produced by quantum systems.
Ellipsoidal tube‐based output feedback robust MPC for linear systems with bounded disturbances and noises
Authors: Ping Xubin , Liu Siwei , Liu Ding , Wang Xiaojuan , Li Renqiang
Published: June 2023

This paper designs an ellipsoidal tube‐based output feedback robust model predictive control approach for linear systems with bounded disturbances and noises subject to physical constraints. The ellipsoidal tube‐based output feedback robust model predictive control approach combines the off‐line optimization to compute controller parameters and deal with system uncertainties, and the on‐line optimization to stabilize the nominal system with time‐varying tightened constraints. In the off‐line optimization, the state observer gain, ancillary feedback controller gain, and tightened constraint sets on the nominal system are synthesized in one optimization. Then, an ellipsoidal terminal constraint set with terminal controller gain and terminal cost matrix, and tightened constraint sets related to different sizes of estimation error bounds are computed. In the on‐line model predictive control optimization with time‐varying tightened constraints, a sequence of nominal control inputs is receding horizon optimized to steer the nominal system state to the ellipsoidal terminal constraint set. When the current nominal system state is bounded within the ellipsoidal terminal constraint set, the nominal control inputs are switched to the feedbacks on the closed‐loop nominal system states. Recursive feasibility of the proposed algorithm and robust stability of the controlled system are guaranteed.
Prescribed‐time robust control of nonlinear time‐delay systems with known and unknown disturbance bound
Authors: Yang Renming , Sun Liying
Published: June 2023

This paper investigates the prescribed‐time robust control problem of a class of nonlinear time‐delay systems, and proposes some new prescribed‐time robust stabilization results. First, by applying the full decomposition method based on the delay term, the paper obtains an equivalent model of original system and promotes existing prescribed‐time stability criterion of delay‐free system to delay one. Based on these, when the bound of the disturbance is known, we design the corresponding prescribed‐time stabilization and robust stabilization controller. On the basis, we further give several robust stabilization results for the unknown disturbance by designing a new prescribed‐time controller. Finally, the study of two illustrative examples shows that the results obtained of the paper work well in the prescribed‐time robust stabilization the nonlinear delay systems. It is well worth pointing out that, different from existing infinite‐time and finite‐time asymptotical results of nonlinear delay system, the closed‐loop system under the prescribed‐time controller can reach the desired position within the specified time, and has stronger anti‐interference ability.
Integrative Magneto‐Microfluidic Separation of Immune Cells Facilitates Clinical Functional Assays
Authors: Shin Hee Sik , Park Jeehun , Lee Seung Yeop , Yun Hyo Geun , Kim Byeongyeon , Kim Jinho , Han Sangbin , Cho Duck , Doh Junsang , Choi Sungyoung
Published: June 2023

Accurately analyzing the functional activities of natural killer (NK) cells in clinical diagnosis remains challenging due to their coupling with other immune effectors. To address this, an integrated immune cell separator is required, which necessitates a streamlined sample preparation workflow including immunological cell isolation, removal of excess red blood cells (RBCs), and buffer exchange for downstream analysis. Here, a self‐powered integrated magneto‐microfluidic cell separation (SMS) chip is presented, which outputs high‐purity target immune cells by simply inputting whole blood. The SMS chip intensifies the magnetic field gradient using an iron sphere‐filled inlet reservoir for high‐performance immuno‐magnetic cell selection and separates target cells size‐selectively using a microfluidic lattice for RBC removal and buffer exchange. In addition, the chip incorporates self‐powered microfluidic pumping through a degassed polydimethylsiloxane chip, enabling the rapid isolation of NK cells at the place of blood collection within 40 min. This chip is used to isolate NK cells from whole blood samples of hepatocellular cancer patients and healthy volunteers and examined their functional activities to identify potential abnormalities in NK cell function. The SMS chip is simple to use, rapid to sort, and requires small blood volumes, thus facilitating the use of immune cell subtypes for cell‐based diagnosis.
UNSW‐NB15 computer security dataset: Analysis through visualization
Authors: Zoghi Zeinab , Serpen Gursel
Published: June 2023

