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The present longitudinal study examined the reliability of self-reported academic grades across three phases in four subject domains for a sample of 916 high-school students. Self-reported grades were found to be highly positively correlated with actual grades in all academic subjects and across grades 9 to 11 underscoring the reliability of self-reported grades as an achievement indicator. Reliability of self-reported grades was found to differ across subject areas (e.g., mathematics self-reports more reliable than language studies), with a slight yet consistent tendency to over-report achievement levels also observed across grade levels and academic subjects. Overall, the absolute value of over- and underreporting was low and these patterns were not found to differ between mathematics and verbal subjects. In sum, study findings demonstrate the consistent predictive utility of students' self-reported achievement across grade levels and subject areas with the observed tendency to over-report academic grades and slight differences between domains nonetheless warranting consideration in future education research.

Performance assessments play an essential role in performance diagnostics at schools. In practice, both announced and unannounced assessments are regularly used. However, it is unclear whether assessments are better administered announced or unannounced. From a theoretical perspective, it can be argued that announced assessments, mediated by the greater degree of students' subjective control that accompanies them, should have a more beneficial effect on emotions, as well as the subsequently resulting performance, than unannounced assessments. To investigate these assumptions, emotion (enjoyment, anxiety) and achievement data (grades) were collected from 414 students in 19 lower- and upper-level tracks at a German secondary school on both announced and unannounced performance assessments. Less anxiety and more enjoyment occurred on the announced assessments. Moreover, enjoyment and anxiety were predictors of performance (i.e., school grades), which was better overall on announced assessments than on unannounced ones. The results of our field study suggest that announced assessments have more beneficial effects on emotions than unannounced assessments. (Autor).

Private paid tutoring is one of the most common approaches of remedial instruction to improve school performance of poorly performing pupils. The expansion of private tutoring was affirmed in a study with 904 pupils in Luxembourg. 23% of the participants reported that they receive tutoring at present, mainly in the subject matter of Mathematics. Theoretical considerations suggest the effectiveness of private tutoring in promoting school performance by an improvement in cognitive and motivational variables and a higher amount of time spent on task. However, appropriate evaluation studies are lacking. In an empirical study the effectiveness of tutoring is evaluated in a pre-post-control-group-design. One group (N=122) received private tutoring over a period of nine months and was compared to a non-tutoring control group (N=122). These results indicate that receiving tutoring leads to a larger improvement in school performance and motivational variables. Directions for further research and practical implications are discussed. Des enseignements particuliers sont un des méthodes principaux pour améliorer les rendus scolaires. L'augmentation des enseignements particuliers était confirmé par une étude qui était mené avec 904 élèves luxembourgeois. Au moment de l'étude 23% des participants ont rapporté qu'il recevraient des enseignements particuliers, principalement en mathématiques. En raison de réflexions théoriques on peut attendre que l'efficacité des enseignements particuliers se manifeste dans une amélioration des facteurs cognitives et motivationnel et en plus est le résultat d'une augmentation de temps consacré au procès d'apprendre. Mais il manque d'études d'évaluation appropriés. Dans une étude empirique on contrôlait l'efficacité des enseignements particuliers avec un avant-après-control-group design. Un group qui profitait des enseignements particuliers depuis neuf mois était comparé avec un group sans enseignements particuliers. Les résultats montraient que l'amélioration des rendus scolaires était plus grand parmi le group qui suivait les enseignements particuliers que parmi les élèves qui n'en profitaient pas. L'article comprend aussi des directions pour d'autres recherches continuantes et une discussion concernant des implications pratiques.

