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The European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education (EASIE) work focuses upon the collection and analysis of longitudinal, comparative national data related to inclusive education systems and learners with officially recognised special educational needs (SEN) among its 31 member countries. In this article, the EASIE work is discussed in relation to the key concepts of presence, placement, participation and progress within inclusive education systems. The findings of the EASIE work indicate differences and variations between countries in how they respond to all learners' rights to an inclusive education. There are substantial differences in the identification rates of learners identified as having SEN across countries. In addition, the EASIE data shows that all countries use some form of fully segregated settings for some learners, indicating a gap between inclusive education as a societal goal and practice. Possibilities for future, more comprehensive comparative data collection concerning inclusive education systems are discussed.

Abstract In recent years, several pulsar timing array collaborations have reported first hints for a stochastic gravitational wave background at nano-Hertz frequencies. Here we elaborate on the possibility that this signal comes from new physics that leads to the generation of a primordial stochastic gravitational wave background. We propose a set of simple but concrete models that can serve as benchmarks for gravitational waves sourced by cosmological phase transitions, domain wall networks, cosmic strings, axion dynamics, or large scalar fluctuations. These models are then confronted with pulsar timing data and with cosmological constraints. With only a limited number of free parameters per model, we are able to identify viable regions of parameter space and also make predictions for future astrophysical and laboratory tests that can help with model identification and discrimination.

The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has transformed the treatment landscape of metastatic non‐small cell lung cancer. However, challenges remain to increase the fraction of patients achieving durable clinical responses to these drugs and to help monitor the treatment effect. In this phase II trial, we investigated the toxicity, systemic responses and circulating tumour DNA responses in patients (n = 21) with advanced non‐small‐cell lung cancer treated with atezolizumab and stereotactic body radiotherapy in the second or later line. We found the combined treatment to be safe with grade 3 toxicity reported in three patients. As the best overall response, four patients had a partial response, eight had stable disease and five had progressive disease. Median overall survival time was still not reached after a median follow‐up of 26.5 months and 10/15 patients with programmed death‐ligand 1 negative tumours were alive >18 months after the start of the study treatment. ctDNA was detectable at baseline in 11 patients. A rapid decline in ctDNA to

Pedagogical patterns aim at assisting teachers with limited teaching experience with technology-supported solutions to educational problems. In a workshop series, 13 pedagogical patterns were created by upper secondary teachers recognised for their use of technology in teaching. These patterns constitute data for a deductive thematic analysis to understand how they reflect key components of learning theories. The analysis reveals that the learning activities promote individual and reflective learning but that the solutions involve a variety of pedagogical components. The authors conclude that the method suggested for analysis contributes to research within technology-enhanced learning. It can expand knowledge about the pedagogy involved in learning designs that support the use of technology in education. Adopting a participatory design approach in workshops can moreover contribute to the collegial learning of teachers.

Teachers in their practice make choices grounded in their teaching experience resulting in what could be labelled design solutions. An identified problem is that these design solutions stay at the level of individual solutions and do not reach the teaching community. The aim of this article is to study how teachers´ design solutions can be systematically captured, organized, and communicated through design patterns and a pattern language. Building on participatory design we have together with teachers used and adapted the concept of design patterns and pattern languages as a way of capturing, documenting and communicating design problems and solutions to these. This structured approach led to the teachers seeing connections and interrelations between problems, and that a solution to one of these also helped in alleviating other problems. The formulation of design patterns and proposed pattern languages thus gave the teachers an overview of their practice that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. The content of the design patterns show what problems that are dealt with by the teachers through their design solutions. The structure of the final pattern language shows how problems and solutions are connected to larger goals for the teachers, such as improving the communication with students, as well as the importance of sharing good examples between colleagues.

