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Block-based programming languages (BBLs) have been proposed as a way to prepare students for learning to program in more sophisticated, text-based languages, such as Java. Hybrid BBLs add the ability to view and edit the block commands in auto-generated, text-based code. We compared the use of a non-hybrid BBL (Scratch), a hybrid BBL (Pencil Code), and no BBL across three sections of an introductory CS course that taught Java programming, to determine whether either type of BBL offered cognitive or affective advantages for learning Java. Students in the BBL groups were surveyed about their perceptions of each BBL in terms of ease of use and helpfulness in learning Java, and all three groups were compared on their performance in Java programming. The results showed that, in this introductory CS course, neither type of BBL offered an advantage in preparing students for learning Java. These results held regardless of the students' level of Java knowledge prior to the course.

This paper proposes a training model for raters, with the goal to improve the intra- and inter-consistency of evaluation quality for higher education curricula. The model, termed the learning, behaviour and reaction (LBR) circular training model, is an interdisciplinary application from the business and organisational training domain. The following three novel features adapt it to the context of tertiary education: individualised training, training on-demand and continual training. To demonstrate the applicability of the LBR model, we conducted a case study of raters involved in an undergraduate course at a Taiwanese university. A comparative analysis of intra- and inter-evaluation consistency showed the model to be an effective training instrument.

(Figure 1)1-3 GLO:1C4K/01aug21:tct13316-fig-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): 1 Alternative plan for the internship course training program based on the hospital's epidemic level.1-3 gl Internship training course was devised based on epidemic level in Taiwan and risk assessment. This Insights summarizes our hospital's management measures for epidemic prevention following COVID-19 as these pertain to the pharmacy interns, from resource assembly and emergency response to continued epidemic surveillance. The training course in our internship program was planned and assessed based on epidemic levels in Taiwan, and the levels of our hospital's corresponding responses during the epidemic prevention period. [Extracted from the article]

In this study, we sought to apply recent advances in informetrics to the analysis of literature related to big data in the field of medicine. Our aim was to elucidate research trends, identify knowledge clusters and decipher the links between them. We also sought to ascertain the theories most commonly applied in the processing of medical data and identify potential research gaps. The most important keywords over the last 10 years have been 'big data', 'data mining', 'healthcare', 'cloud computing', 'machine learning' and 'electronic health record system'. These could be viewed as the core issues of research associated with big data in the field of medicine. We also identified a number of keywords that are expected to play a pivotal role in this field in the near future. These terms include the 'internet of things', 'e-health', 'sensors', 'predictive modeling', 'quantified self', 'smart city', 'wearable device' and 'm-health'. Finally, we compiled co-word networks indicating the degree of connectivity between keywords, for use in locating knowledge gaps by revealing the overall context of issues commonly encountered when investigating big data. Our findings form a solid academic foundation on which to develop medical technologies, managerial strategies and theory related to big data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a detrimental neurodegenerative disease, and early diagnosis appears to be the key to successful treatment. Acrolein, a byproduct of lipid peroxidation, has been shown to contribute to the pathological process of AD. This study recruited 118 elderly subjects consisting of 58 non-demented control subjects and 62 AD patients. We analyzed the acrolein-related metabolites in the plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and urine of all subjects. We found that the levels of acrolein-conjugated protein (Acr-PC) in the plasma (p = 0.00012) and CSF (p = 0.00161) of AD patients were significantly higher than those of control subjects, whereas the levels of a urinary acrolein metabolite, 3-hydroxypropyl mercapturic acid (3-HPMA), were markedly decreased (p = 0.00882) in AD patients. These data suggest that deregulated acrolein metabolism may be correlated with neuronal damage in AD patients, which might provide further insights into the disease progression and early diagnosis of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alarm system of carbamazepine-induced toxic effects highly associated with HLA-B*1502 allele Carbamazepine is widely used in epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, and bipolar disorder, but if it causes severe cutaneous adverse reactions including Steven-Johnson syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and the mortality rate is as high as 30%.1 Because of the death of patient taking carbamazepine due to this serious adverse drug reaction in our hospital, we read the article "Carbamazepine-induced Toxic Effects and HLA-B1502* Screening in Taiwan" by Chen et al, and learned that this toxic reaction was strongly correlated with the HLA-B*1502 allele, and compared with other ethnic groups, this genotype is the highest proportion in Asian population.2 Therefore, this article recommended that Asian patients should undergo HLA-B*1502 genetic screening before taking carbamazepine to avoid serious adverse drug reactions caused by this drug. Therefore, we, located in Southeast Asia-Taiwan, are motivated to get actively involved in building a computer-based alarm system for carbamazepine and HLA-B*1502 allele cross matching. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this study was to develop a tool for evaluating the quality of breast cancer information on the Internet from the perspective of patients and their families. A specific tool, Breast Cancer tool (BC tool), was developed based on the information needs of women with breast cancer and their families reported in the literature. The BC tool and other 3 generic tools (HON, IQ tool, Discern) were used to assess 40 breast cancer websites. The reliability and validity of each tool was examined and the time spent reviewing the websites was measured. The four tools were shown to have acceptable reliability (Cronbach's α>0.7), convergent validity, especially the BC tool which was capable of distinguishing whether a website offers sufficient information for women and their families. However, the BC tool took more time than the other tools to use, suggesting relatively low feasibility. The results of this study reinforce the importance of developing specific tools from perspectives of patients and their family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a detrimental neurodegenerative disease, and early diagnosis appears to be the key to successful treatment. Acrolein, a byproduct of lipid peroxidation, has been shown to contribute to the pathological process of AD. This study recruited 118 elderly subjects consisting of 58 non-demented control subjects and 62 AD patients. We analyzed the acrolein-related metabolites in the plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and urine of all subjects. We found that the levels of acrolein-conjugated protein (Acr-PC) in the plasma (p = 0.00012) and CSF (p = 0.00161) of AD patients were significantly higher than those of control subjects, whereas the levels of a urinary acrolein metabolite, 3-hydroxypropyl mercapturic acid (3-HPMA), were markedly decreased (p = 0.00882) in AD patients. These data suggest that deregulated acrolein metabolism may be correlated with neuronal damage in AD patients, which might provide further insights into the disease progression and early diagnosis of AD.

