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As the drive to move from traditional face-to-face classroom learning to e-learning is ever in demand, the knowledge corpus exposed to students can be overwhelming because there is a need to automate certain functions of the e-learning framework. One of these functions is the course recommendation feature. Course recommendations help students save time and effort to explore the courses from a large pool of resources while considering multiple attributes such as social influence, prior knowledge, and learning style. These numerous criteria make the course recommendation a complex process that requires the researcher to promote online education and intelligently assist learners in identifying the relevant online courses. Although various researchers have put forward strategies to address course recommendation problems, learning style, a critical element in ensuring effective learning, has not been considered part of the course recommendation framework. This paper puts forward a learning style-based course recommendation framework that is expected to provide highly automated decision support for learners in identifying the most suitable course to improve their efficiency in e-learning. Additionally, based on this framework, instructors can analyze and re-evaluate the courses according to students' learning styles. The proposed framework reduces the time and effort involved in seeking relevant courses, thereby improving the learning experience.

Abstract The orientation of emerging technologies on the Internet is moving toward decentralisation. Botnets have always been one of the biggest threats to Internet security, and botmasters have adopted the robust concept of decentralisation to develop and improve peer-to-peer botnet tactics. This makes the botnets cleverer and more artful, although bots under the same botnet have symmetrical behaviour, which is what makes them detectable. However, the literature indicates that the last decade has lacked research that explores new behavioural characteristics that could be used to identify peer-to-peer botnets. For the abovementioned reasons, in this study, we propose new two methods to detect peer-to-peer botnets: first, we explored a new set of behavioural characteristics based on network traffic flow analyses that allow network administrators to more easily recognise a botnet’s presence, and second, we developed a new anomaly detection approach by adopting machine-learning and deep-learning techniques that have not yet been leveraged to detect peer-to-peer botnets using only the five-tuple static indicators as selected features. The experimental analyses revealed new and important behavioural characteristics that can be used to identify peer-to-peer botnets, whereas the experimental results for the detection approach showed a high detection accuracy of 99.99% with no false alarms. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Background Research pertaining to the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in various healthcare settings is emerging. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of immersive VR in a haemodialysis setting and its effects on patients’ adherence to dialysis regimens and quality of life in an Australian renal service. Trial design A crossover Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) was conducted in regional Queensland, Australia. The CONSORT reporting guidelines were used. Methods The intervention was the use of immersive VR headsets to view three scenarios designed to represent the country of northern Queensland. Intervention and control periods were each four weeks’ duration, with a one-week washout period. The primary objective was to compare participants’ attendance at scheduled haemodialysis sessions between intervention and control periods. Secondary objectives included comparing adherence to fluid allowances, and changes in quality-of-life measures. Adult patients attending haemodialysis treatments three times per week were eligible. Data were gathered from medical records, the self-reported AQoL 6D scale, the K-5 scale and participant feedback. A survey was used to obtain clinicians’ feedback on the feasibility of immersive VR reality in this setting. Results Data were obtained for the 34 patients who completed the trial (one participant was withdrawn from the study) and 49 staff who completed the clinicians’ survey. No harm or adverse events occurred. There were no statistically significant differences in attendance or adherence to fluid allowances between the intervention and control periods. Improvements in quality of life and mental wellbeing for participants who had lower self-reported measures at the commencement of the trial. Feedback from patients and clinicians was positive overall. Patients suggested modifications to the scenarios for enhanced engagement with VR. Conclusions Results suggest haemodialysis patients can benefit from VR while on treatment. Further trials with larger sample sizes are needed to determine relationships between VR usage and patient outcomes. Trial registration The trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). Registration number: ACTRN12621000732886. Registration date 01/06/2021.

