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Gamification consists of using game elements in non-game contexts, such as in education, aiming to promote cooperation, motivation, or engagement. Here, the Escape Room and Breakout games are in early stages in formal educational environments. Specifically, in primary education, this type of tools can be useful to support the teaching and learning process of pupils. This study aims to describe a BrEscapeRm (Escape Room and Breakout combine) used as educational tool to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) contents in a science course of degree in Primary Education. After completing the activity, students' perception about the BrEscapeRm were gauged, resulting that they found it funny, interesting, motivating, and exciting. However, a certain rejection to the tasks containing calculation and science contents was detected. During BrEscapeRm development, students were very focused on each task and there was a sense of pleasure at the end of BrEscapeRm. Therefore, this activity could have multiple benefits for the student's motivation and engagement in learning in primary education.

A non-contact tactile stimulation system using a time-varying magnetic field was developed. The system comprises a control unit, power unit, output unit, and actuator. The control unit adjusts stimulation parameters, particularly the signal intensity and frequency. The power unit produces high voltages for generating the magnetic field, whereas the output unit transmits the energy generated according to the signal from the control unit to the actuator. A spiral coil actuator generates the magnetic field. To validate the effectiveness of the system, preliminary experiments on 10 male adults without neurological disorders (23.2 ± 3.05 years) were conducted. Magnetic field stimuli were presented to the right palm of the subjects at three different frequencies (10, 30, and 50 Hz), and corresponding electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were measured simultaneously. Event-related potential (ERP) analysis showed that N100 and P300 components were identified in somatosensory areas. Subjective evaluations revealed that feelings such as “tingling,” “trembling,” “tapping,” and “percussing” were induced. Moreover, as the stimulus frequency changes, differences may occur in induced feeling. The system uses a time-varying magnetic field, which not only induces tactile stimulation without contact but also has trans-object characteristics that can present tactile sensations, even when there is an obstacle between an actuator and skin.

Herein, we describe the synthesis of substituted oxepane derivatives through the skeletal remodeling of 4-hydroxy-2-cyclobutenones, which are readily prepared from commercially available dialkyl squarates upon their reaction with acrylonitrile. Mechanistically, a Rh(I)-catalyzed C-C bond formation and cleavage cascade is proposed. Specifically, a fused [3.2.0] bicycle is proposed to form from dialkyl squarate-derived cyclobutenols via an unusual Rh(I)-catalyzed intermolecular oxa-Michael addition of a tertiary alcohol with acrylonitrile, followed by an intramolecular conjugate addition/migratory insertion. Subsequent C(sp3)-C(sp3) bond cleavage through a Rh-catalyzed β-carbon elimination is then theorized to furnish the oxepane scaffold. Computational studies support the formation of an intermediate [3.2.0] bicycle but also point to an alternative pathway for the formation of the oxepane products involving a Rh(III) intermediate. Additional studies have shown the overall process to be stereoretentive. The functional groups that are introduced in this process can be leveraged to form fused or bridged ring systems.

Abstract Previous studies have shown that serum albumin levels are associated with a greater risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, it is unclear whether this association is causal or only influenced by confounding factors, so further investigation is needed to determine the causal relationships. Researchers selected participants with serum albumin, metabolic syndrome, and related covariates from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database for a total of 14,036 individuals, including 5483 individuals with MetS and 8553 individuals without MetS. The association of serum albumin levels with metabolic syndrome and its components was estimated using weighted multivariable logistic regression, with its nonlinearity being examined by restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression. Bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed using Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) data on serum albumin and MetS to assess the causal relationship between serum albumin levels and MetS and its components. The primary MR analyses were performed via an inverse variance weighting (IVW) approach. In addition, several sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results. The STROBE-MR checklist for the reporting of MR studies was used in this study. After confounder adjustment, when the serum albumin levels were analyzed as a continuous variable, the multivariable logistic analysis revealed a significant association between it and metabolic syndrome (OR: 1.032, 95% CI: 1.012–1.052). When the serum albumin levels were used as categorical variables, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for metabolic syndrome across higher serum albumin levels quartiles were 0.981 (0.842–1.143), 1.290 (1.115–1.492), and 1.244 (1.064–1.454) compared to the lowest quartile, respectively. In the forward MR study, the IVW method revealed that genetic predicted increased levels of serum albumin were positively correlated with metabolic syndrome (OR: 1.149, 95% CI: 1.016–1.299) and its components, including hypertension (OR: 1.130, 95% CI: 1.013–1.260) and triglycerides (OR: 1.343, 95% CI: 1.209–1.492). In the reverse MR study, the IVW method showed no significant causal relationship between MetS, hypertension, fasting blood glucose and HDL-C with serum albumin levels. The results from the NHANES and MR analysis have revealed a causal relationship between serum albumin levels and both metabolic syndrome and hypertension, indicating that elevated levels of serum albumin are a risk factor for these conditions. Our results provide new biomarkers for preventive and therapeutic strategies for metabolic syndrome.

The numerical solution of spatiotemporal partial differential equations (PDEs) using the deep learning method has attracted considerable attention in quantum mechanics, fluid mechanics, and many other natural sciences. In this paper, we propose an interactive temporal physics-informed neural network architecture based on ConvLSTM for solving spatiotemporal PDEs, in which the information feedback mechanism in learning is introduced between the current input and the previous state of network. Numerical experiments on four kinds of classical spatiotemporal PDEs tasks show that the extended models have superiority in accuracy, long-range learning ability, and robustness. Our key takeaway is that the proposed network architecture is capable of learning information correlation of the PDEs model with spatiotemporal data through the input state interaction process. Furthermore, our method also has a natural advantage in carrying out physical information and boundary conditions, which could improve interpretability and reduce the bias of numerical solutions.

In this study, we measured neuronal activation in the primary somatosensory area (S1) and Brodmann area 3 (BA3) using 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while presenting a 250-Hz high-frequency vibrational stimulus to each of three phalanges (distal, intermediate, and proximal) of four fingers of the right hand (index, middle, ring, and little). We compared the nerve activation area between each finger and each phalange. Ten healthy male college students (26.6 ± 2.5 years old) participated in this study. One session consisted of three blocks: a rest (30 s), stimulation (30 s), and response phase (9 s). In the rest phase, the vibrational stimulus was not presented. In the stimulation phase, the vibrational stimulation was presented at any one of the three phalanges of the selected finger. In the response phase, subjects were instructed to press a button corresponding to the phalange that they thought had received the vibration. The subtraction method was used to extract the activation area. The activation area in the S1 was the largest when the little finger was stimulated (for the finger comparison), and largest when the second phalange was stimulated (for the phalange comparison). The BA3 showed similar trends, and there was no statistically significant difference.

With the increased worldwide production of plastics, interest in the biological hazards of microplastics (MP) and nanoplastics (NP), which are widely distributed as environmental pollutants, has also increased. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the toxicological effects of MP and NP on in vitro and in vivo systems based on studies conducted over the past decade. We summarize key findings on how the type, size, and adsorbed substances of plastics, including chemical additives, impact organisms. Also, we address various exposure routes, such as ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact, and their biological effects on both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, as well as human health. Additionally, the review highlights the increased toxicity of MP and NP due to their smaller size and higher bioavailability, as well as the interactions between these particles and chemical additives. This review emphasizes the need for further research into the complex biological interactions and risks posed by the accumulation of MP and NP in the environment, while also proposing potential directions for future studies.

The position of universities is of great importance in climate change education (CCE) if the scientific, environmental, social, and political challenges the world confronts are to be met. It is, therefore, crucial to comprehend the CCE being engaged in globally by higher education institutions (HEIs). It is also important to discover and analyze the ways that HEIs can better address this challenge. Consistent with the requirements of research, this study offers an analysis of climate change awareness-raising of preservice teachers (PSTs) in a university science classroom with a flipped class intervention. A total of 109 students participated in this research: 55 students in the control group (Group 1) and 54 students in the experimental group (Group 2). A questionnaire was used to detect any significant difference in the students' awareness of climate change for the two groups and before and after course completion. The analyzed results exposed the improved awareness of climate change in PSTs after a flipped class intervention, and, therefore, PSTs were more willing to engage in climate change teaching. Hence, the results of this study will contribute significantly to reducing existing drawbacks, which will be vital to comprehend the professional teaching developments of preservice teachers. Thus, this research can offer various instances of clarifying how climate change education may be placed in a higher science education context with certain adaptations.

In recent times, there has been growing disinterest by students in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This trend is especially acute in those students who do not take STEM content during their secondary or high school education. This disinterest might be conditioned by negative emotions towards science developed by students during the different educational stages, even from an early age. In this sense, active teaching methodologies, such as gamification, play a fundamental role in fostering positive emotions towards learning STEM content. Within the wide range of gamification methodologies, we find educational Escape Rooms. Due to the current situation generated by COVID-19, many of the lessons have had to be adapted to a virtual format through various online platforms. In this study, in a preliminary manner, we aim to analyze the effects on the affective domain produced by a virtual Escape Room used in a STEM course as an instructional tool to teach contents about the Universe to teachers in training. According to the results obtained, the positive emotions of "happiness", "satisfaction" and "fun" are significantly increased after the intervention. At the same time, some negative emotions, such as "nervousness", "frustration" and "worry" also increase, partly due to the components typically found in this type of games. Based on these results, it is concluded that, despite the existence of both positive and negative emotions, the results are promising and the intervention is motivating and stimulating for the students.

Chemical synthesis of natural products is typically inspired by the structure and function of a target molecule. When both factors are of interest, such as in the case of taxane diterpenoids, a synthesis can both serve as a platform for synthetic strategy development and enable new biological exploration. Guided by this paradigm, we present here a unified enantiospecific approach to diverse taxane cores from the feedstock monoterpenoid (S)-carvone. Key to the success of our approach was the use of a skeletal remodeling strategy which began with the divergent reorganization and convergent coupling of two carvone-derived fragments, facilitated by Pd-catalyzed C-C bond cleavage tactics. This coupling was followed by additional restructuring using a Sm(II)-mediated rearrangement and a bioinspired, visible-light induced, transannular [2 + 2] photocycloaddition. Overall, this divergent monoterpenoid remodeling/convergent fragment coupling approach to complex diterpenoid synthesis provides access to structurally disparate taxane cores which have set the stage for the preparation of a wide range of taxanes.