Computational Thinking Integration into Middle Grades Science Classrooms: Strategies for Meeting the Challenges

This paper reports findings from the efforts of a university-based research team as they worked with middle school educators within formal school structures to infuse computer science principles and computational thinking practices. Despite the need to integrate these skills within regular classroom practices to allow all students the opportunity to learn these essential 21st Century skills, prior practice has been to offer these learning experiences outside of mainstream curricula where only a subset of students have access. We have sought to leverage elements of the research-practice partnership framework to achieve our project objectives of integrating computer science and computational thinking within middle science classrooms. Utilizing a qualitative approach to inquiry, we present narratives from three case schools, report on themes across work sites, and share recommendations to guide other practitioners and researchers who are looking to engage in technology-related initiatives to impact the lives of middle grades students

Lifelong Idiopathic Unilateral Diaphragmatic Paralysis With Recurrent Pneumonia: A Case Report

A 50-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency center with dyspnea, cough, and fever symptoms. She had a medical history of diabetes mellitus type II, rheumatoid arthritis, as well as several admission records due to aspiration pneumonia. The primary diagnosis was diabetic ketoacidosis and pneumonia. Normal breath sounds were reduced on the lower posterior right side of the thorax. A standard chest x-ray and lung Computed Tomography (CT) scan revealed collapse consolidation in the Right Lower Lobes (RLL) and Right Middle Lobes (RML). We here presented a case of unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis with a history of recurrent pneumonia

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions

CINAPACT-Splines: A Family of Infnite Smooth, Accurate and Compactly Supported Splines

We introduce a class of compactly supported C infinite kernels (CINAPACT-splines) whose integer translates form a shift-invariant reconstruction space that can be tuned to achieve any order of accuracy. CINAPACT-splines resemble traditional B-splines in that higher orders of accuracy are achieved by successive convolutions with a B-spline of degree zero. Unlike B-splines however, the starting point for CINAPACT-splines is a compactly supported bump function that has been properly normalized so that it fulfills the partition of unity criterion. We explore the properties of CINAPACT-splines in reconstructing volumetric data sampled on regular grids. We show that CINAPACT-splines provide similar reconstruction quality and cost compared to some well-established filters, while being infinitely smooth. We further explore the advantages of our filter by implementing a curvature-based transfer function using second derivatives of the filter to demonstrate feature lines of a function. We apply the same technique using filters of smaller support and less cost

Revolutionizing AI-Assisted Education with Federated Learning: A Pathway to Distributed, Privacy-Preserving, and Debiased Learning Ecosystems

The majority of current research on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education relies on centralized model training architectures. Typically, this involves pooling data at a centralized location alongside an ML model training module, such as a cloud server. However, this approach necessitates transferring student data across the network, leading to privacy concerns. In this paper, we explore the application of federated learning (FL), a highly recognized distributed ML technique, within the educational ecosystem. We highlight the potential benefits FL offers to students, classrooms, and institutions. Also, we identify a range of technical, logistical, and ethical challenges that impede the sustainable implementation of FL in the education sector. Finally, we discuss a series of open research directions, focusing on nuanced aspects of FL implementation in educational contexts. These directions aim to explore and address the complexities of applying FL in varied educational settings, ensuring its deployment is technologically sound, beneficial, and equitable for all stakeholders involved

Comparison of efficacy and tolerability of tretinoin gel 0.05% with adapalene gel 0.1% in treating mild to moderate acne vulgaris

