Learning Computational Thinking Development in Young Children With Bee-Bot Educational Robotics

It is widely known that when used intentionally and appropriately, technology and interactive media are effective tools to support learning and development. In recent years, there has been a push to introduce coding and computational thinking in early childhood education, and robotics is an excellent tool to achieve this. This chapter presents some results obtained in the development of a learning experience in computational thinking using Bee-Bot educational robotics. The experience involved 47 preschoolers of a kindergarten in Crete, Greece during the period 2019-2020. The study reports statistically significant learning gains between the initial and final assessment of children's computational thinking skills. It was found that children in the treatment group who engaged in the robotic curricular intervention performed better on CT tests. This finding shows that an enhanced teaching experience using robots was beneficial for improving young children's computational thinking skills. The implications for designing appropriate curricula using robots for kindergarteners are addressed.

MODERN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN CONSTRUCTION

The ever-increasing level of competition requires the optimization of the construction process to use automated design systems, which reduces construction costs and reduces lead time. An excellent tool for this is information technology. This article presents the main information technologies used at different stages of the life cycle of building structures.

Hepatitis C Vaccination: Where We Are and Where We Need to Be

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a common cause of chronic liver disease and liver cancer worldwide. Despite advances in curative therapies for HCV, the incidence of new infections is not decreasing at the expected rate to hit the World Health Organization (WHO) target for the elimination of HCV by 2030. In fact, there are still more new cases of infection in the United States and worldwide than are being cured. The reasons for the rise in new cases include poor access to care and the opioid epidemic. The clinical burden of HCV requires a multimodal approach to eradicating the infection. Vaccination would be an excellent tool to prevent incidence of new infections; however, the genetic diversity of HCV and its ability to generate quasispecies within an infected host make creating a broadly reactive vaccine difficult. Multiple vaccine candidates have been identified, but to date, there has not been a target that has led to a broadly reactive vaccine, though several of the candidates are promising. Additionally, the virus is very difficult to culture and testing candidates in humans or chimpanzees is ethically challenging. Despite the multiple barriers to creating a vaccine, vaccination still represents an important tool in the fight against HCV.

Leaf ontogenesis of Trembleya phlogiformis DC. (Microlicieae, Melastomataceae): functional aspects and indumentum characterization

Leaf ontogenesis is determinant for the establishment and regulation of its structural and functional properties, in addition to being an excellent tool for assignment to different groups of angiosperms. Even though the importance of leaf morphology and anatomy for taxonomic use is well known, few studies have addressed the processes of leaf ontogeny in Melastomataceae. Herein, we sought to define the ontogenetic steps of leaf of Trembleya phlogiformis, highlighting the indumentum, to understand the main functional traits. Shoot apex, young and fully expanded leaves were processed by usual light microscopy procedures. At the first node, leaf primordia are densely covered with trichomes and emergences. The adaxial layer of ground meristem gives rise to the palisade parenchyma, the procambium originates from median layers of ground meristem and the spongy parenchyma develops from abaxial layers of ground meristem. The differentiation of isobilateral mesophyll on leaves of T. phlogiformis, a common feature in Microlicieae, comes from ground meristem stratification. However, T. phlogiformis stands out by showing in the leaf mature spongy parenchyma cells with irregular shapes. The leaf ontogeny reveals distinct mechanisms of cell differentiation and may be important for the establishment of functional adaptive traits.

Polarized Neutron Diffraction: An Excellent Tool to Evidence the Magnetic Anisotropy—Structural Relationships in Molecules

This publication reviews recent advances in polarized neutron diffraction (PND) studies of magnetic anisotropy in coordination compounds comprising d or f elements and having different nuclearities. All these studies illustrate the extent to which PND can provide precise and direct information on the relationship between molecular structure and the shape and axes of magnetic anisotropy of the individual metal sites. It makes this experimental technique (PND) an excellent tool to help in the design of molecular-based magnets and especially single-molecule magnets for which strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy is required.

Indirect and atypical imaging signals of endometriosis: A wide range of manifestations

Background: Whilst some imaging signs of endometriosis are common and widely accepted as ‘typical’, a range of ‘subtle’ signs could be present in imaging studies, presenting an opportunity to the radiologist and the surgeon to aid the diagnosis and facilitate preoperative surgical planning. Objective: To summarise and analyse the current information related to indirect and atypical signs of endometriosis by ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Through the use of PubMed and Google scholar, we conducted a comprehensive review of available articles related to the diagnosis of indirect signs in transvaginal US and MRI. All abstracts were assessed and the studies were finally selected by two authors. Results: Transvaginal US is a real time dynamic exploration, that can reach a sensitivity of 79-94% and specificity of 94%. It allows evaluation of normal sliding between structures in different compartments, searching for adhesions or fibrosis. MRI is an excellent tool that can reach a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 77% and allows visualisation of the uterus, bowel loop deviation and peritoneal inclusion cysts. It also allows the categorisation and classification of ovarian cysts, rectovaginal and vesicovaginal septum obliteration, and small bowel endometriotic implants. Conclusion: The use of an adequate mapping protocol with systematic evaluation and the reporting of direct and indirect signs of endometriosis is crucial for detailed and safe surgical planning.

TractoInferno: A large-scale, open-source, multi-site database for machine learning dMRI tractography

TractoInferno is the world's largest open-source multi-site tractography database, including both research- and clinical-like human acquisitions, aimed specifically at machine learning tractography approaches and related ML algorithms. It provides 284 datasets acquired from 3T scanners across 6 different sites. Available data includes T1-weighted images, single-shell diffusion MRI (dMRI) acquisitions, spherical harmonics fitted to the dMRI signal, fiber ODFs, and reference streamlines for 30 delineated bundles generated using 4 tractography algorithms, as well as masks needed to run tractography algorithms. Manual quality control was additionally performed at multiple steps of the pipeline. We showcase TractoInferno by benchmarking the learn2track algorithm and 5 variations of the same recurrent neural network architecture. Creating the TractoInferno database required approximately 20,000 CPU-hours of processing power, 200 man-hours of manual QC, 3,000 GPU-hours of training baseline models, and 4 Tb of storage, to produce a final database of 350 Gb. By providing a standardized training dataset and evaluation protocol, TractoInferno is an excellent tool to address common issues in machine learning tractography.

El uso de los videojuegos para la enseñanza de la Historia Antigua en Educación Secundaria: una investigación educativa

El objetivo de este trabajo es valorar la idoneidad del videojuego Dominations como herramienta para crear un aprendizaje significativo en el alumnado de 1.º de ESO para los contenidos relacionados con la cultura mesopotámica, así como los beneficios que aporta su utilización en el aula. Para ello, se ha diseñado una investigación de tipo interpretativa estructurada en diferentes fases (búsqueda de experiencias de aula, preparación y diseño de los instrumentos de investigación y didáctica, investigación en el aula y evaluación de los resultados), teniendo como herramienta principal el videojuego. Este proceso revela, además de la mejora de la motivación en el aula, una mejor percepción de los contenidos, así como una mejor comprensión del tiempo histórico. El videojuego supone pues una excelente herramienta dentro del marco educativo formal para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la civilización mesopotámica. The objective of this work is to analyse the suitability of the Dominations video game as a tool to create meaningful learning in 1st year ESO students for the content related to Mesopotamian culture, as well as the benefits that its use in the classroom provides. To do this, an interpretive-type research structured in different phases has been designed (search for classroom experiences, preparation and design of research and didactic instruments, research in the classroom and evaluation of the results), with the video game as the main tool. This process reveals, in addition to improved motivation in the classroom, a better perception of the content, as well as a better understanding of historical time. Thus, the video game is an excellent tool within the formal educational framework for the teaching and learning of the Mesopotamian civilization.

Rapid and Accurate Approach for Honeybee Pollen Analysis Using ED-XRF and FTIR Spectroscopy

Since honeybee pollen is considered a “perfectly complete food” and is characterized by many beneficial properties (anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, etc.), it has begun to be used for therapeutic purposes. Consequently, there is a high need to develop methods for controlling its composition. A thorough bee pollen analysis can be very informative regarding its safety for consumption, the variability of its composition, its biogeographical origin, or harvest date. Therefore, in this study, two reliable and non-destructive spectroscopy methods, i.e., ED-XRF and ATR–FTIR, are proposed as a fast approach to characterize bee pollen. The collected samples were derived from apiaries located in west-central Poland. Additionally, some commercially available samples were analyzed. The applied methodology was optimized and combined with sophisticated chemometric tools. Data derived from IR analyses were also subjected to two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy. The developed ED-XRF method allowed the reliable quantification of eight macro- and micro-nutrients, while organic components were characterized by IR spectroscopy. Principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and obtained synchronous and asynchronous maps allowed the study of component changes occurring dependently on the date and location of harvest. The proposed approach proved to be an excellent tool to monitor the variability of the inorganic and organic content of bee pollen.

Childhood circumstances shape multimorbidity and functional limitation in the old age in England: a life course pathway model

The study presents a pathway model of the risk of multimorbidity and functional limitation from childhood to old age. Childhood circumstances, measured as parents’ social class, adverse experiences and child’s health, influenced multimorbidity and functional limitation at old age indirectly via material, psychosocial and behavioural pathways. These pathways acted as magnifiers of early inequalities: they enhanced the unequal impacts of the pre-existing differences between individuals in socio-economic position, psychological connections and health. The pathway effects measured at age 50-64 years were larger than the total effects of childhood social class, adverse experiences and child’s health. Thus pre-retirement appears to be an important period for the health of ageing adults in England. However, in people suffering from complex multimorbidity the total effect of the adverse experiences of abuse and family dysfunction in childhood surpassed the effect of adult psychosocial circumstances. This suggests an early-life sensitive period for this outcome. The strength of the paper is that childhood circumstances were approached from a broader angle than the usual focus on either the material conditions or extreme experiences of children. The framework is based on a complex mediation analysis with both parallel and serial mediators where the SEM framework with latent factors is an excellent tool to handle multiple regression relationships and measurement error.