bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Inquiry-Based Learning Practices in Lower-Secondary Mathematics Education Reported by Students from China and the Netherlands
Authors: Huang Luhuan , Doorman Michiel , van Joolingen Wouter 
Published: September 2020

AbstractInquiry-based learning (IBL) emphasizes learning through experiencing and constructing. Where IBL is often applied in science education, the conceptualization of IBL practices in mathematics education is less obvious. We compared students’ reports on IBL practices in two different teaching cultures as an attempt to better understand IBL practices in connection with overarching teaching cultures. In this study, we investigated IBL practices in lower-secondary mathematics lessons in the Beijing area and the Netherlands through a survey about the experiences and preferences of 858 Chinese students and 441 Dutch students. Results show that students from the Beijing sample reported experiencing IBL activities in most mathematics lessons, while students from the Dutch sample reported them in some lessons, and both preferred the same amount of IBL activities as they experienced. The Dutch sample reported little experience with posing questions to tackle. The study also suggests a correlation between IBL experience and IBL preference of each class: students with more IBL experience are likely to show a higher preference for IBL activities. Results of this study do not confirm expectations based on stereotypes about the two teaching cultures. The students’ perspective in both samples suggests that providing complex problems and organizing group work have potential for further encouraging IBL in mathematics.
System for monitoring road slippery based on CCTV cameras and convolutional neural networks
Authors: Grabowski Dariusz , Czyżewski Andrzej 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe slipperiness of the surface is essential for road safety. The growing number of CCTV cameras opens the possibility of using them to automatically detect the slippery surface and inform road users about it. This paper presents a system of developed intelligent road signs, including a detector based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and the transfer-learning method employed to the processing of images acquired with video cameras. Based on photos taken in different light conditions by CCTV cameras located at the roadsides in Poland, four network topologies have been trained and tested: Resnet50 v2, Resnet152 v2, Vgg19, and Densenet201. The last-mentioned network has proved to give the best result with 98.34% accuracy of classification dry, wet, and snowy roads.
NMR in target driven drug discovery: why not?
Authors: Keiffer Sébastien , Carneiro Marta G. , Hollander Johan , Kobayashi Masakazu , Pogoryelev Denys , AB Eiso , Theisgen Stephan , Müller Gerhard , Siegal Gregg 
Published: September 2020

AbstractNo matter the source of compounds, drug discovery campaigns focused directly on the target are entirely dependent on a consistent stream of reliable data that reports on how a putative ligand interacts with the protein of interest. The data will derive from many sources including enzyme assays and many types of biophysical binding assays such as TR-FRET, SPR, thermophoresis and many others. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, but none is as information rich and broadly applicable as NMR. Here we provide a number of examples of the utility of NMR for enabling and providing ongoing support for the early pre-clinical phase of small molecule drug discovery efforts. The examples have been selected for their usefulness in a commercial setting, with full understanding of the need for speed, cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation.
Using Administrative Data to Assess the Risk of Permanent Work Disability: A Cohort Study
Authors: Bethge Matthias , Spanier Katja , Streibelt Marco 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPurpose Unmet rehabilitation needs are common. We therefore developed a risk score using administrative data to assess the risk of permanent work disability. Such a score may support the identification of individuals with a high likelihood of receiving a disability pension. Methods Our sample was a random and stratified 1% sample of individuals aged 18–65 years paying pension contributions. From administrative records, we extracted sociodemographic data and data about employment and welfare benefits covering 2010–2012. Our outcome was a pension due to work disability that was requested between January 2013 and December 2017. We developed a comprehensive logistic regression model and used the model estimates to determine the risk score. Results We included 352,140 individuals and counted 6,360 (1.8%) disability pensions during the 5-year follow-up. The area under the receiver operating curve was 0.839 (95% CI 0.834 to 0.844) for the continuous risk score. Using a threshold of ≥ 50 points (20.2% of all individuals), we correctly classified 80.6% of all individuals (sensitivity: 71.5%; specificity: 80.8%). Using ≥ 60 points (9.9% of all individuals), we correctly classified 90.3% (sensitivity: 54.9%; specificity: 91.0%). Individuals with 50 to < 60 points had a five times higher risk of a disability pension compared to individuals with low scores, individuals with ≥ 60 points a 17 times higher risk. Conclusions The risk score offers an opportunity to screen for people with a high risk of permanent work disability.
Structural, photocatalytic and surface analysis of Nb/Ag codoped TiO2 mesoporous nanoparticles
Authors: Gorgani Mahtab , Kaleji Behzad Koozegar 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn this study, several TiO2 mesoporous nanoparticles with different mol% of niobium and silver were synthesized using the sol–gel method. The crystalline phase, chemical state, photocatalytic and optical properties, specific surface area, and morphology of mesoporous nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis reflective spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller-specific surface area (BET) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). With increasing calcination temperature, the photocatalytic activity of the samples gradually increased due to the improvement of crystallization of the anatase and rutile phases. Nb/Ag codoping sample calcined at 550 °C has reduced the band gap energy (3.17 eV to 3.06 eV) and improved the photocatalytic properties of samples under visible light (xenon lamp, 200 W for 1 h and 2 h). Doped TiO2 mesoporous nanoparticles were shown to have the highest photocatalytic activity as compared with the pure TiO2 nanoparticles. The best photocatalytic efficiency of codoped TiO2 mesoporous nanoparticles was observed for the TNA3 sample calcined under 550 °C, containing molar contents of Nb (0.5 mol%) and Ag (1 mol%) dopant ions with 95.60% efficiency.
The meaning of meaningful learning in mathematics in upper-primary education
Authors: Polman Judith , Hornstra Lisette , Volman Monique 
Published: September 2020

