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Objectives To determine the test-retest reproducibility and observer variability of CMR-derived LA function, using (i) LA strain (LAS) and strain rate (LASR), and (ii) LA volumes (LAV) and emptying fraction (LAEF). Methods Sixty participants with and without cardiovascular disease (aortic stenosis (AS) ( n = 16), type 2 diabetes (T2D) ( n = 28), end-stage renal disease on haemodialysis ( n = 10) and healthy volunteers ( n = 6)) underwent two separate CMR scans 7–14 days apart. LAS and LASR, corresponding to LA reservoir, conduit and contractile booster-pump function, were assessed using Feature Tracking software (QStrain v2.0). LAEF was calculated using the biplane area length method (QMass v8.1). Both were assessed using 4- and 2-chamber long-axis standard steady-state free precession cine images, and average values were calculated. Intra- and inter-observer variabilities were assessed in 10 randomly selected participants. Results The test-retest reproducibility was moderate to poor for all strain and strain rate parameters. Overall, strain and strain rate corresponding to reservoir phase (LAS_r, LASR_r) were the most reproducible, yielding the smallest coefficient of variance (CoV) (29.9% for LAS_r, 28.9% for LASR_r). The test-retest reproducibility for LAVs and LAEF was good: LAVmax CoV = 19.6% ICC = 0.89, LAVmin CoV = 27.0% ICC = 0.89 and total LAEF CoV = 15.6% ICC = 0.78. The inter- and intra-observer variabilities were good for all parameters except for conduit function. Conclusion The test-retest reproducibility of LA strain and strain rate assessment by CMR utilising Feature Tracking is moderate to poor across disease states, whereas LA volume and emptying fraction are more reproducible on CMR. Further improvements in LA strain quantification are needed before widespread clinical application. Key Points • LA strain and strain rate assessment using Feature Tracking on CMR has moderate to poor test-retest reproducibility across disease states. • The test-retest reproducibility for the biplane method of assessing LA function is better than strain assessment, with lower coefficient of variances and narrower limits of agreement on Bland-Altman plots. • Biplane LA volumetric measurement also has better intra- and inter-observer variability compared to strain assessment.

Around the world, language teachers are shifting to content-based instruction (CBI) as a way to teach English, most commonly in the form of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) or English-Medium Instruction (EMI). With the spread of CBI around the world, it is important to understand how this shift in teaching has affected student outcomes. Using a systematic literature review approach, this study examines current literature on the effect of CBI on language and content outcomes. Twenty-five articles met the inclusion criteria for this study and were examined. The results show mixed findings on the effectiveness of CBI on student outcomes, with the majority of studies showing either positive or neutral effects for CBI when compared with non-CBI classrooms. However, the study also reveals multiple methodological issues that cause difficulties for any strong conclusions about CBI to be made. In addition, while CLIL in Spain has received a lot of research attention, other countries remain understudied. Therefore, this study concludes with a call for future research of CBI outcomes that examine a variety of countries and account for the methodological flaws identified.

In recent large-scale cardiovascular outcome trials, two new classes of glucose-lowering medications—sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs)—demonstrated cardiovascular benefits in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). These findings have prompted growing optimism among clinicians regarding the potential for these agents to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in people with T2DM. GLP-1RAs and SGLT2i are now advocated as second-line agents in European and US guidelines for management of both hyperglycaemia and for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in people with T2DM. Given the high prevalence of T2DM in patients with cardiovascular disease, cardiologists will increasingly encounter these agents in routine clinical practice. In this review, we summarise evidence from cardiovascular outcome trials of GLP-1RAs and SGLT2i, give practical advice on prescribing and detail safety considerations associated with their use. We also highlight areas where further work is needed, giving details on active clinical trials. The review aims to familiarise cardiologists with these emerging treatments, which will be increasingly encountered in clinical practice, given the expanding representation of T2DM in patients with cardiovascular disease. Whether these drugs will be initiated by cardiologists remains to be determined.

Around the world, language teachers are shifting to content-based instruction (CBI) as a way to teach English, most commonly in the form of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) or English-Medium Instruction (EMI). With the spread of CBI around the world, it is important to understand how this shift in teaching has affected student outcomes. Using a systematic literature review approach, this study examines current literature on the effect of CBI on language and content outcomes. Twenty-five articles met the inclusion criteria for this study and were examined. The results show mixed findings on the effectiveness of CBI on student outcomes, with the majority of studies showing either positive or neutral effects for CBI when compared with non-CBI classrooms. However, the study also reveals multiple methodological issues that cause difficulties for any strong conclusions about CBI to be made. In addition, while CLIL in Spain has received a lot of research attention, other countries remain understudied. Therefore, this study concludes with a call for future research of CBI outcomes that examine a variety of countries and account for the methodological flaws identified.