Class imbalance refers to a major issue in data mining where data with unequal class distribution can deteriorate classification performance. Although it alone affects the performance of the classifiers, the joint‐effect of class imbalance and overlap is more damaging. Data overlap happens when multiple classes are assigned to a single data point causing the classifiers to misidentify the class boundaries. This study offers a deep insight into the intricacies of the UNSW‐NB15 dataset and two issues that may lead the data‐driven models to demonstrate poor performance. The most commonly used visualization methods such as bar chart, 3D and 2D scatter plots, intercluster distance map, and parallel coordinate diagram were employed to depict the data imbalanced and overlap. However, their limitations in capturing the overlapping issue led us to propose an accurate, easy‐to‐interpret, and scalable overlapping visualization method. The method clearly detects the data overlap and illustrates the effect of several data scalers in dealing with the data overlap. To verify the accuracy of the proposed method, a number of classifiers were implemented along with the scalers and the calculated AUC scores were compared to those calculated from the classifiers that were implemented on the original dataset.
Power of pee: Urine‐derived stem cells in urological disorders
Authors: Yu Pengfei , Opara Emmanuel C. , Zhang Yuanyuan
Published: June 2023

Given that urine‐derived stem cells (USCs) originate from the urinary tract system, they hold great potential for treating urological disorders. USCs have several advantages over other types of stem cells, such as easy and noninvasive collection, and abundant supply. USCs can differentiate into different types of cells. This makes them a potential source of cells for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine in the field of urology. In animal models, USCs or USC‐derived exosomes regenerate damaged tissues in the treatment of various urological disorders such as urinary incontinence, bladder dysfunction, interstitial cystitis, urethra injury erectile dysfunction, and kidney injury via multiple differentiation potential, angiogenesis, anti‐inflammatory, paracrine effects, and immune modulation capability. Overall, the use of USCs in urological disorders is a rapidly developing field, and ongoing research is needed to fully understand their potential applications. However, the early results are promising and suggest that USCs could become a valuable cell source for the treatment of various urological disorders in the future.
Fabrication of a novel chitosan‐based macromolecular antioxidant and its effects on the anti‐aging properties of styrene‐butadiene rubber/silica composites
Authors: Ding Pan , Xie Xiaojiang , He Jingwei , Zou Yongkun , Liu Fang
Published: June 2023

In this work, a novel chitosan‐based macromolecular rubber antioxidant (denoted as COS‐AO) was successfully synthesized by using chitosan (COS) and 3‐(3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl4‐hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid (antioxidant, AO) via esterification reaction. The FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and elemental analysis measurements were used to confirm the structure of COS‐AO. The performance of COS‐AO as a macromolecular antioxidant for styrene‐butadiene rubber (SBR)/silica composites were examined by oxidation induction time (OIT) test, methanol extraction experiments, accelerated thermo‐oxidative aging tests as well as thermogravimetric (TG) test. The results indicated that the macromolecular antioxidant COS‐AO presented better extraction resistance and migration resistance in SBR/silica composites compared to the small molecular antioxidant AO. Moreover, COS‐AO significantly improved the thermal stability as well as the value of the oxidation induction time of SBR/silica composites, exhibiting superior thermo‐oxidative aging resistance. In addition, the potential antioxidative mechanism of COS‐AO in SBR/silica composites was also discussed.
Copula‐based joint distribution analysis of wind speed and wind direction: Wind energy development for Hong Kong
Authors: Huang Shiji , Li Qiusheng , Shu Zhenru , Chan Pak Wai
Published: June 2023