Background: Acne vulgaris is an inflammatory skin disease. Topical retinoids with significant anti-inflammatory properties are used for treatment of acne. The common side effect of topical retinoids is local irritation. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of tretinoin 0.05% and adapalene 0.1% in patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris. Materials and Methods: This randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 50 patients referred to the dermatology clinic of Farshchian hospital in Hamadan city with mild to moderate facial acne. The patients were divided into two groups; the first group received tretinoin gel 0.05% and the second group adapalene gel 0.1%. The severity of acne was measured by Global Acne Grading System (GAGS) and tolerability was evaluated at the beginning of the trial, and 4 and 12 weeks thereafter in both groups. Results: The mean GAGS score at the beginning of the study was 49.56 (SD=12.24) in the adapalene group and 47.76 (SD=11.34) in the tretinoin group (P=0.592). This score dropped to 35.00 (SD=11.13) in the adapalene and 25.28 (SD=8.17) in the tretinoin group in week 4 (P= 0.001). A further GAGS score decline was observed in week 12 (25.08±9.00 in the adapalene and 12.12±4.71 in the tretinoin group (P<0.001)). Regarding tolerability, there was no significant difference between the two groups at the end of weeks 4 and 12 (P=1.00 and P=0.747, respectively). Conclusions: Adapalene 0.1% and tretinoin 0.05% are both effective and safe in treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris, although the tretinoin gel shows more efficacy in reducing the GAGS score.¬ Both treatments are equally tolerated

Towards an AI-Infused Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Middle-Grade Classrooms

As AI becomes more widely used across a variety of disciplines, it is increasingly important to teach AI concepts to K-12 students in order to prepare them for an AI-driven future workforce. Hence, educators and researchers have been working to develop curricula that make these concepts accessible to K-12 students. We are designing and developing a comprehensive AI curriculum delivered through a series of carefully crafted activities in an adapted \emph{Snap!} environment for middle-grade students. In this work, we lay out the proposed content of our curriculum and present the design, development, and implementation results of the first unit of our curriculum that focuses on teaching the breadth-first search algorithm. The activities in this unit have been revised after being piloted with a single high-school student. These activities were further refined after a group of K-12 teachers examined and critiqued them during a two-week professional development workshop. Our teachers created a lesson plan around the activities and implemented that lesson in a summer workshop with 14 middle school students. Our results demonstrated that our activities were successful in helping many of the students in understanding and implementing the algorithm through block-based programming while extra supplementary material was needed to assist some other students. In this paper, we explain our curriculum and technology, the results of implementing the first unit of our curriculum in a summer camp, and lessons learned for future developments

Effect of Platelet-Rich Plasma on CCl4-Induced Chronic Liver Injury in Male Rats

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been of great concern to the scientists and doctors who are involved in wound healing and regenerative medicine which focuses on repairing and replacing damaged cells and tissues. Growth factors of platelet-rich plasma are cost-effective, available, and is more stable than recombinant human growth factors. Given these valuable properties, we decided to assess the effect of PRP on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity on rats. The rats received CCl4 (1 mL/kg, i.p. 1 : 1 in olive oil) twice per week for 8 weeks. Five weeks after CCl4 injection, the rats also received PRP (0.5 mL/kg, s.c.) two days a week for three weeks. Twenty-four hours after last CCl4 injection, the animals bled and their livers dissected for biochemical and histopathological studies. Blood analysis was performed to evaluate enzyme activity. The results showed that PRP itself was not toxic for liver and could protect the liver from CCl4-induced histological damages and attenuated oxidative stress by increase in glutathione content and decrease in lipid peroxidative marker of liver tissue. The results of the present study lend support to our beliefs in hepatoprotective effects of PRP

Efficacy of intralesional amphotericin B for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Background: Antimoniate compounds have been used as gold standard treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis since many years ago, but with increase in incidence of drug as well as individual contraindications, more attention has been given to alternative treatments. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intralesional amphotericin B as an alternative treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Mashhad, Iran, during 2007-2009. Materials and Methods: Non-random sampling from both sexes and without any age limitation of cases eligible for this alternative treatment was done. Size and induration of lesions were measured before beginning and weakly during the treatment. Amphotericin B (2 mg/ml) was injected into lesions weekly for up to 12 weeks and the cases were followed up for the treatment responses, possible side effects and recurrence of the disease. Results: A total of 93 patients with a mean age of 20.81 ± 15.26 years were included in this study. At the end of 12 th week, 61.4% of the patients were recovered completely (more than 90% reduction in size and induration), 21.6% had partial remission (60-90% reduction in size and induration), and 17% had less than 60% reduction in size and induration of skin lesions. Injection side effects were insignificant and did not lead to premature discontinuation of treatment in any patients. Conclusion: Weekly intralesional injection of amphotericin B looks promising, considering the fact that most of the patients in this study were resistant to antimoniates