The Potential of Digital Tools in Art Lessons at Junior School Level to Improve Artistic Ability Using Tamazight Fonts

The aim of this research is to explore how pupils in art classes can use creative digital art tools to redesign Tamazight fonts, in order to develop children’s artistic creativity, enable them to learn about a new culture, and to help the teacher assess the creativity of pupils in the art class. It can also help students to improve their talents in drawing. The study could relate to research in Libya among the Amazigh people (better known as Berber) and possibly the development of Tamazight fonts with new uses in art. The research involved students aged 9-10 years old working with digital art tools, and was designed to explore the potential of digital technology by discovering suitable tools and techniques to develop children’s artistic performance using Tamazight fonts. The project also sought to show the aesthetic aspects of these characters and to stimulate the artistic creativity of these young people

Can Digital Drawing Tools Significantly Develop Children’s Artistic Ability and Creative Activity?

This study aims to investigate how the new digital art tools can significantly improve children‟s artistic ability and creative activity. This particular research tested 16 students aged 9-10 years old in art classes, with the intention of presenting a model for the development and measurement of technological creativity. It uses a modified TAM technology acceptance model to assess the usefulness of digital art tools. The children were provided with appropriate subjects and techniques to improve their performance with the tools, and the relationship between art, technology and creativity was explored. The results of the project show a general improvement in pupils‟ artistic ability and inventiveness through the development of their technological skills, as well as greater ability to express themselves visually

Assessing Creativity: A Test for Drawing Production using Digital Art Tools The concept, application and assessment of digital art teaching as a means of enhancing creative proficiency

This paper describes the Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production (TCT-DP), including its design, concept and mode of assessment, and the practical consequences of its application in a specific context. The test was used to evaluate the performance of groups of students as part of a case study exploring the use of digital art tools for drawing in a junior school. The students used specific digital art software via both computers and tablets, and also drew manually using a variety of devices. TCP-DP evaluates drawing production by means of a set of 14 criteria. At the same time, this study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory to assess the ease of use and usefulness of the digital tools. The test was trialled with students aged 9-10 years in different ability groups. There were no significant differences in performance between male and female participants. Details of various related studies, together with data concerning the reliability and validity of the TCT-DP test, are also provided. The study finds that motivation is an important factor in improving young people’s artistic ability

Assessing Creativity: A Test for Drawing Production using Digital Art Tools

This paper describes the Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production (TCT-DP), including its design, concept and mode of assessment, and the practical consequences of its application in a specific context. The test was used to evaluate the performance of groups of students as part of a case study exploring the use of digital art tools for drawing in a junior school. The students used specific digital art software via both computers and tablets, and also drew manually using a variety of devices. TCP-DP evaluates drawing production by means of a set of 14 criteria. At the same time, this study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) theory to assess the ease of use and usefulness of the digital tools. The test was trialled with students aged 9-10 years in different ability groups. There were no significant differences in performance between male and female participants. Details of various related studies, together with data concerning the reliability and validity of the TCT-DP test, are also provided. The study finds that motivation is an important factor in improving young people’s artistic ability

The effects of magnesium administration on cardiac ventricular function, heart rate variability, and myocardial morphological changes in a chronic diabetes disease model in rats