Accurate and reliable assessment of wind energy potential has important implication to the wind energy industry. Most previous studies on wind energy assessment focused solely on wind speed, whereas the dependence of wind energy on wind direction was much less considered and documented. In this paper, a copula‐based method is proposed to better characterize the direction‐related wind energy potential at six typical sites in Hong Kong. The joint probability density function (JPDF) of wind speed and wind direction is constructed by a series of copula models. It shows that Frank copula has the best performance to fit the JPDF at hilltop and offshore sites while Gumbel copula outperforms other models at urban sites. The derived JPDFs are applied to estimate the direction‐related wind power density at the considered sites. The obtained maximum direction‐related wind energy density varies from 41.3 W/m2at an urban site to 507.9 W/m2at a hilltop site. These outcomes are expected to facilitate accurate micro‐site selection of wind turbines, thereby improving the economic benefits of wind farms in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the developed copula‐based method provides useful references for further investigations regarding direction‐related wind energy assessments at various terrain regions. Notably, the proposed copula‐based method can also be applied to characterize the direction‐related wind energy potential somewhere other than Hong Kong.
Effective Teaching in Mongolia: Policies, Practices and Challenges
Authors: Adiyasuren Amarjargal , Galindev Ulziisaikhan
Published: June 2023

This chapter describes the contextual background of teacher and teaching quality in Mongolia through exploring teacher policies, and practices and challenges surrounding the teacher, followed by how curriculum sets the parameters for teaching behaviour. Students must finish a four-year teacher education program in Mongolia to become teachers. The government policy aims to increase the percentage of teachers who hold master’s degrees up to 70% by 2024; 15.8% of primary and secondary education teachers held a master’s degree as of 2020. The government requires teachers to attend mandatory training in their first, fifth and tenth teaching year. Besides these centralized trainings, the government is also reinforcing teachers’ professional development policies in the direction that supports and encourages local and school-based professional development based on teachers’ learning needs. Recently there has been a regulation of school self-monitoring and evaluation, including setting criteria on lesson management and quality to use for evaluation of teachers’ teaching skills and behaviour, via lesson observations. Teacher behaviour and pedagogical methods are articulated in the curriculum documents as well. The most recent education reform was aimed at a principle that is called the change of ‘Each and every child’. This was followed by curriculum revision with key concepts of inquiry-based learning, differentiating teaching (based on students’ developmental differences) and assessment of progress and learning skills. These changes, needless to say, require teachers to improve their pedagogical skills. Research shows that Mongolian teachers still have difficulty with devising differentiated activities for students at different levels of learning. In terms of context, it should be understood that teaching is regarded as a low paid profession in Mongolia. The government takes measures such as: offering scholarships to attract good students into teaching profession; and providing salary supplements and local subsidies.
An Explanation of the ICALT Instrument’s Measurement of Teaching Quality in Relation to Teacher Education and Policy in South Korea
Authors: Chun Seyeoung , Lee Okhwa , Kim Deuk-Joon
Published: June 2023

The rapid development of South Korea’s educational system has attracted international interest. The country is well-known for its high student achievement, as indicated by the OECD PISA research, yet the causes for the high achievement remain unclear. Many argue that high teacher quality is an explanatory variable, even though accurate and rigorous measurement of teaching quality at both the practical and theoretical levels has yet to be established. The ICALT (International Comparative Analysis of Learning and Teaching) developed by van de Grift and colleagues in the Netherlands was recently utilized to assess the teaching quality of Korean teachers, and the results demonstrated a high level of teaching quality when compared to other countries. In this chapter, we discuss the relationship between the ICALT’s reported high level of teaching quality and teacher education and policy in South Korea. Several components of teacher education and policy are identified as factors that lead to the quality of the teaching force. They are the well-developed teacher training system, higher level of teachers’ socioeconomic status, in- & external-school supervision for enhancing teacher competency, and efficient personal administration for teachers including homeroom teacher, rotation and promotion.
Teacher Effectiveness in Multiple Lenses: Secondary Analysis Lessons in the Measures of Effective Teaching Project
Authors: Ko James , Chen Zhijun , Lei Jieyan Celia , Maulana Ridwan
Published: June 2023

Improving teaching quality to enhance learning has become critical for academics, practitioners, and policymakers. However, very few studies compared the same lessons with various classroom observation instruments to examine whether classroom characteristics in different instruments are similar.

This project aimed to conduct a secondary lesson observation analysis on 423 lesson videos selected from 14,000+ lesson videos previously collected in theMeasures of Effective Teaching(MET) project. The analysis provided new data on the same lessons previously studied by the MET researchers but observed with two instruments. One internationally validated instrument was used in the international project by Maulana et al. (Sch Eff Sch Improv, 1–32, 2021) to explore the generic teaching characteristics in different countries, while the other instrument was developed purposively to characterise the differences between effective and inspiring teaching.

