Artificial intelligence, a key technological tool in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, is being actively applied to education beyond industry, economy, and culture. In the future society, understanding and using artificial intelligence technology will be considered an essential skill for everyone, and the professionalism of AI education for pre-service teachers nurturing future talents is also important. This study verifies the effectiveness of pre-service teachers after undergoing a 15-week extension program consisting of AI Literacy Education (10 weeks), AI-Linked Subjet Education (3 weeks), and Micro-teaching (2 weeks) which was designed to enhance the AI ​​education professionalism of pre-service teachers. The AI Literacy Education section consisted of understanding AI, AI ethics, and basic programming, and the education was conducted through both experience and practice. After that, the pre-service teachers analyzed the curriculum of the 5th and 6th grades of an elementary school, and developed a subject-related education program using AI tools in three stages. Using the developed program, micro-teaching classes were conducted twice. The study results are as follows. First, there was a change in the positive perception of AI (p<.05). Second, the understanding of AI educational technology tools was improved and the recognition of the usefulness of developing a curriculum-related program was expanded. Third, the importance of teacher competency development was learned through the micro-teaching, and the students' understanding of the learning process was expanded.

Introduction: At the end of 2019 the Covid-19 pandemic caused a huge amount of restrictions across the world which affected teaching around the world as it was not prepared to move from traditional face-to-face to an online conversion overnight, so the aim of this paper is to determine the changes in undergraduate anatomy teaching strategies post-pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. Methods: A systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA statement. Data were retrieved from the searches conducted in the different databases, and the articles to be retrieved were selected with the help of the Rayyan platform. Using the OPMER and JBI tools, the quality of evidence was assessed for the selection of the articles included in the review. Results: The teaching of medicine, specifically anatomy, presented serious problems due to the fact that throughout history it has been taught in the classroom by means of cadaveric dissection and when this ceased to be available, new methods arose through the use of digital resources to try to make up for the needs of the lack of dissection laboratories which lost a great deal of content in this restructuring, which have been improving with the passing of the courses taught and the development of new material that has been better adapted to the needs of the students. Discussion: The authors agree that in the future the best way to teach anatomy will continue to be face-to-face dissection without neglecting the strategies developed during this pandemic and to be taken if necessary to restructure curricula in the future to improve teaching.

As consequence of the digital transformation, e-learning methodologies have become an inseparable part of the standard classes in schools and universities, assuming an increasingly significant role in compensating for the difficulties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous pedagogical methodologies and strategies can be easily implemented in high education, promoting students’ motivation and interest in learning. This research study analyses the implementation of gamification pedagogical strategy on 50-60 undergraduate chemical engineering students at the university, by evaluating its effect on the success rate on a specific topic of Chemical Reactions Engineering subject and the motivation effect for the following topics. Our results show a significant positive effect of the gamification strategy on university lectures, increasing up to 25-30 % of the success ratio with an apparent motivation effect. During the subsequent years, the changes in the lifestyle of study also play a role in students’ performance. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate case studies such as the one presented here to understand better the use of these pedagogical methods and strategies in high education, especially in technical subjects described in this paper.

We report on an exploratory study conducted at a graduate school in Sweden with a humanoid robot, Baxter. First, we describe a list of potentially useful capabilities for a robot teaching assistant derived from brainstorming and interviews with faculty members, teachers, and students. These selected capabilities consist of reading, greeting, alerting, remote operation, clarification, and motion. Second, we present feedback on how the robot's capabilities, demonstrated in part with the Wizard of Oz approach, were perceived, and iteratively adapted over the course of several lectures, using the \EP tool. Third, we discuss observations and findings regarding the capabilities and the development process. Our findings suggest that using a social robot as a teaching assistant is promising using the chosen capabilities. We find that personalizing the capabilities and the role of embodiment are important topics to be considered in future work.

This paper provides a systematic review of the research around teaching English as a second or foreign language over the last ten years. The review aims to help second and foreign language researchers to recognize the trends that have impacted English teaching and learning research. More than 400 articles from four leading journals (TESOL Journal, TESOL Quarterly, ELT Journal, and Second Language Research) were reviewed to examine the trends and method that were used. The findings suggested that the research interests in the TESOL field have changed as many topics and trends have risen based on students’ academic and social needs. Topics such as teaching methodology, digital literacy, and using technology to teach English have dominated the research during the last decade.

The way flipped classrooms are perceived and even practised by teachers is sometimes approximative. For example, while the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed many universities to adopt distance learning, flipped classrooms have often been mentioned as a solution in that context. This inducement maintains a confusion between flipped classrooms and distance learning that might be detrimental for both students and teachers. Moreover, embarking on a new pedagogical practice such as flipped classroom could be intimidating and time-consuming. For these reasons, this article aims to share some tips for implementing a flipped classroom, with examples from biology and biochemistry. Based on our own experiences but also on the current scientific literature, we propose to structure the advises around three phases: Preparation, Implementation, and Follow-up. In the preparation phase it is advised to not only plan to invert time but also say it, as well as to identify (or create) resources for learning in autonomy. In the Implementation phase it is suggested to i) Be explicit in the acquisition of knowledge, and foster students' autonomy; ii) Explore active learning in class; iii) Develop skills of cooperation and sharing; and iv) Differentiate. In the follow-up phase it is proposed to i) Evaluate; ii) Take care of the logistics and your posture; iii) Document your flipped classroom and iv) Share.

The fast pace development of the Internet and the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic have impacted considerably on the educative sector; encouraging the constant transformation of the teaching-learning strategies and more in technological areas as Educational Software Engineering. Web programming, a fundamental topic in Software Engineering and Cloud-based applications, deals with various critical challenges in education, such as learning continuous emerging technological tools, plagiarism detection, generating innovative learning environments, among others. Continual change and more with the current digitization becomes a challenge for teachers and students who cannot depend on traditional educational methods. The article presents a sustainable teaching-learning methodology for web programming courses in Engineering Education using a project-based integrated approach adaptable to the continuous web technological advances. The methodology has been developed and improved for 9 years, 15 groups, and 3 different universities. Our results demonstrate that the methodology is 100% adaptable with new technologies that might arise; it also presents the advantages of avoiding plagiarism in the best case and a personalized induction for every specific student in the learning process.

This work presents the results of the experimental and theoretical study of the static pull-in of tilting actuation executed by a hybrid levitation micro-actuator (HLMA) based on the combination of inductive levitation and electrostatic actuation. A semi-analytical model to study such the pull-in phenomenon is developed, for the first time, as a result of using the qualitative technique based on the Lagrangian approach to analyze inductive contactless suspensions presented in work and a recent progress in the calculation of mutual inductance and force between two circular filaments. The obtained non-linear model, accounting for two degrees of freedom of the actuator, allows us to predict accurately the static pull-in displacement and voltage. The results of modelling were verified experimentally and agree well with measurements.

While laminar flow heat transfer and mixing in microfluidic geometries has been investigated experimentally, as has the effect of geometry-induced turbulence in microfluidic flow (it is well documented that turbulence increases convective heat transfer in macrofluidic flow), little literature exists investigating the effect of electrokinetically-induced turbulence on heat transfer at the micro scale. Using recently observed experimental data, this work employed computational fluid dynamics coupled with electromagnetic simulations to determine if electrokinetically-forced, low-Reynolds number turbulence could be observed in a rectangular microchannel with using Newtonian fluids. Analysis of the results was done via comparison to the experimental criteria defined for turbulent flow. This work shows that, even with a simplified simulation setup, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software can produce results comparable to experimental observations of low-Reynolds turbulence in microchannels using Newtonian fluids. In addition to comparing simulated velocities and turbulent energies to experimental data this work also presents initial data on the effects of electrokinetic forcing on microfluidic flow based on entropy generation rates.

There are increasing calls in education for deeper integration of disciplines and better preparation for the personal and job challenges of a fast-changing and smarter society. Thus, we need to search for new effective didactic strategies. However, current classrooms are isolated. They practically never connect. This hinders the exchange of ideas. It inhibits imitation and recombination, the basic blocks of cultural evolution and innovation. In this paper, we analyze online inter-class tournaments. These are lessons where entire elementary or middle school classes interconnect synchronously and play an educational game. These are new types of academic activities, and only possible thanks to digital communication technology. In this paper, we examine four online tournaments, we analyze how feasible it is to carry them out and the benefits they bring. One tournament is for teaching machine learning and statistics. The second one teaches the conservation of momentum in physics and an engineering optimization challenge. The third tournament is for learning to solve word problems. The fourth one is for teaching natural and sexual selection along with developing statistical and population thinking. We found that these inter-class tournaments are feasible to implement in schools and that they are a promising mechanism to facilitate imitation, recombination, and innovation of teaching strategies.

Differentiated instruction has been implemented in classrooms where students who come from various backgrounds require appropriate lessons that are tailored to their varied learning preferences. As the spread of coronavirus 19 (Covid-19) is becoming more rampant, online learning has been lifted up as the main platform of teaching and learning, forcing the need to shift from the conventional face-to-face classroom to online, or virtual, mode of knowledge transfer. Having such global phenomenon affecting education, how does it affect the implementation of differentiated instruction that has been practised regularly by teachers before the wake of Covid-19? Previous studies have shown how it is done in the normal classroom setting, and that the practice of differentiated instruction contributes to students’ motivation as well as academic performance. However, there is a need to explore how do teachers go about with online differentiated instruction and how does it affect the students, since online learning poses various threads to both teachers and students; and thus, one might argue the effectiveness of not only the teaching approach but also the overall teaching and learning outcomes. Borg’s framework of teacher cognition, which has been extensively used in exploring how teachers teach, can be utilized to document the practice of online differentiated instruction. This study aimed to explore the practice of online differentiated instruction by teachers and examined its impact on students’ motivation and academic performance during the Covid-19 outbreak. The participants of this study consists of 247 gifted students from a public school in Malaysia. To meet these aims, this study employed a mixed method research design, utilizing the framework of teacher cognition to explore the teachers’ practice of online differentiated through interviews; and, utilizing a survey design using a questionnaire to determine the impact of online differentiated instruction towards students’ motivation and academic performance. The findings revealed that although online differentiated instruction is feasible, however, appropriate combination of differentiation constructs need to be applied in order to achieve higher motivation and better academic performance among the students.

This paper presents the robotic platform, PiBot, that has been developed and that is aimed at improving the teaching of Robotics with vision to secondary students. Its computational core is the Raspberry Pi 3 controller board, and the greatest novelty of this prototype is the support developed for the powerful camera mounted on board, the PiCamera. An open software infrastructure written in Python language was implemented so that the student may use this camera, or even a WebCam, as the main sensor of this robotic platform. Also, higher level commands have been provided to enhance the learning outcome for beginners. In addition, a PiBot 3D printable model and the counterpart for the Gazebo simulator were also developed and fully supported. They are publicly available so that students and educational centers that do not have the physical robot or can not afford the costs of these, can nevertheless practice and learn or teach Robotics using these open platforms: DIY-PiBot and/or simulated-PiBot.

