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Predicting the effects of warming temperatures on the abundance and distribution of organisms under future climate scenarios often requires extrapolating species-environment correlations to climatic conditions not currently experienced by a species, which can result in unrealistic predictions. For poikilotherms, incorporating species' thermal physiology to inform extrapolations under novel thermal conditions can result in more realistic predictions. Furthermore, models that incorporate species and spatial dependencies may improve predictions by capturing correlations present in ecological data that are not accounted for by predictor variables. Here, we present a joint species, spatially dependent physiologically guided abundance (jsPGA) model for predicting multispecies responses to climate warming. The jsPGA model uses a basis function approach to capture both species and spatial dependencies. We apply the jsPGA model to predict the response of eight fish species to projected climate warming in thousands of lakes in Minnesota, USA. By the end of the century, the cold-adapted species was predicted to have high probabilities of extirpation across its current range-with 10% of lakes currently inhabited by this species having an extirpation probability >0.90. The remaining species had varying levels of predicted changes in abundance, reflecting differences in their thermal physiology. Though the model did not identify many strong species dependencies, the variation in estimated spatial dependence across species suggested that accounting for both dependencies was important for predicting the abundance of these fishes. The jsPGA model provides a new tool for predicting changes in the abundance, distribution, and extirpation probability of poikilotherms under novel thermal conditions.

Background: Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children may experience difficulties in word decoding development. Aims: We aimed to compare and predict the incremental word decoding development in first grade in Dutch DHH and hearing children, as a function of kindergarten reading precursors. Methods and procedures: In this study, 25 DHH, and 41 hearing children participated. Kindergarten measures were phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge (LK), rapid naming (RAN), and verbal short-term memory (VSTM). Word decoding (WD) was assessed at three consecutive time points (WD1, 2, 3) during reading instruction in first grade. Outcomes and results: The hearing children scored higher than the DHH children on PA and VSTM only, although the distribution of WD scores differed between the groups. At WD1, PA and RAN predicted WD efficiency in both groups; but PA was a stronger predictor for hearing children. At WD2, LK, RAN, and the autoregressor were predictors for both groups. While at WD3, only the autoregressor was a significant predictor. Conclusions and implications: WD development in DHH children on average shows similar levels as in hearing children, though within the DHH group more variation was observed. WD development in DHH children is not as much driven by PA; they may use other skills to compensate.

Background: Reading comprehension is an interactive process. Yet, instructional needs are usually identified with isolated componential tests. This study examined whether a dynamic approach, in which componential abilities are measured within the same text and global text comprehension is facilitated via feedback, can help in understanding variation in children's reading comprehension. Objectives: With a pretest-posttest control group design, componential abilities before and after feedback were related to growth in global text comprehension within the same text. Methods: At pretest, third to fifth graders read 30 short texts, each followed by one global text comprehension question. This was repeated at posttest, but additional questions were asked with feedback prior to each global text comprehension question. The vocabulary group received two vocabulary questions with feedback (n = 97). The vocabulary plus integration group received two vocabulary questions and one sentence-integration question with feedback (n = 98). The control group (n = 98) only answered the global text comprehension questions. Results and Conclusion: Participants in the experimental conditions who needed feedback (i.e., lower-skilled) experienced a decrease in global text comprehension, whereas this was not found for the control group and participants in the experimental groups who did not need feedback (i.e., higher-skilled). There was also less decrease among those lower-skilled participants who had profited from the feedback. Implications: It is concluded from explorative analyses that not feedback but the overall design caused the decrease. Conceptually, the dynamic approach is worth further research.

In this quasi-experimental study involving 23 fourth grade teachers, we investigated the effect of implementing teacher-child dynamic mathematics interviews to improve mathematics teaching behavior in the classroom. After a baseline period of 13 months, the teachers participated in a professional development program to support the use of dynamic mathematics interviews followed by a period of practice in mathematics interviewing to identify children's mathematics learning needs. To determine the effects of the teacher professional development program, pretest and posttest videos of mathematics interviews were compared. To analyse the effects of the intervention, mathematics teaching behavior, mathematics teaching self-efficacy and perceived mathematical knowledge for teaching were measured. Results showed not only the effect of the program on the quality of the dynamic mathematics interviews, but also the effects of the intervention on mathematics teaching behavior, mathematics teaching self-efficacy and mathematical knowledge for teaching.