The results allowed data comparisons across different projects that are not readily comparable because they used various classroom observation instruments. The results informed the relationships between effective and inspiring teaching.
Using Educational Effectiveness Research for Promoting Quality of Teaching: The Dynamic Approach to Teacher and School Improvement
Authors: Kyriakides Leonidas , Panayiotou Anastasia
Published: June 2023

The chapter discusses the need of using a theory-driven and evidence-based approach for teaching improvement purposes and argues that the dynamic model of educational effectiveness may be used for establishing links between educational effectiveness research and research on teaching improvement. In the first part of the chapter the main elements of the dynamic model are presented with an emphasis at the factors operating at classroom level and their measurement dimensions. The first part also provides an overview of national and international studies conducted to test the validity of the dynamic model at classroom level. These empirical studies have provided support for the importance of factors included in the dynamic model (such as application, modelling, student assessment etc.), with regard to their effects on student learning outcomes. Empirical studies have also revealed relationships among factors operating at the classroom level, which help us define stages of effective teaching. Therefore, in the second part of the chapter, we discuss ways of using the dynamic model for teaching improvement purposes. In this context, the rationale and main steps of the dynamic approach (DA) to teaching improvement are presented. In the final section, we provide a critical review of studies investigating the impact of the DA on improving teaching skills and promoting student learning outcomes and draw implications for research, policy, and practice.
The Mediated Relationship Between Secondary School Student Perceptions of Teaching Behaviour and Self-Reported Academic Engagement Across Six Countries
Authors: Maulana Ridwan , van der Lans Rikkert , Helms-Lorenz Michelle , Telli Sibel , Irnidayanti Yulia , Fadhilah Nurul , Fernandez-Garcia Carmen-Maria , Inda-Caro Mercedes , Chun Seyeoung , Lee Okhwa , de Jager Thelma , Coetzee Thys
Published: June 2023

Limitations in the current knowledge base on the importance of perceived teaching behaviour and student engagement are visible. Past studies on this topic specifically take place in certain contexts (usually the Western context) using various instruments. The current study aims to extend our understanding of the link between perceived teaching behaviour and student engagement based on students’ perceptions using uniform measures across six contrasting national contexts. It also aims to explore the role of certain personal variables in the interplay between students’ perceived teaching behaviour and engagement. In total, 40,788 students in The Netherlands, Spain, Indonesia, South Korea, South Africa, and Turkey participated in the survey using the My Teacher Questionnaire (MTQ) and the Student Engagement scale. Item Response Theory (IRT) and Classical Test Theory (CTT) analyses were used to analyse the student data. Results show that, in general, perceived teaching behaviour is positively related, and mostly strongly, to student engagement across the six educational contexts. This means the higher the perceived teaching behaviour, the higher students reported their academic engagement, and vice versa. Slight differences in the magnitude of relationships between perceived teaching behaviour and engagement are evident. The strongest link was found in the Netherlands, followed by South Korea, South Africa, Indonesia, Turkey, and Spain. Student gender, age, and school subject hardly show effects on the interplay between perceived teaching behaviour and engagement. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Impact of Play-Based Pedagogies in Selected Asian Contexts: What Do We Know and How to Move Forward?
Authors: Bautista Alfredo , Yu Jimmy , Lee Kerry , Sun Jin
Published: June 2023