The Coronavirus outbreak that began in December, 2019 became a worldwide pandemic by March, 2020. The education industry had to adapt to this new change in a speedy and most feasible way by shifting to virtual classes over the internet and other available resources. WhatsApp has turned out to be a boon in academic’s section where in all the teachers have their own subject-wise groups on the said application. This not only helps them to share the necessary information resources but also to have discussion regarding the subject matter. On the other side, this application allows easy access for the students to all the resources shared by the teacher, and they can share their assignments without much difficulty with their subject teachers. Therefore, it has become a primary tool for conducting teaching, learning and evaluation online. The researchers have tried to analyze impact of online classes and the efforts required by the students to learn online with the help of survey conducted with the sample size of 514. The survey questionnaire was grouped into 4 categories namely; Opinion on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) based Teaching, Changes in communication behavior due to ICT using WhatsApp, the main hindrance for integration of ICT (Information Communication Technology) in the teaching-learning process and disadvantages of using ICT for teaching and learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic measures have negatively impacted education worldwide via travel restrictions, student visas, and physical attendanc,e among many other fac-tors. As one of the first places to impose strict pandemic measures and one of the last places to lift the measures, Mainland China provided a unique venue to investigate the effect of public health pandemic control policies on tertiary education. Considering the large portion of international students in medical schools and the higher susceptibility to the pandemic measures due to the natural synergy with teaching hospitals, medical schools can be an early forefront indicator of the impact of the pandemic on tertiary education. We surveyed 513 participants international medical students from Wen-zhou Medical University’s school of international studies in 2019 and 2022 about their satisfaction and demographic and cultural adaptation parameters. We found that the pandemic restrictions did not generally impact student satisfaction. Further analyzing the associated parameters, we found teaching satisfaction to be independent of age (P=.159), years in China (P=.896) and Chinese Level (P=.577) in the medical university. Teaching satisfaction is associated with the region of origin (P <0.001), acceptance of local social norms (P <0.001), satisfaction with the core values of Chinese culture (P <0.001), acclimatization to life in China (P <0.001), can easily make Chinese friends (P <0.001) among other factors. The findings of this study provide an understanding of the effects of pandemic measures on tertiary education satisfaction and other factors that can aid in international student satisfaction.

Sustaining learners’ motivation to keep learning has been concerned for over 60 years in education and SLA. Most research focusing on Japanese university students has contributed lots of theoretical and practical developments, but research focusing on motivations of non-traditional adult learners and those under 18-year-old to learn Chinese is still little even though previous research findings have proved age is one of the key variables influencing learning besides nationalities and Chinese language levels. In order to find an effective treatment for sustainable Chinese language learning in Japan, this study utilized a survey method to analyze the types of Japanese learners’ motivation to learn Chinese via analysis of a moment structures (AMOS), and to compare the differences of the motivation via one-way ANOVA. This study revealed that Japanese learners’ motivation to learn Chinese consists of eight common types, which are “instrumental motivation”, “personal orientation”, “identified regulation”, “Chinese cultural productions”, “integrating into Chinese community”, “external regulation”, “social responsibility”, and “Chinese for academic purposes”. Also, there are similarities and differences existing in the eight motivation types among the Japanese children, adolescents, (non-) traditional adult learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). The findings contribute the understanding of motivation types and differences among the four aged Japanese learners to teachers of teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages (TCSOL), and to future research further exploring how differently aged Japanese learners can have and use a higher motivation as a main drive to learn Chinese language as a lifelong business.

Micro-technology has played a substantial role in bioscience, biomedical and biotechnological research due to its core advantages in modern science and engineering. It has created unique development in various sectors of bio-research and upsurges the efficacy of research at the molecular level in recent years. Microfluidic technology makes it possible to manipulate sample volumes at the micro- and nano-level (called nanofluidics) with terrific control outside in vivo cellular microenvironment, enabling the reduction of discrepancies between in vivo and in vitro environments as well as reducing reaction time and cost. In this review, we discuss various effective integrations of microfluidic technologies into biotechnology and its paradigmatic significance in bio-research, supporting mechanical and chemical in vitro cellular micro-environment. Specific innovations relating to the application of microfluidics to advance microbial life, solitary and co-cultures along with a multiple-type cell culturing, cellular communications, cellular interactions and population dynamics are discussed.

Objective. To examine the relationship between experience and knowledge acquired in research methodology (RM) courses and attitudes toward research in a sample of undergraduate psychology students from a public university in Mexico City. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 261 students. A 10-unit analog scale to assess perceived experience in RM courses and two measures of attitudes toward research were used. Between the two attitude scales, four attitude dimensions were identified: positive appraisal, negative appraisal, meaningless and boring. Four multivariate models were estimated, one for each attitude dimension. Results. A positive correlation was found between learning experiences in RM courses and positive appraisal of research (p < 0.01). Negative associations were also found between RM course experience and two of the three negative research attitudes (p < 0.01). Conclusion. Results highlight the significance of teaching in the knowledge and attitude development of students' research competencies. An approach to teaching RM at the undergraduate level that places more emphasis on encouraging evidence-based practice than on developing and carrying out research projects seems to be a promising subject for study, with implications for changing teaching methods and contents.

The objective of this research-action, teaching and extension project was to support the beginning teacher, who graduated from the Pedagogy courses at UFF-INFES and UFRRJ/IE, raising the difficulties and solutions of this teacher's pedagogical practice, as well as implementing and analyzing strategies of professional induction of the newly graduated professor by the proposed pilot course with a focus on promoting dialogue between university and school. This project was aimed at graduates of Pedagogy courses who started as teachers in the early years of elementary school and early childhood education (with less than 5 years as a teacher). These teachers participated in two pilot courses (one in 2021 and the other in 2022) to help recent graduates in their professional induction through innovative actions that help them to take a leading role in their practices. For this, we seek to investigate: the impact of this program on their professional induction through narrative interviews, accompany them in this process and analyze the difficulties and solutions they found in their pedagogical practice as a result of the help that the project offered them; the role of mentors (teachers running the school) and the University at the beginning of their professional activities. Finally, we concluded that this course worked as a support for beginning teachers, allowing for greater reflection and better professional performance, as well as a way to reduce the shock of reality, demotivation and teacher abandonment.

This article addresses a challenge modeling novices face in model conceptualization: the recognition of behavior modes. Despite behavior modes being at the heart of system dynamics modeling, there is no unifying taxonomy for them, making them harder to learn for beginners. The article proposes criteria a taxonomy should satisfy, critically reviews previous taxonomies in the literature, and then introduces a new consistent taxonomy based on slope and curvature with mode names that refer only to visual cues and free of references to prior mathematical or domain-specific knowledge. Evidence from an exploratory experiment suggests that novices actually have difficulties classifying curves when using previous taxonomies. Links from these elementary modes to analogous terms in other taxonomies in diverse disciplines allow this taxonomy to be related to other ones. The article concludes by mentioning relevant limitations and future steps.

From gene expression studies to identifying microbes quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is widely used in research and medical diagnostics. In transmittable diseases like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa (2014-2016), or the present SARS-CoV2 pandemic qPCR plays a key role in the detection of infected patients. Although the technique itself is decades old with reliable approaches (eg. TaqMan essay) in the diagnosis of pathogens many people showed distrust in it during the SARS-CoV2 outbreak. This came mainly from not understanding or misunderstanding the principles of qPCR. This situation motivated us to design a simple laboratory practical class, in which students have opportunities to understand the underlying principles of qPCR and its advantages in microbiological diagnosis. Moreover, during the exercise, students can develop skills such as handling experimental assays, and the ability to solve problems, discuss their observations. Finally, this activity brings them closer to the clinical practice and they can see the impact of the science on real life. The class is addressed to undergraduate students of biological sciences.

This paper presents a case study analyzing which learning cognitive strategies are employed by students who play digital games in both in-school and out-of-school learning contexts. As a Case Study, it falls within the qualitative research category. The researcher integrated themselves to the subjects' learning facility for data-gathering, following all recommended ethical protocols for research involving underage subjects. The following data collection instruments were used: research diary, questionnaire, and interviews, conducted with teenagers who play digital games during formal learning activities. Analysis involved data-crossing and checking our data against existing studies and theories, as well as a cartographic production. Data indicates that digital games enhance student usage of cognitive strategies and favor competencies and abilities-based learning over formal learning contents.

Mathematical literacy is a very hot issue in the development of mathematics learning, apart from mathematical literacy, another interesting thing is the entrepreneurial spirit that must be given from an early age, especially for vocational students. This research was conducted at SMK Rosma Karawang in the Department of Computer and Network Engineering, West Java Province with the XI grade students. The teaching materials developed by applying the principles of the development model developed with the ADDIE model consist of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. This research and development model is considered suitable for developing teaching tools and materials which is used for the purposes of the learning process. Based on the results of data analysis and processing that have been carried out in this study, the development of teaching materials using the ADDIE model has met the appropriate and valid criteria by media, language and media expert valuators. Another result of developing this teaching material besides meeting the eligibility criteria is that the teaching materials developed are able to increase mathematical literacy and instill entrepreneurial spirit for students.

E-learning with many outstanding advantages in training has drastically changed the self-study process due to the ability to personalize and effectively meet the learning activities of learners. E-learning and building an e-learning environment are currently paying attention and being deployed in many universities in Vietnam with different scope and levels. Especially in the current period, when science and technology are developing, many applications of technology and technology products have been applied in the field of education, changing the way of teaching and learning activities, the practice of both lecturers and students. Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have replaced people not only for manual labor but also for intellectual labor, including the teaching of teachers. Many software applications have been used to replace people in the transmission of knowledge, testing, and evaluation of training quality, especially E-learning online training programs. However, in Vietnam today, the output quality of these online training programs has not been highly appreciated compared to similar programs in the world. The cause of this situation is that the training, teaching, and learning are not effective. Therefore, in this article, I will give some analysis, evaluate the current teaching and learning methods and propose solutions to enhance the interaction and initiative in the teaching and learning process of lecturers and students to improve the quality of online training in the future.

The controllability and consistency in the fabrication of micro-textures on large-scale remains a challenge for existing production processes. Mask electrolyte jet machining (MEJM) is an alternative to Jet-ECM for controllable and high-throughput surface microfabrication with more consistency of dimensional tolerances. This hybrid configuration combines the high-throughput of masked-ECM and the adjustable flow-field of jet-ECM. In this work, a duckbill jet nozzle was introduced to make MEJM more capable of batch micro-structuring. A multiphysics model was built to simulate the distribution of electrochemical reaction ions, the cur- rent density distribution and the evolution of the shape of the machined cavity. Experimental investigations are presented showing the influence of the machining voltage and nozzle moving speed on the micro cavity. Several 35 ×35 micro cavity arrays with a diameter of 24.92 − 11.73 µm and depth of 15.86 − 7.24 µm are generated on 304 stainless steel.

We report a 92 channel RF channelizer based on a 48.9 GHz integrated micro-comb that operates via soliton crystals, together with a passive high-Q ring resonator that acts as a periodic filter with an optical 3dB bandwidth of 121.4 MHz. We obtain an instant RF bandwidth of 8.08 GHz and 17.55 GHz achieved through temperature tuning. These results represent a major advance to achieving fully integrated photonic RF spectrum channelizers with reduced low complexity, size, and high performance for digital-compatible signal detection and broadband analog signal processing.

The steady streaming (SS) phenomenon is gaining increased attention in the microfluidics community, because it can generate net mass flow from the zero-mean vibration. We developed numerical simulation and experimental measurement tools to analyze this vibration induced flow, which has been challenging due to its unsteady nature. Validity of these analysis methods is confirmed by comparing the three-dimensional (3D) flow field induced around a cylindrical micropillar under circular vibration. In the numerical modeling, we directly solved the flow in the Lagrangian frame so that the substrate with a micropillar becomes stationary, and the result was converted to the Eulerian frame to compare them with the experimental results. The present approach enables to avoid the introduction of moving boundary or small perturbation approximation. The flow field obtained by the micro particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement supported the three-dimensionality observed in the numerical results, which could be important for controlling the mass transport and manipulating particulate objects in the microfluidic systems.

Biomolecular structure drives function, and computational capabilities have progressed such that the prediction and computational design of biomolecular structures is increasingly feasible. Because computational biophysics attracts students from many different backgrounds and with different levels of resources, teaching the subject can be challenging. One strategy to teach diverse learners is with interactive multimedia material that promotes self-paced, active learning. We have created a hands-on education strategy with a set of fifteen modules that teach topics in biomolecular structure and design, from fundamentals of conformational sampling and energy evaluation to applications like protein docking, antibody design, and RNA structure prediction. Our modules are based on PyRosetta, a Python library that encapsulates all computational modules and methods in the Rosetta software package. The workshop-style modules are implemented as Jupyter Notebooks that can be executed in the Google Colaboratory, allowing learners access with just a web browser. The digital format of Jupyter Notebooks allows us to embed images, molecular visualization movies, and interactive coding exercises. This multimodal approach may better reach students from different disciplines and experience levels as well as attract more researchers from smaller labs and cognate backgrounds to leverage PyRosetta in their science and engineering research. All materials are freely available at https://github.com/RosettaCommons/PyRosetta.notebooks.

