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Abstract The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can significantly improve teaching and learning outcomes, but various factors determine the degree to which ICT is integrated into educational practices. This study used quantitative methodology to examine four key factors that impact in-service teachers’ ICT integration and how they interact with each other. Data was collected through snowball sampling from 685 in-service teachers in Henan Province, China. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the study analyzed four factors from the Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM 3) and the Will-Skill-Tool model (WST model): attitudes (AT), self-efficacy (SE), digital competence (DC), and digital tools utilization (DTU). The findings revealed that all four elements exerted a noteworthy influence on the integration of ICT by in-service instructors. Meanwhile, attitudes, digital competence, and digital tools utilization have a mediating effect in this research. Additionally, the study examined how gender, age, and teaching experience influence these factors and ICT integration. The findings revealed that females exhibit higher levels of positive attitudes and digital competence than males, while teachers aged 31–35 years have stronger digital abilities, digital tool use, and ICT integration compared to younger or older teachers. Furthermore, teachers with less than three years of teaching experience exhibit significantly stronger attitudes, self-efficacy, digital competence, and ICT integration than those with more than ten years of experience. The implication of the study provides valuable insights for designing effective ICT-based instruction and developing teacher education and educational technology programs aimed at promoting ICT integration in the classroom.

Recently, the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) has given rise to a significant trust crisis, stemming from the persistent emergence of issues in practical applications. As a crucial component of AI, data has a profound impact on the trustworthiness of AI. Nevertheless, researchers have struggled with the challenge of rationally assessing data quality, primarily due to the scarcity of versatile and effective evaluation methods. To address this trouble, a multi-dimensional hierarchical evaluation system (MDHES) is proposed to estimate the data quality. Initially, multiple key dimensions are devised to evaluate specific data conditions separately by the calculation of individual scores. Then, the strengths and weaknesses among various dimensions can be provided a clearer understanding. Furthermore, a comprehensive evaluation method, incorporating a fuzzy evaluation model, is developed to synthetically evaluate the data quality. Then, this evaluation method can achieve a dynamic balance, and meanwhile achieve a harmonious integration of subjectivity and objectivity criteria to ensure a more precise assessment result. Finally, rigorous experiment verification and comparison in both benchmark problems and real-world applications demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed MDHES, which can accurately assess data quality to provide a strong data support for the development of trustworthy AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mortality in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) remains high. The existing risk scores are relatively complex with limited clinical application. This study was conducted to establish a new risk model to predict in-hospital and 6-month mortality in IE patients. A total of 1549 adult patients with definite IE admitted to Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (n=1354) or Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital (n=195) were included. The derivation cohort consisted of 1141 patients. The score was developed using the multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis for in-hospital death. Bootstrap analysis was used for validation. Discrimination and calibration were evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve and the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. Six risk factors were used as score parameters (1 point for each): aortic valve affected, previous valve replacement surgery, severe heart failure, elevated serum direct bilirubin, moderate–severe anemia and acute stage. The predictive value and calibration of the ASSESS-IE score for in-hospital death were excellent in the derivation (area under the curve [AUC]=0.781, p<0.001; Hosmer–Lemeshow p=0.948) and validation (AUC=0.779, p<0.001; Hosmer–Lemeshow p=0.520) cohorts. The score remained excellent in bootstrap validation (AUC=0.783). The discriminatory ability of the ASSESS-IE score for in-hospital (AUC: 0.781 vs. 0.799, p=0.398) and 6-month mortality (AUC: 0.778 vs. 0.814, p=0.040) were similar with that of Park's score which comprised 14 variables. The ASSESS-IE risk score is a new and robust risk-stratified tool for patients with IE, which might further facilitate clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft tissue sarcoma is a broad family of mesenchymal malignancies exhibiting remarkable histological diversity. We portray the proteomic landscape of 272 soft tissue sarcomas representing 12 major subtypes. Hierarchical classification finds the similarity of proteomic features between angiosarcoma and epithelial sarcoma, and elevated expression of SHC1 in AS and ES is correlated with poor prognosis. Moreover, proteomic clustering classifies patients of soft tissue sarcoma into 3 proteomic clusters with diverse driven pathways and clinical outcomes. In the proteomic cluster featured with the high cell proliferation rate, APEX1 and NPM1 are found to promote cell proliferation and drive the progression of cancer cells. The classification based on immune signatures defines three immune subtypes with distinctive tumor