In the Asian continent, many Early Childhood Education (ECE) policies have been influenced by Western theories and pedagogies. An example is the widespread presence of the notion of play in curriculum policy frameworks, which in part responds to research findings originated in the West. However, given what we know about cross-cultural differences in child development and learning, it is imperative to examine the state of the art on play research conducted with Asian children. This chapter reviews the literature on the impact of play-based pedagogies in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan. We describe the types of studies conducted in these jurisdictions and their overall findings, with the aim of outlining future research agendas. We describe the socio-cultural beliefs about ECE in the selected contexts and the visions of play articulated in their official policies. Then, we provide an overview of the empirical studies available, distinguishing between naturalistic and intervention studies. Studies published in English academic journals have mainly analyzed the impact of structured and guided forms of play, focusing primarily on socio-emotional outcomes, with minimal research on domains such as scientific thinking, number sense, or creativity, and no research on other areas. We argue that the existing work reflects traditional Asian values and deep-rooted beliefs about ECE, where play is seen as a rather unimportant activity. We conclude that to better justify the inclusion of play in ECE policies across Asia, it would be vital to produce an extensive, rigorous, and locally situated corpus of play impact studies.
Fostering Pupils’ Deep Learning and Motivation in the Norwegian Context: A Study of Pupils’ Perceptions of Mathematics Instruction and the Link to Their Learning Outcomes
Authors: Dalehefte Inger Marie , Canrinus Esther Tamara
Published: June 2023

Recent international research has highlighted deep learning as an essential prerequisite for pupils to meet the global challenges of the future. This focus has drawn attention to Norwegian challenges, indicating that instruction leaves little room for pupils to engage intensively in tasks over time and to foster deep-learning processes. Thus, a new curriculum was implemented in the Norwegian educational system in the autumn of 2020 to emphasize deep learning throughout all content areas.

This study investigates how teachers provide learning conditions fostering learning and motivation processes to support pupils’ learning during mathematics lessons. After their mathematics lesson, 144 pupils from 9 classes (grades 7–9) in seven schools in Norway completed a questionnaire. It consisted of items measuring their perception of the relevance of the content taught, the quality of the instruction given, the teacher’s interest and enthusiasm, and the extent to which the instruction fulfilled their psychological needs for social relation, autonomy, and feeling competent.

On average, the pupils reported that they applied surface-level learning strategies rather than deep-level strategies in their mathematics lessons. They also lacked intrinsic motivation. To a large degree, pupils reported that they hardly recognised the content’s relevance. The results support the focus on deep learning in the 2020 curriculum reform in Norway. Additionally, they reveal conditions worth investigating when aiming to foster pupils’ deep learning and motivation.
The Illusion of Perspective: Examining the Dynamic Between Teachers’ Perceived and Observed Effective Teaching Behaviour
Authors: Looker Benjamin , Kington Alison , Hibbert-Mayne Kimberley , Blackmore Karen , Buckler Scott
Published: June 2023

Effective teaching behaviour is known to be associated with positive pupil outcomes. As such, it is considered an important aspect of educational research. In this chapter, we used validated instruments to measure two types of teaching effectiveness. Teachers’ perceived effective teaching behaviour was measured using the Teacher as Social Context (TASC) questionnaire and teachers’ observed effective teaching behaviour were measured using the International Comparative Analysis of Learning and Teaching (ICALT) Observation Instrument. Statistical comparisons were made between these two measures and were additionally analysed through the lens of teachers’ career phases. The study found that there are significant differences in teachers’ perceived and observed effective teaching behaviour. Teachers’ perceived effective teaching behaviour was found to remain relatively stable throughout their careers, however, their observed effectiveness was seen to change considerably. As teachers enter the middle phases of their careers, an increase in observed effectiveness was identified, followed by a decline during the later career phases. Further analysis of observed effective teaching behaviour using six ICALT domains indicates that the way a teacher facilitates a safe and stimulating learning climate and is efficiently organised plays an important role in the variation of their observed effectiveness. These results have implications for the continued professional development of trainee teachers and qualified teachers at all stages of their careers.
Dealing with the Complexity of Adaptive Teaching through Collaborative Teacher Professional Development
Authors: Schipper Tijmen M. , Goei Sui Lin , de Vries Siebrich
Published: June 2023