In this paper, we present an experimental procedure to enhance the dimensional accuracy of fabrication via Stereolithography (SLA) of features at the micro-scale. Using a custom benchmark part, deviations in feature dimensions (micro-pores diameters and depths) were detected and measured by confocal microscopy. Samples characterization and experimental observations allowed the identification of inaccuracy sources, mainly due to the laser beam scanning strategy and to the incomplete removal of uncured liquid resin in post-processing (i.e., IPA washing). As a technology baseline, the measured dimensional errors on pores diameters were up to -46%. A compensation method of the nominal laser spot diameter (85m) was defined and implemented resulting in relevant improvements in dimensional accuracy of 9.8% and 11.3% on full-open pores diameter and depth, respectively. Further investigation was performed on a customized test part to adjust the calibration procedure. The measurements revealed that the estimate of the laser beam spot size is 968m. Measurements on micro-pores having different sizes revealed that a constant compensation parameter (i.e., C=85, 96, 120m) is not fully effective at the micro-scale, where average errors still remain at -24%, -18.8%, and -16% for compensations equals to 85, 96 and 120m, respectively. A further experimental campaign allowed the identification of an effective nonlinear compensation law where the compensation parameter depends on the micro-feature size C= f (D). Results show a sharp improvement in dimensional accuracy on micro-pore fabrication, with errors consistently below +8.2%. The proposed compensation method can be extended for the fabrication of any micro-features without restrictions on the specific technology implementation. Concerning the inaccuracy introduced by the laser path, experimentation with a customized part allowed the optimization of the part orientation to reduce the errors and their differences along the X and Y machine axes.

This enables the chip to regulate the voice recognition function of the gadget, leading to a more natural and human-like process. Integrating this technique into the English language voice recognition system can greatly improve its precision in identifying the speech of a particular person. This research seeks to investigate and create an automatic error detection technique for an embedded speech instruction recognition system for English using artificial intelligence. The study commences with a conventional introduction to artificial intelligence, thereafter delving into a comprehensive investigation of the speech recognition algorithm. The MATLAB programme is used to determine the accurate number of words recognised by the system and its accuracy rate. The embedded teaching recognition system for English is then tested in different contexts to assess its performance. Several tests are performed to compare and analyse the results, which indicate that the integrated English voice recognition system achieves an accuracy rate of over 90% and has a low error rate in a calm environment. In a bustling environment with numerous auditory stimuli, the accurate recognition rate typically exceeds 60%.

The research is based on the question: Can teaching/learning methodologies help to achieve the objective of Sumak Kawsay in Ecuador? a STEAM work approach was applied in technical high school students and higher education students (technological), in order to determine the level of impact in terms of project generation, following the entire process, from the generation of ideas to the linking of projects with society, The analysis was carried out in students from 15 to 22 years old in two institutions in the city of Cuenca, using the method of intentional sampling and the systematic review of scientific articles in the Scopus and Google academic databases of the last 3 years, to determine the level of impact of the prototypes pub-lished in indexed journals. The most striking aspect of the results is that of the 260 students surveyed, only 19.6% of students consider that there are STEAM teachers in the classroom, and only 56.92% of students manage to link their work with society, one of the recommended strategies being the publication of scientific articles and participation in congresses disseminating the high impact work done by students in the classroom.

To improve the measurement accuracy of wood density and study the linear correlation between the drill feed resistance and wood density, a new micro drill instrument that can can simultaneously measure the rotation resistance and feed resistance of the drill needle was designed. The test wood samples included hardwood, softwood and conifer. The absolute dry density of each wood sample was measured. The drill resistance data was tested by using self-developed micro drill instrument and Resistogaph 650-SC. 4 linear models between drill resistance and the absolute dry density of wood . The results showed that: the statistical indicators of each model of the self-made micro drill resistance in-strument were better than the corresponding indicators of Resistogaph 650-SC; the coefficient of determination of the linear regression model between the feed resistance of the self-made micro drill resistance instrument and the absolute dry density of wood was 0.946; the statistical indicators of model including rotation resistance and feed resistance, were better than those of the model only including rotation resistance. Therefor, the design proposed in the article is reasonable, and increasing the feed resistance can improve the measurement accuracy of the micro drill resistance instrument for measuring wood density.

The teaching and learning environment have changed significantly over the last decade with the integration of an increasing amount of information and communication technologies, especially in distance education due to global pandemics, total lockdowns, isolation, and quarantine periods. The number of numerous virtual and non-virtual tools involved in educational processes is growing day by day. In terms of technological innovations used in learning environments, many researchers and educators are trying their best to bring more creative ideas into the technology- based learning environments. Although higher educational institutions have greatly benefited from the growing number of hardware and software resources in the educational process, they have also faced some setbacks that have harmed the learning processes. These technologies have in turn complicated some of the processes in the learning atmosphere. Therefore, we take Spanish teaching course as an example to present the challenging smarter teaching and learning systems that higher educational institutions face today.

This study carried out a qualitative and descriptive relational approach that combined Documentary Analysis and elements of the Analytical Method to investigate the phenomenon of bilingualism in Tuluá, Colombia. The aim of this study was to diagnose the promotion of bilingualism by proposing a series of recommendations to strengthen the educational and linguistic policies. The data was processed through matrices and analyzed in the light of the theoretical references to enable a historical account of the programs or strategies that have been implemented for the promotion of bilingualism. The findings of this study are crucial in developing suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness of bilingualism. By identifying strengths, weaknesses, and patterns in the historical framework and modern performance indicators, the research offers valuable contributions to the current discourse on bilingual education policies in Tuluá, Colombia.

Teachability has been extensively studied under the context of making industrial robots to be programmable and reprogrammable. However, it is only recently that the artificial intelligence (AI) research community is accelerating the research works with the objective of making humanoid robots and many other robots to be teachable under the context of using natural languages. We human beings spend many years to learn knowledge and skills despite our extraordinary mental capabilities of being teachable with the use of natural languages. Therefore, if we would like to develop human-like robots such as humanoid robots, it is inevitable for us to face the issue of making future humanoid robots to be teachable with the use of natural languages as well. In this paper, we present the key details of a top-down design for achieving a teachable mind which consists of two major processes: the first one is the process which enables humanoid robots to gain innate mental capabilities of transforming incoming signals into meaningful crisp data, and the second one is the process which enables humanoid robots to gain innate mental capabilities of undertaking incremental and deep learning with the main focus of associating conceptual labels in a natural language to meaningful crisp data. These two processes consist of the two necessary and sufficient conditions for future humanoid robots to be teachable with the use of natural languages. In addition, this paper outlines a very likely new finding underlying human brain’s neural systems as well as the obvious mathematics underlying artificial deep neural networks. These outlines provide us the strong reason to separate the study of mind from the study of brain. Hopefully, the content discussed in this paper will help the AI research community to venture into the right direction which is to make future humanoid robots, non-humanoid robots, and many other systems to achieve human-like self-intelligence at cognitive level with the use of natural languages.

This study investigates the multifaceted aspects of 21st century teaching and identifies gaps in current educational practices. The researcher employed a qualitative approach, utilizing interviews, observations, and document analysis. Grounded in a theoretical framework emphasizing student-centered pedagogy, technology integration, and innovative instructional strategies, the study involved a diverse sample of 30 participants, including teachers, students, and administrators. Rigorous measures were implemented to ensure validity and reliability, such as researcher triangulation and member checking. The findings revealed significant gaps in areas such as student engagement, digital literacy, and pedagogical innovation. These findings are discussed in relation to existing literature, highlighting the implications for educational practice and the urgent need for educational transformation. The study's limitations include the small sample size and its focus on a specific educational context. Future research should explore the identified gaps using different methodologies and extend the investigation to other educational settings. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on 21st century teaching, providing valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers aiming to promote effective and transformative teaching practices in the modern era.

Considering the challenges of sustainable education in emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this study provides basic principles for future ERT implementation based on the experience of higher education in Indonesia. Seven local expert distance educators reviewed the ERT principles, participating in the early stages to check the relevance, content validity, and readability of the five principles proposed in the context of Indonesian education. After an extensive expert review, the ERT principles were evaluated using quantitative data through an online survey (82 students and 45 faculty members). In addition, open-ended questionnaire responses, experiences, and challenges encountered by 21 respondents (College Dean, Associate Dean of Academics, and faculty quality assurance of seven universities/colleges in three provinces in Indonesia) in ERT were used and analyzed. This study suggests that ERT should be designed based on the principles of simplicity, accessibility, affordability, flexibility, and empathy in all learning activities in unfavorable situations. This study complements previous work and can thus be used for generalized principles for teaching activities in similar emergencies, especially in developing countries.

Education setting evolved from historical open learning system to traditional classroom set-up to distance learning modality. Teaching-Learning practice is transformed with an evolution of teaching-learning materials. With technological advancement in progressive manner and it’s increasing use in academic setting, distance learning has been the on-demand and on-debate topic in current educational discourse. Comparatively fresh topic in Nepali academic setting, this paper intended to analyze the perception of Nepali students towards online modality in Nepali academic setting. This paper further analyzed the student’s preference towards distance learning in current Nepali academic setting. Research findings were analyzed based on data collected through literature review, interview with students and professor and quantitative data collection through use of google form. Study identified opportunities as revenue generation; continuation of academic career from any part of country; increase learning outcome among jobholders. Study identified challenges as unequal access and quality of internet facilities; affordability of laptops/computers; limited interaction; and frequent disturbances. Seeing the better prospects, study strongly supported the need of shift in academic shift from traditional setting to non-traditional setting in Nepali context to meet the global needs of competitive and quality education.

The COVID-19 pandemic is shifting teaching to an online setting all over the world. The Galaxy framework facilitates the online learning process and makes it accessible by providing a library of high-quality community-curated training materials, enabling easy access to data and tools, and facilitates sharing achievements and progress between students and instructors. By combining Galaxy with robust communication channels, effective instruction can be designed inclusively, regardless of the students' environments.

Background: During anatomy (topographic) chair, we prepared an anatomic piece of an older female pelvis (unknown causa mortis). Here, we present an anatomic piece prepared by medical students that helped us to better understand hypertrophic bladder pathophysiology. Methods: A traditional corpse dissection guided by an assistant professor. Results: Corpse dissection enhanced our personal experience during the medical course. It also helped us to better visualize how big a hypertrophic urinary bladder can become as the etiologic cause is not taken care. Conclusions: Despite virtual and 3D anatomy lessons, we believe corpse dissection must remain as a teaching strategy that can help to build a new generation of surgeons as well as honor the History of Medicine.

Protrusive defects on the color filter of thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) frequently damage the valuable photomask. An fast method using side-view illuminations associated with digital charge-couple devices (CCDs) to detect the protrusive defect in the four substrates, which are the black matrix (BM), red, green, and blue. Between the photomask and substrate, the depth of field (DOF) is normally 300 μm for the proximity-type aligner; we select the four substrates to evaluate the detectability in the task. The experiment is capable of detecting measurements of 300 μm and even lower than 100 μm can be assessed successfully. The maximum error of the measurement is within 6% among the four samples. Furthermore, the uncertainty analysis of three standard deviations is conducted. Thus, the method is cost-effective to prevent damage for valuable photomasks in the flat panel display industry.

In this work modeling and analysis of an integrated opto-fluidic sensor, with a focus on achievement of single mode optical confinement and continuous flow of micro particles in the microfluidic channel for Lab-on-a Chip (LOC) sensing application is presented. This sensor consists of integrated optical waveguides, microfluidic channel among other integrated optical components. A continuous flow of micro particles in a narrow fluidic channel is achieved by maintaining the two sealed chambers at different temperatures and by maintaining a constant pressure of 1Pa at the centroid of narrow fluidic channel geometry. The analysis of silicon on insulator (SOI) integrated optical waveguide at an infrared wavelength of 1550nm for single mode sensing operation is presented. The optical loss is found to be 0.0005719dB/cm with an effective index of 2.2963. The model presented in this work can be effectively used to detect the nature of micro particles and continuous monitoring of pathological parameters for sensing applications.

With the rapid surge in technological advancements, an equal amount of investment in technology-embedded teaching has become vital to pace up with the ongoing educational needs. Distance education has evolved from the era of postal services to the use of ICT tools in current times. With the aid of globally updated content across the board, technology usage ensures all students receive equal attention without any discrimination. Importantly, web-based teaching allows all kind of students to learn at their own pace, without the fear of being judged, including professionals who can learn remotely without disturbing their job schedules. Having web-based content allows low-cost and robust implementation of the content upgradation. An improved, yet effective, version of the education using such tools is Hybrid Learning (HL). This learning mode aims to provide luxurious reinforcement to its legitimate candidates while maintaining the quality standards of various elements. Incorporated with both traditional and distance learning methods, along with exploiting social media tools for increased comfort level and peer-to-peer collaboration, HL ultimately facilitates the end user and educational setup. The structure of such a hybrid model is realized by delivering the study material via a learning management system (LMS) designed in compliance with quality standards, which is one of the fundamental tackling techniques for controlling quality constraints. In this paper, we present the recently piloted project by COMSATS University Islamabad (previously known as COMSATS Institute of Information Technology) which is driven by technology-embedded teaching model. This model is an amalgam of the traditional class room model with the aid of state-of-the-art online learning technologies. The students are enrolled as full-time students, with all the courses in traditional classroom mode, except one course offered as hybrid course. This globally adapted model helps the students to benefit from both face-to-face learning as well as gaining hands-on experience on technology-enriched education model providing flexibility of timings, learning pace, and boundaries. Our HL model is equipped with two major synchronous and asynchronous blocks. The synchronous block delivers real-time live interaction scenarios using discussion boards, thereby providing a face-to-face environment. Interactions via social network has witnessed equally surging improvement in the output performance. The asynchronous block refers to the lecture videos, slides and handouts, prepared by imminent professors, available 24/7 for students. To ensure quality output, our HL model follows the course learning outcomes (CLOs), and program learning outcomes (PLOs) as per international standards. As a proof of concept, we have deployed a mechanism at the end of each semester to verify the effectiveness of our model. This mechanism fundamentally surveys the satisfaction levels of all the students enrolled in the HL courses. With the surveys already conducted, a significant level of satisfaction has been noted. Extensive results from these surveys are presented in the paper to further validate the efficiency and robustness of our proposed HL model.

With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), many aspects of our lives, from how we work to how we interact with each other and the world around us is showing dramatic changes. Education is one of the key areas that may be impacted by the rise of AI. Although a large number of studies have been conducted in recent years to shed light on how AI may influence various dimensions of education, a very little work has been carried out to consolidate and synthesis empirical studies on the application of AI in higher education. The present study reviewed empirical studies published between 2013 and 2022 to 1) examine the characteristics of published research in the field, and 2) to present thorough insights on the promises and challenges of this dramatic technology in higher and professional education. This review included 44 empirical studies published as peer-reviewed journal articles. The results indicated that there is rapid increase in the publications focusing on AI in higher education in last a few years. However, a big proportion of these publications are technically theoretical and conceptual proposals for AI intervention. The areas of AI applications in higher education that are supported by evidence based research are presented. Imperative implications are also highlighted for future research and implementation of AI based interventions in higher education.

In Greece, as in most European countries, the heterogeneity of students leads to conflicts resulting in a general inability of the educational process to function. This review study is focused on modern issues affecting youth and school education procedures such as internet addiction, student behaviour expressed as bullying, and adolescent sexuality development. All sides agree that the most essential purposes of education are to emphasize the cultivation of interpersonal relationships, the development of sociability, and self-esteem, and the prevention. Teachers wanting to respond to the spirit of the times to rationalize the pedagogical process introduced the pedagogical contract as a school practice as a valuable tool in taking control of the class and gaining students' attendance. The teacher's positive attitude will create added value to their knowledge and experiences while helping them to integrate into society.

Geoethics is a field of knowledge currently in full development. Researchers in geoethics are pri-marily concerned with the anthropogenic interaction with the Earth system. Due to its nature, ge-oethics holds particular importance in sustainable development due to its nature as it aims to promote ethical human behaviour that does not negatively impact the Earth system. In the present research, we implemented an intervention program addressing various issues related to the sus-tainability of the Earth system, such as the exploitation of geological resources, the management of geological risks, and the conservation and promotion of geopatrimony. The intervention program was applied to higher education students in the geosciences field. A sample of 90 students from various geosciences courses completed an initial questionnaire, revealing limited knowledge about geoethics. This study resorted to mixed-method research involving interviews with some students who volunteered (n=52). The results showed that after applying the intervention programme most students had developed a deeper understanding of the topics addressed and recognised the con-tributions this scientific area can make to sustainable development. Additional research in geoethics education is essential to foster the integration of geoethics into the curricula of higher education institutions.

The Pandemic in 2019 forced a digital adaptation with direct consequences on all educational stakeholders. On behalf of teachers and trainers, while many regarded these changes with some scepticism, others embraced the opportunity to integrate technology into their teaching methods and as learning resources. As translation trainers, it is essential to follow and understand the translation market. Thus, the exponential changes that digital technology has brought to this sector over the years impose constant shifts in teaching and learning methods and resources. In fact, translators require vast competencies, amongst which is the flexibility to adapt. In translation training Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been established as an essential teaching and learning method, as it has proven to foster the development of competencies as it simulates the translator's work environment. Thus, the need to adapt new strategies reinforced PBL and its benefits. PBL, however, similar to a freelance translator, places the student in the centre of the learning process, where self-regulation becomes essential, as it is necessary to analyse the market/situation and be flexible enough to adapt to the context accordingly. As of 2018-2019, technical translation courses at ISCAP have implemented PBL as their main teaching and learning method. At the same time, a study on student self-regulation began. The purpose was to understand student perception on their own self-regulation competence and its development or lack thereof after one year of PBL. Results indicate that PBL is seen as a useful simulation of the translation labour market and that it does enhance many essential competences, amongst which is student self-regulation.

Background: The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain) was closed due to COVID 19. The aim of this paper is to present our experience, in managing teaching and learning, during this pandemic. Methods: Following, ethical approval, several meetings were held with the senior faculty and student representatives to select alternative virtual approaches for teaching, learning and assessment with evidence-based instructional design. Informed consent was obtained from all study participants. All procedures were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. In alignment with global scenario, we decided upon early graduation for our students, and expedited the clinical examinations, with special permission from health and education ministries. Two major clinical examinations were redesigned to form a single hybrid clinical examination with two parts. Following all COVID 19 preventive measures, students were taken in groups of seven and simulated patients were substituted for real patients. No more than 40 students were present at any point of time, with no more than 10 examined in one block. 149 out of 152 RCSI students attended the clinical examinations and 524 students from the three RCSI campuses attended the written online examination. A structured survey was conducted to elicit students’ perceptions and participation was entirely voluntary. Results: 82% of students were happier to be joining the workforce early and, 22% expressed concerns. A comparison of student performance in these examinations against the equivalent components from semester one yielded no significant deviation in student performance, illustrating that the quality was consistent. Conclusion: We recommend that the government accredit online or distance learning programmes and explore appropriate methodologies for evaluation of online learning and assessment. Incorporating practical/clinical training, will continue to be a great challenge.

Some of the key features of inclusive and equitable teaching approaches encourage prompt feedback, student cooperation in communities of learning, active learning, and promotes diverse ways of knowing in the classroom. In my article, I present step-bystep tips to help instructors create guided microlearning inquiry questions within an inclusive and equitable general biology classroom setting. Microlearning is a special approach that helps students complete a specific task linked to a specific learning objective that would be completed in a short time window around five minutes. The step-by-step tips presented in my article helps instructors to develop questions aligned to specific learning objective to help clarify unclear or confusing topics in general biology using the Kahoot e-Learning platform. This guided microlearning inquiry toolkit provides a blueprint for helping instructors to infuse student-centered approaches to help clarify difficult concepts in general biology and further develop avenues refine students’ critical thinking and experimental design in biology research.

Grape dehydration is practiced widely in the food industry with large yields of sultanas produced globally. This paper proposes an investigation into grape microstructure changes as it is dried by imaging specimens at intervals during dehydration at two temperatures using scanning electron microscopy. Detailed images of the microstructure were obtained, and a unique image processing algorithm was developed to quantitatively analyse the properties of this microstructure. Two main methods were developed to obtain the complex boundaries of cells present in the grape tissue in over 36 SEM images. Segmentation of the binary image using an adapted watershed function obtained the most consistent and accurate morphological shape. This was compared to a secondary method which used Canny’s edge detection function, morphological closing and skeletonizing to outlines the cellular microstructure. MATLAB was utilised to convert these boundaries into measurable areas so that quantitative data on average cell area, perimeter and cell axis lengths was acquired. It was found that over drying time cell area and perimeter reduced as expected. Some variability in the data was clear due to only single samples being analysed for each temperature and time combination. The development of automatic image processing techniques will enable quantitative data to be extracted from these images. Trends in cell perimeter, diameter and shape will be used to demonstrate relationships between morphological structure, drying temperature, and duration.

With the increased emphasis on competition in academic settings, anxiety is becoming more common, which inevitably has some impact on students’ learning process and result. This study aimed to explore how competition-induced anxiety influences the subjective cognitive load (SCL), attention level and test score. Meanwhile, we investigated the mediating role of the behavioral inhibition system/behavioral activation system (BIS/BAS) in those processes. A total of 101 college students were recruited in Study 1 to learn five micro-lectures from massive open online courses (MOOC) under with and without competitive conditions. The results showed that participants’ state anxiety (SA) scores were higher after the experiment, participants in the competition condition had higher test scores, and the relationship between SA/ trait anxiety (TA) and SCL could be mediated by the BIS. To obtain more objective data on learning processes (attention levels), we conducted Study 2, which collected behavioral and EEG data from 42 college students during the online learning. The results showed that the competition group had higher SA, lower attention levels, and worse test scores, and the relationship between SA/TA and attention levels could be mediated through the BIS. The present study not only expands previous research by finding that BIS functioning plays an important role in the effects of anxiety on cognitive load and attention, but also offers implications for using competitive strategies to motivate students according to their aptitude.

In our day-to-day life, Lie detection has a significant concern. We human beings are very much inaccurate while detecting the liars and We believe in what we are told. Lie detection is important in today’s life, because Concealing the information or faking it can sometimes take you to huge problems. In any areas like airport management[2], criminal investigations, counterterrorism, etc this concept has great importance. It is an evergreen challenging and changing topic. This paper presents the common technique which was followed up till now and why it was not considered effective and a review of Robust solutions to detection of deception. People generally do not[3] always believe on what someone says but also try to visualize their facial expressions. While in Robust solution these facial micro-expressions are identified, which are tiny, natural expressions seen on the individual’s face, when they try to conceal or suppress emotions. In addition, the article also provides the year-wise assessment and analysis of research articles published in the area of Lie detection from 2011 to 2022. In the end, our proposed framework for lie detection system is also presented. This paper cover up current issues as well as challenges that could be helpful to resolve in future research works. The review paper closes up by supporting future directions.

