Learning through play – pedagogy and learning outcomes in early childhood mathematics

Whilst research underlines the importance of early mathematics in kindergarten, practitioners need effective and innovative approaches to pedagogy. Currently, very different approaches are deployed from an instructional, educator-led approach based on training programmes to a play-based approach. This intervention study examines the effects on the mathematical competency of these two pedagogies. Thirty-five kindergarten educators and 324 six-year-old children were randomly assigned to either a training programme, a play-based approach with card and board games or to the control group. Educators’ views on the interventions were gathered in semi-structured interviews. The results indicate higher learning gains overall for the play-based approach. Differentiated effects were found as tendencies: children with low competencies tend to gain more from training programmes compared to no intervention; children with high competencies gain more from the play-based approach than the training. Educators evaluated the play-based intervention with card and board games as better suited to children’s diverse needs

On the Identifiability and Estimation of Causal Location-Scale Noise Models

We study the class of location-scale or heteroscedastic noise models (LSNMs), in which the effect $Y$ can be written as a function of the cause $X$ and a noise source $N$ independent of $X$, which may be scaled by a positive function $g$ over the cause, i.e., $Y = f(X) + g(X)N$. Despite the generality of the model class, we show the causal direction is identifiable up to some pathological cases. To empirically validate these theoretical findings, we propose two estimators for LSNMs: an estimator based on (non-linear) feature maps, and one based on neural networks. Both model the conditional distribution of $Y$ given $X$ as a Gaussian parameterized by its natural parameters. When the feature maps are correctly specified, we prove that our estimator is jointly concave, and a consistent estimator for the cause-effect identification task. Although the the neural network does not inherit those guarantees, it can fit functions of arbitrary complexity, and reaches state-of-the-art performance across benchmarks.Comment: ICML 202

Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs concerning early mathematics education: Comparing Switzerland, Germany and Austria

Die Kontextbedingungen vorschulischer Bildung in der Schweiz, in Deutschland und in Österreich unterscheiden sich in verschiedenen Aspekten. Im Beitrag wird über eine Untersuchung berichtet, die vor diesem Hintergrund der Frage nachgeht, welche Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in den Überzeugungen zur mathematischen Frühförderung pädagogische Fachkräfte aus den drei genannten Ländern zeigen. Während im Bereich der Überzeugungen zum Fach «Mathematik» und zum Lehren und Lernen von Mathematik nur wenige Unterschiede festgestellt werden konnten, zeigen sich in Überzeugungen, die sich konkreter auf die Gestaltung mathematischer Förderung im Kindergarten beziehen, deutliche Unterschiede: Schweizer Kindergartenlehrpersonen zeigen eine «intentionalere» Haltung gegenüber mathematischer Förderung im Kindergarten als ihre Kolleginnen und Kollegen aus Deutschland und Österreich. Die Ergebnisse werden in Bezug auf kulturelle Prägungen durch länder- und stufenübergreifende Bildungskonzepte und Bildungsvorstellungen und insbesondere vor dem Hintergrund der in der Schweiz vollzogenen Integration der vorschulischen Bildung in das Regelschulsystem diskutiert. (DIPF/Orig.)The structural context of early childhood education differs in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria in several aspects. This article reports findings from a research project that examines the differences and similarities between educators’ beliefs concerning early mathematics education in the German-speaking parts of the three countries. The results indicate that there are only few differences in the beliefs concerning mathematics as a subject and teaching and learning of mathematics in general. However, significant differences were found in relation to beliefs concerning specific teaching and learning approaches to fostering mathematical skills in kindergarten: Swiss kindergarten teachers express a more intentional stance on mathematics education in kindergarten than German and Austrian kindergarten educators. These results are discussed in terms of cultural influences on the understanding of education across countries and levels of education. The integration of kindergarten as a compulsory part of the Swiss education system is discussed as a crucial aspect for interpreting the differences between the three countries

Interference of Distinct Invariant Chain Regions with Superantigen Contact Area and Antigenic Peptide Binding Groove of HLA-DR

