Monitoring, Awareness and Reflection in Blended Technology Enhanced Learning: a Systematic Review

Education is experiencing a paradigm shift towards blended learning models in technology-enhanced learning (TEL). Despite the potential benefits of blended learning, it also entails additional complexity in terms of monitoring, awareness and reflection, as learning happens across different spaces and modalities. In recent years, literature on Learning Analytics (LA) and Educational Data Mining (EDM) has gained momentum and started to address the issue. To provide a clear picture of the current state of the research on the topic and to outline open research gaps, this paper presents a systematic literature review of the state-of-the-art of research in LA and EDM on monitoring, awareness and reflection in blended TEL scenarios. The search included six main academic databases in TEL that were enriched with the proceedings of the workshop on ’Awareness and Reflection in TEL’ (ARTEL), resulting in 1089 papers out of which 40 papers were included in the final analysis

Understanding learning at a glance: An overview of learning dashboard studies

Research on learning dashboards aims to identify what data is meaningful to different stakeholders in education, and how data can be presented to support sense-making processes. This paper summarizes the main outcomes of a systematic literature review on learning dashboards, in the fields of Learning Analytics and Educational Data Mining. The query was run in five main academic databases and enriched with papers coming from GScholar, resulting in 346 papers out of which 55 were included in the final analysis. Our review distinguishes different kinds of research studies as well as different aspects of learning dashboards and their maturity in terms of evaluation. As the research field is still relatively young, many of the studies are exploratory and proof-of-concept. Among the main open issues and future lines of work in the area of learning dashboards, we identify the need for longitudinal research in authentic settings, as well as studies that systematically compare different dashboard design options

Evaluating the therapeutic effects of isotretinoin on patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A controlled open-label clinical trial

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a global health issue with no certain treatment option. So far, various treatments have been suggested among which one can mention isotretinoin. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of this medication as a side treatment for COVID-19. This open-label controlled clinical trial with the approval ID of IRCT20190624043993N3 was conducted in Farabi Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. Considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 52 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were enrolled. The control group only received standard of care (SOC) treatment while the intervention arm received 40 mg per day of isotretinoin along with the SOC. The patients were followed until discharge. The results showed no death among the groups. The hospitalization duration in the intervention and SOC groups were 5.1 ± 2.29 and 5.1 ± 3.44 days, respectively with no statistical difference (P = 0.98). Moreover, the SpO2, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure also showed no statistical difference neither at admission nor upon discharge (P > 0.05). The laboratory investigations showed that white blood cells, absolute lymphocyte count, hemoglobin value, and platelet count did not differ between the groups at admission or upon discharge (P > 0.05). According to the results, it seems that isotretinoin didn't act as a potent side therapy in patients with COVID-19. However, due to the small sample size, we suggest further investigations

Effect of pH, molar ration of fuel to nitrate and calcination temperature on the glycine-nitrate synthesis of nano CoAl2O4

In this research, solution-based combustion synthesis was applied to prepare the spinel CoAl2O4 pigment from precursor solution of Al(NO3)3.9H2O and glycine. Effect of pH values (2.5, 7, 10.5), the molar ratio of fuel to nitrates in the precursor solutions (1.5, 2) and the subsequent calcinations temperature (600, 800, 1000, 1200°C) on the powder characteristics were described. Gel formation, morphologies, specific surface area and colour of the powder were characterized using DTA/TG, XRD, TEM, BET and UV-Vis. Also quantitative analysis of the obtained samples was performed by the Rietveld-R.I.R. method. The results indicate that the crystalline spinel CoAl2O4 was formed at all different Gl/NO3_ molar ratios, pH and temperatures and higher temperature promote the increase of the crystallite size. According to TEM figures most of the particles calcined at 800 and 1000°C has sizes less than 50 and 100 nm respectively. Corresponding to results of BET experiment, specific surface area has its maximum values at pH=7 and decreases with increasing of temperature. The results of UV-Vis shows that the powders calcined at 600°C are not blue and when temperature increases the amount of b* decreases. Finally the applicability in commercial frits for ceramic glaze was successfully tested

Effect of pH molar ratio of fuel to nitrates and calcination temperature on the glycine-nitrate synthesis of nano CoAl2O4

In this research, solution-based combustion synthesis is applied to prepare the spinel CoAl2O4 pigment from precursor solution of Al(NO3)3 .9H2O, Co(NO3)2 .6H2O and glycine. Effect of pH values (2.5, 7, 10.5), molar ratio of fuel to metal nitrates in the precursor solutions (1.5, 2) and subsequent calcination temperature (800, 1000, 1200 °C) on the powder characteristics are described. Gel formation, morphologies, specific surface area and colour of the powder are characterized using DTA/TG, XRD, TEM, BET and UV-Vis. The results indicate that the crystalline spinel CoAl2O4 is formed at all different Gl/(metal nitrates) molar ratios, pH and temperatures and higher temperature promote the increase of the crystallite size. According to TEM figures most of the particles calcined at 800 and 1000 °C has sizes less than 50 and 100 nm, respectively. Corresponding to results of BET experiment, specific surface area has its maximum values at pH 7 and decreases with increasing of temperature. Finally, colorability test indicates the complete stability of the synthesized powder in the glass matrix