microenvironments. Further analysis illustrates the potential association between immune evasion markers (PD-L1 and CD80) and tumor metastasis in soft tissue sarcoma. Overall, this analysis uncovers sarcoma-type-specific changes in proteins, providing insights about relationships of soft tissue sarcoma. The molecular characterisation of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) across diverse populations remains crucial. Here, the authors perform a proteomics and phosphoproteomics analysis of 272 Chinese STS patients across 12 subtypes, and obtain insights related to progression, metastasis, and immune signatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal halide perovskites are promising for next-generation flexible photodetectors owing to their low-temperature solution processability, mechanical flexibility, and excellent photoelectric properties. However, the defects and notorious ion migration in polycrystalline metal halide perovskites often lead to high and unstable dark current, thus deteriorating their detection limit and long-term operations. Here, we propose an electrical field modulation strategy to significantly reduce the dark current of metal halide perovskites-based flexible photodetector more than 1000 times (from ~5 nA to ~5 pA). Meanwhile, ion migration in metal halide perovskites is effectively suppressed, and the metal halide perovskites-based flexible photodetector shows a long-term continuous operational stability (~8000 s) with low signal drift (~4.2 × 10−4 pA per second) and ultralow dark current drift (~1.3 × 10−5 pA per second). Benefitting from the electrical modulation strategy, a high signal-to-noise ratio wearable photoplethysmography sensor and an active-matrix photodetector array for weak light imaging are successfully demonstrated. This work offers a universal strategy to improve the performance of metal halide perovskites for wearable flexible photodetector and image sensor applications. Defects and ion migration in perovskites hinder their potential as active material for flexible photodetectors. Here, the authors provide an electrical field modulation strategy to enhance the operational stability and the signal-to-noise ratio of flexible perovskite photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although perovskite X-ray detectors have revealed promising properties, their dark currents are usually hundreds of times larger than the practical requirements. Here, we report a detector architecture with a unique shunting electrode working as a blanking unit to suppress dark current, and it theoretically can be reduced to zero. We experimentally fabricate the dark-current-shunting X-ray detector, which exhibits a record-low dark current of 51.1 fA at 5 V mm−1, a detection limit of 7.84 nGyair s−1, and a sensitivity of 1.3 × 104 μC Gyair−1 cm−2. The signal-to-noise ratio of our polycrystalline perovskite-based detector is even outperforming many previously reported state-of-the-art single crystal-based X-ray detectors by serval orders of magnitude. Finally, the proof-of-concept X-ray imaging of a 64 × 64 pixels dark-current-shunting detector array is successfully demonstrated. This work provides a device strategy to fundamentally reduce dark current and enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of X-ray detectors and photodetectors in general. The high dark current of perovskite photodetectors hinders the full potential of perovskites as active material for X-ray detectors. Here, Jin et al. provide a strategy to reduce the dark current to zero and massively enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of perovskite X-ray detectors and photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Acupuncture & Tuina Science is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

Body area networks (BAN) are at the forefront of technologies for long-term monitoring of personal healthcare, which is intended be an effective strategy to address the aging population worldwide. The transceiver is the most energy-consuming part of a sensor node, and radio transmission in the vicinity of the human body is highly lossy and inefficient. Therefore, the energy of the sensor node constrains the life cycle and quality of service (QoS) of the network; consequently, low-cost protocol shave attracted wide interest. This paper proposes a frame structure model of a self-adaptive guard band (SAGB) protocol, which introduces a guard band (GB) in each time slot according to the allowed maximum time drift of the crystal, adaptively adjusts the value of the GB based on the actual time drift, and then ensures that the node simultaneously maintains the sleeping state and synchronization with the coordinator during beacon transmission, thus reducing the energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed a fast, simple, eco-friendly method for obtaining highly sensitive and uniform surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of silver (Ag) nanotextured substrates decorated with silver nanoparticles in open air. By splitting conventional femtosecond pulses (subpulse delay Δt = 0 ps) into pulse trains (subpulse delay Δt = 3 ps), the mean diameter of Ag nanoparticles was reduced by almost half and the amount of Ag nanoparticles with a diameter ranging from 20 to 60 nm was increased by more than 11 times. The substrate fabricated by femtosecond pulse trains has four main merits as follows: (1) High sensitivity: the maximum SERS enhancement factor is 1.26 × 10; (2) High efficiency: the fabrication rate can be up to 1600 μm/s, which is 20-40 times faster than femtosecond photochemical reduction; (3) Good reproducibility: the relative standard deviation of the Raman signal intensity is 10.7%, which is one-third of that for conventional femtosecond laser; (4) Eco-friendly fabrication: neither chemical reagents nor vacuum conditions are needed during the fabrication process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) has