350 research outputs found

    Utilizing genotyping-by-sequencing to elucidate Neotropical army ant evolution

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    The articulation of science and humanism has been from the outset one of the keystones of our programmatic initiative on person centered medicine. This involves the notion that the scientific method is what gives science its foundations and at the same time represents one of the principal strategies and tools to understand, formulate and intervene in crucial and paramount human concerns and activities such as health. A scientific approach to health and health care, from the perspective of person centered medicine, involves not only attending to organs and diseases (preferential topics in much of contemporary medicine), but more broadly to the whole field of human health, including ill health and positive health, within which organs and diseases are inscribed. (aut.ref.

    Factors that affect e-learning platforms after the spread of COVID-19 : post acceptance study

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    The fear of vaccines has led to population rejection due to various reasons. Students have had their own inquiries towards the effectiveness of the vaccination, which leads to vaccination hesitancy. Vaccination hesitancy can affect students’ perception, hence, acceptance of e-learning platforms. Therefore, this research attempts to explore the post-acceptance of e-learning platforms based on a conceptual model that has various variables. Each variable contributes differently to the post-acceptance of the e-learning platform. The research investigates the moderating role of vaccination fear on the post-acceptance of e-learning platforms among students. Thus, the study aims at exploring students’ perceptions about their post-acceptance of e-learning platforms where vaccination fear functions as a moderator. The current study depends on an online questionnaire that is composed of 29 items. The total number of respondents is 630. The collected data was implemented to test the study model and the proposed constructs and hypotheses depending on the Smart PLS Software. Fear of vaccination has a significant impact on the acceptance of e-learning platforms, and it is a strong mediator in the conceptual model. The findings indicate a positive effect of the fear of vaccination as a mediator in the variables: perceived ease of use and usefulness, perceived daily routine, perceived critical mass and perceived self-efficiency. The implication gives a deep insight to take effective steps in reducing the level of fear of vaccination, supporting the vaccination confidence among educators, teachers and students who will, in turn, affect the society as a whole

    Regional Prevalence of Short Stature in Saudi School-Age Children and Adolescents

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    Objective. To assess the magnitude of regional difference in prevalence of short stature in Saudi children and adolescents. Subjects and Methods. A representative sample from three different regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (North, Southwest, and Center) was used to calculate the prevalence of short stature (standard deviation score less than −2) in children 5 to 17 years of age. Results. There were 9018 children and adolescents from 5 to 17 years of age (3366, 2825, and 2827 in the Northern, Southwestern and Central regions, resp.) and 51% were boys. In both school-age children and adolescents, there was a significantly higher prevalence of short stature in the Southwestern than in the Northern or the Central region (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. The finding of significant regional variation between regions helps in planning priorities for research and preventive measures

    Prediction of the intention to use a smartwatch : a comparative approach using machine learning and partial least squares structural equation modeling

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    This study makes use of a cohesive yet innovative research model to identify the determinants of the adoption of smart watches using constructs from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and constructs of smartwatches, including effectiveness, content richness, and personal innovativeness. The chief objective of the study was to encourage the use of smartwatches for medical purposes so that the role of doctors can be made more effective and to facilitate access to patient records. Our conceptual framework highlights the association of TAM constructs (i.e., perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) with the content richness, the construct of user satisfaction, and innovativeness. To measure the effectiveness of the smartwatch, an external factor based on the flow theory was added, which emphasizes the control over the smartwatch and the degree of involvement. The study employs data from 385 respondents involved in the field of medicine, such as doctors, patients, and nurses. The data were gathered through a survey and used for evaluation of the research model using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and machine learning (ML) models. The significance and performance of factors impacting THE adoption of smartwatches were also identified using Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA). User satisfaction is the most important predictor of intention to adopt a medical smartwatch according to the ML and IPMA analyses. The fitting of the structural equation model to the sample showed a high dependence of user satisfaction on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Furthermore, two critical factors, innovativeness and content richness, are demonstrated to enhance perceived usefulness. However, one should consider that perceived usefulness or behavioral intention could not be determined based on perceived ease of use. In general, the findings suggest that smartwatch usage could become critically important in the medical field as a mediator that allows doctors, patients, and other users to access essential information