The aim of this study was to develop a tool for evaluating the quality of breast cancer information on the Internet from the perspective of patients and their families. A specific tool, Breast Cancer tool (BC tool), was developed based on the information needs of women with breast cancer and their families reported in the literature. The BC tool and other 3 generic tools (HON, IQ tool, Discern) were used to assess 40 breast cancer websites. The reliability and validity of each tool was examined and the time spent reviewing the websites was measured. The four tools were shown to have acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha>0.7), convergent validity, especially the BC tool which was capable of distinguishing whether a website offers sufficient information for women and their families. However, the BC tool took more time than the other tools to use, suggesting relatively low feasibility. The results of this study reinforce the importance of developing specific tools from perspectives of patients and their family members.

Background: Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) can provide spatially encoded metabolite information and improve tissue specificity in human brains. The major goal of this study was to evaluate the correlation of metabolite ratios measured by MRSI with histopathological grading of cerebral gliomas., Methods: Twenty-seven patients with cerebral gliomas were referred consecutively for pre-surgical evaluation. The lesions included 10 grade II, 5 grade III, and 12 grade IV gliomas. MRSI data were acquired during the same session of conventional magnetic resonance imaging and analyzed in terms of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine-phosphocreatine (Cr), choline-containing compounds (Cho), and lactate., Results: There were significantly lower NAA/Cr and higher Cho/Cr, Cho/NAA and (Cho+Cr)/NAA ratios (ps < 0.001) in gliomas than in normal tissues. There were significantly lower NAA/Cr and higher Cho/NAA and (Cho+Cr)/NAA ratios (ps < or = 0.05) in World Health Organization (WHO) grade III or IV gliomas than in grade II gliomas. A significant correlation was identified between the (Cho+Cr)/NAA ratio and WHO grade (p < 0.05). There was no significant metabolite difference between grade III and grade IV tumors (ps > 0.1), or significant difference in lactate occurrence rates among different grades (p = 0.26)., Conclusions: Proton MRSI can provide in vivo information about the metabolic status of cerebral gliomas, and the (Cho+Cr)/NAA ratio can discriminate different grades better than other metabolite ratios. However, substantial overlap of metabolite ratios among different severities of malignancy makes it impossible to confirm the WHO grade of a specific cerebral glioma by using clinical MRSI.