Abstract The scaffold protein PEAK1 acts downstream of integrin adhesion complexes and the epidermal growth factor receptor, orchestrating signaling events that control cell proliferation and cytoskeletal remodeling. In this study we investigated the role of PEAK1 in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) progression using various in vitro and in vivo models to replicate the stepwise pathogenesis of CRC. While we observed a cell-type specific role for PEAK1 in the proliferation and in human CRC cell lines in vitro, our in vivo experiments using different CRC mouse models driven by loss of Apc, with or without oncogenic Kras or Pten loss suggest that PEAK1 does not significantly contribute to tumor formation in vivo. However, the survival time of Peak1 −/− mice in the Apc fl/+ model appeared to be slightly increased. Furthermore, PEAK1 promotes EGF-induced Caco-2 cell proliferation and regulates spheroid polarization and lumenization. Given that the Caco-2 cells harbor mutations in the tumor suppressors APC and β-CATENIN, but not in other tumor suppressors or in proto-oncogenes, we conclude that the PEAK1’s impact on colon carcinogenesis is limited, potentially playing a role in the initial stage of the adenoma to carcinoma progression.

Abstract The aim of this study was to quantify the number of non-airborne bacteria that can passively penetrate the layers of four mask types (surgical mask, community face mask type 1 (CFM1), biocidal CFM1 and CFM2) and to determine the influence of wearing conditions for the surgical type. A mask wearer simulator consisting of a 3D anatomical replica of the upper airway connected to a breathing pump was used. Wearing time, filtration quality of the mask, fit (loose vs. tight) and breathing parameters (tidal volume, respiratory rate) were tested. A Staphylococcus epidermidis inoculum was applied to the inner layer. After the wearing simulation, the layers were separated and the bacteria counted. After four hours, no or only a few bacteria were present in the middle and outer layers. Most remained in the inner layer. Surgical mask and CFM1 retained more bacteria and provided a breeding ground for germs. The biocidal CFM1 rapidly reduced the number in the inner layer. The breathing parameters had no influence, in contrast to fit and wearing time. These results confirm that the standard test for bacterial filtration efficiency, which includes the active penetration of airborne bacteria into aerosol droplets, is the most objective measure of the ability of bacteria to penetrate through the mask layers, as the passive penetration ability of non-airborne bacteria is insignificant.

Abstract Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is an essential water-soluble vitamin that serves as a precursor of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). FMN and FAD are coenzymes involved in key enzymatic reactions in energy metabolism, biosynthesis, detoxification and electron scavenging pathways. Riboflavin deficiency is prevalent worldwide and impacts women’s health due to riboflavin demands linked to urogenital and reproductive health, hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. Innovative functional foods and nutraceuticals are increasingly developed to meet women’s riboflavin needs to supplement dietary sources. An emerging and particularly promising strategy is the administration of riboflavin-producing lactic acid bacteria, combining the health benefits of riboflavin with those of probiotics and in situ riboflavin production. Specific taxa of lactobacilli are of particular interest for women, because of the crucial role of Lactobacillus species in the vagina and the documented health effects of other Lactobacillaceae taxa in the gut and on the skin. In this narrative review, we synthesize the underlying molecular mechanisms and clinical benefits of riboflavin intake for women’s health, and evaluate the synergistic potential of riboflavin-producing lactobacilli and other microbiota.

Abstract Safeguarding the drinking water quality remains a challenge from the production site to the tap. Alternatively to chemical disinfection, biostable drinking water could serve as a more sustainable approach to produce microbially safe drinking water and to maintain the microbial quality in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS). In this study, the potential of hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria (HOB) to produce biostable drinking water was examined in a continuous trickling filter supplied with hydrogen gas. A biofilm was naturally enriched for 5 months and the bacterial regrowth, invasion potential, and nutrient composition of the water were determined. Treatment improved the biostability significantly, and it is hypothesized that nutrient limitation, especially phosphorous, was a driving force. As a result, the regrowth and invasion potential were lowered, as shown with specific biostability bioassays. Overall, this study demonstrates the proof-of-concept of HOB for producing biostable drinking water through nutrient limitation.

Abstract This study aims to describe the ophthalmic characteristics of autosomal dominant (AD) WFS1-associated optic atrophy (AD WFS1-OA), and to explore phenotypic differences with dominant optic atrophy (DOA) caused by mutations in the OPA1-gene. WFS1-associated diseases, or ‘wolframinopathies’, exhibit a spectrum of ocular and systemic phenotypes, of which the autosomal recessive Wolfram syndrome has been the most extensively studied. AD mutations in WFS1 also cause various phenotypical changes including OA. The most common phenotype in AD WFS1-associated disease, the combination of OA and hearing loss (HL), clinically resembles the ‘plus’ phenotype of DOA. We performed a comprehensive medical record review across tertiary referral centers in the Netherlands and Belgium resulting in 22 patients with heterozygous WFS1 variants. Eighteen (82%) had HL in addition to OA. Diabetes mellitus was found in 7 (32%). Four patients had isolated OA. One patient had an unusual phenotype with anterior chamber abnormalities and malformations of the extremities. Compared to DOA, AD WFS1-OA patients had different color vision abnormalities (red-green vs blue-yellow in DOA), abnormal OPL lamination on macular OCT (absent in DOA), more generalized thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer, and more reduced and delayed pattern reversal visual evoked potentials.

Background: This study aimed to identify plasma lipoproteins and small metabolites associated with high risk of malnutrition during intensive care unit (ICU) stay in patients with severe injuries. Methods: This observational prospective exploratory study was conducted at two level-1 trauma centers in the Netherlands. Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) who were admitted to the ICU for more than 48 h between July 2018 and April 2022 owing to severe injuries (polytrauma, as defined by Injury Severity Scores of ≥16) caused by blunt trauma were eligible for inclusion. Partial least squares discriminant analysis was used to analyze the relationship of 112 lipoprotein-related components and 23 small metabolites with the risk of malnutrition (modified Nutrition Risk in Critically Ill score). Malnutrition was diagnosed based on Subjective Global Assessment scores. The relationship of lipoprotein properties and small metabolite concentrations with malnutrition (during ICU admission) was evaluated using mixed effects logistic regression. Results: Overall, 51 patients were included. Lower (very) low-density lipoprotein ([V]LDL) (free) cholesterol and phospholipid levels, low particle number, and higher levels of LDL triglycerides were associated with a higher risk of malnutrition (variable importance in projection [VIP] value >1.5). Low levels of most (V)LDL and intermediate-density lipoprotein subfractions and high levels of high-density lipoprotein Apo-A1 were associated with the diagnosis of malnutrition (VIP value >1.5). Increased levels of dimethyl sulfone, trimethylamine N-oxide, creatinine, N, N-dimethylglycine, and pyruvic acid and decreased levels of creatine, methionine, and acetoacetic acid were also indicative of malnutrition (VIP value >1.5). Overall, 14 lipoproteins and 1 small metabolite were significantly associated with a high risk of malnutrition during ICU admission (P

In June 2021, a member of the Belgian conservative political party (N-VA) sparked online controversy regarding inclusive sexuality education by criticising the Genderbread Person, an educational tool used to explain gender identity and sexual orientation. This study analyses the notion of childhood innocence in online debate about the Genderbread Person utilising a mixed-methods approach. Using the framework of anti-genderism and heteroactivism, it analyses resistance against and the support for informing children about gender and sexual diversity. Based on 673 tweets, the study identifies who features in this debate, which positions are articulated, and which discursive themes (de)legitimise inclusive sexuality education. Using qualitative analysis, we identify four discursive themes against and three in favour of inclusive sexuality education based on how children are represented in this online discussion. Our quantitative analysis indicates that social media debate is primarily supportive of inclusive sexuality education. However, the findings suggest anti-gender beliefs are beginning to find their way into Belgian online debate.

This article critically reflects on the implementation of participatory video (PV) to explore the perspectives of 14 refugee participants regarding their place-making strategies in the Netherlands. The insights here derive from the experience of co-designing and implementing the "Digital Place-makers" program: a filmmaking course that relies on basic editing training and story-telling. PV has been strongly criticized for its attendance to researchers' output requirements during the production process. We address this issue by focusing on our role as facilitators in acquiring editing skills and capacities that allow participants to produce their films as autonomously as possible. In doing so, we found that engaging in editing techniques during PV had multiple benefits for the refugees, such as enabling a pathway for regaining confidence and highlighting social injustice in their communities. We also argue that knowledge co-production in refugee research must question labels of vulnerability that prevent participants from enjoying authorship of their productions.

