With the emergence of educational technology, technology-enhanced collaborative language learning had gained increasing attention from learners, educators, and researchers, and a large number of ...studies had been conducted to investigate the effects of technology-enhanced collaborative learning on students' development of language knowledge and affective status. However, little comprehensive review that investigated all aspects of the field thoroughly had been conducted, and the present research was an attempt in response to this call. Specifically, this research reviewed 40 articles on technology-enhanced collaborative language learning from five aspects, (1) the nature of publications, (2) the theoretical frameworks of the previous research, (3) the types of the technologies for collaborative language learning, (4) the effectiveness of the technologies, and (5) the implications of the studies. The results showed 10 theoretical frameworks, nine types of technologies, and 11 benefits of technology-enhanced collaborative language learning. Important implications were also discussed for future design and implementation of technology-enhanced collaborative language learning activities.
Maximakinin (MK), a homolog of bradykinin (BK), is extracted from skin venom of the Chinese toad Bombina maxima. Although MK has a good antihypertensive effect, its effect on myocardial cells is ...unclear. This study investigates the protective effect of MK on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative damage in rat cardiac H9c2 cells and explores its mechanism of action. A 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-Thiazolyl)-2,5-Diphenyl Tetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay was selected to detect the effect of MK on H9c2 cell viability, while flow cytometry was used to investigate the influence of MK and H2O2 on intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Protein expression changes were detected by western blot. In addition, specific protein inhibitors were applied to confirm the induction of ROS-related signaling pathways by MK. MTT assay results show that MK significantly reversed H2O2-induced cell growth inhibition. Flow cytometry Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) staining shows that MK significantly reversed H2O2-induced increases in intracellular ROS production in H9c2 cells. Moreover, the addition of specific protein inhibitors suggests that MK reverses H2O2-induced oxidative damage by activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/protein kinase B (Akt) and AMPK/extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathways. Finally, an inhibitor of bradykinin B2 receptors (B2Rs), HOE-140, was applied to investigate potential targets of MK in H9c2 cells. HOE-140 significantly blocked induction of AMPK/Akt and AMPK/ERK1/2 pathways by MK, suggesting a potentially important role for B2Rs in MK reversing H2O2-induced oxidative damage. Above all, MK protects against oxidative damage by inhibiting H2O2-induced ROS production in H9c2 cells. The protective mechanism of MK may be achieved by activation of B2Rs to activate downstream AMPK/Akt and AMPK/ERK1/2 pathways.
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•MK protects against oxidative damage in H9c2 cells.•MK reversed H2O2 induced ROS production.•MK activates AMPK/Akt and AMPK/ERK1/2 pathways.•B2Rs play a core role in the process of MK reversing oxidative damage.
We investigated the antihypertensive effects of maximakinin (MK) on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The effects of MK on arterial blood pressure in SHRs were observed, and flow cytometry and ...4,5-diaminofluorescein-2 staining were used to examine MK-induced nitric oxide (NO) release in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Western blotting was used to analyze the effects of MK on the expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), Akt, Connexin 43, ERK1/2, p38, and p-eNOS in HUVECs. The results showed that MK induced a more significant antihypertensive effect on SHRs than bradykinin (BK). MK induced significant increases in endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation and NO release in HUVECs. MK also significantly increased the phosphorylation of Akt and AMPK in HUVECs. The AMPK inhibitor compound C blocked the effect of MK on the generation of NO. MK induced the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38, and Connexin 43. The expression of p-Connexin 43 was significantly decreased in the presence of the ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126 but not the p38 inhibitor SB203580. The effects of MK on the phosphorylation of AMPK and ERK1/2 were significantly decreased by the BK B
receptor inhibitor HOE-140. In summary, MK can significantly reduce blood pressure in SHRs. The antihypertensive effect might be mediated through the activation of the BK B
receptor, while the downstream AMPK/PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO and ERK1/2/Connexin 43 signaling pathways play additional roles.
