Terms Of Success Research Articles

Is the use of a geotextile a necessary rehabilitation strategy to mitigate tailings contamination in soil cover materials? A 7-year field study

The potential pollution risk associated with poor management of mine tailings includes metal pollution of the surrounding environment from dusting and runoff. Thus, the establishment of a vegetation cover (rehabilitation) is viewed as an effective management strategy. Mine tailings can be inhibitory to plant growth due to their physico-chemical characteristics such as extreme pH, high salinity and potential high metal(loid) content, and the provision of a cover soil (≥ 30 cm) is usually recommended. This requires significant volumes of topsoil, which are often in limited supply at mine sites. An alternative may be the use of engineered soil (using organic and/or inorganic additives to improve physico-chemical properties) and placement of a barrier layer to prevent migration of tailings water or fines into the soil cover medium.Metal(loid)s content in soil cover treatments and vegetation uptake were evaluated after 7 years of rehabilitation in 1 m3 plots on a Pb/ Zn TSF. Final 30 cm covers included unamended tailings, subsoil material and subsoil amended with organic wastes (Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC) and Compost like output (CLO)). Treatments were divided into with/without geotextile inclusion. Soil samples were taken at 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm and analysed for pH, salinity (EC), and metal(loid)s/elements (As, Pb, Zn, Ca, Mg, Mn and, K) content. Vegetation was sampled after 1 yrs. growth (2015) and again after 7 years (2021) and analysed for their metal(loid)s/element content.Unamended tailings showed high metal(loid)s content at both depths, but concentrations were much lower in soil treatments. Herbage samples analysed in 2015 showed a higher concentration of metals than for 2021, highlighting the effectiveness and sustainability of amendments over a long period. Vegetation grown in unamended tailings showed the highest content of metal(loid)s, with significantly lower content in soil treatments. No significant difference was found for soil or vegetation metal(loid) content between geotextile inclusion/ exclusion. Results, highlight the relatively shallow soil covers without geotextile provide long term success with no evidence of metal(loid) contamination from underlying tailings.

Hygromechanical study of a 16th century painted wooden panel: In-situ experiments to quantify the mechanical effect of the frame and the cradle

In order to prevent damage to painted wooden panels from the cultural heritage sector, curators and conservators must provide the hygroscopic and thermal conditions necessary for their conservation. Furthermore, the design of physical reinforcements such as frames or cradles has to be considered. In this paper, experiments were designed to determine the kinematic response of a painting to hygrometric variations both before and after remedial conservation treatments were undertaken. This study was carried out in the Fabre Museum, Montpellier on the panel painting “La Sainte Trinité couronnant la Vierge” (« The Coronation of the Virgin by the Holy Trinity »), which was placed in a climate-controlled showcase in a museum exhibition space. A glass panel on either side allowed visitors to see both sides of the panel during the experiment. At the same time, two stereoscopic devices allowed us to follow the relief, the shape deformation and surface strain of the panel on its front and back sides. First, the mechanical effect of the frame and cradle was studied. The majority of the deformation was found to be due to the cradle; initially the panel had a complex warp (-5 to 10 mm), decreasing to (-1 to +2 mm) when the cradle was removed. The continuous monitoring (two images per hour) was carrried out to assess the behaviour of the panel during imposed relative humidity (RH) variations of about 13 % RH (between 65 % RH for the maximum and 52 % RH for the minimum) for both the absorption and desorption phases. The global mechanical effect on the curvature was very clear with an opposite direction of deflection between absorption and desorption phases. A comparison of the behaviour of the panel with and without the cradle showed that the change in curvature was about twice as great (4 mm) without the cradle, and its direction moved from an initial slight negative curvature state to a positive one. In terms of strain on both the surfaces, we observed a horizontal shrinkage of about -0.1 % during the desorption phase and a swelling of about +0.1 % during the absorption phase for both the front and back sides of the panel. A further local study allowed us to assess the mechanical phenomenon for each board with the local determination of cupping angles and surface strains. This local study highlighted the change in behaviour of the panel without the cradle. On both sides, the local surface strains were decomposed into the mean strain and the deviation from the mean strain. The study highlighted the fact that the intensity of the mean strain (local swelling or shrinkage due to the hygroscopic changes) was the same for each configuration and was about 0.1 %. Nevertheless, in the case of the panel without the cradle, the imposed variation of relative humidity was smaller (8 % RH instead of 13 % RH), so proportionally the mean strain is higher compared to the case with a cradle. This study over five years has been success in terms of innovative development and multidisciplinary research.

