Deformability-based circulating tumor cell separation with conical-shaped microfilters: Concept,optimization, and design criteria     

Mohammad Aghaamoo  Zhifeng Zhang  Xiaolin Chen  Jie Xu 《Biomicrofluidics》2015,9(3)

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) separation technology has made positive impacts on cancer science in many aspects. The ability of detecting and separating CTCs can play a key role in early cancer detection and treatment. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using deformability-based CTC separation microfilters due to their simplicity and low cost. Most of the previous studies in this area are mainly based on experimental work. Although experimental research provides useful insights in designing CTC separation devices, there is still a lack of design guidelines based on fundamental understandings of the cell separation process in the filters. While experimental efforts face challenges, especially microfabrication difficulties, we adopt numerical simulation here to study conical-shaped microfilters using deformability difference between CTCs and blood cells for the separation process. We use the liquid drop model for modeling a CTC passing through such microfilters. The accuracy of the model in predicting the pressure signature of the system is validated by comparing it with previous experiments. Pressure-deformability analysis of the cell going through the channel is then carried out in detail in order to better understand how a CTC behaves throughout the filtration process. Different system design criteria such as system throughput and unclogging of the system are discussed. Specifically, pressure behavior under different system throughput is analyzed. Regarding the unclogging issue, we define pressure ratio as a key parameter representing the ability to overcome clogging in such CTC separation devices and investigate the effect of conical angle on the optimum pressure ratio. Finally, the effect of unclogging applied pressure on the system performance is examined. Our study provides detailed understandings of the cell separation process and its characteristics, which can be used for developing more efficient CTC separation devices.  相似文献   

Trait emotional intelligence and learning styles: the case of Iranian English for Academic Purposes learners     

Mohammad Aliakbari  Rezvan Abol-Nejadian 《教育心理学》2015,35(7):779-793

Although a large body of research has been dedicated to examining emotional intelligence (EI) and learning styles in relation to different factors in academic setting, the relationship between these two variables still necessitates more exploration and deeper study, especially in the Iranian context. To this end, 60 English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners were recruited to fill out the Farsi version of Emotional Intelligence Scale (FEIS-41) and Paragon Learning Styles Inventory (PLSI). The results revealed that the participants achieved the highest score in Optimism/Mood Regulation sub-scale of the FEIS-41. With respect to the four dimensions of PLSI, Sensing, Feeling, Judging and Extrovert were the participants’ preferred learning styles, respectively. Besides, analysis of data illustrated that gender did not affect their EI and learning styles preferences. Furthermore, the significance of 9 out of 12 computed correlations between three sub-skills of FEIS-41 and four dimensions of PLSI indicated the existence of correlation between EI and learning styles preferences of Iranian EAP learners.  相似文献   

An exploration of EFL teachers’ attributions     

Behzad Ghonsooly  Mohammad Ghazanfari  Zargham Ghabanchi 《欧洲师范教育杂志》2015,38(3):378-391

The present study investigated English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ attributions of success and failure. It also set out to investigate whether these attributions vary by teachers’ age, teaching experience, gender and educational level. To do so, 200 EFL teachers were selected according to convenience sampling among EFL teachers teaching English in Language Institutes in Mashhad and Tehran, two cities in Iran. The participants completed the language teacher attribution scale measuring four attributions: teaching competency (TC), teacher effort (TE), student effort (SE) and institution supervision (IS). The present study yielded mixed results regarding English language teachers’ attributions of success and failure events. It was also found that these attributions vary by their age, teaching experience and educational level, but not by gender. The discussion and implications of the research are further presented with reference to the earlier findings.  相似文献   

A novel controller for nonlinear uncertain systems using a combination of SDRE and function approximation technique: Regulation and tracking of flexible-joint manipulators     

Neda Nasiri  Ahmad Fakharian  Mohammad Bagher Menhaj 《Journal of The Franklin Institute》2021,358(10):5185-5212

This paper presents a novel combined State Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE) / Function Approximation Technique (FAT)-based control design for nonlinear uncertain systems. The SDRE is employed to construct an optimal controller and the function approximation technique is utilized to estimate time-varying disturbances and uncertainties. Moreover, a robust term in the proposed control law compensates for the truncation error. The closed-loop stability and boundedness of the tracking error and FAT weights approximation error are proved in the sense of Lyapunov, with consideration of truncation error. Due to the great importance of the adequate performance of transient response from practical point of view, performance evaluation has been accomplished. The proposed scheme is computationally simple due to utilizing the FAT to represent uncertainties and disturbances as a function of time. Compared with the SDRE based SMC, the proposed controller is superior in terms of capability to track a fast and highly complicated trajectory and no need to determine time-varying disturbances and uncertainties bounds. The case study is a Selective Compliant Articulated Robot for Assembly (SCARA) flexible joint manipulator as a representative of highly nonlinear, coupled, large robotic systems. Simulation results easily verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed controller.  相似文献   

SCiMet: Stable,sCalable and reliable Metric-based framework for quality assessment in collaborative content generation systems     

Mohammad Allahbakhsh  Haleh Amintoosi  Behshid Behkamal  Amin Beheshti  Elisa Bertino 《Journal of Informetrics》2021,15(2):101127

