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In 2018 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched its International Early Learning Child Well-being Study (IELS), also known as Baby PISA. In the first round of data collection, the IELS focused on three OECD countries: England, Estonia and the United States. In this article we show that a similar study of pre-schoolers to IELS took place in Mexico -- EXCALE for Pre-school -- and argue there is much the research community can learn from an empirical study of this initiative. Our novel comparative study draws on data from policy documents and interviews with sub-national and municipal education officials in Mexico. We reveal how EXCALE for Pre-school led to a narrowing of teaching practices and standardising student assessment aimed at 5-year-olds. We argue that the Mexican case shows how large-scale assessments bring early years learners into the orbit of official state governing, and that assessment now drives those pedagogical practices that limit the diversity of learning experiences of pre-schoolers.

Abstract The CMS detector, including its muon system, has been operating at the CERN LHC in increasingly challenging conditions for about 15 years. The muon detector was designed to provide excellent triggering and track reconstruction for muons produced in proton–proton collisons at an instantaneous luminosity ( $$\mathcal {L}$$ L ) of $$1 \times 10^{34}$$ 1 × 10 34 cm $$^{-2}$$ - 2 s $$^{-1}$$ - 1 . During the Run 2 data-taking period (2015–2018), the LHC achieved an instantaneous luminosity of twice its design value, resulting in larger background rates and making the efficient detection of muons more difficult. While some backgrounds result from natural radioactivity, cosmic rays, and interactions of the circulating protons with residual gas in the beam pipe, the dominant source of background hits in the muon system arises from proton–proton interactions themselves. Charged hadrons leaving the calorimeters produce energy deposits in the muon chambers. In addition, high-energy particles interacting in the hadron calorimeter and forward shielding elements generate thermal neutrons, which leak out of the calorimeter and shielding structures, filling the CMS cavern. We describe the method used to measure the background rates in the various muon subsystems. These rates, in conjunction with simulations, can be used to estimate the expected backgrounds in the High-Luminosity LHC. This machine will run for at least 10 years starting in 2029 reaching an instantaneous luminosity of $$\mathcal {L} = 5 \times \text {10}^\text {34}\,\text {cm}^\text {-2}\,\text {s}^\text {-1}$$ L = 5 × 10 34 cm -2 s -1 and increasing ultimately to $$\mathcal {L} = 7.5 \times \text {10}^\text {34}\,\text {cm}^\text {-2}\,\text {s}^\text {-1}$$ L = 7.5 × 10 34 cm -2 s -1 . These background estimates have been a key ingredient for the planning and design of the muon detector upgrade.

Objectives. To determine the requirement and time to mechanical ventilation and Intensive Care Unit (ICU), hospitalization and hospitalization time, death and disability of the axonal variants of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in comparison with the acute demyelinating variant in patients of all the ages. Materials and methods. The systematic review that included patients with GBS. The exposure variable was the axonal variants and the comparator was acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP). The outcomes were the requirement and time on mechanical ventilation (MV), requirement and time in the ICU, hospitalization time, disability and death. The NewCasttle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess risk of bias. A meta-analysis was conducted to calculate mean differences and relative risks (RR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) using inverse variances and random effects models. Results. Of the 3116 articles found, 46 met the selection criteria. The time on MV was 7.42 days (95% CI: 0.36 to 1.48) and the hospitalization time was 3.11 (95% CI: 0.73 to 5.49) days for the axonal variants. The axonal variants had a RR of 0.47 (95% CI: 0.24 to 0.92) for the requirement of MV in adults, but it was 1.68 (95% CI: 1.25 to 2.25) in children. There was a high statistical heterogeneity. Conclusions. Axonal variants showed, on average, longer MV and hospitalization time, overall and by subgroups. A high MV requirement was found for axonal variants in children; it was lower for adults.

