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This study explores the accuracy of prevalence estimations for suicide attempts. Data came from the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology (EDSP) Study, a prospective community study (mean follow-up period was 42 months) of 3,021 respondents aged 14 to 24 years at the outset of the study. Suicide attempters are at least 1.6 times more likely to drop out than subjects with no suicide attempts and suicidal ideas. A total of 8% of all suicide attempters answered in the negative the depression-related gate questions of all surveys. One-third of all baseline suicide attempters did not report their suicide attempt again at the four years later assessment. In particular, 80% of all nonreporters were female, and almost 60% were aged 14–17 at baseline.

Objectives: To assess labelling accuracy for low nicotine concentration e‐cigarette liquids. Methods: Nicotine concentration in twelve e‐liquids, available in 3 and 6 mg/ml strengths, was assayed (5 replicates each) using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Key findings: Average nominal concentrations of nicotine were lower than reported in 23/24 products tested, with 2/12 products labelled 3 mg/ml, and 3/12 of the 6 mg/ml products showing statistically significant differences from controls. Conclusions: Despite the emergence of a global regulatory environment for e‐cigarettes, inaccuracies still exist in nicotine concentration labelling, which may affect user habits and reliability of products used in smoking cessation.

This thesis study investigates gains in the speaking of China study abroad (SA) students from Brigham Young University. Pre-and post-program Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) tasks were used to generate multiple fluency measures, such as native judges' subjective fluency ratings, word count, number of unique words, number of filler words, mean pause length, tonal accuracy, etc. The study results display significant differences between pre- and post-tests for all fluency measures. In other words, China SA students were perceived to be more fluent in their speech by native judges after SA; their speech samples show more word (token and type) production, and shorter pauses in post-SOPI tasks than in pre-SOPI tasks. Participants used more filler words and had more unfilled pauses in post-measures than in pre-measures and they enhanced their tonal accuracy during the SA. Native judges' perception of task completion was also measured and the students were more capable of completing speech tasks in the post-program measures than in the pre-program measures. The OPI ratings indicate that some students made as much as two sub levels' improvement on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale.

A quasi-experimental study determined the effects on students' spelling accuracy when cross-age tutors focused on fixing spelling in writing with their tutees. Fourth-grade tutors, both trained and untrained, helped second-grade tutees fix spelling mistakes in their writing using two strategies: visual memory and word parts. A control group of second and fourth graders were instructed to independently use these two strategies to fix mistakes in their writing. Second graders overall had significant gain scores on measures of spelling accuracy and writing fluency. Regression analyses showed that these gains were not due to a student's participation in either cross-age tutoring or the control group. No significant gain scores were found for fourth graders. These results seem to indicate that cross-age tutors may not be academically beneficial for either tutors or tutees. However, descriptive statistical analyses and informal observations made during cross-age tutoring sessions imply that cross-age tutors can be a valuable educational tool.

Research has explored the impact of various planning types (i.e. different ways to help students prepare for a language task by, for instance, giving them time and/or specific instructions) on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of second language learners (e.g., Ellis, 2009). However, results have been mixed and studies have never investigated the impact of pre-speaking activities such as those proposed by Thompson (2009), a teacher-led planning focusing on both form and content with students. Previous research suggests that this type of planning could benefit students: Foster & Skehan (1999) believe that teacher-led planning is effective in comparison to other planning types, and Sangarun (2005) demonstrated the benefits of planning involving both content and form instead of planning focusing on content or form only. Moreover, because anxiety negatively impacts the production of second language learners (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986), this study also examines whether planning activities can reduce student anxiety during speaking tasks. To this end, the present study examines the impact of three different planning conditions, namely no planning, solitary planning and Thompson's teacher-led planning, or Prelude to Conversation, on the fluency (measured through total duration of the speech sample, words per minute, and pauses per minute), complexity (measured through the words per utterance), accuracy (measured through the percentage of errors), and anxiety level (measured through anxiety scales) of 37 students performing short speaking tasks. Subjects were all enrolled in first semester French classes and were divided into three groups that rotated through the three planning conditions, each group starting with a different planning type in the cycle. Each week, the speaking task was common across all subjects, but depending on the group, the treatment was different. Their performance level during the speaking task and their anxiety level were compared for each treatment. Results show that planning has an impact on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of the students but not on their anxiety level. Findings also show that pre-speaking has a more positive influence on the quality and the quantity of production of the students than solitary planning and no planning. Task and pre-task anxiety influenced the anxiety level of the students, demonstrating the role that specific tasks can have on student performance no matter how teachers try to prepare them for the tasks. Results also suggest that more personal-oriented tasks, e.g., student schedules, will elicit better responses than more outward-oriented tasks, e.g., school systems, cultural differences. This study also supports previous research that has shown the importance of creating a classroom where the anxiety is low.