Abstract: Microstructural and mechanical properties of the eutectic Sn58Bi and micro-alloyed Sn57.6Bi0.4Ag solder alloys were compared. With the addition of Ag micro-alloy, the tensile strength was improved and this is attributed to a combination of microstructure refinement and an Ag3Sn precipitation hardening mechanism. However, ductility is slightly deteriorated due to the brittle nature of the Ag3Sn intermetallic compounds (IMCs). Additionally, a board level reliability study of Ag micro-alloyed Sn58Bi solder joints produced utilising a surface-mount technology (SMT) process, were assessed under accelerated temperature cycling (ATC) conditions. Results reveal that micro-alloyed Sn57.6Bi0.4Ag has a higher characteristic lifetime with a narrower failure distribution. This enhanced reliability corresponds with improved bulk mechanical properties. It is postulated that Ag3Sn IMCs are located at the Sn-Bi phase boundaries and suppress the solder microstructure from coarsening during the temperature cycling, hereby extending the time to failure.

The tissue micro environment or milieu consists of a highly dynamic population of cellular and non-cellular components which constitute a complex regulatory network aimed at maintaining the organ homeostasis. In the modern medicine the discovery of miRNAs is undoubtedly a promising field of research and they are essential in orchestrating immune system logic and their release in the gut micro milieu can directly affect bacterial gene expression. Here, we briefly review the role of microRNAs, focuses on their role on immune system components in physiological and pathophysiological gut micro milieu.

Titanium micro-scale topography results in excellent osteoconductivity and bone-implant integration. However, the biological effects of sub-micron topography are unknown. We compared osteoblastic phenotypes and in vivo bone and implant integration abilities between titanium surfaces with micro- (1–5 µm) and sub-micro-scale (0.1–0.5 µm) topographies and machined titanium. Average roughness was 12.5 ± 0.65 nm, 123 ± 6.15 nm, and 24 ± 1.2 nm for machined, micro-rough, and sub-micro-rough surfaces, respectively. The micro-rough surface showed the fewest cells attaching during the initial stage and the lowest proliferation. Calcium deposition and expression of osteoblastic genes were highest on the sub-micro-rough surface and lowest on the machined surface. Bone-to-implant integration was strongest for the micro-rough surface, consistent with it having the greatest ability to retain cells in vitro. Thus, the biological effects of titanium surfaces are not necessarily proportional to the degree of roughness in osteoblastic cultures or in vivo. Sub-micro-rough titanium ameliorates the disadvantage of micro-rough titanium by restoring cell attachment and proliferation and enhances the rate of osteoblastic differentiation over that of micro-rough titanium; however, bone integration and the ability to retain cells are compromised due to its lower interfacial mechanical locking compared to that of micro-rough titanium.

Online teaching is considered an important approach for achieving sustainable learning and education, and college teachers’ attitude and behavioral intention are essential for the sustainable adoption of online teaching practice in higher education institutions. To examine the influencing factors that sustain teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention, we conducted a cross-sectional study based on a sample of 1,102 college teachers in central China, using hierarchical linear regression analysis to explore possible influencing factors in four levels: individual experience, environmental support, self-perception, and technology acceptance. The study results show that the subjective norms, readiness, beliefs, and perceived usefulness of online teaching had a significant impact on teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention. Nevertheless, the effect varied with factors like online-teaching load and teachers’ technology self-efficacy, as their influence seemed to be singular, affecting the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching or behavioral intention exclusively. In contrast, previous online-teaching experience did not notably affect either. The findings of this study reveal the complex interactions of factors that influence college teachers’ disposition toward and decisions about online-teaching practices and emphasize the need for targeted strategies to maintain and enhance online education in the post-pandemic era.

In recent years the study of the teacher-student relationship in the teaching-learning processes in physical education has had great emphasis. Previous studies have shown that the use of the Spectrum of teaching Styles can enhance intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, adherence to physical activity and physical activity levels in children and adolescents. The present study aims to assess if a physical education (PE) intervention based on the variations in teaching styles, with reference to production ones, can also have positive effects on physical fitness. The sample involved 4 primary school classes (n = 124 children, mean age = 8-10 years) recruited from the SBAM (Health, Wellness, Food Education and Movement at School) Project in Apulia, Southern Italy. Classes were randomly assigned to Experimental Group (EG) and Control Group (CG). EG followed a 5months experimental intervention based on the variation of teaching styles, while CG performed regular PE lessons. Physical fitness test was assessed with Standing Long Jump (SLJ), Medicine Ball Throw 1kg (MBT), and 20m sprint (20m), while two validated questionnaires were used to evaluate physical self-perception (PSP) and enjoyment. A 2x2 (intervention group x time) ANOVA was carried out to assess significant difference and interaction effect pre (t0) and post (t1) intervention protocol. Data analysis showed a significant improvement of physical fitness in both EG and CG, while PSP and enjoyment increased only in EG. Moreover, significant interaction (p&lt;. 05) effects were found for 20m sprint, PSP and Enjoyment with low effect size (η2 ~. 20). The results of the present study highlight the effectiveness of a PE intervention based on the variation of teaching styles in improving physical fitness, self-perception, and enjoyment. Moreover, the use of production teaching styles significantly impacts self-perception and enjoyment, that are important mediating factors for guarantee better adherence to physical activity.

The enhancement of physical and sports literacy in school setting are prerogatives and development aim for the physical education (PE) teachers. Therefore, as part of the teaching of motor activities, the proposal of motor tasks through different organizational modes (individual tasks, in pairs, in small groups, circuits, relay, paths, team games, etc.) is functional to the achievement of the educational objectives set in the didactic learning units. The present study aims to assess PE teachers’ perception about the use of teaching styles during curricular lessons. The sample involved a total of 83 PE teachers (M= 41, F= 42, main age= 43,74±10,76) divided according to years of service (0-4 = 36%, 5-10 = 34%, and over 10 = 30%) and academic training (ISEF= 44% and master’s degree= 56%). Teachers complete a digitalized version of a self-produced questionnaire to assess how many times they use each teaching styles during the last month. Results can be summarized as follows: (a) academic training is significantly associated with the command, inclusion, and guided-discovery styles in PE; (b) command and practice Styles are often used by PE teachers, regardless of years of service and academic training, and (c) guided discovery and convergent/divergent Discovery Styles are most frequently used by graduate teachers, regardless of years of service. The preliminary results of the analysis of PE teachers’ perception of teaching styles reveals the prevalence of the use of some styles over others, and this presuppose not only a different (but similar) teacher’s behavior, but also limits children’s way of learning a certain motor task. Future research and analysis will investigate the perception of different teaching styles according to seniority, school grade and academic training to design training courses for teachers adapted to children’s needs.

We present here a five hours experimentation of a didactical path about the electromagnetic induction addressed to students of the last year of an Italian scientific high school and oriented to better understand the physical origin of the induced electromotive force. The expression of the induced electromotive force as the sum of the term linked to the time variation of the magnetic field and of the motional one has been obtained in a detailed way, still suitable for presentation at high school. Many examples have been proposed to the students in order to clarify the conceptual physical knots. The students’ responses to a 6-questions multiple choice questionnaire have been analyzed. It emerged that our approach is concretely feasible although we find the well-known difficulties in calculating flux and circulation of a vector field. Furthermore, it emerged that an integral approach to the problem masks the understanding of the nature of the forces acting locally on the charges. Hence our proposal of a “redefinition” of the induced electric field in terms of the magnetic vector potential is also presented.

Aesthetic ability is a powerful tool that can enhance student learning outcomes in arts education. This study not only determines the effect of aesthetic ability on student learning but also determines the effects of different factors on improvement in students' aesthetic abilities. The data used to investigate the mentioned relationships have been obtained from randomly selected 322 undergraduate students of arts education at different universities in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The reliability of the data has been tested through Cronbach’s Alpha and regression analysis has been employed to determine the relationships among variables. Study findings revealed that teacher role, clarity of teaching goal, scientific plan, students' guidance, future creation, learning reflection, participation in exhibitions, improvement of art, appreciation of artwork, and innovative teaching methods influence student learning positively and significantly. Further, the effect of improvement in aesthetic ability on student learning has been found to be positive and significant. Based on the findings, some important implications have been discussed at the end of the study.

Education 4.0 postulates the flexible combining of digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving in training environments linked to real-world scenarios. Therefore, teachers are challenged to find or develop new methods and resources to integrate into their curricula to help students develop these desirable and necessary skills; hence, the question: What are the characteristics of a teacher to consider within the framework of Education 4.0? This article presents a study carried out in a higher education institution in Ecuador. The objective was to identify the teaching profile required in new careers within the framework of Education 4.0. The descriptive, exploratory methodology applied quantitative and qualitative instruments (surveys) to 337 undergraduate students in education careers and 313 graduates. It also included interviews with 20 experts in the educational field and five focus groups with 32 rectors, school principals, university professors and specialists in the educational area. The data was triangulated, and the results were categorized in (a) processes as facilitators (b), soft skills, (c) human sense and (d) use of technologies. This article may be of value to administrators, educational and social entrepreneurs, trainers, and decision-makers interested in implementing innovative training programs.

The management of a cultural change in higher education is becoming necessary and unavoidable: changes in teaching, changes in research and changes in governance. Digital transformation is an essential part of many countries’ modernisation agendas. The aim of this non-experimental, descriptive, survey-based study was to explore the perceptions of university students toward the digital transformation that took place in university teaching as a consequence of COVID-19. The specific objectives proposed were to: a) analyse the perceptions of students toward digital transformation in university teaching; b) determine the valuation of students about the digital transformation that occurred in university teaching as a result of COVID-19; and c) explore the resources (hardware-software), professional collaboration, digital pedagogy and student empowerment (motivation) with respect to digital education and the recent changes in university teaching due to the pandemic. The results show that a large number of items are positively correlated. In conclusion, further research should delve into motivation, collaboration, reflective experience sharing, self-learning and initiatives that promote the development of competences in future teachers.

The management of a cultural change in higher education is becoming necessary and unavoidable: changes in teaching, changes in research and changes in governance. Digital transformation is an essential part of many countries’ modernisation agendas. The aim of this non-experimental, descriptive, survey-based study was to explore the perceptions of university students toward the digital transformation that took place in university teaching as a consequence of COVID-19. The specific objectives proposed were to: a) analyse the perceptions of students toward digital transformation in university teaching; b) determine the valuation of students about the digital transformation that occurred in university teaching as a result of COVID-19; and c) explore the resources (hardware-software), professional collaboration, digital pedagogy and student empowerment (motivation) with respect to digital education and the recent changes in university teaching due to the pandemic. The results show that a large number of items are positively correlated. In conclusion, further research should delve into motivation, collaboration, reflective experience sharing, self-learning and initiatives that promote the development of competences in future teachers.

With the development of Internet technology, teachers are constantly seeking innovative teaching methods to match the potential of enhanced technology. Although many studies have been performed before , they aren’t enough in this field. The purpose of this paper is to explore innovative teaching designs and examine the impact of Internet-assisted English teaching of reading based on constructivism. The case is carried out in NO.9 middle school of Bengbu, a underdeveloped area of China, most of students aren’t interested in learning English .We compared Internet-assisted with traditional textbook literature methods to improve the reading proficiency of students, using a questionnaire survey,pre-test and post-tests comparisons. The result showed Internet-assisted English reading teaching is better than textbook. It can arouse students' interest and motivation,reading proficiency and exam result of students have been improved significantly, created a positive learning situation.

The aim of the existing study is to investigate the influence of teacher expectation on students’ achievement and their attitudes towards English lesson and to increase the students’ academic success and positive attitudes towards this issue. In the study, a process which defined the existing situtation and which provided the educational processes to improve by changing the existing situation could be seen. For this reason, emancipatory/improving/critical action research model was used. The study was carried out on a sample group consisting of 87 students; 43 6th graders and 44 8th graders attending a school located in the city center of Düzce during the 2015-2016 academic year. In order to collect the data, “Teacher Expectancy Scale” developed by the researchers, “Attitude Scale towards English Course” and 7 test exams prepared by Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE) were used. The study was conducted for a total 48 hours in 12 weeks, 4 hours a week. As the result of the study, it was revealed that teacher expectation influenced the attitudes of the students towards the English lesson in a positive way and increased their academic achievements.