This chapter focuses on the challenges that teachers face in today’s heterogeneous classrooms when it comes to addressing students’ educational needs. By means of a conceptual discussion about this topic, relating to recent empirical studies in this field, we discuss whether teachers’ adaptive teaching behavior could be promoted through professional development approaches – such as Lesson Study – that focus explicitly on students’ learning. Taking students’ learning as a starting point in collaborative and classroom-based professional development approaches, one could expect that teachers gain more awareness of the variety of their students’ educational needs which, in turn, may lead to teachers better addressing these needs in classroom settings. It is argued that through such a cyclical and inquiry-based way of working, teachers may start to feel more competent and able to address the learning needs of students, leading to increasingly adaptive teaching practices. However, despite promising results in the literature, there is still much debate on the evidence of how Lesson Study influences adaptive teaching behavior in favor of all students and how this, in turn, impacts student learning. A “local proof route” to testing the effectiveness of Lesson Study might offer suitable directions.
The Teacher’s Turn: Teachers’ Perceptions of Observed Patterns of Classroom Interaction
Authors: Smit Nienke , van Dijk Marijn , de Bot Kees , Lowie Wander
Published: June 2023

Insight in the way verbal teacher-student classroom interaction unfolds during the language lesson is of crucial importance for effective teaching. Although classroom observational research is indispensable, it is unable to uncover underlying intentions or motivations for the observed behavior. Teacher cognition research seeks to address the relation between teaching practice and what teachers think. This study reports on the perceptions of a group of English as a foreign language teachers (n = 57) who were asked to reflect on results from a classroom observation study about EFL teacher-student interaction in a similar teaching context. A large majority (82%) of the respondents recognized the observed pattern of closed teacher questions and limited student responses. This majority indicated that student participation in their own lessons is similar to the observed lessons or lower. Respondents attributed the pattern of high teacher activity and low student activity to emotional factors rather than to students’ proficiency levels, lesson content, lesson activities or motivational aspects. According to 51% of the respondents, making students feel more competent by focusing on formative evaluation might improve classroom interaction, whereas 18% of the respondents suggested that interaction could be improved by using different teaching materials.
Fostering Effective Teaching at Schools Through Measurements of Student Perceptions: Processes, Risks and Chances
Authors: Bijlsma Hannah J. E. , Röhl Sebastian
Published: June 2023

Student perceptions of teaching quality have become increasingly important for measuring teaching effectiveness and can be used for the subsequent improvement of teachers’ teaching. However, measuring teaching quality through student perceptions reliably and validly and the subsequent improvement is not guaranteed. On the one hand, students’ teaching quality data are influenced by many characteristics of the students, classes and measurement instruments, and on the other hand, teachers’ use of the feedback data is influenced by factors such as personality, context and data characteristics. This chapter, therefore, provides important insights into measuring teacher effectiveness through student perceptions, risks and opportunities of using these teaching quality perceptions and the effective use of student feedback data for the development of teaching and teachers.
Dialogic Interactions in Higher Vocational Learning Environments in Mainland China: Evidence Relating to the Effectiveness of Varied Teaching Strategies and Students’ Learning Engagement
Authors: Zhao Yanmin , Kleinknecht Marc , Ko James
Published: June 2023

The study aims to explore students’ learning in the vocational classroom learning environment and the teaching practices of vocation-oriented subjects in Chinese higher vocational institutions. Based on sixty lesson observations, four selected videotaped lessons were used to conduct in-depth dialogic interaction analysis of teacher-led (the teacher to students), student-led (students to the teacher), students to students, and students to the course content according to ICALT and CETIT dimensions of effective teaching. Vocational collaborative learning and adaptive instructions were analysed through the in-class activities of the learning processes that students were engaged in within the classroom. Findings suggest that dialogic teaching in classrooms enhanced practical understanding in specialised vocational subjects and students’ learning engagement, for example, classroom practices such as small group teaching of vocational skills and lesson activities connected to work-related learning situations. The study also reveals that a built-in flexible teaching arrangement stimulates vocational students’ involvement in collaborative learning and promotes interactions between students’ classroom-based training activities. The study implies that effective dialogic classroom learning environments should integrate vocational students’ career learning and work-based instructions.
Genome-wide characterization of extrachromosomal circular DNA in gastric cancer and its potential role in carcinogenesis and cancer progression
Authors: Jiang Xianming , Pan Xiaoguang , Li Wenchao , Han Peng , Yu Jiaying , Li Jing , Zhang Haoran , Lv Wei , Zhang Ying , He Yulong , Xiang Xi
Published: June 2023

Extrachromosomal circular DNAs (eccDNAs) carrying random genomic segments are broadly found across different cancer types, but their molecular functions and impact in gastric cancer (GC) are rarely known. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential role of eccDNA in GC. Using the Circle-seq strategy, we observed the eccDNA abundance in gastric cancer tissues (GCT) was aberrantly higher than that of normal adjacent tissues (NAT). The high abundance of eccDNAs carrying oncogene-segments in GCT may represent the DNA damage products of amplified oncogenes. Analysis of GCT over-represented eccDNA carrying enhancer (eccEnhancer) based on data from FANTOM5 project combined with TCGA database suggested the GC over-represented eccEnhancers may contribute to development of GC. GC over-represented eccDNAs carrying pre-miRNA (eccMIR) were enriched to multiple cancer-relevant signal pathways by KEGG analysis. We then synthesized the top six GC over-represented eccMIRs and found four of them enabled high expression of miRNAs and down-regulation of miRNA-target genes in MGC803 cells. Furthermore, we observed the inheritance of GC over-represented eccMIRs benefited host cell proliferation and promoted the aggressive features of host cells. Altogether, this study revealed the GC over-represented eccDNAs carrying functional genomic segments were related to the carcinogenesis of GC and presented the capability to facilitate cancer progression, suggesting the cancerous eccDNAs may serve as a dynamic reservoir for genome plasticity and rapid adaptive evolution of cancer. Therefore, blocking the pathways for eccDNAs generation may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of gastric cancer.
Symmetries of Vacuum Spacetimes with a Compact Cauchy Horizon of Constant Nonzero Surface Gravity
Authors: Petersen Oliver , Rácz István
Published: June 2023

We prove that any smooth vacuum spacetime containing a compact Cauchy horizon with surface gravity that can be normalised to a nonzero constant admits a Killing vector field. This proves a conjecture by Moncrief and Isenberg from 1983 under the assumption on the surface gravity and generalises previous results due to Moncrief–Isenberg and Friedrich–Rácz–Wald, where the generators of the Cauchy horizon were closed or densely filled a 2-torus. Consequently, the maximal globally hyperbolic vacuum development of generic initial data cannot be extended across a compact Cauchy horizon with surface gravity that can be normalised to a nonzero constant. Our result supports, thereby, the validity of the strong cosmic censorship conjecture in the considered special case. The proof consists of two main steps. First, we show that the Killing equation can be solved up to infinite order at the Cauchy horizon. Second, by applying a recent result of the first author on wave equations with initial data on a compact Cauchy horizon, we show that this Killing vector field extends to the globally hyperbolic region.
Anterolaterale Rotationsinstabilität
Authors: Willinger Lukas , Athwal Kiron K , Holthof Sander , Imhoff Andreas B. , Williams Andy , Amis Andrew A
Published: June 2023

Hintergrund

Verletzungen des vorderen Kreuzbands (VKB), der Kaplan-Fasern (KF), der anterolateralen Kapsel/des anterolateralen Ligaments (C/ALL) und der posterioren Wurzel des lateralen Meniskus (LMPR) wurden getrennt voneinander mit anterolateraler Instabilität assoziiert. Ziel war es, die Bedeutung dieser Strukturen für die Kniestabilität zu untersuchen.

Methoden

Zehn fresh-frozen humane Kniekadaver wurden robotergestützt von 0° bis 90° Flexion getestet. Eine anterior-posteriore Kraft von 88 N, ein Innen-Außen-Rotationsdrehmoment von 5 N/m und ein Valgus-Varus-Drehmoment von 8 N/m wurden aufgebracht und die Kinematik des intakten Knies aufgezeichnet. Weitere 10 Kniegelenke wurden in einem Kinematikprüfstand mit optischem Tracking getestet, um die Knielaxität nach sequenziellem Durchtrennen der o. g. Strukturen über 0° bis 110° Flexion zu messen.