A multi-institutional European comparative study of open versus robotic-assisted laparoscopic ureteral reimplantation in children with high grade (IV–V) vesicoureteral reflux

Traditionally, open ureteral reimplantation (OUR) has been the standard treatment for primary vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) requiring reimplantation. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic ureteral reimplantation (RALUR) is gaining popularity and high success rates have been reported. In this multi-institutional study, we aimed to compare the perioperative and postoperative outcomes of OUR and RALUR for high-grade (IV+V) VUR in children. A retrospective evaluation was performed collecting data from 135 children (0-18 years) who underwent high grade VUR surgical correction at nine European institutions between 01/01/2009 and 01/12/2020, involving either open or robotic approaches. Institutional review board approval was obtained. Patients with lower grades of VUR (≤III), previous history of open or endoscopic ureteral surgery, neurogenic bladder, or refluxing megaureter in need of ureteral tapering were excluded. Pre-, peri- and post-operative data were statistically compared. Overall, 135 children who underwent either OUR (n=68), or RALUR (n=67) were included, and their clinic and demographic features were collected. The mean age of the open group was 11 months (interquartile range [IQR] 9.9-16.6 months), in the RALUR group it was 59 months (IQR 29-78mo) (p<0.01); the open cohort had a weight of 11kg (IQR 9.9-16.6kg) while the RALUR group had 19kg (IQR 13-25kg) (p<0.01). No significant differences were found for intraoperative (1.5% vs 7.5%, p=0.09) or for postoperative complication rates (7.4% vs 9%, p=0.15). Favorable outcomes were reported in the RALUR group: shorter time to stooling (1 vs 2 days), fewer indwelling urethral catheter days (1 vs 5 days), perioperative drain insertion time (1 vs 5 days) and a shorter length of hospital stay (2 vs 5 days) (p<0.01). The success rate was 94.0% and 98.5% in the open and RALUR groups, respectively. The long-term clinical success rates from both groups was comparable:42 vs 23 months for open and RALUR, respectively. This study reported a large multicentric experience focusing on high grade VUR. Furthermore, this study compares favorably to OUR in a safety analysis. There was also a trend towards higher success rates with RALUR utilizing an extravesical approach which has not been previously reported. RALUR is an efficacious and safe platform to use during ureteral reimplantation for high grade VUR. The overall peri-operative and post-operative complication rates are at least equivalent to OUR, but it is associated with a faster functional recovery and time to discharge. Medium to long term success rates are also equivalent to OUR.

Evaluation of factors associated with recruitment rates in early phase clinical trials based on the European Clinical Trials Register data.

Effective participant recruitment is a critical challenge in clinical trials. Inadequate enrollment of participants can precipitate delays, escalated costs, and compromise scientific integrity. Despite its relevance, particularly during the early phases, it persists as an obstacle in the field of clinical research. The primary aim of this study was to analyze the recruitment rates of early-phase clinical trials and evaluate their potential associations with key trial characteristics. Using a descriptive and statistical analysis, a research study was conducted based on the early-phase trials registered at the European Clinical Trials Register (EU-CTR), spanning the timeframe from January 2017 to December 2021. Among the 194 trials examined, we found median recruitment rates of 68%. A more detailed exploration revealed a greater level of success in terms of recruitment achievement in pediatric trials when compared to trials involving adults, non-oncologic trials, or those also developed in non-European countries. It is important to underscore that only 69 trials out of the total managed to conclude recruitment, with the most prevalent reason for premature cessation being the presence of efficacy and safety issues or sponsor's strategy. This number can be greatly improved. Despite certain disparities observed in the information within EU-CTR, we have successfully determined the recruitment rates of the studies and established associations with some of the clinical trial characteristics analyzed. Owing to the inherent constraints of this study, further research is warranted to gain a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between trial characteristics and their impact on recruitment rates in early-phase studies.

Impact of Online Learning among Hospitality Management Students: Laboratory Actual Performance

This study was conducted to figure out the impact of digital learning on the performance results of third-year hospitality management students. It specifically aims to accomplish the following objectives: determine the student's level of self-efficacy through online learning; ascertain their accomplishments in laboratory performance through virtual learning; and establish an action plan that can be implemented based on the results listed below. This study employed descriptive-correlational research methods. The study's findings indicated that third-year students had high levels of confidence in their abilities, leading researchers to conclude that online laboratory activities benefit students' abilities and knowledge. In addition, the survey discovered that, apart from housekeeping, student laboratory activity successes in terms of culinary and kitchen essentials were moderate. The final finding was that while there is no significant correlation between students' self-efficacy in terms of housekeeping skills and attainments in laboratory activity and their actual performances, there is a significant correlation between students' self-efficacy in terms of knowledge and attainments in laboratory activity and actual performances

Operative Innovation and Surgical Conservatism in Twentieth-Century Ulcer Surgery.

Peptic ulcers were a common, and seemingly intractable, problem for surgeons in the US through the early twentieth century. Initial surgical efforts reduced operative mortality and achieved short term successes but failed to establish a definitive solution. The flawed successes of early ulcer surgery drove sustained effort to improve, producing a stream of novel operations over the decades. An examination of the history of ulcer surgery confirms the recent observation that surgical operations of this period were malleable entities subject to constant tinkering and repurposing. Yet, this dynamism in surgical practice remained in tension with conservative pressures, as surgeons hung on to familiar practices and sought to codify agreement on which operation served best for which purpose. Ulcer surgery became a workshop for attempts to resolve this tension. In this context, a canon of recognized operations emerged that accommodated novelties while preserving in surgical discourse an awareness of older operations. Established operations that fell from use literally remained on the books for decades. This compromise between innovation and operative conservatism favored the creative reuse of older ulcer operations, some repurposed, and some combined with other operations in new modular configurations. Ulcer surgery demonstrated recurring patterns of operative repurposing, reconfiguration, and modular recombination. This feature of twentieth-century ulcer surgery also highlights the attachment in modern surgical culture to the historicity of their endeavor, manifested for example in the wide use of eponyms and a fondness for deep genealogies of mentoring and training.

КОРПОРАТИВНАЯ КУЛЬТУРА И БРЕНД РАБОТОДАТЕЛЯ В СОВРЕМЕННЫХ УСЛОВИЯХ

In the modern world, the successful development of any enterprise in any field depends on a number of factors, including the creation of a favorable corporate culture. Corporate culture is becoming an increasingly important aspect of doing business today. In this regard, the formation of a common vision of goals and objectives, a single strategy and sustainable values, which must be implemented at all levels and management structures, are of fundamental importance.&#x0D; The article focuses on the fact that in modern conditions, the process of forming an effective corporate culture is associated with three important elements: external and internal HR-brand and social policy. The internal HR brand is a certain set of tools with which the strategy of staff retention and development is implemented, thereby developing employee loyalty. An internal HR brand is a powerful tool for creating and strengthening ties between employees and the employer, as well as ensuring their commitment to the company. In turn, an external HR brand is a set of activities aimed at attracting new personnel and strengthening the company's image in the external labor market, since it affects the perception of the company by potential employees and partners. Also, an equally important element of corporate culture is the social policy of the enterprise, which is aimed at improving working conditions and improving the quality of life of employees. Social policy includes elements such as bonuses, benefits and other programs that are aimed at showing the company's concern for its employees and creating a positive image. All these factors together give uniqueness to the corporate culture of the enterprise and influence its success in the long term.