AbstractOne of the ways in which schools try to improve students’ motivation is through making learning meaningful for students. The concept of meaningful learning, however, has been defined in various ways in the literature. This small-scale in-depth study focused on meaningful learning in mathematics in upper-primary education. We investigated what teachers, according to their own views, undertake to make mathematics learning meaningful for their students. Two interviews (one stimulated recall) were conducted with five fifth-grade teachers from five Dutch primary schools that differed in terms of their schools’ educational concept. Teachers’ beliefs about the meaning of meaningful learning varied from students being able to understand what is learned to connecting with students’ daily experiences. Teachers also differed in their self-reported pedagogical practices aimed at meaningful learning. They used different types of context, including activating prior knowledge, connecting to students’ personal worlds, showing the value beyond school, goal setting for/with students, creating a context that is future-oriented, referring to the personal world of the teacher, applying the learning content in school, and creating cross-curricular context. Practices to foster and support meaningful learning included collaboration and dialogue, working independently and experiential learning. This study provides suggestions for embedding meaningful elements in the mathematics learning environment to stimulate students’ learning motivation.
Noise and acoustic modeling with waveform generator in text-to-speech and neutral speech conversion
Authors: Al-Radhi Mohammed Salah , Csapó Tamás Gábor , Németh Géza 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis article focuses on developing a system for high-quality synthesized and converted speech by addressing three fundamental principles. Although the noise-like component in the state-of-the-art parametric vocoders (for example, STRAIGHT) is often not accurate enough, a novel analytical approach for modeling unvoiced excitations using a temporal envelope is proposed. Discrete All Pole, Frequency Domain Linear Prediction, Low Pass Filter, and True envelopes are firstly studied and applied to the noise excitation signal in our continuous vocoder. Second, we build a deep learning model based text–to–speech (TTS) which converts written text into human-like speech with a feed-forward and several sequence-to-sequence models (long short-term memory, gated recurrent unit, and hybrid model). Third, a new voice conversion system is proposed using a continuous fundamental frequency to provide accurate time-aligned voiced segments. The results have been evaluated in terms of objective measures and subjective listening tests. Experimental results showed that the proposed models achieved the highest speaker similarity and better quality compared with the other conventional methods.
Health-related quality of life and emotional well-being in patients with glioblastoma and their relatives
Authors: Ståhl Pernilla , Fekete Boglarka , Henoch Ingela , Smits Anja , Jakola Asgeir S. , Rydenhag Bertil , Ozanne Anneli 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Purpose
The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for patients with glioblastoma is known to be largely affected. Little is known about the HRQoL for relatives and the relationship between these two. To optimize family care, such issues need to be addressed early on, preferably from the time of diagnosis. This study aimed to describe and compare the HRQoL of patients with glioblastoma and their relatives before surgery.

Methods
A prospective cohort study including 89 patients diagnosed with glioblastoma and their relatives. HRQoL (Short Form Health Survey, SF-36) and emotional well-being (hospital anxiety and depression scale, HADS) were analysed with descriptive, comparative and multivariable regression analyses.

