mdpi-ai/citelens huggingface dataset:
Effects of Curriculum on Environmental Attitudes: A Comparative Analysis of Environmental and Non-Environmental Disciplines
Field: EDUCATION

To satisfy their ever-increasing needs, humans are constantly exerting excessive pressure upon the environment, while now more than ever, the adoption of new development practices to halt environmental degradation is becoming necessary. Graduates from all disciplines should have environmental awareness, because their decisions as future professionals may affect the environment. If, however, we assume that environmental science graduates possess environmental knowledge, it is worth investigating whether this knowledge affects their environmental attitudes. Hence, the aim of this study is to compare the environmental attitudes of students attending environmental and non-environmental studies. To this end, a comparative study on environmental attitudes was conducted between students majoring in forestry and students majoring in literature studies at one of the largest universities in Greece. That is, the environmental attitudes of students whose discipline was closely related to the environment were compared to the attitudes of students whose discipline was unrelated to the environment. The results showed that students from both disciplines had positive environmental attitudes, but forestry students exhibited a discernibly higher level of environmental awareness, which can be ascribed to their participation in environmentally relevant courses. The insights gains from this study could be particularly useful to education policymakers and curriculum practitioners, since they provide evidence for the potential of curriculum content to shape pro-environmental attitudes.
Managing Employee Motivation in Slovak Universities from the Perspectives of Time and Age
Field: EDUCATION

Human resources refer to a special and unique field as they are the most valuable but also the most costly factor of production. The aim of the research is to analyze the level of motivation of university teachers in Slovakia in terms of time and age, and to define the motivational needs of university teachers. The method of sociological questioning is used. The collected data from 2016 university teachers from Slovak technical universities are analyzed using the Tukey HSD test. Based on the research results, it can be stated that university teachers are the most motivated by relational and financial motivational factors. There is a significant change in the level of average importance of motivational factors across time (years), but there is no change in their structure. In terms of the age factor, significant differences over time are identified. Finally, Slovak teachers display the need for a more respected social status and a better image of their profession. The research findings will help university managers in raising the level of teachers’ motivation and in designing motivation programs.
Characterizing facilitation practices of learning assistants: an authoritative-to-dialogic spectrum
Field: EDUCATION

Background: Learning assistants (LAs) increase accessibility to instructor–student interactions in large STEM lecture classes. In this research, we used the Formative Assessment Enactment Model developed for K-12 science teachers to characterize LA facilitation practices. The Formative Assessment Enactment Model describes instructor actions as eliciting or advancing student thinking, guided by their purposes and the perspective they center as well as by what they notice about and how they interpret student thinking. Thus, it describes facilitation practices in a holistic way, capturing the way purposes, perspectives, noticing, interpreting, and actions are intertwined and working together to characterize different LA actions. In terms of how perspectives influence actions, eliciting and advancing moves can be enacted either in authoritative ways, driven by one perspective that has authority, or in dialogic ways, driven by multiple perspectives. Dialogic practices are of particular interest because of their potential to empower students and center student thinking. Results: Our analysis of video recordings of LA–student interactions and stimulated recall interviews with 37 introductory physical science lectures’ LAs demonstrates that instead of as a dichotomy between authoritative and dialogic, LA actions exist along a spectrum of authoritative to dialogic based on the perspectives centered. Between the very authoritative perspective that centers on canonically correct science and the very dialogic perspective that centers the perspectives of the students involved in the discussion, we find two intermediary categories. The two new categories encompass a moderately authoritative perspective focused on the LA’s perspective without the claim of being correct and a moderately dialogic perspective focused on ideas from outside the current train of thought such as from students in the class that are not part of the current discussion. Conclusions: This spectrum further adds to theory around authoritative and dialogic practices as it reconsiders what perspectives can drive LA enactment of facilitation other than the perspective of canonically correct science and the perspectives of the students involved in the discussion. This emerging characterization may be used to give LAs and possibly other instructors a tool to intentionally shift between authoritative and dialogic practices. It may also be used to transition towards more student-centered practices.
Measurement in STEM education research: a systematic literature review of trends in the psychometric evidence of scales
Field: EDUCATION