Docetaxel-based chemotherapy is effective in metastatic gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. This study reports on the safety and efficacy of the docetaxel-based triplet FLOT (fluorouracil plus leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel) as a perioperative therapy for patients with locally advanced, resectable tumours. In this controlled, open-label, phase 2/3 trial, we randomly assigned 716 patients with histologically-confirmed advanced clinical stage cT2 or higher or nodal positive stage (cN+), or both, resectable tumours, with no evidence of distant metastases, via central interactive web-based-response system, to receive either three pre-operative and three postoperative 3-week cycles of 50 mg/m2 epirubicin and 60 mg/m2 cisplatin on day 1 plus either 200 mg/m2 fluorouracil as continuous intravenous infusion or 1250 mg/m2 capecitabine orally on days 1 to 21 (ECF/ECX; control group) or four preoperative and four postoperative 2-week cycles of 50 mg/m2 docetaxel, 85 mg/m2 oxaliplatin, 200 mg/m2 leucovorin and 2600 mg/m2 fluorouracil as 24-h infusion on day 1 (FLOT; experimental group). The primary outcome of the trial was overall survival (superiority) analysed in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01216644. Between Aug 8, 2010, and Feb 10, 2015, 716 patients were randomly assigned to treatment in 38 German hospitals or with practice-based oncologists. 360 patients were assigned to ECF/ECX and 356 patients to FLOT. Overall survival was increased in the FLOT group compared with the ECF/ECX group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·77; 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.63 to 0·94]; median overall survival, 50 months [38·33 to not reached] vs 35 months [27·35 to 46·26]). The number of patients with related serious adverse events (including those occurring during hospital stay for surgery) was similar in the two groups (96 [27%] in the ECF/ECX group vs 97 [27%] in the FLOT group), as was the number of toxic deaths (two [<1%] in both groups). Hospitalisation for toxicity occurred in 94 patients (26%) in the ECF/ECX group and 89 patients (25%) in the FLOT group. In locally advanced, resectable gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, perioperative FLOT improved overall survival compared with perioperative ECF/ECX. The German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), Sanofi-Aventis, Chugai, and Stiftung Leben mit Krebs Foundation.

Viruses cause severe damage to society due to seasonal and pandemic outbreaks; therefore, developing new antivirals is urgently needed. Multivalent virus inhibitors are promising broad-spectrum antivirals, as they can block the initial step of viral infection by mimicking the structure of the cell receptors on the host cell membrane. Biocompatible supramolecular architectures are particularly well-suited for virus inhibition due to the numerous weak non-covalent bindings, resulting in strong yet dynamic multivalent interactions. Herein, we report on supramolecular nanosheets based on dendritic polyglycerol (dPG). The dPG core was functionalized with different ratios of sulfate and mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) groups. The MUA, as the hydrophobic part, triggers the self-assembly and -via the acid group-the supramolecular interaction with the virus, while sulfate groups mimic heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) on the cell membrane for virus interaction. The effect of polymer functionalization degree of MUA (ranging from 30 to 100 %) on the nanosheet size and morphology, as well as their interaction with viral particles, were monitored by cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). Bio-functional assays such as plaque reduction, pre-infection inhibition, hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and cell viability assays have been performed to assess the in vitro efficiency of supramolecular nanosheets against Influenza A virus and Herpes-simplex virus type 1. These studies revealed inhibitory activities against IAV (X31/H3N2) and HSV-1 with the half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1 and 0.01 μg/mL in vitro, respectively, demonstrating its potential of being a universal virus inhibitor by dynamic multivalent interactions. [Display omitted] •The functionalized dendritic polyglycerols self-assemble in supramolecular nanosheets.•The supramolecular nanosheets are active against Influenza A and Herpes-simplex virus type 1 with an IC50 value of 1 μg/mL.•Supramolecular nanosheets showed virucidal activity against Herpes-simplex virus type 1.•The binding of Nanosheets to Influenza A virus particles are visualized by cryo-electron microscopy.

Virucidal compounds capable of binding to and disrupting viruses represent a promising avenue for antiviral applications. In this study, the development of high molecular weight (≈300 kDa) dendronized polyglycerol‐based mucin‐inspired amphiphilic statistical copolymers (MIACPs) is reported using the RAFT polymerization technique. These copolymers comprise ≈30% repeat units containing aliphatic C11 carbon chains with terminal carboxylate (MIACP‐1) and alkyl (MIACP‐2) functionalities, while the remaining ≈70% of the repeat units consist of dendronized polyglycerol sulfates. Structural characterization using cryo‐electron microscopy (cryo‐EM) and small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS) reveals that MIACPs form single‐chain filamentous structures, similar to natural porcine gastric mucin (PGM). These biocompatible MIACPs exhibit strong, sulfate‐dependent inhibition of human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV), with exceptionally low IC50 values (C = ≈0.25 µg mL−1). The virucidal activity is assessed using serial dilution experiments, which confirms that MIACPs demonstrate virucidal activity, indicating a very strong binding affinity of the polymers to the hRSV. In contrast, a similar molecular weight homopolymer composed solely of sulfated dendronized repeat units exhibits comparable hRSV inhibition activity but lacks any virucidal effect. Therefore, designing a statistical copolymer with ≈30% virucidal functionality is unique in that it renders the copolymer virucidal without compromising its inhibitory activity. Virucidal polymers serve as effective antivirals by not only inhibiting viruses but also destroying them. Inspired by the chemical properties of mucin‐mimetics, dendronized polyglycerol‐sulfated, mucin‐inspired amphiphilic copolymers (MIACPs) have been developed. These MIACPs form mucin‐like elongated fibers, as confirmed by cryo‐electron microscopy and small‐angle neutron scattering. MIACPs demonstrate strong potential in preventing infections caused by human respiratory viruses.

