E-Learning Instruction Generation Approach in terms of Experience Economy

With the trend of service innovation and experience economy, innovative services with mass customization is the right way to shift into the Experience Economy. Nowadays, E-Learning services development is limited and digital learning material inadequate is one of the most important issues in this area. By taking rapid instruction prototyping into consideration and implementing the modular architecture that offer mass customization services and rapid, then the E-Learning in terms of Experience Economy will realize rapidly. This study proposes an innovative service concept with efficiently offering reusable learning assets for accelerating learning material development. The innovative approach of E-Learning instruction generation services is illustrated and the conceptual model of proposed service framework is outlined. The major findings of this study are: E-Learning instruction generation model for effectively utilizing course contents in Web 2.0 website; conceptual model for dynamic componentization of learning assets. Finally, discussion direction for further research is proposed

Pain sensitivities predict prophylactic treatment outcomes of flunarizine in chronic migraine patients: A prospective study

Abstract Background We aimed to assess the differences in quantitative sensory testing between chronic migraine and healthy controls and to explore the association between pain sensitivities and outcomes in chronic migraine following preventive treatment. Methods In this prospective open-label study, preventive-naïve chronic migraine and healthy controls were recruited, and cold, heat, mechanical punctate, and pressure pain thresholds over the dermatomes of first branch of trigeminal nerve and first thoracic nerve were measured by quantitative sensory testing at baseline. Chronic migraines were treated with flunarizine and treatment response was defined as ≥50% reduction in the number of monthly headache days over the 12-week treatment period. Results Eighty-four chronic migraines and fifty age-and-sex-matched healthy controls were included in the analysis. The chronic migraine had higher cold pain thresholds over the dermatomes of the first branch of trigeminal nerve and the first thoracic nerve (p  158 g (p = 0.020) or heat pain threshold over the dermatome of the first branch of the trigeminal nerve > 44.9°C (p = 0.002) were more likely to be responders. Conclusions Chronic migraine were generally more sensitive compared to healthy controls. Preventive treatment with flunarizine should be recommended particularly for chronic migraine who have relatively normal sensitivity to mechanical punctate or heat pain. Trial registration: This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02747940)

Bis{1-[(E)-(2-methyl­phen­yl)diazen­yl]-2-naphtho­lato}palladium(II)

In the title compound, [Pd(C17H13N2O)2], the PdII atom is tetra­coordinated by two N atoms and two O atoms from two bidentate methylphenyl­diazenylnaphtolate ligands, forming a square-planar complex. The two N atoms and two O atoms around the PdII atom are trans to each other (as the PdII atom lies on a crystallographic inversion centre) with O—Pd—N bond angles of 89.60 (11) and 90.40 (11)°. The distances between the PdII atom and the coordinated O and N atoms are 1.966 (3) and 2.009 (3) Å, respectively

Potential of Cellular Therapy for ALS: Current Strategies and Future Prospects

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive upper and lower motor neuron (MN) degeneration with unclear pathology. The worldwide prevalence of ALS is approximately 4.42 per 100,000 populations, and death occurs within 3–5 years after diagnosis. However, no effective therapeutic modality for ALS is currently available. In recent years, cellular therapy has shown considerable therapeutic potential because it exerts immunomodulatory effects and protects the MN circuit. However, the safety and efficacy of cellular therapy in ALS are still under debate. In this review, we summarize the current progress in cellular therapy for ALS. The underlying mechanism, current clinical trials, and the pros and cons of cellular therapy using different types of cell are discussed. In addition, clinical studies of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in ALS are highlighted. The summarized findings of this review can facilitate the future clinical application of precision medicine using cellular therapy in ALS

Mechanical punctate pain threshold is associated with headache frequency and phase in patients with migraine