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo el estudio de la influencia de los cambios horarios en los turnos de trabajo sobre la salud, el descanso y el estrés percibido de las tripulaciones del Ejército del Aire Español desplegados en operaciones. Se seleccionó una muestra de 32 militares todos de sexo masculino y de edades comprendidas entre los 28 y los 53 años (M = 38.06; DT = 7.91) pertenecientes a una Unidad tipo Ala del Ejército del Aire. La evaluación se llevó a cabo en dos momentos, antes y durante la misión y tuvo en cuenta variables fisiológicas como la temperatura y el ritmo de actividad medidas por medio de sensores, así como una evaluación psicológica y subjetiva por medio de: la Escala de Matutinidad-Vespertinidad, el Índice de Calidad del sueño de Pittsburgh, la Escala de Somnolencia de Epworth y la Escala de Estrés Percibido. Los resultados mostraron como al perder regularidad periódica en los ciclos biológicos, los sujetos experimentan una menor calidad de su tiempo de descanso y los eventos se valoran como más estresantes. Se concluye que hay una tendencia a la pérdida de estabilidad y consistencia de los ritmos durante la misión: se debilitan y aparecen los problemas relacionados con el sueño.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar la relación entre el funcionamiento familiar y el autoconcepto en adolescentes de una Unidad Educativa en la ciudad de Guaranda, Ecuador. En base a investigaciones previas y a observaciones preliminares en la institución, se ha considerado que la disfuncionalidad en el núcleo familiar limita las verdaderas potencialidades de los adolescentes. La metodología estuvo basada en el paradigma pospositivista, es cuantitativa, con alcance descriptivo y correlacional, no experimental de corte transversal. Se utilizaron el Cuestionario de Percepción del Funcionamiento Familiar y el Autoconcepto Forma 5, participaron 372 estudiantes de entre 15 a 19 años de segundo y tercero de bachillerato, con un 56,2 % mujeres y 43,8 % varones. Se obtuvieron puntuaciones moderadas, tanto en el funcionamiento familiar como en el autoconcepto. Se obtuvo una correlación positiva moderada (r=0,422; p: 0,01), por ende, se concluye que, a mayor funcionamiento familiar, mayor autoconcepto en los adolescentes.

Objetivo: El objetivo de éste estudio fue evaluar la intensidad de luz de las lámparas de fotocurado comercializadas en Guayaquil a un corto y mediano plazo, comparándolas con un valor inicial obtenido mediante la medición de la intensidad de luz de lámparas de fotocurado nuevas, además de determinar el porcentaje de lámparas de fotocurado utilizadas por odontólogos en Guayaquil que cumplen con el nivel de intensidad de luz mínimo (600 mW/cm2 ). Materiales y métodos: Se utilizó el radiómetro CURE RITE, EFOS, Mississagua, Ontario para medir la intensidad de lámparas de fotocurado nuevas, y se clasificaron por modelo y marca, se obtuvieron datos como costo y tipo de lámpara de fotocurado. Posteriormente, se visitó a odontólogos en consultorios y clínicas de la ciudad de Guayaquil y estudiantes en la Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil con el objetivo de medir la intensidad de las lámparas de fotocurado de las mismas marcas del control, después de un determinado tiempo de uso. Se formaron 3 grupos clasificados de acuerdo al costo: Grupo 1 ($1000 o más), Grupo 2 ($251 a $999), Grupo 3 (hasta $250). Se hizo una comparación entre los valores de control con los valores obtenidos para determinar el porcentaje de luz que se ha mantenido o perdido según el tiempo de uso. Además, se comparó el desempeño de los 3 grupos de lámparas de fotocurado. Resultados: En general, se observó que la intensidad de luz de las lámparas de fotocurado presentaba una tendencia a disminuir a medida que el tiempo de uso aumentaba. En el grupo 1, ninguna lámpara presentaba una intensidad menor a la mínima necesaria, mientras que en el grupo 2 y 3, un porcentaje del 24% y 23% no cumplía con el nivel de intensidad mínimo necesario respectivamente. Conclusiones: La intensidad de la luz de las lámparas de fotocurado tiende a disminuir con el tiempo de uso. La mayoría de lámparas de fotocurado estudiadas son aptas para realizar una correcta fotopolimerización.

