Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blended Learning Experiences in a Multimodal Setting: The Impact of Communication Channels and Learners' CMC Expertise on Perceived Social Presence and Motivation

: Virtual learning environments are increasingly used to support online and blended learning settings. Yet, little is known about how different synchronous communication modalities influence students’ percep tions of social presence in learning settings. Existing laboratory research indicates that social presence is negatively affected when communication cues are reduced to text. Using a within-subject design, we investigated whether differences in communication modality (1. chat, 2. audio, and 3. audio-video) affect social presence and motivation in a blended learning seminar. Results show in contrast to laboratory findings that communication modality did not directly affect students’ perceptions of social pre sence. Instead, expertise in computer-mediated communication (CMC) appeared as important moderating variable that facilitated the perception of social presence as well as motivation in the chat modality more strongly than in audio or audio-video. Current results provide new insights and practical implications for online learning settings that use synchronous CMC.
microRNA‐186 inhibition of PI3K–AKT pathway via SPP1 inhibits chondrocyte apoptosis in mice with osteoarthritis

Chondrocyte apoptosis has been implicated as a major pathological osteoarthritis (OA) change in humans and experimental animals. We evaluate the ability of miR‐186 on chondrocyte apoptosis and proliferation in OA and elucidate the underlying mechanism concerning the regulation of miR‐186 in OA. Gene expression microarray analysis was performed to screen differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in OA. To validate the effect of miR‐186 on chondrocyte apoptosis, we upregulated or downregulated endogenous miR‐186 using mimics or inhibitors. Next, to better understand the regulatory mechanism for miR‐186 governing SPP1, we suppressed the endogenous expression of SPP1 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) against SPP1 in chondrocytes. We identified SPP1 is highly expressed in OA according to an mRNA microarray data set GSE82107. After intra‐articular injection of papain into mice, the miR‐186 is downregulated while the SPP1 is reciprocal, with dysregulated PI3K–AKT pathway in OA cartilages. Intriguingly, miR‐186 was shown to increase chondrocyte survival, facilitate cell cycle entry in OA chondrocytes, and inhibit chondrocyte apoptosis in vitro by modulation of pro‐ and antiapoptotic factors. The determination of luciferase activity suggested that miR‐186 negatively targets SPP1. Furthermore, we found that the effect of miR‐186 suppression on OA chondrocytes was lost when SPP1 was suppressed by siRNA, suggesting that miR‐186 affected chondrocytes by targeting and depleting SPP1, a regulator of PI3K–AKT pathway. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism by which miR‐186 inhibits chondrocyte apoptosis in OA by interacting with SPP1 and regulating PI3K–AKT pathway. Restoring miR‐186 might be a future therapeutic strategy for OA.
State-of-the-art assessment allows for improved vestibular evoked myogenic potential test-retest reliability

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability values of myogenic responses using the latest guidelines for vestibular assessment. Twenty-two otologically and neurologically normal adults were assessed twice, on two different days. The analyses were carried out using interclass correlations. The results showed that the latest recommendations for vestibular assessment lead to test-retest reliability values that are as high, or greater, than those reported in previous studies. The results suggest that state-of-the-art testing, using the latest recommendations as well as electromyography control, improves reliability values of myogenic responses, more specifically for the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials. The impact of small differences in experimental procedures on the reliability values of myogenic responses is also addressed.
Autoantibodies in HIV‐infected patients: Cross site‐specific hydrolysis of H1 histone and myelin basic protein