Results
Relatives scored worse for mental HRQoL (p < 0.001) and for symptoms of anxiety (p < 0.001) and depression (p = 0.022) compared to patients. The multivariable regression showed an increased risk of affected mental HRQoL in relatives of patients with poor functional status (WHO) (p = 0.01) and higher levels in symptoms of anxiety (p = 0.03), or when relatives had low physical HRQoL themselves (p = 0.01). There was increased risk of affected mental HRQoL in patients with comorbidities (p = 0.003), and when the respective relative showed higher levels in symptoms of anxiety (p = 0.005).

Conclusion
Relatives scored worse for mental HRQoL and emotional well-being than patients, suggesting that HRQoL in patients and relatives might be connected to symptoms of anxiety in the respective individual at disease onset. The results illustrate the need to screen HRQoL and emotional well-being in both patients and relatives from an early stage—before surgery.
Linguistic sleuthing for innovators
Authors: Greco Francesca , Riopelle Ken , Grippa Francesca , Fronzetti Colladon Andrea , Gluesing Julia 
Published: September 2020

AbstractFor centuries “innovation” has been a topic of book authors and academic researchers as documented by Ngram and Google Scholar search results. In contrast, “innovators” have had substantially less attention in both the popular domain and the academic domain. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a text analysis research methodology to linguistically identify “innovators” and “non-innovators” using Hebert F. Crovitz’s 42 relational words. Specifically, we demonstrate how to combine the use of two complementary text analysis software programs: Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count and WORDij to simply count the percent of use of these relational words and determine the statistical difference in use between “innovators” and “non-innovators.” We call this the “Crovitz Innovator Identification Method” in honor of Herbert F. Crovitz, who envisioned the possibility of using a small group of 42 words to signal “innovation” language. The Crovitz Innovator Identification Method is inexpensive, fast, scalable, and ready to be applied by others using this example as their guide. Nevertheless, this method does not confirm the viability of any innovation being created, used or implemented; it simply detects how a person’s language signals innovative thinking. We invite other scholars to join us in this linguistic sleuthing for innovators.
Informal Caregiving and Quality of Life Among Older Adults: Prospective Analyses from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH)
Authors: Sacco Lawrence B. , König Stefanie , Westerlund Hugo , Platts Loretta G. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractProviding unpaid informal care to someone who is ill or disabled is a common experience in later life. While a supportive and potentially rewarding role, informal care can become a time and emotionally demanding activity, which may hinder older adults’ quality of life. In a context of rising demand for informal carers, we investigated how caregiving states and transitions are linked to overall levels and changes in quality of life, and how the relationship varies according to care intensity and burden. We used fixed effects and change analyses to examine six-wave panel data (2008–2018) from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH, n = 5076; ages 50–74). The CASP-19 scale is used to assess both positive and negative aspects of older adults’ quality of life. Caregiving was related with lower levels of quality of life in a graded manner, with those providing more weekly hours and reporting greater burden experiencing larger declines. Two-year transitions corresponding to starting, ceasing and continuing care provision were associated with lower levels of quality of life, compared to continuously not caregiving. Starting and ceasing caregiving were associated with negative and positive changes in quality of life score, respectively, suggesting that cessation of care leads to improvements despite persistent lower overall levels of quality of life. Measures to reduce care burden or time spent providing informal care are likely to improve the quality of life of older people.
Living Life as Inquiry – a Systemic Practice for Change Agents
Authors: Gearty Margaret Rose , Marshall Judi 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe practical orientation of action research, together with its embedded and participative principles, means it is particularly suited to complex, interconnected questions and ‘real life’ systemic issues. In the realm of first-person action research, Judi Marshall’s (1999) influential article “Living Life as Inquiry” described how such research can extend to one’s whole life whereby professional and personal questions can be set within politically relevant frames. Over the past two decades, many students and researchers have worked with and drawn much imaginative inspiration from the idea ofliving life as inquiry (LLI). However little has been written to describehowthe practice develops and the many forms it can take. This article draws on our extensive experience as inquirers ourselves and as educators, working with students and change agents motivated to address social and environmental concerns. Twenty years after the original article we have conducted a reflective review that included surveying the literature, and working in depth with a range of stories and current practices. From this comes a textured expansion of the language and practice ofliving life as inquiryas it is approached from the specificity of people’s lives. Through narrative and visual textures, we present views into the many different ways LLI is developed through day-to-day practices of experimentation, data gathering, artistic exploration, intervention and reflection. We explore what this means for quality in the enactment of inquiry. The article draws particular attention to the embodied nature of inquiry and seeks to capture its fleeting, processual quality.
Maximal Medical Improvement following Shoulder Stabilization Surgery May Require up to 1 Year: A Systematic Review
Authors: Patel Bhavik H. , Lu Yining , Agarwalla Avinesh , Puzzitiello Richard N. , Nwachukwu Benedict U. , Cvetanovich Gregory L. , Chahla Jorge , Forsythe Brian 
Published: September 2020

