Genotypic variation in nutritive and bioactive composition of foxtail millet

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) genotypes with red and yellow colour of grain bran were examined and compared for their content of nutritive components, fatty acids and phenolic compounds profile. Moreover, the antioxidant properties were investigated using three different methods. Foxtail millet genotypes contained 14.2% of protein, 5.0% of fat and 4.3% of soluble sugars, on average. Linoleic acid was the most abundant unsaturated fatty acid and palmitic acid was the most abundant saturated fatty acid. Four hydroxybenzoic acids (gallic, protocatechuic, vanillic and syringic acid) and two hydroxycinnamic acids (ferulic and p-coumaric acid) were identified and quantified. All genotypes exhibited effective inhibition of free radicals. Nevertheless, ferrous ion chelating activity was weak. Antioxidant properties of foxtail millet genotypes were closely associated with the presence of phenolics. A relationship between intensity of grain colour and antioxidant properties as well as phenolic compounds content, was observed. We can conclude that the content of evaluated parameters varied among foxtail millet genotypes, therefore their assessment and selection is desirable in order to cultivate crops and produce foods with advanced nutritional and antioxidant properties

Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe: findings from a cross-European study

School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils in classrooms raises significant challenges for teachers, but to date, there are no data from large-scale surveys that compare views within and across European countries. A bespoke questionnaire was designed to examine views of current classroom learning environments with respect to the multilingualism. The questionnaire was piloted and subsequently completed by 2792 teachers across different European countries. Eleven countries provided sufficient data for analyses. Results from structural equation modelling showed that teachers’ attitudes could be reliably measured across Europe with the use of carefully devised questionnaire, whose loading and factor structure remained invariant across countries. Teachers’ views about multilingualism were most challenged by the numbers of children in their classes, not the percentage of multilingual pupils in the class. Countries differed in how they perceived multilingualism, with their differences leading to distinctive country clusters. Gender and education level (elementary vs. secondary) differences were also observed irrespective of country. These findings enhance our understanding of the role that the characteristics of teachers and their classrooms play in a multilingual setting across diverse European settings. The practical relevance of the results and new opportunities for teacher training are discussed

Correction: Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe: findings from a cross-European study

The original version of the article unfortunately contained an error. In author’s personal details, middle names were not included in author Hanne B. Søndergaard Knudsen’s name, and the listed articles were therefore incorrect

Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe: findings from a cross-european study

School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils in classrooms raises significant challenges for teachers, but to date, there are no data from large-scale surveys that compare views within and across European countries. A bespoke questionnaire was designed to examine views of current classroom learning environments with respect to the multilingualism. The questionnaire was piloted and subsequently completed by 2792 teachers across different European countries. Eleven countries provided sufficient data for analyses. Results from structural equation model- ling showed that teachers’ attitudes could be reliably measured across Europe with the use of carefully devised questionnaire, whose loading and factor structure remained invariant across countries. Teachers’ views about multilingualism were most challenged by the numbers of children in their classes, not the percentage of multilingual pupils in the class. Countries differed in how they perceived multilingualism, with their differences leading to distinctive country clusters. Gender and education level (elementary vs. secondary) differences were also observed irrespective of country. These findings enhance our understanding of the role that the characteristics of teachers and their classrooms play in a multilingual setting across diverse European settings. The practical relevance of the results and new opportunities for teacher training are discussed

The role of pictures and gestures as a support mechanism for novel word learning: A training study with 2-year-old children

A training study examined novel word learning in 2-year-old children and assessed two nonverbal mechanisms, pictures and gestures, which are commonly used as communication support. The aim was to (1) compare these two support mechanisms and measure their effects on expressive word learning and (2) to investigate these effects on word production over an extended time period. At baseline, the children’s performance was assessed on vocabulary and grammatical skills, and the groups were matched on these key variables. Eighteen participants were taught novel words either accompanied by a gesture or by a picture. The training consisted of four 20-minute sessions per week over a period of four weeks. Following training, the children were assessed on their ability to produce novel words at three time points: immediately after training, at a 2-week follow-up and at a 6-week follow-up. Gesture training supported word learning significantly better than picture training across all three testing points. Children in both groups showed the best production immediately after training, with a small but nonsignificant decline at 2-week follow-up. There was a significant decline in time 3 compared to time 1, but the children were still able to produce 6.8 out of 10 novel words, suggesting long-term learning. Our findings suggest that gesture may be used to support word learning and could benefit children with late emerging language. The importance of these findings for language development and language intervention are discussed. <br/

Correction to: Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe: findings from a cross-European study (European Journal of Psychology of Education, (2021), 10.1007/s10212-020-00523-z)

The original version of the article unfortunately contained errors. The following author e-mails were omitted, A Ralli, [email protected], I Dimakos [email protected]. There remained highlighted in yellow XXX (blinded for review) in the questionnaire section. This should be replaced with: Work Group 1 of COST IS 1401 (European Literacy Network). The footnotes and endnotes had been merged with footnotes. Footnote 1 should be Endnote 1, Footnote 2 should be Endnote 2, Endnote 3 should appear in the last sentence of DATA CLEANING AND MANAGEMENT section, next to the word &quot;imputation&quot; with a superscript. Endnote 3, top p. 10, should be Endnote 4, Endnote 4 should be Endnote 5, Endnote 5 should be Endnote 6, Endnote 6 should be Endnote 7. (F3), top, p. 9 should be F3 in plain font. On p. 12, the word ‘factors’ in the parenthesis should be capitalized (in Factors 1, 3 and 4). Finally Table 4 p should be * p &lt;.05. The author name H. Knudsen has been corrected (correct name shown above) and ORCID number has been captured as well. The original article has been corrected. © 2021, Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida