Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Predictors of the Unifed State Exam Performance of Students from Schools with Regular and Advanced Mathematical Curricula

Background. Exams such as the SAT, ACT, and GCSE are used to give an account of educational outcomes and provide a unified criterion for university admission. The Unified State Exam (USE) aims to fulfill these functions in Russia. All Russian students take two compulsory USE exams, mathematics and Russian, at the end of their school education. Objective. Variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores is vast, both across and within schools. Our study investigated potential sources of this variability. Design. The sample included 196 students from regular schools (non-selected students) and 306 students from schools with advanced mathematical curriculum (selected students). The mathematical ability (numerical representation, mathematical fluency), intelligence, basic cognitive functions (working memory, reaction time), and mathematical self-efficacy of the students were assessed. We applied structural equation modeling to estimate the proportion of variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores explained by cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy. Results. In the whole sample, cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy explained 54% of the variation in the mathematics USE scores and 30% of the variation in the Russian USE scores. These effects diminished after the data were analyzed in two groups separately, suggesting that the associations between predictors and exam scores were to a large extent accounted for by group differences (students from regular and specialized schools). Conclusion. The students from the schools with an advanced mathematical curriculum exhibited better cognitive performance, appraised their mathematical abilities higher, and achieved higher mathematics and Russian USE scores, compared to the students from regular schools. Within the groups, cognitive and non-cognitive predictors explained a small part of the variation of the mathematics and Russian USE scores

Effect of immune drugs to treat acute viral nasopharyngitis

The task in treating acute nasopharyngitis (ANP) deals with reducing the disease symptoms and the risk of complications. The lack of reliable antiviral drugs makes it important to search for appropriate medicines among other pharmacotherapeutic groups.The study involves a comparative analysis of the efficiency and estimates potential: the recombinant interferon α2b and the compound containing fungal β-D-glucans used in treat ANPThe studies involved patients with ANP from 18 to 55 years old. As many as 152 people were examined including the following: 38 were practically healthy people (group 1); and 114 patients wuth ANP: 38 people (group 2) was subject to a standard therapy (vasoconstrictor nasal drops, nasal cavity irrigation using 0.1% Miramistine solution, gargling using the Furacilin solution); forty people (group 3) were administered application of intranasal interferon α2b of 105 IU, it was delivered with a spray into each nasal passage twice a day; 36 people (group 4) were administered an immunotropic drug containing β-D-glucans orally twice a day. The duration of drug administration lasted 7 days. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify the ANP etiological factor. Concentrations of cytokines IL-1β, IL-1ra were estimated using enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) technique. Clinical efficiency was assessed through score approach. The following symptoms were taken into account: general malaise, sore throat, character of nasal discharge, and the difficulty of nasal breathing. The results of the study were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric statistical methods. In 60.0% the nasal secretions of patients revealed RV. The distribution of cytokine concentrations in nasal secretions in group 1 indicated that the concentration of IL-1β was in the range of 20.0-25.0 pg/ml, and the concentration of IL-1ra was about 1250.0-2500.0 pg/ml. Developing ANP stimulated an increase in IL-1β concentration up to 30.0-70.0 pg/ml in nasal secretions of patients without affecting IL-1ra concentrations. On day 7 of treatment, the cytokine concentrations among the patients treated using the immunotropic drugs were the same as in the group of healthy individuals. There were no significant changes in cytokine production on day 7 in the group of patients undergoing the standard treatment. Application of proposed immunobiological medicines to ANP does not result in overproduction of proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β in nasal secretion. This confirms that these drugs are promising in the treating strategy including reduction of the risk of developing complications

