Search

Mathematics Education Researchers' work in interdisciplinary research groups can be enriching and challenging in terms of communication, work processes, institutional support, and the translation of findings into viable results for existing disciplines. We contend that there is a need to explore practices (i.e., ways of being, operating, and interacting with others) in these groups. We searched Scopus and ERIC databases to find published works of interdisciplinary groups involving at least one Mathematics Education Researcher, which led us to five articles in peer-reviewed mathematics education journals. Thematic analysis of these articles helped us identify three practices: (1) working toward research interests, (2) cultivating trust and open-mindedness, and (3) understanding institutional support. We argue that consideration of these practices can facilitate Mathematics Education Researchers' interdisciplinary collaborations. Further research documenting Mathematics Education Researchers' interactions within interdisciplinary research groups is needed.

Despite the use of axiomatic definitions for mathematical concepts, scholars struggle to produce a single definition of angle that does not have some limitations. Textbooks' treatment of angle and its measure reflects this multifaceted nature of the angle concept while informing the different ways learners conceive of these concepts. In this study, I investigated the concept definitions provoked by textbook representations (e.g. diagrams) of radian angle measure. Seven prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) participated in a think-aloud semi-structured interview and defined radian angle measure through examining six diagrams. A thematic analysis of concept definitions indicated that interacting with different representations provoked various concept definitions. Some provoked concept definitions focused on defining one radian. Other definitions indicated different quantitative operations (e.g. iteration, partitioning, proportionality). To provide learners opportunities to conceptualise radian angle measure quantitatively, teachers and curriculum developers are encouraged to incorporate multiple representations of radian angle measure into instructional materials.

In this article, the author presents a Desmos activity where students adjust the measures of angles in radians to reposition a laser and a mirror so the beam passes through three stationary targets. This Radian Lasers activity can be extended to simulate project-based learning (PBL), a pedagogical approach for applying concepts and skills from various disciplines to a specified project. Students apply what they learn about angle measure and light reflection by designing a periscope.

This review aimed at systematically mapping and summarizing the evidence on non-pharmacological interventions that targeted patient satisfaction in inpatient acute settings. Methods: Three electronic databases were searched, including PubMed, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect. The inclusion criteria were: (1) studies of non-pharmacological interventions to improve patients' satisfaction and targeting inpatients between the ages of 19 and 65 years old; (2) studies written in English and published in the last 10 years, starting from 2017. The search results were imported and screened for eligibility on Covidence. The data was then extracted, using a tool entered in Covidence's Extraction 2.0. The extraction tool included domains on both intervention impact and delivery processes. Results: A total of 11 articles met the inclusion criteria. Randomized control trials represented the most among the group; seven studies were included given that the others were quasi-experimental studies. Those studies were conducted on the different types of services offered in acute care departments. These studies did not use a standardized questionnaire to evaluate their respective trial outcomes or to implement various adapted or adopted modules of intervention. Of note, the intervention was effective in enhancing patient satisfaction in only some of the studies. Conclusion: Different types of intervention modules have been effective in improving acute care patient satisfaction. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention among all patients in different acute care departments at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies of angle, angle measure, and radian angle measure have primarily focused on documenting students' and teachers' conceptions. Representations of angle measure have the potential to inform and build on these conceptions. To gain insight into the concept of radian angle measure from a curricular perspective, I investigated the representations of radian angle measure in eight widely used U.S. high school mathematics textbooks. The data for this study are the 20 figures and the 8 definitions of radian angle measure in the textbooks. Inductive content analysis was used to identify the frequency of observable characteristics in the representations. Textbook figures of radian angle measure most frequently focus on a one-radian angle. Textbook figures also demonstrated radian angle measures in terms of p, in standard position, even when the Cartesian-coordinate plane was not in the figure. The frequently used characteristics of radian representations could inadvertently reinforce a qualitative concept of angle, instead of fostering the quantitative attributes of radian angle measure. Moving forward, analyzing conceptions that are evoked by the frequently used representations of radian angle measure could build a link between evidence from this study and studies of learning.