Universities and management consultants are locked in a "danse macabre." We turn to the vampire genre to elaborate on the relationship of consulting companies to the university sector, focusing on the University of Alberta in Canada and Monash University in Australia. We are academics with long experience of the consequences of change management and the employment of consultants in universities. Deb is sufficiently "long in the tooth" that her entire career spans the period of heightened government and private sector intervention in Australian universities that began in the late 1980s and more recently she has had the experience of watching this process occur again, at speed, in Canada. Ben is a representative of the National Tertiary Education Union at Australia's largest university. He is also an experienced journalist who has reported on Australian higher education and public policy for more than two decades. The essay argues that consultants and universities are engaged in a mutually dependent relationship designed to sustain each other at the expense of the public.

Background: Word-to-text integration (WTI) can be challenging for second-language (L2) learners, although it can positively contribute to reading comprehension. The present study examined the role of WTI, after controlling for decoding, vocabulary and morphosyntactic awareness, in predicting English as an L2 reading comprehension development in 441 Dutch seventh-grade students. Methods: At the beginning (Time 1 [T1]) and the end (Time 2 [T2]) of the school year, students were tested on their English decoding, vocabulary, morphological and syntactic awareness and reading comprehension with paper-and-pencil tasks and on WTI with a self-paced reading task with reading times being compared on passages with unknown versus known words and passages with and without anomalies. Results: Mediation analyses showed small indirect effects of processing argument overlap and anomalies on T2 reading comprehension, via T1 reading comprehension. Conclusions: WTI explained unique variance in reading comprehension at T2 via reading comprehension at T1, suggesting that it moderately impacts initial stages of reading comprehension in English as a second language (ESL).

Background: This study examines the effect of a Theory of Mind (ToM) intervention on ToM abilities and social-emotional functioning in adolescents with developmental language disorder (DLD) or who are deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH). It emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and measurement for personal growth. The research design incorporates both subjective and objective measures to evaluate the intervention's efficacy. Aims: To investigate the impact of the ToM intervention on ToM abilities and social-emotional functioning in adolescents with DLD or who are D/HH. It hypothesizes that participants in the intervention groups will show improved ToM and social-emotional functioning compared with those in the control groups. Methods & Procedures: Adolescents with DLD or who are D/HH were recruited through collaboration with educational institutions. The study utilized a pre-/post-test design, assigning participants to either the intervention or the control group. The ToM intervention involved targeted activities to enhance ToM abilities. ToM abilities and social-emotional functioning were assessed using standardized tests and self-report questionnaires. Statistical analyses compared outcomes between the intervention and no intervention groups. Outcomes & Results: The findings reveal subjective improvements in social-emotional functioning among the D/HH intervention group. However, no significant effects on objective ToM measures were observed. These results highlight the need for further investigation and refinement of interventions in these areas. Future research should focus on improving intervention strategies and exploring additional objective measures to gain a comprehensive understanding of the intervention's impact on ToM and social-emotional functioning in this population. Conclusions & Implications: The ToM intervention shows subjective benefits in improving social-emotional functioning among D/HH adolescents. However, it does not yield significant effects on objective ToM measures. These findings emphasize the ongoing need to refine interventions targeting ToM abilities and social-emotional functioning in this population. Future studies should explore alternative strategies and incorporate additional objective measures to enhance understanding and outcomes.

This study investigated the impact of second language (L2) lexical quality on L2 reading comprehension in bilingual primary education. The participating children were taught in the L2 English for 30-50% of the time and the remaining time in their L1 Dutch. Seventy-three pupils from four different schools were assessed in the L2 on vocabulary, lexical specificity and phonological awareness in kindergarten, vocabulary, lexical specificity and decoding in grade 1, and reading comprehension in grade 3. L1 reading comprehension was tested in grade 2. Results showed that lexical specificity in kindergarten had a direct effect on L2 reading comprehension in grade 3, and phonological awareness in kindergarten had an indirect effect on L2 reading comprehension via L2 decoding skills in grade 1. These effects remained significant after taking L1 reading comprehension skills in grade 2 into account. The lexical specificity task, measuring specificity of phonological representations, had a more profound impact on reading comprehension than vocabulary. This highlights the importance of examining the specificity of phonological representations when it comes to studying L2 reading comprehension proficiency and implies that teachers should focus on L2 lexical specificity in bilingual kindergarten to build the foundation for L2 reading comprehension in grade 3.

