Effectiveness of Social Skills Training on Social Anxiety Disorder in Students with Learning Disabilities

Background: Children with learning disabilities (LDs) may be at risk of social anxiety because they are less socially accepted and more anxious than their peers. Approximately 70% of students with LDs experience a high level of anxiety symptoms, and they have clinical symptoms of anxiety more than their peers. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of social skills training on social anxiety disorder in students with LDs. Methods: This randomized controlled trial study included a pretest-posttest control group. Data were collected using Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (SCID-5), Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), and Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY). In total, 30 participants with diagnosed LDs and high social anxiety were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group received a social skills treatment over 12 sessions of 90 minutes. After collecting the data, SPSS version 24 was used with 95% CI for data analysis. The Levene test was used to assess the equality of variances, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) employed to assess the main effect of social skills intervention. Results: The results of the ANCOVA test showed that social skills training reduced social anxiety in the intervention group (P < 0.01). The covariate (pretest of anxiety) was also significant (P < 0.01). Conclusions: This study showed that social skills training could reduce social anxiety in children with LDs. This result can be a guideline for clinicians to provide the appropriate intervention for the emotional problems of students with LDs.

Artificial Intelligence-Driven Digital Technologies to the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: A Perspective from Brazil and Portugal

Innovativeness is a characteristic of digital technologies (DT), and they have been assuming an important role in economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Therefore, DT are relevant contributors for sustainable development goal (SDG) achievements. This study aims to compare the preference for artificial intelligence-driven digital technologies (AI-Driven DT) to achieve SDGs in Brazil and Portugal. An independent sample t-test analysis and Levene test are performed to identify potential artificial intelligence-driven digital technologies (AI-Driven DT) as favorable facilitators for SDG achievements in Brazil and Portugal. Based on the findings, a broader analysis is provided, to (i) indicate potential favorable SDGs, (ii) discuss differences between the countries in AI-Driven DT preferences in each SDG, and (iii) make recommendations for potential technologies that could receive more attention and investments in both regions to make emergent digital technologies succeed, with a particular emphasis on cleaner production. The analysis is organized into three dimensions: economic, social, and environment. At the end, a closing discussion is provided about the key guidelines and prospects that could be adopted to keep a strong and positive shift of AI-Driven DT developments and applications towards fully supporting the attainment of the SDG of United Nations Organization (ONU) Agenda 2030.

Effect of 6 Months of Physical Training on the Physical Fitness of Young Brazilian Army Cadets

Following the increase in the employment of women in conflicts around the world, the federal government of Brazil enacted a law which determines the participation of women in the military. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of six months of physical training (PT) on the physical fitness of young Brazilian Army cadets to carry out the physical assessments provided in military training. Sixty-eight members of the (19.4 ± 1.0 years) military from the Brazilian Army (BA), with BMI of (23.61 ± 2.17/21.81 ± 2.26) respectively and divided in two groups (men/women) participated in the study. PT was conducted by Manual EB20-MC10.350. Anthropometric measurements and assessment of body composition by dual X-ray absorptiometry were performed. The Student’s t test, percentage evolution equation, and Levene test were used. Results showeda significant increase in anthropometric variables and cardiorespiratory fitness in both groups. Bone health variables and visceral fat presented a significant increase in the malegroup. In terms of muscle fitness (handgrip and isometric strength of the legs and push-up and pull-up), there was no significant variation between thegroups. Percentage evolution was greater in female group. The conclusion shows PT was able to cause beneficial changes, promoting positive improvement in bone health, especially in women. Also, PT was shown to enhance cardiorespiratory capacity, and muscle fitness of the upper limbs in all participants.

Are Self-Talk and Mental Toughness Level Prerequisites Besides the Kick Boxing Education Level in Athletes?

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between self-talk and mental toughness levels of kickboxers and to compare the differences between the self-talk and mental toughness of the athletes according to the independent variables obtained from the personal information of the athletes participating in the research. The study group of the research consists of athletes who participated in kickboxing competitions in Turkey (n=223). 120 (53.8%) of the athletes are women and 103 (46.2%) are men. In the study, the &ldquo;Self-Talk Questionnaire&rdquo; adapted to the Turkish athlete population by Eng&uuml;r (2011) and the &ldquo;Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire&rdquo; adapted to Turkish by Altıntaş and Bayar Koru&ccedil; (2016) is used. It is decided whether the data met the prerequisites of the parametric tests by examining the Skewness and Kurtosis values (normal distribution of the data) and the Levene test (equality of variance) results. As a result, correlation analysis is used to determine the relationships between the variables, and t-test and ANOVA analyses are used to determine the differences. As a result of the research, it is determined that there is a positive and significant relationship between self-talk and mental toughness. Mental toughness is accepted as a term that trainers, managers and athletes attach importance to, and it is considered a prerequisite for sportive success. The fact that there is a positive and significant relationship between self-talk and mental toughness suggests that self-talk is also a predictor of performance. At the point of achieving success, the inner messages that the athlete will give themselves will increase their mental toughness and will be reflected in the sports environment, training or competition.