    Acceptance determinants of 5G services

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    5G is a revolutionary development in network technologies which is gradually becoming very common among people contributing significantly in different fields such as education, industry, agriculture, health, tourism and military. Currently, 5G is an outbreak change as opposed to the traditional service of the Internet since it offers better quality, ultra-fast connection, low-cost, reduced latency, energy saving, which makes its great impact even greater in people’s life. The present study examines various factors that have a significant impact on the Use of 5G in the Gulf area. The study extended the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) to include factors such as Perceived Enjoyment, Perceived Resources and Perceived Skills Readiness. The present research has adopted a hybrid model that incorporates TAM determinants with other external factors which have a direct relation with 5G as internet service. Previous studies have focused on the importance of 5G in different environments and countries. However, this study focuses on the newly spread Use of 5G in the gulf area by adopting a hybrid conceptual model. The findings suggest that 5G may help in promoting the usage of internet service more effectively with its low-cost, faster data transfer and better quality. Moreover, the findings indicate a positive effect of the gender as a mediator between the variables: Perceived Skills Readiness, Perceived Ease of use, and Perceived Resources

    Acceptance determinants of 5G services

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    5G is a revolutionary development in network technologies which is gradually becoming very common among people contributing significantly in different fields such as education, industry, agriculture, health, tourism and military. Currently, 5G is an outbreak change as opposed to the traditional service of the Internet since it offers better quality, ultra-fast connection, low-cost, reduced latency, energy saving, which makes its great impact even greater in people’s life. The present study examines various factors that have a significant impact on the Use of 5G in the Gulf area. The study extended the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) to include factors such as Perceived Enjoyment, Perceived Resources and Perceived Skills Readiness. The present research has adopted a hybrid model that incorporates TAM determinants with other external factors which have a direct relation with 5G as internet service. Previous studies have focused on the importance of 5G in different environments and countries. However, this study focuses on the newly spread Use of 5G in the gulf area by adopting a hybrid conceptual model. The findings suggest that 5G may help in promoting the usage of internet service more effectively with its low-cost, faster data transfer and better quality. Moreover, the findings indicate a positive effect of the gender as a mediator between the variables: Perceived Skills Readiness, Perceived Ease of use, and Perceived Resources

    Students’ perception towards behavioral intention of audio and video teaching styles : an acceptance study

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    Recently audio and video material has been used significantly in various online platforms. The audio-video materials enhance the teaching and learning process by facilitating the transformation of the data and providing a richer interactive environment, hence gaining wide intention within the educational realm. However, empirical studies have not examined the acceptance of the audio and video material depending on a conceptual model where acceptance is the key factor. The present study attempts to overcome this gap in the literature review by investigating the effects of media richness, speed and vividness, perceived concentration, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness on the acceptance of audio-video material. What distinguishes the current study is the fact that content richness is considered as a mediator that affects all other factors in the conceptual model. The data is collected by distributing the online survey to college students. The results provide mostly insight and support for students’ intention to use audio-visual resources in a conceptual model. The technology characteristics of speed and vividness as well as TAM constructs were significant predictors of technology acceptance. However, it is concluded that the external factor of the perceived concentration has no impact on the students’ perception and intention to use audio-visual resources. In the recommendation, some theoretical and practical implications are stated along with the focus on technology designers, change managers, and users

    Hyperosmotic Stress Induces a Specific Pattern for Stress Granule Formation in Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

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    Stress granules (SGs) are assemblies of selective messenger RNAs (mRNAs), translation factors, and RNA-binding proteins in small untranslated messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complexes in the cytoplasm. Evidence indicates that different types of cells have shown different mechanisms to respond to stress and the formation of SGs. In the present work, we investigated how human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs/IMR90-1) overcome hyperosmotic stress compared to a cell line that does not harbor pluripotent characteristics (SH-SY5Y cell line). Gradient concentrations of NaCl showed a different pattern of SG formation between hiPSCs/IMR90-1 and the nonpluripotent cell line SH-SY5Y. Other pluripotent stem cell lines (hiPSCs/CRTD5 and hESCs/H9 (human embryonic stem cell line)) as well as nonpluripotent cell lines (BHK-21 and MCF-7) were used to confirm this phenomenon. Moreover, the formation of hyperosmotic SGs in hiPSCs/IMR90-1 was independent of eIF2α phosphorylation and was associated with low apoptosis levels. In addition, a comprehensive proteomics analysis was performed to identify proteins involved in regulating this specific pattern of hyperosmotic SG formation in hiPSCs/IMR90-1. We found possible implications of microtubule organization on the response to hyperosmotic stress in hiPSCs/IMR90-1. We have also unveiled a reduced expression of tubulin that may protect cells against hyperosmolarity stress while inhibiting SG formation without affecting stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency. Our observations may provide a possible cellular mechanism to better understand SG dynamics in pluripotent stem cells
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