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This paper depicts the evolution of gaps in academic performance between native and immigrant background students as they progress from primary to secondary education. We study three cohorts of students in European and traditional English-speaking immigration countries using combinations of international assessment studies (PIRLS, TIMSS and PISA). To address the issue of comparability of test scores across surveys and over time, we exploit rank-based measures of relative performance, which only require ordinal comparability of the data. We do not find significant differences between the academic achievements of immigrant children and their native-born peers in English-speaking receiving countries. By contrast, immigrant-background children – both of first- and of second-generation – exhibit a large achievement gap in primary school in Europe, even when accounting for observable differences in socioeconomic characteristics. The gap tends to narrow down in secondary education in both reading and mathematics but is not fully absorbed in most countries. This finding is noteworthy among second-generation students in systems with early tracking. The performance of students with mixed parents is not markedly different from native students. Diverging educational progress between immigrant children in traditional immigration countries and our sample of European countries seems to reinforce the importance of the initial socioeconomic endowment in shaping the academic trajectories of immigrant children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A copper complex is synthesized and single crystal XRD showed that crystal structure of the synthesized compound is 1D zigzag polymeric. • Hirshfeld surface analysis inferred that H ⋯ O contacts are the most significant contributor of the supramolecular assembly stabilization. • Void analysis showed that the compound will have good response to an applied stress. • Computational study results are consistent with the corresponding ones of single crystal XRD. A new one-dimensional polymeric copper complex [Cu(DNSA)py] with salicylic acid and pyridine was synthesized and characterized by many techniques, including FT-IR, UV–Visible, elemental, TGA/DSC, and single crystal XRD analysis. In the crystal structure, two 3,5-dinitrosalicylic ligands were chelated by the copper cation, in which one ligand was coordinated by the carbonyl O-atom and one of the carboxylate O-atoms, while another symmetry-related ligand was coordinated by the O-atoms of the carboxylate group to form distorted square pyramidal geometry. Thus, a one-dimensional polymer structure is formed, extending along the b -axis. The solid-state assembly was stabilized by various intermolecular interactions, as examined through Hirshfeld surface analysis. Voids analysis was carried out to predict the response of the crystal under external pressure. The most stable structure of the [Cu(DNSA)py] monomer resulted from density functional theory (DFT) using the B3LYP/def2-TZVPP. The 6–311G(d,p) level of theory demonstrated that the Cu atom adapts distorted square pyramidal geometry. The MEP surface and Mulliken charge distribution identified the Cu monomer atoms suitable for electrophilic and nucleophilic attacks. Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analyses were conducted to anticipate the stability and chemical reactivity of the [Cu(DNSA)py] monomer and its ligand (DNSA). Furthermore, the quantum chemical descriptors of the title compound were obtained from E HOMO and E LUMO energy values. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) has become one of the most important clinical issues in the cardiovascular field for this decade because of the marked increase in cardiovascular (CV) risk associated with a clustering of risk factors. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the relationship between MetS and its components and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This population-based cross-sectional study was based on data from two studies carried out in Russia (ESSE-RF) and Italy (PLIC). One sample from each cohort was selected, matching individuals by sex and age. A comparison between samples of MetS components distribution and CV risk, according to SCORE chart, has been conducted. A total of 609 individuals (mean [SD] age 55 [8] years, about 39% males) for each cohort were selected. Almost half of PLIC cohort participants belonged to the moderate CV risk group (47% vs 27%), while in ESSE-RF cohort a relatively higher prevalence of individuals classified in the high and very high risk group was observed (19% vs 11%, 21% vs 6%, respectively). Overall, 43% of ESSE-RF participants were diagnosed with MetS, compared with the 27% of PLIC members (the difference in prevalence becomes 37% vs 21%, considering a more conservative cut-off for waist circumference). Both cohorts showed a trend towards the increase of MetS components moving from the lowest to the highest CV risk class, with a high prevalence of patients with four or five MetS determinants allocated in the high/very high CV risk group. Developing effective public health strategies for the prevention, detection and treatment of MetS should be an urgent priority to reduce the burden of CVD, not only in subjects at high/very high CV risk, but also in those characterized by a lower risk, as even rare CV events that come from low risk group bring a tangible burden to healthcare systems. Image 1 • MetS has become one of the most important clinical issues in the CV field. • A cross-sectional study was carried out in Russia (ESSE-RF) and Italy (PLIC). • Both cohorts showed a trend towards the increase of MetS components. • Developing health strategies to prevent and treat MetS will reduce the CVD burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently neutrophil-based nanoparticles (NPs) drug delivery systems have gained considerable attention in cancer therapy. Numerous studies have been conducted to identify optimal NPs parameters for passive tumor targeting, while there is a fundamental dearth of knowledge about the factors governing cell-mediated delivery. Here, by using intravital microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging, we describe accumulation dynamics of 140 nm magnetic cubes and clusters in murine breast cancer (4T1) and colon cancer (CT26) models. Notwithstanding rapid clearance from the blood flow, NPs readily accumulated in tumors at later time points. Both NPs types were captured mostly by intravascular neutrophils immediately after injection, and transmigration of NPs-bound neutrophils through the vessel wall was first shown in real-time. A dramatic drop in NPs accumulation upon Ly6G and Gr1 depletion further confirmed the role of neutrophils as a biocarrier for targeting tumors. Of note, for shorter circulating NPs, a cell-dependent delivery route was more impactful, while the accumulation of longer circulating counterpart was less compromised by neutrophil depletion. Neutrophil-mediated transport was also shown to depend on tumor type, with more efficiency noted in neutrophil-rich tumors. Revealing NPs characteristics and host factors influencing the neutrophil-based tumor targeting will help to rationally design drug delivery systems for improved cancer treatment. Utilizing host cells as trojan horses for delivery nanodrugs to tumor site is a promising approach for cancer therapy. However, it is not clear yet how nanoparticles characteristics and tumor properties affect the efficiency of cell-based nanoparticles transport. Here, we compare neutrophil-based delivery of different-shaped magnetic nanoparticles (cubes and clusters) in two tumor models. The results suggest that neutrophil-mediated route is more impactful for rapidly cleared cubes, than for longer circulating clusters. The efficiency of cell-based accumulation also correlated with the level of neutrophils recruitment to different tumor types. These finding are important for rationale design of nanocarriers and predicting the efficiency of neutrophil-mediated drug delivery between patients and tumor types. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]