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This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive view of critical pedagogy-informed collaborative professional development practices in English language teaching. Using four databases and relevant keywords, we found 67 studies conducted in Asia, South/Central/North America, Europe, Australia, and the Gulf countries and systematically analyzed them. Results show that critical collaborative practices enabled teachers to develop a critical stance, implement pedagogically critical actions, and initiate social change regarding social awareness and power distribution. However, these changes, visible in teachers' pedagogical practices, have not expanded onto a macro-social level. Implications for language teacher development program planners and policymakers are discussed.

Several international large-scale assessments were conducted at the turn of the new century, and during the past two decades the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) completed seven cycles of assessment to facilitate practitioners' policy debates and governance. This study reviews PISA-related articles published in English and Chinese. Three literature databases were searched, with a focus on SSCI, CSSCI, and TSSCI journal publications. The frequency of publication was analyzed according to the author's country affiliation, type of journal, and research categories/themes. Findings indicate that research on student-, school- and system-level indicators with a focus on students' learning processes and outcomes as well as critiques of technical matters on PISA were frequent topics in the literature during the past two decades. Issues of equality and equity examined in the publications have implications for enhancing practitioners' capabilities in terms of policy making and governance.

Background: Recent data suggest that the risk of young-onset colorectal cancer (yCRC), in adults less than 50 years of age, is increasing. To confirm findings and identify contemporary trends worldwide, we conducted a systematic review of studies examining population-level trends in yCRC epidemiology.Methods: We searched MEDLINE (1946-2018), EMBASE (1974-2018), CINAHL (1982-2018), and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2005-2018) for studies that used an epidemiologic design, assessed trends in yCRC incidence or prevalence, and published in English. Extracted information included country, age cut-off for yCRC, and reported trends in incidence or prevalence (e.g. annual percent change [APC]). We pooled similarly reported trend estimates using random effects models.Results: Our search yielded 8695 articles and after applying our inclusion criteria, we identified 40 studies from 12 countries across five continents. One study assessed yCRC prevalence trends reporting an APCp of + 2.6 and + 1.8 among 20-39 and 40-49 year olds, respectively. 39 studies assessed trends in yCRC incidence but with substantial variability in reporting. Meta-analysis of the most commonly reported trend estimate yielded a pooled overall APCi of + 1.33 (95% CI, 0.97 to 1.68; p < 0.0001) that is largely driven by findings from North America and Australia. Also contributing to these trends is the increasing risk of rectal cancer as among 14 studies assessing cancer site, nine showed an increased risk of rectal cancer in adults less than 50 years with APCi up to + 4.03 (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Our systematic review highlights increasing yCRC risk in North America and Australia driven by rising rectal cancers in younger adults over the past two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents wish to reduce their child's pain during medical procedures but may not know how to do so. We systematically reviewed the literature on parents' experiences and information needs related to managing their child's pain for common medical procedures. Of 2678 records retrieved through database searching, 5 were included. Three additional records were identified by scanning reference lists. Five studies were qualitative, and 3 were quantitative. Most took place in North America or Europe (n = 7) and described neonatal intensive care unit experiences (n = 5). Procedures included needle-related medical procedures (eg, venipuncture, phlebotomy, intravenous insertion), sutures, and wound repair and treatment, among others. Generally, parents desired being present during procedures, wanted to remain stoic for their child, and thought that information would be empowering and relieve stress but felt unsupported in taking an active role. Supporting and educating parents may empower them to lessen pain for their children while undergoing medical procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study was to systematically review quantitative and qualitative studies on the public's knowledge and beliefs about antibiotic resistance.Methods: We searched four databases to July 2014, with no language or study design restrictions. Two reviewers independently extracted data. We calculated the median (IQR) of the proportion of participants who agreed with each statement and synthesized qualitative data by identifying emergent themes.Results: Of 3537 articles screened, 54 studies (41 quantitative, 3 mixed methods and 10 qualitative) were included (55 225 participants). Most studied adults (50; 93% studies) and were conducted in Europe (23; 43%), Asia (14; 26%) or North America (12; 22%). Some participants [median 70% (IQR 50%-84%); n = 8 studies] had heard of antibiotic resistance, but most [median 88% (IQR 86%-89%); n = 2 studies] believed it referred to changes in the human body. Many believed excessive antibiotic use [median 70% (IQR 59%-77%); n = 11 studies] and not completing antibiotic courses [median 62% (IQR 47%-77%); n = 8 studies] caused resistance. Most participants nominated reducing antibiotic use [median 74% (IQR 72%-85%); n = 4 studies] and discussing antibiotic resistance with their clinician (84%, n = 1 study) as strategies to reduce resistance. Qualitative data supported these findings and additionally identified that: participants believed they were at low risk from antibiotic resistance participants; largely attributed its development to the actions of others; and strategies to minimize resistance should be primarily aimed at clinicians.Conclusions: The public have an incomplete understanding of antibiotic resistance and misperceptions about it and its causes and do not believe they contribute to its development. These data can be used to inform interventions to change the public's beliefs about how they can contribute to tackling this global issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of renal anemia in the large and at-risk population of non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is a critical issue. In particular, definition of the optimal hemoglobin (Hb) target for therapy is controversial but highly warranted by physicians and patients worldwide. Recently, international clinical practice guidelines have recommended delayed initiation of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) and lower Hb target levels during maintenance therapy. However, geographical differences in terms of ESA dose needed to achieve a given Hb value can be evidenced, with US patients showing higher prevalence of ESA resistance. On the other hand, non-US patients are often maintained in a higher Hb range by means of low ESA doses. This critical point has never been addressed. Nevertheless, outside of the US, translating the restrictive recommendations of new guidelines, which are essentially based on trials in US patients, can lead to negative effects, such as an increased need for a blood transfusion, and worsening of quality of life. In this article we provide a reappraisal of current recommendations on anemia management in non-dialysis CKD in light of the geographical differences in individual responsiveness to