Human-computer interaction in intelligent tutoring systems

Due to the rapid evolution of society, citizens are constantly being pressured to obtain new skills through training. The need for qualified people has grown exponentially, which means that the resources for education/training are significantly more limited, so it's necessary to create systems that can solved this problem. The implementation of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) can be one solution. Besides, ITS aims to enable users to acquire knowledge and develop skills in a specific field. To achieve this goal, the ITS should learn how to react to the actions and needs of the users, and this should be achieved in a non-intrusive and transparent way. In order to provide personalized and adapted system, it is necessary to know the preferences and habits of users. Thus, the ability to learn patterns of behaviour becomes an essential aspect for the successful implementation of an ITS. In this article, we present the student model of an ITS, in order to monitor the user's biometric behaviour and their learning style during e-learning activities. In addition, a machine learning categorization model is presented that oversees student activity during the session. Additionally, this article highlights the main biometric behavioural variations for each activity, making these attributes enable the development of machine learning classifiers to predict users' learning preferences. These results can be instrumental in improving ITS systems in e-learning environments and predict user behaviour based on their interaction with computers or other devices.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2019

Classification of glomerular hypercellularity using convolutional features and support vector machine

Glomeruli are histological structures of the kidney cortex formed by interwoven blood capillaries, and are responsible for blood filtration. Glomerular lesions impair kidney filtration capability, leading to protein loss and metabolic waste retention. An example of lesion is the glomerular hypercellularity, which is characterized by an increase in the number of cell nuclei in different areas of the glomeruli. Glomerular hypercellularity is a frequent lesion present in different kidney diseases. Automatic detection of glomerular hypercellularity would accelerate the screening of scanned histological slides for the lesion, enhancing clinical diagnosis. Having this in mind, we propose a new approach for classification of hypercellularity in human kidney images. Our proposed method introduces a novel architecture of a convolutional neural network (CNN) along with a support vector machine, achieving near perfect average results with the FIOCRUZ data set in a binary classification (lesion or normal). Our deep-based classifier outperformed the state-of-the-art results on the same data set. Additionally, classification of hypercellularity sub-lesions was also performed, considering mesangial, endocapilar and both lesions; in this multi-classification task, our proposed method just failed in 4\% of the cases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on deep learning over a data set of glomerular hypercellularity images of human kidney.Comment: 26 page

Evaluation of students’ attitudes towards pharmacist–physician collaboration in Brazil

Objective. To measure undergraduate pharmacy and medical students’ collaborative attitudes regarding Pharmacist–Physician collaboration. Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from September 2016 to February 2017 in Northeast Brazil. Pharmacy and medical students from the first and the last year of courses were invited to complete Portuguese version of Scale of Attitudes Toward Pharmacist-Physician Collaboration (SATP2C). Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed using IBM SPSS (22 version). Differences were considered significant when p<0.05. Results. Three hundred seventy students completed the SATP2C. Overall, the students had positive attitudes towards physician-pharmacist collaboration. There was no significant correlation between age and score (p=0.79). Women showed a more positive collaborative attitude than men (53.1, SD=6.8 vs. 55.1, SD=6.3). Pharmacy students had a higher score than medical students (57.5, SD=4.7, vs. 51.1, SD=6.4). The first-year medical students had a higher score than last-year medical students (52.3, SD=6.0 vs. 49.5, SD=6.6; p<0.007). There was no significant difference in the attitudes between the first and last year pharmacy students (p<0.007). Conclusions. Pharmacy and medical students showed positive attitudes towards physician-pharmacist collaboration. However, pharmacy students presented more collaborative attitudes than medical ones. Additionally, the first-year medical students had more collaborative attitudes than last-year medical students. Studies should be conducted to provide recommendations to improve interprofessional education efforts to further enhance the positive attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaboration

Factors Influencing Performance of Cholangioscopy-Guided Lithotripsy Including Available Different Technologies: A Prospective Multicenter Study with 94 Patients