Collaborative learning, social interdependence and computer mediated communication (CMC) have been broadly studied in higher education research. Collaborative learning has often been associated with a social interdependence understanding. However, this study explores the relationship from an exclusively student motivation perspective in order to gain insight over the factors that encourage students' positive interdependence in small peer groups. Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic which, has shifted student learning to online platforms learners have found themselves engaging in computer mediated communication more than ever. Therefore, the study aims to explore CMC's influence over student motivations towards achieving mutual-interest in their small groups. Besides that, past studies concerning these areas have been mostly quantitative in nature, thus, this study used a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with 9 participants from the Communications programme of a private higher educational institution in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The interview findings identified few factors that transformed their self-interest motivation to mutual-interest motivation. These being: accountability, quality of work outcome, type of coursework & group size. Additionally, CMC was not directly influential in encouraging students to grow mutual interest in their small group. Besides that, there were no significant difference between the roles of synchronous or asynchronous communication in specifically motivating students towards achieving positive social interdependence. The findings prove beneficial for educators and educational administrators when designing collaborative tasks and relevant policies or guidelines.

Nanotechnology is developing into a fast-expanding discipline with applications in science and technology, and nanostructures are a crucial research tool in many fields. Due to their remarkable electrical, optical, magnetic, catalytic, and pharmacological capabilities, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have drawn study interest. Natural elements (plants, microorganisms, fungi, etc.) are utilized in a chemical-free, environmentally benign way to synthesize metals and metal oxides. The optical, electrical, and antimicrobial qualities of silver nanoparticle (AgNP) make them a popular choice. More than 200 active ingredients, including water-soluble, organic-soluble, and volatile chemicals, are found in Ganoderma. The main components are polysaccharides, adenosine, and terpenoids, each of which has exceptional therapeutic properties. This article explains the synthesis of Ag NPs by Ganoderma lucidum and tests the antibacterial effectiveness for use in biological applications.

Study Design Basic research. Purpose This finite element (FE) analysis (FEA) aimed to compare the biomechanical parameters in multilevel posterior cervical fixation with the C7 vertebra instrumented by two techniques: lateral mass screw (LMS) vs. transpedicular screw (TPS). Overview of Literature Very few studies have compared the biomechanics of different multilevel posterior cervical fixation constructs. Methods Four FE models of multilevel posterior cervical fixation were created and tested by FEA in various permutations and combinations. Generic differences in fixation were determined, and the following parameters were assessed: (1) maximum moment at failure, (2) maximum angulation at failure, (3) maximum stress at failure, (4) point of failure, (5) intervertebral disc stress, and (6) influence of adding a C2 pars screw to the multilevel construct. Results The maximum moment at failure was higher in the LMS fixation group than in the TPS group. The maximum angulation in flexion allowed by LMS was higher than that by TPS. The maximum strain at failure was higher in the LMS group than in the TPS group. The maximum stress endured before failure was higher in the TPS group than in the LMS group. Intervertebral stress levels at C6–C7 and C7–T1 intervertebral discs were higher in the LMS group than in the TPS group. For both models where C2 fixation was performed, lower von Mises stress was recorded at the C2–C3 intervertebral disc level. Conclusions Ending a multilevel posterior cervical fixation construct with TPS fixation rather than LMS fixation at the C7 vertebra provides a stiff and more constrained construct system, with higher stress endurance to compressive force. The constraint and durability of the construct can be further enhanced by adding a C2 pars screw in the fixation system.

Two sets of 28 interspecific HxB hybrids generated in LxT fashion, along with their parents were evaluated for 11 yield and fibre quality parameters. GCA variances were lower than SCA variances for all the characters in both sets, as indicated by their lower ratios suggesting predominance of non-additive gene action. Based on both per se and gca effects, GJHV 374 BT, RAJAT BT, ICB 39 and CCB 141 in Set I and GJHV 374 BT, SURAJ BT, ICB 176 and SUVIN in Set II were found to be the best parents which could be utilized for the hybridization programme to obtain superior segregants with yield and fibre qualities. The hybrids viz., RAJAT BTxICB 99, RAJAT BTxICB 34,SURAJ BTxICB 39, GJHV 374 BTxICB 264, SURAJ BTxICB 264 and SURAJ BTxICB 284 showed significant sca effects. Hence, it may be concluded that the above hybrids are the best specific combiners for different yield-contributing and fibre-quality traits. The sca effect was found to be positive in17 crosses and 11 crosses for single plant yield in set I and II, respectively. Similarly, six crosses each in sets I and II were found with a positive sca effect for fibre length.