It is well known that dietary choices impact both individual and global health. However, there are numerous challenges at the personal and systemic level to fostering sustainable healthy eating patterns. These barriers have emphasized the need for innovative approaches within minority communities, particularly those facing food insecurity, to help translate dietary recommenda-tions into practice. Food as Medicine is an approach that recognizes the potential to alleviate the burden of chronic diseases through a healthy diet that is customized to meet the needs of the indi-vidual. Key to implementing this approach are teaching kitchens, which offer an interactive envi-ronment for learning nutrition and cooking skills. Their curriculums are often rooted in Food as Medicine as well as Culinary Medicine, a similar approach. We have found that motivational in-terviewing (MI) techniques, which are primarily used to facilitate behavior change, are well-suited for implementing and maintaining dietary modification. In this commentary, we show how this has been done in a community-based teaching kitchen to empower individuals to make informed and sustainable dietary choices. In demonstrating the application of MI principles in this setting, we hope to offer an inclusive and sustainable way to help address the urgent need for healthier eating and its role in building healthier communities.

This study delves into the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and English Language Teaching (ELT) within the post-pandemic educational landscape. Grounded in Constructivism, Connectivism, and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), this research explores how AI integration impacts language instruction efficiency, benefits and challenges perceived by St. Michael's College students, differences in learning outcomes, and its potential to address the digital divide. Employing a qualitative approach, the study employs a rigorous method that includes intensive in-depth reviews of literature, maximum purposeful sampling, informal interviews, observation, and thematic analysis. Through these methods, data was collected from 30 participants, leading to the identification of five key themes. Findings suggest that AI enhances instructional efficiency, offers personalized learning experiences, and bridges gaps in remote settings. However, challenges and the importance of pedagogical balance emerged. The study underscores the need for adaptive pedagogical strategies to fully harness AI's potential. Future directions and limitations are discussed, emphasizing the study's implications for shaping the future of ELT.

This paper presents a case study on using Emacs and Org-mode for literate programming in undergraduate data science courses. Over three academic terms, the author mandated these tools across courses in R, Python, C++, SQL, and more. Onboarding relied on simplified Emacs tutorials and starter configurations. Students gained proficiency after initial practice. Live coding sessions demonstrated the flexible instruction enabled by literate notebooks. Assignments and projects required documentation alongside functional code. Student feedback showed enthusiasm for learning a versatile IDE, despite some frustration with the learning curve. Skilled students highlighted efficiency gains in a unified environment. However, uneven adoption of documentation practices pointed to a need for better incorporation into grading. Additionally, some students found Emacs unintuitive, desiring more accessible options. This highlights a need to match tools to skills levels, potentially starting novices with graphical IDEs before introducing Emacs. Key takeaways include literate programming aids comprehension but requires rigorous onboarding and reinforcement; Emacs excels for advanced workflows but has a steep initial curve. With proper support, these tools show promise for data science education.

This article analyzes the assessment of the four development levels of the Digital Teaching Competence (DTC) to recognize the needs and formulation of challenges in training and educational innovation required in the pedagogical practices of university professors under the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study used an empirical-analytical methodology with a non-experimental, transactional, descriptive design. The sample design was probabilistic, estimated with 95% confidence and 5% error among 252 teachers from various faculties of the University of La Guajira. The selected instrument corresponded to the rubric's application to evaluate the university professor's digital teaching competence in Latin America. Among the study's significant results, we highlight that the rubric presented a high Cronbach's alpha reliability (α: 0.947). In the general assessment of DTC development, it was estimated that 78.2% of teachers are in the first two levels of DTC development assessment (Beginning and Middle). The evaluation rubric allows identifying challenges and opportunities that teacher training must address to advance the professional development of professors.

Emerging technologies have a potential future impact on the developments in higher education and teaching practices at the universities. The paper is based on the project “My future colleague robot” that aims to improve the competence of university teachers in the implementation of Emerging Technologies (ETs) in the teaching practices at the university. In this paper, we identified the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are related to the adoption of two ETs, robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), in higher education. Additionally, we analyzed the perceptions of faculty about these ETs. The empirical data was collected using written essays from 18 university teachers and students. Deductive and inductive approaches with thematic analysis were used for the data analysis. The findings support the idea that previous experience related to ETs can support positive attitudes and the implementations of ET in university teaching. University teachers had optimistic expectations towards ETs accepting them as part of teaching practice development, while discussion about the negative effects of ETs was negligible.

The education system has become even more complex following the global pandemic, which saw face-to-face teaching transition to virtual teaching. To cope with this abrupt transition, it is essential that teachers had a sufficient level of digital teaching competence. This article aims to increase awareness of teachers' self-perception of their digital teaching competences in the educational field. Specifically, this study explores Spanish secondary school teachers’ knowledge and use of different ICT tools by evaluating their competence based on different areas proposed by The National Institute of Technology and Professional Development (Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y de Formación del Profesorado, INTEF), Madrid, Spain. From the results of the questionnaires, we have determined that teachers consider themselves to have an upper intermediate level of digital teaching competence, although there are still shortcomings that need to be addressed in order to improve this level of competence, and its true integration in the teaching–learning process.

Problem solving is one of the most important components of the human cognition that affects for ages the progress of the human society. Mathematical modelling is a special type of problem solving concerning problems related to science or everyday life situations. The present study is a review of the author’s earlier works on problem solving and mathematical modelling from the scope of Education. Its real goal is that it presents in a systematic way and in a few pages only the results of many years research on the subject. This helps the reader to get a comprehensive idea about a very important topic belonging to the core of Mathematics Education, which is very useful to those wanting to study deeper the subject and get directions for further research in the area.

Coronavirus (COVID19) appears to be an inflection point that is forcing a disruption in medical education. However, it is not clear what the responses of the institutions are to this pandemic and how the adaptation of new methods may impact medical education in the post COVID-19 era. Objective: The study aims to explore how medical schools in Egypt responded to COVID-19 pandemic regarding the teaching and learning/assessment for undergraduate students. Design: A mixed method exploratory two-phase study was conducted. A survey was prepared and disseminated to a convenient non-probability sample of the medical school faculty through various social platforms. Then, a focus group guide was conducted to explore in more depth the findings. Results: The staff level of preparedness for that unexpected shift was evaluated by 55.1% of the survey participants as optimum to high and a good leadership support was reported by 70 % of them. They reported conflicting views about the proper role of medical education units but reinforced the idea of Egyptian Knowledge Bank’s crucial role in this transition. Additionally, there is a communication problem with the students that leads to their detachment. Subsequently, 84.6 % of the participants reported that their schools used alternative teaching methods for small groups, large groups, pre-clinical and clinical clerkships. However, 64.1 % of the participants identified a clinical skills teaching challenge. Although, 68.4% reported that alternative methods were used for formative assessment but absence of alternative methods for summative assessment was declared by 76.3%. Conclusions: Individuals moved faster than bodies and relied on support existing outside the universities when catastrophe happened. However, institutes which have experience in adapting modern engaging learning methods should organize a better response for crisis. Online learning should be integrated in the curriculum with a fair percentage especially in the early years of medical study.

Background: This study aimed to assess the impact of a nutrition-care bundle on growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes of micro-preterm infants born in a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) by two years corrected age. Methods: A nutrition-care bundle emphasizing the prompt initiation of parenteral nutrition at birth, initiation of enteral feeds within 6 hours after birth, and early addition of human milk fortifiers was implemented in 2015 for infants born &lt;26 weeks gestation. This before-and-after study evaluated growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants born between 2012-2013 (before-nutrition-bundle BNB) and 2016-2017 (after-nutrition-bundle ANB). Results: A total of 145 infants were included in the study. Infants in the ANB group (n=73) were smaller (birthweight and gestational age), and there were more male infants and multiples included compared to the BNB group (n=72). Enteral feeds and fortifiers started earlier in the ANB group. Growth velocity and weight-z-score changes were similar in both groups during NICU stay and post-discharge. Systemic steroid use, but not cohort, was linked to lower Bayley scores across all domains. Conclusions: Implementing a nutrition-care bundle was not consistently associated with improved weight-gain and neurodevelopmental outcomes in the micro-preterm infant population, likely due to ongoing high-quality nutritional care by the clinical team.

It was for long time believed that lidar systems based on the use of high-repetition micro-pulse lasers could be effectively used to only stimulate atmospheric elastic backscatter echoes, and thus only exploited in elastic backscatter lidar systems. Their application to stimulate rotational and roto-vibrational Raman echoes, and consequently their exploitation in atmospheric thermodynamic profiling, was considered not feasible based on the technical specifications possessed by these laser sources until a few years ago. However, recent technological advances in the design and development of micro-pulse lasers, presently achieving high UV average powers (1-5 W) and small divergences (0.3-0.5 mrad), in combination with the use of large aperture telescopes (0.3-0.4 m diameter primary mirrors), allow to presently develop micro-pulse laser-based Raman lidars capable to measure the vertical profiles of atmospheric thermodynamic parameters, namely water vapour and temperature, both in daytime and nighttime. This paper is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of these measurements and at illustrating and discussing the high achievable performance level, with a specific focus on water vapour profile measurements. The technical solutions identified in the design of the lidar system and their technological implementation within the experimental setup of the lidar prototype are also carefully illustrated and discussed.

Mass transfer is often the rate determining step for solid-liquid chemical reactions. Decrease of the concentration boundary layer thickness is essential to intensify the chemical reaction. Because the concentration boundary layer exists in the velocity boundary layer, force imposition in the concentration boundary layer by superimposing an electrical current and a magnetic field was proposed. Through, flow can be directly excited in the concentration boundary layer. The previous result indicates that by superimposing a DC current and a gradient magnetic field, the development of the concentration boundary layer was suppressed, because of a macro-scale flow excitation in the whole vessel. And by superimposing the gradient magnetic field with a modulate current, the development of the concentration boundary layer was further suppressed. This is because of the macro-scale flow enhancement and the excitation of a micro-scale flow near the solid-liquid interface. However, the mechanism for the micro-scale flow excitation has not been clarified. To clarify this, a uniform magnetic field was superimposed with the DC current or the modulate current. By this means, only the micro-scale flow was excited near the anode surface. The results found that the non-unform electromagnetic force distribution is the main reason for the micro-scale flow excitation.

As the scarcity of potable water increases, recycling of treated wastewater is increasing. Small-scale, decentralized treatment can be implemented to serve local populations by keeping water within their boundaries and within reach for reuse, particularly in less dense, non-urban communities. Availability of cellular networks and high-speed internet connectivity, along with significant reduction in cost, allows ongoing monitoring of decentralized treatment systems at a central location. In this paper a decentralized treatment system using micro nanobubble aeration, moving media and membranes is able to produce reusable water with low energy consumption, thereby allowing the use of solar energy in places with unreliable electrical supply. The treatment system, which uses no external chemicals, is able to operate unattended and deliver clear, disinfected water with non-detect suspended solids, BOD5 less than 10 mg/L and nutrients below 5 mg/L.

