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Introduction: Contemporary educational research has extensively explored the link between anxiety and student performance, yet there's a gap in understanding this relationship in classrooms with varying levels of active learning. This study aims to establish connections between instructional design, anxiety levels, and student performance, ultimately creating a comprehensive theoretical framework. Methods: This study was conducted during the pandemic. Data from 186 respondents at Northeast Forestry University were collected through an online survey, and 25 students were randomly selected for interviews to gather feedback. In the practical application of the introductory course “Basics Product Design,” the Rain Class software was used to facilitate an active learning environment. Data from the online survey were organized in SPSS, then imported into the structural model framework in AMOS to calculate fit indices and other values to test hypotheses, applying structural equation modeling. Additionally, the relationship between anxiety levels and student performance was analyzed based on data from five classes using different instructional designs. Results: The results indicated that cold calling was significantly positively correlated with anxiety levels (SE = 0.632, P < 0.001), group work was significantly positively correlated with anxiety (SE = 0.166, P < 0.05), clickers were not significantly positively correlated with anxiety (SE = 0.188, P > 0.05), and anxiety levels were not significantly negatively correlated with student performance (SE = −0.306, P > 0.05). Mediation effect tests revealed that anxiety levels fully mediated the relationship between the use of clickers and student performance. Comparing student performance and anxiety levels across the five classes, the relationship between anxiety levels and student performance did not show a simple positive or negative correlation but followed a fluctuating curve, with an interval of anxiety levels that promotes student performance. Discussion: In a blended learning environment, different designs and frequencies of active learning activities can lead to varying levels of anxiety, which in turn affect student performance. One prominent factor in increasing student anxiety is cold calling. The findings can serve as a basis for teachers to design educational plans, helping to create classroom environments that foster active participation and maintain a positive state among students. Furthermore, in this instructional environment, it is worth further investigating the factors influencing student anxiety and the impact of anxiety on student academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effective control of disease activity in Interleukin-1 autoinflammatory diseases (IL-1 AID) is crucial to prevent damage. The aim was to longitudinally analyze the impact of protocolized disease activity-based treatment adjustments in a real-life cohort. Methods: A single-center study of consecutive children with IL-1 AID followed between January 2016 and December 2019 was performed. Demographics, phenotypes, genotypes, inflammatory markers, physician (PGA), and patient/parent (PPGA) global assessment were captured. Disease activity and treatment changes were assessed. The impact of distinct parameters on disease activity trajectories was analyzed. Results: A total of 56 children were included, median follow-up was 2.1 years reflecting 361 visits. Familial Mediterranean Fever was the most common IL-1 AID. At the first visit, 68% of the patients had moderate/severe disease activity. Disease activity-based treatment adjustments were required in 28/56 children (50%). At last follow-up, 79% had a well-controlled disease. Both PGA and PPGA decreased significantly over time (p < 0.001; p < 0.017, respectively), however, both differed statistically at last visit (p < 0.001). Only PGA showed a significant estimated mean decrease across all IL-1 AID over time. Conclusions: Disease activity-based treatment adjustments can effectively refine treat-to-target strategies, enable personalized precision health approaches, and improve outcomes in children with IL-1 AID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs) are rare, mostly genetic diseases that affect the innate immune system and are associated with inflammatory symptoms. Both paediatric and adult patients face daily challenges related to their disease, diagnosis and subsequent treatment. For this reason, a survey was developed in collaboration between the FMF & AID Global Association and the Erlangen Center for Periodic Systemic Autoinflammatory Diseases. Methods: The aim of the survey was to collect the personal assessment of affected patients with regard to their current status in terms of diagnostic timeframes, the interpretation of genetic tests, the number of misdiagnoses, and pain and fatigue despite treatment. Results: In total, data from 1043 AID patients (829 adults and 214 children/adolescents) from 52 countries were collected and analyzed. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) (521/50%) and Behçet's disease (311/30%) were the most frequently reported diseases. The average time to diagnosis was 3 years for children/adolescents and 14 years for adults. Prior to the diagnosis of autoinflammatory disease, patients received several misdiagnoses, including psychosomatic disorders. The vast majority of patients reported that genetic testing was available (92%), but only 69% were tested. A total of 217 patients reported that no increase in acute-phase reactants was detected during their disease episodes. The intensity of pain and fatigue was measured in AID patients and found to be high. A total of 88% of respondents received treatment again, while 8% reported no treatment. Conclusions: AID patients, particularly adults, suffer from significant delays in diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and a variety of symptoms, including pain and fatigue. Based on the results presented, raising awareness of these diseases in the wider medical community