Solving The Problem of Adaptive E-Learning By Using Social Networks

This paper propose an enhanced E-Learning Social Network Exploiting Approach focused around chart model and clustering algorithm, which can consequently gathering dispersed e-learners with comparative premiums and make fitting suggestions, which can at last upgrade the collective learning among comparable e-learners. Through closeness revelation, trust weights overhaul and potential companions change, the algorithm actualized a programmed adjusted trust association with progressively upgraded fulfillments. Keywords: Relations, Adaptive E-Learning, Clustering , Social Network , E-learning ,  and Collaborative Learnin

Open Social Learning Network

This paper considers the affordances of social networking theories and tools to build new and effective e-learning practices. We argue that “connectivism” (social networking applied to learning and knowledge contexts) can lead to a reconceptualization of learning in which formal and non-formal learning can be integrated as to build a potentially lifelong learning activities to be experienced in “personal learning environments”. In order to provide a guide in the design, development and improvement both of personal learning environments and in the related learning activities we provide a knowledge flow model called Open Social Learning Network (OSLN) —a hybrid of the LMS and the personal learning environment (PLE)—is proposed as an alternative learning technology environment with the potential to leverage the affordances of the Web to improve learning dramatically and  highlighting the stages of learning and the related enabling conditions. The derived model is applied in a possible scenario of formal learning in order to show how the learning process can be designed according to the presented theory. Keywords: Open Social Learning Network OSLN, Learning Theory, Connectivism, Networked Learnin, Collaboration Technologies, Collaborative Learning and Relationship Classification.

General practitioners\u27 knowledge and approach to chronic kidney disease in Karachi, Pakistan

Due to lack of adequate number of formally trained nephrologists, many patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are seen by general practitioners (GPs). This study was designed to assess the knowledge of the GPs regarding identification of CKD and its risk factors, and evaluation and management of risk factors as well as complications of CKD. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 232 randomly selected GPs from Karachi during 2011. Data were collected on a structured questionnaire based on the kidney disease outcomes and quality initiative recommendations on screening, diagnosis, and management of CKD. A total of 235 GPs were approached, and 232 consented to participate. Mean age was 38.5 ± 11.26 years; 56.5% were men. Most of the GPs knew the traditional risk factors for CKD, i.e., diabetes (88.4%) and hypertension (80%), but were less aware of other risk factors. Only 38% GPs were aware of estimated glomerular filtration rate in evaluation of patients with CKD. Only 61.6% GPs recognized CKD as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. About 40% and 29% GPs knew the correct goal systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. In all, 41% GPs did not know when to refer the patient to a nephrologist. Our survey identified specific gaps in knowledge and approach of GPs regarding diagnosis and management of CKD. Educational efforts are needed to increase awareness of clinical practice guidelines and recommendations for patients with CKD among GPs, which may improve management and clinical outcomes of this population

Histopathological changes and antioxidant responses in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to copper nanoparticles

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordDespite the rapid increase of nanotechnology in a wide array of industrial sectors, the biosafety profile of nanomaterials remains undefined. The accelerated use of nanomaterials has increased the potential discharge of nanomaterials into the environment in different ways. The aquatic environment is mainly susceptible as it is likely to act as an ultimate sink for all contaminants. Therefore, this study assessed the toxicological impacts of waterborne engineered copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) on histology, lipid peroxidation (LPO), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH) levels in the gills of common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Nanoparticles were characterized by XRD and SEM techniques. Before starting the sub-acute toxicity testing, 96 h LC50 of Cu-NPs for C. carpio was calculated as 4.44 mg/l. Then based on LC50, C. carpio of 40–45 g in weight were exposed to three sub-lethal doses of waterborne engineered Cu-NPs (0 or 0.5 or 1 or 1.5 mg/l) for a period of 14 days. The waterborne Cu-NPs have appeared to induce alterations in gill histology and oxidative stress parameters in a dose-dependent manner. The gill tissues showed degenerative secondary lamellae, necrotic lamella, fused lamella, necrosis of the primary and secondary lamella, edema, complete degeneration, epithelial lifting, degenerative epithelium, and hyperplasia in a dose-dependent manner. In the gill tissues, waterborne Cu-NPs caused a decreased level of CAT and elevated levels of LPO, and GSH in the fish exposed to the highest dose of 1.5 mg Cu-NPs/l of water. Our results indicate that the exposure to waterborne Cu-NPs was toxic to the aquatic organisms as shown by the oxidative stresses and histological alterations in C. carpio, a freshwater fish of good economic value

Production of Antimicrobial Metabolites by Bacillus Subtilis Immobilized in Polyacrylamide Gel.

