School absenteeism among students in Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom:

School absenteeism is a challenge in many countries. Still, there are few comparisons between countries, which is partly due to a lack of shared definitions of concepts. This article makes use of PISA data to compare self-reported student absenteeism in Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK). Three data sets are used, from 2012, 2015, and 2018. The self-reported absenteeism, which is referred to as truancy in the PISA studies, was measured as having skipped a whole school day at least once in the two full weeks before students completed the PISA student questionnaire. The results show great variation between the studied countries, from 24.4% in the UK in 2015 to 1.5% in Japan in 2012. The percentage of students who reported having skipped school is much higher in the UK than in the other three countries. The differences between the countries concerning the percentage of students reporting having been absent from school are significant for all years, except between Sweden and Germany in 2015. Germany and the UK have a similar pattern in development, with the highest percentages in 2015, while Sweden and Japan have small (albeit not significant) increases from 2012 to 2018. The UK is the only country where the changes between 2012 and 2015 as well as between 2015 and 2018 were significant. It is not possible to see any obvious patterns between the countries that might be linked to differences related to their welfare regimes, education systems, or values. To find such patterns, it may be necessary either to include more countries in a study or to conduct more in-depth studies on each country

Fast Dynamic Color Switching in Temperature-Responsive Plasmonic Films

This research was supported by UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grants EP/G060649/1 and EP/L027151/1, and ERC grant LINASS 320503. F.B. thanks the supports from the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.20160009

Assessing social, emotional, and intercultural competences of students and school staff. A systematic literature review

The inclusion of social, emotional, and intercultural competences (SEI) in academic contexts has been supported by international organizations, such as the European Union, the United Nations, and the OECD, since the early 2000s. However, little information is yet available regarding the assessment of these competences. This paper shares the findings of a systematic literature review that produced an inventory of existing tools for the assessment of SEI competences of students and school staff. This is the first time assessment tools for these three competences have been concurrently reviewed. An interdisciplinary and international research team conducted this systematic literature review in the databases of ERIC, PsycInfo, PSYNDEX, Scopus, and Web of Science. Out of 13,963 articles, 149 assessment tools were examined and processed. In addition to the instrument analysis and a detailed description of the procedure, this article shows the basic theoretical concepts, as well as the limitations, of such a review. It was found that 1) the majority of the discovered instruments rely on self-reported survey and inventory data, 2) of the three competences, intercultural competence had the fewest relevant instruments, and 3) very few tools have been created to assess all three competences together. From this review, it is apparent that a wider variety of assessment tools (other than self-reports), as well as more comprehensive tools (e.g. qualitative analysis of vignettes) for the assessment of all three SEI competences, should be developed to meet international demand. The results of the literature review are available and freely accessible in the form of an assessment catalogue. (DIPF/Orig.

Comparative RNAi screening identifies a conserved core metazoan actinome by phenotype

RNAi Screens in Drosophila and human cells for novel actin regulators revealed conserved roles for proteins involved in nuclear actin export, RNA splicing, and ubiquitination

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

NAPL spill modeling and simulation of pumping remediation : NAPL modellering och simulering av pumpning

This Master Thesis presents TMVOC simulations of a NAPL-spill (non-aqueous phase liquid) and following pumping remediation. TMVOC is a simulation program for three-phase non-isothermal multicomponent flow in saturated-unsaturated heterogeneous media. The models presented are based on an actual remediation project. The aim of the thesis was to study if the historical development of the NAPL-spill could be simulated and how long time the pumping remediation would take. A 3D-model and a radially symmetric cylindrical model were created. A large effort of the work done was in taking the complex TMVOC model in use and modifying it for the problem at hand. Therefore, the numerical results of the simulations should be considered as preliminary and as forming basis for future studies. The results from the spill simulation and historical pumping simulation indicated that the spill volume could be less than the estimated 1400 m3, perhaps around 700 m3, assuming a leakage time of 30 years. The historical pumping simulation of a 700 m3 diesel spill showed good agreement with measured values for some wells, but overestimated the recovery in other wells. The overestimation could be due to the fact that the 3D-model did not take seasonal changes in the groundwater level into consideration. Also, the model did not account for any heterogeneity or compartmentalization in soil material properties that could explain the differences between the wells.  Assuming the same spill of 700 m3, future pumping was simulated. The results from these simulations indicated the remediation time to be long due to fast decreasing mobility of the NAPL phase. The NAPL flow rate to the wells was halved in a couple of years. Much of the NAPL was distributed over a large area at near residual saturation with the highest NAPL saturation found at the opposite side of the pumping wells in the model.   Future simulation studies should address the effect of discretization as well as the effect of uncertainties in material properties e.g. conductivity, residual NAPL saturation and soil heterogeneity

Residual and Solubility trapping during Geological CO2 storage : Numerical and Experimental studies

Geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep saline aquifers mitigates atmospheric release of greenhouse gases. To estimate storage capacity and evaluate storage safety, knowledge of the trapping mechanisms that retain CO2 within geological formations, and the factors affecting these is fundamental. The objective of this thesis is to study residual and solubility trapping mechanisms (the latter enhanced by density-driven convective mixing), specifically in regard to their dependency on aquifer characteristics, and to investigate and develop methods for quantification of CO2 trapping in the field. The work includes implementation of existing numerical simulators and inverse modeling, as well as the development of new models and experimental methods for the study and quantification of CO2 trapping. A comparison of well-test designs in regard to their abilities to estimate the in-situ residual gas saturation (that determines the residual trapping of CO2) is presented, as well as a novel indicator-tracer approach to obtain residual gas saturation conditions in a formation. The results can aid in the planning of well-tests for estimation of trapping potential during site characterization. Pore-network modeling simulations were conducted to study the effects of co-contaminant sulphur dioxide and formation thermodynamic and salinity conditions on residual CO2 trapping. Furthermore, an analysis tool was developed and used to study the prerequisites for density-driven instability and convective mixing over broad geological storage conditions, including the relative influences of formation characteristics on factors controlling the convective process. The results show which conditions favour or disfavour residual and solubility trapping, knowledge useful for long-term predictions of the fate of injected CO2, and safety assessments during site selection. An optical experimental method, the refractive-light-transmission (RLT) technique, and an analogue system design were developed for studying density-driven flow in porous media. The method exploits changes in light refraction to visualize convective flow, and incorporates a calibration procedure and an image post-processing scheme that enable quantification of solute concentration, density and viscosity within porous media. The experimental setup was used to study the dynamics of convective mixing, and to derive scaling laws for the onset time and mass flux of convection