Objectives: Patients with haematologic malignancies (HM) COVID-19 have more severe disease, with increased risk of mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia and the specific humoral immune responses on the clinical outcomes of patients with HM and COVID-19. Methods: Interferon-α/γ (IFN-α/IFN-γ) serum levels, neutralizing antibodies and RNAemia at COVID-19 diagnosis, and persistent RNAemia during the follow-up were evaluated. Results: Overall, 63 (58.9%) out of 107 patients had RNAemia, which was persistent in 26 (41.3%) patients. RNAemia at diagnosis and persistent RNAemia were associated with the need for high-flow nasal oxygen therapy during admission. Persistent RNAemia, age >70 years, and CURB-65 score ≥2 in patients with pneumonia were associated with increased 90-day mortality (P = 0.009, P = 0.030 and P = 0.001, respectively). The 90-day overall survival was lower (P = 0.006) in patients with persistent RNAemia. In addition, dexamethasone administration was associated with a COVID-19 episode with persistent RNAemia. Conclusion: Our results suggest that in patients with HM, RNAemia at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis and during the follow-up can be used to stratify patients with HM according to their clinical evolution and to guide clinical decisions tailored to the specific needs of each patient.

Summary: Background: It is uncertain which biological features underpin the response of rectal cancer (RC) to radiotherapy. No biomarker is currently in clinical use to select patients for treatment modifications. Methods: We identified two cohorts of patients (total N = 249) with RC treated with neoadjuvant radiotherapy (45Gy/25) plus fluoropyrimidine. This discovery set included 57 cases with pathological complete response (pCR) to chemoradiotherapy (23%). Pre-treatment cancer biopsies were assessed using transcriptome-wide mRNA expression and targeted DNA sequencing for copy number and driver mutations. Biological candidate and machine learning (ML) approaches were used to identify predictors of pCR to radiotherapy independent of tumour stage. Findings were assessed in 107 cases from an independent validation set (GSE87211). Findings: Three gene expression sets showed significant independent associations with pCR: Fibroblast-TGFβ Response Signature (F-TBRS) with radioresistance; and cytotoxic lymphocyte (CL) expression signature and consensus molecular subtype CMS1 with radiosensitivity. These associations were replicated in the validation cohort. In parallel, a gradient boosting machine model comprising the expression of 33 genes generated in the discovery cohort showed high performance in GSE87211 with 90% sensitivity, 86% specificity. Biological and ML signatures indicated similar mechanisms underlying radiation response, and showed better AUC and p-values than published transcriptomic signatures of radiation response in RC. Interpretation: RCs responding completely to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) have biological characteristics of immune response and absence of immune inhibitory TGFβ signalling. These tumours may be identified with a potential biomarker based on a 33 gene expression signature. This could help select patients likely to respond to treatment with a primary radiotherapy approach as for anal cancer. Conversely, those with predicted radioresistance may be candidates for clinical trials evaluating addition of immune-oncology agents and stromal TGFβ signalling inhibition. Funding: The Stratification in Colorectal Cancer Consortium (S:CORT) was funded by the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK (MR/M016587/1).

Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) has assumed an increasingly significant role in the evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) during the past few decades, whereas cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) remains the gold standard for myocardial tissue characterization. The discovery of late myocardial enhancement following intravenous contrast administration dates back to the 1970s with ex-vivo CT animal investigations; nevertheless, the clinical application of this phenomenon for cardiac tissue characterization became prevalent for CMR imaging far earlier than for CCT imaging.Recently the technical advances in CT scanners have made it possible to take advantage of late contrast enhancement (LCE) for tissue characterization in CCT exams. Moreover, the introduction of extracellular volume calculation (ECV) on cardiac CT images combined with the possibility of evaluating cardiac function in the same exam is making CCT imaging a multiparametric technique more and more similar to CMR.The aim of our review is to provide a comprehensive overview on the role of CCT with LCE in the evaluation of a wide range of cardiac conditions.

Accreditation as a form of quality assurance has spread worldwide. As a result, the public and research interests have targeted the policies that developed agencies and procedures and the responses and effects of accreditation on higher education organizations and programs. However, studies on accreditation have not analyzed two core aspects: the capacity and willingness of the accreditation agencies and the programs to perform their functions. Through qualitative interviews with key stakeholders in the regulatory agencies and universities, this study explores the issue of capacity and willingness in higher education accreditation by studying the functioning of an accreditation agency in Argentina and the responses of organizations and programs to the accreditation process. The results show that three key factors may affect accreditation monitoring, enforcement, and compliance: administrative burden, inadequate resources, and information availability. The findings are relevant beyond the national context and have research and policy implications.