Abstract Introduction The therapeutic arsenal for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is gradually being expanded, but the use of these targeted treatments must be optimal. Our objective was to guide the choice of targeted therapy to use as first-line treatment in a patient with PsA in whom methotrexate (MTX) has failed. Methods We searched for literature data in PubMed with the appropriate keywords for the six points of our argument: (1) the tolerance of MTX; (2) the efficacy of targeted therapies combined with MTX vs monotherapy; (3) immunogenicity of anti-tumor necrosis alpha (TNFα) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs); (4) immunogenicity of anti-interleukin (IL)-17, anti-IL-12/23, and anti-IL-23 mAbs; (5) the therapeutic maintenance of anti-TNFα mAbs when combined or not with MTX; (6) the therapeutic maintenance of anti-IL-17 vs anti-TNFα mAbs as first-line targeted therapy. Results The proposed rational strategy is as follows: in case of initiation of an anti-TNFα agent, maintaining treatment with MTX seems preferable, even in the absence of evidence of the superior efficacy of the combination, to avoid immunization and reduced therapeutic maintenance; in case of initiation of anti-IL-17, anti-IL-12/23, anti-IL-23 agents, or Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, again in the absence of evidence of the superior efficacy of the combination, discontinuing MTX therapy may be possible, at least in two steps, after verifying the efficacy of the targeted therapy initiated on the joints and skin. Conclusion We have data from the literature to guide the choice of targeted therapy to use as first-line treatment in a patient with PsA in whom MTX has failed.

Transitive causative change of state (TCoS) verbs elicit scalar readings, distinguishing them between: upper-bounded verbs (e.g., dry), denoting a culminating change of state, and lower-bounded verbs (e.g., wrinkle), denoting a change from a zero to a non-zero value (or from one value to another) regarding the property described by the semantic core of the verb. In their eventive reading, transitive experiencer object (TEO) verbs (e.g., calm down, delight) also denote causative eventualities able to yield scalar inferences. This study investigates whether TEO verbs are also associated with a minimum or maximum standard degree, proposing a similar subdivision of TEO verbs into lower-bounded items (delight) and upper-bounded items (calm down). In a forced-choice selection experiment we tested the impact of the standard degree (bound) of the semantic core of Spanish TEO verbs on the availability of lower-bounded or upper-bounded readings comparing them to TCoS verbs. Results revealed that the factor bound was significant to the extent that both lower-bounded TEO and TCoS predicates yielded the response compatible with a lower-bounded reading significantly more often than predicates that possess a maximum degree, supporting the distinction between lower and upper bounded items. Further, a significant effect of verb type was also observed, differentiating a change of state on the mental (TEO) versus the physical (TCoS) levels.

Abstract We here introduce the Aquamarine (AQM) dataset, an extensive quantum-mechanical (QM) dataset that contains the structural and electronic information of 59,783 low-and high-energy conformers of 1,653 molecules with a total number of atoms ranging from 2 to 92 (mean: 50.9), and containing up to 54 (mean: 28.2) non-hydrogen atoms. To gain insights into the solvent effects as well as collective dispersion interactions for drug-like molecules, we have performed QM calculations supplemented with a treatment of many-body dispersion (MBD) interactions of structures and properties in the gas phase and implicit water. Thus, AQM contains over 40 global and local physicochemical properties (including ground-state and response properties) per conformer computed at the tightly converged PBE0+MBD level of theory for gas-phase molecules, whereas PBE0+MBD with the modified Poisson-Boltzmann (MPB) model of water was used for solvated molecules. By addressing both molecule-solvent and dispersion interactions, AQM dataset can serve as a challenging benchmark for state-of-the-art machine learning methods for property modeling and de novo generation of large (solvated) molecules with pharmaceutical and biological relevance.