Search Results (4)

Linking methods are widely used in the social sciences to compare group differences regarding the mean and the standard deviation of a factor variable. This article examines a comparison between robust Haberman linking (HL) and invariance alignment (IA) for factor models with dichotomous and continuous items, utilizing the $L_{0.5}$ and $L_0$ loss functions. A simulation study demonstrates that HL outperforms IA when item intercepts are used for linking, rather than the original HL approach, which relies on item difficulties. The results regarding the choice of loss function were mixed: $L_0$ showed superior performance in the simulation study with continuous items, while $L_{0.5}$ performed better in the study with dichotomous items. Full article

Can Critical Language Awareness (CLA) be increased through sociolinguistically based student projects in learning communities collaborating across distant states? If so, how can educators detect this increase in CLA? During the spring of 2020, students in mixed learning communities (SHL/L2) at the intermediate level at two large universities collaborated through online tools to deepen their sociolinguistic understanding of the Spanish of the United States through authentic sociolinguistic data collection. The data for the current study come from interviews with four of these students and from their final reflection papers, providing participant-based depictions of their language experience including criticality and resistance to it. We find evidence that students already expressed elements of CLA before entering the class, and that they also achieved new critical insights through participating and collaborating in class projects. To identify gains in CLA conveyed by student voices, we operationalized CLA as expressions of language experience that either challenged hegemonic paradigms (e.g., stigmatization of certain forms) or identified the role of hegemonic forces in collective or individual behavior. In order to tie CLA to widespread tools used in education, we connect it to notions of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. Overall, we propose observable goals that can be used to understand and assess the presence of CLA in students’ discourse. Full article

Background: Microsatellite and chromosomal instability have been investigated in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Materials and Methods: We studied seven HL cell lines (five Nodular Sclerosis (NS) and two Mixed Cellularity (MC)) and patient peripheral blood lymphocytes (100 NS-HL and 23 MC-HL). Microsatellite instability (MSI) was assessed by PCR. Chromosomal instability and telomere dysfunction were investigated by FISH. DNA repair mechanisms were studied by transcriptomic and molecular approaches. Results: In the cell lines, we observed high MSI in L428 (4/5), KMH2, and HDLM2 (3/5), low MSI in L540, L591, and SUP-HD1, and none in L1236. NS-HL cell lines showed telomere shortening, associated with alterations of nuclear shape. Small cells were characterized by telomere loss and deletion, leading to chromosomal fusion, large nucleoplasmic bridges, and breakage/fusion/bridge (B/F/B) cycles, leading to chromosomal instability. The MC-HL cell lines showed substantial heterogeneity of telomere length. Intrachromosmal double strand breaks induced dicentric chromosome formation, high levels of micronucleus formation, and small nucleoplasmic bridges. B/F/B cycles induced complex chromosomal rearrangements. We observed a similar pattern in circulating lymphocytes of NS-HL and MC-HL patients. Transcriptome analysis confirmed the differences in the DNA repair pathways between the NS and MC cell lines. In addition, the NS-HL cell lines were radiosensitive and the MC-cell lines resistant to apoptosis after radiation exposure. Conclusions: In mononuclear NS-HL cells, loss of telomere integrity may present the first step in the ongoing process of chromosomal instability. Here, we identified, MSI as an additional mechanism for genomic instability in HL. Full article

The reaction of hot (~95 °C) aqueous solutions of Tl₂CO₃ with solid HL (HL = NC-C(=N-OH)-R is a cyanoxime, and R is an electron-withdrawing group; 37 ligands are known up-to-date) leads to crystalline yellow/orange TlL. Similarly, the reaction between AgNO₃ and ML (M = K⁺, Na⁺; L = anion of the monodeprotonated cyanoxime) this time at room temperature in mixed ethanol/aqueous solutions leads to sparingly soluble, colored AgL in high-yield. All synthesized monovalent Tl and Ag complexes were characterized using a variety of spectroscopic methods and X-ray analysis, which revealed the formation of primarily 2D coordination polymers of different complexity. In all cases cyanoxime mono-anions act as bridging ligands. Thallium(I) cyanoximates adopt in most cases a double-stranded motif that is originated from centrosymmetric (TlL)₂ dimers in which two Tl₂O₂ rhombs are fused into infinite “ladder-type” structure. There are very short (3.65–3.85 Å) intermetallic distances in (TlL)_n, which are close to that (3.46 Å) in metallic thallium. This opens the possibility for the electrochemical or chemical generation of mixed valence Tl(I)/Tl(III) polymers that may exhibit electrical conductivity. Synthesized silver(I) compounds demonstrate a very significant (for multiple years!) stability towards visible light. There are three areas of potential practical applications of these unusual complexes: (1) battery-less detectors of UV-radiation, (2) non electrical sensors for gases of industrial importance, (3) antimicrobial additives to light-curable acrylate polymeric glues, fillers and adhesives used during introduction of indwelling medical devices. Chemical, structural, technological and biological aspects of application of Tl(I) and Ag(I) cyanoximes-based coordination polymers are reviewed. Full article