Teacher and headteacher assessments and professional development are deemed critical levers for improving quality education in an increasing number of countries and contexts. However, prioritising improvement is not always evident, given that sometimes those subjected to assessments are not effectively informed about their performance (e.g. from national teacher examinations) or how to improve their work via feedback. This paper explores the bridging role of feedback concerning teacher and headteacher assessments and continuing professional development in the Mexican context, where scarce research exists. This mixed-methods research contributes evaluation evidence of Mexico's 2013-2018 education reform, including high-stakes staff assessments and individual feedback reports. Survey data from 122 primary school teachers and headteachers and thirteen interviews with teachers, headteachers and policymakers indicate the feedback report made it difficult to distinguish between poor and proficient performance and identify strengths and weaknesses. Challenges regarding suitable continuing professional development following assessment feedback are put forward.

Immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IGHV) region mutations, TP53 mutation, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and cytogenetic analysis are the most important prognostic biomarkers used in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients in our daily practice. In real-life environment, there are scarce studies that analyze the correlation of these factors with outcome, mainly referred to time to first treatment (TTFT) and overall survival (OS). This study aimed to typify IGHV mutation status, family usage, FISH aberrations, and complex karyotype (CK) and to analyze the prognostic impact in TTFT and OS in retrospective study of 375 CLL patients from a Spanish cohort. We found unmutated CLL (U-CLL) was associated with more aggressive disease, shorter TTFT (48 vs. 133 months, p

‘Redson’ is a new triploid, red-fleshed pomelo x grapefruit hybrid. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of rainfall, harvest time, tree age, and yield on the postharvest storage performance of ‘Redson’ fruit. During 2022/23, two postharvest storage trials were conducted with early- and late-harvested fruit. The fruit from the early harvest retained good quality for up to 16 weeks of storage at 7.5 °C plus 1 week at 22 °C, whereas the late-harvested fruit suffered from a high decay incidence. During 2023/24, we expanded the postharvest trials to nine different fruit sets harvested from early season (late October) until the end of the season (January). Fruit quality was examined under the same storage conditions after 6 and 16 weeks, and the results indicated that early- and mid-season fruit retained good quality with minimal decay incidence even after prolonged storage for 16 weeks, whereas the late-season fruit suffered from significant decay incidences of 17–22% and a decline in flavor acceptability. Further analysis revealed strong and significant correlations between various rainfall parameters and harvest time and decay incidences. Overall, early-harvested fruit during the autumn had a superior postharvest storage performance, whereas late-harvested fruit during the rainy winter suffered from decay development.

Cotija and Bola de Ocosingo are artisanal ripened cheeses produced in Mexico. Both are made with raw bovine milk from free-grazing cows and with no starter cultures. Unlike culture-based techniques, molecular methods for pathogen detection in food allow a shorter turnaround time, higher detection specificity, and represent a lower microbiological risk for the analyst. In the present investigation, we analyzed 111 cheese samples (95 Cotija and 16 Bola de Ocosingo) by qPCR (TaqMan®) after an enrichment-culture step specific to each foodborne bacterium. The results showed that 100% of the samples were free of DNA from Listeria monocytogenes, Brucella spp., Escherichia coli enterotoxigenic (ETEC), and O157:H7; 9% amplified Salmonella spp. DNA; and 11.7%, Staphylococcus aureus DNA. However, the threshold cycle (Ct) values of the amplified targets ranged between 23 and 30, indicating DNA from non-viable microorganisms. Plate counts supported this assumption. In conclusion, 100% of the cheeses analyzed were safe to consume, and the enrichment step before DNA extraction proved essential to discern between viable and non-viable microorganisms. Hygienic milking, milk handling, cheese manufacturing, and ripening are crucial to achieve an adequate microbiological quality of cheeses made with raw milk.

This research explores the use of the pepN activity fluorescent sensor DCM-Ala in bacterial biofilms, emphasizing its significance due to the critical role of biofilms in various biological processes. Advanced imaging techniques were employed to visualize pepN activity, introducing a novel approach to examining biofilm maturity. We found that the overexpression of pepN increases the ability of E. coli to form biofilm. The findings demonstrate varying levels of pepN activity throughout biofilm development, suggesting potential applications in biofilm research and management. The results indicate that the fluorescent emission from this sensor could serve as a reliable indicator of biofilm maturity, and the imaging techniques developed could enhance our understanding and control of biofilm-related processes. This work highlights the importance of innovative methods in biofilm study and opens new avenues for utilizing chemical emissions in biofilm management.