In the endoplasmic reticulum, MHC class II ab dimers associate with the trimeric invariant chain (li), generating a nine-subunit(abli)3 complex. In the presence of li, the peptide binding groove is blocked, so that loading with self or antigenic peptides can only occur after proteolytic removal of li in specialized post-Golgi compartments. The class 11-associated invariant chain peptide region of li (about residues 81-1 04) is known to mediate binding to class II molecules and blockade of the groove, but this does not exclude additional contact sites for li. Using a set of overlapping li peptides and recombinant soluble li, we demonstrate here that a large segment of Ii encompassing approximately residues 71 to 128 interacts with HLA-DR molecules. The N- and C-terminal regions of this Ii segment appear to bind outside the peptide groove to the contact area for the staphylococcal superantigen Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B on the a1 domain. The core region of this segment (residues 95-108)prevents binding of antigenic peptides, probably by interaction with the peptide groove. Occupation of the groove with antigenic peptides abolishes binding not only of the core region, but also that of those Ii peptides that bind outside the groove. These findings suggest the existence of distinct conformational states of class II molecules, with Ii binding preferentially to one form

The superior salinity tolerance of bread wheat cultivar Shanrong No. 3 is unlikely to be caused by elevated Ta-sro1 poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity

Structural and biochemical analyses demonstrate that the elevated salinity tolerance of bread wheat cultivar Shanrong No. 3 is unlikely to be caused by elevated Ta-sro1 poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity

Local recurrence model of malignant pleural mesothelioma for investigation of intrapleural treatment

Objective: Local recurrence remains a major problem in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. The aim of the underlying study was to establish a standardised local recurrence model in rats which enables to study different intrapleural therapies. Materials and methods: Fifty microlitre containing 1×106 cells of a syngeneic rat malignant mesothelioma cell line (II-45), established from mesothelioma in Fischer 344 rats exposed to asbestos, were inoculated subpleurally via a left-sided thoracotomy. Tumour size was assessed 6 days later and the tumour nodule completely resected. Evaluation of recurrence at the resection site was performed after 10 days (n=6) and 6 days (n=6). The recurrent nodule was histopathologically confirmed. In a second experiment, this new recurrence model was evaluated for the effect of intrapleural therapy with different agents: 4ml of cisplatin-solution (100mg2/kg BW), cisplatin combined with the fibrin-based sealant Vivostat®, 4ml taurolidine 2%, repeated injection of 1μg of the chemokine CCL-19 at the tumour site and 4ml povidone-iodine in a dilution 1:10. In a control group, the chest cavity was filled with 4ml 0.9% NaCl. The primary endpoint was the extent of tumour recurrence. Results: Six days after inoculation, all animals presented a standardised tumour nodule at the injection site of a mean diameter of 5.1 (±0.8)mm. Evaluation of the recurrence after 10 days showed a relapse directly at the resection site, but additional tumour nodules on the ipsi- and contralateral chest wall were found and histologically confirmed. The animals that were sacrificed 6 days after resection of the tumour nodule showed a recurrence only at the resection site with no macroscopic or microscopic evidence of other tumour. Resection of the tumour nodule combined with intrapleural application of the different agents lead to clear reduction of recurrence. The strongest effect was observed after intrapleural application of cisplatin-Vivostat® with significant decrease of the longest, widest and thickest diameter of the recurrence. Conclusions: With this new recurrence model for investigation of malignant pleural mesothelioma in rats, we were able to investigate new intrapleural therapies after pneumonectomy. The intrapleural application of cisplatin-Vivostat® significantly reduced the extent of local recurrenc

Entwicklung von Wertschöpfungsketten für Körnererbsen und Ackerbohnen: Fördernde und hemmende Faktoren

Das Demonstrationsnetzwerk DemoNetErBo hat zum Ziel, den Anbau und die Verwertung von Körnererbsen und Ackerbohnen in Deutschland nachhaltig zu steigern und zu verbessern. Dazu werden Wertschöpfungsketten für regional erzeugte Hülsenfrüchte entwickelt und optimiert, wofür die Kenntnis sogenannter kritischer Erfolgsfaktoren, die diesen Prozess von Anbau über Verarbeitung bis hin zur Vermarktung hemmen oder fördern, unerlässlich ist. Beispielhaft wird die unterschiedliche Situation in ökologischen und konventionellen Wertschöpfungsketten betrachtet