Background: After radical prostatectomy (RP), depending on stage, up to 40% of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) will experience biochemical failure (BF). Despite salvage therapy, approximately one-third of these patients will need permanent hormone therapy (pHT) and are at risk of progression to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). Prognostic markers herald the need for neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or multimodal treatment. Objective: To evaluate the added value of blood LRG1 in predicting treatment failure in patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy (RP). Design, setting, and participants: We quantified LRG1 in serum or plasma sampled before radical prostatectomy from patients from the Martini-Klinik (Martini; n = 423), the Danish CuPCa cohort (CuPCa; n = 182), and Oslo University Hospital (OUH; n = 145). Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: The endpoints were BF, pHT, and CRPC. The association between LRG1 and survival outcomes was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier estimation and Cox proportional-hazards modeling. The added predictive value of LRG1 in nested models was estimated using the concordance index, time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and decision curve analysis. Results and limitations: In multivariable Cox models using preoperative characteristics, LRG1 was associated with an estimated lower risk of BF in the Martini cohort (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52–0.90) and in the CuPCa cohort (aHR 0.47, 95% CI 0.30–0.73). Using preoperative prognostic variables, our data showed that doubling of LRG1 was also associated with a lower risk of pHT receipt in the CuPCa cohort (aHR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20–0.93) and of CRPC development in the OUH cohort (aHR 0.32, 95% CI 0.15–0.69). Similar aHR values were observed using either preoperative or postoperative variables for all endpoints. Conclusions: PCa patients with high blood LRG1 are at lower risk of BF, pHT receipt, and progression to CRPC. Since LRG1 adds value to established prognostic models, new prognostic factor combinations including LRG1 should be considered in future studies. Patient summary: We measured concentrations of the blood-based protein LRG1 before surgery for prostate cancer. Patients with high LRG1 levels had better disease-free survival, suggesting that LRG1 can help in predicting prognosis.

Former transcriptome studies of the ectoparasitic salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) are based on short-read sequencing and in silico predictions, with the disadvantage of inadequately describing splice variants and insufficient differentiation between duplicated genes. In the present study, a de novo full-length transcriptome (TSA accession GKKU00000000) was generated using single-molecule long-read RNA-sequencing (PacBio IsoSeq platform) corrected by short reads (Illumina platform) from the same RNA samples. The two samples, cephalothorax of an adult female and her copepodid offspring, were analyzed separately to facilitate comparison and identification of transcripts unique to each life stage. Each transcript has been supported by two or more full-length non-chimeric reads and at least three short reads, ensuring high-sequence accuracy. A total of 31,092 unique high-accuracy full-length transcripts with an open reading frame > 150 bp, originating from 10,034 unique loci of the salmon louse genome, were identified. More than half of the transcripts are life-stage specific, exclusively present in either the copepodid or adult sample. Approximately one-third of the transcripts were full splice matches with predicted protein coding transcripts presented in NCBI, thus validating these. More than half of the transcripts constituted novel isoforms with at least one new splicing site. We conclude that the full-length transcriptomes represent a versatile reference resource of transcripts. Suitable applications include expression studies, SNP mining, and studies on the biological effects of differences in gene (or isoform) expression between copepodids and adult females. The additional functional annotation of 88% of transcripts allows for identification of gene families of particular interest and for exploration of gene networks and enrichment analysis following expression studies.

Introduction The use of proton therapy increases globally despite a lack of randomised controlled trials demonstrating its efficacy and safety. Proton therapy enables sparing of non-neoplastic tissue from radiation. This is principally beneficial and holds promise of reduced long-term side effects. However, the sparing of seemingly non-cancerous tissue is not necessarily positive for isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutated diffuse gliomas grade 2–3, which have a diffuse growth pattern. With their relatively good prognosis, yet incurable nature, therapy needs to be delicately balanced to achieve a maximal survival benefit combined with an optimised quality of life.Methods and analysis PRO-GLIO (PROton versus photon therapy in IDH-mutated diffuse grade 2 and 3 GLIOmas) is an open-label, multicentre, randomised phase III non-inferiority study. 224 patients aged 18–65 years with IDH-mutated diffuse gliomas grade 2–3 from Norway and Sweden will be randomised 1:1 to radiotherapy delivered with protons (experimental arm) or photons (standard arm). First intervention-free survival at 2 years is the primary endpoint. Key secondary endpoints are fatigue and cognitive impairment, both at 2 years. Additional secondary outcomes include several survival measures, health-related quality of life parameters and health economy endpoints.Ethics and dissemination To implement proton therapy as part of standard of care for patients with IDH-mutated diffuse gliomas grade 2–3, it should be deemed safe. With its randomised controlled design testing proton versus photon therapy, PRO-GLIO will provide important information for this patient population concerning safety, cognition, fatigue and other quality of life parameters. As proton therapy is considerably more costly than its photon counterpart, cost-effectiveness will also be evaluated. PRO-GLIO is approved by ethical committees in Norway (Regional Committee for Medical & Health Research Ethics) and Sweden (The Swedish Ethical Review Authority) and patient inclusion has commenced. Trial results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals, relevant conferences, national and international meetings and expert forums.Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT05190172).