Grammatical accuracy in second language (L2) writing is one of the key issues that English as a Second Language (ESL) learners struggle with, both in intensive English language programs and continuing after their university matriculation. Numerous instructional methodologies exist that center around the concept of error correction—how can or should ESL instructors correct grammatical errors in L2 students' writing to best facilitate improvements in written linguistic accuracy? Error correction in L2 writing has been a controversial issue for over a decade (e.g., Ferris, 1999; Truscott, 1996), and in an effort to contribute to an understanding of this controversial topic, this study investigated an innovative method of error correction known as dynamic written corrective feedback (WCF). For 15 weeks, 24 students at the Brigham Young University (BYU) English Language Center (ELC) received a form of dynamic WCF dramatically modified from Hartshorn's (2008) original method with the objective of increased practicality. These students produced a 30-minute pretest and posttest essay, and researchers calculated the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of each pretest and posttest. Data from the current study is compared against data from Hartshorn (2008), which found dynamic WCF to be successful in improving accuracy after carrying out similar research. The results validate previous findings and confirm that dynamic WCF is an effective approach to error correction, even when dramatically modified.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this in vitro study is to measure and compare the accuracy of the conventional impression, the intraoral scanner, and the photogrammetry techniques for full-arch implant-supported dental prostheses at the abutment level. METHODS: An edentulous maxillary master model containing 6 implant abutment replicas (RP analog for screw-retained abutment straight from NobelReplace® Multi-unit Abutment Plus Replica) was fabricated. A reference STL of the master model was obtained using a desktop scanner (inEos X5, Dentsply Sirona) with high trueness and precision and served as the control STL. Three impression techniques were performed: the intraoral scanning (IOS) group (TRIOS 3 Battery Cart, 3Shape A/S), the photogrammetry (PTG) group (ICam 4D Generation 3, Imetric), and the conventional (CNV) group. Ten impressions from each group were tested. Scan bodies in each STL file acquired from the different impression techniques were converted to implant abutment replicas using a digital library. Three tests were completed to compare the different registration techniques. A 3D deviation test between the experimental group and the reference was done on an inspection software (IScan4D Dental Version 9.1.104; Imetric) using a “best fit” algorithm to obtain the root mean square values, and on another inspection software (IScan3D Dental Version 9.1.104; Imetric) using spatial similarity transformation. The second test was meant to assess the angular deviations of the implant abutment replicas using a reverse engineering software (Geomagic Control X 2020.1; 3D Systems). The final test for cross-arch distances was done on an inspection software (IScan3D Dental Version 9.1.104; Imetric) which allows to determine the 3-dimensional coordinates for each implant by using the origin point and compare the cross-arch distance deviations as well as deviations at the x-, y-, and z- coordination. Trueness and precision were the two parameters used to define the accuracy of a system. The term "trueness" was used to see how close the measurements from the experimental files of each group were to those of the reference file. The term "precision" was defined as to see how close the measurements of each experimental files were to each other within the same group. The 3D discrepancies were then calculated and the trueness and precision of the three impression techniques were assessed and compared statistically (α = 0.05). RESULTS: The root mean square of 3D deviation values through the ICP “best-fit” method showed statistically significant differences between the PTG and CNV group (p < .0001), and the PTG and IOS group (p < .0001). The CNV and IOS group did not show statistically significant differences (p = 0.8626) through the “best-fit” method, but significant differences were observed via the “spatial similarity” method (p = 0.0041). Both methods however showed the best results in terms of trueness for the PTG group, followed by the CNV group and least the IOS group. In terms of precision, PTG showed the best results, followed by the IOS group and least the CNV group. The angular deviation test using the “best-fit” alignment method showed that the PTG and CNV had no statistically significant difference (p = 0.7955) and were equivalent. However, both showed a statistically significant difference to the IOS group (p < .0001), which had the highest angular deviation. Finally, in terms of cross-arch distances, the photogrammetry group showed optimal results followed by the IOS group and then the CNV group. In general, the shorter the inter-arch distance, the lower the deviation was. A larger deviation was observed on longer inter-arch distances. Considering the deviations on the 3 axes of each implant, the CNV technique had the highest deviation in the X-axis (longitudinal) and the IOS technique showed the highest deviation on the Y-axis (lateral) and Z-axis (vertical). The PTG technique experienced significantly less deviation on the X-axis, Y-axis, and the Z-axis. CONCLUSION: Within the scope of this study, the photogrammetry technique reported the best accuracy in terms of trueness and precision of implant positions for complete-arch implant rehabilitation. Conventional impressions showed better accuracy results than intraoral scanning in the 3D deviations test and global angular deviation test, however the latter exhibited better results in terms of accuracy in terms of cross-arch distances test. / 2023-08-11T00:00:00Z