STUDENT GRADUATION TIME PREDICTION USING LOGISTIC REGRESSION, DECISION TREE, SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE, AND ADABOOST ENSEMBLE LEARNING

Universities in Indonesia are working hard to improve the graduation rates of their students as it is considered a measure of success and quality in terms of accreditation. This study focuses on analyzing the effectiveness of machine learning algorithms, regression, Support Vector Machine (SVM) Decision Tree and ensemble learning, with AdaBoost wether the Computer Science students will graduate on time or not. The data used for this analysis consists of student records from 2015 to 2019. Includes 14 variables. To understand the relationships between these variables a two-dimensional visualization called a Heatmap was employed. The research findings indicate that the Support Vector Machine (SVM) and AdaBoost Decision Tree (DT) algorithm performs better than the other algorithms. The Decision Tree and AdaBoost (DT) model achieved an F1- score of 0,76 and 0,82. This research contributes towards enhancing education management by facilitating decision making to ensure timely graduation, for student

Understanding Students’ Perceptions of Identity in Digital Connectivism Learning Environments

Connectivist learning theory has been widely discussed with higher-order thinking skills and critical reflection in online learning environments. Yet it is unclear how students negotiate their own identity within an academic collective learning context. To gain insights into the interrelations of learner identity, i.e. construction of learner position in one's own learning community, this study examines the manner in which the identity of a writer is negotiated intra-community of writer (how do they represent themselves while learning from others in writing tasks). A qualitative case study, involving interviews and observations in Oman higher education, was conducted with 56 Omani college students after engaging in online and face-to-face research course. Analysis of results of this study indicates a degree of success in terms of students navigating their digital, individual and group academic learner identities. However, some tensions are seen in terms of balance of participation in group work and difficulties of harnessing the benefits in mixed-ability groups of writers. More research which builds on the successes and looks for ways to address the challenges from a range of perspectives is recommended.

If “variable acoustics” are an essential element in the long term success of a venue, how do we instill the importance of both making the appropriate alterations for different programs, and in addition, optimally maintaining these systems – both to management as well as operators?

The pandemic has revealed “versatility” as a significant asset for both venues, as well as performers and musicians. The ability to successfully alter and optimize venue acoustics to accommodate a wider range of programming has become an important consideration in the design of performing arts venues. The responsibility of making the changes, however, falls to the venue management—who may not have been included in meetings that determined how such systems should be utilized. Even when management and operators are trained on best deployment, personnel can change over time. If the “worth” of these systems is not conveyed to incoming personnel, they may be underutilized, thus compromising design goals. We will discuss some real world examples of both good and “not so good” deployments of variable acoustics.

Incidental parasympathetic cardiac denervation during atrial fibrillation ablation using high power short duration: a marker of long-term success.

There are multiple factors in both technique and substrate that lead to recurrence of atrial fibrillation after ablation. We sought to examine whether the degree of heart rate increase (HRI) caused by concurrent high-power-short-duration (HPSD) incidental parasympathetic denervation during AF ablation predicts long term success. Between December 2018 and December 2021, prospectively enrolled 214 patients who presented in sinus rhythm at AF ablation. Used 50 W of power and contact force (CF) of 5-15g and 10-20g at a flow rate of 40mL/min on the anterior and posterior left atrial walls, respectively. Males were 143 (66.8%) and paroxysmal was 124 (57.9%) patients. Mean age 61.1 ± 12.3years and follow-up time was 32.8 ± 13.2months. Arrhythmia occurred after 90days in 39 (18.2%) patients, 19 (48.7%) from the paroxysmal and 20 (51.3%) from the persistent AF patients. Recurrence group showed a lower HRI from a mean of 57 ± 7.7 to 64.4 ± 10.4bpm (12.3%) while in success group HRI was from 53.8 ± 9.7 to 66.8 ± 11.6bpm [(24.2%) p = 0.04]. We divided HRI in 3 percentiles of ≤ 8%, > 8 ≤ 37% and > 37%. A predictor of recurrence was identified in those in the first (< 8%, p = 0.006) and a predictor of success in the later (> 37%, p = 0.01) HRI percentile. Atrial fibrillation ablation with HPSD incidental cardiac parasympathetic denervation identified that patients with lower heart rate increase are prone to recurrence while those with higher heart rate increase had higher maintenance of sinus rhythm at a long-term follow-up.