This dissertation uses the Simple View of Writing to investigate Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) writing development through three research studies: one systematic review and two empirical studies. The introduction to this dissertation provides an overview of conceptualizations of writing, CLIL, and Taiwan’s recent proposal for developing into a bilingual nation through CLIL instruction. The introduction is followed by the first study which examines previous research on CLIL writing measurement and outcomes through a systematic search of the literature. The review shows that research on CLIL writing can be divided into two categories, research on CLIL versus non-CLIL writing outcomes and research on CLIL growth. Within these studies, researchers use four categories of writing measurement: vocabulary measures, rubrics, complexity/accuracy/fluency (CAF) measures, and content analysis. The study highlights the use of singular metrics to examine writing rather than examinations through models that account for the dimensions of the Simple View of Writing. The second study investigates CLIL writing as a product by testing the fit of a higher-order model based on the Simple View of Writing with narrative and expository writing data collected from primary school CLIL students in Taiwan. Results show that a model accounting for transcription and ideation exhibits a better fit with the data than a single-factor model, suggesting that the Simple View of Writing may adequately explain writing as a product for CLIL primary students. The final study measures the effect of gender, spelling, vocabulary, and oral language skills on writing for primary sixth grade CLIL students in Taiwan. The study examines CLIL writing as a cognitive process driven by transcription and ideation component skills affected by gender. Using two hierarchical regression models for narrative and expository writing, results show the possibility of transcription and ideation component skills as predictors of writing. Additionally, it was found that gender may also be a predictor of writing outcomes when accounting for ideation ability. However, additional research is needed to better understand the contributions of transcription, ideation, and gender for predicting writing. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for CLIL researchers and practitioners. Specifically, it encourages the use of the Simple View of Writing as a framework for investigating CLIL writing and planning curriculum and instruction in CLIL classrooms both in Taiwan and around the world.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how the use of real three-dimensional (3D) capillary network geometries affect models of oxygen transport to tissue. In order to generate complex maps of capillary geometry a software package was developed that was capable of reconstructing microvasculature in 3D from intravital video sequences of blood flow. Characterization of the resulting 3D reconstructions demonstrated that capillary density, length and capillary diameter were consistent with previous findings using other measurement methods. Using reconstructed networks as a frame work a strategy was devised that utilized red blood cell (RBC) supply rate (SR) as a target metric for blood flow modeling. Applying the RBC SR based flow model on baseline and perturbed flow conditions demonstrated that RBC SR is a major determinant of oxygen delivery that is insensitive to changes in flow redistribution provided total RBC SR is maintained. The resulting flow solutions were used as the basis for comparing oxygen transport in reconstructed 3D networks and synthetic parallel capillary arrays. A variety of physiological conditions were simulated using reconstructions and parallel arrays and it was determined that parallel arrays resulted in oxygen transport solutions with higher mean PO2 due to the homogeneous distribution of vessels longitudinally throughout the network volume. Lastly, to investigate oxygen transport in a complex pathology a model of sepsis was used that tested how incremental perfusion loss, change in consumption and change in RBC SR affect oxygen delivery to diseased tissue. It was shown that incremental perfusion loss did not markedly impair oxygen delivery provided that total RBC SR was maintain. However, a two fold increase in oxygen consumption, similar to that estimated for sepsis, combined with a loss of perfused capillaries necessitated up to a 4 fold increase in RBC SR to return tissue PO2 to baseline levels. These results have improved our understanding of oxygen transport to tissue in both normal and diseased conditions; it is clear that the use of reconstructed network geometries and direct measurements of blood flow and oxygen saturation in computer models provide different solutions than those arrived at using statistical averages and synthetic networks.

Boosted dark matter (BDM) is a well-motivated class of dark matter (DM) candidates in which a small component of DM is relativistic at the present time. We lay the foundation for BDM searches via hadronic interactions in large liquid-argon time-projection chambers (LArTPCs), such as DUNE. We investigate BDM-nucleus scattering in detail by developing new event generation techniques with a parameterized detector simulation. We study the discovery potential in a DUNE-like experiment using the low threshold and directionality of hadron detection in LArTPCs and compare with other experiments.

Fermilab experiment E835 is dedicated to the study of the charm-anticharm bound states, charmonium, produced in proton-antiproton annihilations. In this dissertation, the two-photon decay rate of the χc,0( 3P0) state is investigated. The result of the analysis gives a product of branching ratios BR(χ 0 → p¯p) × BR(χ 0 → γγ) = (6.52 ± 1.18(sta) ± 0.55(sys)) × 10−8. Inserting this result into a fit with other measurements at the χ0 gives a two-photon partial width of Γγγ = 2.81 ± 0.51 keV.

The Heavy Photon Search (HPS) experiment is designed to search for a new vector boson \\(A^\\) in the mass range of 20 MeV/\\(c^2\\) to 220 MeV/\\(c^2\\) that kinetically mixes with the Standard Model photon with couplings \\(^2 >10^-10\\). In addition to the general importance of exploring light, weakly coupled physics that is difficult to probe with high-energy colliders, a prime motivation for this search is the possibility that sub-GeV thermal relics constitute dark matter, a scenario that requires a new comparably light mediator, where models with a hidden \\(U(1)\\) gauge symmetry, a \"dark\", \"hidden sector\", or \"heavy\" photon, are particularly attractive. HPS searches for visible signatures of these heavy photons, taking advantage of their small coupling to electric charge to produce them via a process analogous to bremsstrahlung in a fixed target and detect their subsequent decay to \\(e^+ e^-\\) pairs in a compact spectrometer. In addition to searching for \\(e^+ e^-\\) resonances atop large QED backgrounds, HPS has the ability to precisely measure decay lengths, resulting in unique sensitivity to dark photons, as well as other long-lived new physics. After completion of the experiment and operation of engineering runs in 2015 and 2016 at the JLab CEBAF, physics runs in 2019 and 2021 have provided datasets that are now being analyzed to search for dark photons and other new phenomena.

In this time of transition to a new generation of quark flavor experiments we review both the theoretical and the experimental progress on the determination of unitarity triangle angles from penguin-dominated B decays. This summarizes the activities of the Working Group VI at the CKM2010 workshop.