59 research outputs found
A 3D serious game for dental learning in higher education
Natural User Interfaces and advanced displays can be combined to provide rich learning experiences. In this paper, we present the development and validation of a serious game that combines autostereoscopy and Natural User Interfaces for dental learning in higher education. The game includes two modes: neutral and real-world background. A comparative study to check different aspects was carried out. A total of 33 dentistry students participated in the study. From the results, the students increased significantly their knowledge about teeth morphology. Most of the students preferred the neutral background for dental learning. The real-world background was identified as being more suitable for leisure activities
Investigation of the new cataclysmic variable 1RXS J180834.7+101041
We present the results of our photometric and spectroscopic studies of the
new eclipsing cataclysmic variable star 1RXS J180834.7+101041. Its spectrum
exhibits double-peaked hydrogen and helium emission lines. The Doppler maps
constructed from hydrogen lines show a nonuniform distribution of emission in
the disk similar to that observed in IP Peg. This suggests that the object can
be a cataclysmic variable with tidal density waves in the disk. We have
determined the component masses (M_WD =0.8 \pm 0.22 M_sun and M_RD =0.14 \pm
0.02 M_sun) and the binary inclination (i =78 \pm 1.5 deg) based on well-known
relations between parameters for cataclysmic variable stars. We have modeled
the binary light curves and showed that the model of a disk with two spots is
capable of explaining the main observed features of the light curves.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, published in Astronomy Letters, 2011,
37, 845-85
Skin sensitization in silico protocol
The assessment of skin sensitization has evolved over the past few years to include in vitro assessments of key events along the adverse outcome pathway and opportunistically capitalize on the strengths of in silico methods to support a weight of evidence assessment without conducting a test in animals. While in silico methods vary greatly in their purpose and format; there is a need to standardize the underlying principles on which such models are developed and to make transparent the implications for the uncertainty in the overall assessment. In this contribution, the relationship of skin sensitization relevant effects, mechanisms, and endpoints are built into a hazard assessment framework. Based on the relevance of the mechanisms and effects as well as the strengths and limitations of the experimental systems used to identify them, rules and principles are defined for deriving skin sensitization in silico assessments. Further, the assignments of reliability and confidence scores that reflect the overall strength of the assessment are discussed. This skin sensitization protocol supports the implementation and acceptance of in silico approaches for the prediction of skin sensitization
Nucleation of superconductivity and vortex matter in superconductor - ferromagnet hybrids
The theoretical and experimental results concerning the thermodynamical and
low-frequency transport properties of hybrid structures, consisting of
spatially-separated conventional low-temperature superconductor (S) and
ferromagnet (F), is reviewed. Since the superconducting and ferromagnetic parts
are assumed to be electrically insulated, no proximity effect is present and
thus the interaction between both subsystems is through their respective
magnetic stray fields. Depending on the temperature range and the value of the
external field H_{ext}, different behavior of such S/F hybrids is anticipated.
Rather close to the superconducting phase transition line, when the
superconducting state is only weakly developed, the magnetization of the
ferromagnet is solely determined by the magnetic history of the system and it
is not influenced by the field generated by the supercurrents. In contrast to
that, the nonuniform magnetic field pattern, induced by the ferromagnet,
strongly affect the nucleation of superconductivity leading to an exotic
dependence of the critical temperature T_{c} on H_{ext}. Deeper in the
superconducting state the effect of the screening currents cannot be neglected
anymore. In this region of the phase diagram various aspects of the interaction
between vortices and magnetic inhomogeneities are discussed. In the last
section we briefly summarize the physics of S/F hybrids when the magnetization
of the ferromagnet is no longer fixed but can change under the influence of the
superconducting currents. As a consequence, the superconductor and ferromagnet
become truly coupled and the equilibrium configuration of this "soft" S/F
hybrids requires rearrangements of both, superconducting and ferromagnetic
characteristics, as compared with "hard" S/F structures.Comment: Topical review, submitted to Supercond. Sci. Tech., 67 pages, 33
figures, 439 reference
Beliefs and preferences regarding biological treatments for severe asthma
Background: Severe asthma is a serious condition with a significant burden on patients' morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. Some biological therapies targeting the IgE and interleukin-5 (IL5) mediated pathways are now available. Due to the lack of direct comparison studies, the choice of which medication to use varies. We aimed to explore the beliefs and practices in the use of biological therapies in severe asthma, hypothesizing that differences will occur depending on the prescribers’ specialty and experience.
