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Montessori education has existed for more than 100 years and counts almost 16,000 schools worldwide (Debs et al., 2022). Still, little is known about the implementation and fidelity of Montessori principles. Measuring implementations holds significant importance as it provides insight into current Montessori practices and because it is assumed that implementation might influence its effectiveness. In the Netherlands, it is especially important to measure fidelity because of the country's history of flexible implementation of Montessori principles. No instruments currently exist that are specifically designed to measure Montessori implementation in the Dutch context. This study aims to validate a translated version of the Teacher Questionnaire for Montessori Practices, developed by Murray et al. (2019), within the Dutch early childhood education context. Additionally, it seeks to investigate the extent to which Montessori principles are implemented in Dutch early childhood schools. Data were collected from 131 early childhood Montessori teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the Dutch dataset did not align with the factor structure proposed by Murray et al. (2019). Subsequent exploratory factor analysis led to the identification of a 3-factor solution, encompassing dimensions related to Children's Freedom, Teacher Guidance, and Curriculum, which shows some similarities with Murray et al.'s (2019) factors. Implementation levels in the Netherlands varied, with the highest level of implementation observed in Children's Freedom and the lowest in Curriculum.

Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM) has been considered as an attractive candidate to replace Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for the fifth generation (5G) mobile networks. GFDM system has better spectral characteristics compared to the OFDM system due to the use of properly selected pulse shaping filters. Non-causal ideal filters, such as the raised cosine (RC), are commonly used in the GFDM systems. In practical implementation, non-causal filters need to be truncated and shifted, which will increase the out-of-band (OOB) radiation of the signal and will introduce delay to the system. High OOB radiation will cause interferences between the adjacent channels, thus it should be minimized. This paper proposes to minimize the OOB radiation of the GFDM system using the designed pulse shaping filters. The pulse shaping filters are designed using the computationally efficient quadratic programming (QP) approach. Numerical results illustrate that OOB radiation level of the GFDM system is lower when the QP filters are used compared to the conventional RC filter. Further investigation shows that the use of the QP filters are efficient in increasing the high power amplifier (HPA) efficiency, improving the spectral efficiency, and reducing the BER at the receiver.

The WHO concept of Healthy Ageing (ie, the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in older age) has initiated a global discussion about the need for shifting paradigms to reorient health and social services towards person-centred and coordinated models of care. In particular, the integration of health and social care services is critical to provide the basis for comprehensive information sharing and service delivery to support the evolution of the older person over time. The capability to monitor and respond to an older person’s changing health and social care needs will enable prompt and personalised health and social care plans to be implemented.The implementation of an integrated care approach involves all the settings where persons age, but also requires a concerted action among micro (clinical), meso (service delivery) and macro (system) level. The community is of particular relevance given the primary objective of ageing in place. However, from the perspective of the continuum of care and services acting synergistically, all health and social care settings (including long-term care facilities and hospitals) need to evolve and embrace an integrated way of operating to support functional ability in older people, while maximising resource and information sharing efficiencies.In this paper, we explain that government actions to promote well-being in older age should be built on a seamless continuum of care starting from the assessment of the older person’s intrinsic capacity and functional ability with the final aim of providing care aligned with the individual’s needs and priorities.

Science centres are informal learning spaces embedded with artefacts embodying mediational affordances. This exploratory and small-scale mixed methods study juxtaposes eye-tracking technologies and qualitative interviews to examine how visitors to a gallery navigated this space and interacted with different artefacts. A total of 15 visitors to the science centre gallery, Energy Story, participated in the study. The findings revealed inconclusive results about the directionality of their navigation. The mediational affordances of the artefacts, as interpreted from the interactive elements and interaction of the visitors and interviews, suggested that it was better to distribute the mediational affordances across a few artefacts in an exhibit rather than have one artefact embody several affordances. The concept of "mediational threshold" was suggested as a topic for future study. The findings contributed to the academic literature on eye-tracking studies at science centres. They also provided ideas for science centre curators and teachers who bring students with diverse learning needs to this mediational space.

