Developing EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Competence through a Blended Learning Model: A Quasi-Experimental Study

In the era of globalization, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers have nominated to weld EFL instruction and aspects of intercultural competence together.  Howbeit, the literature on the topic promulgates that procuring pragmatic competence remains a high-priority quest for EFL learners worldwide. This paper delineates the use of a blended learning model to teach pragmatic competence in an EFL context. This quasi-experimental study sought to probe into the potential of a blended learning model on participants’ levels of pragmatic competence. 62 students from a junior high school participated in the study. 32 participants belonged to the control group and 30 participants belonged to the experimental group. The main findings demonstrated that the three-week blended learning model resulted in a statistically significant impact on participants’ levels of pragmatic competence; that is, the experimental group participants (M=16.40; SD=2.54) remarkably outperformed the control group participants (M=11.87; SD=3.49) on the posttest. This implies that foreign language teachers are highly encouraged to attach much importance to amalgamating classroom teaching and the use of interactive websites (blended learning) as a way to develop the pragmatic competence of language learners

Mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms of the right colon: a case report

Mixed neuroendocrine-non neuroendocrine neoplasm (MiNENs) is a rare gastrointestinal neoplasm that has been redefined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017 as the association of two types of components, neuroendocrine and non-neuroendocrine, each of them present in at least 30% of the tumour mass. Small case reports and case series have demonstrated the occurrence of this neoplasm in the colon. We here report the case of a 47-year-old man undergoing colonscopy for anemia. This showed impassable polypoidal tumor budding in the right colic flexure. Computerized tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed the presence of liver metastases. As the tumor was hemorrhagic, right hemicolectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. The histological examination showed MiNEN of the ascending colon. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy

Molecular characterization of mutations associated with resistance to second line drugs in Mycobacterium tuberculosis patients from Casablanca, Morocco

The emergence and spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is a serious threat to global health. Therefore, its rapid diagnosis is crucial. The present study aimed to characterize mutations conferring resistance to second line drugs (SLDs) within multidrug Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-MTB) isolates and to estimate the occurrence of XDR-TB in Casablanca, Morocco. A panel of 200 MDR-TB isolates was collected at the Pasteur Institute between 2015-2018. Samples were subjected to drug susceptibility testing to Ofloxacin (OFX), Kanamycin (KAN) and Amikacin (AMK). The mutational status of gyrA, gyrB, rrs, tlyA and eis was assessed by sequencing these target genes. Drug susceptibility testing for SLDs showed that among the 200 MDR strains, 20% were resistant to OFX, 2.5% to KAN and 1.5% to AMK. Overall, 14.5% of MDR strains harbored mutations in gyrA, gyrB, rrs and tlyA genes. From the 40 OFXR isolates, 67.5% had mutations in QRDR of gyrA and gyrB genes, the most frequent one being Ala90Val in gyrA gene. Of note, none of the isolates harbored simultaneously mutations in gyrA and gyrB genes. In eight out of the 200 MDR-TB isolates resistant either to KAN or AMK, only 25% had A1401G or Lys89Glu change in rrs and tlyA genes respectively. This study is very informative and provides data on the alarming rate of fluoroquinolone resistance which warrants the need to implement appropriate drug regimens to prevent the emergence and spread of more severe forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance

Global respiratory syncytial virus–related infant community deaths

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of pediatric death, with >99% of mortality occurring in low- and lower middle-income countries. At least half of RSV-related deaths are estimated to occur in the community, but clinical characteristics of this group of children remain poorly characterized. Methods The RSV Global Online Mortality Database (RSV GOLD), a global registry of under-5 children who have died with RSV-related illness, describes clinical characteristics of children dying of RSV through global data sharing. RSV GOLD acts as a collaborative platform for global deaths, including community mortality studies described in this supplement. We aimed to compare the age distribution of infant deaths <6 months occurring in the community with in-hospital. Results We studied 829 RSV-related deaths <1 year of age from 38 developing countries, including 166 community deaths from 12 countries. There were 629 deaths that occurred <6 months, of which 156 (25%) occurred in the community. Among infants who died before 6 months of age, median age at death in the community (1.5 months; IQR: 0.8−3.3) was lower than in-hospital (2.4 months; IQR: 1.5−4.0; P < .0001). The proportion of neonatal deaths was higher in the community (29%, 46/156) than in-hospital (12%, 57/473, P < 0.0001). Conclusions We observed that children in the community die at a younger age. We expect that maternal vaccination or immunoprophylaxis against RSV will have a larger impact on RSV-related mortality in the community than in-hospital. This case series of RSV-related community deaths, made possible through global data sharing, allowed us to assess the potential impact of future RSV vaccines

An Investigation into the Relationship between Postgraduate Students’ Digital Participation and New Media Literacy Skills (NMLs): A Correlational Study: The Case of Applied Language Studies Masters Program

A huge portion of digital media users, known as digital natives and millennials, inappropriately consume and produce much online [new] media content in stark violation of media studies ethics and UNESCO guidelines. This has become a new reality, a norm, and worse the modus-operandi for many university students in many countries, including Morocco. This quantitative study deployed a correlational design. An online survey, a newly tested self-report assessment tool for media literacy developed by Literat (2014), based on the twelve new media literacy skills (NMLs) developed by Jenkins (2007) was utilised to investigate the extent to which the participants’ digital participation correlates with the use of new media literacy skills. The sample (N=25) consisted of postgraduate students (2020-2022) belonging to the MA degree program, Applied Language Studies hosted by the faculty of art and humanities, Meknes, Morocco. In sharp contrast, with the available bulk of previous studies, key results pinpoint that there is a negative weak correlation between the participants’ digital participation and the use of new media literacy skills. Higher levels of media literacy skills are not associated with a higher degree of digital participation in the study context. The results provide a basis for stakeholders to issue a wake-up call about the ascendancy to integrate new media literacy skills programs and interventions in various curricula across different departments at the tertiary level