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world, and the main cause of the mortality is cardiovascular complications. Such diabetic cardiovascular complications include coronary heart disease, cardiac autonomic neuropathy and ventricular dysfunction. Furthermore, DM is associated with electrolyte disturbances such as those involving potassium, calcium and magnesium (Mg2+). Among these electrolyte disturbances hypomagnesemia is common in diabetes and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Recent evidence has shown that Mg2+ supplementation can prevent cardiac autonomic dysfunction and improve ventricular compliance in acute DM. However, the underlying mechanisms of Mg2+ action and Mg2+ effects in chronic DM are unknown. Therefore, the present study explored the effects of Mg2+ administration and its possible mechanisms of action in chronic streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were injected intraperitoneally (i.p) once with either STZ (50 mg/Kg body weight) or the STZ vehicle (citrate buffer). The rats were then injected i.p once daily with either magnesium sulphate (MgSO4; 270 mg/Kg body weight) or the MgSO4 vehicle (normal saline) for 28 consecutive days. Blood glucose and body weight were measured throughout the period of the study. On day 28 of the experiments, in-vivo heart rate variability (HRV) parameters were measured to assess cardiac autonomic function using tail pulse plethysmography. Orthostatic stress was induced by tilting the animals from flat position to 70° head-up position. Ex-vivo hemodynamic and electrocardiograph (ECG) measurements were performed on a Langendorff perfusion system. Histological studies of ventricular tissue were performed using haematoxylin-eosin and Masson’s trichrome staining. Western blot analyses of the cardiac autonomic presynaptic marker (synaptophysin) and of the mitochondrial marker of oxidative stress (ATP5A) were performed on right atrial tissue. Plasma Mg2+ concentration was measured using automated photometric assays. Results: STZ treatment significantly increased the blood glucose level and decreased the body weight, and these STZ effects were not prevented by Mg2+ treatment. Diabetes decreased the root mean square differences of successive normal-to-normal intervals (RMSSD) and increased the low frequency (LF) /high frequency (HF) power ratio, which are both indicative of abnormal HRV. These diabetes effects on HRV parameters were significantly prevented by Mg2+ treatments (P < 0.05, STZ+Mg vs. STZ). DM also reduced both the heart rate and orthostatic stress-induced tachycardia, and these effects were reversed by Mg2+ treatment (P < 0.05, STZ+Mg vs. STZ). DM also decreased the left ventricular (LV) developed pressure and the maximal rate of LV pressure increase (+dP/dt), and these diabetic effects were prevented by Mg2+ treatment (P < 0.05, STZ+Mg vs. STZ). DM also decreased the maximal rate of LV pressure decline (-dP/dt) and the rate pressure product, but these parameters were not improved by Mg2+ treatment. DM and Mg2+ treatment did not affect the ECG waveforms and the coronary flow rate in all groups. Histologically, there were no differences in ventricular cardiomyocyte width or in the extent of interstitial fibrosis in all groups. Western blot analysis qualitatively showed a decrease in the expression of synaptophysin in DM that was prevented by Mg2+ treatment. Neither DM nor Mg2+ treatment altered ATP5A expression. The plasma Mg2+ concentration was not altered by DM or Mg2+ treatment. Conclusion: This study showed that Mg2+ treatment prevented cardiac autonomic dysfunction and improved hemodynamic function impairment in chronic DM. Based on the expression of synaptophysin, the mechanism through which Mg2+ improved cardiac autonomic function could involve the prevention of synaptic degradation in diabetes. The effects of Mg2+ on hemodynamic impairment in diabetes seemed to be unrelated to the Mg2+ effects on the cardiac histological structure or on the changes in coronary perfusion. Moreover, the overall effects of Mg2+ in diabetes were independent of its effects on the blood glucose level or the alteration of plasma Mg2+ level. Thus, Mg2+ treatment may have long-lasting therapeutic effects on ventricular dysfunction and cardiac autonomic impairment in chronic diabetes, but further studies are needed to explore the precise underlying mechanisms

Investigation of the mechanisms underlying the effects of hyperglycaemia on cardiac structural and electrical remodelling

