Search

An observational block design has I blocks matched for covariates and J individuals per block, but treatments were not randomly assigned to individuals within blocks, as would have been done in an experiment. Tightening an observational block design means selecting J ′ < J individuals from each block, and possibly I ′ ≤ I blocks, to construct a new observational block design that, in some way, addresses unmeasured biases from nonrandom treatment assignment. Tightening must preserve covariate balance while altering the design to achieve some additional objective. An optimization algorithm is introduced that achieves this while maintaining the block structure by finely balancing covariates across blocks and through optimal subset matching. An example is considered in detail, both to motivate and illustrate the tightening of an observational block design. Two tightened designs are built from a study of light daily alcohol consumption and its possible effects on HDL cholesterol. One tightened design adjusts for an outcome tentatively presuming it was unaffected by the treatment. The second tightened design uses a differential effect to remove bias from an unobserved general disposition that promotes several treatments. An R package tightenBlock implements the method, contains the data, and in that package the help-file for the function tighten reproduces the example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5 ω-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 ω-3) on very short sleep duration (<5 h/night) in adults. Methods: The bootstrap method was used in the multinomial logistic regression to estimate the ORs and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of very short sleep duration. We used rolling window method to analyze the effects of EPA and DHA dietary intakes on very short sleep durations in men and women over age. To illustrate the stability of the results for the selected window width, we built a shiny application. Results: Compared to the first quartile, the mean ORs of EPA intake on very short sleep duration and the corresponding 95% CIs for the second, third and fourth quartiles of EPA intake among men under 32 years old were 1.50 (0.56, 3.44) mg, 1.55 (0.59, 3.48) mg, and 3.99 (1.15, 10.01) mg, respectively. Among women over 44 years old, the ORs for DHA intake were 1.12 (0.81, 1.52) mg, 0.94 (0.68, 1.29) mg, and 0.62 (0.38, 0.98) mg for the second, third and fourth quartiles, respectively. Conclusions: The associations of EPA and DHA with very short sleep duration are sex- and age-dependent. In males under the age of 32, a significant positive correlation exists between dietary EPA intake and very short sleep duration. For women above 44 years of age, an increase in DHA intake can notably ameliorate issues of very short sleep duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' proficiency in the language of instruction is essential for their mathematical learning. Accordingly, language-responsive instruction, which includes adapting teaching material to students' language needs, is thought to promote mathematical learning, particularly for students with lower levels of proficiency in the language of instruction. However, empirical evidence for the effectiveness of this type of instruction in heterogeneous classrooms is scarce, and potential differential effects for learners with different learning prerequisites still need to be studied. The present study examines whether language-responsive instructional materials can promote students' learning of fractions. We conducted a quasi-experimental intervention study with a pre- and posttest in Grade 7 (N = 211). The students were assigned to one of three instructional conditions: fraction instruction with or without additional language support or to a control group. The results showed that both intervention groups had higher learning gains than the control group. However, students with lower proficiency in the language of instruction benefited more from fraction instruction with additional language support than without it. The opposite was true for students with higher proficiency in the language of instruction. Moreover, learning gains depended on students' levels of mathematics anxiety. Our study contributes to a more detailed understanding of the effectiveness of language-responsive instruction in heterogeneous classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We used the generalized propensity score method to estimate the differential effects of five Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) experiences (Prekindergarten, Head Start, Center-based Child Care, Home-based Child Care, and Parental Care) in reducing math and reading achievement gaps between boys versus girls, Latinx versus Whites, and Blacks versus Whites. Findings revealed differential effects of ECCE in reducing gender and racial achievement gaps. However, results indicated that significant gender and racial gaps still exist despite ECCE experiences and that these gaps widen throughout the elementary and middle school years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Meditation encompasses a variety of techniques, but little is known on how and for whom they work. This study explored potential mechanisms of four different meditation techniques in beginners and which technique might be suited for whom. Method: Using an experimental single-case design, we compared the longitudinal effects of concentrative, humming, observing-thoughts, and walking meditation. Forty-four healthy participants without meditation experience were randomly assigned to one of the four techniques and 42 completed the treatment. Following a baseline period of 2 to 4 weeks, participants learned and practiced their technique 20 min daily for 6 to 8 weeks and completed daily online questionnaires throughout the entire study period. At pretest, we assessed participants' motivation and personality. We analyzed the data visually and by conducting single-case meta-analyses, correlation, and multivariate analyses. Results: Body awareness, decentering, and emotion regulation improved reliably and continuously over time, for all four techniques. Thus, these processes could represent common mechanisms for novice meditators. Walking meditation led to the smallest improvements in decentering and mind-wandering, but the highest in body awareness and emotion regulation. Individuals varied in response to the treatment. The two "classic" techniques (concentration, observing-thoughts) led to more consistently positive multivariate response patterns and to better responses in participants high in neuroticism. In contrast, those high in extraversion benefitted more from the two unusual ones (humming, walking). We additionally observed interesting interactions with different motivational reasons. Conclusions: With this study, we hope to contribute to theory building and answering two urgent questions—what the key mechanisms of meditation are and who benefits most from what kind of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on rich training