Along with the popularity of the Internet, people are exposed to more and more ways of micro-videos, and a huge amount of micro-video data has emerged. micro-videos have gradually become the Internet content preferred by the public, and a large number of micro-video apps have also emerged, such as Tiktok and Kwai. Intelligent classification and mining of micro-videos can greatly enhance user experience, improve business operation efficiency and enhance user experience. Through deep intelligent analysis and mining of micro-videos, important information in micro-videos can be extracted to provide an important basis for beautifying videos, content appreciation, video recommendation, content search, etc. In the past, content understanding for short videos often used human work annotation, but in recent years, with the great success of deep convolutional neural networks in image recognition, short video content understanding based on this method has gradually developed. Nowadays, most recognition algorithms extract the feature representation of each frame independently and then fuse them. However, while extracting the feature representation, some low-level semantic features are lost, which makes the algorithm unable to accurately distinguish the category of the video. At present, the algorithm of micro-video recognition based on deep learning has surpassed the iDT algorithm, making these traditional methods fade out of people’s view. In this paper according to the micro-video classification task, a new network model is proposed to concatenate features of each modality into the overall features of various modalities through the network, and then fuse the various modal features with the attention mechanism to obtain the whole micro-video features, which will be used for classification. In order to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm proposed in this paper, experiments are conducted in the public dataset, and it is shown the effectiveness of our model.

We demonstrate a photonic RF integrator based on an integrated soliton crystal micro-comb source. By multicasting and progressively delaying the input RF signal using a transversal structure, the input RF signal is integrated discretely. Up to 81 wavelengths are provided by the microcomb source, which enable a large integration time window of ~6.8 ns, together with a time resolution as fast as ~84 ps. We perform signal integration of a diverse range of input RF signals including Gaussian pulses with varying time widths, dual pulses with varying time intervals and a square waveform. The experimental results show good agreement with theory. These results verify our microcomb-based integrator as a competitive approach for RF signal integration with high performance and potentially lower cost and footprint.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the challenges basic school tutors face when integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into their instructing and learning activities and to recommend possible strategies for addressing those challenges. This study employed an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative method approach to analyze the challenges basic school teachers face when integrating ICT into teaching in an emerging country, particularly Ghana. The participants of this study were chosen using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. A total of twenty (20) respondents were chosen for this study. The study found that teachers, despite their challenges, had a strong desire to integrate ICT into their instruction and learning activities. These challenges are the limited number of ICT tools and the absence of fully-subscribed software package that runs on them, the lack of electrical outlets in some classrooms, poor internet connectivity and power fluctuation. These teachers also had to deal with challenges like Trojan horses and spam despite the slow internet connectivity. The study suggested that basic school management should procure modern ICT tools and fully-subscribed software package to expand the school's ICT infrastructure giving teachers the choice to choose the ICT tools they will integrate into their teaching and learning activities for the successful integration of ICT into instruction and learning activities. Again, school management should ensure teachers are given basic training regarding ICT and its incorporation into tuition and learning activities to acquire the necessary competencies, understanding, and attitudes that will enhance teaching and learning activities.

This article investigates the prospect of implementing multidisciplinary and multicultural student teamwork (MMT) involving Case-based Learning (CBL) and Problem-based Learning (PBL) as a sustainable teaching practice. Based on a mixed methods approach, which includes direct observation (both physical and virtual), questionnaire distribution and focus-group interviews the study reveals that MMT through CBL and PBL can both facilitate and hinder sustainable learning. Our findings show that while MMT enhances knowledge sharing, it also poses a wide range of challenges, raising questions about its social significance as a sustainable teaching practice. The study suggests the implementation of certain mechanisms, such as ‘Teamwork Training’ and ‘Pedagogical Mentors’, aiming to strengthen the sustainable orientation of MMT through CBL and PBL.

The use of active methodologies in the university is a priority to achieve higher quality learning. One of these methodologies with the greatest potential for training in competencies is Project-Oriented Learning (PLA), using it in an innovative way. Associating the use of this methodology with the objectives of sustainable development, which have become even more important since the Pandemic by COVID-19, can be a good idea to achieve a more sustained and situated learning. The aim of this study is to find out to what extent research on teaching innovation with Project-Oriented Learning is associated with the Sustainable Development Goals. A systematic review was carried out as indicated by PRISMA through the following databases: WOS and Scopus. WOS found 15 articles on AoP and 6 on Project-Oriented Learning and sustainability. In Scopus 2 were found in 2019. The main results show that in the University, especially in the branches of engineering, AoP is widely used, however, it is rarely related to SDGs. Among the conclusions, we highlight the need for research on project-oriented learning and sustainable development goals.

COVID-19 pandemic has drastically reduced physical activity (PA) behaviors of many people. Physical education (PE) is considered one of the privileged instruments to promote youths’ PA. We aimed to investigate the effects of lockdown on PE teachers’ behaviors promoting their students’ out-of-school PA and differences between three European countries. 1146 PE teachers (59.5% females) from France, Italy, and Turkey answered an online questionnaire about guiding students to engage in out-of-school PA, helping them to set PA goals, encouraging in self-monitoring PA, the pedagogical formats of these behaviors and feedback asked to students. RM-MANCOVAs were performed with a 2 Time (before and during the lockdown) × 3Country (France, Italy, Turkey) × 2 Gender factorial design, using teaching years and perceived health as covariates. A significant multivariate main effect Time×Country×Gender (p&lt;.001) was reported for the behaviors promoting students’ PA, with French and Italian teachers increasing some behaviors, while Turkish teachers showing opposite trends. Significant multivariate main effects Time×Country were found for formats supporting the behaviors (p &lt; .001) and for asked feedback formats (p&lt;.001). The massive contextual change imposed by lockdown caused different reactions in teachers from the three countries. Findings are informative for PA promotion and PE teachers’ education.

In recent years, team-based learning (TBL) is gaining popularity as a student-centered active collaborative learning strategy in healthcare education. This paper reports the design, implementation, and impact of a "hybrid team-based learning" (H-TBL) for one respiratory lecture in year two undergraduate physiotherapy program in 2019. A retrospective study was conducted, including 136 second-year undergraduate physiotherapy students using H-TBL design for one respiratory lecture topic. Student engagement was evaluated based on the percentage of completion for pre-class work, attendance to classroom session, and submission of formative creative assignment. Student' performance on formative creative tasks was evaluated based on thinking and learning rubric. Student perceptions were assessed based on the student's feedback using "Mentimeter." 109/ 136 (80%) students attended the COPD 2 session. 90/109 (82%) students engaged in COPD 1 (web-based) and tRAT in COPD 2 session. 54/109 (50%) students provided feedback and 67/90 (74%) students submitted formal formative creative assignment on completion of COPD 2 session. This study confirms that H-TBL enhances student's active engagement, creativity, and equilibration of their subject knowledge. Future randomized studies are mandated to explore the validity and specificity of H-TBL in diverse physiotherapy curriculum to evaluate the long-term student engagement and academic performance.

The purpose of this systematic review is to provide second language acquisition (SLA) researchers with an overview of research trends in this field in the last ten years (2009-2019). In doing so, three international peer-reviewed journals, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Language Teaching Research, and The Modern Language Journal, were selected. 150 articles were systematically selected and analyzed. The analysis of data resulted in identifying six descriptive themes. Results showed that some areas of second language acquisition still need further exploration while some areas are of great interest for researchers. Some suggestions for future research as well as implications of the study were discussed in detail.

Attitudes and behaviours towards the natural environment have been extensively studied in certain cultural settings during the last 40 years. In education, the teacher's ability to grasp the fundamentals of an academic subject may define his or her own attitudes towards that discipline; certainly the reverse is also valid. The correlations between affective and cognitive domains appear to play a significant role in teaching-learning dynamics. In this study we seek to assess whether the affective posture towards school sciences of a cohort of teachers in rural communities shows an association with their cognitive competence in the disciplines. The results of this study provide evidence that there is a statistically significant correlation between the cognitive and affective domains for in-service teachers. The affective domain, therefore, could serve as a predictor for cognitive competency and self-efficacy expectancies with respect to both content and career fulfilment.

This article discusses the use of game design as a method for interdisciplinary project-based teaching in secondary school education to convey informatics and society topics. There is a lot of knowledge about learning games but little background on project-based teaching using game design as a method. We present the results of an analysis of student-created games and an evaluation of a student-authored database on learning contents found in commercial off-the-shelf games. We further contextualise these findings using a group discussion with teachers. Results underline the effectiveness of project-based teaching to raise awareness for informatics and society topics. We further outline informatics and society topics that are particularly interesting to students, genre preferences and potentially engaging game mechanics stemming from our analyses.

Abstract: Due to sever land degradation throughout Ethiopia, the government has been implementing massive soil and water conservation works at the watershed scale since 2010 to conserve soil and water resources. However, most of the rivers in Ethiopia carry huge amount of sediment in the rainy season and streams dried up in the dry period. Planned research was conducted on two paired micro-catchments of Mt.Yewel with the main objective of evaluating the impact of soil and water conservation measures on base flow modification. Stream flow and rainfall data were collected from 22/11/2020 to 8/11/2022 on both micro-catchments at their outlets and center respectively. Base flow separation was done using Sp. Hydro base flow separation tool and SPSS Ver.21 statistical software was employed for data analysis. Flow duration curve (FDC) for both watersheds were developed. The FDC indicated that the base flow from treated micro-catchment is higher and sustained in the dry season while it is low and un-sustained in untreated micro-catchment. From statistical analysis, there is a significant difference in base flow enhancement between the treated and untreated micro-catchment (P<0.001). Hence, catchment treatment contributed to improve groundwater recharge and sustain base flow in the dry season by reducing surface runoff during rainy season.

Abstract: Due to sever land degradation throughout Ethiopia, the government has been implementing massive soil and water conservation works at the watershed scale since 2010 to conserve soil and water resources. However, most of the rivers in Ethiopia carry huge amount of sediment in rainy season and streams dried up in the dry period. Planned research was conducted on two paired micro-catchments Mt.Yewel with the main objective of evaluating the impact of soil and water conservation measures on base flow modification. Stream flow and rainfall data were collected from 22/11/2020 to 8/11/2022 on both micro-catchments at their outlets and center respectively. Base flow separation was done using Sp. Hydro base flow separation tool and SPSS Ver.21 statistical software was employed for data analysis. Flow duration curve (FDC) for both watersheds were developed. The FDC indicated that the base flow from treated micro-catchment ishigher and sustained in the dry season while it is low and un-sustained in untreated micro-catchment. From statistical analysis, there is a significant difference in base flow enhancement between the treated and untreated micro-catchment (P<0.001). Hence, catchment treatment contributed to improve groundwater recharge and sustain base flow in the dry season by reduce surface runoff during rainy season.

Evaluating soil quality across various altitudinal gradients, both with and without vegetative cover, is crucial for the proper functioning of soil and optimal crop growth, thereby contributing to the sustainability of agroecosystems. Although the altitudinal gradient significantly influences soil quality, the ability to predict this quality, expressed through an index, in soils with and without vegetative cover, is still insufficiently explored. This study aimed to assess soil quality in the Jun Jun micro-watershed, located in the Tungurahua region, Ecuador. To achieve this objective, three categories of altitudinal gradients were selected: less than 2800 meters above sea level (masl), between 2800 and 2900 masl, and greater than 2900 masl. A total of 24 soil samples were collected in the mentioned gradients, considering both areas with and without vegetative cover. The indicators used included chemical and biological parameters such as soil organic carbon (OC), earthworm density (WD), earthworm biomass (WB), organic matter (OM), pH, total nitrogen (TN), and organic carbon (OC). The results revealed that in areas with altitudinal gradients below 2800 masl, soil quality index values were higher compared to other altitudes. In vegetated areas, a decrease in index values was observed as the altitudinal gradient increased, indicating a deterioration in soil quality with altitude. These findings are significant in providing a quantitative assessment of the effects of altitudinal gradient and vegetative cover influence on soil quality.

Motivated by the increasing need of optimised micro-devices for droplets production in medical and biological applications, this paper introduces an integrated approach for the study of the liquid-liquid droplet creation in flow-focusing micro cross-junctions. The micro-junction considered is characterised by a restriction of the channels cross-sections in the junction, which has the function of focusing the flow in the region of the droplet formation. The problem is studied numerically in OpenFOAM environment and validated by the comparison with experimental results obtained by high-speed camera images and micro-PIV measurements. The analysis of the forces acting on the dispersed phase during the droplet formation and the diameter of the droplets obtained numerically are considered for the development of a model of the droplet breakup under the squeezing regime. On the basis of energy balancing during the breakup, a relation between interfacial tension, the size of the cross-sections in the junction, and the time interval needed for droplet creation is obtained, which yields a novel correlation between the dimensionless length of the droplet and the dimensionless flow rate. This correlation is general and can be used to predict the droplet diameters produced by similar micro-junctions with different aspect ratios and extended to different geometries of flow-focusing micro-junctions.

