Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A method for modelling adaptive interactions in Intelligent Tutoring Systems

This paper proposes a method to couple the domain, student and pedagogical models in an Intelligent Tutoring System. The goal of the proposed method is to produce a personalised version of the domain model with respect to the student model, without burdening the teacher with the task of specifying how this personalisation is to be done. The pedagogical model is defined through Object Petri Net, whose transitions control the interaction decisions, according to conditions that refer to the student model and feedback. All student model management is automatically included in the pedagogical model by the authoring tool.
Conference report: Learning Futures - The Campus and Beyond

The Beyond Distance Research Alliance (BDRA) is a multi-disciplinary research group based at the University of Leicester with the aim of bringing together researchers and educators with an interest in innovation in learning and teaching methods. Led by Professor Gilly Salmon, the group are experimenting with a ‘Media Zoo’ in Second Life, as well as co-ordinating numerous other projects in areas such as localised and mobile learning, podcasting, and the use of Wikis as personal repositories in part-time collaborative professional education. They organise an annual two-day conference to share experience, to facilitate discussion and networking, and to disseminate project results. This year’s focus was on ‘learning futures’, trying to identify future trends in education and changing student expectations, as well as discussing how educators can respond to such shifts. The recurring theme of the day is accurately summed up in Prensky’s comment that ‘students are no longer the people our education system was designed to teach’ (Prensky, 2001).
Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) Resources

Editors Note: This is the first set of reviews in a new column, The Interactive Web. The column editor, Lisa D. Travis, began locating, annotating, and adding interactive websites to her library's web page during her first professional position in 2002. Over the course of her career, she has supported a wide variety of health sciences programs including Osteopathic Medicine, Nursing, Occupational and Physical Therapy, Radiography, and Veterinary Technology and has continued to add to her collection of links to interactive websites. Faculty, students, and alumni have provided her with websites for her collection, requested searches for useful websites, and provided notes for annotations. The Interactive Web column reviews freely available Internet resources that are interactive in some form and/or provide helpful videos and animations. The websites are used for assignments, lectures, and self-study purposes and are available for viewing within the Program Resources section of the Dr. Lon and Elizabeth Parr Reed Health Sciences Library (Reed Health Sciences Library) website at http://library.lmunet. edu/medlib. Each of the favorite websites of users is labeled as a Top Pick. This issue will highlight interactive electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) websites.
Pole assignment and tracking of uncertain linear systems with state/output feedback: a model reference adaptive control approach

This paper presents an adaptive feedback and feedforward control scheme for uncertain linear systems which drives the response of uncertain system to the desired one. By using the simple adaptive rules for feedback gain and feedforward input, it is shown that all the error signals are bounded and the tracking error converges to zero asymptotically. A persistent exciting signals in the domain of discrete time is defined and used in proving convergence of the adaptive feedback gain and feedforward learning input to their true values. The effectiveness of proposed control scheme is demonstrated via computer simulation.
A wavelet based algorithm for DTM extraction from airborne laser scanning data

The automatic extraction of Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from point clouds acquired by airborne laser scanning (ALS) equipment remains a problem in ALS data filtering nowadays. Many filter algorithms have been developed to remove object points and outliers, and to extract DTM automatically. However, it is difficult to filter in areas where few points have identical morphological or geological features that can present the bare earth. Especially in sloped terrain covered by dense vegetation, points representing bare earth are often identified as noisy data below ground. To extract terrain surface in these areas, a new algorithm is proposed. First, the point clouds are cut into profiles based on a scan line segmentation algorithm. In each profile, a 1D filtering procedure is determined from the wavelet theory, which is superior in detecting high frequency discontinuities. After combining profiles from different directions, an interpolated grid data representing DTM is generated. In order to evaluate the performance of this new approach, we applied it to the data set used in the ISPRS filter test in 2003. 2 samples containing mostly vegetation on slopes have been processed by the proposed algorithm. It can be seen that it filtered most of the objects like vegetation and buildings in sloped area, and smoothed the hilly mountain to be more close to its real terrain surface.
High efficiency broadband linear push-pull power amplifiers using linearity augmentation

A method for improving the linearity and efficiency performance of Class AB push-pull power amplifiers is described in which the process of passive linearity augmentation is applied to correct the input signal current to the power transistors and to reduce the effects of crossover distortion, producing low intermodulation distortion products up to the 1 dB compression point. The method also biases the nonconducting transistor rapidly into cutoff, improving the peak collector efficiency by 15%. A brief generalized discussion of passive augmentation theory as applied to Class A amplifiers is provided, and performance data for an example 2 watt Class AB push-pull prototype amplifier is described.
SIMULATION AND VALIDATION OF TURBULENT GAS FLOW IN A CYCLONE USING CAELUS