Pengaruh Model Pembelajaran Kooperatif Tipe STAD (Student Team Achievement Division) Terhadap Pemahaman Matematis Siswa Ditinjau dari Komunikasi Antar Siswa Kelas VIII SMPN 1 Gangga

Penelitian ini bertujuan: (1) untuk mengetahui pengaruh model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe STAD (Student Team Achievement Division) dan model pembelajaran konvensional terhadap pemahaman matematis siswa kelas VIII SMPN 1 Gangga, (2) untuk mengetahui pengaruh komunikasi antar siswa terhadap pemahaman matematis siswa kelas VIII SMPN 1 Gangga, (3) untuk mengetahui interaksi pada model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe STAD (Student Team Achievement Division) dan model pembelajaran konvensional dengan komunikasi antar siswa kelas VIII SMPN 1 Gangga. Adapun jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah quasi eksperimen dengan pendekatan kuantitatif. Sampel dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 24 orang siswa kelas VIII.1 dan VIII.2, dalam hal ini siswa kelas VIII.2 sebagai kelas eksperimen dan siswa kelas VIII.1 sebagai kelas kontrol. Instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah tes pemahaman matematis berupa uraian dan lembar observasi yang terdiri dari 15 pernyataan untuk komunikasi matematis. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah uji normalitas menggunakan Shapiro-Wilk dan uji homogenitas menggunakan Levene Test. Sedangkan uji hipotesis menggunakan Two Way Anova. Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan menggunakan SPSS 21: (1) Diperoleh nilai Fhitung = 41,553 dengan df 1 = 3, df 2 = 23 dan Ftabel = 4,351. Dengan kriteria uji Fhitung > Ftabel, maka H0A ditolak sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe STAD (Student Team Achievement Division) dan model pembelajaran konvensional terhadap pemahaman matematis siswa kelas VIII SMPN 1 Gangga. (2) Diperoleh nilai Fhitung = 0,029 dengan df 1 = 3, df 2 = 23 dan Ftabel = 4,351. Dengan kriteria uji Fhitung Ftabel, maka H0B diterima sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa tidak terdapat pengaruh komunikasi antar siswa terhadap pemahaman matematis siswa kelas VIII SMPN 1 Gangga. (3) Diperoleh nilai Fhitung = 0,446 dengan df 1 = 3, df 2 = 23 dan Ftabel = 4,351. Dengan kriteria uji Fhitung Ftabel, maka H0AB diterima sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa tidak terdapat interaksi pada model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe STAD (Student Team Achievement Division) dan model pembelajaran konvensional dengan komunikasi antar siswa kelas VIII SMPN 1 Gangga.

Comparison of the Effects of Articaine and Lidocaine Anesthetics on Blood Pressure after Maxillary Infiltration Technique: A Triple-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Background. Many dental procedures begin with local anesthesia. Subsequent increase in blood pressure in healthy individuals commonly occurs and may be affected by several factors such as mental and physical stress, painful stimuli, and action of catecholamines present in local anesthetic solutions. The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of 4% articaine with 1 : 100000 epinephrine and 2% lidocaine with 1 : 80000 epinephrine on blood pressure after maxillary infiltration technique. Materials and Methods. In this randomized clinical trial, 102 patients were randomly assigned into two groups. One group received 4% articaine with 1 : 100000 epinephrine and the other group received 2% lidocaine with 1 : 80000 epinephrine for local maxillary infiltration. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure of both groups was determined twice: once before anesthetic injection and once 10 minutes after injection. The data were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics, Shapiro–Wilks test, Levene test, chi-square test, independent t-test, and paired t-test. Results. The mean systolic blood pressure after anesthetic injection in the articaine and lidocaine groups was 125.00 ± 5.67 and 123.16 ± 6.417 mmHg, respectively, showing no statistically significant difference ( p = 0.127 ). The mean diastolic blood pressure after injection was 85.02 ± 7.331 in the articaine group and 81.35 ± 12.815 mmHg in the lidocaine group. These values show no statistically significant difference ( p = 0.080 ). In both groups, the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures have increased significantly ( p < 0.001 ). Conclusion. Articaine can be regarded as a suitable alternative for lidocaine for maxillary local infiltration, as no significant difference was observed between the effects of the two anesthetic solutions on blood pressure.