Background There is increased emphasis on properly allocating healthcare resources to optimize value within orthopedic surgery. Establishing time to maximal medical improvement (MMI) can inform clinical decision-making and practice guidelines. Purpose We sought (1) to evaluate the time to MMI as predicted by commonly used patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for evaluation of shoulder stabilization and (2) to evaluate typical time to return to sports and employment following surgery. Methods A systematic review of the Medline database was conducted to identify outcome studies reporting sequential follow-up at multiple time points, up to a minimum of 2 years after shoulder stabilization surgery. The included studies examined the outcomes of arthroscopic or open surgical techniques on anterior instability. Clinically significant improvements were evaluated utilizing the minimal clinically important difference specific to each PROM. Secondary outcomes included range of motion, return to sport/work, and recurrent instability. Results Ten studies comprising 590 surgically managed cases of anterior shoulder instability were included (78% arthroscopic, 22% open). Clinically significant improvements in PROMs were achieved up to 1 year post-operatively for Rowe, Western Ontario Instability Index (WOSI), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), and Simple Shoulder Test (SST) scores. For the three most utilized tools (Rowe, WOSI, ASES), the majority of improvement occurred in the first 6 post-operative months. Clinically significant improvements in Constant Score and Oxford Shoulder Instability Score (OSIS) were achieved up to 6 months and 2 years after surgery, respectively. No clinically significant improvements were achieved on the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) tool. Conclusion Maximal medical improvement as determined by commonly utilized PROMs occurs by 1 year after operative management of anterior shoulder instability. The DASH tool does not appear to demonstrate a reliable time frame for clinically significant outcome improvement.
Contested multilateralism as credible signaling: how strategic inconsistency can induce cooperation among states
Authors: Faude Benjamin , Parizek Michal 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis paper analyzes how patterns of international cooperation are affected if a group of states, led by a major power, pursues a strategy of “contested multilateralism” (CM). We conceptualize CM as a reaction to deadlock in institutional adjustment bargaining where CM lowers the gains actors can reap from cooperation in the short run. We demonstrate that, in the long run, CM nevertheless can have positive effects on international cooperation and specify when this is the case. Because of the costs associated with it, CM conveys a credible signal of the resolve of a dissatisfied group of states to contest the institutional status quo. Due to this capacity, CM alters the institutional and strategic environment within which institutional adjustment bargaining takes place. As a result, CM opens up the possibility for inter-institutional accommodation that increases realized cooperation gains. We probe the plausibility of our theoretical reasoning with empirical case studies on competitive regime creation in multilateral development finance and on regime-shifting in the governance of international trade in genetically modified organisms.
Influence of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Corrosion Behavior of Thixo-cast Mg-Y-Nd-Zr
Authors: Szklarz Z. , Rogal Ł. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe influence of semisolid metal processing (SSM, also called thixoforming) and T6 heat treatment (HT) on the microstructure and corrosion behavior in chlorides of Mg-Y-Nd-Zr (WE43B) magnesium alloy was investigated. The as-cast microstructure is composed of α-Mg grains with the size of 52.8 ± 1.9 μm surrounded by eutectic precipitations enriched in rare-earth elements (Y, Nd). The thixo-cast microstructure contained α-Mg globular grains with the size of 65.5 ± 2.1 μm surrounded by a fine eutectic mixture in the volume of 26.6%. The T6 HT (heat treatment and saturation at 525°C/5 h, cooling in H2O and aging at 190°C/48 h) caused an increase of yield strength to 180 MPa and tensile strength to 280 MPa at the hardness 105 ± 4 HV5. Next, the electrochemical response was investigated in 0.1 M NaCl using the global and local LSV (linear sweep voltammetry) and EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) methods. The EIS method suggests the same mechanism for the processes occurring at the electrode/electrolyte interface and shows higher values of the polarization resistances of treated samples after 24-h immersion tests. In particular, better corrosion resistance in chlorides is observed in the alloy after SSM compared to the SSM/HT specimen, which has also been confirmed by the LSV tests performed after 24-h immersion. By using a local technique, a higher susceptibility of the matrix of SSM and SSM/HT samples to pitting corrosion has been revealed.