literature, we examined which skills constituting the control-of-variables strategy (CVS) benefit from a comprehensive training, and which develop similarly during content-focused inquiry at ages 10–12. In addition, we examined whether prior knowledge, reasoning abilities, and reading comprehension explain variation in intervention effects. In a within-classroom, controlled field-experiment, half of N = 618 children from schools located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland were randomly assigned to a training on the CVS, and the other half to an active control group engaging in content-focused inquiry. Mixed-effects models revealed that the CVS training improved children's skills in planning controlled experiments and understanding the indeterminacy of confounded experiments, whereas it did not show specific effects on children's skills in identifying and interpreting controlled experiments. Children with better reasoning abilities and reading comprehension showed the strongest intervention effects on the more difficult skills. The general and differential effects of training remained mostly stable after a period of 6 months. More basic CVS skills seem to develop without targeted training, whereas more advanced ones benefit most from training that meets learners' preconditions. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: Children's understanding of more difficult aspects of controlled experimentation benefits from training, particularly for those with better reasoning abilities and reading comprehension. These findings encourage teaching more advanced aspects of experimentation already in elementary school, which can have visible developmental impact on children's understanding. Classroom-based trainings should consider heterogeneity in children's cognitive abilities and be designed such that all children's understanding benefits, for example, through providing sufficient guidance and support through structured activities that induce cognitive activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvements in substance use disorder recovery may be achieved by recognizing that effective interventions do not work equally well for all individuals. Heterogeneity of intervention effects is traditionally examined as a function of a single variable, such as gender or baseline severity. However, responsiveness to an intervention is likely a result of multiple, intersecting factors. Latent class moderation enables the examination of heterogeneity in intervention effects across subgroups characterized by profiles of characteristics. This study analyzed data from adolescents (aged 13 to 18 years old) who needed treatment for cannabis use (n = 14,854) and participated in the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs to evaluate differential effects of substance use services on cannabis use outcomes. We demonstrate an adjusted three-step approach using weights that account for measurement error; sample codes in Mplus and Latent Gold are provided and data are publicly available. Indicators of the latent class moderator comprised six contextual (e.g., recovery environment risk) and individual (e.g., internal mental distress) risk factors. The latent class moderator comprised four subgroups: low risk (21.1%), social risk (21.1%), environmental risk (12.5%), and mixed risk (45.2%). Limited moderation of associations between level of care and any past 90-day cannabis use were observed. In predicting number of cannabis use-days, compared to individuals with low risk, those with environmental risk showed improved outcomes from intensive outpatient care whereas individuals with social risk and mixed risk showed improved outcomes from residential care (all compared to early intervention/outpatient care). Latent class moderation holds potential to elucidate heterogeneity in intervention effectiveness that otherwise may go undetected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide an empirical demonstration of a novel method, regression mixture model, by examining differential effects of somatic amplification to positive affect and identifying the predictors that contribute to the differential effects. Data derived from the second wave of Midlife in the United States. The analytic sample consisted of 1,766 adults aged from 33 to 84 years. Regression mixture models were fitted using Mplus 7.4, and a two-step model-building approach was adopted. Three latent groups were identified consisting of a maladaptive (32.1%), a vulnerable (62.5%), and a resilient (5.4%) group. Six covariates (i.e., age, education level, positive relations with others, purpose in life, depressive symptoms, and physical health) significantly predicted the latent class membership in the regression mixture model. The study demonstrated the regression mixture model to be a flexible and efficient statistical tool in assessing individual differences in response to adversity and identifying resilience factors, which contributes to aging research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization has led to economic growth with inevitable air pollution. There are significant differences in the dominant factors of different air pollutants. However, the influencing mechanism of urbanization on different air pollutants is still unclear. Therefore, exploring the differential effects of urbanization on various air pollutants is of great significance for accelerating local collaborative treatment of air pollutants and improving regional air quality. Based on the analysis of the spatial–temporal pattern evolution, spatial agglomeration, and internal correlation of six air pollutants in mainland China during 2013–2020, namely PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, O3 and CO, we combined the environmental Kuznets theory to build a panel regression model of urbanization on six air pollutants. Except for NO2 and O3, the concentrations of the other four air pollutants all decreased to different degrees, among which, SO2 concentration decreased the most. The spatial pattern of air pollution showed that the concentration of air pollutants in typical areas decreased significantly, while which in areas with higher population density or higher economic development was relatively higher. As a key factor affecting air quality, different aspects of urbanization have significant differences in the direction and intensity of effect on various air pollutants. The relationship between the concentration of six air pollutants and urbanization conforms to the differential environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). There are nonlinear relationships between urbanization and PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, O3 and CO concentrations, which are inverted “U-shaped”, inverted “U-shaped”, inverted “U-shaped”, inverted “N-shaped”, “U-shaped”, and inverted “U-shaped” respectively. In addition, urbanization has a spillover effect on PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and CO concentrations, while the direction of whose spillover effect reflects the phased change.

Empirical evidence exists that enhancing students' language can promote the mathematics learning of multilingual students at risk, whereas other target groups (e.g., monolingual students, successful students, both with diverse academic language proficiency) have hardly been considered. This cluster-randomized controlled trial (N = 589) investigates differential effects for these extended target groups, comparing two language-responsive interventions (with or without vocabulary work) and a control group. The regression analysis reveals that all students significantly deepened their conceptual understanding in both interventions. Unlike what was anticipated, multilingual students' growth of conceptual understanding had no significant additional benefit from integrated vocabulary work. These findings call for promoting language-responsive mathematics instruction for all students and for using a discursive rather than a vocabulary focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, yoga is a multicomponent practice consisting of postures, breathing techniques, meditation, mantras, and ethics. To date, only a few studies have tried to dismantle the effects of each of these components and their combinations. To fill this gap, we examined the incremental effects of ethical education and physical Hatha yoga on mantra meditation using a single-case multiple-baseline design. This study was part of a project evaluating the new mind–body program Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification. Fifty-seven healthy participants with no regular yoga or meditation practice were randomly assigned to three baselines (7, 14, and 21 days) and four conditions using a random number generator. The conditions were mantra meditation alone (MA), meditation plus physical yoga (MY), meditation plus ethical education (ME), and meditation plus yoga and ethical education (MYE). All the interventions lasted for 8 weeks and were run consecutively according to baseline length. During the baseline and treatment phases, participants received daily questionnaires measuring their well-being (WHO-5 Well-Being Index), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), and subjective experiences. Forty-two participants completed the treatment and were entered in the analyses. We analyzed our data using visual inspection, effect size estimation (Tau-U), and multilevel modeling. Almost all participants showed a longitudinal increase in well-being. Regarding between-group differences, participants who received ethical education exhibited the largest increases in well-being (Tau-U = 0.30/0.23 for ME/MYE), followed by participants in the MY condition (Tau-U = 0.12). Conversely, participants in the MA condition showed no change (Tau-U = 0.07). There was a tendency for the combined treatments to decrease stress. This tendency was strongest in the MY condition (Tau-U = –0.40) and reversed in the MA condition (Tau-U = 0.17). These results emphasize the incremental and differential effects of practicing meditation in combination with other practices from the eight-fold yoga path. This approach is valuable for better understanding the multifaceted practice of yoga.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04252976.

