Artificial intelligent based teaching and learning approaches: A comprehensive review

The goal of this study is to investigate the potential effects that Artificial intelligence (AI) could have on education. The narrative and framework for investigating AI that emerged from the preliminary research served as the basis for the study’s emphasis, which was narrowed down to the use of AI and its effects on administration, instruction, and student learning. According to the findings, artificial intelligence has seen widespread adoption and use in education, particularly by educational institutions and in various contexts and applications. The development of AI began with computers and technologies related to computers; it then progressed to web-based and online intelligent education systems; and finally, it applied embedded computer systems in conjunction with other technologies, humanoid robots, and web-based chatbots to execute instructor tasks and functions either independently or in partnership with instructors. By utilizing these platforms, educators have been able to accomplish a variety of administrative tasks. In addition, because the systems rely on machine learning and flexibility, the curriculum and content have been modified to match the needs of students. This has led to improved learning outcomes in the form of higher uptake and retention rates

Improved precision on the experimental E0 decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state

Stellar carbon synthesis occurs exclusively via the $3\alpha$ process, in which three $\alpha$ particles fuse to form $^{12}$C in the excited Hoyle state, followed by electromagnetic decay to the ground state. The Hoyle state is above the $\alpha$ threshold, and the rate of stellar carbon production depends on the radiative width of this state. The radiative width cannot be measured directly, and must instead be deduced by combining three separately measured quantities. One of these quantities is the $E0$ decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state, and the current $10$\% uncertainty on the radiative width stems mainly from the uncertainty on this ratio. The $E0$ branching ratio was deduced from a series of pair conversion measurements of the $E0$ and $E2$ transitions depopulating the $0^+_2$ Hoyle state and $2^+_1$ state in $^{12}$C, respectively. The excited states were populated by the $^{12}$C$(p,p^\prime)$ reaction at 10.5 MeV beam energy, and the pairs were detected with the electron-positron pair spectrometer, Super-e, at the Australian National University. The deduced branching ratio required knowledge of the proton population of the two states, as well as the alignment of the $2^+_1$ state in the reaction. For this purpose, proton scattering and $\gamma$-ray angular distribution experiments were also performed. An $E0$ branching ratio of $\Gamma^{E0}_{\pi}/\Gamma=8.2(5)\times10^{-6}$ was deduced in the current work, and an adopted value of $\Gamma^{E0}_{\pi}/\Gamma=7.6(4)\times10^{-6}$ is recommended based on a weighted average of previous literature values and the new result. The new recommended value for the $E0$ branching ratio is about 14% larger than the previous adopted value of $\Gamma^{E0}_{\pi}/\Gamma=6.7(6)\times10^{-6}$, while the uncertainty has been reduced from 9% to 5%.Comment: Accepted for publication as a Regular Article in Phys. Rev. C on July 29 202

The luxS mutation causes loosely-bound biofilms in Shewanella oneidensis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>luxS </it>gene in <it>Shewanella oneidensis </it>was shown to encode an autoinducer-2 (AI-2)-like molecule, the postulated universal bacterial signal, but the impaired biofilm growth of a <it>luxS </it>deficient mutant could not be restored by AI-2, indicating it might not have a signalling role in this organism.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Here, we provide further evidence regarding the metabolic role of a <it>luxS </it>mutation in <it>S. oneidensis</it>. We constructed a <it>luxS </it>mutant and compared its phenotype to a wild type control with respect to its ability to remove AI-2 from the medium, expression of secreted proteins and biofilm formation. We show that <it>S. oneidensis </it>has a cell-dependent mechanism by which AI-2 is depleted from the medium by uptake or degradation at the end of the exponential growth phase. As AI-2 depletion is equally active in the <it>luxS </it>mutant and thus does not require AI-2 as an inducer, it appears to be an unspecific mechanism suggesting that AI-2 for <it>S. oneidensis </it>is a metabolite which is imported under nutrient limitation. Secreted proteins were studied by iTraq labelling and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) detection. Differences between wild type and mutant were small. Proteins related to flagellar and twitching motility were slightly up-regulated in the <it>luxS </it>mutant, in accordance with its loose biofilm structure. An enzyme related to cysteine metabolism was also up-regulated, probably compensating for the lack of the LuxS enzyme. The <it>luxS </it>mutant developed an undifferentiated, loosely-connected biofilm which covered the glass surface more homogenously than the wild type control, which formed compact aggregates with large voids in between.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data confirm the role of the LuxS enzyme for biofilm growth in <it>S. oneidensis </it>and make it unlikely that AI-2 has a signalling role in this organism.</p

A Drosophila Model of ALS: Human ALS-Associated Mutation in VAP33A Suggests a Dominant Negative Mechanism

ALS8 is caused by a dominant mutation in an evolutionarily conserved protein, VAPB (vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)-associated membrane protein B)/ALS8). We have established a fly model of ALS8 using the corresponding mutation in Drosophila VAPB (dVAP33A) and examined the effects of this mutation on VAP function using genetic and morphological analyses. By simultaneously assessing the effects of VAPwt and VAPP58S on synaptic morphology and structure, we demonstrate that the phenotypes produced by neuronal expression of VAPP58S resemble VAP loss of function mutants and are opposite those of VAP overexpression, suggesting that VAPP58S may function as a dominant negative. This is brought about by aggregation of VAPP58S and recruitment of wild type VAP into these aggregates. Importantly, we also demonstrate that the ALS8 mutation in dVAP33A interferes with BMP signaling pathways at the neuromuscular junction, identifying a new mechanism underlying pathogenesis of ALS8. Furthermore, we show that mutant dVAP33A can serve as a powerful tool to identify genetic modifiers of VAPB. This new fly model of ALS, with its robust pathological phenotypes, should for the first time allow the power of unbiased screens in Drosophila to be applied to study of motor neuron diseases

An Improved, Bias-Reduced Probabilistic Functional Gene Network of Baker's Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Background: Probabilistic functional gene networks are powerful theoretical frameworks for integrating heterogeneous functional genomics and proteomics data into objective models of cellular systems. Such networks provide syntheses of millions of discrete experimental observations, spanning DNA microarray experiments, physical protein interactions, genetic interactions, and comparative genomics; the resulting networks can then be easily applied to generate testable hypotheses regarding specific gene functions and associations. Methodology/Principal Findings: We report a significantly improved version (v. 2) of a probabilistic functional gene network [1] of the baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We describe our optimization methods and illustrate their effects in three major areas: the reduction of functional bias in network training reference sets, the application of a probabilistic model for calculating confidences in pair-wise protein physical or genetic interactions, and the introduction of simple thresholds that eliminate many false positive mRNA co-expression relationships. Using the network, we predict and experimentally verify the function of the yeast RNA binding protein Puf6 in 60S ribosomal subunit biogenesis. Conclusions/Significance: YeastNet v. 2, constructed using these optimizations together with additional data, shows significant reduction in bias and improvements in precision and recall, in total covering 102,803 linkages among 5,483 yeast proteins (95% of the validated proteome). YeastNet is available from http://www.yeastnet.org.This work was supported by grants from the N.S.F. (IIS-0325116, EIA-0219061), N.I.H. (GM06779-01,GM076536-01), Welch (F-1515), and a Packard Fellowship (EMM). These agencies were not involved in the design and conduct of the study, in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.Cellular and Molecular Biolog

Business networks and localization effects for new Swedish technology-based firms’ innovation performance

This study examines the business networks and localization effects for new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the context of innovation performance (the number of patents and product differentiation). In this regard, the study includes 28 variables. A survey was conducted in 2016 with 401 Swedish NTBFs that were small and young (the employment mean was 1.80 and the average age of each firm was 28.3\ua0months). The biggest category of NTBFs was knowledge-intensive high-technology services, followed by medium high-technology manufacturing, and high-technology manufacturing. Hypotheses on how business networks and localization are related to innovation performance were tested using principal component analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The results show that the primary significant factor for innovation performance regarding business networks and localization dimensions are professional network services, while industrial and regional areas also have a positive relationship on product differentiation. Our study also shows that innovation performance enhances firms’ abilities to access external financing through professional network services (e.g., venture capital companies)

Mapping geographical inequalities in oral rehydration therapy coverage in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a form of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea that has the potential to drastically reduce child mortality; yet, according to UNICEF estimates, less than half of children younger than 5 years with diarrhoea in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) received ORS in 2016. A variety of recommended home fluids (RHF) exist as alternative forms of ORT; however, it is unclear whether RHF prevent child mortality. Previous studies have shown considerable variation between countries in ORS and RHF use, but subnational variation is unknown. This study aims to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of relative and absolute coverage of ORS, RHF, and ORT (use of either ORS or RHF) in LMICs. Methods We used a Bayesian geostatistical model including 15 spatial covariates and data from 385 household surveys across 94 LMICs to estimate annual proportions of children younger than 5 years of age with diarrhoea who received ORS or RHF (or both) on continuous continent-wide surfaces in 2000-17, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. Additionally, we analysed geographical inequality in coverage across administrative units and estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths averted by increased coverage over the study period. Uncertainty in the mean coverage estimates was calculated by taking 250 draws from the posterior joint distribution of the model and creating uncertainty intervals (UIs) with the 2 center dot 5th and 97 center dot 5th percentiles of those 250 draws. Findings While ORS use among children with diarrhoea increased in some countries from 2000 to 2017, coverage remained below 50% in the majority (62 center dot 6%; 12 417 of 19 823) of second administrative-level units and an estimated 6 519 000 children (95% UI 5 254 000-7 733 000) with diarrhoea were not treated with any form of ORT in 2017. Increases in ORS use corresponded with declines in RHF in many locations, resulting in relatively constant overall ORT coverage from 2000 to 2017. Although ORS was uniformly distributed subnationally in some countries, within-country geographical inequalities persisted in others; 11 countries had at least a 50% difference in one of their units compared with the country mean. Increases in ORS use over time were correlated with declines in RHF use and in diarrhoeal mortality in many locations, and an estimated 52 230 diarrhoeal deaths (36 910-68 860) were averted by scaling up of ORS coverage between 2000 and 2017. Finally, we identified key subnational areas in Colombia, Nigeria, and Sudan as examples of where diarrhoeal mortality remains higher than average, while ORS coverage remains lower than average. Interpretation To our knowledge, this study is the first to produce and map subnational estimates of ORS, RHF, and ORT coverage and attributable child diarrhoeal deaths across LMICs from 2000 to 2017, allowing for tracking progress over time. Our novel results, combined with detailed subnational estimates of diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality, can support subnational needs assessments aimed at furthering policy makers' understanding of within-country disparities. Over 50 years after the discovery that led to this simple, cheap, and life-saving therapy, large gains in reducing mortality could still be made by reducing geographical inequalities in ORS coverage. Copyright (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Estimating global injuries morbidity and mortality: methods and data used in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study

BACKGROUND: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria. METHODS: In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality for every cause of injury, and then estimating incidence for every cause of injury. Non-fatal disability for each cause is then calculated based on the probabilities of suffering from different types of bodily injury experienced. RESULTS: GBD 2017 produced morbidity and mortality estimates for 38 causes of injury. Estimates were produced in terms of incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, cause-specific mortality, years of life lost and disability-adjusted life-years for a 28-year period for 22 age groups, 195 countries and both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: GBD 2017 demonstrated a complex and sophisticated series of analytical steps using the largest known database of morbidity and mortality data on injuries. GBD 2017 results should be used to help inform injury prevention policy making and resource allocation. We also identify important avenues for improving injury burden estimation in the future

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40.0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39.4-40.7) to 50.3% (50.0-50.5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46.3% (95% UI 46.1-46.5) in 2017, compared with 28.7% (28.5-29.0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88.6% (95% UI 87.2-89.7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664-711) of the 1830 (1797-1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76.1% (95% UI 71.6-80.7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53.9% (50.6-59.6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation. Copyright (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe