MOHICANS: Mobile Learning Teaching Model for Next Gen Learners

[EN] The proliferation of mobile devices among especially the younger (aka Next Gen) learners has led to a change in expectations when it comes to learning. These learners prefer to learn "on-the-go" and to have the learning contents at their fingertips. However, design strategies for mobile learning are still in nascent development stages. This research builds on existing literature in the field of mobile learning pedagogy to propose a novel teaching model for mobile learning which instructors can use to design their own courses.The research is conducted on 120 identified learners from 2 faculties, School of IT and School of Health Sciences who were undertaking their respective core modules. The participating instructors designed and implemented mobile learning packages in accordance with the proposed teaching model. The authors collected feedback from learners via survey questionnaires on a four-point Likert scale to measure the level of learners’ satisfaction with the mobile learning packages. The authors also examined the module learning outcomes to gauge the level of instructors' satisfaction as well as the competency levels achieved by the learners. Both qualitative data and sentiments collected from survey and classroom observations have been encouraging, showing that the teaching model proposed is effective.Leow, ZZ.; Chui, J.; Ng, C. (2019). MOHICANS: Mobile Learning Teaching Model for Next Gen Learners. En HEAD'19. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 177-184. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD19.2019.9193OCS17718

Enhanced triacylglycerol catabolism by carboxylesterase 1 promotes aggressive colorectal carcinoma

The ability to adapt to low-nutrient microenvironments is essential for tumor cell survival and progression in solid cancers, such as colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Signaling by the NF-κB transcription factor pathway associates with advanced disease stages and shorter survival in patients with CRC. NF-κB has been shown to drive tumor-promoting inflammation, cancer cell survival, and intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) dedifferentiation in mouse models of CRC. However, whether NF-κB affects the metabolic adaptations that fuel aggressive disease in patients with CRC is unknown. Here, we identified carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) as an essential NF-κB–regulated lipase linking obesity-associated inflammation with fat metabolism and adaptation to energy stress in aggressive CRC. CES1 promoted CRC cell survival via cell-autonomous mechanisms that fuel fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and prevent the toxic build-up of triacylglycerols. We found that elevated CES1 expression correlated with worse outcomes in overweight patients with CRC. Accordingly, NF-κB drove CES1 expression in CRC consensus molecular subtype 4 (CMS4), which is associated with obesity, stemness, and inflammation. CES1 was also upregulated by gene amplifications of its transcriptional regulator HNF4A in CMS2 tumors, reinforcing its clinical relevance as a driver of CRC. This subtype-based distribution and unfavorable prognostic correlation distinguished CES1 from other intracellular triacylglycerol lipases and suggest CES1 could provide a route to treat aggressive CRC

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

A case series on the conservative management of the bony skull in patients with aggressive skin carcinomas of the scalp.

Few studies examine techniques of surgical resection for scalp malignancies to ensure clear margins. We present a case series utilizing outer cortex removal in patients without evidence of bony or pericranial invasion. A retrospective casenote review is presented of three cases treated in a tertiary Head and Neck Cancer Centre. An outer table removal approach was utilized based on the absence of bony involvement either on pre-operative imaging or from intra-operative findings. All cases underwent an outer table drilldown procedure. Tumour histology included high grade carcinoma of unknown origin, malignant cylindroma and squamous cell carcinoma. Complete excisions with adequate deep margins were achieved in 100% cases. Overall disease-free survival was 66.6% and local control rate was 100%. This technique allows a high degree of local control, notably at the deep margin. There is little morbidity and it avoids the complications associated with full thickness calvarial resection

Effects of web-based group mindfulness training on stress and sleep quality in singapore during the covid-19 pandemic: Retrospective equivalence analysis

10.2196/21757JMIR Mental Health83e2175

Cultural differences in hydration practices among physically active individuals: a narrative review

10.1080/15502783.2022.2057196JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF SPORTS NUTRITION191150-163complete