Capturing progression in students' formal knowledge and employability skills is essential in higher education but evokes questions concerning how to assess and monitor progression. While methods for capturing students' formal knowledge progression have traditionally been at the forefront, methods for capturing employability skills have been less researched within higher education. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a method to capture students' progression of formal knowledge and employability skills in higher education. We developed a rubric to monitor case discussions in class and evaluated the rubric by using it while observing case discussions in six professional education programmes involving undergraduate and graduate students. We found that it was possible to capture similar changes in the progression of formal knowledge and skills in all professional programmes. One advantage of using this method is that students can be monitored while they participate in case discussions within their respective curricula.

As information technology continues to evolve rapidly in society, coding skills become increasingly essential to develop. The purpose of this article is to examine differences between the learner-centered and sociocultural approaches when teaching and learning coding in higher education. A quasi-experiment was applied over six academic semesters evaluating the mentioned approaches in terms of students' explicit attitudes, grades, and course evaluations. The findings indicated that the sociocultural approach may be a viable alternative to the learner-centered approach. More specifically, students indicated a preference for the sociocultural approach over the learner-centered approach, a greater number of students who passed the courses were educated via the sociocultural approach, and overall satisfaction was significantly higher for this approach as well. While the sociocultural approach has demonstrated to be advantageous, its integration in courses must concurrently be carefully balanced against constraints that teachers continuously experience in higher education, such as time and resources, which presents a challenge to the design of courses and to academia at large.

Stress and stress-related complaints such as fatigue and depressed mood are common among teachers. Yet, knowledge about the links between the overall level of teacher stress within a school and individual student outcomes is scarce. This study investigates if the levels of teacher-reported stress, fatigue and depressed mood within a school are associated with students' ratings of their school satisfaction and perceived teacher caring, respectively. Data derives from two separate data collections performed in upper secondary schools in 2016, the Stockholm School Survey (SSS) and the Stockholm Teacher Survey (STS), which were linked together (5367 students and 1045 teachers in 46 schools). Two-level linear regression analyses were performed. Results showed negative associations between school-level teacher stress, fatigue, and depressed mood and students' school satisfaction and perceived teacher caring, even when controlling for student- and school-level sociodemographic characteristics. The findings suggest that teacher stress may have negative implications for students.

Teachers cannot presume that their learners have the competence to use the technology brought to the classroom. Therefore, the learners' abilities to use technology may be a concern for teachers. This paper reports on digital competence through an analysis of designs for learning in design patterns, written by upper secondary teachers. Learning activities found in the design patterns were analysed with the aim to understand how teachers perceive the learners' digital competence when using technology. A framework that compromises digital competence was utilised for inferring the digital competencies. The qualitative analysis of these learning activities reveals that competences of information and data literacy, and of communication and collaboration predominate. By analysing the characteristics of learning activities and hence the teachers' ideas of technology use in teaching, it is concluded that design patterns can be used to identify the competences teachers believe are relevant for the learners to acquire. The result therefore involves aspects of how teachers perceive learners' digital competence when using technology in teaching.

Research on how teachers design to support learning and how teachers use different learning designs is still in its infancy. The explorative study reported here aims to approach an understanding of how teachers design learning activities by analysing upper secondary teachers’ design work while using pedagogical patterns. Ten teachers working in pairs of two were invited to design and document learning activities based on pedagogical patterns. The findings reveal that (1) pedagogical patterns inspire teachers to embark on a design process that aligns with their own context, and (2) teachers’ design processes share common general design characteristics and are, among other things, different, dynamic, unpredictable, and unsystematic. It is concluded that knowledge about teachers’ design processes and the use of learning designs may inform researchers on how to develop design-supporting tools and resources.

It is a well-known fact that family background characteristics affect school achievement, and according to Swedish law, school should play a compensatory role to outweigh such differences. Previous research has demonstrated that a strong school ethos is associated with higher student achievement, but whether school ethos can play a compensatory role for family background has not been investigated to the same extent. This study examines whether the predictive capacity of students’ family background on school achievement is moderated by school ethos. Data were derived from 9,349 ninth grade students (15–16 years) and 2,176 teachers in 159 school units in Stockholm. Multilevel linear regression analyses showed that family background characteristics, as well as school ethos, were associated with student achievement. School ethos did not, however, moderate the association between family background and school achievement. The results suggest that school ethos does not play a compensatory role, but rather, promotes school achievement for all students alike.

The recovery and conservation of large carnivores can negatively impact the economy of traditional pastoralist societies, including indigenous reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) herding communities. Quantifying the magnitude of predation on livestock is critical to evaluating governmental carnivore compensation schemes. We collaborated with two Sámi herding communities in northern Sweden (2010–2012) to examine brown bear (Ursus arctos) predation patterns on semi-domesticated reindeer and quantify the economic impact of bear predation. Predation patterns were estimated by following 21 GPS proximity-collared bears and ~2500 transmitter-collared female reindeer during calving season. We calculated economic impact by multiplying the monetary value of reindeer by the expected number lost to bears. On average, bears killed 10.2 [8.6, 11.5] calves per bear, accounting for 39−62% of all calf mortality, while few adult reindeer were killed. Bear kill rates increased with time spent in the calving area, and varied widely by individual and reproductive status, e.g., females with cubs-of-the-year did not kill calves. Kill intervals increased over the parturition season, and were larger for sub-adults than adults. The mean reindeer calf predation rate was 16–27%, which resulted in an annual loss between ~€50,000 and ~€62,000 per herding group. Current compensation schemes for herding communities in Sweden are calculated as a fixed rate based on herding community land-area. The herding groups in our study were reimbursed for ~2% of realized monetary loss. Compensation schemes based on herding community area, rather than realized predation patterns, may be less effective at mitigating the economic impact of living with large carnivores.

Abstract Background Lower‐leg injury and knee arthroscopy are both associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE). The mechanism of VTE in both situations is unknown, including the role of procoagulant microparticles. This may provide useful information for individualizing thromboprophylactic treatment in both patient groups. Objective We aimed to study the effect of (1) lower‐leg trauma and (2) knee arthroscopy on procoagulant phospholipid‐dependent (PPL) activity plasma levels. Methods POT‐(K)CAST trial participants who did not develop VTE were randomly selected for the current study. Plasma was collected shortly after lower‐leg trauma or before and after knee arthroscopy. For aim 1, samples of 67 patients with lower‐leg injury were compared with control samples (preoperative samples of 74 patients undergoing arthroscopy). Linear regression was used to obtain mean ratios (natural logarithm retransformed data), adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, infections, and comorbidities. For aim 2, pre‐ and postoperative samples of 49 patients undergoing arthroscopy were compared using paired t tests. PPL activity was measured using modified activated factor X–dependent PPL clotting assay. Results For aim 1, PPL activity levels were almost threefold higher in patients with lower‐leg injury compared with controls, that is, mean ratio, 2.82 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.98‐4.03). For aim 2, postoperative PPL activity levels did not change significantly, that is, mean change, −0.72 mU/mL (95% CI, −2.03 to 0.59). Conclusion Lower‐leg trauma was associated with increased plasma levels of PPL activity, in contrast to knee arthroscopy. Lower‐leg trauma triggers the release of procoagulant microparticles.

Educational change initiatives, whether they involve the implementation of new policies or curriculum reforms, often fail to reach the level of teachers' classroom practices. In the search for explanations, numerous studies have either characterized teachers as resistant to change or focused on how schools' workplace conditions have failed to influence teacher change. This study draws attention to these issues by investigating teachers' perceptions of the degree to which a national curriculum reform has brought about changes in their teaching. The study also proposes a model of how teachers' perceptions of school-based conditions (i.e., school leadership, teacher collaboration, and development of school-based curricula) are related to teachers' general orientations towards change and teachers' perceptions of change as a result of the reform. The participants were 738 Norwegian teachers in public primary and lower secondary schools, and the data were analyzed using descriptive data, correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).The results indicate that the overall influence of the reform on teachers' teaching was moderate. The results also revealed positive relationships between teachers' perceptions of school-based conditions, teachers' general orientations towards change and the degree of perceived reform changes in teachers' teaching. However, a surprising finding is that school leadership and teacher collaboration were only indirectly related to teachers' perceptions of reform changes, mediated through teachers' general orientations towards change. The article highlights important relationships between educational reform, school-based conditions and teachers. It also contributes knowledge that is relevant to consider for successful reform of schools and education.

Anatomical changes during chemoradiation for lung cancer may decrease dose to the target or increase dose to organs at risk. To assess our ability to identify clinically significant anatomical alterations, we followed 67 lung cancer patients by daily cone-beam CT scans to ensure correct patient positioning and observe anatomical alterations. We also re-calculated the original dose distribution on a planned control CT scan obtained halfway during the treatment course to identify anatomical changes that potentially affected doses to the target or organs at risk. Of 66 patients who completed the treatment, 12 patients needed adaptation, two patients were adapted twice. We conclude that daily cone-beam CT and routines at the treatment machine discover relevant anatomical changes during curative radiotherapy for patients with lung cancer without additional imaging.

