Enhancing Learning Object Analysis through Fuzzy C-Means Clustering and Web Mining Methods

The development of learning objects (LO) and e-pedagogical practices has significantly influenced and changed the performance of e-learning systems. This development promotes a genuine sharing of resources and creates new opportunities for learners to explore them easily. Therefore, the need for a system of categorization for these objects becomes mandatory. In this vein, classification theories combined with web mining techniques can highlight the performance of these LOs and make them very useful for learners. This study consists of two main phases. First, we extract metadata from learning objects, using the algorithm of Web exploration techniques such as feature selection techniques, which are mainly implemented to find the best set of features that allow us to build useful models. The key role of feature selection in learning object classification is to identify pertinent features and eliminate redundant features from an excessively dimensional dataset. Second, we identify learning objects according to a particular form of similarity using Multi-Label Classification (MLC) based on Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithms. As a clustering algorithm, Fuzzy C-Means is used to perform classification accuracy according to Euclidean distance metrics as similarity measurement. Finally, to assess the effectiveness of LOs with FCM, a series of experimental studies using a real-world dataset were conducted. The findings of this study indicate that the proposed approach exceeds the traditional approach and leads to viable results. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-03-010 Full Text: PD

Chemical Analysis of the Essential Oils of Three Cistus Species Growing in North-West of Algeria

The study reports for the first time the chemical composition and the antibacterial activity of the essential oil hydrodistilled from three Cistaceae growing in Algeria: Cistus ladaniferus L., C. albidus L. and C. monspeliensis L. The oils were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS analyses. The major components of C. ladaniferus were 5-epi-7-epi-α-eudesmol (13.6%) and borneol (12.5%) whereas for C. albidus the main constituents were epi-α-bisabolol (11.4%) and β-bourbonene (8.7%). Epi- 13-manoyl oxide (28.6%), kaur-16-ene (8.1%) and nonanal (5.4%) were the principal ones for C. monspeliensis. In vitro, antimicrobial activity of the oils was investigated against nine microorganisms by disk diffusion and agar dilution assays. The Gram-positive bacteria resulted sensitive to the three oils, especially Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. The volatiles of C. monspeliensis showed the best activity compared with other oils, comparable to or better than Gentamicin, a conventional antibiotic used as positive control in this study. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the oil was 0.25µg/L

Treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia with AIDA Based Regimen. Update of a Tunisian Single Center Study

In Tunisia, the ATRA era began in 1998 with the use, consecutively, of two regimens combining ATRA and an anthracycline with cytarabine (APL93), and without cytarabine (LPA99). From 2004, 51 patients with confirmed APL either by t(15;17) or PML/RARA were treated according to the PETHEMA LPA 99 trial. Forty three patients achieved CR (86%). The remaining seven patients had early death (one died before treatment onset): four caused by differentiation syndrome (DS) and three died from central nervous system hemorrhage. Multivariate analysis revealed that female gender (P=0.045), baseline WBC> 10 G/L (P=0.041) and serum creatinine > 1.4mg/dl (P=0.021) were predictive of mortality during induction. DS was observed in 16 patients (32%) after a median onset time of 15 days from treatment onset (range, 2–29). Body mass index ≥ 30 (P=0.01) remained independent predictor of DS. Occurrence of hypertensive peaks significantly predicted occurrence of DS (P=0.011) and was significantly associated with high BMI (p=0.003). With a median follow-up of 50 months, 5 year cumulative incidence of relapse, event free and overall survival were 4.7%, 74% and 78%, respectively

The Current Debate on the Moroccan Family Code Mudawwanat al-Usra in Morocco

The Mudawwana (Moroccan family code) entered into application in February 2004. Fifteen years after its implementation, this legislation has attracted a growing level of criticism from civil society (feminist movements, human rights associations, etc.). The beginnings of reforming the Mudawwana are being felt, offering an urgently needed correction to its shortcomings. But the sensitivity of this thorny subject entails a need for consensus among various components of society. This article will consider the current state of discussion concerning the Mudawwana, while at the same time drawing up, in detail, the most glaring problems entailed by this personal status code in terms of its understanding and interpretation of laws, and also highlighting the most important demands of feminist movements

Multi-Label Classification of Learning Objects Using Clustering Algorithms Based on Feature Selection

In the field of online learning, the development of learning objects (LOs) has increased. LOs promote reusing and referencing educational content in various learning environments. However, despite this progress, the lack of a conceptual model for sharing suitable LOs between learners makes multiple challenges. In this regard, multi-label classification plays a significant role to make high-quality LOs, which can be accessible and reusable. This article highlights a new way of using learning objects based on Multi-Label Classification (MLC) and clustering algorithms with feature selection techniques. It suggests a new system that makes the most suitable choice among many alternative sources based on the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). The proposed algorithm has been tested on a real-world application dataset related to the data analysis service for the learning science community. The experimental results show that our algorithm outperforms the traditional approach and produces good results

EXPEL Protocol Based Architecture for Cooperative E-Learning

Using E-learning platforms in learning process have become a common phenomenon because of the large use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in all fields. Many e-learning platforms were developed what makes their list richer and bigger. Most of teachers have the possibility to choose the suitable platform for their needs. Consequently, we may find more than one platform used in the same institution, and thus students have to connect independently on each system. This diversity in use of platforms makes the learning process for students more difficult which discourage them to be involved in e-learning process. In this paper, we propose a new architecture to solve this problem and to manage cooperation between platforms used in the same institution

Chemical Analysis of the Essential Oils of Three Cistus Species Growing in North-West of Algeria

The study reports for the first time the chemical composition and the antibacterial activity of the essential oil hydrodistilled from three Cistaceae growing in Algeria: Cistus ladaniferus L., C. albidus L. and C. monspeliensis L. The oils were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS analyses. The major components of C. ladaniferus were 5-epi-7-epi-α-eudesmol (13.6%) and borneol (12.5%) whereas for C. albidus the main constituents were epi-α-bisabolol (11.4%) and β-bourbonene (8.7%). Epi- 13-manoyl oxide (28.6%), kaur-16-ene (8.1%) and nonanal (5.4%) were the principal ones for C. monspeliensis. In vitro, antimicrobial activity of the oils was investigated against nine microorganisms by disk diffusion and agar dilution assays. The Gram-positive bacteria resulted sensitive to the three oils, especially Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. The volatiles of C. monspeliensis showed the best activity compared with other oils, comparable to or better than Gentamicin, a conventional antibiotic used as positive control in this study. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the oil was 0.25µg/L

Primary Adrenal Lymphoma

Primary non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of the adrenal gland is rare. We report the case of a 56-year-old patient suffering from B symptoms. The CT scan showed a bilateral adrenal mass without any lymph nodes. Scan-guided biopsies led to the diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The medullar biopsy eliminated a secondary lymphoma. The patient was treated by immunochemotherapy with a complete response before autologous stem cell transplantation

MARCKS as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most pro-metastatic form of breast cancer (BC). We previously demonstrated that protein overexpression of Myristoylated Alanine-Rich C Kinase Substrate (MARCKS) protein was associated with shorter survival in IBC patients. MARCKS has been associated with the PI3K/AKT pathway. MARCKS inhibitors are in development. Our objective was to investigate MARCKS, expressed preferentially in IBC that non-IBC (nIBC), as a novel potential therapeutic target for IBC. The biologic activity of MPS, a MARCKS peptide inhibitor, on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and mammosphere formation was evaluated in IBC (SUM149 and SUM190) and nIBC (MDA-MB-231 and MCF7) cell lines, as well as its effects on protein expression in the PTEN/AKT and MAPK pathways. The prognostic relevance of MARCKS and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) protein expression as a surrogate marker of metastasis-free survival (MFS) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a retrospective series of archival tumor samples derived from 180 IBC patients and 355 nIBC patients. In vitro MPS impaired cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and mammosphere formation in IBC cells. MARCKS inhibition upregulated PTEN and downregulated pAKT and pMAPK expression in IBC cells, but not in nIBC cells. By IHC, MARCKS expression and PTEN expression were negatively correlated in IBC samples and were associated with shorter MFS and longer MFS, respectively, in multivariate analysis. The combination of MARCKS-/PTEN+ protein status was associated with longer MFS in IBC patient only (p = 8.7 × 10−3), and mirrored the molecular profile (MARCKS-downregulated/PTEN-upregulated) of MPS-treated IBC cell lines. In conclusion, our results uncover a functional role of MARCKS implicated in IBC aggressiveness. Associated with the good-prognosis value of the MARCKS-/PTEN+ protein status that mirrors the molecular profile of MPS-treated IBC cell lines, our results suggest that MARCKS could be a potential therapeutic target in patients with MARCKS-positive IBC. Future preclinical studies using a larger panel of IBC cell lines, animal models and analysis of a larger series of clinical samples are warranted in order to validate our results