Abstract.-Microbial cells can be immobilized on different support matrices to produce a number of metabolites like enzymes and antibiotics. Immobilization is a very useful process because growth and metabolic production can be uncoupled without affecting metabolite yields. The purpose of this study was to optimize fermentation conditions (pH, incubation periods and glucose concentrations) for maximum production of peptide antibiotics from isolated Bacillus subtilis immobilized in polyacrylamide gel and screened for the production of antibiotics by shake flask fermentation at 30 o C by checking activity against Micrococcus luteus (ATCC#10240) through antibiotics diffusion assay. Maximum production of peptide antibiotic was optimized at pH 6-9, incubation time 0-144 hours and glucose concentration 1-5 %. Maximum activity was at pH 8 after 4 hrs of incubation, whereas, activity was different at 0 and 4 hrs, at various glucose concentrations. Activity of antibiotic increased for immobilized cells just after 4 hours of incubation, which shows that immobilization was a better process, as compared to free cell production of antibiotics

Plane Localization in 3-D Fetal Neurosonography for Longitudinal Analysis of the Developing Brain.

The parasagittal (PS) plane is a 2-D diagnostic plane used routinely in cranial ultrasonography of the neonatal brain. This paper develops a novel approach to find the PS plane in a 3-D fetal ultrasound scan to allow image-based biomarkers to be tracked from prebirth through the first weeks of postbirth life. We propose an accurate plane-finding solution based on regression forests (RF). The method initially localizes the fetal brain and its midline automatically. The midline on several axial slices is used to detect the midsagittal plane, which is used as a constraint in the proposed RF framework to detect the PS plane. The proposed learning algorithm guides the RF learning method in a novel way by: 1) using informative voxels and voxel informative strength as a weighting within the training stage objective function, and 2) introducing regularization of the RF by proposing a geometrical feature within the training stage. Results on clinical data indicate that the new automated method is more reproducible than manual plane finding obtained by two clinicians

Repeatability of arterial input functions and kinetic parameters in muscle obtained by dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging of the head and neck

BACKGROUND: Quantification of pharmacokinetic parameters in dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI is heavily dependent on the arterial input function (AIF). In the present patient study on advanced stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) we have acquired DCE-MR images before and during chemo radiotherapy. We determined the repeatability of image-derived AIFs and of the obtained kinetic parameters in muscle and compared the repeatability of muscle kinetic parameters obtained with image-derived AIF's versus a population-based AIF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared image-derived AIFs obtained from the internal carotid, external carotid and vertebral arteries. Pharmacokinetic parameters (ve, Ktrans, kep) in muscle-located outside the radiation area-were obtained using the Tofts model with the image-derived AIFs and a population averaged AIF. Parameter values and repeatability were compared. Repeatability was calculated with the pre- and post-treatment data with the assumption of no DCE-MRI measurable biological changes between the scans. RESULTS: Several parameters describing magnitude and shape of the image-derived AIFs from the different arteries in the head and neck were significantly different. Use of image-derived AIFs led to higher pharmacokinetic parameters compared to use of a population averaged AIF. Median muscle pharmacokinetic parameters values obtained with AIFs in external carotids, internal carotids, vertebral arteries and with a population averaged AIF were respectively: ve (0.65, 0.74, 0.58, 0.32), Ktrans (0.30, 0.21, 0.13, 0.06), kep (0.41, 0.32, 0.24, 0.18). Repeatability of pharmacokinetic parameters was highest when a population averaged AIF was used; however, this repeatability was not significantly different from image-derived AIFs. CONCLUSION: Image-derived AIFs in the neck region showed significant variations in the AIFs obtained from different arteries, and did not improve repeatability of the resulting pharmacokinetic parameters compared with the use of a population averaged AIF. Therefore, use of a population averaged AIF seems to be preferable for pharmacokinetic analysis using DCE-MRI in the head and neck area

Co-activation of Gi and Gq proteins exerts synergistic effect on human platelet aggregation through activation of phospholipase C and Ca2+ signalling pathways