Sex-Based Differences in One-Year Outcomes After Mitral Valve Repair for Infective Endocarditis

ABSTRACT Introduction: This study was aimed to evaluate the sex-based differences in baseline characteristics and one-year outcomes of men and women undergoing mitral valve repair for infective endocarditis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at Imam Ali Hospital affiliated with the Kermanshah University of Medical Science. From March 21, 2014, to October 21, 2021, all patients who underwent mitral valve repair for infective endocarditis were enrolled in this study. Data were obtained using a checklist developed based on the study’s objectives. Independent samples t-tests, paired samples t-tests, and chi-squared test (or Fisher’s exact test) were used to assess the differences between subgroups. Results: Of 75 patients, 26 were women (34.7%) and 49 were men (65.3%). Women were more likely to have diabetes mellitus (20.4% vs. 57.7%, P=0.0001), hypertension (49% vs. 80.8%, P=0.007), and hypercholesterolemia (55.1% vs. 80.8%, P=0.027). Conversely, men were more likely to have a history of smoking (38.8% vs. 7.7%, P=0.004). After one year, women had significantly higher mortality (0% vs. 7.7%, P=0.049), major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (51.0 vs. 76.9, P=0.029), mitral valve reoperation (8.1% vs. 34.6%, P=0.003), and treatment failure (30.6% vs. 61.5%, P=0.009) rates than men. Conclusion: Mortality, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, mitral valve reoperation, and treatment failure rates were higher in women than in men. The worse outcomes in women may be explained by their more adverse clinical risk profile

Apoptosis mapping in space and time of 3D tumor ecosystems reveals transmissibility of cytotoxic cancer death

International audienceThe emerging tumor-on-chip (ToC) approaches allow to address biomedical questions out of reach with classical cell culture techniques: in biomimetic 3D hydrogels they partially reconstitute ex vivo the complexity of the tumor microenvironment and the cellular dynamics involving multiple cell types (cancer cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, etc.). However, a clear bottleneck is the extraction and interpretation of the rich biological information contained, sometime hidden, in the cell co-culture videos. In this work, we develop and apply novel video analysis algorithms to automatically measure the cytotoxic effects on human cancer cells (lung and breast) induced either by doxorubicin chemotherapy drug or by autologous tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). A live fluorescent dye (red) is used to selectively pre-stain the cancer cells before co-cultures and a live fluorescent reporter for caspase activity (green) is used to monitor apoptotic cell death. The here described open-source computational method, named STAMP (spatiotemporal apoptosis mapper), extracts the temporal kinetics and the spatial maps of cancer death, by localizing and tracking cancer cells in the red channel, and by counting the red to green transition signals, over 2-3 days. The robustness and versatility of the method is demonstrated by its application to different cell models and co-culture combinations. Noteworthy, this approach reveals the strong contribution of primary cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to breast cancer chemo-resistance, proving to be a powerful strategy to investigate intercellular cross-talks and drug resistance mechanisms. Moreover, we defined a new parameter, the 'potential of death induction', which is computed in time and in space to quantify the impact of dying cells on neighbor cells. We found that, contrary to natural death, cancer death induced by chemotherapy or by CTL is transmissible, in that it promotes the death of nearby cancer cells, suggesting the release of diffusible factors which amplify the initial cytotoxic stimulus

Shh Signaling Protects Atoh1 from Degradation Mediated by the E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Huwe1 in Neural Precursors

SummarySignaling networks controlled by Sonic hedgehog (SHH) and the transcription factor Atoh1 regulate the proliferation and differentiation of cerebellar granule neuron progenitors (GNPs). Deregulations in those developmental processes lead to medulloblastoma formation, the most common malignant brain tumor in childhood. Although the protein Atoh1 is a key factor during both cerebellar development and medulloblastoma formation, up-to-date detailed mechanisms underlying its function and regulation have remained poorly understood. Here, we report that SHH regulates Atoh1 stability by preventing its phosphodependent degradation by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Huwe1. Our results reveal that SHH and Atoh1 contribute to a positive autoregulatory loop promoting neuronal precursor expansion. Consequently, Huwe1 loss in mouse SHH medulloblastoma illustrates the disruption of this developmental mechanism in cancer. Hence, the crosstalk between SHH signaling and Atoh1 during cerebellar development highlights a collaborative network that could be further targeted in medulloblastoma

Confocal and multiphoton laser scanning microscopy provide 3-dimensional imaging of atherosclerotic plaques in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Meeting Abstract from 10th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology held in Washington, DC, on April 29 - May 01, 2009. American Heart Association Council Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology