Review of the "Web:How2SolveIt"Website

Web:How2SolveIt is a website provided for Gakushuin University to help students understand maths concepts,mainly in the areas of Economics and Business.The site offers a practical collection of quality study material,with useful videos. The site has been evaluated by "walking through" the student interface,applying some typical user cases,which are typical usage stories of student users.We recommend a few changes to the site,which would help students to find what they need easily, making it more attractive for students and for academics who contribute their materials.For example,the Home Page should give more useful context information and a text-entry search box should always be visible,with which students can navigate the collection of teaching resources. An attractive feature of the site is the hand-written question sheets,which explain or amplify important teaching points.Some changes to the presentation of the sheets and the videos would make them easier for students to follow. A usability study,where a small number of volunteers from the target demographic are observed while carrying out typical tasks,would quickly and cheaply give valuable insight into the way that real users respond to the site. Directions for possible future development of the site include: Adding further explanations,videos,notes and formulae to cover further topics in Business Maths Adding further content from other lecturers Offering the site to other students outside the Economics Faculty Offering the site to High School Students Developing a bi-lingual version of the site for teaching through the medium of English as well as Japanese These future directions would involve varying degrees of additional effort and investment

Distribution and abundance of sei whales off the west coast of the Falkland Islands

The survey was funded by Falklands Conservation, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and the Falkland Islands Government Environmental Studies Budget.Little information exists on the current status of Southern Hemisphere sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis). We assessed their distribution and abundance along the west coast of the Falkland Islands (southwest Atlantic) during February and March 2018, using line transect and nonsystematic surveys. Abundance estimates were generated for a single survey stratum using design- and model-based approaches. Sightings of sei whales and unidentified baleen whales (most, if not all, likely to be sei whales) occurred from the coast to the 100 m depth isobath that marked the offshore boundary of the stratum. The modeled distribution predicted highest whale densities in King George Bay and in the waters between Weddell Island and the Passage Islands. Sei whale abundance was estimated as 716 animals (CV = 0.22; 95% CI [448, 1,144]; density = 0.20 whales/km2) using the design-based approach, and 707 animals (CV = 0.11; 95% CI [566, 877]; density = 0.20 whales/km2) using the model-based approach. For sei whales and unidentified baleen whales combined, the equivalent estimates were 916 animals (CV = 0.19; 95% CI [606, 1,384]; density = 0.26 whales/km2) and 895 animals (CV = 0.074; 95% CI [777, 1,032]; density = 0.25 whales/km2). The data indicate that the Falkland Islands inner shelf region may support globally important seasonal feeding aggregations of sei whales, and potentially qualify as a Key Biodiversity Area.PostprintPeer reviewe

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Effect of Antiplatelet Therapy on Survival and Organ Support–Free Days in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19

International audienc