Background: Diabetes mellitus with uncontrolled hyperglycaemia is a major cause of cardiovascular complications and mortality. The developing foetal heart in-utero is particularly susceptible to hyperglycaemia through pathological remodelling, which results in life-long structural abnormalities such as cardiomyopathy and electrical defects like arrhythmias. However, the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic drug targets remain unclear. In this study, a cardiac developmental cellular model was used to study hyperglycaemia-induced remodelling. Methods: Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were differentiated into pulsatile, cardiac-like cells via embryoid body (EB) formation and cultured under baseline- or high glucose conditions. A Ca2+ -sensitive fluorescent dye Fluo-4 was used to measure calcium transients and a voltage-sensitive dye di-4-ANEPPS was used to record action potentials. Cellular biomarkers were detected using immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy, and Western blotting as well as terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) and 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay. Results: Undifferentiated mESCs were positive for pluripotent transcription factors Nanog and Oct3/4, whereas the cardiac differentiated mESCs were positive for cardiac proteins troponin T, α-actinin 2, connexin 43, sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2 (SERCA 2) and α- and β-myosin heavy chain. Hyperglycaemia decreased the number of beating EBs, their beating rate, and their amplitude of contraction. It also decreased the calcium transient amplitude and the contractile response to ryanodine receptor stimulation by caffeine but did not alter the SERCA 2 expression. The amplitude and duration of action potentials in beating EBs were not altered by hyperglycaemia. However, structural changes included a decrease in EB size and expression of myofilament proteins, α-actinin and α- and β-myosin heavy chain and a disruption of the striated organization of the myofilaments. Hyperglycaemia increased the proportion of TUNEL-positive cells and the expression of the pro-apoptotic marker cytochrome c and decreased the anti-apoptotic protein Bcell lymphoma 2 but did not alter the mitochondrial staining with Mitotracker. It also increased the oxidative stress marker nitrotyrosine but did not alter the extent of EdU nuclear staining nor the expression of the receptor of advanced glycation end-product. The antioxidant n-acetyl cysteine decreased the fraction of hyperglycaemia-induced TUNEL-positive cells and improved the α-actinin striated pattern. Conclusion: Hyperglycaemia suppressed the cardiac differentiation and contractile activity of mESCs as well as disrupted the cardiac myofilament organisation and expression. These effects of hyperglycaemia were likely mediated by mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis triggered by oxidative stress as well as by the abnormalities in calcium signalling. These results have potential clinical implications in foetal diabetic cardiac disease and add novel insights into the mechanistic factors that represent new therapeutic drug targets in the developing foetal heart

The Strategies for Teaching Digital Art in the Classroom as a Way of Enhancing Pupils’ Artistic Creativity

Teaching art by digital means is a big challenge for the majority of teachers of art and design in primary schools, yet it allows relationships between art, technology and creativity to be clearly identified. The aim of this article is to present a modern way of teaching art, using digital tools in the art classroom to improve creative ability in pupils aged between nine and eleven years. It also presents a conceptual model for creativity based on digital art. The model could be useful for pupils interested in learning to draw by using an e-drawing package, and for teachers who are interested in teaching modern digital art in order to improve children’s creativity. By illustrating the strategy of teaching art through technology, this model may also help education providers to make suitable choices about which technological approaches are most effective in enhancing students’ creative ability, and which digital art tools can benefit children by developing their technical skills. It is also expected that use of this model will help to develop skills of social interaction, which may in turn improve intellectual ability

Evaluating the Use of Digital Art Tools for Drawing to Enhance Artistic Ability and Improve Digital Skill among Junior School Students

This study investigated some results of the use of digital art tools by junior school children in order to discover if these tools could promote artistic ability and creativity. The study considers the ease of use and usefulness of the tools as well as how to assess artwork produced by digital means. As the use of these tools is a relatively new development in Art education, this study may help educators in their choice of which tools to use and when to use them. The study also aims to present a model for the assessment of students’ artistic development and creativity by studying their artistic activity. This model can help in determining differences in students’ creative ability and could be useful both for teachers, as a means of assessing digital artwork, and for students, by providing the motivation to use the tools to their fullest extent. Sixteen students aged nine to ten years old were observed and recorded while they used the digital drawing tools. The study found that,according to the students’ own statements, it was not the ease of use but the successful effects the tools provided which motivated the children to use them

Applying a Modified Technology Acceptance Model to the Use and Assessment of Digital Art Tools

The article aims to investigate how digital tools can significantly develop the artistic ability in children and promote their general creativity. It intends to focus on children between 9-10 years old in a classroom environment. The purpose of this particular study is to test a modified technology acceptance model in the field of digital art and creativity by adding motivation as a new variable to provide better models of assessment, and to develop new models of identifying relationships between art, technology, and creativity. The model must be adapted to provide children with suitable tools and techniques to improve their performance through their attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. This amended model will assess children’s creativity and should provide a method of assessing the effectiveness of digital art tools for stimulating creativity in children. This study takes a mixed method approach including qualitative and quantitative research. Three methods were used: observation, questionnaire, and semi-structured interview