Domain and user knowledge in a web-based courseware engineering course, knowlegde-based software engineering.

AIMS is a knowledge-based system for learning and teaching support within the context of distance education. It is aimed not only at enhancing learner's conceptual knowledge in a specific subject area but also at providing knowledge verification tools for the teacher. The system can be used to aid learning and teaching in different subject areas and to provide user-oriented support in searching courserelated information, concept teaching and learning, and conceptual and task-oriented domain structuring

Towards Implementing Gamification in MOOCs

Gamification is well known as a design strategy used to generate a change in users’ behaviour, such as motivation. However, while in recent years interest in it has been growing, empirical evidence on the effects that the application of game elements can generate on users’ behaviour is still lacking. We present the results of a study as a step towards designing gamification with better understanding of the possible effects that each game element could generate on end users. By involving three groups of experts: game designers, learning scientists and specialists in technology-enhanced learning (TEL), we assessed a selected number of 21 game design patterns in relation to the effects these could generate on learning performance, goal achievement and engagement of learners if implemented in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC). Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected, 9 game elements have been selected to be further investigated

Identifying Game Elements Suitable for MOOCs

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have increasingly become objects of research interest and studies in recent years. While MOOCs could be a means to address massive audiences, they suffer from high drop-out rates and low user engagement. Gamification is known as the application of game design elements in non-gaming scenarios to solve problems or to influence a user’s behaviour change. By applying gamification to MOOCs, we aim to enhance users’ engagement and goal achievement within a MOOC environment. To define our gamification strategy, we asked 42 experts in the fields of game design, learning science and technology-enhanced learning to rate 21 selected game design patterns according to their suitability within a MOOC environment application. The data collected allowed us to identify a set of nine game design patterns as promising candidates to be tested in MOOC environment

Efficacy and safety of the use of rebamipide in the scheme of triple eradication therapy of Helicobacter pylori infection: a prospective randomized comparative study

Purpose of the study. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the use of rebamipide as part of the triple eradication therapy (ET) scheme of Helicobacter pylori infection. Materials and methods. A prospective, randomized comparative study included 94 patients with uncomplicated H. pylori-associated stomach / duodenal ulcer. In the process of randomization, patients are divided into three groups depending on the intended therapy. The first group (n=36) received a classical triple scheme of the first-line ET (omeprazole 20 mg twice a day, amoxicillin 1000 mg twice a day, clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day) for 10 days. Patients of the second group (n=33) were assigned a classical triple scheme of ET with the inclusion of rebamipide (omeprazole 20 mg twice a day, amoxicillin 1000 mg twice a day, clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day, rebamipide 100 mg 3 times a day day) for 10 days. Patients of the third group (n=25) were assigned a classical triple scheme of ET with the inclusion of rebamipide (omeprazole 20 mg twice a day, amoxicillin 1000 mg twice a day, clarithromycin 500 mg twice a day, rebamipide 100 mg 3 times a day) in for 10 days, with the prolongation of the administration of rebamipide for the next 20 days. The effectiveness of ET was determined by the respiratory test after 6 weeks after the end of treatment. Adverse events were recorded by patients in specially developed diaries. All patients with gastric ulcer at the 6th week underwent a histological examination of the biopsy specimens of the antrum and the body of the stomach, assessing the inflammatory activity of the process on a point system in accordance with the updated Sydney system. Results and discussion. Efficiency of H. pylori eradication in the first group was 77.7% (ITT), 82.3% (PP), in the second group - 81.8% (ITT), 84.4% (PP), and in the third group - 84% (ITT), 87.5% (PP). The use of rebamipide in the triple ET regimen was associated with an increase in H. pylori eradication efficiency, both with simultaneous use with the scheme [odds ratio (OR) 1.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.32-4.24], and with subsequent prolonged admission (OR 1.5, 95% CI 0.34-6.7). A somewhat more pronounced dynamics of the epithelization of erosive and ulcerative changes in the mucous membrane of the stomach and duodenum to the 21st and 28th days in the third group of patients was noted. The incidence of adverse events between the groups was comparable: 22.2% in the first group, 24.2% in the second group and 20% in the third group. In the pathomorphological evaluation of biopsy specimens of patients with gastric ulcer at the 6th week after the treatment, significant differences were revealed between the first and third groups in terms of the inflammatory activity in the antrum stomach (2±0.63 vs. 1.4±0.52; p=0,0399). The conclusion. The inclusion of rebamipide in the classical triple scheme of H. pylori ET increases the effectiveness of treatment and does not affect the safety profile. In the post-eradication period, it is advisable to continue the use of rebamipide to potentiate the repair of the gastric mucosa and regress the inflammatory processes

Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of the hybrid scheme for eradication therapy of Helicobacter pylori infection