Background: The objective of this systematic review is to identify characteristics, trends, and gaps in measurement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education research. Methods: We searched across several peer-reviewed sources, including a book, similar systematic reviews, conference proceedings, one online repository, and four databases that index the major STEM education research journals. We included empirical studies that reported on psychometric development of scales developed on college/university students for the context of post-secondary STEM education in the US. We excluded studies examining scales that ask about specific content knowledge and contain less than three items. Results were synthesized using descriptive statistics. Results: Our final sample included the total number of N = 82 scales across N = 72 studies. Participants in the sampled studies were majority female and White, most scales were developed in an unspecified STEM/science and engineering context, and the most frequently measured construct was attitudes. Internal structure validity emerged as the most prominent validity evidence, with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) being the most common. Reliability evidence was dominated by internal consistency evidence in the form of Cronbach’s alpha, with other forms being scarcely reported, if at all. Discussion: Limitations include only focusing on scales developed in the United States and in post-secondary contexts, limiting the scope of the systematic review. Our findings demonstrate that when developing scales for STEM education research, many types of psychometric properties, such as differential item functioning, test–retest reliability, and discriminant validity are scarcely reported. Furthermore, many scales only report internal structure validity (EFA and/or CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha, which are not enough evidence alone. We encourage researchers to look towards the full spectrum of psychometric evidence both when choosing scales to use and when developing their own. While constructs such as attitudes and disciplines such as engineering were dominant in our sample, future work can fill in the gaps by developing scales for disciplines, such as geosciences, and examine constructs, such as engagement, self-efficacy, and perceived fit.
Risk of Second Primary Malignancies in Melanoma Survivors: A Population-Based Study
Field: ONCOLOGY

(1) Introduction: The association between melanoma (MM) and the occurrence of second primary neoplasms (SPNs) has been extensively studied, with reported incidence rates ranging from 1.5% to 20%. This study aims to evaluate the occurrence of SPNs in patients with a history of primary MM and to describe the factors that make the risk higher in our population. (2) Material and Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study and calculated the incidence rates and relative risks (RR) for the development of different SPNs in 529 MM survivors from 1 January 2005 to 1 August 2021. Survival and mortality rates were obtained, and the Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the demographic and MM-related factors that influence the overall risk. (3) Results: Among the 529 patients included, 89 were diagnosed with SPNs (29 prior to MM diagnosis, 11 synchronous, and 49 after MM), resulting in 62 skin tumors and 37 solid organ tumors. The estimated probability of developing SPNs after MM diagnosis was 4.1% at 1 year, 11% at 5 years, and 19% at 10 years. Older age, primary MM location on the face or neck, and histologic subtype of lentigo maligna mm were significantly associated with a higher risk of SPNs. (4) Conclusions: In our population, the risk of developing SPNs was higher in patients with primary MM located on the face and neck and with the histological subtype of lentigo maligna-MM. Age also independently influences the risk. Understanding these hazard factors can aid in the development of MM guidelines with specific follow-up recommendations for individuals with the highest risk.
Safety and Feasibility of Vulvar Cancer Treatment with Electrochemotherapy
Field: ONCOLOGY

Electrochemotherapy is a local ablative therapy used for the treatment of various superficial and deep-seated tumors. Electrochemotherapy involves the application of electric pulses locally to tumors to destabilize cell membranes and facilitate the entry of cytotoxic drugs, thereby enhancing their cytotoxicity locally. The aim of our study is to investigate the safety and feasibility of electrochemotherapy in patients with vulvar cancer recurrence used for nonpalliative purposes. Ten patients with single local vulvar cancer recurrence were treated with intravenous bleomycin, followed by a local application of electric pulses (electrochemotherapy) to the tumor. Adverse events were determined using the National Cancer Institute’s Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.0. The feasibility of treating vulvar cancer with electrochemotherapy was determined by an appropriate selection of electrodes based on the size and location of the tumor with safety margins included. Electrochemotherapy was feasible in all patients. No electrochemotherapy-related or other serious adverse events occurred. Our data suggest that electrochemotherapy is a feasible and safe technique for the treatment of vulvar cancer recurrence for nonpalliative purposes. Based on our results, electrochemotherapy might be a viable therapeutic tool for patients who would otherwise undergo surgery involving a mutilation of the external genitalia.
Endoscopic Resection of Early Gastric Cancer and Pre-Malignant Gastric Lesions
Field: ONCOLOGY