Our previous studies have shown that subthreshold concentrations of two platelet agonists exert synergistic effects on platelet aggregation. Here we studied the mechanism of synergistic interaction of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and epinephrine mediated platelet aggregation. We show that 5-HT had no or little effect on aggregation but it did potentiate the aggregation response of epinephrine. The synergistic interaction of 5-HT (1-5 microM) and epinephrine (0.5-2 microM) was inhibited by alpha2-adrenoceptor blocker (yohimbine; IC50= 0.4 microM), calcium channel blockers (verapamil and diltiazem with IC50 of 10 and 48 mM, respectively), PLC inhibitor (U73122; IC50=6 microM) and nitric oxide (NO) donor, SNAP (IC50=1.6 microM)). The data suggest that synergistic effects of platelet agonists are receptor-mediated and occur through multiple signalling pathways including the activation PLC/Ca2+ signalling cascades

An experimental and theoretical aided 2D MoS2 nanoflowers strategy for rapid visual sensing of Gallic acid in food and clinical matrixes

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordData availability: No data was used for the research described in the article.Gallic acid (GA), an important phenolic component, is gaining popularity due to its biological and industrial applications. However, its rapid expansion can be hazardous, causing cancer and gene damage, making the design of a low-cost and fast GA sensor difficult. We used a single-step hydrothermal approach to synthesize MoS2 nanoparticles for colorimetric detection of GA. The nanoparticles were analyzed using techniques like; UV–Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, SEM, EDX and XRD. The optimization of key parameters such as MoS2 concentration (2.0 mg), temperature (30 °C), and pH (7) resulted in a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.125 × 10−6 M with a dynamic range of 0.5 to 36 × 10−6 M. MoS2 nanoflowers performed as nanozymes in the filter paper-based sensor, catalyzing 3, 3′, 5, 5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidation, while GA acted as an inhibitor to prevent further reaction progression. The detection was made feasible through capturing an image support by an ordinary smartphone and the steady-state kinetic study validated MoS2 nanoflowers' affinity for sensing H2O2. The sensor performed well in real-world samples such as diet tea, green tea, water, blood serum, and urine, with recovery rates ranging from 93.2 % to 102.1 %. Density functional theory calculations were applied to provide an insight into GA-MoS2 binding interactions and changes in electronic properties. With all of these merits, we believe MoS2 nanoparticles can provide low-cost and portable filter paper-based strips as a sensing platform for visual assessment of GA

International standards for fetal brain structures based on serial ultrasound measurements from the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project.

OBJECTIVE: To create prescriptive growth standards for five fetal brain structures, measured by ultrasound, from healthy, well-nourished women, at low risk of impaired fetal growth and poor perinatal outcomes, taking part in the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study (FGLS) of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project. METHODS: This was a complementary analysis of a large, population-based, multicentre, longitudinal study. We measured, in planes reconstructed from 3-dimensional (3D) ultrasound volumes of the fetal head at different time points in pregnancy, the size of the parieto-occipital fissure (POF), Sylvian fissure (SF), anterior horn of the lateral ventricle (AV), atrium of the posterior ventricle (PV) and cisterna magna (CM). The sample analysed was randomly selected from the overall FGLS population, ensuring an equal distribution amongst the eight diverse participating sites and of 3D ultrasound volumes across pregnancy (range: 15 - 36 weeks' gestation). Fractional polynomials were used to the construct standards. Growth and development of the infants were assessed at 1 and 2 years of age to confirm their adequacy for constructing international standards. RESULTS: From the entire FGLS cohort of 4321 women, 451 (10.4%) were randomly selected. After exclusions, 3D ultrasound volumes from 442 fetuses born without congenital malformations were used to create the charts. The fetal brain structures of interest were identified in 90% of cases. All structures showed increasing size with gestation and increasing variability for the POF, SF, PV and CM. The 3rd , 5th , 50th , 95th and 97th smoothed centile are presented. The 5th centile of POF and SF were 2.8 and 4.3 at 22 weeks and 4.2 and 9.4mm at 32 weeks respectively. The 95th centile of PV and CM were 8.5 and 7.4 at 22 weeks and 8.5 and 9.4mm at 32 weeks respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We have produced prescriptive size standards for fetal brain structures based on prospectively enrolled pregnancies at low risk of abnormal outcomes. We recommend these as international standards for the assessment of measurements obtained by ultrasound from fetal brain structures