Ergebnisse

Das VKB war der primäre Hemmer für die anteriore tibiale Translation (ATT); andere Strukturen waren unbedeutend (< 10 %). Die KF und C/ALL hemmten die Innenrotation (IR) und erreichten 44 % ± 23 % (p < 0,01) und 14 % ± 13 % (p < 0,05) bei 90°. Die LMPR hemmte die Valgus-, aber nicht die Innenrotation. Die ATT erhöhte sich bei VKB-Insuffizienz (p < 0,001) und nach der Durchtrennung der lateralen Strukturen von 70° auf 100° (p < 0,05). Die anterolaterale Rotationsinstabilität beim Pivot-Shift-Manöver wurde nach VKB-Durchtrennung von 0° auf 40° (p < 0,05) und weiter nach Durchtrennung der lateralen Strukturen von 0° auf 100° (p < 0,01) erhöht.

Schlussfolgerung

Der anterolaterale Komplex fungiert als funktionelle Einheit und sorgt für Rotationsstabilität. Das VKB ist der primäre Stabilisator für die ATT. Die KF sind der wichtigste Hemmer der IR ab 30° Flexion. Eine kombinierte Verletzung der KF mitsamt der C/ALL erhöhte die anterolaterale Rotationsinstabilität beträchtlich, während eine isolierte Verletzung der KF oder C/ALL dies nicht tat. Eine LMPR-Insuffizienz verursachte keine signifikante Instabilität bei intaktem VKB.
Kernel-based time-varying IV estimation: handle with care
Authors: Lucchetti Riccardo , Valentini Francesco
Published: June 2023

Giraitis et al. (J Econom 224(2):394–415, 2021) proposed a kernel-based time-varying coefficients IV estimator. By using entirely different code, we broadly replicate the simulation results and the empirical application on the Phillips curve, but we note that a possible oversight might have affected some of the reported results. Further, we extend the results by using a different sample and a wider choice of smoothing kernels, including data-based ones; we find that the estimator is remarkably robust across a wide range of smoothing choices, but the effect of outliers may be less obvious than expected.
How to combine CTA, 99mTc-WBC SPECT/CT, and [18F]FDG PET/CT in patients with suspected abdominal vascular endograft infections?
Authors: Lauri Chiara , Campagna Giuseppe , Aloisi Francesco , Posa Alessandro , Iezzi Roberto , Sirignano Pasqualino , Taurino Maurizio , Signore Alberto
Published: June 2023

Purpose

We aimed at comparing 99mTc-HMPAO white blood cells (99mTc-WBC) scintigraphy, 18fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and CT angiography (CTA) in patients with suspected abdominal vascular graft or endograft infection (VGEI). Moreover, we attempted to define a new visual score for interpreting [18F]FDG PET/CT scans aiming at increasing its specificity.

Methods

We prospectively compared 99mTc-WBC SPECT/CT, [18F]FDG PET/CT, and CTA in 26 patients with suspected abdominal VGEI. WBC scans were performed and interpreted according to EANM recommendations. [18F]FDG PET/CT studies were assessed with both qualitative (Sah’s scale and new visual score) and semi-quantitative analyses. CTA images were interpreted according to MAGIC criteria. Microbiology, histopathology or a clinical follow-up of at least 24 months were used to achieve final diagnosis.

Results

Eleven out of 26 patients were infected. [18F]FDG PET/CT showed 100% sensitivity and NPV, with both scoring systems, thus representing an efficient tool to rule out the infection. The use of a more detailed scoring system provided statistically higher specificity compared to the previous Sah’s scale (p = 0.049). 99mTc-WBC SPECT/CT provided statistically higher specificity and PPV than [18F]FDG PET/CT, regardless the interpretation criteria used and it can be, therefore, used in early post-surgical phases or to confirm or rule out a PET/CT finding.

Conclusions

After CTA, patients with suspected late VGEI should perform a [18F]FDG PET/CT given its high sensitivity and NPV. However, given its lower specificity, positive results should be confirmed with 99mTc-WBC scintigraphy. The use of a more detailed scoring system reduces the number of 99mTc-WBC scans needed after [18F]FDG PET/CT. Nevertheless, in suspected infections within 4 months from surgery, 99mTc-WBC SPECT/CT should be performed as second exam, due to its high accuracy in differentiating sterile inflammation from infection.