Traditionally, yoga is a multicomponent practice consisting of postures, breathing techniques, meditation, mantras, and ethics. To date, only a few studies have tried to dismantle the effects of each of these components and their combinations. To fill this gap, we examined the incremental effects of ethical education and physical Hatha yoga on mantra meditation using a single-case multiple-baseline design. This study was part of a project evaluating the new mind–body program Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification. Fifty-seven healthy participants with no regular yoga or meditation practice were randomly assigned to three baselines (7, 14, and 21 days) and four conditions using a random number generator. The conditions were mantra meditation alone (MA), meditation plus physical yoga (MY), meditation plus ethical education (ME), and meditation plus yoga and ethical education (MYE). All the interventions lasted for 8 weeks and were run consecutively according to baseline length. During the baseline and treatment phases, participants received daily questionnaires measuring their well-being (WHO-5 Well-Being Index), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), and subjective experiences. Forty-two participants completed the treatment and were entered in the analyses. We analyzed our data using visual inspection, effect size estimation (Tau- U), and multilevel modeling. Almost all participants showed a longitudinal increase in well-being. Regarding between-group differences, participants who received ethical education exhibited the largest increases in well-being (Tau- U = 0.30/0.23 for ME/MYE), followed by participants in the MY condition (Tau- U = 0.12). Conversely, participants in the MA condition showed no change (Tau- U = 0.07). There was a tendency for the combined treatments to decrease stress. This tendency was strongest in the MY condition (Tau- U = –0.40) and reversed in the MA condition (Tau- U = 0.17). These results emphasize the incremental and differential effects of practicing meditation in combination with other practices from the eight-fold yoga path. This approach is valuable for better understanding the multifaceted practice of yoga. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04252976. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In regression analysis, the data sample is often composed of diverse sub-populations such as ethnicities and geographical regions. In multiple application areas, it is important to identify the groups where each covariate has a positive, negative or null impact on the response. If the number of sub-populations is small, a full interaction model may be fit with group-specific covariate effects. However, if the number of groups is very large, for example, hospitals or other clustering units, such a model is not identifiable. Therefore, we propose a prior distribution which combines the information across sub-populations with a similar covariate effect. This Bayesian analysis of differential effects (BADE) classifies the group-specific covariate effects as positive, negative or null. Besides allowing the analysis of differential effects for many sub-populations, the proposed approach improves substantially the identification of important interactions in cases with few groups. This is illustrated via simulations. The procedure is motivated on, and applied to, a large study related to patients' satisfaction with hospitals, where we show that classifying group-specific covariate effects based on methods such as mixed-effects models may be strongly misleading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This observational study examined treatment satisfaction (TS) following routine outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in a large sample of children (n = 795; aged 6 to 10 years). TS was investigated in parent and therapist rating. Means, standard deviations and inter-rater correlations were calculated to investigate TS. Regression analysis was conducted to examine potential correlates of TS (patient-related variables, mental disorder characteristics, socio-demographic factors and treatment variables). High TS in parent and therapist rating was found, with therapists showing a lower degree of TS than parents (completely or predominantly satisfied: parent rating 94.1%, therapist rating 69.5%). A statistically significant, moderate inter-rater correlation was found. Regression analysis explained 21.8% of the variance in parent rating and 57.2% in therapist rating. Most of the TS variance was explained by mental disorder characteristics (parent-rated symptoms and therapist-rated global impairment at treatment end) and by treatment variables (especially the therapist-rated cooperation of parents and patients), whereas socio-demographic and patient-related variables did not show any relevant associations with TS. Based on these results, to optimize TS, therapists should concentrate on establishing a sustainable cooperation of parents and children during therapy, and work to achieve a low global impairment at treatment end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) does not affect different sociodemographic groups uniformly. CRC screening programmes could seek to reduce this inequality; however, the screening programmes themselves might be subject to differential participation across sociodemographic groups. This study investigates the sociodemographic inequality at all steps in Denmark's nationwide CRC screening programme: screening participation, faecal immunochemical test (FIT) results, colonoscopy compliance, CRC diagnosis, and cancer stage. This cohort study includes all first-time invitees from the beginning of the Danish population-based CRC screening programme from 1 March 2014 to 31 December 2017. Sixty-four percent of the invitees participated in the screening programme, and of those 7% were FIT-positive. After being invited to further diagnostic procedures, 90% responded to the invitation, and among those 5% were CRC-positive. Among those diagnosed with CRC, 9% were stage IV. Through multivariable analyses, we identified sociodemographic inequalities in all steps of the screening programme from returning a stool sample to being diagnosed with CRC. Specifically, we identified inequalities across sex, age, migration status, relationship status, the screening status of one's partner, education, income, and use of health services. Women were more likely to participate compared to men (RR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.12–1.13), but had a lower risk of a positive FIT result (RR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.66–0.68) and of a CRC diagnosis (RR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.82–0.93) compared to men. The likelihood of participating as well as the risk of positive FIT results and CRC diagnosis increased with age. All steps of the screening programme were subject to sociodemographic inequalities. Interventions are needed to target groups identified as having lower uptake as well as high-risk of being FIT- and/or CRC-positive. These groups include males, individuals aged 60+ years and individuals who do not visit their GP regularly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While linear models remain the backbone of human resource development (HRD) as well as broader social science research, they are limited by their inability to detect curvilinearity or changes in direction and, therefore, may not accurately represent the nature of relationships between variables. This paper advocates the utility of the Andrews' (1993) threshold effect technique in the HRD, work, organization, and employment study literatures and does so using the gender wage gap as an illustration. The analysis compares traditional linear regression, a curvilinear quadratic model, and the threshold effect technique using publicly available wage data. This article demonstrates how the threshold method permits the data to organically determine the location of a critical break point, should one exist, and how it addresses the problem of overlooked relationships due to traditional linear assumptions. An overview of the technique and related coding is provided for researchers interested in broadening their analytical arsenal to enhance the study of the gender wage gap as well as other human‐resource‐related phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus tend to exhibit an increased level of central adiposity, augmenting their risk of further non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Importantly, consistent evidence demonstrates a significant, negative association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and waist circumference (WC). However, no previous studies have investigated differences in these CRF-related reductions in WC between adults with and without diabetes.This study used data from the Aerobic Center for Longitudinal Studies, conducted between 1970 and 2006 among predominately Non-Hispanic White, middle-to-upper class adults in Texas. Quantile regression models were used to estimate CRF-related differences in WC between persons with and without diabetes. Age, height, smoking status and birth cohort served as covariates. The analytic sample included 45901 adults.Significantly larger reductions in WC were observed among adults with diabetes as compared to without diabetes across all WC percentiles. Among males, high CRF levels were associated with significant reductions, as compared to their low-fit counterparts, in WC as large as 21.9 cm for adults without diabetes and as large as 27 cm for adults with diabetes. Among females, high CRF levels were associated with significant reductions, as compared to their low-fit counterparts, in WC as large as 22.3 and 30.0 cm for adults without and with diabetes, respectively.This study demonstrated that higher CRF is associated with significant reductions in WC, with greater magnitudes found among adults with diabetes, especially among the most centrally obese, highlighting the necessity of exercise prescription in this clinical population potentially leading to lower risks of future NCDs.