Soft logic delay analysis technique Fan, Su-Ling
Automation in construction,
January 2022, 2022-01-00, 20220101, Letnik:
133
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Current delay analysis techniques assume that there is only one logical sequence of activities in a project. However, in a real construction project, the relationship of activities can be ...demonstrated by both fixed and soft logic. Fixed logic requires activities to be executed in a specific order, whereas soft logic allows activities to be executed in various orders.
Due to the existence of soft logic and the contractor's obligation to mitigate delays, it is necessary to update the logic to calculate Extension of Time (EOT). However, when soft logic is present in a schedule, manual updates are time-consuming and error-prone. To facilitate soft logic updates, several models have been proposed, however, these methods only update soft-logics within activities of the same work item, rather than project-wide.
To overcome the limitations of the previous research, this paper proposes an algorithm to update schedules according to delay events project-wise. Furthermore, the proposed model has been verified using practical cases, demonstrating a successful way of applying this model to update schedules based on delay events, allowing EOT to be calculated automatically as well as more accurately and reasonably.
•It discusses the complexity of soft logic in a real case.•It proposes an algorithm to generate and update schedule with soft logic.•It is validated with a real case and demonstrates how to apply it for delay analysis
Stroke disturbs both the structural and functional integrity of the brain. The understanding of stroke pathophysiology has improved greatly in the past several decades. However, effective therapy is ...still limited, especially for patients who are in the subacute or chronic phase. Multiple novel therapies have been developed to improve clinical outcomes by improving brain plasticity. These approaches either focus on improving brain remodeling and restoration or on constructing a neural bypass to avoid brain injury. This review describes emerging therapies, including modern rehabilitation, brain stimulation, cell therapy, brain-computer interfaces, and peripheral nervous transfer, and highlights treatment-induced plasticity. Key evidence from basic studies on the underlying mechanisms is also briefly discussed. These insights should lead to a deeper understanding of the overall neural circuit changes, the clinical relevance of these changes in stroke, and stroke treatment progress, which will assist in the development of future approaches to enhance brain function after stroke.
Magnetic chitosan has received considerable attention over the decades due to its low cost, biodegradability, green sources, magnetic intensity. In this review, we reviewed the preparation methods of ...magnetic chitosan using co‐precipitation, cross‐linking and electrochemical. Therein cross‐linking methodologies involved in the reaction of amino groups are facile to introduce additional reaction groups and improve anti‐swelling of chitosan layers, mostly in an acidic environment. Besides, we focused on the applications of magnetic chitosan in various fields such as wastewater treatment, for example, removal of heavy metal ions, organic/inorganic dyes, fluorides, and pesticides. Moreover, magnetic chitosan also reveals great potential application in the field of medical, pharmaceutical, food and electronic screening. Above all, magnetic chitosan is economically and operationally beneficial as it can be easily separated and controlled with an external magnetic field and can be modified to maximize its functions.
The initiative strategy for the development of novel anti-microbial agents usually uses the virulence factors of bacteria as a target, without affecting their growth and survival. The type III ...secretion system (T3SS), one of the essential virulence factors in most Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria because of its highly conserved construct, has been regarded as an effective target that developed new anti-microbial drugs.
pv.
(
) causes leaf blight diseases and is one of the most important pathogens on rice. To find potential anti-virulence agents against this pathogen, a number of natural compounds were screened for their effects on the T3SS of
. Three of 34 compounds significantly inhibited the promoter activity of the harpin gene,
, and were further checked for their impact on bacterial growth and on the hypersensitive response (HR) caused by
on non-host tobacco plants. The results indicated that treatment of
with CZ-1, CZ-4 and CZ-9 resulted in an obviously attenuated HR without affecting bacterial growth and survival. Moreover, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the expression of the
T3SS was suppressed by treatment with the three inhibitors. The mRNA levels of representative genes in the hypersensitive response and pathogenicity (
) cluster, as well as the regulatory genes
and
, were reduced. Finally, the in vivo test demonstrated that the compounds could reduce the disease symptoms of
on the rice cultivar (
) IR24.
