Search

Research on reducing the movement of pests on wood products has led to several options for safer trade including heat treatment of wood to mitigate pests. In this study, pathogenic organisms commonly regulated in the trade of forest products were tested to determine the minimum heat dose (temperature and time) required to cause mortality. The mycelial stage of tree pathogens, Heterobasidion occidentale, Grosmannia clavigera, Bretziella fagacearum, Phytophthora cinnamomi, P. lateralis, P. ramorum and P. xmultiformis, which may be found in untreated wood products, were tested in vitro using the Humble water bath with parameters simulating the rate of heat applied to wood in a commercial kiln. RNA detection using reverse transcription real-time PCR was used to validate pathogen mortality following treatment for: P. ramorum, P. lateralis, P. cinnamomi, P. xmultiformis and G. clavigera. The lethal temperature for all pathogens ranged from 44 to 50°C for a 30-min treatment duration. Using this method to evaluate heat treatment for other forest product pests is recommended to accurately identify the minimum dose required to support phytosanitary trade. With more data potentially lower heat treatment applications may be recommended under specific conditions to produce more efficient and economical heat treatment schedules and reduce environmental impacts.

Arid tropical archipelagos, such as the Galapagos Islands, host a high concentration of endemic plant species, many of which require restoration intervention to recover from past environmental degradation. Water-saving technologies (WSTs) have potential for hastening restoration by providing plants with additional water during the early stages of growth. However, it remains unclear whether such technologies provide an advantage for plant species of arid-tropical regions. This study examined the effect of the water-saving technology Groasis Waterboxx® (Groasis) on the rare endemic plant species Scalesia affinis ssp. brachyloba during early stages of restoration. Survival was monitored for 374 individuals planted across six sites on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos (326 with technology and 48 as controls). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the use of Groasis reduced mortality during the first two years of the seedling survival. A mixed-effect logistic regression that modelled plant survival as a function of total precipitation, maximum temperature, and WST treatment (Groasis and no-technology control) found that despite low overall survival rates, plants grown with Groasis exhibited a three-fold higher predicted survival by the end of the 3.7 year duration of the study. Finally, through a resampling method, we demonstrate that the effect of the WST treatment is not dependent on the unbalanced design typical of a restoration project framework. We conclude that water-saving technologies such as the Groasis Waterboxx® can enhance survival of rare plant species such as S. affinis ssp. brachyloba in restoration programs in arid-tropical regions.

Abstract Background Air pollution derived from combustion is associated with considerable cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality in addition to environmental effects. Replacing petrodiesel with biodiesel may have ecological benefits, but impacts on human health remain unquantified. The objective was to compare acute cardiovascular effects of blended and pure biodiesel exhaust exposure against known adverse effects of petrodiesel exhaust (PDE) exposure in human subjects. In two randomized controlled double-blind crossover studies, healthy volunteers were exposed to PDE or biodiesel exhaust for one hour. In study one, 16 subjects were exposed, on separate occasions, to PDE and 30% rapeseed methyl ester biodiesel blend (RME30) exhaust, aiming at PM10 300 μg/m3. In study two, 19 male subjects were separately exposed to PDE and exhaust from a 100% RME fuel (RME100) using similar engine load and exhaust dilution. Generated exhaust was analyzed for physicochemical composition and oxidative potential. Following exposure, vascular endothelial function was assessed using forearm venous occlusion plethysmography and ex vivo thrombus formation was assessed using a Badimon chamber model of acute arterial injury. Biomarkers of inflammation, platelet activation and fibrinolysis were measured in the blood. Results In study 1, PDE and RME30 exposures were at comparable PM levels (314 ± 27 μg/m3; (PM10 ± SD) and 309 ± 30 μg/m3 respectively), whereas in study 2, the PDE exposure concentrations remained similar (310 ± 34 μg/m3), but RME100 levels were lower in PM (165 ± 16 μg/m3) and PAHs, but higher in particle number concentration. Compared to PDE, PM from RME had less oxidative potential. Forearm infusion of the vasodilators acetylcholine, bradykinin, sodium nitroprusside and verapamil resulted in dose-dependent increases in blood flow after all exposures. Vasodilatation and ex vivo thrombus formation were similar following exposure to exhaust from petrodiesel and the two biodiesel formulations (RME30 and RME100). There were no significant differences in blood biomarkers or exhaled nitric oxide levels between exposures. Conclusions Despite differences in PM composition and particle reactivity, controlled exposure to biodiesel exhaust was associated with similar cardiovascular effects to PDE. We suggest that the potential adverse health effects of biodiesel fuel emissions should be taken into account when evaluating future fuel policies. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01337882 /NCT01883466. Date of first enrollment March 11, 2011, registered April 19, 2011, i.e. retrospectively registered.

Investigating on what school- and student-level factors are related to pupils' learning orientations was the main purpose of this study. The study used a sample of 2917 middle school pupils across Turkey. The Test of Science Related Attitude, Learning Approach Questionnaire and the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire were utilised as data collection tools. Analysis revealed that there were significant differences in pupils' learning orientations with respect to both meaningful learning orientation and rote learning orientation. When learning and motivational factors were examined it was found that performance goal orientation and learning goal orientation positively contributed to both meaningful learning and rote learning orientations. Upon examination of sub-dimensions of attitudes toward science, it was determined that the adaptation of scientific attitudes and leisure interest in science made positive and significant contributions to meaningful learning orientation while enjoyment of science lessons contributed to students' meaningful learning orientation negatively. With respect to rote learning orientation, both adaptation of scientific attitudes and enjoyment of science lessons negatively contributed.

The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between social media usage behaviors of primary school teacher candidates and their social media addiction levels. The study was designed using relational screening model. The study group is composed of 230 primary school teacher candidates from the education faculty of a state school in the school year of 2018-2019. With a view to establishing differences between the groups, independent sampling t-test and ANOVA test were used, and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between the variables. Data obtained through the analysis suggests that while there is a significant difference between the groups in terms of the variables of gender, duration of daily social media use and frequency of daily social media account check, no significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of social media addiction based on year grades. In addition, the outcome of the correlation analysis demonstrates a weak positive correlation between the respective social media account and the level of social media addiction and a moderate positive correlation between the number of stories posted from social media accounts per month and the level of social media addiction. The findings were discussed throughout the article and some suggestions were offered.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the problems and suggestions of the elementary science teachers having students with special needs in the inclusive education applications. The present study is a descriptive study which determines the opinions of elementary science teachers regarding inclusive education. Thirty-seven in-service science teachers who have been working in schools where inclusive education is applied in different cities of Turkey participated in the study. Data were collected through structured interview form. Thirty-seven interview forms were completed with thirty-seven teachers working in the elementary schools. In an explicit coding process, the researchers grouped each data unit under a category according to common features. In the axial coding process, themes with characteristics similar to categories were classified and determined. When the themes emerged and in the selective coding process, the researchers tried to give meaning to these synthesized patterns. After the data was collected and analyzed, the following four main themes emerged: How do they deal with the inclusive student, the problems encountered in the classrooms where there are inclusive students, the methods applied, and the solutions suggested.

Purpose: In the literature, there are lots of quantitative studies regarding students' attitudes, and results of the studies revealed that students have negative attitudes towards science. Therefore, it is necessary to study the factors that predict the attitudes of the students towards science taking into account the factors at both the school and the student level. The purpose of this study was to investigate what school- and student-level factors are associated with student' attitudes towards science. Research Methods: The overall design of this study is mainly a cross-sectional survey and correlational. The convenience sampling method was used in this study and 2975 elementary students in different schools and cities of Turkey constituted the sample of this study. The Test of Science Related Attitude, Learning Approach Questionnaire, Achievement Motivation Questionnaire, School Background Questionnaire were used as data collection tools. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was selected as a modeling technique for data analyses. Findings: This study provides a general overview about students' attitudes towards science. The quality of school's educational resources, learning and motivational factors, factors related to student feelings and outside activities, and some student characteristics significantly contributed to the students' attitudes towards science. Implications for Research and Practice: Enriching science lessons with materials, increasing students' curiosity, making them learn by discovering and making them do experiments have potentials to contribute students' attitudes, and experimental research can be used to explore these effects. In order to examine the reasons why students like science or not in detail, qualitative studies should also be conducted.

BackgroundThe use of professional interpretation is associated with improvements in overall healthcare of patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). For these patients, it is important to understand whether quality of professional interpretation in-person is preserved using remote interpretation modalities (video-conferencing, telephone).ObjectiveTo compare patient perceptions of professional interpretation quality delivered in-person, via video-conferencing, or via telephone during in-person primary care clinical visits.DesignSecondary analysis of a telephone survey conducted within 1 week after a primary care visit PARTICIPANTS: The 326 Chinese and Latino survey participants with LEP who reported using a professional interpreter-in-person, video medical conferencing (VMI), or telephone-during their visit MAIN MEASURES: Six items about the quality of interpretation: five detailed items scored as a scale, and a sixth overall quality item (range 1 = poor to 5 = excellent) KEY RESULTS: While there was a range for all modalities, most patients reported "very good" or "excellent" quality on both the scale and the overall single quality measure. In adjusted analysis, patients rated VMI quality the highest, followed by in-person and then telephone on both the 5-item scale (adjusted means: VMI 3.91, in-person 3.86, telephone 3.73) and the overall single quality item (adjusted means: VMI 3.94, in-person 3.85, telephone 3.83); however, no two-way comparisons were statistically significant (p values ranged 0.15-0.95).ConclusionsOur results highlight that, overall, the interpretation experience among patients who used any type of professional interpretation was positive, and that the quality found with in-person interpretation is preserved for remote modalities. Health systems should consider a multimodality approach to interpreter service provision including options for accessing professional interpreters via all three modalities based on communication and access needs.

"Creative Little Scientists" was a 30-month (2011-2014) EU/FP7-funded research project focusing on the synergies between early years science and mathematics education and the development of children's creativity, in response to increasing interest in these areas in European educational policy. Using a variety of methods, including desk research, a teacher survey and classroom-based fieldwork, the research provided insights into whether and how children's creativity is fostered and appropriate learning outcomes, including children's interest, emerge. Based on these and ongoing collaboration and dialogue with participants and other stakeholders the project proposed recommendations for policy and teacher education. This paper presents these recommendations and the research on which they were based. Throughout the study, mixed methods were employed, combining quantitative approaches used in surveys of policy and teachers' views based on a list of factors, alongside qualitative approaches employed in case studies of classroom practice. A strong conceptual framework developed at the start of the project guided data collection and analysis, as well as the presentation of findings and the development of policy recommendations, thus ensuring the latter's strong and consistent relationship with the relevant theoretical knowledge, the comparative research, analysis of classroom practices and the production of guidelines for teacher education.