Methods: We conducted an online survey composed of 35 questions in English. The survey was circulated via the INterasma Scientific Network (INESNET) platform as well as through social media. Responses from allergists and pulmonologists, both those with experience of prescribing omalizumab with (OMA/IL5) and without (OMA) experience with anti-IL5 drugs, were compared.
Results: Two hundred eighty-five (285) valid questionnaires from 37 countries were analyzed. Seventy-on percent (71%) of respondents prescribed biologics instead of oral glucocorticoids and believed that their side effects are inferior to those of Prednisone 5 mg daily. Agreement with ATS/ERS guidelines for identifying severe asthma patients was less than 50%. Specifically, significant differences were found comparing responses between allergists and pulmonologists (Chi-square test, p < 0.05) and between OMA/IL5 and OMA groups (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Uncertainties and inconsistencies regarding the use of biological medications have been shown. The accuracy of prescribers to correctly identify asthma severity, according to guidelines criteria, is quite poor. Although a substantial majority of prescribers believe that biological drugs are safer than low dose long-term treatment with oral steroids, and that they must be used instead of oral steroids, every effort should be made to further increase awareness. Efficacy as disease modifiers, biomarkers for selecting responsive patients, timing for outcomes evaluation, and checks need to be addressed by further research. Practices and beliefs regarding the use of asthma biologics differ between the prescriber's specialty and experience; however, the latter seems more significant in determining beliefs and behavior. Tailored educational measures are needed to ensure research results are better integrated in daily practice
Sex- and age-related differences in the management and outcomes of chronic heart failure: an analysis of patients from the ESC HFA EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry
Aims: This study aimed to assess age- and sex-related differences in management and 1-year risk for all-cause mortality and hospitalization in chronic heart failure (HF) patients. Methods and results: Of 16 354 patients included in the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Long-Term Registry, 9428 chronic HF patients were analysed [median age: 66 years; 28.5% women; mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 37%]. Rates of use of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) were high (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists: 85.7%, 88.7% and 58.8%, respectively). Crude GDMT utilization rates were lower in women than in men (all differences: P\ua0 64 0.001), and GDMT use became lower with ageing in both sexes, at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT prescription; however, age >75 years was a significant predictor of GDMT underutilization. Rates of all-cause mortality were lower in women than in men (7.1% vs. 8.7%; P\ua0=\ua00.015), as were rates of all-cause hospitalization (21.9% vs. 27.3%; P\ua075 years. Conclusions: There was a decline in GDMT use with advanced age in both sexes. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT or adverse outcomes. However, age >75 years independently predicted lower GDMT use and higher all-cause mortality in patients with LVEF 6445%
Modeling the interactions between river morphodynamics and riparian vegetation
The study of river-riparian vegetation interactions is an important and intriguing research field in geophysics. Vegetation is an active element of the ecological dynamics of a floodplain which interacts with the fluvial processes and affects the flow field, sediment transport, and the morphology of the river. In turn, the river provides water, sediments, nutrients, and seeds to the nearby riparian vegetation, depending on the hydrological, hydraulic, and geomorphological characteristic of the stream. In the past, the study of this complex theme was approached in two different ways. On the one hand, the subject was faced from a mainly qualitative point of view by ecologists and biogeographers. Riparian vegetation dynamics and its spatial patterns have been described and demonstrated in detail, and the key role of several fluvial processes has been shown, but no mathematical models have been proposed. On the other hand, the quantitative approach to fluvial processes, which is typical of engineers, has led to the development of several morphodynamic models. However, the biological aspect has usually been neglected, and vegetation has only been considered as a static element. In recent years, different scientific communities (ranging from ecologists to biogeographers and from geomorphologists to hydrologists and fluvial engineers) have begun to collaborate and have proposed both semiquantitative and quantitative models of river-vegetation interconnections. These models demonstrate the importance of linking fluvial morphodynamics and riparian vegetation dynamics to understand the key processes that regulate a riparian environment in order to foresee the impact of anthropogenic actions and to carefully manage and rehabilitate riparian areas. In the first part of this work, we review the main interactions between rivers and riparian vegetation, and their possible modeling. In the second part, we discuss the semiquantitative and quantitative models which have been proposed to date, considering both multi- and single-thread river
Patients with the most advanced rheumatoid arthritis remain with Th1 systemic defects after TNF inhibitors treatment despite clinical improvement
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