Project-Based Learning Promotes Students’Perceived Relevance in an Engineering Statistics Course: A Comparison of Learning in Synchronous and Online Learning Environments

Understanding statistics is essential for engineers. However, statistics courses remain challenging for many students, as they find them rigid, abstract, and demanding. Prior research has indicated that using project based learning (PjBL) to demonstrate the relevance of statistics to students can have a significant effect on learning in these courses. Consequently, this study sought to explore the impact of a PjBL intervention on student perceptions of the relevance of engineering and statistics. The purpose of the intervention was to help students understand the connection between statistics and their academic majors, lives, and future careers. Four mini-projects connecting statistics to students’ experiences and future careers were designed and implemented during a 16-week course and students’ perceptions were compared to those of students who took a traditional statistics course. Students enrolled in the experimental group (a synchronous learning experience) and the control group (an online learning experience)were sent the same survey at the end of the semester. The survey results suggest that the PjBL intervention could potentially increase students’ understanding of the usefulness of statistics and effectively enhance their perceptions of belonging to the engineering community. This study summarizes the results of this PjBL intervention, the limitations of the research design, and suggests implications for improving future statistics courses in the context of engineering

Does Pain at an Earlier Stage of Chondropathy Protect Female Mice Against Structural Progression After Surgically Induced Osteoarthritis?

OBJECTIVE: Female C57BL/6 mice exhibit less severe chondropathy than male mice. This study was undertaken to test the robustness of this observation and explore underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Osteoarthritis was induced in male and female C57BL/6 or DBA/1 mice (n = 6-15 per group) by destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) or partial meniscectomy (PMX). Some mice were ovariectomized (OVX) (n = 30). In vivo repair after focal cartilage defect or joint immobilization (sciatic neurectomy) following DMM was assessed. Histologic analysis, evaluation of gene expression in whole knees, and behavioral analysis using Laboratory Animal Behavior Observation Registration and Analysis System (LABORAS) and Linton incapacitance testing (n = 7-10 mice per group) were performed. RESULTS: Female mice displayed less severe chondropathy (20-75% reduction) across both strains and after both surgeries. Activity levels after PMX were similar for male and female mice. Some repair-associated genes were increased in female mouse joints after surgery, but no repair differences were evident in vivo. Despite reduced chondropathy, female mice developed pain-like behavior at the same time as male mice. At the time of established pain-like behavior (10 weeks after PMX), pain-associated genes were significantly up-regulated in female mice, including Gdnf (mean ± SEM fold change 2.54 ± 0.30), Nrtn (6.71 ± 1.24), Ntf3 (1.92 ± 0.27), and Ntf5 (2.89 ± 0.48) (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, and P < 0.001, respectively, versus male mice). Inflammatory genes were not regulated in painful joints in mice of either sex. CONCLUSION: We confirm strong structural joint protection in female mice that is not due to activity or intrinsic repair differences. Female mice develop pain at the same time as males, but induce a distinct set of neurotrophins. We speculate that heightened pain sensitivity in female mice protects the joint by preventing overuse

Pathological regression of primary tumour and metastatic lymph nodes following chemotherapy in resectable OG cancer: pooled analysis of two trials

Background: No definitive largescale data exist evaluating the role of pathologically defined regression changes within the primary tumour and lymph nodes (LN) of resected oesophagogastric (OG) adenocarcinoma following neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the impact on survival. / Methods: Data and samples from two large prospective randomised trials (UK MRC OE05 and ST03) were pooled. Stained slides were available for central pathology review from 1619 patients. Mandard tumour regression grade (TRG) and regression of tumour within LNs (LNR: scored as present/absent) were assessed and correlated with overall survival (OS) using a Cox regression model. An exploratory analysis to define subgroups with distinct prognoses was conducted using a classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. / Results: Neither trial demonstrated a relationship between TRG score and the presence or absence of LNR. In univariable analysis, lower TRG, lower ypN stage, lower ypT stage, presence of LNR, presence of well/moderate tumour differentiation, and absence of tumour at resection margin were all associated with better OS. However, the multivariable analysis demonstrated that only ypN, ypT, grade of differentiation and resection margin (R0) were independent indicators of prognosis. Exploratory CART analysis identified six subgroups with 3-year OS ranging from 83% to 22%; with ypN stage being the most important single prognostic variable. / Conclusions: Pathological LN stage within the resection specimen was the single most important determiner of survival. Our results suggest that the assessment of regression changes within the primary tumour or LNs may not be necessary to define the prognosis further

APLIKASI SMART CARD BERBASIS RFID UNTUK SISTEM KEAMANAN PARKIR

Abstrak—Permasalahan parkir merupakan persoalan yang dewasa ini melanda terutama di kota-kota besar. Bukan hanya lahan parkir tetapi faktor keamanan menjadi masalah pokok yang harus dihadapi gedung-gedung pekantoran, mal dan sekolah ataupun tempat umum lainnya. Penelitian ini membahas tentang pemanfaatan Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) untuk mengatasi masalah keamanan pada tempat parkir dengan menerapkan RFID ini pada smartcard. Smartcard terhubung dengan webcam dan database yang telah berisikan data-data pemilik kendaraan yang terdaftar sehingga bila tidak sesuai dengan data yang ada maka palang parkir tersebut tidak akan dapat membuka secara otomatis. Hasil pembacaan webcam tersebut merupakan salah satu alat bukti bila terjadi kehilangan karena arah webcam tersebut akan merekam wajah pengendara motor. Dari pengujian yang telah dilakukan didapatkan bahwa RFID yang dipergunakan pada smartcard ini dapat bekerja dengan baik dan terhubung dengan database yang telah dibuat menggunakan visual basic 6.0, sedangkan untuk jarak yang paling jauh dalam melakukan proses scan RFID yaitu 4,9 cm serta 1 cm untuk jarak terdekat dari proses scan RFID. Untuk posisi yang paling baik dalam menjalankan proses scan RFID adalah tepat di atas RFID reader.Kata kunci: RFID, smartcard, webcam, keamanan, parkirAbstract— Parking has become problem in some cities especially in urban area. Parking problem is not only the spaces but also its security especially for the public facilities such as offices, mall and school. This paper describes the use of RFID to overcome security problem in parking lots. This RFID is implemented in smartcard. Smartcard is connected to webam and database which consists of the information about the registered owner of vehicle. If the owner is not match then the parking bar will not open automatically. The information from webcam can be used as the proof in case of theft because webcam will record the face of rider or driver. The result shows that the implementation of RFID in smartcard works well and can be connected to the database. The furthest distance to scan RFID is 4.9 cm and the shortest is 1 cm. The best position to scan it is exactly on RFID reader.Keywords. RFID, smartcard, webcam, security, parkin

Application of Building Typologies for Modelling the Energy Balance of the Residential Building Stock.

Building typologies can serve as a basis for analysing the national housing sector. During the TABULA project which was introducing or further developing building typologies in thirteen EU countries, six of the European partners have carried out model calculations which aim at imaging the energy consumption and estimating the energy saving potentials of their national residential building stocks (IWU / Germany, NOA / Greece, POLITO / Italy, VITO / Belgium, STU-K / Czech Republic, SBi / Denmark). The results show that the model calculations can provide plausible projections of the energy consumption of the national residential buildings stock. The fit of model calculations and national energy statistics is satisfactory, deviations can often be explained and corrected by adapting standard boundary conditions of the applied calculation models to more realistic values. In general, the analysis shows that building typologies can be a helpful tool for modelling the energy consumption of national building stocks and for carrying out scenario analysis beyond the TABULA project. The consideration of a set of representative buildings makes it possible to have a detailed view on various packages of measures for the complete buildings stock or for its sub-categories. The effects of different insulation measures at the respective construction elements as well as different heat supply measures including renewable energies can be considered in detail. The quality of future model calculations will depend very much on the availability of statistical data. For reliable scenario analysis information is necessary about the current state of the building stock (How many buildings and heating systems have been refurbished until now?) and about the current trends (How many buildings and heating systems are being refurbished every year?). The availability and regular update of the relevant statistical data will be an important basis for the development and evaluation of national climate protection strategies in the building sector

Extreme intratumour heterogeneity and driver evolution in mismatch repair deficient gastro-oesophageal cancer.

Mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinomas (GOAs) show better outcomes than their MMR-proficient counterparts and high immunotherapy sensitivity. The hypermutator-phenotype of dMMR tumours theoretically enables high evolvability but their evolution has not been investigated. Here we apply multi-region exome sequencing (MSeq) to four treatment-naive dMMR GOAs. This reveals extreme intratumour heterogeneity (ITH), exceeding ITH in other cancer types >20-fold, but also long phylogenetic trunks which may explain the exquisite immunotherapy sensitivity of dMMR tumours. Subclonal driver mutations are common and parallel evolution occurs in RAS, PIK3CA, SWI/SNF-complex genes and in immune evasion regulators. MSeq data and evolution analysis of single region-data from 64 MSI GOAs show that chromosome 8 gains are early genetic events and that the hypermutator-phenotype remains active during progression. MSeq may be necessary for biomarker development in these heterogeneous cancers. Comparison with other MSeq-analysed tumour types reveals mutation rates and their timing to determine phylogenetic tree morphologies