The purpose of this study is to synthesize Montessori's writings on citizenship education to support the implementation of a Montessorian view. This synthesis demonstrates that Montessori was of the explicit conviction that a better world can be achieved through citizenship education, as it strives for a peaceful and harmonious society. We approach this topic through the Dutch context. Although schools in the Netherlands are required by law to promote active citizenship and social cohesion, this law does not stipulate which of the many different views on citizenship education schools must adhere to. Schools have the liberty to devise their own citizenship curricula if they can substantiate their views and choices. For Montessori schools, this requires insight into Montessori's view on citizenship education. Although Montessori's views are still largely appropriate in our time, an ongoing dialogue about citizenship education is required, as Montessori lived and worked in a specific geopolitical context. Based on our analysis, we have identified seven themes that characterize Montessori's view on citizenship education: one common citizenship goal; preparation for independent thinking and action; image of the future citizen; adapted and critical citizens; humanity for harmony; knowledge as prerequisite, personality development as goal; and an ever-expanding worldview. The results of this study provide valuable insights for designing and teaching citizenship education through a Montessorian lens.

KEY POINTS: The authors leverage the unique benefits of panoptic segmentation to perform the largest ever quantitation of reference kidney morphometry. Kidney features vary with age and sex; and glomeruli size may intricately link to creatinine, defying prior notions. BACKGROUND: Reference histomorphometric data of healthy human kidneys are largely lacking because of laborious quantitation requirements. Correlating histomorphometric features with clinical parameters through machine learning approaches can provide valuable information about natural population variance. To this end, we leveraged deep learning (DL), computational image analysis, and feature analysis to associate the relationship of histomorphometry with patient age, sex, serum creatinine (SCr), and eGFR in a multinational set of reference kidney tissue sections. METHODS: A panoptic segmentation neural network was developed and used to segment viable and sclerotic glomeruli, cortical and medullary interstitia, tubules, and arteries/arterioles in the digitized images of 79 periodic acid–Schiff-stained human nephrectomy sections showing minimal pathologic changes. Simple morphometrics (e.g., area, radius, density) were quantified from the segmented classes. Regression analysis aided in determining the association of histomorphometric parameters with age, sex, SCr, and eGFR. RESULTS: Our DL model achieved high segmentation performance for all test compartments. The size and density of glomeruli, tubules, and arteries/arterioles varied significantly among healthy humans, with potentially large differences between geographically diverse patients. Glomerular size was significantly correlated with SCr and eGFR. Slight, albeit significant, differences in renal vasculature were observed between sexes. Glomerulosclerosis percentage increased, and cortical density of arteries/arterioles decreased, as a function of increasing age. CONCLUSIONS: Using DL, we automated precise measurements of kidney histomorphometric features. In the reference kidney tissue, several histomorphometric features demonstrated significant correlation to patient demographics, SCr, and eGFR. DL tools can increase the efficiency and rigor of histomorphometric analysis.

Abstract Background Asthma, a complex respiratory disease, presents with inflammatory symptoms in the lungs, blood, and other tissues. We investigated the relationship between DNA methylation and 35 clinical markers of asthma. Methods The Illumina Infinium EPIC v1 methylation array was used to evaluate 742,442 CpGs in whole blood from 319 participants from 94 families. They were part of the Netherlands Twin Register from families with at least one member suffering from severe asthma. Repeat blood samples were taken after 10 years from 182 individuals. Principal component analysis on the clinical asthma markers yielded ten principal components (PCs) that explained 92.8% of the total variance. We performed epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) for each of the ten PCs correcting for familial structure and other covariates. Results 221 unique CpGs reached genome-wide significance at timepoint 1 after Bonferroni correction. PC7, which correlated with loadings of eosinophil counts and immunoglobulin levels, accounted for the majority of associations (204). Enrichment analysis via the EWAS Atlas identified 190 of these CpGs to be previously identified in EWASs of asthma and asthma-related traits. Proximity assessment to previously identified SNPs associated with asthma identified 17 unique SNPs within 1 MB of two of the 221 CpGs. EWAS in 182 individuals with epigenetic data at a second timepoint identified 49 significant CpGs. EWAS Atlas enrichment analysis indicated that 4 of the 49 were previously associated with asthma or asthma-related traits. Comparing the estimates of all the significant associations identified across the two time points yielded a correlation of 0.81. Conclusion We identified 270 unique CpGs that were associated with PC scores generated from 35 clinical markers of asthma, either cross-sectionally or 10 years later. A strong correlation was present between effect sizes at the 2 timepoints. Most associations were identified for PC7, which captured blood eosinophil counts and immunoglobulin levels and many of these CpGs have previous associations in earlier studies of asthma and asthma-related traits. The results point to a robust DNA methylation profile as a new, stable biomarker for asthma.

