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Abstract Background The indications, benefits, and outcomes of percutaneous transluminal renal artery intervention (PTRI) remain controversial. The study purpose was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of PTRI in clinical practice. Methods A retrospective review of 217 subjects (254 renal arteries; mean age, 59.8 years) who underwent PTRI based on medical database. Results The most common cause of renal artery stenosis was atherosclerosis in 217 (85.4%), followed by Takayasu arteritis (TA) in 23 (9.1%), fibromuscular dysplasia in five (2.0%) and others in nine (3.5%). Mean follow-up duration was 5.7 ± 3.7 years. The first restenosis rate was 7.5% (n = 19; highest in TA: n = 9, 47.4%) and second restenosis occurred in six arteries (five TAs, one fibromuscular dysplasia). Follow-up blood pressure improved from 142.0/83.5 to 122.8/73.5 mmHg (P

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253640.].

Study abroad (SA) has long been regarded as a key component of internationalization efforts in higher education and much scholarship has investigated the practices and outcomes of SA from varied perspectives. More recently, scholars have paid growing attention to ways to increase the participation of historically marginalized students in SA, to design SA programs to meet those students' needs, and to document their experiences abroad. Despite recent scholarship in these areas, relatively little research has employed an equity lens to address research on language-focused SA. This article puts forward language-focused SA as a possible venue to pursue equity and to provide quality education for all students, especially for historically underserved students. More specifically, we address three overarching questions: (1) What theoretical frameworks could be implemented to research SA through an equity lens?; (2) What methodological approaches could inform SA research with an equity lens?; and (3) What topics could be examined to research SA through an equity lens? Drawing on equity as a guiding principle, we discuss relevant research tasks that demonstrate specific ways to address these overarching questions in future research on language-focused SA.

This study examined how Korean teacher candidates' understanding of English and their use of the L2 (second language) and other semiotic resources for meaning making could be mediated through a mobile application, Band during study abroad. Drawing on the sociocultural perspective of L2 learning, the teacher candidates' weekly reflections, which were composed in L2 English along with other semiotic resources (e.g., emoticons, images, and videos) on curricular activities were analyzed and triangulated with focus group and individual interviews. Content analysis of the reflection posts indicated how the mobility and connectivity of Band mediated sojourners' understanding of variation in English and the host culture during study abroad. The analysis further suggests that the interactive and multimodal features of the mobile application helped L2 learners engage in enhanced learning opportunities through which they shared and negotiated each other's ideas, by using the L2 and other semiotic meaning-making resources, such as images and videos.

This qualitative case study examines, through an educational equity lens, the motivation, challenges, and assessment associated with international program development as appraised by the faculty and administrators in a district of multiple community colleges. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four faculty members and three administrators. Policy documents at the state, district, and college levels and website program descriptions were further used to triangulate the data sources. Thematic analysis suggests the faculty and administrators' motivation for developing international programs was often shaped by their personal backgrounds and their equity-minded visions to provide students with opportunities that every student deserves. Included in the reported challenges were institutional-level difficulties with recruiting students able and willing to study abroad, getting paperwork approved, and finding a faculty colleague willing to devote time to program development. The participants further described the success of education abroad in relation to their state's prescribed learning outcomes, add-on global learning outcomes at the institution level, and skills needed for students' future employment. Findings from this case study shed light on the needs of planning education abroad that are unique to community colleges, as a locus to help make education abroad a more accessible option for student learning.

The present study examined the relative effects of discourse-based and sentence-level grammar instruction on the learning of English present perfect in academic writing, using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. Participants were 37 multilingual graduate students enrolled in different sections of an ESL-writing course at a U.S. university. Prior to two 35-minute instruction sessions, the participants completed a pretest composed of acceptability-judgment, forced-choice, and fill-in-the-blank tasks. The same tasks, with different but comparable items, were administered immediately after and four weeks after the completion of the instructions. Retrospective verbalizations were elicited after completion of the delayed post-test to elicit the learners' awareness of the target form and other related tenses in academic writing. While results of the acceptability-judgment and forced-choice tasks show non-significant differences among the treatment and control groups on the pre-post-delayed post-tests, the discourse-based, fill-in-the-blank task results reveal that the discourse-based instruction group outperformed the other groups immediately after instruction. Results from the retrospective interviews corroborate these findings. Implications for discourse-based grammar instruction are discussed.

Background: ST-T segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a critical condition that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. Recently, various ECG recording devices have been developed. In this study, we aim to determine the utility of a 6-lead handheld ECG recording device to shorten the time taken for the diagnosis of inferior wall STEMI. Methods and Design: HINT-MI is an investigator-derived, observational, prospective study that will evaluate the ability of a handheld 6-lead ECG device to diagnose acute inferior wall STEMI. Patients who have undergone coronary angiography for STEMI or for other reasons will be enrolled in the study. This study aims to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of a handheld 6-lead ECG device by the level of agreement with a standard 12-lead ECG for diagnosing inferior wall STEMI. Further, we will determine whether the use of the handheld device can reduce the time needed for reperfusion treatment through faster diagnosis. Conclusions: This study aims to investigate the feasibility of a handheld 6-lead ECG device for diagnosing inferior wall STEMI to reduce the time required to diagnose inferior wall STEMI and to allow timely treatment.