Comparison between different radiological scoring systems in predicting post-PCNL outcome

Background: Various scoring systems, including Guy's stone score (GSS), S.T.O.N.E. score, and Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society (CROES) nomogram, have been assessed for predicting post-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) success in terms of stone-free status (SFS) and complications. Our study aims to determine the optimal predictor of SFS among these systems and assess their efficacy in predicting perioperative factors and complications, using modified Clavien grade. Methods: This prospective hospital-based cohort study involved 107 patients aged ≥18 years who underwent standard PCNL (tract size &gt;24 Fr) within a year. GSS, S.T.O.N.E. score, and CROES nomogram were calculated using preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans. Comparisons between 'stone-free' and 'residual-stone' groups were statistically analyzed. Results: All parameters effectively predicted SFS. S.T.O.N.E. score exhibited excellent discriminatory power (AUC 0.844; 95% CI: 0.762-0.907), followed by GSS (AUC 0.756; 95% CI: 0.663-0.834) and CROES nomogram (AUC 0.749; 95% CI: 0.656-0.828). S.T.O.N.E. score, with an AUC of 0.844, proved the most accurate predictor at ≤7 cut-off. GUY's score correlated positively with operative time and hospital stay (correlation coefficient 0.403, 0.34). S.T.O.N.E. score also positively correlated with these factors (correlation coefficient 0.443, 0.37). CROES nomogram negatively correlated with operative time and hospital stay (correlation coefficient -0.374, -0.314). Conclusions: All scoring systems effectively predict post-PCNL SFS, with S.T.O.N.E. score being the most predictive. GSS and S.T.O.N.E. score associate significantly with operative time and hospital stay. Both GSS and S.T.O.N.E. score show significant associations with perioperative complications assessed by modified Clavien grade.

An Overview of Digital Media Literacy in Digital Bangladesh

The emergence of Web 2.0 has had an immense impact on the worldwide communication system, including the media. Therefore, traditional media outlets have shifted their focus exclusively to digital platforms. As a blessing of the rise of social media platforms, presses have been able to disseminate information swiftly, solicit reader criticism, and engage in two-way contact. However, gaining literacy, media, and digital media literacy competencies are crucial to benefiting from these information technologies. Besides, by acquiring these literacy skills, citizens of a developing country such as Bangladesh can significantly impact that country's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, these competencies can help a country's citizens be more aware of fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and malformation. In this regard, the main objective of this article is to give an overview of digital media literacy in Bangladesh. For this purpose, the secondary data analysis method has been used to shed light on the digital inclusion process and development of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Bangladesh. Also, a literature review has been conducted on existing research on digital media literacy in the country. Finally, this research concluded that although the digital Bangladesh process has achieved great success in the short term, the supply of reasonable access to ICT for all the country's citizens will need more time. Thus, Bangladesh's government and non-government organizations and citizens need to go the extra mile to minimize this digital divide. Therefore, some potential components considered in the digital divide are citizens' position in rural vs. urban areas, literacy and income status gaps, and age range.

Melamine Acetate Preparation as a Urea-Formaldehyde Resin Additive for Particleboard Production

Urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin binders for wood-based panel production often use melamine as an additive to improve both mechanical properties and environmental compliance. Direct fortification for efficient use of melamine remains a problem due to low solubility. Pizzi &amp; coworkers suggested the use of more soluble melamine salts and demonstrated success in terms of product performance. However, their preparation method showed low productivity and inefficient use of material and energy. In their scheme, a batch reactor fed with 1 kg of water and 75 g of a stoichiometric amount of melamine and acetic acid produced only around 25 g of solid melamine acetate crystal. In contrast, the remaining 50 g remained dissolved in 991 g of water, which requires high of energy to evaporate. This paper reports an attempt to increase batch productivity and work towards the more efficient use of material and energy. The experiment showed that the successive addition of melamine and acetic acid to the batch up to the solubility limit of melamine at the same reaction condition increased melamine and acetic acid fed from 75 g to 165 g. This was followed by a significant increase in dry crystal yield from 25 g to 117 - 132 g. Feeding the mother liquor to the next batch decreased the water use to only 8% of the original requirement. This resulted in a highly efficient process, eliminating the need for energy-intensive melamine acetate recovery from the mother liquor. The addition of 2% - 4% wt. of the product to UF resin resulted in particleboard with significantly lower thickness swelling, an increase in MOR &amp; IB strength, and lower formaldehyde emission.