This paper examines the child development outcomes of two cohorts of children who were exposed to the same intervention at different points in time. One cohort was eligible to access playgroups during the first year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age four. The other cohort became eligible to access these services during the third year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age three. The younger cohort was more likely to be exposed to playgroups for longer and at more age-appropriate times relative to the older cohort. The paper finds that enrollment rates and enrollment duration in preprimary education increased for both cohorts, but the enrollment effects were larger for the younger cohort. In terms of child development outcomes, there were short-term effects at age five that did not last until age eight, for both cohorts. Moreover, the younger cohort had substantially higher test scores during the early grades of primary school, relative to the older cohort. We document the extent to which program impacts can vary as a result of differences in project implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current set of pre‐registered studies tested the effect of savoring a high‐arousal (exciting) or low‐arousal (calm) positive experience on help‐seeking intentions among people with heightened depressive symptomatology. Methods: Across all three studies, participants with heightened depressive symptomatology who had not yet sought help were randomly assigned to complete a 6‐minute writing task where they reflected on an exciting memory, a calm memory, or what they did today and yesterday. Results: Savoring an exciting memory was associated with significantly greater arousal than savoring a calm memory and the control condition (Study 1; N = 218). Both savoring conditions were associated with greater positive emotion than the control condition (Study 2; N = 193). In Study 3 (N = 1,238), savoring an exciting memory, when compared to the control condition, increased help‐seeking intentions, whereas savoring a calm memory did not. Conclusions: The current studies support the use of high‐arousal, rather than low‐arousal, positive emotions to increase help‐seeking intentions among people with depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allelopathy has been applied to control nuisance algae in aquatic systems, but the effects of allelochemicals on the broad spectrum of algae are not well understood. We investigate algicidal effects of the allelochemical juglone on the bloom-forming, harmful algae Microcystis aeruginosa and Stephanodiscus hantzschii, and on several non-target algal species including cyanobacteria (Anabaena flos–aquae, Oscillatoria curviceps, and Phormidium subfuscum), diatoms (Asterionella formosa, Fragilaria crotonensis, and Synedra acus), and green algae (Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus ecornis, and Scenedesmus quadricauda), in laboratory and field enclosure bioassays. Under three treatment concentrations (0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg L−1) of juglone, Microcystis cell density is significantly reduced by 35–93%. Concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mg L−1 inhibits Stephanodiscus growth almost equally (66% and 75%, respectively). To contrast, juglone produces a stimulatory allelopathic effect on three green algae, and other tested diatoms showed hormesis. Overall, the cyanobacteria are more sensitive to juglone than the green algae and diatoms. These results indicate that the allelopathic effects of juglone on microalgae vary depending on their characteristic cellular morphology and anatomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the impact of a universal, school-based intervention, the Good Behavior Game (GBG), on children's behavior, and to explore any subgroup moderator effects among children at varying levels of cumulative risk (CR) exposure. A 2-year cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted comprising 77 primary schools in England. Teachers in intervention schools delivered the GBG, whereas their counterparts in control schools continued their usual provision. Behavior (specifically disruptive behavior, concentration problems, and pro-social behavior) was assessed via the checklist version of the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation. A CR index was calculated by summing the number of risk factors to which each child was exposed. Multilevel models indicated that no main or subgroup effects were evident. These findings were largely insensitive to the modeling of CR although a small intervention effect on disruptive behavior was found when the curvilinear trend was used. Further sensitivity analyses revealed no apparent influence of the level of program differentiation. In sum, our findings indicate that the GBG does not improve behavior when implemented in this sample of English schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian disc (BD) specimens were heated to high temperatures up to 100–500 °C followed by immersion in chemical solutions or irradiation in a microwave oven. The Brazilian splitting tests were then performed at high temperatures, and acoustic emission (AE) events were recorded. Meanwhile, the longitudinal wave velocity and open porosity of the rocks were measured, and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) was applied to identify the influence of chemical or microwave treatment on the microstructure in specimens. The experimental results show