ESA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A key environmental concern is pollution loads released from human activity, since excessive pollutant loads can cause significant public health and/or environmental impacts. A principal objective of environmental regulation is therefore to minimise pollutant releases. The most common approach to assessing and monitoring pollutant loads is through pollutant release databases, with such systems now operating throughout Europe, North America and Australia. This paper has compiled and analysed an extensive data set on Australian coal mining and associated pollutant emissions reported through the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). In Australia, the coal industry has been growing rapidly over recent decades, and this is causing significant community concerns over cumulative environmental impacts. The pollutant loads and intensities from coal mining are analysed in conjunction with production data. The trends identified in this paper provide an important basis to understand the value of pollutant release and transfer registers, such as the NPI, and demonstrate the critical need to integrate such data with ongoing trends in industry and environmental management initiatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In situ measurements of soil moisture are invaluable for calibrating and validating land surface models and satellite-based soil moisture retrievals. In addition, long-term time series of in situ soil moisture measurements themselves can reveal trends in the water cycle related to climate or land cover change. Nevertheless, on a worldwide basis the number of meteorological networks and stations measuring soil moisture, in particular on a continuous basis, is still limited and the data they provide lack standardization of technique and protocol. To overcome many of these limitations, the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN; http://www.ipf.tuwien.ac.at/insitu) was initiated to serve as a centralized data hosting facility where globally available in situ soil moisture measurements from operational networks and validation campaigns are collected, harmonized, and made available to users. Data collecting networks share their soil moisture datasets with the ISMN on a voluntary and no-cost basis. Incoming soil moisture data are automatically transformed into common volumetric soil moisture units and checked for outliers and implausible values. Apart from soil water measurements from different depths, important metadata and meteorological variables (e.g., precipitation and soil temperature) are stored in the database. These will assist the user in correctly interpreting the soil moisture data. The database is queried through a graphical user interface while output of data selected for download is provided according to common standards for data and metadata. Currently (status May 2011), the ISMN contains data of 19 networks and more than 500 stations located in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The time period spanned by the entire database runs from 1952 until the present, although most datasets have originated during the last decade. The database is rapidly expanding, which means that both the number of stations and the time period covered by the existing stations are still growing. Hence, it will become an increasingly important resource for validating and improving satellite-derived soil moisture products and studying climate related trends. As the ISMN is animated by the scientific community itself, we invite potential networks to enrich the collection by sharing their in situ soil moisture data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of recording information on all cancer cases in defined communities dates from the first half of the twentieth century, and there has been a steady growth in the number of such cancer registries since. Originally, they were concerned primarily with describing cancer patterns and trends. Later, many were able to follow up the registered patients and calculate survival. In the last 20 years the role of registries has expanded further to embrace the planning and evaluation of cancer control activities, and the care of individual cancer patients. This Review looks at the current status of cancer registration practice and use from an international perspective, mindful that the registration of cancer has expanded into a global activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Guidelines (GLs) for the management of heart failure (HF) are of great importance in order to define and disseminate therapeutic recommendations based on scientific evidence. The aim was to analyse and to compare the methodological quality of HF GLs as well as to evaluate the consistency of therapeutic recommendations. Methods: Eleven international GLs for the management of chronic HF were identified by search of the internet, electronic databases and references of published literature. Their methodological quality was assessed by two different appraisal instruments: (1) according to the US National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) on a scale from 0 to 17 points, (2) according to the German Guideline Clearinghouse (Agency for Quality in Medicine, AQUMED) on a scale from 0 to 44 points. Clinical criteria for assessment of the consistency of the recommendations included diagnostic testing, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. Results: The quality scores of the GLs varied substantially with a range of 1.5–15.5 points (NGC) and 8–30 points (AQUMED). The greatest variation was found in the dimensions ‘development’ and ‘evidence’. Only 3 of the 11 GLs (&ap;30%) were rated as methodologically well prepared. The recommendations on diagnostic procedures and medical management were rather consistent among the different GLs. Conclusions: Published international GL recommendations on medical management of patients with chronic HF are broadly consistent. The methodological quality of the GLs, however, varies to a great extent. Improvement is needed in most methodological aspects, especially in the dimensions ‘evidence’ and ‘applicability’. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The airtightness of buildings has gained relevance in the last decade. The spread of the regulatory frameworks, the demand of stricter requirements, schemes for testing and quality control, the creation of airtightness databases and its analysis, is proof of this reality. The present review encompasses schemes developed in Europe and North America with regard to these aspects for national residential sectors. A normative framework on requirements and recommendations at the national level is compiled. Whole building airtightness databases are compared based on their structures and measurement data acquisition protocols. Gathered complementary information not directly related to testing is analysed and airtightness influencing factors importance and relationships are discussed. Weaknesses and strengths in the different aspects of the existing database setups are identified. Also, neglected or not entirely undertaken topics are pinpointed together with the suggestion of possible opportunities for future works and changes. Amongst other relevant remarks and discussions, it is concluded that the lack of uniformization in method between countries, the need for a minimum data setup, the lack of data analysis on relating the energy impact with the advancement in requirements of airtightness performance and the implemented setups are some of the main issues to address in the near future. • A thorough review of the regulatory context and the main database schemes on whole building airtightness. • National initiatives differ significantly although international standards are in place. • The absence of regulation on most of southern and eastern European countries hinders the implementation of nZEB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]