Experts' Judgments of Management Journal Quality:An Identity Concerns Model

Many lists that purport to gauge the quality of journals in management and organization studies (MOS) are based on the judgments of experts in the field. This article develops an identity concerns model (ICM) that suggests that such judgments are likely to be shaped by the personal and social identities of evaluators. The model was tested in a study in which 168 editorial board members rated 44 MOS journals. In line with the ICM, respondents rated journal quality more highly to the extent that a given journal reflected their personal concerns (associated with having published more articles in that journal) and the concerns of a relevant ingroup (associated with membership of the journal’s editorial board or a particular disciplinary or geographical background). However, judges’ ratings of journals in which they had published were more favorable when those journals had a low-quality reputation, and their ratings of journals that reflected their geographical and disciplinary affiliations were more favorable when those journals had a high-quality reputation. The findings are thus consistent with the view that identity concerns come to the fore in journal ratings when there is either a need to protect against personal identity threat or a meaningful opportunity to promote social identity

Study of local inflammatory response in different clinical forms of chronic polypous rhinosinusitis

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) affects 5-12% of the world’s adult population. Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) accounts for 25-30% of all cases of CRS. CRSwNP-associated inflammatory process in nasal mucosa and paranasal sinuses depends on the characteristics of local immunity, including expression of a number of cytokines. The aim of this work was to investigate the parameters of local immunity in various clinical forms of CRSwNP. In this work, the concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines, i.e., interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-8, antimicrobial function of neutrophils from the nasal cavity was evaluated, along with histological and immunohistochemical studies of polyposis tissue. The study included 4 groups of patients: a control group of practically healthy individuals, patients with CRSwNP, clinical cases with chronic purulent rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps (CPRSwNP), and patients with CRSwNP complicated by bronchial asthma (CRSwNP + BA), including the cases with asthmatic triad (CRSwNP + intolerance to NSAIDs + BA). The patients were classified on the basis of their clinical characteristics and severity of the course of the disease. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-8 concentrations in nasal secretions were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To assess functional activity of neutrophils, a lysosomal cationic test was used on the smears from mucous surface of inferior turbinate. Histological examination of the polypous tissue biopsies was performed in slices stained with Carazzi’s hematoxylin and eosin. IL-1β and IL-8 location in the polypous tissue were detected by indirect immunohistochemistry. In all groups of the patients, IL-1β and IL-8 concentrations exceeded those in the control group. The levels of IL-1β in the groups with CPRSwNP, CRSwNP + BA were significantly increased as compared with the CRSwNP group. IL-8 concentrations in the CRSwNP and CPRSwNP groups were significantly higher than in the CRSwNP + BA group. When analyzing antimicrobial function of neutrophils, the decreased average values of cytochemical coefficient were shown in CPRSwNP and CRSwNP + BA groups, compared with the control group and CRSwNP. In all clinical forms of CPMS, complex histopathological changes were observed, including leukocyte infiltration, fibrosis, edema, and collagen depositions. In addition, the integrity of epithelial layer was found to be damaged in polyposis, epithelial metaplasia is detected as well as increased mucus production. These disorders lead to a decrease in muco-ciliary clearance in nasal cavity. The most significant pathomorphological changes occur in CRSwNP + BA, especially in cases of asthmatic triad. According to immunohistochemical data, in various forms of CRSwNP, IL-1β- and IL-8-positive leukocytes, predominantly macrophages, are detected in the polypous tissue both subepithelially and in the connective tissue stroma of the polyps. Changed concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in nasal secretion of the patients, altered antimicrobial activity of mucosal neutrophils, and characteristic pathomorphological disorders in polypous tissue of patients with CRSwNP are associated with severity of inflammatory process and clinical course of the disease. The results obtained are essential to understanding the mechanisms of pathogenesis in various subgroups of CRSwNP, assessing severity of the disease and efficiency of the treatment applied