that: (1) the chemical or microwave treatment exacerbates the damage to the heat-treated rocks and that either treatment has significant effect on heat-treated rocks with diverse lithologies. (2) The specimens with a high proportion of soluble minerals are chemically dissolved and the specimens with a high percentage of powerful microwave absorption minerals were irradiated by the microwaves, resulting in lower longitudinal wave velocity, lower tensile strength, higher open porosity, and more severe microstructural damages. (3) Rock tensile strength is closely related to the breakdown pressure of hydraulic fracturing, implying that chemical or microwave-assisted fracturing techniques have significant impact on various hot dry rocks, and these auxiliary fracturing techniques considering rock lithology are novel and important for EGS projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the differential effects of internationalization and knowledge integration on the innovation capabilities and firm performance of international small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A K-means cluster analysis is performed on quantitative survey data from a sample of international SMEs in Norway followed by three-year-lagged data on the firms’ financial growth. The study’s findings show that it is the level of knowledge integration, rather than the degree of internationalization, which determines the range of sources for knowledge acquisition, and the innovation capabilities of international SMEs. However, both the degree of internationalization and knowledge integration are efficient differentiators for firm performance. SMEs that score high on both these two factors demonstrate significantly higher levels of firm performance in terms of innovation, internationalization, and growth.

Most often the social comparison or relative income hypothesis has been used as an explanation for the lack of systematic relationship between income and happiness, using the ordered probit regression method. The identification of relevant reference group and the estimation of the differential effects of comparison income have been controversial. To overcome these twin issues, this paper uses an ordinal comparison income approach based on rich/poor dichotomy and rank income. The rank income of an individual is defined as his relative position in the income distribution within the reference group and the average income of the reference group is used to define the rich/poor classification. The differential effects of ordinal incomes across life satisfaction distribution is estimated by the panel fixed effects ordered profit regression model using the WVS data for India. The estimated results show that ordinal income comparison, rather than cardinal average reference income, is a better predictor of life satisfaction levels. Raising income level is relatively important for less satisfied people while increasing rank status is important for highly satisfied people in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OLS and ordered probit estimation of a causal relationship between income and happiness assume linearity in individual and average income effects and the same average effect holds over the entire range of subjective well-being distribution. The response of well-being to income changes is not the same for poor and rich, dissatisfied or unhappy, and satisfied or happy people. This paper estimates heterogeneity in the income-life satisfaction relationship at specific locations of subjective well-being distribution by panel quantile regression method. The data is derived from six waves of the World Value Survey for 12 major states of India for 24 years over the period 1990-2014. The descriptive analysis of well-being distribution across states shows heterogeneity in the income-well-being relationship between states and individuals within states. The across-states over-time panel quantile regression results reveal that estimation of average effect only provides an incomplete picture of the effect of income at both ends of the conditional distribution of well-being indicators, life satisfaction and happiness levels. The quantile regression estimates vastly differ not only from the mean estimates, but also across quantiles. Life satisfaction falls and happiness rises with an increase in average state income and the income effect is strong at the lower end than at the upper end of subjective well-being distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) is widely used in research for biomedical applications and is a promising therapy to selectively eradicate cancer cells. However, there is no unity for the species that cause this different effect. The aim of this article was to further determine the key reactive species causing differences in viability between melanoma cells (B16) and fibroblasts (L929). In this article, the cell viability of two cell lines exposed directly to the CAP was tested. The result shows CAP exhibit different cytotoxicity against the viability of two cell lines. The proliferation of B16 cells is significantly inhibited. By using superoxide anions scavengers and catalase, long-lived reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by CAP, such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), were found to have stronger cytotoxicity to B16. Besides, the B16 cells were significantly inhibited after simultaneously scavenging free radicals and hydrogen peroxide, while it has the opposite effect on L929 cells. In order to explore whether there may be other long-lived species, such as protein oxides, which have important effects on cells, CAP-treated bovine serum albumin (BSA) was applied in cultured cells. We observed the inhibition effect of CAP-treated BSA on the growth of B16 but proliferation versus L929 cells. The content of peroxide in CAP-treated BSA was measured by xylenol orange method. The rate of peroxide reduction in B16 cells is faster than that of L929 cells. In addition, after adding certain enzymes to cells, the effects of CAP on intracellular ROS generation were examined by liquid chromatography $/$ mass spectrometry (LC/MS). There is a significant difference in the content of $\mathrm {O}_{{2}}^{ {\cdot -}}$ and H2O2 in the two cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, several countries have made an effort to increase the enrollment rates and performance of students in science and mathematics by means of mandatory, rigorous course work, which is often referred to as curricular intensification (CI). However, there is a lack of research on intended and unintended effects of CI reforms on achievement and motivation. Using representative data from the National Educational Panel Study, we examined effects of a prototypical CI reform in 1 German state. We compared data from the last student cohort before and the first student cohort after the reform at the end of upper secondary school. There was no statistically significant effect on average achievement. However, we found first evidence for differential effects on English reading and a higher English self-concept of young men after the reform, whereas the reform had a negative effect on young women's math self-concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the systematic recognition of large gender gaps in favour of boys in mathematics performance in Chile, the role of schools in explaining this gap has been comparatively underresearched. This paper analyses a longitudinal dataset to explore within- and between-school variation of Chilean primary schools in promoting attainment and progress of girls and boys. In order to reflect the hierarchical nature of the educational data, multilevel modelling is used, with 163,044 students, nested within 3,355 schools, within 310 municipalities to fit raw, contextualised attainment, and value-added models. The weak evidence indicative of gender differential school effect in progress in Chilean primary schools was interpreted as non-substantive. However, differences in effectiveness played a significant role, as girls progressed more than boys in less effective schools, but the opposite was true in more effective schools. Finally, the study concludes that the Chilean gender gap needs to be addressed mainly beyond schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early promotion of self-regulated learning (SRL) has aroused increased interest since it has been highlighted as the key competence for lifelong learning (E.U. Council, 2002). To meet the demand for early support, an intervention for kindergarten teachers to foster SRL in five to sixyear- old children was developed (Venitz & Perels, 2018). In the present study, different SRL promotion strategy profiles of kindergarten teachers were investigated by using latent profile analyses and the effectiveness of the developed intervention was evaluated under consideration of the found profiles. The results of latent profile analysis (n= 134 kindergarten teachers) displayed specific profiles that differ regarding the degree of self-reported knowledge concerning strategies to promote SRL in children. Using a sample of n= 76 kindergarten teachers who participated on a three-week training which was focused on the reflection of the own SRL as well as the promotion of SRL, differential effects of the found profiles were investigated. The results indicate that an adaption of the intervention according to the different SRL promotion strategy profiles would be meaningful, because kindergarten teachers with high and low SRL promotion strategy profiles differed significantly concerning their repertoire of supportive strategies and their SRL behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allelopathy has been applied to control nuisance algae in aquatic systems, but the effects of allelochemicals on the broad spectrum of algae are not well understood. We investigate algicidal effects of the allelochemical juglone on the bloom-forming, harmful algae Microcystis aeruginosa and Stephanodiscus hantzschii, and on several non-target algal species including cyanobacteria (Anabaena flos–aquae, Oscillatoria curviceps, and Phormidium subfuscum), diatoms (Asterionella formosa, Fragilaria crotonensis, and Synedra acus), and green algae (Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus ecornis, and Scenedesmus quadricauda), in laboratory and field enclosure bioassays. Under three treatment concentrations (0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg L−1) of juglone, Microcystis cell density is significantly reduced by 35–93%. Concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mg L−1 inhibits Stephanodiscus growth almost equally (66% and 75%, respectively). To contrast, juglone produces a stimulatory allelopathic effect on three green algae, and other tested diatoms showed hormesis. Overall, the cyanobacteria are more sensitive to juglone than the green algae and diatoms. These results indicate that the allelopathic effects of juglone on microalgae vary depending on their characteristic cellular morphology and anatomy.