Abstract We developed and evaluated the Digital Platform for Exercise (DPEx): a decentralized, patient-centric approach designed to enhance all aspects of clinical investigation of exercise therapy. DPEx integrated provision of a treadmill with telemedicine and remote biospecimen collection permitting all study procedures to be conducted in patient’s homes. Linked health biodevices enabled high-resolution monitoring of lifestyle and physiological response. Here we describe the rationale and development of DPEx as well as feasibility evaluation in three different cohorts of patients with cancer: a phase 0a development study among three women with post-treatment primary breast cancer; a phase 0b proof-of-concept trial of neoadjuvant exercise therapy in 13 patients with untreated solid tumors; and a phase 1a level-finding trial of neoadjuvant exercise therapy in 53 men with localized prostate cancer. Collectively, our study demonstrates the utility of a fully digital, decentralized approach to conduct clinical trials of exercise therapy in a clinical population.

Abstract Seminal fluid is rich in sugars, but their role beyond supporting sperm motility is unknown. In this study, we found Drosophila melanogaster males transfer a substantial amount of a phospho-galactoside to females during mating, but only half as much when undernourished. This seminal substance, which we named venerose, induces an increase in germline stem cells (GSCs) and promotes sperm storage in females, especially undernourished ones. Venerose enters the hemolymph and directly activates nutrient-sensing Dh44+ neurons in the brain. Food deprivation directs the nutrient-sensing neurons to secrete more of the neuropeptide Dh44 in response to infused venerose. The secreted Dh44 then enhances the local niche signal, stimulating GSC proliferation. It also extends the retention of ejaculate by females, resulting in greater venerose absorption and increased sperm storage. In this study, we uncovered the role of a sugar-like seminal substance produced by males that coordinates reproductive responses to nutritional challenges in females.

We employed infrared scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (IR-sSNOM) to study surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in trilayer graphene (TLG). Our study reveals systematic differences in near-field IR spectra and SPP wavelengths between Bernal (ABA) and rhombohedral (ABC) TLG domains on SiO2, which can be explained by stacking-dependent intraband conductivities. We also observed that the SPP reflection profiles at ABA-ABC boundaries could be mostly accounted for by an idealized domain boundary defined by the conductivity discontinuity. However, we identified distinct shapes in the SPP profiles at the edges of the ABA and ABC TLG, which cannot be solely attributed to idealized edges with stacking-dependent conductivities. Instead, this can be explained by the presence of various edge structures with local conductivities differing from those of bulk TLGs. Our findings unveil a new structural element that can control SPP, and provide insights into the structures and electronic states of the edges of few-layer graphene.

A workshop titled Beyond the Symptom: The Biology of Fatigue was held virtually September 27-28, 2021. It was jointly organized by the Sleep Research Society and the Neurobiology of Fatigue Working Group of the NIH Blueprint Neuroscience Research Program. For access to the presentations and video recordings, see: https://neuroscienceblueprint.nih.gov/about/event/beyond-symptom-biology-fatigue. The goals of this workshop were to bring together clinicians and scientists who use a variety of research approaches to understand fatigue in multiple conditions and to identify key gaps in our understanding of the biology of fatigue. This workshop summary distills key issues discussed in this workshop and provides a list of promising directions for future research on this topic. We do not attempt to provide a comprehensive review of the state of our understanding of fatigue, nor to provide a comprehensive reprise of the many excellent presentations. Rather, our goal is to highlight key advances and to focus on questions and future approaches to answering them.