Hospitalization Expenses and Influencing Factors for Inpatients with Ischemic Heart Disease in Iran: A Retrospective Study

Background: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide and in Iran, which imposes a heavy financial burden both on patient’s family and society. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the direct medical costs of inpatients with IHD and its influencing factors in Iran in 2020. Methods: The sample of this cross-sectional study included 41,357 patients with IHD selected from the hospital information system (HIS) of the Iran Health Insurance Organization from August 23, 2019, to June 20, 2020. The study used the claims data of these patients, which included their demographics, length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, hospital accreditation grade, hospital ownership type, and patient discharge status. The multiple linear regression model was employed to evaluate the relationship between hospitalization costs and the associated factors. All statistical tests were conducted at the significance level of P < 0.05 using the R 3.6.3 software. Results: The mean age of patients was 63.95 ± 12.63 years old, and most of them were male (54.4%). The mean hospitalization cost per patient and per day was 586.42 ± 472.51 USD and 103.64 ± 100.29 USD, respectively. Moreover, the mean LOS was 4.92 days. Drugs and consumable medical supplies, as well as nursing and hoteling services, had the highest shares of hospitalization costs (29.54% and 29.4%, respectively). The hospitalization costs of patients with IHD were higher among men (β = 1.24), age 61 - 70 years (β = 1.38), LOS ≥ 5 (β = 2.92), ICU admission (β = 1.62), Iranian health fund (β = 1.21), and private hospitals (β = 1.91). Top-grade and first-grade hospitals had higher costs compared to grade 2 (β = 0.67), grade 3 (β = 0.35), and grade 4 (β = 0.72) hospitals. Deceased patients had also higher costs than patients with complete recovery (β = 0.63), relative recovery (β = 0.59), follow-up (β = 0.51), transfer to other medical centers (β = 0.44), and discharge against medical advice (DAMA) (β = 0.62). Conclusions: According to the results, shortening the LOS and controlling the high costs of drugs and consumable medical supplies are among the main strategies to reduce high hospitalization costs.

Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education

<p style="text-align:justify">Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.</p>

Teacher Competences for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the First Educational Cycle of Primary Education

<p style="text-align: justify;">Foreign language teaching in the Slovenian educational context begins in the first grade (age 6). Many studies report a lack of qualified teachers at this stage of learning around the world and numerous authors emphasise the misconception that basic linguistic and didactic knowledge of teachers is sufficient for teaching children. All three Slovenian public universities are aware of this problem and offer pre-service and in-service programmes for (student) teachers who want to specialise in teaching English to young learners. In the present article, we focus on the subject-specific teacher competences for teaching English in the first three years of primary education; namely, linguistic, subject didactic and intercultural competences. We explore teachers’ self-assessment of these competences and their perception of certain elements pertaining to them. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) What subject-specific competences do teachers consider essential for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? (2) To what extent do teachers believe they have developed certain subject-specific competences? (3) What are teachers’ attitudes toward certain subject-specific competences that the teacher needs for teaching English in the first cycle of primary education? The results of the quantitative survey, in which 100 teachers participated, show that teachers perceive their subject didactic competence to be the most developed and their intercultural competence to be the least developed. Moreover, they consider that a basic level of English is not sufficient for teaching English in the first grades.</p>

Gene Expression in Embryos From Norwegian Red Bulls With High or Low Non Return Rate: An RNA-Seq Study of in vivo-Produced Single Embryos

During the last decade, paternal effects on embryo development have been found to have greater importance than previously believed. In domestic cattle, embryo mortality is an issue of concern, causing huge economical losses for the dairy cattle industry. In attempts to reveal the paternal influence on embryo death, recent approaches have used transcriptome profiling of the embryo to find genes and pathways affected by different phenotypes in the bull. For practical and economic reasons, most such studies have used in vitro produced embryos. The aim of the present study was to investigate the differences in the global transcriptome of in vivo produced embryos, derived from sires with either high or low field fertility measured as the non-return rate (NRR) on day 56 after first AI of the inseminated cows. Superovulated heifers (n = 14) in the age span of 12–15 months were artificially inseminated with semen from either high fertility (n = 6) or low fertility (n = 6) bulls. On day seven after insemination, embryos were retrieved through uterine flushing. Embryos with first grade quality and IETS stage 5 (early blastocyst), 6 (blastocyst) or 7 (expanded blastocyst) were selected for further processing. In total, RNA extracted from 24 embryos was sequenced using Illumina sequencing, followed by differential expression analysis and gene set enrichment analysis. We found 62 genes differentially expressed between the two groups (adj.p-value&lt;0.05), of which several genes and their linked pathways could explain the different developmental capacity. Transcripts highly expressed in the embryos from low fertility bulls were related to sterol metabolism and terpenoid backbone synthesis, while transcripts highly expressed in the high fertility embryos were linked to anti-apoptosis and the regulation of cytokine signaling. The leukocyte transendothelial migration and insulin signaling pathways were associated with enrichments in both groups. We also found some highly expressed transcripts in both groups which can be considered as new candidates in the regulation of embryo development. The present study is an important step in defining the paternal influence in embryonic development. Our results suggest that the sire’s genetic contribution affects several important processes linked to pre-and peri implantation regulation in the developing embryo.

Developmental trajectories of school-beginner’s ability self-concept, intrinsic value, and performance in mathematics

This study investigated the developmental interdependence of Finnish school-beginners’ (N = 285) ability self-concept, intrinsic value, and performance in mathematics. More specifically, we examined: (i) whether and how children’s ability self-concept and intrinsic value in mathematics change over their first three years in school, (ii) how those changes are related to each other, (iii) how they predict later math performance, and (iv) whether there are gender differences in these trajectories. The results showed significant decrease over time in children’s ability self-concept and intrinsic value, but also significant individual differences in the trajectories. The high dependency between the levels and changes in children’s self-concept and intrinsic value led us to specify a factor-of-curves latent growth model, thus merging the trajectories of ability self-concept and intrinsic value into one common model (i.e., math motivation). The subsequent results showed prior math performance to predict change in children’s math motivation, meaning that higher initial competence was connected with less steep decrease in motivation. After controlling for the effects of first-grade math performance, both the level and change in math motivation predicted third-grade math performance and teacher-rated grades. That is, higher initial motivation and less steep decrease in it independently predicted better later math competence. Boys reported less steep decrease in math motivation than girls, despite no gender differences in initial math performance.

SYNERGETIC APPROACH AS A METHODOLOGICAL BASIS OF THE THEORY OF SELF-ORGANIZATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY

The educational process in a modern primary school involves a change in the position of the student: from the object of study they become active subjects of educational activities, which requires the activation of their self-organization. At the same time, the essence and purpose of education is not in the scholastic increase of information, but in the information support of the constant development of an individual. This problem is especially relevant in the context of distance learning in the New Ukrainian School (NUS), so increasingly popular are learning technologies aimed at enhancing the educational and cognitive activities of students and forming their readiness for independent work. Life in modern society requires that an individual develops the qualities of autonomy and organization: independence, initiative, ability to think creatively, etc. These qualities are considered as components of a single process of self-organization of an individual. Synergetic can be interpreted as a methodological basis for educational, prognostic, organizational and didactic-managerial educational activities. We characterize synergetic as an opportunity to solve problems of education in accordance with modern challenges. Despite numerous studies, the problem of implementing a synergetic approach in the formation of skills of self-organization of educational activities of primary school students remains open. The article describes the synergetic approach as a methodological basis of the theory of self-organization of educational activities of junior schoolchildren. The research of scientists in the field of synergetic, namely the transformation of its ideas in pedagogy as a basic idea of the theory of self-organization of educational activities of primary school students, analyzes the key ideas and positions of synergetic through the prism of interpretation of the educational process. The explication of the problem is carried out in the context of the analysis of the pedagogical system of primary school. The study presents the features of the synergetic approach in the first grade school. The essence of the synergetic approach as an interdisciplinary direction of cognition is considered. It is established that the synergetic approach allows to form self-organization of educational activity. It has been studied that the educational process in primary school can also be considered an open system, as it carries out a continuous process of exchange of information (knowledge) between teacher and students (feedback), and constantly changing the content of education according to society as a whole. The content of educational and cognitive activities during the formation of skills of self-organization of primary school students from the point of view of synergetic approach is revealed. The main regularities of the process of teaching junior schoolchildren as an open and complex system and a complex of multicomponent, interdisciplinary and multilevel knowledge are outlined, providing an opportunity to identify the main areas of synergetic ideas in the educational process. It is concluded that the implementation of a synergetic approach to the management and organization of the educational process of primary school will significantly increase its efficiency, make the educational process more flexible and universal.