Early gastric cancer comprises gastric malignancies that are confined to the mucosa or submucosa, irrespective of lymph node metastasis. Endoscopic resection is currently pivotal for the management of such early lesions, and it is the recommended treatment for tumors presenting a very low risk of lymph node metastasis. In general, these lesions consist of two groups of differentiated mucosal adenocarcinomas: non-ulcerated lesions (regardless of their size) and small ulcerated lesions. Endoscopic submucosal dissection is the technique of choice in most cases. This procedure has high rates of complete histological resection while maintaining gastric anatomy and its functions, resulting in fewer adverse events than surgery and having a lesser impact on patient-reported quality of life. Nonetheless, approximately 20% of resected lesions do not fulfill curative criteria and demand further treatment, highlighting the importance of patient selection. Additionally, the preservation of the stomach results in a moderate risk of metachronous lesions, which underlines the need for surveillance. We review the current evidence regarding the endoscopic treatment of early gastric cancer, including the short-and long-term results and management after resection.
Which STEM careers are most appealing? Examining high school students’ preferences and motivational beliefs for different STEM career choices
Field: EDUCATION

Background: Decades of research have examined what motivates students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, but STEM careers are a broad category encompassing hundreds of distinct vocations. The present study examined high school students’ relative preferences for pursuing some types of STEM careers over others and explored what motivational beliefs (defined in accordance with situated expectancy value theory) most influenced students’ relative career preferences. A secondary goal was to examine whether there were differences in any patterns as a function of students’ intersecting gender and racial/ethnic identities. A large sample of high school students (N = 526) completed an online survey during class time about their beliefs regarding fifteen different STEM career categories.Results: Students’ career preferences could be classified into four groups: appealing, unappealing, polarizing, or overlooked. The last category was the most common. Students primarily selected reasons related to utility and attainment value in influencing their choices of most- and least-preferred careers. However, within this category, beliefs about helping others were stronger influences on choosing most-preferred careers, whereas concerns about fitting in were more influential for choosing least-preferred careers. Gender and racial/ethnic comparisons suggest differentiation in how students think about the appeal of various career paths as early as high school.Implications: Findings shed light on how students come to perceive some STEM career paths as relatively more appealing than others, with attention to gender and racial/ethnic differences in these processes. Findings also point to specific and actionable ideas for how teachers, counselors, and administrators can target career education to cultivate students’ interest in STEM career paths, where there are particular needs.
Expression of pyroptosis-related genes are correlated with immune microenvironment and predict prognosis in ESCA
Field: ONCOLOGY

Objectives: Pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) are abnormally expressed in a variety of gastrointestinal tumors, this study aimed to investigate the role of pyroptosis genes in assessing the prognosis of esophageal cancer (ESCA). Methods: Through consensus clustering, we identified two subtypes associated with PRGs. After Lasso regression and multivariate Cox regression analysis, a polygenic signature based on six prognostic PRGS was constructed. Afterwards, we combined the risk score with clinical predictors to construct and validate a PRGs-associated ESCA prognostic model. Results: Through analysis, we Successfully constructed and validated a PRGs-associated ESCA prognostic model that predicts ESCA survival and correlates with the tumor immune microenvironment. Conclusion: Based on PRGs features, we established a new ESCA hierarchical model. This model has important clinical implications for ESCA patients, both in terms of assessing prognosis and in terms of targeted and immunotherapy.
Burnout of Greek Teachers: Measurement Invariance and Differences across Individual Characteristics
Field: PSYCHOLOGY