Destructive leadership comes in many shapes and forms. From reviewing the literature, we conclude that three major forms of destructive leader behaviors are described: (1) follower-directed destructive behaviors, i.e., genuine abusive forms of destructive leadership, (2) organization-directed behaviors, i.e., behaviors such as stealing from the organization or embezzlement, and (3) self-interested destructive leader behavior, i.e., leader who exploit others to reach their goals. One can easily imagine that these three types of leader behavior have very different effects on followers. Unfortunately, so far, there is no empirical evidence to support this, since comparative research in the field of destructive leadership is scarce. With this paper, we aim to address this gap: In two studies, an experimental and a field study, we examine the differential impact of these three different destructive leader behaviors on two important outcomes: first, their impact on different emotional reactions of followers, the most proximal outcome to a social interaction. Second, we examine a key outcome in leadership research: followers' turnover intention. The results suggest that different types of destructive leader behavior do impact followers differently. Whereas all three behaviors had a positive relationship with negative affect, follower-directed destructive behaviors had the strongest relation out of the three. As expected, all three types of destructive behavior relate to turnover intention, yet, the results of our study suggest that different types of destructive leader behavior relate to different urgencies of turnover intention. We conclude that a tailored approach to destructive leadership, whether in research or practice, seems necessary, as diverse types of destructive leader behaviors affect employees differentially.

The objective of this work was to apply a multivariate index of vigor in soybean seeds to identify the differential effects of the genotypes x environments interaction on the quality of the seeds produced in the 2016/2017 harvest season. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, organized in the factorial scheme, with five seed production environments x 20 soybean genotypes, arranged in four replications. The seed production environments of Tenente Portela - RS and Santa Rosa - RS soybeans are characterized as the environments that express the highest magnitude for seed vigor index, however biometrically Sarandi - RS has been defined as the optimal environment for the production of high vigor seeds according to the tested genotypes. High seed vigor index were expressed for the genotypes TMG 7161 RR, AMS Tibagi RR, BMX Magna RR, Fepagro 37 RR and NA 5909 RG. The differential effects of the genotypes x production environments interaction of soybean seeds influenced by more than 68% the vigor index of the seeds produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Destructive leadership comes in many shapes and forms. From reviewing the literature, we conclude that three major forms of destructive leader behaviors are described: (1) follower-directed destructive behaviors, i.e., genuine abusive forms of destructive leadership, (2) organization-directed behaviors, i.e., behaviors such as stealing from the organization or embezzlement, and (3) self-interested destructive leader behavior, i.e., leader who exploit others to reach their goals. One can easily imagine that these three types of leader behavior have very different effects on followers. Unfortunately, so far, there is no empirical evidence to support this, since comparative research in the field of destructive leadership is scarce. With this paper, we aim to address this gap: In two studies, an experimental and a field study, we examine the differential impact of these three different destructive leader behaviors on two important outcomes: first, their impact on different emotional reactions of followers, the most proximal outcome to a social interaction. Second, we examine a key outcome in leadership research: followers' turnover intention. The results suggest that different types of destructive leader behavior do impact followers differently. Whereas all three behaviors had a positive relationship with negative affect, follower-directed destructive behaviors had the strongest relation out of the three. As expected, all three types of destructive behavior relate to turnover intention, yet, the results of our study suggest that different types of destructive leader behavior relate to different urgencies of turnover intention. We conclude that a tailored approach to destructive leadership, whether in research or practice, seems necessary, as diverse types of destructive leader behaviors affect employees differentially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine whether different measures of social disconnectedness—subjective loneliness, network quality, network size, living alone—have differential effects on the health of older adults. Methods: We used a longitudinal sample of the German Aging Survey (N = 4,184) and analyzed seven measures of health (life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, depression, cognitive performance, physical functioning, and pulmonary function) via regression analyses. Results: We found that subjective loneliness and network quality best predicted mental health; contrarily, network size and living alone best predicted physical and cognitive health. Discussion: Different measures of social disconnectedness have differential effects on health. Therefore, using only global measures or one aspect of social disconnectedness might obfuscate potential health hazards. Researchers and practitioners should be mindful of differences between these measures and should include multiple aspects of social disconnectedness in their research and practice. Future studies should explore the causes why these measures and their effects differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined differential effects of interim assessments on minority and low socioeconomic status students' achievement in Grades K–6. They conducted a large-scale cluster randomized experiment in 2009–2010 to evaluate the impact of Indiana's policy initiative introducing interim assessments statewide. The authors used 2-level models to analyze the single-grade data and determine whether interim assessments interacted with student ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, or school composition (i.e., percent of minority or disadvantaged students). The authors also combined estimates across grades using fixed effects meta-analysis. Results indicated little evidence about differential effects. The majority of interaction estimates were insignificant and close to zero. There is some indication that in Grades K–2 Indiana's interim assessment may have closed the Hispanic–White gap in reading. In kindergarten and Grade 3 the treatment may have widened the gap between schools with higher and lower percentages of minority students and may have reduced the gap between schools with higher and lower percentages of economically disadvantaged students in mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]