Abstract Growing evidence supports a role for extracellular vesicles (EVs) in haemostasis and thrombosis due to exposure of negatively charged procoagulant phospholipids (PPL). Current commercial PPL-dependent clotting assays use chemically phospholipid depleted plasma to measure PPL activity. The purpose of our study was to modify the PPL assay by substituting the chemically phospholipid depleted plasma with PPL depleted plasma obtained by ultracentrifugation This in order to get readily access to a sensitive and reliable assay to measure PPL activity in human plasma and cell supernatants. The performance of the assay was tested, including the influence of individual coagulation factors and postprandial lipoproteins and compared to a commercial PPL assay (STA-Procoag-PPL). The two PPL assays displayed similar sensitivity to exogenously added standardized phospholipids. The PPL activity measured by the modified assay strongly correlates with the results from the commercial assay. The intraday- and between-days coefficients of variation ranged from 2–4% depending on the PPL activity in the sample. The modified PPL assay was insensitive to postprandial lipoprotein levels in plasma, as well as to tissue factor (TF) positive EVs from stimulated whole blood. Our findings showed that the modified assay performed equal to the comparator, and was insensitive to postprandial lipoproteins and TF+ EVs.

Artikkelen handler om nettverkssamarbeid mellom skoleledere, og formålet er å undersøke hvordan læring i og lederutvikling gjennom ledernettverk forstås fra rektorers og skoleeiers perspektiv, og hva som eventuelt gjør nettverk funksjonelle og levedyktige. Artikkelen baserer seg på data fra intervjuer med 6 rektorer og en representant for skoleeier i en kommune i Sør-Norge. Skoleledernettverk, som tidligere ble dannet på selvstendig initiativ, er etter hvert blitt en obligatorisk innretning hvor skoleeier har en viss innflytelse på agendaen. Studien søker å belyse nettverkssamarbeid som arena for læring og støtte i en tid da det stilles store forventninger og krav til skoleledere, og hvor vi ser at rekruttering til lederjobber i skolen svikter. Våre funn bekrefter i stor grad tidligere forskning og viser at samarbeidet i ledernettverkene virker utviklende og støttende for deltakerne når det gjelder å lede det langsiktige, planmessige arbeidet med skoleutvikling og i håndtering av mer rutinemessige driftsoppgaver. Sentrale trekk ved nettverkene som fremmer funksjonaliteten, er at de har en ledelse, at de har en grunnleggende struktur for samarbeidet, og at de oppleves som nyttige og formålstjenlige for deltakerne. For skoleeier er ledernettverkene en strategi for informasjonsdeling og lederutvikling.

Cheating is a more or less prominent feature of all educational contexts, but few studies have examined its association with aspects of school effectiveness theory. With recently collected data from upper-secondary school students and their teachers, this study aims to examine whether three aspects of school effectiveness--school leadership, teacher cooperation and consensus, and school ethos--are predictive of student's self-reported cheating, while also taking student- and school-level sociodemographic characteristics as well as student grades and moral standards into consideration. The study is based on combined data from two surveys: one targeting students and the other targeting teachers. The data cover upper secondary schools in Stockholm and includes information from 4529 students and 1045 teachers in 46 schools. Due to the hierarchical data, multilevel modelling was applied, using two-level binary logistic regression analyses. Results show significant negative associations between all three aspects of school effectiveness and student cheating, indicating that these conditions are important to consider in the pursuit of a more ethical, legitimate and equitable education system. Our findings also indicate that the relationship between school effectiveness and student cheating is partly mediated by student grades and moral standards.

The effective schools literature has shown that school-contextual aspects matter for students' academic and social outcomes. A potential link here may be the quality of the relationships between teachers and students, but few studies have investigated whether features of school effectiveness are in fact associated with students' perceptions of teacher caring, which is the main purpose of this study. Based on recently collected data from 150 senior-level school units in Stockholm, school effectiveness in terms of teacher-assessed 'school leadership', 'teacher cooperation and consensus', and 'school ethos' (n = 2073) was analyzed in relation to perceived teacher caring as reported by students (n = 8022). Two-level linear regression analyses showed that all three aspects of school effectiveness were predictive of higher levels of perceived teacher caring among students. The findings suggest that these features of school effectiveness constitute an important foundation for promoting the quality of teachers' relationships with their students.