Histones act as damage-associated molecules, while anti-DNA antibodies are directed against histone-DNA nucleosomal complexes. Myelin basic protein (MBP) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. Autoantibodies (Abs) with enzymatic activities are the distinctive feature of some autoimmune and viral diseases. Abzymes with proteolytic activity against different proteins specifically hydrolyze only these specific proteins. Using chromatography of IgGs on columns with immobilized H1 histone and then by chromatography of the fraction having an affinity for the histone (eluted upon loading) on MBP Sepharose, the anti-MBP antibodies were obtained. Anti-H1 antibodies were obtained using these columns in reverse order. IgGs against H1 and MBP effectively hydrolyze both H1 histone and MBP but no other control proteins. Using the MALDI mass spectrometry, the cleavage sites of H1 histone and MBP by abzymes against these proteins are found. The hydrolysis of MBP by anti-MBP IgGs occurs at four clusters (22 sites of the hydrolysis) locating at four known antigenic determinants of MBP. Anti-H1 Abs hydrolyze MBP only at one cluster (11 sites of the hydrolysis); this cluster is only partially overlapped with one of the four MBP clusters. Anti-H1 antibodies hydrolyze H1 at five sites of one cluster of the protein when anti-MBP IgGs cleavage this histone at two clusters containing 17 sites of the cleavage. Anti-H1 and anti-MBP abzymes are the first examples of Abs possessing not only with cross-complexing but also with catalytic cross-reactivity. The existence of cross-reactivity of abzymes against histones and MBP represent great danger to humans. © 2018 BioFactors, 45(2):211-222, 2019.
Antioxidant Grain Passivation for Air-Stable Tin-Based Perovskite Solar Cells.

Tin-based perovskites with excellent optoelectronic properties and suitable band gaps are promising candidates for the preparation of efficient lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, it is challenging to prepare highly stable and efficient tin-based PSCs because Sn2+ in perovskites can be easily oxidized to Sn4+ upon air exposure. Here we report the fabrication of air-stable FASnI3 solar cells by introducing hydroxybenzene sulfonic acid or its salt as an antioxidant additive into the perovskite precursor solution along with excess SnCl2 . The interaction between the sulfonate group and the Sn2+ ion enables the in situ encapsulation of the perovskite grains with a SnCl2 -additive complex layer, which results in greatly enhanced oxidation stability of the perovskite film. The corresponding PSCs are able to maintain 80 % of the efficiency over 500 h upon air exposure without encapsulation, which is over ten times longer than the best result reported previously. Our results suggest a possible strategy for the future design of efficient and stable tin-based PSCs.
Effect of diabetes mellitus type 2 on salivary glucose, immunoglobulin A, total protein, and amylase levels in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case–control studies

Background: Saliva is a fluid with the complex compound which can be used as diagnostic markers for type 2 diabetes (T2D). This meta-analysis evaluated salivary glucose, immunoglobulin A (IgA), total protein, and amylase levels in adult T2D compared with the controls as well as the correlation of salivary glucose levels with serum glucose and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) levels in both groups. Materials and Methods: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases were searched up to July 2017. A random-effects analysis was performed using the mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals. The search terms were “T2D, IgA, amylase, total protein, or glucose” combination with “saliva. ” The studied variables were the sample size, the percentage of male, the mean age, the condition of saliva sampling, and the salivary levels of mentioned factors. Results: A total of 25 studies were included in this meta-analysis with 1432 and 900 diabetic patients and healthy controls, respectively. MD of salivary glucose level in patients with T2D, compared with the healthy controls, in fasting and nonfasting conditions were 6.23 mg/dL (P = 0.0002) and 6.70 mg/dL (P < 0.00001), respectively. Furthermore, the fasting salivary total protein in the patients was significantly higher than the controls (MD = 167.96 mg/dL; P = 0.03). Non-fasting salivary amylase and secretory IgA levels were significantly lower in the patients (MD = −48.61 IU/mL; P < 0.00001) than in the controls (MD = −9.42 IU/mL; P = 0.0006), respectively. The pooled estimate showed a significant correlation between salivary and serum glucose in the patients (r = 0.765; P < 0.001) and the controls (r = 0.646; P < 0.001) and between salivary glucose and serum glycated hemoglobin in the patients (r = 0.721; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Measurement of these salivary factors can be helpful for diagnostic and monitoring purposes of T2D. In addition, salivary glucose as a diagnostic tool can evaluate serum glucose and HbA1c levels in the diabetic patients.
Clinical value of the quantitation of average daily platelet increase during the recovery period in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Abstract The time to platelet recovery (TPR) is becoming a predicting factor during the treatment of childhood acute leukaemia. However, the initial pre-treatment platelet count (PPC) could interfere with TPR. Here, we integrated both TPR and PPC as the average daily platelet amount increase (Ap) to predict the prognosis in childhood B-ALL during the recovery period.148 patients were enrolled. The relationship between the Ap and MRD was evaluated, and Multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate whether Ap was independently associated with a better EFS. The PPC was inversely correlated with TPR (rs = −0.519, P = 0.021). Patients in Ap >3.9 × 109/L group had better EFS (x2 = 3.109, P = 0.028) than TPR ≤ 16d. Multivariate analysis indicated that Ap > 3.9 × 109/L was independently associated with a longer EFS (RR = 3.468; 95%CI: 1.037–11.597, P = 0.043). However, when introducing both MRD and Ap > 3.9 × 109/L as candidate variables, the Ap > 3.9 × 109/L lost its independent effect (P = 0.081). The strong association between MRD on treatment day 33 and Ap > 3.9 × 109/L (x2 = 148.00, P = 0.000) was responsible for this phenomenon. Ap could be a valuable prognostic indicator in childhood B-ALL.
p62/SQSTM1: ‘Jack of all trades’ in health and cancer