Lung cancer is one the most dangerous types of all cancer. Several studies have explored the use of machine learning methods to predict and diagnose this cancer. This study explored the potential of decision tree (DT) and random forest (RF) classification models, in the context of a small transcriptome dataset for outcome prediction of different subtypes on lung cancer. In the study we compared the three subtypes; adenocarcinomas (AC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) with normal lung tissue by applying the two machine learning methods from caret R package. The DT and RF model and their validation showed different results for each subtype of the lung cancer data. The DT found more features and validated them with better metrics. Analysis of the biological relevance was focused on the identified features for each of the subtypes AC, SCLC and SCC. The DT presented a detailed insight into the biological data which was essential by classifying it as a biomarker. The identified features from this research may serve as potential candidate genes which could be explored further to confirm their role in corresponding lung cancer types and contribute to targeted diagnostics of different subtypes.

The purpose of the study is to explore the accuracy of the Input-Output model and its derivative, the Occupation-Based model in investigating the impacts of the 2007 economic crisis on the tourism-related industries and the local economy in the Metro Orlando Area, Florida. The 2007-2008 total visitor expenditure change is taken as an initial shock from the economic crisis on the region's tourism-related industries, and the total impacts are measured in terms of industry output (sales), employment and annual occupational wage. The estimation results are compared with the actual data to verify the accuracy of the modeling results. Paired-sample T tests are performed to determine whether the difference between the actual and estimated results are statistically significant or not. The findings suggest that the Input-Output model tends to overestimate the negative effects from the 2007 economic crisis in terms of output and employment, especially on the tourism-related industries. While the estimation results indicate the 2007 economic crisis greatly damaged the local tourism-related industries between 2007 and 2008, the actual data show that most of these industries experienced output and employment growth in that one year period. Moreover, the study findings also indicate that the Occupation-Based model has the tendency of overestimating the annual wage loss, especially for the occupations which take up large employment ratio in an industry. By investigating the local economic activities during the study period, this study made some explorative efforts in explaining such discrepancies. Theoretical and practical implications are then suggested.