A Deep Learning-Based Multi-objective Optimization Model for PM2.5 Prediction

Air pollution caused by particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) poses a serious threat to human health and the environment. Predicting PM2.5 concentrations and controlling emissions are crucial for pollution prevention and control. This study proposes a comprehensive solution based on weight-sharing deep learning and multi-objective optimization. The proposed approach first utilizes a model that combines the Convolutional Neural Network and Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network to analyze data from 13 air quality monitoring stations in Xi'an City. By simultaneously inputting data from different monitoring stations, the model can extract highly correlated spatiotemporal features, enabling accurate predictions of PM2.5 concentrations for specific monitoring stations using LSTM. In addition, a multi-objective optimization model is established with the primary goal of achieving maximum total emission reduction. This model takes into account four key factors: the total emission reduction, the task of emission reduction, the government subsidy, and the total cost of emission reduction. To obtain the emission reduction of PM2.5 concentration at 13 monitoring stations, 5 classical intelligence algorithms are employed to solve the model. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed prediction model, with an average Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 12.820 and a fitting coefficient (R2) of 0.907, outperforming all comparison models. The proposed model exhibits strong generalization ability, making it applicable to different time and space conditions. Furthermore, it can be adapted for calculating emission reduction of other air pollutants. Lastly, the multi-objective optimization model achieves significant success in terms of total emission reduction. This study provides a new reference in the field of artificial intelligence and its application to air pollution control. The findings hold great significance for promoting public health and environmental protection.

Consignment Inventory System and Entrepreneurial Success among Micro Warehousing Firms

This study investigated the consignment inventory system and entrepreneurial success among micro warehousing firms. The study adopted cross sectional design and correlation design. Warehousing entrepreneurs practicing consignment inventory system with systemization of passion on micro firms from five south-south states were selected on basis of convenience sampling techniques. A total population of 1000 and sample size of 286 was determined using Slovin's Formula at 0.05 level of significance. The 286 copies of questionnaire were administered, only 257 was deem fit after processing, retriever, coding and cleansing. Three research questions and three hypotheses were raised which was tested with parametric measurement using Pearson Product Moment Correlation because of its bivariate function via SPSS 25 version. From the findings, consignment inventory system strongly correlates with the entrepreneurial success of the micro firms. Hence, the maximum stock level, re-order stock level and minimum stock level has significant influence on the success of the micro firms. Hence, it was revealed that the alternate hypotheses were accepted. Based on the findings and conclusion, it could be recommended that entrepreneurs should design and construct credible validated stock level to ascertain long term success in the enterprise. Also entrepreneur should avoid danger stock level and stock out that would ruins the enterprise ability to achieve her success.

Investigating two mobile just-in-time adaptive interventions to foster psychological resilience: research protocol of the DynaM-INT study.

Stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression are highly prevalent and cause a tremendous burden for affected individuals and society. In order to improve prevention strategies, knowledge regarding resilience mechanisms and ways to boost them is highly needed. In the Dynamic Modelling of Resilience - interventional multicenter study (DynaM-INT), we will conduct a large-scale feasibility and preliminary efficacy test for two mobile- and wearable-based just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs), designed to target putative resilience mechanisms. Deep participant phenotyping at baseline serves to identify individual predictors for intervention success in terms of target engagement and stress resilience. DynaM-INT aims to recruit N = 250 healthy but vulnerable young adults in the transition phase between adolescence and adulthood (18-27years) across five research sites (Berlin, Mainz, Nijmegen, Tel Aviv, and Warsaw). Participants are included if they report at least three negative burdensome past life events and show increased levels of internalizing symptoms while not being affected by any major mental disorder. Participants are characterized in a multimodal baseline phase, which includes neuropsychological tests, neuroimaging, bio-samples, sociodemographic and psychological questionnaires, a video-recorded interview, as well as ecological momentary assessments (EMA) and ecological physiological assessments (EPA). Subsequently, participants are randomly assigned to one of two ecological momentary interventions (EMIs), targeting either positive cognitive reappraisal or reward sensitivity. During the following intervention phase, participants' stress responses are tracked using EMA and EPA, and JITAIs are triggered if an individually calibrated stress threshold is crossed. In a three-month-long follow-up phase, parts of the baseline characterization phase are repeated. Throughout the entire study, stressor exposure and mental health are regularly monitored to calculate stressor reactivity as a proxy for outcome resilience. The online monitoring questionnaires and the repetition of the baseline questionnaires also serve to assess target engagement. The DynaM-INT study intends to advance the field of resilience research by feasibility-testing two new mechanistically targeted JITAIs that aim at increasing individual stress resilience and identifying predictors for successful intervention response. Determining these predictors is an important step toward future randomized controlled trials to establish the efficacy of these interventions.