Accreditation in higher education has become omnipresent and, on many occasions, has been used as a synonym for quality assurance. The establishment of accreditation agencies as a worldwide phenomenon, however, is relatively recent in the history of higher education. Through a predominantly qualitative approach, this paper aims to analyze how programs from different academic disciplines perform in terms of the accreditation of graduate programs in Argentina and how different programs respond to the same accreditation process. Additionally, it analyzes the performance of private sector programs. As expected, academic disciplines play a vital role in the accreditation process, programmatic performance, and responses to this quality assurance mechanism while sector may not play a vital role. Surprisingly, soft pure programs perform better than both hard and soft applied programs. The results highlight the importance of considering both the paradigm (hard or soft) and level application (pure or applied) when analyzing the role of academic disciplines in higher education studies.

Abstract Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) reduce recurrences and mortality in postmenopausal patients with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer (BC), but >20% of patients will eventually relapse. Given the limited understanding of intrinsic resistance in these tumours, here we conduct a large-scale molecular analysis to identify features that impact on the response of ER + HER2- BC to AI. We compare the 15% of poorest responders (PRs, n = 177) as measured by proportional Ki67 changes after 2 weeks of neoadjuvant AI to good responders (GRs, n = 190) selected from the top 50% responders in the POETIC trial and matched for baseline Ki67 categories. In this work, low ESR1 levels are associated with poor response, high proliferation, high expression of growth factor pathways and non-luminal subtypes. PRs having high ESR1 expression have similar proportions of luminal subtypes to GRs but lower plasma estradiol levels, lower expression of estrogen response genes, higher levels of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and immune markers, and more TP53 mutations.

Los páramos son ecosistemas conocidos por su gran capacidad de retención hídrica y secuestro de carbono en los suelos, esto se atribuye a la variedad de flora y fauna de las zonas de humedales en los mismos. La presente investigación se realizó en el Páramo de Sayaro, ubicado en la parroquia de Juan Montalvo, perteneciente a el cantón Cayambe; con el objetivo de determinar la cantidad de carbono que se encuentra presente en tres zonas con distintos niveles de intervención y cuáles serían los factores a los que se atribuiría la diferencia. Zona Z1=sin intervención; Zona Z2=mediana intervención y Zona Z3= alta intervención. Se tomaron un total de 45 muestras de suelo, 15 en cada una de las zonas, para análisis fisicoquímicos del porcentaje de materia orgánica y la cantidad de carbono orgánico; determinados mediante el método de Walkey y Black (1947). Los valores promedios obtenidos de carbono orgánico fueron de 44,06 tC/ha en la zona sin intervención y de paramos jóvenes; 28,05 tC/ha en la zona con mediana intervención por la presencia de ceniza volcánica y 35,67 tC/ha en la zona con alta intervención por la vegetación y presencia de organismos como las lombrices.

Abstract Introduction Logically valid deductive arguments are clear examples of abstract recursive computational procedures on propositions or on probabilities. However, it is not known if the cortical time-consuming inferential processes in which logical arguments are eventually realized in the brain are in fact physically different from other kinds of inferential processes. Methods In order to determine whether an electrical EEG discernible pattern of logical deduction exists or not, a new experimental paradigm is proposed contrasting logically valid and invalid inferences with exactly the same content (same premises and same relational variables) and distinct logical complexity (propositional truth-functional operators). Electroencephalographic signals from 19 subjects (24.2 ± 3.3 years) were acquired in a two-condition paradigm (100 trials for each condition). After the initial general analysis, a trial-by-trial approach in beta-2 band allowed to uncover not only evoked but also phase asynchronous activity between trials. Results showed that (i) deductive inferences with the same content evoked the same response pattern in logically valid and invalid conditions, (ii) mean response time in logically valid inferences is 61.54% higher, (iii) logically valid inferences are subjected to an early (400 ms) and a late reprocessing (600 ms) verified by two distinct beta-2 activations (p-value