Formation of Marketing Strategy at Environmentally Determined Enterprise

Actuality of this research is caused by necessity for implementation into practice of economic activities of Russian enterprises of modern methods of ecological marketing which should adequately reflect ecological aspects of enterprise’s activity of its operative component (preparation and implementation of the process of production and provision of services) and of the sphere of management (including cooperation of enterprise with external environment as to problems of ecology and its obligations, including waste recovery), for the purpose of maximal reduction of possible negative consequences for ecosystem and human. Under modern market conditions, ecological marketing is gaining larger significance in the formation and implementation of functions of ecological policy of enterprise, which is caused by increase of responsibility of producers of goods and services before consumers and society in whole. Ecological marketing gives the possibility not only to implement the process of strategic target setting but also shows solutions to many difficulties related do emergence of ecological risk. At that, perceiving of ecological risk by society largely determines the relation of specific enterprise (or type of technology, products, or services) in no lesser way than actual characteristic of influence of production process. This circumstance, which characterizes the actuality and importance of a problem, determined the topic of this article. The conducted research pursued scientific & practical goals which correspond to tasks of formation of modern marketing strategies at environmentally determined enterprise. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s1p36

Fighting Conflict: Violent Splits or Healthy Divides?

In this study, we develop a theory to understand how groups with strong divisions may, paradoxically, help members to cope with conflict and injustice. We test our theoretical predictions using a survey methodology and the data from 72 work groups across different industries. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that group faultlines weakened the positive relationships between injustice and psychological health

Decision diversion in diverse teams: Findings from inside a corporate boardroom

Using qualitative data from a 5-year participant observation study conducted inside the corporate board of a publicly-held company, we discovered what happened when team composition changed to increase the diversity of perspectives and interests represented on the team. Based on board meeting transcripts over the 5-year period, we observed that a change in team composition was followed by a process we label decision diversion, a dysfunctional process in which the team replaced its goal of effective task performance with negotiating the interests of subgroup members. A key insight of our study is that this process unfolded as team members attempted to engage in effective task-based information analysis and decision-making. Our study suggests that the traditional assumptions underlying the understanding of team composition may be insufficient. We provide alternative explanations for the origins of the dynamics of decision diversion in teams. In their search for the microprocesses through which diverse team members interact with one another, Harvey, Currall, and Hammer discover a process they call decision diversion: the team’s replacement of its goal of effective task performance with negotiating the interests of subgroup members. This discovery emerges from the in-depth, longitudinal study of the meetings of a corporate board. Quoting one of the referees, “the interesting insight is that increases in the diversity of perspectives and interests represented on the board required processing and integrating large amounts of complex information which the board failed to do, resulting in decision diversion.” This finding challenges some established assumptions, and its implications for our understanding of team composition suggest new questions for research on team diversity

Biome changes and their inferred climatic drivers in northern and eastern continental Asia at selected times since 40 cal ka bp

Recent global warming is pronounced in high-latitude regions (e.g. northern Asia), and will cause the vegetation to change. Future vegetation trends (e.g. the “arctic greening”) will feed back into atmospheric circulation and the global climate system. Understanding the nature and causes of past vegetation changes is important for predicting the composition and distribution of future vegetation communities. Fossil pollen records from 468 sites in northern and eastern Asia were biomised at selected times between 40 cal ka bp and today. Biomes were also simulated using a climate-driven biome model and results from the two approaches compared in order to help understand the mechanisms behind the observed vegetation changes. The consistent biome results inferred by both approaches reveal that long-term and broad-scale vegetation patterns reflect global to hemispheric-scale climate changes. Forest biomes increase around the beginning of the late deglaciation, become more widespread during the early and middle Holocene, and decrease in the late Holocene in fringe areas of the Asian Summer Monsoon. At the southern and southwestern margins of the taiga, forest increases in the early Holocene and shows notable species succession, which may have been caused by winter warming at ca. 7 cal ka bp. At the northeastern taiga margin (central Yakutia and northeastern Siberia), shrub expansion during the last deglaciation appears to prevent the permafrost from thawing and hinders the northward expansion of evergreen needle-leaved species until ca. 7 cal ka bp. The vegetation climate disequilibrium during the early Holocene in the taiga-tundra transition zone suggests that projected climate warming will not cause a northward expansion of evergreen needle-leaved species