Background: Obesity is a pathological condition and a major risk factor for dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Recent research highlighted the association of non-invasive serum markers with these conditions but the clinical utility of ALT APRI in obesity and its relationship with dyslipidemia remain unexplored. Methods: We examined the association of ALT APRI in 165 non-diabetic adults stratified by BMI and serum lipid parameters. Results: Obese subjects had significantly higher APRI than lean subjects, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.65 (p = 0.019). Medians of APRI were significantly increased in subjects with high TG, TG/HDL, TC/HDL, and LDL/HDL and low HDL. Notably, all lipid parameters and ratios were significantly elevated in the highest APRI tertile, compared with patients in the lowest tertile. APRI was weakly yet significantly correlated with BMI (R2 = 0.032, p = 0.022), HDL (R2 = 0.071), TG/HDL (R2 = 0.031), TC/HDL (R2 = 0.063), LDL/HDL (R2 = 0.072), and TyG index (R2 = 0.081). While APRI only showed a discriminating capacity for HDL (AUC: 0.69, p = 0.003), TG/HDL (AUC: 0.63, p = 0.020), LDL/HDL (AUC: 0.68, p < 0.001), and TyG index (AUC: 0.65, p = 0.037), the highest diagnostic performance of APRI was observed with TC/HDL (AUC: 0.74, p < 0.001). Additionally, APRI was a risk factor for high TG (OR: 1.6, p = 0.028), low HDL (OR: 2.7, p = 0.0002), high TG/HDL (OR: 1.94, p = 0.0011), high TC/HDL (OR: 2.3, p < 0.0001), high LDL/HDL (OR: 2.2, p = 0.0001), and high TyG index (OR: 2.1, p = 0.008). Conclusions: Our findings argue for the role of APRI as a potential marker for obesity and dyslipidemia, which requires further confirmation in longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study was performed to identify predictive markers of worse outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19 in an intensive care unit. Methods: Sixty patients with severe COVID-19, hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) between March and July 2021, were stratified into two groups according to the outcome survivors and non-survivors. After admission to the ICU, blood samples were collected directly for biomarker analysis. Routine hematological and biochemical biomarkers, as well as serum levels of cytokines, chemokines, and immunoglobulins, were investigated. Results: Lymphopenia, neutrophilia, and thrombocytopenia were more pronounced in non-surviving patients, while the levels of CRP, AST, creatinine, ferritin, AST, troponin I, urea, magnesium, and potassium were higher in the non-surviving group than the survival group. In addition, serum levels of IL-10, CCL2, CXCL9, and CXCL10 were significantly increased in patients who did not survive. These changes in the biomarkers evaluated were associated with increased mortality in patients with severe COVID-19. Conclusion: The present study confirmed and expanded the validity of laboratory biomarkers as indicators of mortality in severe COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Work engagement is affected by many psychological variables including emotional intelligence, psychological empowerment, and resilience that are not well-studied among nurses. Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of emotional intelligence on the work engagement of critical care nurses, and the mediating role of resilience and psychological empowerment. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted in this study among 150 critical care nurses at one university hospital in Saudi Arabia. Independent t-test and correlational analysis were used to assess relationships between study variables. A multi-step regression model was used to assess the mediatory effect. Results: The results showed that a statistically significant positive association exists between each of the study variables (p < 0.01). The regression model showed that higher resilience (p < 0.001) and psychological empowerment (p < 0.001) predicted higher work engagement. The model predicted 33.3% of the changes in work engagement scores among critical care nurses. Conclusion: To enhance work performance and quality of care rendered at critical care units, higher emphasis should be placed on emotional intelligence and other significant psychological variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psoriasis, a chronic autoimmune condition, imposes significant burdens on patients' well-being. While corticosteroid medications are commonly used, their prolonged use presents risks. Statins, known for their immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory properties, have emerged as potential alternatives. Previous reviews indicated that statins might improve psoriasis symptoms but showed inconsistent results and lacked meta-analyses that generated pooled effect estimates. Therefore, this study addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the impact of statins on psoriasis severity and quality of life (QoL) for patients with psoriasis. Methods: A thorough search of four electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and Science Direct) was conducted for relevant studies published before April 2024. Results: Seven studies involving 369 patients were included. This meta-analysis showed a statistically significant reduction in PASI scores at week 8 with statin treatment (MD = −1.96, 95% CI [−3.14, −0.77], p = 0.001). However, no statistically significant difference was found between statins and placebo at week 12 (MD = 0.19, 95% CI [−0.18, 0.55]). Additionally, DLQI scores indicated a significant improvement in quality of life with statins compared to placebo (MD = −3.16, 95% CI [−5.55, −0.77]). Conclusions: Statins can improve disease severity and quality of life in psoriasis patients, suggesting the potential benefits of statin therapy. However, further research is needed to determine the optimal treatment duration, address outcome heterogeneity, and explore additional benefits such as cholesterol and triglyceride reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study was performed to identify predictive markers of worse outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19 in an intensive care unit., Methods: Sixty patients with severe COVID-19, hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) between March and July 2021, were stratified into two groups according to the outcome survivors and non-survivors. After admission to the ICU, blood samples were collected directly for biomarker analysis. Routine hematological and biochemical biomarkers, as well as serum levels of cytokines, chemokines, and immunoglobulins, were investigated., Results: Lymphopenia, neutrophilia, and thrombocytopenia were more pronounced in non-surviving patients, while the levels of CRP, AST, creatinine, ferritin, AST, troponin I, urea, magnesium, and potassium were higher in the non-surviving group than the survival group. In addition, serum levels of IL-10, CCL2, CXCL9, and CXCL10 were significantly increased in patients who did not survive. These changes in the biomarkers evaluated were associated with increased mortality in patients with severe COVID-19., Conclusion: The present study confirmed and expanded the validity of laboratory biomarkers as indicators of mortality in severe COVID-19., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 dos Santos Medeiros, Sousa Lino, Perez, Sousa, Campana, Miyajima, Carvalho-Silva, Dejani, de Sousa Fernandes, Yagin, Al-Hashem, Elkholi, Alyami and Souto.)