Burnout (BT) is a vital determinant of work effectiveness and a well-studied psychological construct. The dominant theoretical perspectives have defined BT via the proposed dimensional structures and have provided the corresponding instruments for measuring them. The present endeavor adopts the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), as its purpose is to examine the psychometric properties of a short version for the Greek teachers and to find differences across their individual characteristics. The Greek short version of OLBI comprises two dimensions: Disengagement (four items) and Exhaustion (five items), with reliability measures utilizing Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega: Exhaustion (α = 0.810/ω = 0.823) and Disengagement (α = 0.742/ω = 0.756). Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit of the measurement model: χ2 = 320.291, df = 26, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.970; TLI = 0.958; RMSEA = 0.068; 90% CI of RMSEA = [0.062; 0.075]; SRMR = 0.067; NFI = 0.967; GFI = 0.986]. The proposed model is extracted after two studies (N1 = 134, N2 = 2437). The novel aspect of this endeavor is the measurement invariance explored across selected demographic variables. The findings supporting the measurement invariance make an essential contribution to the field, and the implications for educational research are provided along with a concise presentation of theoretical issues.
An Efficient Multilevel Threshold Segmentation Method for Breast Cancer Imaging Based on Metaheuristics Algorithms: Analysis and Validations
Field: AI

Breast cancer is a hazardous disease that should be seriously tackled to reduce its danger in all aspects of the world. Therefore, several imaging ways to detect this disease were considered, but the produced images need to be accurately processed to effectively detect it. Image segmentation is an indispensable step in image processing to segment the homogenous regions that have similar features such as brightness, color, texture, contrast, form, and size. Several techniques like region-based, threshold-based, edge-based, and feature-based clustering have been developed for image segmentation; however, thresholding, which is divided into two classes: bilevel and multilevel, won the highest attention by the researchers due to its simplicity, ease of use and accuracy. The multilevel thresholding-based image segmentation is difficult to be tackled using traditional techniques, especially with increasing the threshold level; therefore, the researchers pay attention to the metaheuristic algorithms which could overcome several hard problems in a reasonable time. In this paper, a new hybrid metaheuristic algorithm based on integrating the jellyfish search algorithm with an effective improvement method is proposed for segmenting the color images of breast cancer, namely the hybrid jellyfish search algorithm HJSO. Experiments are extensively performed to appear the superiority of the proposed algorithm, including validating its performance using various breast cancer images and conducting an extensive comparison with several rival algorithms to explore its effectiveness. The experimental findings, including various performance metrics like fitness values, CPU time, Peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), standard deviation, Features similarity index (FSIM), and Structural similarity index (SSIM), totally show the efficiency of HJSO.
Applicant qualifications and characteristics in STEM faculty hiring: an analysis of faculty and administrator perspectives
Field: EDUCATION

Background: The lack of racial diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is perhaps one of the most challenging issues in the United States higher education system. The issue is not only concerning diverse students, but also diverse faculty members. One important contributing factor is the faculty hiring process. To make progress toward equity in hiring decisions, it is necessary to better understand how applicants are considered and evaluated. In this paper, we describe and present our study based on a survey of current STEM faculty members and administrators who examined applicant qualifications and characteristics in STEM faculty hiring decisions. Results: There are three key findings of the present research. First, we found that faculty members placed different levels of importance on characteristics and qualifications for tenure track hiring and non-tenure track hiring. For example, items related to research were more important when evaluating tenure track applicants, whereas items related to teaching and diversity were more important when evaluating non-tenure track applicants. Second, faculty members’ institutional classification, position, and personal identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) had an impact on their evaluation criteria. For instance, we found men considered some diversity-related items more important than women. Third, faculty members rated the importance of qualifications with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related constructs significantly lower than qualifications that did not specify DEI-related constructs, and this trend held for both tenure track and non-tenure track faculty hiring. Conclusions: This study was an attempt to address the issue of diversity in STEM faculty hiring at institutions of higher education by examining how applicant characteristics are considered and evaluated in faculty hiring practices. Emphasizing research reputation and postdoctoral reputation while neglecting institutional diversity and equitable and inclusive teaching, research, and service stunt progress toward racial diversity because biases—both implicit and explicit, both positive and negative—still exist. Our results were consistent with research on bias in recruitment, revealing that affinity bias, confirmation bias, and halo bias exist in the faculty hiring process. These biases contribute to inequities in hiring, and need to be addressed before we can reach, sustain, and grow desired levels of diversity.