not been systematically studied in high-risk patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO).Methods: We prospectively observed 515 consecutive patients with CKD undergoing PCI. Patients were divided into three groups: patients who underwent attempted PCI for CTO (group A, n = 85), patients who did not receive PCI for CTO (group B, n = 45) and patients without CTO (group C, n = 385).Results: CIN developed in 55 patients (10.68 %). Group A patients received a larger CM dose than group B or group C (p = 0.024). The intravenous hydration volume, age and CIN Mehran score were not significantly different between the three groups. The incidence of CIN was 9.4 % for group A, 6.7 % for group B and 11.4 % for group C (p = 0.344). In-hospital mortality and required renal replacement therapy (p = 0.325) were not significantly different between the groups. Multivariate analysis showed that after adjusting for potential confounding factors, the odds ratio for CIN was 1.03 (p = 0.944) for group A and 0.64 for group B (p = 0.489) compared to group C.Conclusions: Attempts to achieve recanalization of CTO in patients with CKD might not increase the risk of CIN if appropriate preventative measures are taken.Key Points: • Contrast-induced nephropathy can increase morbidity and mortality • Chronic kidney disease patients are at the greatest risk of CIN • Patients with CKD undergoing CTO-PCI are common • Incidence of CIN has not been reported in CKD patients • CTO-PCI in CKD patients might not increase the risk of CIN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is a well-known serious complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and may cause increased morbidity and mortality. We aim to identify the predictive value of Global Registry for Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk scores for CI-AKI in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) before primary PCI, allowing pre-procedural decisions regarding prevention therapy for CI-AKI. Methods: We enrolled 251 consecutive patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to identify the optimal sensitivity for the observed range of GRACE risk scores. CI-AKI was defined as any of the following: absolute increase in serum creatinine (SCr) of ≥ 0.3 or ≥ 0.5 mg/dL within 48-72 h after contrast exposure, or a percentage increase in SCr level of ≥ 50 %. Results: Forty-three patients (17.1 %) developed CI-AKI0.3, 22 (8.8 %) CI-AKI0.5, and 19 (7.6 %) CI-AKI50. The GRACE quartiles were as follows: Q1 (<136), Q2 (136-159), Q3 (159-180), and Q4 (>180). Patients with high GRACE risk scores had higher risk for CI-AKI0.3, 0.5, and 50 (6.6, 6.6, 23.4, 31.7 %, respectively, p < 0.001; 1.6, 1.6, 9.4, 22.2 %, respectively, p < 0.001; and 3.3, 3.2, 9.4, 14.3 %, respectively, p = 0.009). ROC showed that a GRACE risk score >160 was a fair discriminator for CI-AKI0.3, 0.5, and 50 ( C statistic = 0.723, 0.788, 0.668, respectively). After adjusting for potential confounding predictors, GRACE risk score >160 remained significantly associated with CI-AKI0.3 or 0.5 (OR 3.84; 95 % CI 1.61-9.17; p = 0.002, or OR 5.54; 95 % CI 1.42-21.66; p = 0.014), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) >15.5 mg/L was a highly significant predictor of CI-AKI0.3, 0.5, and CI-AKI50. Conclusions: GRACE risk score (>160) and post-procedural Hs-CRP >15.5 mg/L are independent and significant predictors of CI-AKI in patients with STEMI before primary PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex environmental conditions can significantly affect bacterial genome size by unknown mechanisms. The So0157-2 strain of Sorangium cellulosum is an alkaline-adaptive epothilone producer that grows across a wide pH range. Here, we show that the genome of this strain is 14,782,125 base pairs, 1.75-megabases larger than the largest bacterial genome from S. cellulosum reported previously. The total 11,599 coding sequences (CDSs) include massive duplications and horizontally transferred genes, regulated by lots of protein kinases, sigma factors and related transcriptional regulation co-factors, providing the So0157-2 strain abundant resources and flexibility for ecological adaptation. The comparative transcriptomics approach, which detected 90.7% of the total CDSs, not only demonstrates complex expression patterns under varying environmental conditions but also suggests an alkaline-improved pathway of the insertion and duplication, which has been genetically testified, in this strain. These results provide insights into and a paradigm for how environmental conditions can affect bacterial genome expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary rat hepatocytes were cultured using differentin vitro models and the enzyme leakage, albumin secretion, and cytochrome P450 1A (CYP 1A) activity were observed. The results showed that the level of LDH was decreased over time in culture. However, on day 5, LDH showed a significant increase in monolayer culture (MC) while after day 8 no LDH was detectable in sandwich culture (SC). The levels of AST and ALT did not change significantly over the investigated time. The CYP 1A activity was gradually decreased in a time-dependent manner in MC and SC. The decline of CYP 1A was faster in MC than in SC. This effect was partially reversed by using cytochrome P450 (CYP450) inducer such as Omeprazol and 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) and the CYP 1A induction was always higher in MC than in SC. In bioreactor basic CYP 1A activity was preserved over 2 weeks and the highest albumin production was observed in bioreactor followed by SC and MC. Taken together, it was indicated each investigated model had its advantages and disadvantages. It was also underlined that various in vitro models may address different questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Acupuncture & Tuina Science is the property of Springer Nature 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.)