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Education is a complex system that requires multiple perspectives and levels of analysis to understand its contexts, dynamics, and actors’ interactions, particularly concerning technological innovations. This paper aims to identify some of the most promising trends in blended learning implementations in higher education, the capabilities provided by the technology (e.g., datafication), and the contexts of use of these capabilities. This literature review selected and analyzed forty-five peer-reviewed journal articles. The findings highlight some common capabilities among digital educational technologies. In particular, digital tools or platforms with human-to-machine interaction capabilities may enhance automated processes for blended learning delivery modes. In this context, digital technologies such as video capsules and intelligent tutoring systems may improve learning-teaching activities. First, by providing access to more students and facilitating self-paced online learning activities. Second, by offering an individual path of learning for each student, thus improving out-of-class activities and feedback. Educational technology capabilities (ETC) provide complementary insights to identify the best approach when aligning learning goals in technology-based implementations. Further research will be required to empirically validate these results.

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo mostrar como en el Protágoras Platón se desliga del intelectualismo socrático hacia un intelectualismo de la justificación que no excluye el papel que juega lo irracional en la conducta del ser humano. A diferencia del intelectualismo socrático, que postula que la areté es únicamente conocimiento. Estableciendo las bases de la vida mixta descrita en el Filebo, donde Platón incluye lo racional y lo irracional en la consecución de la vida buena (Phlb., 61b).     The present work aims to show how, in the Protagoras, Plato distances himself from Socratic intellectualism toward an intellectualism of justification that does not exclude the role played by the irrational in human conduct. Unlike Socratic intellectualism, which maintains that aretê is solely knowledge, this shift lays the groundwork for the mixed life described in the Philebus, where Plato includes both the rational and the irrational in the pursuit of the good life (Phlb., 61b).

Literature reviews as standalone papers serve various purposes; these include the development of new theories, the shaping of future research, the production or knowledge dissemination, and support of evidence-based practices. Review papers, as a foundational block of the research process, may promote further research with higher level of quality. However, in some cases, this methodological approach raises questions about their scientific rigor, trustworthiness, systematicity, and transparency. The main goal of this study is to assess transparency levels in previous review papers pertaining to blended learning in higher education. To complete this goal, this study collects and analyzes information about the report of methodological decisions and research activities in 40 review papers. As a result, in this descriptive review paper, we identify some patterns about the type of reviews and their transparency levels. Findings also demonstrate that most efforts (80%) remain focused on describing a phenomenon in the formats of narrative reviews (65%) and descriptive reviews (15%). These types of papers show low levels of transparency in their reporting process. Nevertheless, trends indicate in the last 5 years an increase in other types of published review papers such as critical, meta-analysis, and qualitative systematic reviews. This represents an important shift in the research domain. Finally, we argue that, regardless of its type, each review paper should have a minimum level of transparency in order to ensure trustworthiness in the research process.

This study analyzes the use of digital technologies in a project aimed at strengthening local capacities in native language research in the department of Vaupés, Colombia. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we developed several digital resources, including a digital research repository, a bulletin board, a web page, and multimedia content in the native language and Spanish. Inspired by the concept of technological practice, we argue that technology can enhance native language safeguarding processes if it is viewed as a system involving technical, organizational, and cultural aspects. Related concepts such as social appropriation of knowledge and scientific communication were implemented to work on organizational and cultural aspects, through transmedia content, and address communication needs in a multilingual and culturally diverse territory. This work contributes to showing how technologies as a practice can provide technically robust, culturally appropriate, and sustainable solutions. Este estudio analizó el uso de tecnologías digitales en un proyecto orientado al fortalecimiento de capacidades locales en investigación sobre lenguas nativas en el departamento del Vaupés, Colombia. A través de un enfoque interdisciplinario, se desarrollaron diversos recursos digitales, tales como un repositorio digital de investigaciones, un tablero de consulta, una página web y contenidos multimediales en lengua nativa y español. Inspirados en el concepto de práctica tecnológica, argumentamos que la tecnología puede potenciar procesos de salvaguarda de lenguas nativas siempre que se contemple como un sistema que involucra aspectos técnicos, organizacionales y culturales. Conceptos conexos como la apropiación social del conocimiento y la comunicación científica fueron movilizados para trabajar aspectos organizacionales y culturales mediante contenidos transmedia, para abordar las necesidades de comunicación en un territorio multilingüe y culturalmente diverso. Este trabajo contribuye a visibilizar cómo las tecnologías como práctica pueden proveer soluciones técnicamente robustas, culturalmente apropiadas y sostenibles.

To assess the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in the treatment of outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at higher risk of developing severe illness, through a systematic review with meta-analyses of observational studies. A systematic search was performed, in accordance with the Cochrane search methods, to identify observational studies that met the inclusion criteria. The outcomes of mortality and hospitalization were analyzed. Search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Library. Two reviewers independently screened references, selected the studies, extracted the data, assessed the risk of bias using ROBINS-I tool and evaluated the quality of evidence using the GRADE tool. This study followed the PRISMA reporting guideline. A total of 16 observational studies were finally included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that in comparison to standard treatment without antivirals, nirmatrelvir-ritonavir reduced the risk of death by 59% (OR = 0.41; 95% CI: 0.35-0.52; moderate certainty of evidence). In addition, a 53% reduction in the risk of hospital admission was observed (OR = 0.47; 95% CI: 0.36-0.60, with very low certainty of evidence). For the composite outcome of hospitalization and/or mortality, there was a 56% risk reduction (OR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.31-0.64, moderate certainty of evidence). The results suggest that nirmatrelvir-ritonavir could be effective in reducing mortality and hospitalization. The results were valid in vaccinated or unvaccinated high-risk individuals with COVID-19. Data from ongoing and future trials may further advance our understanding of the effectiveness and safety of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and help improve treatment guidelines for COVID-19.