A recent study reported that micro-osteoperforations (MOPs) accelerated tooth movement by activating alveolar bone remodeling. However, very little is known about the relationship between MOPs and external apical root resorption during orthodontic treatment. In this study, in order to investigate the mechanism which MOPs accelerate tooth movement without exacerbating the progression of root resorption, we measured the volume of resorbed root, and performed the immunostaining for the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end-labelling method (TUNEL) exposed MOPs during rat experimental tooth movement. Male Wistar rats (11 week old) were divided into 3 groups: 10-g orthodontic force (optimal force) applied to the maxillary first molar (optimal force: OF group), 50-g orthodontic force application (heavy force: HF group) and 10-g force application plus 3 small perforations of the cortical plate (OF+MOPs group). On days 1, 4, 7, 10 and 14 after force application, the tooth movement and root volume were investigated by micro-computed tomography. Furthermore, the expression levels of apoptotic cells in pressure sides of periodontal ligament (PDL) and surround hard tissues were determined by TUNEL staining. The OF+MOP group exhibited a 1.8-fold increase in tooth movement on days 7, 10 and 14 compared with the OF group. On days 14, the HF group had a higher volume of root loss than the OF and OF+MOP groups. On the same day, the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the HF group increased at the root (cementum) site whereas that in the OF group increased at the alveolar bone site. Furthermore, that in the OF + MOP group increased at the alveolar bone site compared with the OF group. These results suggest that MOPs accelerate orthodontic tooth movement without exacerbating the progression of root resorption.

This research was aimed to apply probiotics in aquaculture to improve fish health and growth performances of Nile tilapia. Fingerlings with a mean initial body weight of 11.43±1.27 and mean initial body length of 6.2±0.84 were stocked in 12 happas. Fish were fed four times daily with four different diets having 30% crude protein at 5% of their body weight and reared for two months. The four diets were control diet, diets treated with Saccharomyces cervisiae, Lactobacillus fermentum and their combinations at a dosage of (1.5×108CFU/ml). Growth performance and gut pathogenic microbial of fish were investigated. Accordingly results indicated that the highest performance interims of body weight gain (33.43±1.65g), daily growth rate (0.51±0.05g), feed conversion ratio (1.89±0.10), and protein efficiency ratio (1.78±0.09) was achieved in fish fed with L. fermentum whereas, the lowest performance (19.83±2.23, 0.33±0.04, 3.52±0.39, and 0.97±0.11) respectively was achieved in fish fed with control diet. Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli and, Proteus were detected in gut of fish. In conclusion, the present study confirmed that Nile tilapia fed with probiotics Lac-tobacillus fermentum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae based diets improved growth and health of Nile tilapia reared under pond culture condition.

Both the use of plastic and its decomposition products lead to the distribution of plastic all over the earth and finally to the uptake by all kind of living beings including humans. Still, it is widely unknown what risks harbor the widespread uptake of plastics for human health, espe-cially regarding contributing factors like size, shape and surface composition. We assessed the uptake of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-nano- and microbeads for HEK293-, A549- and MRC5 cells. Via confocal microscopy, we localized multiple PMMA-beads inside the cytosol of cells. Uptake of PMMA-beads did not alter cell growth and cell division, implying no short-term toxicity towards human cells. Further, we used a cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)-mediated reporter assay to assess whether internalized PMMA-nanobeads alter cell-signaling pathways. In contrast to the in vitro transcription, where the addition of PMMA-nanobeads abolished the transcription, no changes regarding CREB-mediated cell sig-naling are given in HEK293-cells. Our data led to the assumption that PMMA-nano-and mi-crobeads are internalized via endocytosis and end up as lysosomes within the cells cytosol. Therefore, we concluded differences regarding the surface composition of the PMMA-nanobeads mainly affect its potential to alter cell signaling. These findings emphasize the key role the sur-face composition plays regarding microplastic and its risks for human health.

This study aims to formulate binary cementitious systems containing silica fume (SF) and micro quartz (MQ) to improve cementitious concrete's durability and mechanical properties. In this investigation, we examined the effects of different essential variables, such as the level of SF and MQ replacement and the ratio of the water-binder (w/b). In this study, the w/b ratios were 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, and 0.4. Replacement levels for SF were 8, 10, and 12%, while replacement levels for MQ were 5, 8, 10, 15, 25, and 35%. The porosity and permeability decreased with an increase in replacement levels, regardless of the type of fine material used or the amount of replacement. Meanwhile, the strength increased markedly with SF replacement, reaching its maximum MQ of 25% at the SF level. The strength of the SF mixing was the highest in all mixes, and it remained the highest until 15% of MQ was replaced. The ultrafine size of MQ particles contributes to the improvement of compressive strength, porosity, and permeability in a similar way to SF particles, despite their high crystalline structure. Furthermore, in this study, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to verify the influence of each variable on the studied response.

Abstract: Autophagy has a dual role in gliomagenesis in a microRNA-modulated environment. We investigated the potential relevance of autophagy in glioma development and survival by exploring the association of autophagy-associated genes and microRNAs in low- and high-grade gliomas. Real-time PCR (qPCR) was used to determine the expression of genes and microRNAs in 50 fresh glioma tissues while Formalin-fixed paraf-fin-embedded tissues of the same patients were used for immunohistochemistry. The Mann-Whitney U-test test, Spearman correlation test, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were performed to evaluate the expression, association, and overall survival in patients respectively. The expression of LC3, AKT, and miR-21 was increased in high-grade glioma compared to low-grade glioma while ULK2 expression was decreased in high-grade glioma. A strong positive correlation was observed for ULK2 with UVRAG, PTEN, miR-7, and miR-100, while the moderate correlation with mTOR, Beclin1, miR-30, miR-204, miR-374, miR-21 and miR-126 in low-grade glioma, while a moderate positive correlation between ULK2 and PI3K, PTEN, ULK1, VPS34, mTOR, Beclin1, UVRAG, AKT and miR-374, and between AKT and ULK1, VPS34, UVRAG, and miR-7 in high-grade gliomas. The low ULK2 and LC3 expression group was significantly associated with better overall survival in gliomas while miR-21 overexpression showed a poor prognosis in glioma patients. Therefore, miR-21, ULK2, and LC3 may serve as prognostic biomarkers for survival outcomes in glioblastoma.

Broadband noise reduction over the low-mid frequency range in the building and transportation sectors requires compact lightweight sound absorbers of typical sub-wavelength size. The use of multi-layered closely-spaced (micro-)perforated membranes or panels, if suitably optimized, contribute to these objectives. However, their elasticity or modal behaviors often impede the final acoustical performance of the partition. The objective of this study is to get insights into the vibrational effects induced by elastic limp membranes or panels volumetric modes on the optimized sound absorption properties of acoustic fishnets and functionally-graded partitions (FGP). Cost-efficient global optimization of the partition total frequency-averaged dissipation is achieved from simulated annealing with vibrational effects included through an impedance translation method. Critical coupling analysis reveals how the membranes or panels vibrations redistribute the locations of the Hole-Cavity resonances as well as their cross-coupling with the panels first volumetric mode. It is found that elastic limp micro-perforated membranes broaden the first pass-band of acoustic fishnets while smoothing out the dissipation ripples over the FGP optimiza-tion bandwidth. Moreover, the resonance frequency of the first panels mode sets an upper limit to the broadband optimization of FGPs, up to which high dissipation, low reflection and low trans-mission can be achieved.

Magnesium ions play an important immune-regulatory role during bone repair. For this study, we prepared micro-nano bioactive glass containing magnesium, which can release magnesium, silicon, and calcium ions and has a positive impact on osteogenic differentiation and vascular regeneration. In this study, MgMNBG was compounded and combined with PLGA and PCL for 3D printing. Afterwards, the physicochemical properties and bone repair performance of the scaffolds were evaluated through in vitro and in vivo experiments. We also investigated the effects of MgMNBG on osteogenic differentiation, immune regulation, and vascular regeneration. The results showed that MgMNBG can inhibit inflammation and promote osteogenesis and angiogenesis by regulating macrophages. PLGA/PCL/MgMNBG scaffolds have good osteogenic and angiogenic effects, and the composite scaffolds have excellent bone repair performance and potential application value.

Aluminum alloy (Al6061) sheet micro-hole processing is extensively used in smartphones, tablet PC, and smart wearable devices. The micro-hole processing is commonly performed using laser, micro drilling, microstamping, micro discharge, and chemical etching technologies. Micro-stamping technology is characterized by precision and rapid processing, but the precision positioning of the punch head and lower die is one of the major difficulties in micro-hole stamping, especially in manufacturing array micro-holes. This study used stamping without die technology. This technology uses an array punch head to punch the lower die holes on the base, then performs array micro-hole stamping. The experimental results show that a micro-hole array with 37 micro-holes were successfully manufactured and can be reproduced many times. Tapered array micro-holes with a high aspect ratio can be manufactured using this stamping without die technology; the micro-hole depth can be 260μm, the inlet diameter is 116μm, and the outlet diameter is 25μm. This study has successfully developed the feasibility of array micro-hole stamping technology.

This study evaluated the efficacy of experimental TEGDMA-functionalized dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (T-DCPD) filler-based resin-based composites (RBC) in preventing caries lesions around the restoration margins (secondary caries”, SC). Standardized Class-II cavities were made in sound molars having the cervical margin in dentin. Cavities were filled with a commercial resin-modified glass-ionomer cement (RMGIC) or experimental RBCs containing a BisGMA-TEGDMA resin blend and one of the following inorganic fractions: 60 wt.% Ba glass (RBC-0); 40 wt.% Ba glass, 20 wt.% T-DCPD (RBC-20); 20 wt.% Ba glass, 40 wt.% T-DCPD (RBC-40). An open-system bioreactor produced S. mutans biofilm-driven SC. Specimens were scanned using micro-CT to evaluate demineralization depths. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy characterized the specimens’ surfaces, while antimicrobial activity, buffering effect, and ion uptake by the biofilms were also evaluated. ANOVA and Tukey’s test were applied at p<0.05. RBC-0 and RBC-20 showed SC development in dentin, while RBC-40 and RMGIC significantly reduced the lesion depth at the restoration margin (p<0.0001). Initial enamel demineralization could be observed only around RBC-0 and RBC-20 restorations. A direct antibiofilm activity could explain SC reduction by RMGIC, while a buffering effect on biofilm’s acidogenicity explained the behavior of RBC-40. Experimental RBC with CaP-releasing functionalized T-DCPD filler could prevent SC with the same efficacy as F-releasing materials.

This research was carried out with the objective of analyzing the principles of social and solidarity economy in the community funds of the rural sector of Pichincha, Ecuador. Small organizations promote microcredits for local, social and economic development, representing an alternative to those managed by traditional banks. The research was descriptive, non-experimental field research. The population analyzed consisted of 220 community funds, and the size of the representative sample was 49 community organizations that practice solidarity finance. The data were collected through online questionnaires using a Likert scale, and the validity of this approach was judged by experts; the reliability of the instrument obtained was 0.95 using the Cronbach’s alpha method. The results highlight that in these organizations, the following traits prevail: associativity, self-management and organization. However, autonomy and solidarity have a negative valuation, which shows that strategies must be rethought to achieve the empowerment of the financial service. This will allow them to be sustainable and to expand with more benefits that promulgate financial activity and promote structures in rural community networks that promote local development and strengthen deficient principles as a basis for generating a greater benefit to the partners.