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This study is a systematic review of 23 years of research on virtual reality (VR) usage in art appreciation education. A total of 34 articles were selected from 2 major academic databases using search strings and manual screening protocols. The literature analysis emphasized four aspects of VR-based art appreciation education: research methodologies, instructional design, technological affordances, and assessment. The results show the trends in the VR literature regarding the forms of application in different knowledge types, interaction design specific to art appreciation, and the solutions to the cognitive load imposed by the technology. Finally, practical implications and a future research agenda for VR-based instruction are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data of 174 postmenopausal patients with abnormal uterine bleeding admitted were assessed to determine associated risk factors and develop and validate a prediction model to evaluate the risk of endometrial cancer in these patients. The patients were divided into a study group and a control group, among which 62 patients were diagnosed with endometrial cancer. A binary logistic regression analysis model using multifactorial regression analysis was established, and a column line graph of the prediction model was created using the R software. The model's goodness-of-fit test was performed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and SPSS (version 27, International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) was used to plot the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to evaluate the model's predictive value. Binary logistic multifactorial regression analysis revealed that elevated body mass index (BMI), human epididymal protein 4 (HE4), cancer antigen 125 (CA125), combined fibroids and thickened endometrial cancer were risk factors for endometrial cancer in patients with abnormal postmenopausal uterine bleeding, based on which a probability model for predicting the risk of developing endometrial cancer in patients with abnormal postmenopausal uterine bleeding was constructed, and represented as P = 1/[1 + exp (4.227 -- 4.594X1 -- 2.029X5 -- 1.165X6 -- 1.817X7 -- 2.080X8)]. In addition, the goodness-of-fit test, assessed using Hosmer and Lemeshow, yielded an Χ2 value of 14.253 and a p-value of 0.075. Furthermore, the ROC curve analysis demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.993 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.892-0.974; p < 0.05). In conclusion, elevated BMI, HE4 and CA125, along with the presence of combined fibroids and thickened endometrial lining, were identified as significant risk factors for endometrial cancer in postmenopausal patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. The risk prediction model developed in this study provides a scientifically sound approach to assess the risk of endometrial cancer in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcium scoring (CAC) has garnered attention in the diagnostic approach to chest pain patients. However, little is known about the interplay between zero CAC, sex, race, ethnicity, and quantitative coronary plaque analysis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis from our computed tomography registry of patients with stable angina without prior myocardial infarction or revascularization undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography at Montefiore Healthcare System. Follow-up end points collected included invasive angiography, type-1 myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, cardiovascular and all-cause death. RESULTS: A total of 2249 patients were included (66% female). The median follow-up was 5.5 years. The median age of those without CAC was 52 years (interquartile range, 44-59) and 60 years (interquartile range, 53-68) in those with CAC. Most patients were Hispanic (58%), and the rest were non-Hispanic Black (28%), non-Hispanic White (10%), and non-Hispanic Asian (5%). The majority had CAC=0 (55%). The negative predictive value of CAC=0 was 92.8%, 99.9%, and 99.9% for any plaque, obstructive coronary artery stenosis, and the composite outcome of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization, respectively. Among patients without CAC (n=1237), 89 patients (7%) had evidence of plaque on their coronary computed tomography angiography with a median low-attenuation noncalcified plaque burden of 4% (2-7). There were no significant differences in the negative predictive value for CAC=0 by sex, race, or ethnicity. Patients with =2 risk factors had higher odds of having plaque with zero CAC. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, no sex, race, or ethnicity differences were demonstrated in the negative predictive value of a zero CAC; however, patients with =2 risk factors had a higher prevalence of plaque. A small percentage (7%) of symptomatic patients undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography with zero CAC had noncalcified coronary plaque, with the implication that caution is needed for downscaling of preventive treatment in patients with zero CAC, chest pain, and multiple risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains the most prevalent malignance in the head and neck with highly aggressive attributes. This study investigates the functions of nuclear receptor interacting protein 1 (NRIP1) and its target transcripts in the progression of OSCC. By analyzing four OSCC-related Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE9844, GSE23558, GSE25104 and GSE74530) and querying bioinformatics systems, we obtained NRIP1 as an aberrantly highly expressed transcription factor in