Development of an "Online-based Learning Skills Enhancement Program” to Promote Self-regulated Learning: Instructional Devices to Suit On-line Learning and Effects of the Program

Because of the expanding COVID-19, it has become more important that students acquire learning skills by themselves and become self-regulated learners. Considering such circumstances with COVID-19, motivation for using ICT in education at schools is relatively higher than in earlier years. The current study has developed an "online-based learning skills improvement program" conducted in a public high school to support students' learning skills for studying by themselves. The participants were 33 10th-grade students who voluntarily participated in the program. The program included six sessions and gave concrete instructions on how to study more in-depth. As a result, students showed an orientation toward self-regulated learning, such as a proactive attitude toward analyzing their failure and utilizing it in subsequent learning. The current paper also discusses the factors and conditions of change in learners' behaviours. © 2022, Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology. All Rights Reserved.

Volatile Organic Compounds in Patients' Breath during Conversation

Purpose: The protracted coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unprecedented global health, social, economic, and psychological crisis. COVID-19 is transmitted via droplets, which include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by COVID-19 carriers. As a result, medical healthcare workers interacting with COVID-19 patients are at a high risk of infection. In this study, we measured the concentration of total VOCs (TVOCs) in the droplets of patients during conversations. Method(s): Thirty patients aged 20-88 years were enrolled in this study. The amounts of VOCs, formaldehyde (HCHO), and carbon dioxide (CO2) as surrogate parameters for the patient's droplets were measured at a distance of 1 m from the patients under the following conditions: 1) no conversation with a mask on, 2) conversation with a mask on, 3) conversation without a mask on, and 4) no conversation without a mask on. Result(s): The average concentrations of TVOCs (mg/m3 ), HCHO (mg/m3 ), and CO2 (ppm) were all the lowest before the masked conversation (1.79 +/- 1.72, 0.25 +/- 0.25, 1193 +/- 516), increased during the masked conversation (1.99 +/- 1.87, 0.29 +/- 0.24, 1288 +/- 555), were the highest during the unmasked conversation (3.10 +/- 1.86, 0.45 +/- 0.28, 1705 +/- 729), and decreased to baseline after the unmasked conversation (1.89 +/- 1.88, 0.26 +/- 0.27, 1191 +/- 518, respectively). Variations in TVOC and HCHO concentrations were positively correlated with patient age (TVOC: r = 0.42, p = 0.019 and HCHO: r = 0.47, p = 0.008). Conclusion(s): Wearing a mask reduced the VOC concentrations measured during conversations more than when a mask was not worn. Therefore, wearing a mask can reduce the emission of airborne droplet-derived VOCs and thereby reduce the risk of transmission of unknown patient-derived infections. Clinical Trial Registration no: The Clinical Trial Registration no: (UMIN000039595).Copyright © 2023 Ito et al.

Concentration of droplets from patients during normal breathing and speech and their importance in protection from coronavirus sars-cov-2 (Covid-19) infection

Purpose: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic and the number of infected individuals and deaths continue to increase globally. COVID-19 is transmitted through airborne droplets formed during coughing and sneezing and from the saliva of infected patients. Medical healthcare workers are often at risk of infection. This study measured the aerosol derived from the droplets of patients during the conversation. Methods: Overall, 25 patients aged 21 to 87 years were enrolled. The amount of droplets from the patient was measured under the following four conditions: 1) no conversation with the mask on;2) conversation with the mask on;3) conversation without the mask;and 4) no conversation without the mask. Particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) and PM with a diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10) were measured as representative aerosols at a position of 1 meter from the patients. Results: The concentrations of PM2.5 (μg/m3) were as follows: 22.7 ± 10.2 before the conversation with the mask, 24.2 ± 10.2 during the conversation with the mask, 32.3 ± 14.7 during the conversation without the mask, and 23.1 ± 9.9 after the conversation without the mask. The concentrations of PM10 (μg/m3) were as follows: 39.8 ± 18.2 before conversation with the mask, 41.9 ± 18.5 during conversation with the mask, 55.5 ± 27.2 during conversation without the mask, and 40.4 ± 17.8 after conversation without the mask. The variations in the PM2.5 and PM10 correlated negatively with the age of patients (PM2.5: R = -0.51, p = 0.0009 and PM10: R = -0.53, p = 0.0063). Conclusion: Wearing a mask can prevent airborne droplet formation and reduce transmission of infection.