Background: Peroral cholangioscopy (POC)-guided lithotripsy is an effective treatment for difficult biliary stones. A clear definition of factors associated with the efficacy of POC-guided lithotripsy in one session and the performance of electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) and laser lithotripsy (LL) have not clearly emerged. Methods: This was a non-randomized prospective multicenter study of all consecutive patients who underwent POC lithotripsy (using EHL and/or LL) for difficult biliary stones. The primary endpoint of the study was the number of sessions needed to achieve complete ductal clearance and the factors associated with this outcome. Secondary endpoints included the evaluated efficacies of LL and EHL. Results: Ninety-four patients underwent 113 procedures of EHL or LL. Complete ductal clearance was obtained in 93/94 patients (98.94%). In total, 80/94 patients (85.11%) achieved stone clearance in a single session. In the multivariate analysis, stone size was independently associated with the need for multiple sessions to achieve complete ductal clearance (odds ratio = 1.146, 95% confidence interval: 1.055-1.244; p = 0.001). Using ROC curves and the Youden index, 22 mm was found to be the optimal cutoff for stone size (95% confidence interval: 15.71-28.28; p < 0.001). The majority of the patients (62.8%) underwent LL in the first session. Six patients failed the first session with EHL after using two probes and therefore were crossed over to LL, obtaining ductal clearance in a single additional session with a single LL fiber. EHL was significantly associated with a larger number of probes (2.0 vs. 1.02) to achieve ductal clearance (p < 0.01). The mean procedural time was significantly longer for EHL than for LL [72.1 (SD 16.3 min) versus 51.1 (SD 10.5 min)] (p < 0.01). Conclusions: POC is highly effective for difficult biliary stones. Most patients achieved complete ductal clearance in one session, which was significantly more likely for stones < 22 mm. EHL was significantly associated with the need for more probes and a longer procedural time to achieve ductal clearance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Subjectivity and Sexuality Production in Women Living With HIV/Aids: a Sociopoetic Production

The study aims to apprehend the subjectivity production possibilities concerning sexuality in a group of women living with HIV/aids, based on the sociopoetic method. The subjects were nine women with HIV/aids attended at the public referral hospital for infectious diseases in Fortaleza-CE. The results appoint that sexuality appears in several dimensions: in the sexual act, in knowing their own body, in professional accomplishment, in feelings of desire and love, besides the feeling of freedom. We concluded that sexuality is present in the individual's totality; it is not limited to the sexual act, but goes much further and is characterized as a dynamic realityEl objetivo de este estudio fue aprender las posibilidades de producción de subjetividad acerca de la sexualidad en un grupo de mujeres viviendo con el HIV/SIDA, a partir del método de la socio-poética. Los sujetos fueron nueve mujeres con HIV/SIDA asistidas en un hospital público de referencia para enfermedades infecciosas de Fortaleza, CE. Los resultados apuntan que la sexualidad aparece en varias dimensiones: en el acto sexual, en el conocer el propio cuerpo, en la realización profesional, en los sentimientos de deseo y amor, además del sentimiento de libertad. Se concluye que la sexualidad se encuentra en la totalidad del individuo, ella no se limita al acto sexual, va mucho más allá y se configura como realidad dinámica.O objetivo deste estudo foi apreender as possibilidades de produção de subjetividade acerca da sexualidade em um grupo de mulheres vivendo com o HIV/AIDS, a partir do método da sociopoética. Os sujeitos foram nove mulheres com HIV/AIDS assistidas no hospital público de referência para doenças infecciosas de Fortaleza, CE. Os resultados apontam que a sexualidade aparece em várias dimensões: no ato sexual, no conhecer o próprio corpo, na realização profissional, nos sentimentos de desejo e amor, além do sentimento de liberdade. Conclui-se que a sexualidade se encontra na totalidade do indivíduo, ela não se limita à questão do ato sexual, vai muito mais além e se configura como realidade dinâmica

Projected Range Contractions of European Protected Oceanic Montane Plant Communities: Focus on Climate Change Impacts Is Essential for Their Future Conservation

Global climate is rapidly changing and while many studies have investigated the potential impacts of this on the distribution of montane plant species and communities, few have focused on those with oceanic montane affinities. In Europe, highly sensitive bryophyte species reach their optimum occurrence, highest diversity and abundance in the northwest hyperoceanic regions, while a number of montane vascular plant species occur here at the edge of their range. This study evaluates the potential impact of climate change on the distribution of these species and assesses the implications for EU Habitats Directive-protected oceanic montane plant communities. We applied an ensemble of species distribution modelling techniques, using atlas data of 30 vascular plant and bryophyte species, to calculate range changes under projected future climate change. The future effectiveness of the protected area network to conserve these species was evaluated using gap analysis. We found that the majority of these montane species are projected to lose suitable climate space, primarily at lower altitudes, or that areas of suitable climate will principally shift northwards. In particular, rare oceanic montane bryophytes have poor dispersal capacity and are likely to be especially vulnerable to contractions in their current climate space. Significantly different projected range change responses were found between 1) oceanic montane bryophytes and vascular plants; 2) species belonging to different montane plant communities; 3) species categorised according to different biomes and eastern limit classifications. The inclusion of topographical variables in addition to climate, significantly improved the statistical and spatial performance of models. The current protected area network is projected to become less effective, especially for specialised arctic-montane species, posing a challenge to conserving oceanic montane plant communities. Conservation management plans need significantly greater focus on potential climate change impacts, including models with higher-resolution species distribution and environmental data, to aid these communities’ long-term survival