p62 is a stress‐inducible protein able to change among binding partners, cellular localizations and form liquid droplet structures in a context‐dependent manner. This protein is mainly defined as a cargo receptor for selective autophagy, a process that allows the degradation of detrimental and unnecessary components through the lysosome. Besides this role, its ability to interact with multiple binding partners allows p62 to act as a main regulator of the activation of the Nrf2, mTORC1, and NF‐κB signaling pathways, linking p62 to the oxidative defense system, nutrient sensing, and inflammation, respectively. In the present review, we will present the molecular mechanisms behind the control p62 exerts over these pathways, their interconnection and how their deregulation contributes to cancer progression.
The assessment of the stability of the tibial component of a novel knee arthroplasty system using radiostereometric analysis

Aims The introduction of a novel design of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) must achieve outcomes at least as good as existing designs. A novel design of TKA with a reducing radius of the femoral component and a modified cam‐post articulation has been released and requires assessment of the fixation to bone. Radiostereometric analysis (RSA) of the components within the first two postoperative years has been shown to be predictive of medium‐ to long‐term fixation. The aim of this study was to assess the stability of the tibial component of this system during this period of time using RSA. Patients and Methods A cohort of 30 patients underwent primary, cemented TKA using the novel posterior stabilized fixed‐bearing (ATTUNE) design. There was an even distribution of men and women (15:15). The mean age of the patients was 64 years (sd 8) at the time of surgery; their mean body mass index (BMI) was 35.4 kg/m2 (sd 7.9). RSA was used to assess the stability of the tibial component at 6, 12, and 24 months compared with a six‐week baseline examination. Patient‐reported outcome measures were also assessed. Results The mean maximum total point motion (MTPM) of the tibial component between 12 and 24 months postoperatively was 0.08 mm (sd 0.08), which is well below the published threshold of 0.2 mm (p < 0.001). Patient‐reported outcome measures consistently improved. Conclusion The tibial component of this novel design of TKA showed stability between assessment 12 and 24 months postoperatively, suggesting an acceptably low risk of medium‐ to longterm failure due to aseptic loosening.
Predictors of Palliative Care Knowledge Among Nursing Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND Societal aging, a concern in many countries worldwide, is increasing the demand for quality palliative care in Saudi Arabia. Nursing education is responsible for providing nursing students with high levels of knowledge and competency related to palliative care. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of palliative care knowledge among nursing students in Saudi Arabia. METHODS A convenience sample of 409 nursing students from one public academic institution and one private academic institution in Saudi Arabia was surveyed from November to December 2017 in this descriptive, cross-sectional study. The 20-item Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics were used to fully describe the demographic characteristics and palliative care knowledge of the participants. One-way analysis of variance and t test were used to examine the associations between palliative care knowledge and the demographic characteristics. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the significant demographic predictors of this knowledge. RESULTS The mean score of the participants was 5.23 (SD = 3.24, range = 0-12), indicating poor palliative care knowledge. The participants lacked palliative care knowledge in terms of palliative care principles and philosophy, management of pain and other symptoms, and psychosocial and spiritual care. Being enrolled in a private university, being in the second year of a nursing program, having attended palliative care education sessions outside a university setting, and attending a palliative care course in the nursing program were identified as significant predictors of higher palliative care knowledge. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE This study may be used as a basis for formulating education policies and interventions to enhance palliative care education and clinical training among nursing students and ensure the quality of palliative care not only in Saudi Arabia but also in other countries.
In-office and walking bleach dental treatments on endodontically-treated teeth: 25 years follow-up.