In this study, the transverse indentation test was applied to simulate the damage caused by impact to the carbon fiber‐reinforced plastics (CFRP)/Al hybrid tube, and composites patch repair ...technology was used to repair the hybrid tube with different damage degrees. The effects of width and ply‐number of the patch on failure behavior and crashworthiness under axial load were investigated. It was concluded that the technology can effectively reduce stress concentration around the indentation and then improve compressive strength. Increasing the ply‐number of the patch can mitigate the failure mode of med‐length collapse of the hybrid tube and can effectively improve the crashworthiness indicators. The optimal repair strategy increased energy absorption by 54.02% and mean crushing force by 53.66%. However, the improvement of failure behavior by the ply‐number is limited by patch width. Acoustic emission and infrared thermography technologies were used to further analyze the damage characteristics and damage evolution of the hybrid tubes in pre‐crushing stage. It was found that the crushing form of the middle collapse tended to produce a more intense acoustic emission response and higher temperature change than that of the end crushing. In engineering practice, it provides a valuable reference for the reasonable repair of composite tubular structures and their hybrid structures.
Highlights
Composite repair technology is used for the repair of CFRP/Al hybrid tubes.
The effects of ply‐number and width of patch on repair quality are studied.
The technology can effectively improve residual crashworthiness of structure.
The improvement of failure behavior by ply‐number is limited by patch width.
The damage behavior of various crushing forms can be revealed by AE and IR.
The effect of composite patch repair on failure behavior and crashworthiness of composites‐metal hybrid tubes.
Abstract
Background
It has been shown that a significant reduction of mean heart dose and left anterior descending artery (LAD) dose can be achieved through the use of DIBH for left breast radiation ...therapy. Surface‐guided DIBH has been widely adopted during the last decade, and there are mainly three commercially available SGRT systems. The reports of the performance of a newly released SGRT system for DIBH application are currently very limited.
Purpose
To evaluate the clinical performance of a newly released SGRT system on DIBH for left breast radiation therapy.
Methods
Twenty‐five left breast cancer patients treated with DIBH utilizing Varian's Identify system were included (total 493‐fraction treatments). Four aspects of the clinical performance were evaluated: Identify offsets of free breathing post patient setup from tattoos, Identify offsets during DIBH, Identify agreement with radiographic ports during DIBH, and DIBH reference surface re‐capture post patient shifts. The systematic and random errors of free breathing Identify offsets post patient setup were calculated for each patient, as well as for offsets during DIBH. Radiographic ports were taken when the patient's DIBH position was within the clinical tolerance of (± 0.3 cm, ± 3
0
), and these were then compared with treatment field DRRs. If the ports showed that the patient alignment did not agree with the DRRs within 3 mm, a patient shift was performed. A new reference surface was captured and verification ports were taken.
Results
The all‐patient average systematic and random errors of Identify offsets for free breathing were within (0.4 cm, 1.5
0
) post tattoo setup. The maximum per‐patient systematic and random errors were (1.1 cm, 6.2
0
) and (0.9 cm, 2
0
), and the maximum amplitude of Identify offsets were (2.59 cm, 9
0
). All 493‐fraction DIBH treatments were delivered and successfully guided by the Identify SGRT system. The systematic and random errors of Identify offsets for DIBH were within (0.2 cm, 2.3
0
). Seven patients needed re‐captured surface references due to surface variation or position shifts based on the ports. All patient DIBH verification ports guided by Identify were approved by attending physicians.
Conclusion
This evaluation showed that the Identify system performed effectively for surface‐guided patient setup and surface‐guided DIBH imaging and treatment delivery. The feature of color‐coded real‐time patient surface matching feedback facilitated the evaluation of the patient alignment accuracy and the adjustment of the patient position to match the reference.
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