From digital competence to Professional Digital Competence

The authors of this article have collaborated as part of a steering group for Norwegian state-funded research and development project designed to enhance the professional digital competence (PDC) of both teacher educators, practising, and student teachers. In this article, we give voice to students’ experiences of their PDC development during teacher education (TE). We investigate their ideas on how TE might be developed to prepare them better for professional careers in a digital context. The participants are studying at a Norwegian university where, from 2018 to 2021, PDC has become a major area of focus as part of the aforementioned project. The data consist of four group interviews with 17 students from different campuses. We find that student teachers employ a broad range of digital technologies during TE. They experience a diversity of digital didactical practices and engage in thematic discussions concerning digitalization. They also utilise many technologies and apply the digital knowledge they have acquired in their personal lives. While some of them request more technical support during TE, most want to see TE engaging them in more critical discussions about the educational opportunities and challenges that digitalization offers. We discuss some of the dilemmas that TE must address to respond to these findings. In particular, we elaborate on how students’ digital experiences can be used as a resource when preparing for their professional roles as teachers.

Antibiotic prescribing in mental health units across the Veterans’ Health Administration: How much and how appropriate?

We evaluated antibiotic-prescribing across 111 mental health units in the Veterans’ Health Administration. We found that accurate diagnosis of urinary tract infections is a major area for improvement. Because non–mental-health clinicians were involved in most antibiotic-prescribing decisions, stewardship interventions for mental health patients should have a broad target audience to be effective.

Overtaking Assistance Using Wireless Camera and Sensors (Zenarch Tech)

The major area of concern in the advancement of intelligent vehicles is to improve the safety of driving system. This paper comes up with a new way of using visual system for driving assistance by replacing convex mirror with wireless camera and sensors. The new system uses vehicle-to-vehicle OAS which contains both transmitter and receiver systems. It will assist the driver to avoid accidents during overtaking. This isa driver support system which helps you maintain the correct speed and safe distance from other vehicles. .It helps in reduction of accidents and provides safe journey on all weather conditions.

Longitudinal study of risk factors for decreased cross-sectional area of psoas major and paraspinal muscle in 1849 individuals

This 10-year retrospective observational study investigated longitudinal losses in psoas major and paraspinal muscle area in 1849 healthy individuals (1690 male, 159 female) screened using computed tomography. Logistic regression analysis revealed significant decreases in psoas major and paraspinal muscle area at 10 years relative to the baseline area regardless of age or sex, starting at 30 years of age. Only aging [≥ 50 s (odds ratio [OR]: 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–2.84; p = 0.03) and ≥ 60 s (OR: 2.67; 95% CI 1.55–4.60; p < 0.001)] was a risk factor for decreases in psoas major area. Age ≥ 60 years (OR: 2.05; 95% CI 1.24–3.39; p = 0.005), body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2 (OR: 1.32; 95% CI 1.01–1.73; p = 0.04), and visceral fat ≥ 100 cm2 (OR: 1.61; 95% CI 1.20–2.15; p = 0.001) were risk factors for decreases in paraspinal muscle area. Physical activity ≥ 900 kcal/week (OR: 0.68; 95% CI 0.50–0.94; p = 0.02) attenuated paraspinal muscle area loss in male. Our study demonstrated that walking > 45 min daily (Calories = METs (walking: 3.0) × duration of time (h) × weight (60 kg) × 1.05) can reduce paraspinal muscle loss, which may in turn decrease the risk of falls, low-back pain, and sarcopenia.

International Law of Taxation

International law of taxation is a very dynamic discipline, and a book such as this is just a snapshot of the current international tax regime. The goal of this book is to provide the reader with insights on how the international tax regime is embedded in a broader context in the international law regime. The focus of this book, therefore, is on the interaction of the international tax law regime with other legal regimes, such as the international trade law or the investment law regime. Moreover, this book outlines the main elements of the European Union (EU) tax system. Of course, besides these cross-disciplinary areas, this book discusses the functioning of double tax treaties as the main legal sources of the international tax regime. The more recently crafted treaty-based rules of the international tax regime, such as the mutual exchange provisions in various international treaties, are also discussed. This book can and should serve as a course book for a course on international tax law. Depending on how such course is structured, the entire book or large parts of it may be of interest to the students. The book should also serve as a go-to source for practitioners. It is of course impossible to cover all the topics pertinent to the international tax regime in a comprehensive way, but no major area has been left out. Moreover, case law from around the world are referred to and discussed rather than approaching the topic with reference only to a specific jurisdiction.

