This Letter addresses the first Solar Orbiter (SO) -- Parker Solar Probe (PSP) quadrature, occurring on January 18, 2021, to investigate the evolution of solar wind from the extended corona to the ...inner heliosphere. Assuming ballistic propagation, the same plasma volume observed remotely in corona at altitudes between 3.5 and 6.3 solar radii above the solar limb with the Metis coronagraph on SO can be tracked to PSP, orbiting at 0.1 au, thus allowing the local properties of the solar wind to be linked to the coronal source region from where it originated. Thanks to the close approach of PSP to the Sun and the simultaneous Metis observation of the solar corona, the flow-aligned magnetic field and the bulk kinetic energy flux density can be empirically inferred along the coronal current sheet with an unprecedented accuracy, allowing in particular estimation of the Alfvén radius at 8.7 solar radii during the time of this event. This is thus the very first study of the same solar wind plasma as it expands from the sub-Alfvénic solar corona to just above the Alfvén surface.
Background
Nasal polyposis is probably a multifactorial disease, but so far, no genetic susceptibility factor has been identified. The observed associations between the ADRB2 arg16gly polymorphism ...and asthma-related phenotypes as well as those between nasal polyposis and asthma have prompted us to evaluate the potential involvement of this polymorphism in sinonasal polyposis.
Methods
We enrolled in our study, 56 patients and 47 sex- and age-matched controls. Genomic DNA from cases and controls was extracted and genotype was assessed by a polymerase chain reaction amplification/Nco I digestion assay. Statistical analysis was performed using JMP software (version 5.1).
Results
The “number of arg alleles” is significantly higher in cases than in controls (p = 0.0386 at t-test; substantially confirmed by nonparametric tests, p = 0.0396 by Wilcoxon/Kruskal-Wallis tests).
Conclusion
Although results of this study are preliminary because of the small size of the sample, the arg16 allele seems to be associated with an increased risk of sinonasal polyposis suggesting ADRB2 as a susceptibility gene. This finding, if confirmed, would have a clinical value in helping to assess the genetic risk for sinonasal polyposis thus opening new perspectives for the study of molecular factors underlying the development of nasal polyps.
Nasal polyposis is probably a multifactorial disease, but so far, no genetic susceptibility factor has been identified. The observed associations between the ADRB2 argl6gly polymorphism and ...asthma-related phenotypes as well as those between nasal polyposis and asthma have prompted us to evaluate the potential involvement of this polymorphism in sinonasal polyposis.
We enrolled in our study, 56 patients and 47 sex- and age-matched controls. Genomic DNA from cases and controls was extracted and genotype was assessed by a polymerase chain reaction amplification/Nco I digestion assay. Statistical analysis was performed using JMP software (version 5.1).
The "number of arg alleles" is significantly higher in cases than in controls (p = 0.0386 at t-test; substantially confirmed by nonparametric tests, p = 0.0396 by Wilcoxon/Kruskal-Wallis tests).
Although results of this study are preliminary because of the small size of the sample, the arg16 allele seems to be associated with an increased risk of sinonasal polyposis suggesting ADRB2 as a susceptibility gene. This finding, if confirmed, would have a clinical value in helping to assess the genetic risk for sinonasal polyposis thus opening new perspectives for the study of molecular factors underlying the development of nasal polyps.
The educational results of web courses can be improved through the development of modules customized for the requirements and needs of each learner. This task becomes feasible only if automated tools ...for course compilation are available; such tools are developed in the 3DE project. The core of the 3DE system is the Custom Course Compiler: it assembles micromodules in courses, taking into account the learning style and other parameters of each student. By using a library of micromodules worked out specifically for different learning styles, the Custom Course Compiler is able to assemble different versions of a course, customized for each learner. The paper describes the design, the development, and the structure of the Course Compiler, the connection with the micromodule database, and the underlying pedagogical organization. The operation of the compiler is based on metadata used to classify content and pedagogical parameters of learning units. The design environment includes tools to facilitate the cooperation among several authors, working on similar contents but with different teaching styles, the reuse of existing material, and the verification of the prerequisite-con tents chain.
The usual approach for interactive multimedia courses is to build teacher or institution-driven 'commodity' courses. Better results can be achieved with courses customized for the requirements and ...needs of each learner. This is the approach of 3DE (Design, Development and Delivery-Electronic Environment for Educational Multimedia), a project aimed to define, design, and build personalized learning packages, tailor-made for individual learners. These custom courses are built from a library of micromodules worked out specifically for different learning styles. The goals are to improve the effectiveness of computer-based teaching and training packages, and to reduce the cost for the development of high-quality interactive multimedia educational packages, thanks to reuse of micromodules and the automated course assembly procedures. The environment include tools to analyze learning style preferences, competence, and educational goals in terms of final competence and skills.