AbstractIntroduction: Excess skin after bariatric metabolic surgery may negatively impact quality of life (QoL). Nevertheless, not every eligible patient undergoes body contouring surgery (BCS), which may be explained by differences in QoL. The objective of this study was to assess the differences in QoL between patients with and without a desire for BCS after bariatric metabolic surgery and to identify predictive factors that contribute to this desire. Methods: Patients completed the BODY-Q and a question regarding any desire for BCS, 6 months and yearly after bariatric metabolic surgery. BODY-Q outcomes were compared between patients with and without a desire for BCS and corrected for excess skin. Results: A total of 380 patients who completed 3 years of follow-up were included. Of these patients, 69.5% desired BCS. Patients who did not desire BCS demonstrated significantly higher QoL scores across all domains at every follow-up moment compared to patients who desired BCS (except physical functioning at 3 years). These associations were largely explained by the amount and burden of excess skin. Younger age was the only significant predictor for desiring BCS when correcting for excess skin. Conclusion: Patients with a desire for BCS demonstrated significantly lower QoL compared to patients without a desire due to a high burden of excess skin, which emphasizes the need for effective treatments aiming to improve QoL such as BCS.

It is of fundamental importance to evaluate the ability of climate models to capture the large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and, in the context of a rapidly increasing greenhouse forcing, the robustness of the changes simulated in these patterns over time. Here we approach this problem from an innovative point of view based on dynamical systems theory. We characterize the atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic in the CMIP5 historical simulations (1851–2000) in terms of two instantaneous metrics: local dimension of the attractor and stability of phase-space trajectories. We then use these metrics to compare the models to the Twentieth Century Reanalysis version 2c (20CRv2c) over the same historical period. The comparison suggests that (i) most models capture to some degree the median attractor properties, and models with finer grids generally perform better; (ii) in most models the extremes in the dynamical systems metrics match large-scale patterns similar to those found in the reanalysis; (iii) changes in the attractor properties observed for the ensemble-mean 20CRv2c are artifacts resulting from inhomogeneities in the standard deviation of the ensemble over time; and (iv) the long-term trends in local dimension observed among the 56 members of the 20CR ensemble have the same sign as those observed in the CMIP5 multimodel mean, although the multimodel trend is much weaker.

The nuclear receptor retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) plays a critical role in driving Th17 cell differentiation and expansion, as well as IL-17 production in innate and adaptive immune cells. The IL-23/IL-17 axis is implicated in several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and biologics targeting IL-23 and IL-17 have shown significant clinical efficacy in treating psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. JNJ-61803534 is a potent RORγt inverse agonist, selectively inhibiting RORγt-driven transcription versus closely-related family members, RORα and RORβ. JNJ-61803534 inhibited IL-17A production in human CD4 + T cells under Th17 differentiation conditions, but did not inhibit IFNγ production under Th1 differentiation conditions, and had no impact on in vitro differentiation of regulatory T cells (Treg), nor on the suppressive activity of natural Tregs. In the mouse collagen-induced arthritis model, JNJ-61803534 dose-dependently attenuated inflammation, achieving ~ 90% maximum inhibition of clinical score. JNJ-61803534 significantly inhibited disease score in the imiquimod-induced mouse skin inflammation model, and dose-dependently inhibited the expression of RORγt-regulated genes, including IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-22 and IL-23R. Preclinical 1-month toxicity studies in rats and dogs identified doses that were well tolerated supporting progression into first-in-human studies. An oral formulation of JNJ-61803534 was studied in a phase 1 randomized double-blind study in healthy human volunteers to assess safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. The compound was well tolerated in single ascending doses (SAD) up to 200 mg, and exhibited dose-dependent increases in exposure upon oral dosing, with a plasma half-life of 164 to 170 h. In addition, dose-dependent inhibition of ex vivo stimulated IL-17A production in whole blood was observed, demonstrating in vivo target engagement. In conclusion, JNJ-61803534 is a potent and selective RORγt inhibitor that exhibited acceptable preclinical safety and efficacy, as well as an acceptable safety profile in a healthy volunteer SAD study, with clear evidence of a pharmacodynamic effect in humans.

The kidney and brain play critical roles in the regulation of blood pressure. Neuropeptide FF (NPFF), originally isolated from the bovine brain, has been suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension. However, the roles of NPFF and its receptors, NPFF-R1 and NPFF-R2, in the regulation of blood pressure, via the kidney, are not known. In this study, we found that the transcripts and proteins of NPFF and its receptors, NPFF-R1 and NPFF-R2, were expressed in mouse and human renal proximal tubules (RPTs). In mouse RPT cells (RPTCs), NPFF, but not RF-amide-related peptide-2 (RFRP-2), decreased the forskolin-stimulated cAMP production in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, dopamine D1-like receptors colocalized and co-immunoprecipitated with NPFF-R1 and NPFF-R2 in human RPTCs. The increase in cAMP production in human RPTCs caused by fenoldopam, a D1-like receptor agonist, was attenuated by NPFF, indicating an antagonistic interaction between NPFF and D1-like receptors. The renal subcapsular infusion of NPFF in C57BL/6 mice decreased renal sodium excretion and increased blood pressure. The NPFF-mediated increase in blood pressure was prevented by RF-9, an antagonist of NPFF receptors. Taken together, our findings suggest that autocrine NPFF and its receptors in the kidney regulate blood pressure, but the mechanisms remain to be determined.

COVID-19 has shown that international collaborations and global data sharing are essential for health research, but legal obstacles are preventing data sharing for non–pandemic-related research among public researchers across the world, with potentially damaging effects for citizens and patients.