Objective: Previous studies regarding the quantitative sensory testing are inconsistent in migraine. We hypothesized that the quantitative sensory testing results were influenced by headache frequency or migraine phase. Methods: This study recruited chronic and episodic migraine patients as well as healthy controls. Participants underwent quantitative sensory testing, including heat, cold, and mechanical punctate pain thresholds at the supraorbital area (V1 dermatome) and the forearm (T1 dermatome). Prospective headache diaries were used for headache frequency and migraine phase when quantitative sensory testing was performed. Results: Twenty-eight chronic migraine, 64 episodic migraine and 32 healthy controls completed the study. Significant higher mechanical punctate pain thresholds were found in episodic migraine but not chronic migraine when compared with healthy controls. The mechanical punctate pain thresholds decreased as headache frequency increased then nadired. In episodic migraine, mechanical punctate pain thresholds were highest (p<0.05) in those in the interictal phase and declined when approaching the ictal phase in both V1 and T1 dermatomes. Linear regression analyses showed that in those with episodic migraine, headache frequency and phase were independently associated with mechanical punctate pain thresholds and accounted for 29.7% and 38.9% of the variance in V1 (p¼0.003) and T1 (p<0.001) respectively. Of note, unlike mechanical punctate pain thresholds, our study did not demonstrate similar findings for heat pain thresholds and cold pain thresholds in migraine. Conclusion: Our study provides new insights into the dynamic changes of quantitative sensory testing, especially mechanical punctate pain thresholds in patients with migraine. Mechanical punctate pain thresholds vary depending on headache frequency and migraine phase, providing an explanation for the inconsistency across studies

Comparison of visual outcomes after epiretinal membrane surgery

AbstractPurposeTo elucidate the anatomical and visual outcomes of patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERM) who underwent vitrectomy, membrane removal only, or with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling under the assistance of different dyes.MethodsA retrospective chart review of patients with idiopathic ERM who received surgical treatment between January 2004 and December 2009. The patients were grouped according to the usage of staining materials assisting ILM peeling. Group 1 consisted of 61 eyes that underwent conventional vitrectomy and ERM peeling without staining-assisted ILM peeling. Group 2 consisted of 20 eyes with triamcinolone acetonide-assisted ILM peeling following conventional vitrectomy. Group 3 consisted of 23 eyes with indocyanine green-assisted ILM peeling following conventional vitrectomy.ResultsThis study included 104 eyes from 104 patients. There was no significant difference in age, sex, preoperative visual acuity, retinal thickness or follow-up duration among the three groups. Overall, the mean best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly from baseline 0.15 to postoperative 0.41 (p<0.0001). Among the three groups, the mean logarithm minimum angle of resolution acuity markedly improved. There was no significant difference in postoperative visual acuity among groups. As measured by ocular coherent tomography, the mean central foveal thickness decreased from 465.21±86.18 to 299.16±70.14μm. Although there was no difference between groups, postoperative retinal thickness was thicker than that observed in the normal population. The incidence of recurrent ERM was 13.1% in Group 1 and 0% in Groups 2 and 3; this incidence was significantly higher than in the conventional surgery group. Visual outcome was statistically more deteriorated in recurrent cases than in non-recurrent cases (p=0.011).ConclusionsERM surgeries with or without dye-assisted ILM peeling showed similar results. Moreover, the incidence of recurrence is lower in the ILM peeling groups and plays a primary role in determining the final postoperative vision outcome

Distinct functional defect of three novel Brugada syndrome related cardiac sodium channel mutations

The Brugada syndrome is characterized by ST segment elevation in the right precodial leads V1-V3 on surface ECG accompanied by episodes of ventricular fibrillation causing syncope or even sudden death. The molecular and cellular mechanisms that lead to Brugada syndrome are not yet completely understood. However, SCN5A is the most well known responsible gene that causes Brugada syndrome. Until now, more than a hundred mutations in SCN5A responsible for Brugada syndrome have been described. Functional studies of some of the mutations have been performed and show that a reduction of human cardiac sodium current accounts for the pathogenesis of Brugada syndrome. Here we reported three novel SCN5A mutations identified in patients with Brugada syndrome in Taiwan (p.I848fs, p.R965C, and p.1876insM). Their electrophysiological properties were altered by patch clamp analysis. The p.I848fs mutant generated no sodium current. The p.R965C and p.1876insM mutants produced channels with steady state inactivation shifted to a more negative potential (9.4 mV and 8.5 mV respectively), and slower recovery from inactivation. Besides, the steady state activation of p.1876insM was altered and was shifted to a more positive potential (7.69 mV). In conclusion, the SCN5A channel defect related to Brugada syndrome might be diverse but all resulted in a decrease of sodium current