Metode Pembelajaran Numbered Head Together secara Online terhadap Hasil Belajar IPA Siswa Kelas IV

Pelaksanaan pembelajaran pembelajaran jarak jauh ataupun online berlangsung menimbulkan berbagai kendala, di antaranya koneksi internet yang kurang menunjang, rendahnya hasil belajar, dan kesulitan dalam belajar IPA juga disebabkan oleh metode penyampaian guru dalam mengelola pembelajaran yang kurang efektif. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis pengaruh metode pembelajaran Numbered Head Together secara online terhadap hasil belajar IPA siswa kelas IV. Penelitian ini menggunakan jenis penelitian kuantitatif, metode Quasi Experiment dengan Non-Equivalent Control Group Design. Pengambilan sampel menggunakan purposive sampling dengan sampel sebanyak 62 siswa. Subjek penelitian ini terdiri dari dua kelas yaitu kelas kontrol berjumlah 31 siswa dan kelas eksperimen berjumlah 31 siswa. Metode pengumpulan data memakai pre-test serta post-test dengan instrumen penelitian 25 soal pilihan ganda. Metode analisis data memakai uji normalitas Kolmogorov-Smirnov dan uji homogenitas Levene test serta uji hipotesis memakai uji independent sample t-test. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan thitung = 7,419 > ttabel = 2,000, sehingga tolak H0 terima H1. Maka, ada pengaruh yang signifikan metode pembelajaran Numbered Head Together secara online memberikan pengaruh terhadap hasil belajarIPA siswa kelas IV.

The effectiveness of using digital platforms to practice English during the COVID-19 crisis as perceived by Ecuadorian students

PurposeThis mixed-methods research aimed to investigate students’ opinions on the effectiveness of using digital platforms to carry on their learning process.Design/methodology/approachThis is a mixed-methods research. One hundred students, registered in the last English course of their curriculum, took part in the investigation. They filled out a Likert-scale survey using the criteria for CALL evaluation. During the data analysis of the quantitative section of the research, a chi-square of 15.0672 and a p-value of 0.519719 were obtained, making this result not significant at p < 0.05. A Levene test of variance equality was performed on the resulting data to confirm the results. Personal interviews were carried out to triangulate the previous results.FindingsThis study determined that Ecuadorian undergraduate students have a negative perception of the usefulness of using a digital class to learn English. These results have important implications for teachers who must work harder during these times of COVID-19 to attain students' attention.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited by its conception of qualitative methods. This limitation also opens the door for further studies. The quantitative and mixed methods studies are suggested to confirm the results obtained here.Practical implicationsThis study has practical implications for teachers and language center managers. They can use the information attained to adapt their teachings in order to improve these results. Managers will benefit from it as they can plan for teacher training considering the comments given by students.Social implicationsThe social implication of this study is that the students, through their comments, have implied the need of having some sort of socialization and ERT does not permit such.Originality/valueThis paper has value as it closes the gap of information regarding the use of this new teaching modality attained from Latin American countries and more specifically from Ecuador.

The Construction of Immersive Learning System Based on Virtual Testing Technology of Virtual Reality

Objective. To explore the construction of immersive learning system based on virtual reality (VR) and test its learning effect. Methods. 20 qualified subjects were divided into two groups, each tending to agree, each with 5 boys and 5 girls. Experimental group 1 is in the real operating environment, and experimental group 2 is in the VR virtual disassembly experimental environment. The task process errors, knowledge questionnaire scores and user subjective satisfaction were analyzed statistically. Results. The significance probability P of knowledge questionnaire in the Levene test was 0.777, greater than 0.05, and the variance homogeneous, so the final P of independent sample t -test was subject to “assumed variance equal”; the significance probability was 0.613, greater than 0.05; the questionnaire scores of two groups showed no significant difference, so VR virtual environment can achieve the learning effect of the real environment. The number of errors in a VR virtual situation is significantly lower than the number of errors in the real environment, the VR virtual environment can achieve the learning effect of the real environment, and the VR virtual environment can achieve more interaction, with good interaction. Conclusion. The immersive learning system based on VR detection technology can realize the cognition of three-dimensional model structure and has a certain learning effect.

The influence of extracts and fractions from matoa leaves (Pometia pinnata) on angiotensin I levels

Introduction: The matoa plant (Pometia pinnata) leaves can be used to treat hypertension. Matoa leaves are thought to have antihypertensive activity because they contain flavonoids. These flavonoids can reduce blood pressure that is modulated by the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). It is suspected that matoa leaves have antihypertensive activity as they contain quercetin which is a compound that is presumed to be an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. Aims: This study aims to determine which extracts and fractions from matoa leaves are able to decrease angiotensin I levels. Methods: The extraction was done by maceration with 96% ethanol solvent and fractionated by a liquid method using an n-hexane fraction solvent, an ethyl acetate fraction, and a water fraction. In this study, 21 male Wistar rats were used as test animals and divided into seven groups: Group I was the normal control, group II was the negative control (CMC-Na 1%), group III was the positive control (Irbesartan), group IV was given matoa leaf extract with 60 mg/200g body weight ratio, Group V was given 2.34 mg/g fraction of n-hexane, Group VI was given ethyl acetate fraction 9.54 mg/200g ethyl acetate fraction, and Group VII was given water fraction 7.98 mg/200g water fraction. The data obtained was analysed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, the Levene test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The results showed that the angiotensin I levels induced by angiotensin II were more significant (p < 0,05) than those in the normal and negative groups. The ethyl acetate fraction showed a 23.6% decrease in angiotensin I level, which was close to the 24.8% decrease in the positive group. The extract from the matoa leaves showed a 17.2% decrease in angiotensin I levels which were close to the 20% decrease in the positive group.