Cyclones play a dominant role in the industrial separation of dilute particles from an incoming gas flow. The complex swirling flow in cyclones provides significant challenges for turbulence modelling in CFD. This paper presents a single phase transient solver developed using the Caelus library. The solver predictions using k-ω SST with and without curvature corrections, Reynolds Stress Model (LRR) and Large Eddy Simulation (Smagorinsky and coherent structure) turbulence models are compared against laser velocity measurements to investigate the level of accuracy afforded by each turbulence model. The k-ω SST model without any curvature corrections produced the poorest predictions of the flow field, whilst the coherent structure LES was found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements.
Assessing the knowledge of emergency medical care personnel in the Free State, South Africa, on aspects of paediatric pre-hospital emergency care

Introduction In South Africa in 2016, injuries accounted for 4 483 deaths of children aged 0-4 years. Prior studies have reported that, in some parts of the country, poor pre-hospital clinical care is a key contributor to the morbidity and mortality of critically ill and injured children. A key component of a coordinated emergency health care system are emergency medical care (EMC) personnel. Here, we assess the knowledge of EMC personnel employed by the Free State Department of Health on aspects of paediatric pre-hospital emergency care. Methods This descriptive study used a questionnaire survey to obtain data on the knowledge of Free State EMC personnel on aspects of paediatric pre-hospital emergency care. Results Only 197 of the initial 250 questionnaires distributed were returned, giving a response rate of 78.8%. More than half (51.2%) of the participants across the five districts had inadequate knowledge of paediatric pre-hospital emergency care. The majority of EMC personnel could not calculate the paediatric blood pressure for age and did not know the paediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (74.0% and 53.4% respectively; P < 0.0001 in both cases). Participants attributed inadequate knowledge to limited exposure to paediatrics cases, insufficient training, limited scope of practice, and lack of equipment. Conclusion Enhancing the knowledge and skills of EMC personnel in paediatrics pre-hospital care through a short learning programme or continuous professional development programme, and providing adequate paediatric emergency equipment, will ensure that comprehensive pre-hospital emergency care is given to paediatric patients in the province.
Colonic Cancer and Acromegaly

Acromegaly results in a significantly increased morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular and respiratory complications, as well as malignancies arising mainly from the colon. Furthermore, an increased lifetime risk of malignant transformation of pre-malignant colonic lesions relates to a worse overall prognosis from colorectal cancer, which is currently considered a major disease-related complication. In this review we provide some insight into colonic changes in this condition, summarize current knowledge and evidence on the use of colonoscopic screening in patients with acromegaly, and suggest a recommended screening protocol.
Just-in-time information retrieval

This thesis defines Just-In-Time Information Retrieval agents (JITIRs): a class of software agents that proactively present potentially valuable information based on a person's local context in an easily accessible yet non-intrusive manner. The research described experimentally demonstrates that such systems encourage the viewing and use of information that would not otherwise be viewed, by reducing the cognitive effort required to find, evaluate and access information. Experiments and analysis of long-term use provide a deeper understanding of the different ways JITIRs can be valuable: by providing useful or supporting information that is relevant to the current task, by contextualizing the current task in a broader framework, by providing information that is not useful in the current task but leads to the discovery of other information that is useful, and by providing information that is not useful for the current task but is valuable for other reasons. Finally, this research documents heuristics and techniques for the design of JITIRs. These techniques are based on theory and are demonstrated by the field-testing of three complete systems: the Remembrance Agent, Margin Notes, and Jimminy. Specifically, these heuristics are designed to make information accessible with low effort, and yet ignorable should the user wish to concentrate entirely on his primary task. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Taking Advantage of the Selectivity of Histone Deacetylases and Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors to Design Better Therapeutic Strategies to Treat Alzheimer’s Disease