Men and muscularity research: a review

Over the past 25 years, understanding males’ interest in and outcomes of muscularity has developed into a major area of study. Research has been fueled by the development of measures of both the attitudinal and behavioral aspects of a desire to increase muscularity. Our research purpose was to critically assess muscularity research. Using a database search, the ancestry approach, and searching key journals, we identified empirical refereed journal articles with men as participants published from 2000 to 2019 to serve as our data. Our analyses revealed several individual characteristics (e.g., perfectionism, holding to traditional masculine norms) and socio-cultural influences (e.g., media, verbal commentary) that fueled men’s desire to be muscular. In experimental research, exposure to muscular male ideal images has resulted in low body image scores for young men in investigations that utilized pre-test, post-test designs. In survey research, muscularity was positively related to several risky behaviors or behaviors that could become risky if taken to the extreme. Overall, the reviewed research was conducted in western countries and researchers primarily utilized non-probability samples of undergraduate men. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Teachers’ Professional Development and E-Learning

Teachers’ professional development is a process in which teachers constantly transform their practice through their participation in training and educational programs, among other practices. This process is significant, since teachers have to face numerous challenges, due to the fact that education is a dynamic process. The advances in technology have enabled teachers’ professional development through e-learning, which is supported by various studies to be an effective means. The aim of this paper is to examine the importance and usefulness of e-learning.However, teaching students with special learning needs is the first major area in which teachers identify their educational needs, followed by teaching in a multicultural setting and student counselling. In addition, EFL teachers acknowledge, understand and accept the important role of e-learning in facilitating, supporting and encouraging their professional development. Moreover, the access to resources of e-learning, the existence of skilled teachers’ educators and technical support, and the evaluation of the program were found to facilitate their participation in an e-learning training program

Comparative Analysis of Students’ Attitudes Towards Migration in Russian Borderlands

Migration studies are a major area of interest in social science. Globalisation and mediatisation hasten the advent of open societies where anyone can easily compare their aspirations in life with the lifestyles of people living in other states and, most importantly, neighbouring countries. Young people, who are more digitally confident and socioculturally mobile, have more opportunities to compare. Young specialists living in border regions are of particular interest because they live in a direct contact with neighbouring states. For the first time in social sciences, this article – which is a follow up to the contribution published in Issue 4 in 2020 – carries out a comparative analysis of the emigration attitudes of students from Russian regions bordering on the EU, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and China.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor–Modified T Cells and T Cell–Engaging Bispecific Antibodies: Different Tools for the Same Job

Purpose of Review Both chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and T cell–engaging antibodies (BiAb) have been approved for the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, despite targeting the same antigen, they represent very different classes of therapeutics, each with its distinct advantages and drawbacks. In this review, we compare BiAb and CAR T cells with regard to their mechanism of action, manufacturing, and clinical application. In addition, we present novel strategies to overcome limitations of either approach and to combine the best of both worlds. Recent Findings By now there are multiple approaches combining the advantages of BiAb and CAR T cells. A major area of research is the application of both formats for solid tumor entities. This includes improving the infiltration of T cells into the tumor, counteracting immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, targeting antigen heterogeneity, and limiting off-tumor on-target effects. Summary BiAb come with the major advantage of being an off-the-shelf product and are more controllable because of their half-life. They have also been reported to induce less frequent and less severe adverse events. CAR T cells in turn demonstrate superior response rates, have the potential for long-term persistence, and can be additionally genetically modified to overcome some of their limitations, e.g., to make them more controllable.

Information Literacy as a National Agenda: A Case Study of Singapore

Singapore is a small country in South East Asia with a population of some 3.7 million. It achieved independence from Britain in 1965 and since then has made remarkable progress as a nation, so much so that other countries are now looking closely at its policies with a view to discovering its secrets of success. While the policies attracting attention range from Singapore's national pension scheme to the way in which traffic flow is controlled, the major area of interest here is to investigate the country's promotion of information literacy. Singapore is largely devoid of natural resources, so there has always been an emphasis on seeing people as capital. As in many Asian countries, cheap labour was at first the basis for building strong manufacturing industries to earn revenue by exporting goods to richer nations. Economic growth would occur as long as inputs of labour and of capital investment went on growing, but eventually this would slow because the sources of these inputs are finite. Krugman (1994) described this as the "perspiration theory": success was based on working harder, not working smarter. Krugman's writings aroused hostile reaction in many Asian countries, but even he did not predict the extent of the economic crisis in the region during the late 1990's. By this time, though, Singapore's leaders were working on the problem and laying the foundations that would produce a workforce with something more to offer than perspiration.