The aim is to conduct a comprehensive comparative study of the efficacy and safety of the hybrid scheme of eradication therapy (ET) in patients with peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum associated with Helicobacter pylori. Materials and methods. In a prospective, randomized comparative study, 180 patients were divided into three equal groups of 60 people, depending on the prescribed 10-day ET regimen. Group 1 - the standard triple scheme (omeprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin); group 2 - four-component therapy with preparations of bismuth (omeprazole, tetracycline, metronidazole, bismuth tricalium dicitrate); group 3 - hybrid scheme (first 5 days: omeprazole and amoxicillin, the next 5 days: omeprazole, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole). The effectiveness of ET was determined with the help of a breath test a month after the end of therapy. Adverse events were recorded by patients in specially developed diaries. Pharmacoeconomic analysis was carried out using the "cost-effectiveness" method with calculation of the CER coefficient. Results and discussion. The effectiveness of standard triple therapy was 73.3% (ITT), 75.9% (PP); four-component therapy with bismuth preparations - 78.3% (ITT), 82.4% (PP); hybrid scheme - 85% (ITT), 91% (PP). Hybrid therapy proved to be significantly more effective than standard triple therapy with a odds ratio (OR) of 3.25; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-9.73 (p=0.043, χ2=4.75, p-level=0.029298). The incidence of adverse events with the use of triple, four-component and hybrid ET regimens was 15; 18.3 and 28.3% respectively. The OR of at least one adverse event in patients receiving a hybrid ET regimen compared with triple therapy was 2.24 (95% CI 0.91-5.53, p=0.0823, χ2=3.14, p-level=0.076394), and compared with the four-component therapy - 1.76 (95% CI 0.74-4.17, p=0.2804, χ2=1.68, p-level=0.194924). According to the results of the pharmacoeconomic analysis, the most profitable from an economic point of view was a hybrid ET scheme with a CER of 20.1. The conclusion. Hybrid therapy showed the greatest effectiveness in comparison with the triple and four-component ET regimens, however, the incidence of side effects in patients receiving the hybrid ET scheme was higher, although it remained within the acceptable level for use in clinical practice. Pharmacoeconomic analysis also showed the advisability of designating a hybrid ET scheme. The obtained data allow to draw a conclusion about the necessity of further study of the efficiency and safety of the hybrid ET scheme

Smart, social, flexible and fun: Escaping the flatlands of virtual learning environments

© 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG. This paper describes the development of intelligent, social, flexible and game-based pedagogic approaches and their applications in Virtual Learning Environment based Education. Applications of computer science technologies and techniques can enable, facilitate and change educational approaches, allowing scalable approaches that can address both individual student needs whilst managing large – sometimes-massive - cohort sizes. The benefits of these information systems include supporting the wide range of contexts met in education, in terms of individual needs and specific subject and curriculum requirements. Technologies and approaches that are considered range from the representation of knowledge and the use of intelligent systems, the use of social computing, through to the enabling opportunities of ubicomp and the practical application of game mechanics (gamification). This paper concludes with practical illustrations in the context of undergraduate computer science didactics

Особенности артропатии при болезни Уиппла

The authors describe a case of Whipple's disease (WD) in a 56-year-old male patient followed up for 2 years. The diagnosis was established on the evidence that there was a low-density retroperitoneal or mesenteric infiltrate at computed tomography and PAS-positive macrophages in the biopsy specimens of the duodenal retrobulbar mucosa. Arthropathy had developed within 10 years before the occurrence of intestinal symptoms, subsided with their progression, and recurred after their regression. On the basis of this observation and the data available in the literature, the authors discuss the relationships of arthropathy to the abdominal manifestations of WD.Описано двухлетнее клиническое наблюдение мужчины 56 лет с болезнью Уиппла (БУ). Диагноз был установлен на основании обнаружения при компьютерной томографии расположенного за брюшиной и в брыжейке тонкой кишки инфильтрата низкой рентгеновской плотности и выявления в биоптате слизистой оболочки залуковичного отдела двенадцатиперстной кишки PAS-позитив-ных макрофагов. Артропатия развилась за 10 лет до появления кишечной симптоматики, стихла с ее развитием и возобновилась после достижения клинической ремиссии. На основании данного наблюдения и данных литературы обсуждаются взаимоотношения артропатии и абдоминальных проявлений БУ

Structure-Based Design, Synthesis, and Biochemical and Pharmacological Characterization of Novel Salvinorin A Analogues as Active State Probes of the κ-Opioid Receptor

Salvinorin A, the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen, has gained increasing attention since the κ-opioid receptor (KOR) was identified as its principal molecular target by us (Roth et al, PNAS, 2002). Here we report the design, synthesis and biochemical characterization of novel, irreversible, salvinorin A-derived ligands suitable as active state probes of the KOR. Based on prior substituted cysteine accessibility and molecular modeling studies, C3157.38 was chosen as a potential anchoring point for covalent labeling of salvinorin A-derived ligands. Automated docking of a series of potential covalently-bound ligands suggested that either a haloacetate moiety or other similar electrophilic groups could irreversibly bind with C3157.38. 22-thiocyanatosalvinorin A (RB-64) and 22-chlorosalvinorin A (RB-48) were both found to be extraordinarily potent and selective KOR agonists in vitro and in vivo. As predicted based on molecular modeling studies, RB-64 induced wash-resistant inhibition of binding with a strict requirement for a free cysteine in or near the binding pocket. Mass spectrometry (MS) studies utilizing synthetic KOR peptides and RB-64 supported the hypothesis that the anchoring residue was C3157.38 and suggested one biochemical mechanism for covalent binding. These studies provide direct evidence for the presence of a free cysteine in the agonist-bound state of KOR and provide novel insights into the mechanism by which salvinorin A binds to and activates KOR