The discouraging results with therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in clinical trials, highlights the urgent need to adopt new approaches. Like other complex diseases, it is becoming clear that AD therapies should focus on the simultaneous modulation of several targets implicated in the disease. Recently, using reference compounds and the first-in class CM-414, we demonstrated that the simultaneous inhibition of histone deacetylases [class I histone deacetylases (HDACs) and HDAC6] and phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) has a synergistic therapeutic effect in AD models. To identify the best inhibitory balance of HDAC isoforms and PDEs that provides a safe and efficient therapy to combat AD, we tested the compound CM-695 in the Tg2576 mouse model of this disease. CM-695 selectively inhibits HDAC6 over class I HDAC isoforms, which largely overcomes the toxicity associated with HDAC class 1 inhibition. Furthermore, CM-695 inhibits PDE9, which is expressed strongly in the brain and has been proposed as a therapeutic target for AD. Chronic treatment of aged Tg2576 mice with CM-695 ameliorates memory impairment and diminishes brain Aβ, although its therapeutic effect was no longer apparent 4 weeks after the treatment was interrupted. An increase in the presence of 78-KDa glucose regulated protein (GRP78) and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) chaperones may underlie the therapeutic effect of CM-695. In summary, chronic treatment with CM-695 appears to reverse the AD phenotype in a safe and effective manner. Taking into account that AD is a multifactorial disorder, the multimodal action of these compounds and the different events they affect may open new avenues to combat AD.
Thermal Niche Differentiation in the Benthic Diatom Cylindrotheca closterium (Bacillariophyceae) Complex

Coastal waters are expected to undergo severe warming in the coming decades. Very little is known about how diatoms, the dominant primary producers in these habitats, will cope with these changes. We investigated the thermal niche of Cylindrotheca closterium, a widespread benthic marine diatom, using 24 strains collected over a wide latitudinal gradient. A multi-marker phylogeny in combination with a species delimitation approach shows that C. closterium represents a (pseudo)cryptic species complex, and this is reflected in distinct growth response patterns in terms of optimum growth temperature, maximum growth rate, and thermal niche width. Strains from the same clade displayed a similar thermal response, suggesting niche conservation between closely related strains. Due to their lower maximum growth rate and smaller thermal niche width, we expect the polar species to be particularly sensitive to warming, and, in the absence of adaptation, to be replaced with species from lower latitudes.
Efficacy and Safety of Bcl-2 Inhibitor Venetoclax in Hematological Malignancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials

Background: B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein is an important part of apoptotic pathway, which is overexpressed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells, and myeloma cells. Venetoclax (ABT-199/GDC-0199) is a highly selective bioavailable inhibitor of BCL-2 protein, which is more effective and less valid against BCL-xL in BCL2-dependent leukemia and lymphoma cell. Method: We searched PubMed database using retrieval keyword venetoclax, ABT-199, or GDC-0199 and investigated the data of the involved articles. Considering variability in different studies, the overall response rate was collected to assess the efficacy. Meanwhile, adverse events (AEs) were summarized, and event rates were calculated to assess the safety. Results: When patients were treated with venetoclax monotherapy, the most common AEs were nausea, diarrhea, neutropenia, fatigue and thrombocytopenia, and neutropenia. In addition, thrombocytopenia, anemia, febrile neutropenia, and leukopenia appeared more common and are considered as the severe AEs (defined as grade ≥ 3 AEs). Although the occurrence of thrombocytopenia was relatively high, it was not the most severe type. When compared with patients treated with venetoclax and other drugs, nausea, diarrhea, and thrombocytopenia were still the most common AEs occurrence in the patients of all the grade. The overall event rate was 73%, which is quite satisfactory. Conclusion: Venetoclax is a mild and efficient drug in treating advanced hematological malignancy, which can be specially fit for the chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with del[17p], and AEs are well tolerable. Few tumor lysis syndrome occurred after taking the drugs. The AEs aroused by venetoclax, and the combination is well tolerable. Therefore, the use of venetoclax monotherapy or its combination with other therapies is desirable in hematological malignancy.
Peptide Antiviral Strategies as an Alternative to Treat Lower Respiratory Viral Infections

Lower respiratory infection caused by human pathogens such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant healthcare burden that must be addressed. The preferred options to achieve this goal are usually to develop vaccines for prophylaxis and to develop antiviral small molecules to treat infected patients with convenient, orally administrable drugs. However, developing a vaccine against RSV poses special challenges with the diminished immune system of infants and the elderly, and finding a universal flu vaccine is difficult because the product must target a large array of viral strains. On the other hand, the use of small-molecule antivirals can result in the emergence of resistant viruses as it has well-been reported for HIV, influenza, and hepatitis C virus (HCV). This paper reviews peptide antiviral strategies as an alternative to address these challenges. The discovery of influenza and RSV peptidic fusion inhibitors will be discussed and compared to small molecules in view of escape mutations. The importance of constraining peptides into macrocycles to improve both their inhibitory activity and pharmacological properties will be highlighted.
Measures of CNS-Autonomic Interaction and Responsiveness in Disorder of Consciousness

Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated functional interactions between autonomic (ANS) and brain (CNS) structures involved in higher brain functions, including attention and conscious processes. These interactions have been described by the Central Autonomic Network (CAN), a concept model based on the brain-heart two-way integrated interaction. Heart rate variability (HRV) measures proved reliable as non-invasive descriptors of the ANS-CNS function setup and are thought to reflect higher brain functions. Autonomic function, ANS-mediated responsiveness and the ANS-CNS interaction qualify as possible independent indicators for clinical functional assessment and prognosis in Disorders of Consciousness (DoC). HRV has proved helpful to investigate residual responsiveness in DoC and predict clinical recovery. Variability due to internal (e.g., homeostatic and circadian processes) and environmental factors remains a key independent variable and systematic research with this regard is warranted. The interest in bidirectional ANS-CNS interactions in a variety of physiopathological conditions is growing, however, these interactions have not been extensively investigated in DoC. In this brief review we illustrate the potentiality of brain-heart investigation by means of HRV analysis in assessing patients with DoC. The authors’ opinion is that this easy, inexpensive and non-invasive approach may provide useful information in the clinical assessment of this challenging patient population.
Prediction of T4SS Effector Proteins for Anaplasma phagocytophilum Using OPT4e, A New Software Tool

Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) are used by a number of bacterial pathogens to attack the host cell. The complex protein structure of the T4SS is used to directly translocate effector proteins into host cells, often causing fatal diseases in humans and animals. Identification of effector proteins is the first step in understanding how they function to cause virulence and pathogenicity. Accurate prediction of effector proteins via a machine learning approach can assist in the process of their identification. The main goal of this study is to predict a set of candidate effectors for the tick-borne pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of anaplasmosis in humans. To our knowledge, we present the first computational study for effector prediction with a focus on A. phagocytophilum. In a previous study, we systematically selected a set of optimal features from more than 1,000 possible protein characteristics for predicting T4SS effector candidates. This was followed by a study of the features using the proteome of Legionella pneumophila strain Philadelphia deduced from its complete genome. In this manuscript we introduce the OPT4e software package for Optimal-features Predictor for T4SS Effector proteins. An earlier version of OPT4e was verified using cross-validation tests, accuracy tests, and comparison with previous results for L. pneumophila. We use OPT4e to predict candidate effectors from the proteomes of A. phagocytophilum strains HZ and HGE-1 and predict 48 and 46 candidates, respectively, with 16 and 18 deemed most probable as effectors. These latter include the three known validated effectors for A. phagocytophilum.
Taking Familiar Others’ Perspectives to Regulate Our Own Emotion: An Event-Related Potential Study

Current research on emotion regulation has mainly focused on Gross’s cognitive strategies for regulating negative emotion; however, little attention has been paid to whether social cognitive processes can be used to regulate both positive and negative emotions. We considered perspective-taking as an aspect of social cognition, and investigated whether it would affect one’s own emotional response. The present study used a block paradigm and event-related potential (ERP) technology to explore this question. A 3 (perspective: self vs. pessimistic familiar other vs. optimistic familiar other) × 3 (valence: positive vs. neutral vs. negative) within-group design was employed. Thirty-six college students participated and considered their own or target others’ feelings about pictures with different valences. Results showed that positive emotional responses were more neutral under a pessimistic familiar other perspective, and more positive under an optimistic familiar other perspective, and vice versa for negative emotional responses. In ERP results, compared with a self-perspective, taking familiar others’ perspectives elicited reductions in P3 (370–410 ms) and LPP (400–800 ms) difference waves. These findings suggested that taking a pessimistic or optimistic familiar other perspective affects emotion regulation by changing later processing of emotional information.
Feature selection via entropy minimization: an example using Landsat satellite data

The author has identified the following significant results. The minimum entropy model may provide several useful advantages over traditional techniques for processing LANDSAT data. Total computer time to conduct a complete pattern recognition process is reduced. Subjective (transformed image), as well as statistically derived information is made available to the analyst/user much earlier in the analysis process. A rapid feedback loop in which numerous training set combinations can be tested for difference and representativeness is available. Additional tests of LANDSAT data processing using the minimum entropy model are clearly justified.