In the 1980s, it was demonstrated that semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) accumulate in plant leaves. Plants are at the base of the food chain, and therefore a starting point for transfer of PCBs to animals and related human exposure. For two decades, the Environment Agency of the German federal state of Bavaria (LfU) has been operating long-term monitoring stations to measure the impact of organic air pollutants. Standardized ryegrass, curly kale, and spruce needles are used as bioindicators for the atmospheric entries of PCBs into vegetation. From the end of 1990s to 2009, there was a marked decline in the concentrations of indicator PCBs (i-PCBs) and a minor decline in PCB-TEQ levels. After 2009, the concentrations leveled off. In rural areas, the median concentrations of Σ6 i-PCB in ryegrass and curly kale were about 3 and 4 μg/kg dm in 2000, and have been about 0.5 and 1 μg/kg dm since 2009, respectively. Concentrations in spruce needles fell from 0.9 to 0.4 μg/kg dm. Median PCB-TEQ concentrations in the bioindicator plants ranged from 0.05 to 0.23 ng/kg dm between 2002 and 2009 and from 0.15 to 0.05 ng/kg dm after 2009. Indicator PCB and PCB-TEQ concentrations were several times higher at the urban station in Munich than at the rural areas, reflecting the emissions from in-use PCB stocks in the building sector. The likely reason of the slower decrease of PCB-TEQ compared to i-PCBs is the formation of PCB-126 by dechlorination of industrial PCBs in open applications.

Mucus is a complex hydrogel acting as a defensive and protective barrier in various parts of the human body. The structure and composition of mucus play an important role in maintaining barrier properties by acting as a filter for the diffusion of biomolecules and pathogens. The rise in viral infections has underscored the importance of advancing research into mucus-mimicking hydrogels for the efficient design of antiviral agents. However, the performance of an antiviral strategy should not only be assessed based on its efficacy in inhibiting infections but also based on its sustainability. Herein, we demonstrate the gram-scale synthesis of biocompatible, lignin-based virus-binding inhibitors that reduce waste and ensure long-term availability. The lignin-based inhibitors were equipped with sulfate moieties, which are known binding partners for many viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and herpes viruses. In addition, crosslinking the synthesized inhibitors yielded hydrogels that mimicked native mucus with respect to surface functionality and rheology. It is found that the degree of sulfation has a very strong impact on the mesh size distribution of the hydrogels, which provides a new means to fine-tune steric and electrostatic contributions of the virus-hydrogel interaction. This feature strongly impacts the sequestration capability of the lignin-based hydrogels, which is demonstrated by infection inhibition assays involving human herpes simplex virus-1, influenza A viruses, and the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli). For HSV-1 and E. coli, these measurements showed a reduction in plaque (HSV-1) and colony-forming units (E. coli) by more than 4 orders of magnitude, indicating potent inhibition by the lignin-based hydrogels. Taken together, the sulfated lignin hydrogel is an excellent scaffold for large-scale synthesis of sustainable, biocompatible, and highly efficient pathogen-binding inhibitors.

Mucus is a dynamic biological hydrogel, composed primarily of the glycoprotein mucin, exhibits unique biophysical properties and forms a barrier protecting cells against a broad spectrum of viruses. Here we developed a polyglycerol sulfate-based dendronized mucin-inspired copolymer (MICP-1) with ~10 % repeating units of activated disulfide as cross-linking sites. Cryo-EM analysis of MICP-1 reveals an elongated single-chain fiber morphology. MICP-1 shows potential inhibitory activity against many viruses such as HSV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 (including variants such as Delta and Omicron). MICP-1 produces hydrogels with viscoelastic properties similar to healthy human sputum and with tuneable microstructures using linear and branched PEG-thiol as cross-linkers. Single particle tracking microrheology, EPR and Cryo-SEM were used to characterize the network structures. The synthesized hydrogels exhibit self-healing properties, along with viscoelastic properties that are tuneable through reduction. a transwell assay was used to investigate the hydrogel’s protective properties against viral infection against HSV-1. Live-cell microscopy confirmed that these hydrogels can protect underlying cells from infection by trapping the virus, due to both network morphology and anionic multivalent effects. Overall, our novel mucin-inspired copolymer generates mucus-mimetic hydrogels on a multi-gram scale. These hydrogels can be used as a models for disulfide-rich airway mucus research, and as biomaterials.