BACKGROUND Many techniques have been evolved for the purpose of managing discoloured non-vital tooth such as dental bleaching, restorative and prosthetic treatment. In order to achieve better control on the patients, in-office and intra-coronal bleaching procedures were introduced in clinical practice. Such techniques usually use higher whitening agent concentrations activated by means of heat or light sources, resulting in improved color stability in the long term. The aim of this study was to evaluate the color stability, after 25 years, of endodontically-treated teeth subjected to in-office and walking bleach dental treatments with carbamide peroxide. METHODS A population of patients with a single endodontic treatment on an incisor teeth was recruited. All the teeth selected for the study were subjected to both in-office intra-coronal dental bleaching and walking bleach technique with 10% carbamide peroxide gel. The patients were recalled at follow-up every 12 months for a total observational period of 25 years. RESULTS After 25 years of clinical service on 40 patients, an optimal tooth color stability in relation to adjacent teeth was evidenced in 34 patients, while 6 patients were classified as failures, since a color mismatch of two or more shades were noticed. Consequently, a success rate of 85% was reported after 25 years. CONCLUSIONS Ten percent carbamide peroxide proved to be an effective dental whitening agent in the long-term for endodontically-treated.
Ultrafast thulium fiber laser system emitting more than 1  kW of average power.

In this Letter, we report on the generation of 1060 W average power from an ultrafast thulium-doped fiber chirped pulse amplification system. After compression, the pulse energy of 13.2 μJ with a pulse duration of 265 fs at an 80 MHz pulse repetition rate results in a peak power of 50 MW spectrally centered at 1960 nm. Even though the average heat-load in the fiber core is as high as 98 W/m, we confirm the diffraction-limited beam quality of the compressed output. Furthermore, the evolution of the relative intensity noise with increasing average output power has been measured to verify the absence of transversal mode instabilities. This system represents a new average power record for thulium-doped fiber lasers (1150 W uncompressed) and ultrashort pulse fiber lasers with diffraction-limited beam quality, in general, even considering single-channel ytterbium-doped fiber amplifiers.
miR‐129‐2‐3p directly targets SYK gene and associates with the risk of ischaemic stroke in a Chinese population

Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) gene has been identified as novel susceptibility locus for ischaemic stroke (IS) previously. However, regulation of SYK gene remains unknown in IS. In this study, we aimed to identify miRNAs that might be involved in the development of IS by targeting SYK gene. miRNAs were firstly screened by bioinformatics predicting tool. The expression levels of SYK gene were detected by qRT‐PCR and western blotting, respectively, after miRNA transfection. Luciferase reporter assay was applied to investigate the direct binding between miRNAs and target gene. miRNA levels were detected by miRNA TaqMan assays in the blood cells of 270 IS patients and 270 control volunteers. Results suggest that SYK gene might be a direct target of miR‐129‐2‐3p. The blood level of miR‐129‐2‐3p was significantly lower in IS patients (P < 0.05), and negatively associated with the risk of IS (adjusted OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.80‐0.98; P = 0.021) by multivariable logistic regression analysis. The blood levels of SYK gene were significantly higher in IS patients, and miR‐129‐2‐3p expression was negatively correlated with mean platelet volume. In summary, our study suggests that miR‐129‐2‐3p might be involved in the pathogenesis of IS through interrupting SYK expression and the platelet function, and further investigation is needed to explore the underlying mechanism.
Comparative proteomic analysis of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells indicates adaptive response to low-dose radiation in individuals from high background radiation areas of Kerala

There remain significant uncertainties in estimation of risks with low doses of radiation. The small coastal belt in the southwestern state of Kerala, India, extending from Neendakara in the south to Purakkad in the north is one of the most extensively studied high-level natural background radiation areas (HLNRAs) of the world to address these concerns. The natural radioactivity here is due to occurrence of monazite sand bearing placer deposits along the coastline. In this study, proteomic approach was employed to study the response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from individuals residing in HLNRA (N = 10; mean radiation dose: 15.60 ± 3.04 mGy/y) vis-à-vis responses in individuals from adjoining normal-level natural background radiation areas (NLNRA; N = 10; mean radiation dose: ≤1.50 mGy/y) using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry. A total of 15 proteins were found to be statistically altered in individuals from HLNRA when compared to individuals from NLNRA (P ≤ 0.05). Most of the changes in expression were small. The mean coefficient of variation for the differentially altered proteins was found to be ~34%. Pathway enrichment analysis with Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery distinguished 44 biological processes significantly (P ≤ 0.05) modulated in HLNRA samples. More importantly, when challenged with an ex vivo dose of 2 Gy, HLNRA PBMCs responded with an up-regulation of many protective pro-survival proteins such as protein disulfide-isomerase A1 (PDIA1), peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) and glucose-regulated protein 78 kDa (GRP78). PDIA1 and PRDX6 are known to play an important role in redox homeostasis. GRP78 is considered the master regulator of unfolded protein response that aims to restore endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis and thus, regulate cell survival. Principal component analysis identified clear clusters based on radiation dose. The expression changes of key proteins were validated by western blotting using additional samples from HLNRA and NLNRA. This indicates that the human cells respond to low dose of ionising radiation through dynamic changes in the proteome to maintain adaptive homeostasis. These findings emphasise that the dose-response relationship at low doses of radiation may not be linear and, thus, provide mechanistic challenge to the linear-no-threshold hypothesis.
Skin Changes during Pregnancy: A Study from Northeast India

© 2018 Indian Dermatology Online Journal | Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow Sir, Pregnant women are susceptible to various physiological and pathological cutaneous changes. [1] These conditions are generally benign, but can cause substantial anxiety in affected patients. The profound hormonal, vascular, metabolic, and immunological changes occurring during pregnancy can attribute to all these dermatoses. [2]
Internal and external signal processing in patients with panic disorder: An event-related potential (ERP) study

Self-absorption describes a pathological tendency towards the internal mental world (internalization) that often conflicts with the accurate monitoring of the external world. In performance monitoring, an augmented electrophysiological response evoked by internal signals in patients with anxiety or depressive disorder seems to reflect this tendency. Specifically, the error-related negativity (Ne/ERN), an index of error processing based on internal signals, is larger in patients compared to controls. In the present experiment, we investigated whether the preferential processing of internal signals in patients is linked to diminished and inflexible external signal processing. To this end, the electrophysiological response evoked by external signals was analysed in patients with panic disorder and healthy controls. Participants performed a choice-response task, where informative or uninformative feedback followed each response, and a passive viewing task. As a replication of previous studies, patients presented an augmented Ne/ERN, indexing enhanced processing of internal signals related to errors. Furthermore, the vertex positive potential (VPP) evoked by visual stimuli was larger in patients than in controls, suggesting enhanced attention to external signals. Moreover, patients and controls showed similar sensitivity to the feedback information content, indicating a normal flexibility in the allocation of monitoring resources to external signals depending on how informative these signals are for performance monitoring. These results suggest that the tendency towards internal signals in patients with panic disorder does not hinder the flexible processing of external signals. On the contrary, external signals seem to attract enhanced processing in patients compared to controls.