is crucial to improving patient care and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sought to identify which aspects of our professional development program, the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate STEM Education (CAUSE), were most useful for the participants. CAUSE was designed to support STEM faculty as they implement evidence-based teaching practices. We interviewed six faculty participants (Fellows) to address two questions: (1) Which aspects of CAUSE were useful for participants? and (2) What factors influenced implementation of evidence-based teaching? We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of the interviews by iteratively coding the transcripts and organizing final codes into themes. We found five themes. Two themes addressed the social and educational value CAUSE offered. Fellows valued curated references with empirical evidence of the impact of teaching practices on student learning and valued the strong social support from interacting with a consistent cohort of faculty over time. Three themes identified factors that influenced faculty to implement evidence-based teaching. Fellows explained that class context and their teaching experience or motivation influenced how they implemented teaching practices. A final theme showed Fellows' strong concern and respect for students as partners in the learning process during their journey of change. Our qualitative analysis of faculty interviews found that change is a complex process that is as varied as the individuals engaging in change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active learning is the new standard for teaching in higher education. As more faculty seek to expand their teaching practices by including active-learning activities that promote higher levels of learning, many are doing so in small doses by temporarily postponing traditional lectures in favor of group activities. While there is evidence demonstrating that active-learning practices can facilitate higher performance and information retention, our previous work showed that social personality differences can affect an individual's performance in group-oriented active-learning exercises. The results from this work indicated a possible dose-dependent effect driving the correlations observed between performance and social personality compared with passive lectures. This study builds on our previous work by analyzing whether hosting comparatively few active-learning classes is leading to a dose-dependent effect on student performance by personality type in the active-learning setting. Our findings from this research demonstrate that social personality-based differences in performance on topics taught using active learning diminish with increased exposure to active learning. We also found that students of all personality types perform better on memorization-based questions than on higher-order questions in general, but their performance on higher-order thinking questions improved after participating in active learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COPA syndrome is a recently described and rare monogenic autosomal dominant disease caused by heterozygous missense mutations in the Coatomer Protein Subunit alpha (COPA) gene that encodes the alpha subunit of coat protein complex I (COPI). Its main clinical manifestations are inflammatory lung disease, arthritis, and renal disease. The development of inflammation in COPA syndrome maybe due to abnormal autophagic response and abnormal activation of type I interferon pathway. To date, 59 cases of COPA have been reported worldwide. Methods: In this case, Trio‐whole exome sequencing was employed in the proband and her parents to identify the underlying genetic cause. COPA variant were detected and the clinical presentation of the patient was described. Results: Herein, we report a case of a 5‐year‐old girl with COPA syndrome who presented with symptoms of arthritis combined with Anti‐neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV), and progressive renal decline with minimal pulmonary involvement. Trio‐whole exome sequencing was performed which revealed a novel heterozygous likely pathogenic variation in the COPA gene (c.679C>T,p.Arg227Cys), which was maternally inherited. Her mother was a heterozygote, but she had no phenotypic manifestations. No other mutations associated with the clinical phenotype were identified. Conclusion: The present identification and characterization of a novel mutation expands the genotypic spectra of the COPA syndrome and provide reference data to guide future clinical diagnosis and treatment of COPA syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science often advances only when a preferred theory is overturned by new evidence that cannot be explained within the existing theoretical perspective. This article explores material versus non-material theories of the mind within the context of research and logic. It questions aspects of the materialist model and emphasizes a research-based exploration of non-material views of mind, including a brief overview of Buddhist psychology. Questions are raised as to the accuracy of the materialist model and the author proposes that researchers consider all reasonable theories about the nature of the mind rather than holding a bias towards a primarily materialist view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vast body of evidence provides support to a central role of exaggerated production of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in causing hypercytokinemia and signs and symptoms of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). In this chapter, we will describe briefly the roles of IFN-γ in innate and adaptive immunity and in host defense, summarize results from animal models of primary HLH and secondary HLH with particular emphasis on targeted therapeutic approaches, review data on biomarkers associated with activation of the IFN-γ pathway, and discuss initial efficacy and safety results of IFN-γ neutralization in humans., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)