Perceptions of Teachers towards English Language Learners (ELLs) and Content Accessibility

Teachers need training in order to be adequately prepared to serve English Learners in the general education setting. The consideration of teacher perceptions becomes important when considering designing professional development for teachers of English Learners. The purpose of this study is to examine teachers’ perceptions regarding educating students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), teacher training for making content accessible, and teacher willingness to follow through with student success in terms of English Learner achievement. The sample consisted of 79 teachers (25% male and 75% female) from kindergarten through twelfth grade in a rural county in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through a survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Study results indicated that about half of the respondents, 45% of primary teachers and 62% of secondary teachers had ever received training for teaching ELLs. Across both elementary and secondary schools, slightly more than half of the teachers (59%) indicated that they felt they had the support needed to work effectively with ELLs. Furthermore, a little less than half of the teachers (39%) felt prepared to work with ELLs. This study highlights areas of potential need in terms of teacher professional development.

Understanding long-term thinking as a management strategy to support sustainable quality development: perspectives from education

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the concept of long-term thinking in a non-business context to gain deeper insights into bridging the gap between the theory of long-term thinking and its application as a management strategy.Design/methodology/approachTo explore the concept of long-thinking further in a non-business setting, a grounded theory study was conducted with preschool leaders in a municipality in Sweden to examine how the leaders describe, define and apply the concept of long-term thinking in their schools. Interviews with school leaders, both written and oral, were used for data collection.FindingsThis study illustrates that the concept of long-term thinking can be twofold. First, the description can be as an anchor that reflects a mission. Second, the description can be a steering mechanism that guides decision-making. The findings also reinforce the importance of organisations developing an organisational culture that connect their vision and goals with the values and needs of their customers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was carried out in a single organisation and shows a snapshot of the organisation's status at the time the data were collected. Therefore, the findings are not generalisable to all organisational settings; rather the findings may be transferable to other settings.Practical implicationsThe results can be used to help identify areas where preschools in a municipal context can engage with sustainable quality development in order to build systems that support work with quality in a more structured way.Originality/valueLong-term thinking is seen, within both theory and organisations, as necessary to achieve success in terms of sustainable development and quality, and this study contributes with knowledge about the current gap between theories of long-term thinking and practice in organisations.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Recent Clinical Advances and Future Prospects.

Immune checkpoints are vital molecules and pathways of the immune system with defined roles of controlling immune responses from being destructive to the healthy cells in the body. They include inhibitory receptors and ligands, which check the recognition of most cancers by the immune system. This happens when proteins on the surface of T cells called immune checkpoint proteins identify partner proteins on the cancer cells and bind to them, sending brake signals to the T cells to evade immune attack. However, drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors block checkpoint proteins from binding to their partner proteins, thereby inhibiting the brake signals from being sent to T cells. This eventually allows the T cells to destroy cancer cells and arbitrate robust tumor regression. Many such inhibitors have already been approved and are in various developmental stages. The well-illustrated inhibitory checkpoints include the cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated molecule-4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1), and programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1). Though many molecules blocking these checkpoints have shown promise in treating many malignancies, such treatment options have limited success in terms of the immune response in most patients. Against this backdrop, exploring new pathways and next-generation inhibitors becomes imperative for developing more responsive and effective immune checkpoint therapy. Owing to the complex biology and unexplored ambiguities in the mechanistic aspects of immune checkpoint pathways, analysis of the activity profile of new drugs is the subject of strenuous investigation. We herein report the recent progress in developing new inhibitory pathways and potential therapeutics and delineate the developments based on their merit. Further, the ensuing challenges towards developing efficacious checkpoint therapies and the impending opportunities are also discussed.