Teaching Science And Engineering-Related Topics Using Experiential Methods: An Action-Research Study

This article describes a portion of a long-term action-research project investigating the teaching of the science of transportation to high school students using the case study or experiential method. Other aspects integrated with the project-oriented study are the use of Constructivist theory, the Socratic Method, and the incorporation of competitiveness and accountability as experienced more typically in a business rather than an education environment. The authors describe the role of the Institute, the need for intervention, and the framing of assignments to make a broad range of topics in engineering, science, and management among others within reach of 9th to 12th grade high school students. By constantly monitoring students’ comprehension of complex material, the faculty, staff and professionals got new insight into their own practice as teacher educators. The ongoing action research intends to follow students after the completion of the program to measure the sustainability of their learning experience

A Qualitative Study Of The Strategic Plans Of Three Higher Education Institutions

This research will use qualitative measures to determine differences in strategy between an Ivy-League Majority University, like the University of Pennsylvania, and two historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s). One of the HBCU’s selected will be based on U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s best black colleges. The other will be Delaware State University. The source of the data will be archival and would include interviews and surveys. The objective is to determine best practices in strategy and implementation that can be applied to institutions to gain competitive advantage. Another goal is to add to the body of research about higher education institutions

Are Summer Institutes Funded By FHWA And State Departments Of Transportation Effective? Case Studies Of Evaluation And Learning Strategies

For the last three years Delaware State University (DSU) and the University of Vermont (UVM) have implemented a new approach to a summer program or “Institute” that emphasizes evaluation and accountability. Beginning in 2005, both institutes changed the focus of their programs to fulfill not only the primary objectives of instilling inquiry and project-based learning in the field of transportation but to incorporate rigorous evaluation criteria. If goals are very narrowly defined, that is, counting the number of students entering a career in transportation, then there are limitations. Students in the 9th through 12th grades are still experimenting with different career paths. Summer programs like the Summer Transportation Institute enable students to get to post-secondary education. Evaluation is necessary to ensure that funds are spent effectively but success should be measured on several fronts

Space Requirements for Justified Versus Unjustified Columns; Technical Writing Style: Attitudes Toward Scientists and Their Writing; The Use and Effectiveness of Paid Promotion for Extension Education Programs

Three research briefs: Space Requirements for Justified Versus Unjustified Columns; Technical Writing Style: Attitudes Toward Scientists and Their Writing; The Use and Effectiveness of Paid Promotion for Extension Education Program

Changes in neuromuscular structure and functions of human colon during ageing are region-dependent

Objective: To determine if human colonic neuromuscular functions decline with increasing age.Design: Looking for non-specific changes in neuromuscular function, a standard burst of electrical field stimulation (EFS) was used to evoke neuronally mediated (cholinergic/nitrergic) contractions/relaxations in ex vivomuscle strips of human ascending and descending colon, aged 35–91 years (macroscopically normal tissue; 239 patients undergoing cancer resection). Then, to understand mechanisms of change, numbers and phenotype of myenteric neurons (30 306 neurons stained with different markers), densities of intramuscular nerve fibres (51 patients in total) and pathways involved in functional changes were systematically investigated (by immunohistochemistry and use of pharmacological tools) in elderly (≥70 years) and adult (35–60 years) groups.Results: With increasing age, EFS was more likely to evoke muscle relaxation in ascending colon instead of contraction (linear regression: n=109, slope 0.49%±0.21%/year, 95% CI ), generally uninfluenced by comorbidity or use of medications. Similar changes were absent in descending colon. In the elderly, overall numbers of myenteric and neuronal nitric oxide synthaseimmunoreactive neurons and intramuscular nerve densities were unchanged in ascending and descending colon, compared with adults. In elderly ascending, not descending, colon numbers of cell bodies exhibiting choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity increased compared with adults (5.0±0.6 vs 2.4±0.3 neurons/mm myenteric plexus, p=0.04). Cholinergically mediated contractions were smaller in elderly ascending colon compared with adults (2.1±0.4 and 4.1±1.1 g-tension/gtissue during EFS; n=25/14; p=0.04); there were no changes in nitrergic function or in ability of the muscle to contract/relax. Similar changes were absent in descending colon.Conclusion: In ascending not descending colon, ageing impairs cholinergic function

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Therapy in Patients with Cardiac Sarcoidosis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93643/1/j.1540-8167.2012.02350.x.pd

Activated pancreatic stellate cells sequester CD8+ T cells to reduce their infiltration of the juxtatumoral compartment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by a prominent desmoplastic microenvironment that contains many different immune cells. Activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) contribute to the desmoplasia. We investigated whether distinct stromal compartments are differentially infiltrated by different types of immune cells. METHOD: We used tissue microarray analysis to compare immune cell infiltration of different pancreatico-biliary diseased tissues (PDAC, ampullary carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, mucinous cystic neoplasm, chronic inflammation, and chronic pancreatitis), and juxtatumoral stromal (<100 μm from tumor) and panstromal compartments. We investigated the association between immune infiltrate and patient survival times. We analyzed T-cell migration and tumor infiltration in LSL-KrasG12D/+; LSL-Trp53R172H/+; Pdx-1-Cre (KPC) mice, and the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on these processes. RESULTS: Juxtatumoral compartments in PDAC samples from 2 independent groups of patients contained increased numbers of myeloperoxidase(+) and CD68(+) cells, compared with panstromal compartments. However, juxtatumoral compartments of PDACs contained fewer CD8(+), FoxP3(+), CD56(+), or CD20(+) cells than panstromal compartments, a distinction absent in ampullary carcinomas and cholangiocarcinomas. Patients with PDACs that had high densities of CD8(+) T-cells in the juxtatumoral compartment had longer survival times than patients with lower densities. In KPC mice, administration of ATRA, which renders PSCs quiescent, increased numbers of CD8(+) T-cells in juxtatumoral compartments. We found that activated PSCs express cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules that regulate T-cell migration. In vitro migration assays showed that CD8(+) T-cells from PDAC patients had increased chemotaxis towards activated PSCs, which secrete CXCL12, compared with quiescent PSC or tumor cells. These effects could be reversed by knockdown of CXCL12 or treatment of PSCs with ATRA. CONCLUSION: Based on studies of human PDAC samples and KPC mice, activated PSCs appear to reduce migration of CD8(+) T-cells to juxtatumoral stromal compartments, preventing their access to cancer cells. Deregulated signaling by activated PSCs could prevent an effective anti-tumor immune response