mixed reality and data science applied to serious games

Trabajo de Fin de Doble Grado en Ingeniería Informática y Administración y Dirección de Empresas, Facultad de Informática UCM, Departamento de Ingeniería de Software e Inteligencia Artificial, Curso 2022/2023."Los juegos son la forma más elevada de la investigación", afirmó Albert Einstein. Esta idea ha cobrado cada vez más fuerza en el ámbito de la educación, donde los juegos han demostrado ser una herramienta valiosa y efectiva para el aprendizaje de distintas habilidades y competencias, como la resolución de problemas, la creatividad, el trabajo en equipo, entre otras. El uso de la tecnología, y en particular la realidad mixta, puede mejorar aún más la experiencia de aprendizaje al crear entornos inmersivos y lúdicos que favorecen el compromiso y la motivación de los estudiantes. En este contexto, se plantea el desarrollo del juego clásico Tetris en realidad mixta mediante el uso de la tecnología de sensores de movimiento para mejorar la habilidad de rotación mental del jugador. Para llevar a cabo la implementación de esta idea, se ha utilizado el hardware abierto Arduino Nicla Sense ME para la creación del dispositivo físico que permite la interacción del jugador mediante sensores de movimiento. Además, se ha empleado la plataforma de TensorFlow para el entrenamiento del modelo de aprendizaje automático que permite la predicción y el reconocimiento de las acciones físicas del juego. Por otro lado, los datos generados durante las sesiones de Tetris serán recogidos y analizados mediante el estándar xAPI que permite la creación de perfiles de aprendizaje personalizados para cada usuario y supervisar la experiencia de aprendizaje.“Play is the Highest Form of Research”, said Albert Einstein. This idea has gained increasing strength in the field of education, where games have proven to be a valuable and effective tool for learning various skills and competencies, such as problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, among others. The use of technology, particularly mixed reality, can further enhance the learning experience by creating immersive and playful environments that promote engagement and motivation for students. In this context, the development of the classic game Tetris in mixed reality is proposed, using motion sensor technology to improve the player's mental rotation ability. To implement this idea, the open-source hardware Arduino Nicla Sense ME has been used to create the physical device that allows player interaction through motion sensors. In addition, the TensorFlow platform has been employed to train the machine learning model that enables prediction and recognition of game's physical actions. Furthermore, data generated during Tetris sessions will be collected and analyzed through the xAPI standard, which allows for the creation of personalized learning profiles for each user and the monitoring of the learning experience.Depto. de Ingeniería de Software e Inteligencia Artificial (ISIA)Fac. de InformáticaTRUEunpu

Étude diachronique de l’occupation du sol de la zone humide de Dayet Aoua dans le Moyen Atlas au Maroc / A diachronic study of the land uses of the Dayet Aoua wetland in the Middle Atlas in Morocco

Lake Dayet Aoua, located in the Middle Atlas in Morocco, is one of the most important lake ecosystems in Ifrane National Park, and is currently reduced to a small body of water. The objective of this study is to follow the dynamics of land uses in the Dayet Aoua wetland over a period of 30 years, from 1989 to 2019. Landsat satellite imagery, using supervised classification with the k-nearest neighbors algorithm, is used to map the land uses of the study area over a 10-year interval and subsequently to develop change maps. The evaluation of this classification shows that forests experienced strong growth between 1989 and 2019 (19.19 %) due in particular to the increase in arboriculture. The bare land class went from 8.07 % to 7.42 % and that of Agriculture went from 1.30 % to 5.22 % while that of water bodies went from 0.65% to 0.54%. Indeed, between 1989 and 2019 76.61% of the areas in the study area remained unchanged while 23.38% of the areas changed to other classes or suffered degradation. This study highlights an anthropization of Dayet Aoua wetland leading to a degradation of its natural resources.Le lac Dayet Aoua, situé dans le Moyen Atlas au Maroc, constitue l’un des plus importants écosystèmes lacustres du parc national d’Ifrane qui est actuellement réduit à une petite étendue d’eau. L’objectif de cette étude est de suivre la dynamique d’occupation du sol dans la zone humide de Dayet Aoua sur une période de trente ans, de 1989 à 2019. L’imagerie satellitaire Landsat, à l’aide de la classification supervisée avec l’algorithme des K plus proches voisins, est utilisée en vue de cartographier l’occupation du sol de la zone d’étude sur un intervalle de dix ans et de procéder par la suite à l’élaboration des cartes de changement. L’évaluation de cette classification montre que les forêts ont connu entre 1989 et 2019 une forte progression (19,19 %) due notamment à l’augmentation de l’arboriculture. La classe des terrains nus est passée de 8,07 % à 7,42 % et celle de l’agriculture de 1,30 % à 5,22 % tandis que celle des plans d’eau est passée de 0,65 % à 0,54 %. Ainsi, entre 1989 et 2019, 76,61 % des superficies de la zone d’étude sont restées inchangées tandis que 23,38 % des superficies ont évolué vers d’autres classes ou ont subi une dégradation. Cette étude met en évidence une anthropisation du lac de Dayet Aoua conduisant à une dégradation de ses ressources naturelles.Ichen Abdellah, Messaoudi Chaimae, El Malki Meysara, El Mderssa Mohammed. Étude diachronique de l’occupation du sol de la zone humide de Dayet Aoua dans le Moyen Atlas au Maroc / A diachronic study of the land uses of the Dayet Aoua wetland in the Middle Atlas in Morocco. In: Ecologia mediterranea, tome 47 n°1, 2021. pp. 107-115