OSCC. Increased NRIP1 was detected in OSCC cell lines. Artificial downregulation of NRIP1 significantly suppressed proliferation, migration and invasion, resistance to apoptosis, tumorigenicity, and in vivo metastatic potential of OSCC cells. Moreover, the bioinformatics analyses suggested nuclear receptor binding SET domain protein 2 (NSD2) as a target of NRIP1 and DGCR8 microprocessor complex subunit (DGCR8) as a target of NSD2. Indeed, we validated by chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase assays that NRIP1 activated the transcription of NSD2, and NSD2 increased DGCR8 transcription by modulating histone methylation near the DGCR8 promoter. Either NSD2 or DGCR8 upregulation in OSCC cells rescued their malignant properties. Collectively, this study demonstrates that NRIP1 augments malignant properties of OSCC cells by activating NSD2-mediated histone methylation of DGCR8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the development of society and the improvement of people's living standards, people's requirements for the quality of the living environment are constantly improving. Then, the development of green and environment-friendly building materials and their use in building design and construction has become a research hotspot. However, the current research on green and environment-friendly building materials is still very limited, and there are few studies on the environmental benefits of green and environment-friendly building materials. In this study, a new modified nanoclay-based material was synthesized in this study, and its related properties were systematically analyzed. Moreover, the use of the modified nanomaterials in architectural design and its impact on indoor and community environments were analyzed. The study found that (1) compared with the original clay minerals, the nano-clay-based adsorbents have better adsorption properties for harmful gases. Under the adsorption chamber pressure of 0.2 MPa, the formaldehyde adsorption capacity of the nanoclay-based adsorbent reaches 9.25 cm3 /g, but the isothermal adsorption capacity of the initial clay minerals is only 4.61 cm3 /g. (2) Nanoclay-based adsorbents have better strength and stability. The compressive strength of the nanoclaybased adsorbent is only 861.15 MPa, while the compressive strength of the original clay mineral under the same conditions is only 235.23 MPa. (3) Based on good gas adsorption characteristics, nano-claybased adsorption materials can better improve and control the regional environment. The nanoclaybased adsorbent only kept the formaldehyde level within 50 m of the building at a level of 3.35 ppm. This research can provide a basis for creating a green and healthy community and home environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte is the property of Redprint Editora Ltda. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important food crop. Maize production is adversely affected by abiotic stress, especially drought stress. The screening and characterization of the roles of stress-related genes in maize are thus essential for improving abiotic stress resistance. Abscisic acid-stress-ripening (ASR)-induced proteins with abscisic acid/water deficit stress (ABA/WDS) domains are a class of plant-specific transcription factors that play an important role in plant development, growth, and abiotic stress responses. In this study, nine members of the ASR-induced protein in maize (ZmASR) family were predicted and analyzed in maize in terms of gene structure, subcellular localization, amino acid sequence, physical and chemical properties, secondary structure, tertiary structure, and phosphorylation modification sites by bioinformatics. Analysis of regulatory promoter elements was performed to provide additional information about their distinctive tissue-specific expression and possible functions. To further investigate the function of these proteins in maize, the expression levels of ZmASRs in different tissues and in response to different drought stress treatments were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results showed that the nine members of the maize ZmASR family have very different expression levels in different organs and under different degrees of drought stress. Moreover, the expression levels of the nine members in the same organ also varied greatly with leaf age. These findings provide a reference for functional research of the maize ZmASR gene family. Our findings have important theoretical and practical significance for cultivating new drought-resistant maize varieties and promoting the development of the maize industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how to effectively apply gamification design principles to improve the quantity and quality of online discussions. Based on a game design framework: Playing Experience of Needs Satisfaction (PENS), two specific gamification design principles, (1) aligning gamification awards with specific performance expectations and (2) weighing gamification awards based on task challenging levels, were applied in online discussion forums of a graduate level online course. Data on student activities in online discussion were collected from the baseline (non-gamified) version of the course and the gamified version. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine how students interacted with each other in the gamified environment compared to non-gamified environment. Results suggested that the gamification design features promoted knowledge-building in online discussions, encouraged more decentralized and diverse interactions among students, and motivated a higher level engagement in student facilitators. Implications for further research and practices were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the recognition ability of the detail action of a multi-frame sports image, a local fusion quality evaluation method based on gradient domain is proposed. The sampling model of visual feature information of multi-frame sports image is established, the gradient feature decomposition and action feature reconstruction of multi-frame sports image are carried out by using block feature fusion matching method, and the key motion feature point matching model of multi-frame sports image is established. The local fuzzy feature detection of multi-frame sports images is carried out by template automatic matching and gradient domain feature decomposition. The block identification model of local fuzzy features of multi-frame sports images is established. The adaptive image information enhancement technology is used for multi-scale feature decomposition and information enhancement processing. The feature set of the key action of the local fuzzy region of the multi-frame sports image is extracted. According to the feature distribution of the block area of the key action, the fusion quality evaluation of the multi-frame sports image is realized. The simulation results show that the method has high accuracy in evaluating the fusion quality of multi-frame sports images, has a strong ability to distinguish multiframe sports movements, and has guiding value in the guidance and judgment of multi-frame sports training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Audience Response System (ARS) has been found effective among educators as a good way of using technology to increase participation, involvement, and engagement. Many researchers suggest that the benefits of ARS on students' participation and interactions are associated with its anonymity. ARS questions and using questing strategies during an ARS-based learning activity are also regarded as crucial factors influencing the effectiveness of the implementation of ARS in a class. To examine the influences of the anonymous feature of ARS on students' interactions in light of different types of questions, a post-test only quasi-experiment was conducted with 17 college students. Findings suggested that in a face-to-face class, when given the option, the anonymous feature of ARS was increasingly used by students in their interactions, and the average class interaction was improved. Meanwhile, the effect of the anonymous feature of ARS on students' interactions in class differed according to the types of questions. The anonymous feature might be more useful and effective when students interact with Evaluate questions. While for Create or Apply questions, students preferred real name interactions. Implications for future research were provided for effectively using ARS to facilitate learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Postural control is adversely affected by mental and physical fatigue, but its validity in fatigue assessment has not been investigated systemically among pilots. We explored the correlations of posturographic balance with physiological and psychological signals among cadet pilots. METHODS: In experiment 1,37 cadet pilots performed a posturographic balance test, heart rate variability (HRV), and profile of mood states (POMS) during 40 h of sleep deprivation. For experiment 2, physiological signals of 60 subjects, including breathing rate(BR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and heart rate (HR) were measured under the effects of physical fatigue. Then correlations with a mental and physical fatigue index based on effective posturographic parameters with those subjective and objective methods were analyzed by linear regression. RESULTS: The mental fatigue index correlated linearly with the depression score of the POMS (r = 0.212), standard deviation of normal to normal beats (r = 0.286), and square root of the mean differences of successive beat intervals (r = 0.207). Meanwhile, linear correlations with frequency-domain parameters of HRV such as total power, low frequency power, and high frequency power were also statistically significant. With the increase in the physical fatigue index, physiological signals such as SBP (r = 0.300), HR (r = 0.349), and BR (r = 0.266) increased linearly. CONCLUSTION: Impairment of postural stability can reflect the aggravation of mental and physical fatigue among cadet pilots, which provides a potential method for assessing fatigue level before flight tasks and preventing errors by pilots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon monolith is of particularly great interest in electrochemical applications due to its high surface area, controllable morphology and excellent electronic conductivity. Herein, a novel three-dimensional hierarchically porous carbon monolith (TD-HPCM) was synthesized by a "pyrolysis-capture" strategy. The commercial polyurethane (PU) foam concurrently acted as a template and carbon precursor. Carbonaceous organic gas pyrolyzed from PUfoamwas captured bymesoporous silica which coated on the branches of PU foam uniformly then converted into carbon under catalysis of Ni species at high temperature. The geometric shape and interconnected network of PU foam were preserved in TD-HPCM, with a large specific surface area (1111 m2 g-1) and uniform mesoporous size (6.7 nm). The TD-HPCM was explored as binder-free electrode in supercapacitors, with capacitance up to 162 F g-1 at 1.0 A g-1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte and favorable capacitance retention (92.7% capacitive retention after 5000 cycles). This strategy provides a controllable, energy efficient and highly repeatable method to prepare TD-HPCM with micro/meso/macroporous structures as binder-free electrodes in electrical double layer capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric stimulation (ES) could induce contraction of intestinal smooth muscle. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of ES on esophageal motility and the underlying mechanism in vivo. Twenty-eight rabbits were equipped with a pair of subserosa electrodes (connected to an electrical stimulator) in the lower segment of the esophagus. The ES signal consisted of bipolar rectangular pulse trains, lasting for 3 s, with different amplitudes (1 mA, 3 mA, 5 mA and 10 mA), and frequencies (10 Hz, 20 Hz and 50 Hz). The amplitude of the contraction was recognized by high-resolution manometry. The effect of ES was tested under anesthesia and following administration of atropine, phentolamine or L-NAME. ES induced esophageal contraction at the stimulated site. A statistically significant increase in esophageal pressure was observed when the stimulation amplitude was above 3 mA. The increase in esophageal pressure was associated with the amplitude of stimulus as well as the frequency. During stimulation, atropine, phentolamine and L-NAME had no effect on the increase of esophageal pressure induced by ES. These findings implied that ES induced esophageal contraction were not mediated via the NANC, adrenergic or cholinergic pathway. The amplitude of esophageal contraction was current and frequency dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION:The rate of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is influenced by environmental factors. Extracellular matrix (ECM) destruction and apoptosis of intervertebral disc cells are major characteristics of IVDD. ECM degradation is closely linked to up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP).This study aimed to elucidate the molecular biological changes during IVDD under conditions of weightlessness and hypergravity. METHODS:A total of 120 rabbits were divided randomly intofour groups: control group, weightlessness group, hypergravity group, and mixed (hypergravity + weightlessness) group.Tail-suspension was used to simulate a weightless environment, and an animal centrifuge (+7 Gz three times for 60 s) was used to mimic hypergravity conditions. After exposure to the above conditions for 30,60, and 90 d, respectively, 10 rabbits were selected from each group for immunohistochemical determination of MMP-1, MMP-3, andTIMP-1 expression. TUNEL staining was also carried out to detect apoptotic cells in each group at each time point. RESULTS:MMP-1, MMP-3, andTIMP-1 were rarely expressed in the control group, but were positively expressed in the other three groups. The strongest expression was in the mixed group at every time point, followed by the hypergravity group, and then the weightlessness group. Cell apoptosis index followed a similar trend to MMPs andTIMP-1 expression. DISCUSSION:The results suggested that weightlessness and hypergravity may both aggravate IVDD over time, with hypergravity having a particularly marked effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine mastitis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae continues to be one of the major veterinary and economic issues in certain areas of the world. The more prevalent S. agalactiae strains that cause bovine mastitis in China dairy farms belong to a number of bovine-adapted sequence types (STs) ST67, ST103 and ST568. However, it is unknown why these STs can emerge as highly prevalent clones in bovine dairy farms. Here, to determine if a variety of virulence characteristics were associated with these highly prevalent STs, the molecular and virulence characterization of 116 strains isolated from bovine, human, fish and environment were analyzed. Our data showed that all bovine-adapted strains could be assigned to capsular genotype Ia or II, and carried pilus island 2b, and lactose operon. Importantly, we demonstrated that the growth ability in milk, biofilm formation ability and adhesion ability to bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) were significantly higher for all bovine-adapted strains compared to strains from other origins. Additionally, ST103 and ST568 strains exhibited significantly higher hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity than ST67 strains. In conclusion, our study provides substantial evidence for the hypothesis that the virulence characteristics including efficient growth in milk, elevated biofilm formation ability, together with strong adhesion ability might have favored the high prevalence of the STs in the bovine environment, whereas the hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity were not the crucial characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background--Detailed understanding of regional function after myocardial infarction (MI) is currently incomplete. We aimed at investigating regional myocardial strain and work in post-MI rats with and without heart failure. Methods and Results--Six weeks after induction of MI, 62 male Wistar-Hannover rats with a range of infarct sizes, plus 14 sham-operated rats, were examined by cine and phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging. After magnetic resonance imaging, the rats were catheterized, and left ventricular pressures were recorded. Regional strain and work were calculated from the magnetic resonance imaging and pressure data. On the basis of end-diastolic left ventricular pressure, 34 MI rats were classified as nonfailing (MINF) and 28 MI rats as failing (MICHF). In the region remote to the infarct, the MINF rats exhibited preserved strain and increased work compared with sham, whereas MICHF had reduced longitudinal strain and no increase in work in this region. In the noninfarcted region adjacent to the infarct, MICHF demonstrated substantially reduced work because of high levels of negative work. Conclusions--We have demonstrated a distinct difference in regional work between nonfailing and failing hearts after MI and offer novel insight into the relation between regional function and presence of congestion. Work analysis provided significant added value over strain analysis alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polypyrrole (PPy) coating and polypyrrole-molybdate (PPy-MoO 4 2− ) coating were electro-polymerized in sodium salicylate solution by cyclic voltammetry (CV) on the AZ31 Mg alloy surface. Surface morphology of PPy coating and PPy-MoO 4 2− coating on Mg alloy surface before and after being corrupted was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Attenuated total reflection-infrared (ATR-IR) spectra showed the characteristic ring stretching peaks of the PPy coating and PPy-MoO 4 2− coating, and also revealed the influence of MoO 4 2− on the characteristic ring stretching peaks on PPy. The surface resistance was measured by four-point probe method. The open circuit potential (OCP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization analyzed the corrosion resistance performance of PPy coating and PPy-MoO 4 2− coating on the Mg alloy surface in 3.5% NaCl solution immersing for 12 h. The results show that the surface morphology of PPy-MoO 4 2− coating is compact. And the corrosion current density of PPy-MoO 4 2− coating is lower three orders than that of the PPy coating. The PPy-MoO 4 2− coating on the Mg alloy surface has better corrosion resistance and smaller surface resistance than the PPy coating because of the existence of the molybdate ion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of serious and major accidents that happened during the production procedure of process industry are caused by improper equipment operations, which is further owing to inappropriate human resources allocation and ignorance of individual competencies differences. In order to take both of competency disadvantage and adjustment requirement into consideration, we use an inverse optimization method to solve a human resource allocation problem, and furthermore, adjust equipment operating parameters to make the per-defined settings optimized, such as the total number of jobs, security-related parameters and so on.In the solving process, firstly a standard competence hierarchy system is conducted; secondly we propose an assessment method according to disadvantage structure; thirdly we use inverse optimization method to solve the problem and optimize the predefined allocation plan. Lastly, we give an example to prove its feasibility and effectiveness. In this paper a novel formulation of human resource allocation problem is proposed, in which some of main individual characteristics are considered and described mathematically, including psychology, behaviour and characteristics diged from them such as weakness. The other contribution of this paper is using inverse optimization to adjust parameters based on the given ideal allocation plan. Both of these propositions have a positive significance on promoting development and security construction for process industries.This research incorporates the academic thinking of inverse optimization, it not only puts psychology and behavior into optimization model, but also data mines weakness characteristics under the psychology and behavior data, and find a new way to introducing the weakness characteristics into decision making model. It provides a new thought for the following decision making problem, that is the ideal decision plan is known, and optimization parameters are changeable. It promotes the combining of psychology, behavior and operations research, it is good for process industries to develop in a safety and efficiency way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma is a rare histologic subtype of non-small cell lung cancer. The effective treatment for this disease has not well defined due to its extremely low morbidity. This study explores the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of 38 patients with PSC, so as to provide some clues for its diagnosis and treatment. Methods The study enrolled 38 patients with PSC that were diagnosed with histology or cytology in our hospital between January 2000 and December 2013. We retrospectively analyzed general clinical characteristics, smoking history, tumor size, TNM staging, pathology, immunohistochemistry, diagnostic method, treatment and prognosis. We used SPSS 19.0 statistical software and Kaplan-Meier method to analyze our data. Results Patients in this study were aged from 26 to 76 years old (the median age was 57.5 years old). Among all of them, the male to female ratio was 4:1, and 81.6% of patients had smoking history. Cough and hemoptysis were the most common primary symptoms. The median survival was 21 months, while one-year survival rate, three-year survival rate and five-year survival rate were 68.4%, 31.6% and 18.4% respectively. Tumor size, TNM staging, distant metastasis and surgery therapy were associated with the prognosis of patients. Conclusion Patients with PSC present with no special symptoms generally. According to our study, factors that affect patients' prognosis include tumor size, TNM staging, distant metastasis and surgery. Complete resection is the key treatment for PSC patients, but comprehensive chemoradiotherapy needs further exploration in evidence-based medicine. Biological target therapy may give new insight into treatment for PSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]