In collaborative content generation (CCG), such as publishing scientific articles, a group of contributors collaboratively generates artifacts available through a venue. The main concern in such systems is the quality. A remarkable range of research considers quality metrics partially when dealing with the quality of artifacts, contributors, and venues. However, such approaches have several drawbacks. One of the most notable ones is that they are not comprehensive in terms of the metrics to evaluate all entities, including artifacts, contributors, and venues. Also, they are vulnerable to potential attacks.In this paper, we propose a novel iterative definition in which the quality of artifacts, collaborators, and venues are defined interconnectedly. In our framework, the quality of an artifact is defined based on the quality of its contributors, venue, references, and citations. The quality of a contributor is defined based on the quality of his artifacts, collaborators, and the venues. Quality of a venue is defined based on both quality of artifacts and contributors. We propose a data model, formulations, and an algorithm for the proposed approach. We also compare the robustness of our approach against malicious manipulations with two well-known related approaches. The comparison results show the superiority of our method over other related approaches.  相似文献   

Being a mobile international postgraduate research student with family in the United Kingdom: Conflict,contestation and contradictions     

Shadreck Mwale  Yusuf Sayed  Irfan. A. Rind 《Journal of Further & Higher Education》2018,42(3):301-312

The internationalisation of higher education has influenced the dramatic rise in the mobility of students, academics and knowledge across borders. There has been growing research interest focusing on international students studying abroad. While the student experience is an area of education that is often researched, most research focuses on experiences of undergraduate students. Also in the context of international students, greater research emphasis has been placed on the academic experiences and support available for undergraduates. While such research is important, less attention has been paid to the non-academic experiences of International Post-Graduate Research Students with Families (IPGRSF). This article seeks to fill this gap by focusing on the social worlds of IPGRSF in the UK, examining students’ nuclear family contexts that are often marginalised in discourse. The article legitimises the IPGRSF subaltern world by focusing on how students negotiate its demands; how they negotiate their roles as research students with their other roles as spouses and parents, and the interrelationships among these roles; and how the university as an institution interacts with the students’ subaltern world. The findings show that language plays a significant role in shaping the process of mobility as well as influencing the students’ and their families’ integration and networking in the host country. Also, the findings suggest that students often had positive experiences at departmental level, but felt let down by the wider university support.  相似文献   

21st Century experiences in the development of school-based management policy and practices in Indonesia     

Bandur  Agustinus  Hamsal  Mohammad  Furinto  Asnan 《Educational Research for Policy and Practice》2022,21(1):85-107

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - Since 2001, Indonesian schools have implemented a mandatory school-based management (SBM) policy for better quality education in general and more...  相似文献   

Multimodal learning analytics—In-between student privacy and encroachment: A systematic review     

Paul Prinsloo  Sharon Slade  Mohammad Khalil 《British journal of educational technology : journal of the Council for Educational Technology》2023,54(6):1566-1586

  相似文献   

Understanding privacy and data protection issues in learning analytics using a systematic review     

Qinyi Liu  Mohammad Khalil 《British journal of educational technology : journal of the Council for Educational Technology》2023,54(6):1715-1747

The field of learning analytics has advanced from infancy stages into a more practical domain, where tangible solutions are being implemented. Nevertheless, the field has encountered numerous privacy and data protection issues that have garnered significant and growing attention. In this systematic review, four databases were searched concerning privacy and data protection issues of learning analytics. A final corpus of 47 papers published in top educational technology journals was selected after running an eligibility check. An analysis of the final corpus was carried out to answer the following three research questions: (1) What are the privacy and data protection issues in learning analytics? (2) What are the similarities and differences between the views of stakeholders from different backgrounds on privacy and data protection issues in learning analytics? (3) How have previous approaches attempted to address privacy and data protection issues? The results of the systematic review show that there are eight distinct, intertwined privacy and data protection issues that cut across the learning analytics cycle. There are both cross-regional similarities and three sets of differences in stakeholder perceptions towards privacy and data protection in learning analytics. With regard to previous attempts to approach privacy and data protection issues in learning analytics, there is a notable dearth of applied evidence, which impedes the assessment of their effectiveness. The findings of our paper suggest that privacy and data protection issues should not be relaxed at any point in the implementation of learning analytics, as these issues persist throughout the learning analytics development cycle. One key implication of this review suggests that solutions to privacy and data protection issues in learning analytics should be more evidence-based, thereby increasing the trustworthiness of learning analytics and its usefulness.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Research on privacy and data protection in learning analytics has become a recognised challenge that hinders the further expansion of learning analytics.
• Proposals to counter the privacy and data protection issues in learning analytics are blurry; there is a lack of a summary of previously proposed solutions.

What this study contributes

• Establishment of what privacy and data protection issues exist at different phases of the learning analytics cycle.
• Identification of how different stakeholders view privacy, similarities and differences, and what factors influence their views.
• Evaluation and comparison of previously proposed solutions that attempt to address privacy and data protection in learning analytics.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Privacy and data protection issues need to be viewed in the context of the entire cycle of learning analytics.
• Stakeholder views on privacy and data protection in learning analytics have commonalities across contexts and differences that can arise within the same context. Before implementing learning analytics, targeted research should be conducted with stakeholders.
• Solutions that attempt to address privacy and data protection issues in learning analytics should be put into practice as far as possible to better test their usefulness.

  相似文献