PENERAPAN SASTRA ANAK DALAM PENINGKATAN LITERASI SISWA SD KELAS 1

Abstrak Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh rendahnya minat baca masyarakat Indonesia terutama pada tingkat sekolah dasar. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah terdapat perbedaan peningkatan literasi siswa antara kelas eksperimen dengan kelas kontrol serta untuk mengetahui seberapa besar perbedaan peningkatan literasinya. Penelitian ini dilakukan di SDN 15 Sungailiat dengan sampel sebanyak 44 siswa kelas 1. Metode yang digunakan adalah kuantitatif dengan model quasi eksperimen. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah tes. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah tes uraian dengan jumlah 20 butir soal Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah uji-t. Hasil dari penelitian yaitu terdapat perbedaan peningkatan literasi kelas eksperimen dengan kelas kontrol, dengan signifikansi data p<0,05; dan uji t dari kelas eksperimen dan kelas kontrol memiliki perbedaan sebesar 3.070. Serta kenaikan literasi antara kelas eksperimen yang menggunakan sastra anak dan kelas kontrol yang menggunakan model konvensional terdapat perbedaan sebesar 17,3%. Hasil penelitian ini diharapkan dapat membantu siswa dalam meningkatkan literasi anak. Abstract This research is motivated by the low interest in reading Indonesian people, especially at the elementary school level. This study aims to determine whether there is a difference in the increase in student literacy between the experimental class and the control class and to find out how big the difference in the increase in literacy is. This research was conducted at SDN 15 Sungailiat with a sample of 44 first grade students. The method used was quantitative with a quasi-experimental model. The data collection technique used is a test. The instrument used is a description test with a total of 20 items. The data analysis technique used is the t-test. The results of the study are that there are differences in the increase in literacy between the experimental class and the control class, with a data significance of p<0.05; and the t test of the experimental class and the control class has a difference of 3,070. As well as the increase in literacy between the experimental class using children's literature and the control class using the conventional model, there is a difference of 17.3%. The results of this study are expected to help students in improving children's literacy.

What makes children learn how to swim? – health, lifestyle and environmental factors associated with swimming ability among children in the city of Malmö, Sweden

Background Swimming ability among children in the city of Malmö, Sweden is strongly affected by socioeconomic differences. We investigated to what extent mediating health and lifestyle factors, such as children’s eating, sleeping and physical activity habits, as well as the characteristics of the social and working environment at both school and home, could explain the socioeconomic gradient in swimming ability. Methods Our study population included children who started their first-grade school-year in 2012 or 2013 at any of the public primary schools of Malmö, Sweden. Cross-sectional, self-reported questionnaire-based data about health status and swimming ability in the fourth grade (age 10) were included from the Pupil Health Database (ELSA) for 3468 children. Results Children’s self-reported swimming ability was strongly associated with both individual- and school-based sociodemographic variables. Nine health, lifestyle and environmental variables were identified as potential mediators and included in the final model. Four of these variables, “Activity”, “Outdoor time”, “Social relationships at home and on the free time”, and “Positivity about future”, were significantly and positively associated with children’s ability to swim. Conclusions Social support, optimism for the future and an active lifestyle were positively associated with children’s swimming skills; however, compared to the socioeconomic factors, these health- and lifestyle factors contributed very little. It is possible, that interventions concerning children’s swimming ability in lower socioeconomic neighbourhoods, should in addition to children’s swimming lessons, target the whole families with the goal of increasing their possibilities for socialising and engaging in different kinds of recreational activities.