PALSAR wide-area mapping and annual monitoring methodology for Borneo

This paper describes the operational radar mapping processing chain developed and steps taken to produce a provisional wide-area PALSAR forest and land cover map of Borneo for the year 2007, compliant with emerging international standards (CEOS guidelines, FAO LCCS). The methodology is based on the classification of FBS and FBD image pairs. To cover Borneo the equivalent of 554 standard images is required. The final overall accuracy assessment result shows this demonstration map product is in 85.5% full agreement with the independent reference dataset and in 7.8% ‘partial agreement’. Monitoring land cover change on an annual basis requires consistent year-to-year mapping. This implies that the localised and temporal effects of environmental factors on the backscatter level (such as inundation or El Niño drought) and variation due to differing observation dates/cycles (related to change of season) have to be accounted for strip by strip. New concepts for (a) automated intercalibration of radar data, (b) time-consistency and (c) automated adaptation of radar signatures to changing environmental conditions have been evaluated for its usefulness to improve the classification and the consistency of annual monitoring

Evolutionary signals of selection on cognition from the great tit genome and methylome

For over 50 years, the great tit (Parus major) has been a model species for research in evolutionary, ecological and behavioural research; in particular, learning and cognition have been intensively studied. Here, to provide further insight into the molecular mechanisms behind these important traits, we de novo assemble a great tit reference genome and whole-genome re-sequence another 29 individuals from across Europe. We show an overrepresentation of genes related to neuronal functions, learning and cognition in regions under positive selection, as well as increased CpG methylation in these regions. In addition, great tit neuronal non-CpG methylation patterns are very similar to those observed in mammals, suggesting a universal role in neuronal epigenetic regulation which can affect learning-, memory- and experience-induced plasticity. The high-quality great tit genome assembly will play an instrumental role in furthering the integration of ecological, evolutionary, behavioural and genomic approaches in this model species.</p

Recovery of dialysis patients with COVID-19 : health outcomes 3 months after diagnosis in ERACODA

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related short-term mortality is high in dialysis patients, but longer-term outcomes are largely unknown. We therefore assessed patient recovery in a large cohort of dialysis patients 3 months after their COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods. We analyzed data on dialysis patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from 1 February 2020 to 31 March 2021 from the European Renal Association COVID-19 Database (ERACODA). The outcomes studied were patient survival, residence and functional and mental health status (estimated by their treating physician) 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Complete follow-up data were available for 854 surviving patients. Patient characteristics associated with recovery were analyzed using logistic regression. Results. In 2449 hemodialysis patients (mean ± SD age 67.5 ± 14.4 years, 62% male), survival probabilities at 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis were 90% for nonhospitalized patients (n = 1087), 73% for patients admitted to the hospital but not to an intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 1165) and 40% for those admitted to an ICU (n = 197). Patient survival hardly decreased between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. At 3 months, 87% functioned at their pre-existent functional and 94% at their pre-existent mental level. Only few of the surviving patients were still admitted to the hospital (0.8-6.3%) or a nursing home (∼5%). A higher age and frailty score at presentation and ICU admission were associated with worse functional outcome. Conclusions. Mortality between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis was low and the majority of patients who survived COVID-19 recovered to their pre-existent functional and mental health level at 3 months after diagnosis

Context, word, and student predictors in second language vocabulary learning

Contains fulltext : 198565.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)We examined to what extent the variation in vocabulary learning outcomes (vocabulary knowledge, learning gain, and rate of forgetting) in English as a second language (L2) in context can be predicted from semantic contextual support, word characteristics (cognate status, Levenshtein distance, word frequency, and word length), and student characteristics (prior vocabulary knowledge, reading ability, and exposure to English) in 197 Dutch adolescents. Students were taught cognates, false friends, and control words through judging sentences with varying degrees of semantic contextual support using a pretest/posttest between subjects design. Participants were presented with an English target word and its Dutch translation, followed by an English sentence. They were instructed to judge the plausibility of the sentence. Mixed-efffects models indicated that learning gains were higher for sentences with more semantic contextual support and in students with stronger reading comprehension skills. We were the first to show that Levenshtein distance is an important predictor for L2 vocabulary learning outcomes. Furthermore, more accurate as well as faster learning task performance lead to higher learning outcomes. It can thus be concluded that L2 study materials containing semantically supportive contexts and that focus on words with little L1-L2 overlap are most effective for L2 vocabulary learning.30 p

Enhanced second language vocabulary learning through phonological specificity training in adolescents

This longitudinal randomized trial study investigated the effects of phonological specificity training on second language (L2) vocabulary learning. Eighty-six Dutch secondary-school students participated in one of two experimental conditions or in an animacy judgment (active control) condition. Participants in the phonological specificity training (with phonological manipulation) and the picture selection (without phonological manipulation) experimental conditions had to select the corresponding picture from among competitors after hearing a word. Phonological specificity training resulted in increased learning (measured through word translation) compared to the control condition on the posttest whereas picture selection produced increased learning only for participants with larger initial vocabulary sizes. Both experimental conditions showed increased learning for participants with larger vocabulary sizes on the retention test. Compared to picture selection, phonological specificity training showed more learning immediately after intervention for words with nonnative contrasts. Results suggest that phonological features can augment (meaning-focused) L2 vocabulary learning interventions

Interactief taalonderwijs voor jonge kinderen

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Interactief taalonderwijs voor jonge kinderen

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