Teaching and Learning Process on Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development

Though the global situation is complex and daunting, education for sustainable development attempts to empower students with the knowledge, values, and ability not only to understand but also to act upon that understanding so that they might create a world in harmony with the environment. In summer 2009, 19 university students from North America came to Iceland to study renewable energy on the SIT Study Abroad (a program of World Learning) program ―Iceland: Renewable Energy, Technology, and Resource Economics.‖ The students traveled around the country, stayed with host families, underwent intensive coursework, visited power plants and policy firms, and conducted independent study projects. This case study evaluates the program through in-depth interviews, qualitative analysis, and discussion of the emergent theory and its implications for practice. It was found that the students were most influenced by their cultural experiences with their host families which made them reflect on themselves and their place in the world. They learned real-life applications and gained confidence for the future by seeing renewable energy and examples of sustainability in practice in Iceland. From the analysis and discussion, it emerged that the program could be improved by emphasis on ethics in the course, creation of a forum for critical, multidisciplinary, open discussion, and community involvement and student agency in the independent study project. Reflection on my role as facilitator led me to realize that I need to create a challenging but encouraging learning environment in order to enable authentic, transformative, sustainable education

Adverse effects in the fish embryo acute toxicity (FET) test : a catalogue of unspecific morphological changes versus more specific effects in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos

Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grand agreement No 681102.Publisher PD

1,8-cineol potentiates IRF3-mediated antiviral response in human stem cells and an ex vivo model of rhinosinusitis

Common cold is one of the most frequent human inflammatory diseases caused by viruses and can facilitate bacterial super-infections resulting in sinusitis or pneumonia. The active ingredient of the drug Soledum, 1,8-cineole, is commonly applied for treating inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract. However, the potential of 1,8-cineole for treating primary viral infections of the respiratory tract remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrate for the first time that 1,8-cineole potentiates Poly(I:C)-induced activity of the anti-viral transcription factor Interferon Regulatory Factor 3, while simultaneously reducing pro-inflammatory NF-κB-activity in human cell lines, inferior turbinate stem cells (ITSCs) and ex vivo cultivated human nasal mucosa. Co-treatment of cell lines with Poly(I:C) and 1,8-cineole resulted in significantly increased IRF3 reporter gene activity compared to Poly(I:C) alone, whereas NF-κB-activity was reduced. Accordingly, 1,8-cineole- and Poly(I:C)-treatment led to increased nuclear translocation of IRF3 in ITSCs and a human ex vivo model of rhinosinusitis compared to the Poly(I:C)-treated approach. Nuclear translocation of IRF3 was significantly increased in ITSCs and slice cultures treated with LPS and 1,8-cineole compared to the LPS-treated cells mimicking bacterial infection. Our findings strongly suggest that 1,8-cineole potentiates the antiviral activity of IRF3 in addition to its inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory NF-κB-signalling and may thus broaden its field of application

Gait in children with infantile/atypical autism: Age-dependent decrease in gait variability and associations with motor skills

Gait and its associations with prewalking motor milestones, motor skills, and age were investigated in 32 children with infantile/atypical autism and 36 typically developing controls. Gait was assessed using GAITRite recordings of spatiotemporal and variability gait parameters. Parents reported their child's prewalking motor milestones. Motor skills were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. Children with infantile/atypical autism showed higher gait variability than controls, indicating a less regular walking pattern. In children with infantile/atypical autism gait variability was negatively associated with motor skills, but there was no such association with prewalking motor milestones. The higher gait variability in children with infantile/atypical autism showed an age-dependent decrease, suggesting that their gait regularity converges toward that of typically developing children

Curie temperature and carrier concentration gradients in MBE grown GaMnAs layers

We report on detailed investigations of the electronic and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic GaMnAs layers, which have been fabricated by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy. Superconducting quantum interference device measurements reveal a decrease of the Curie temperature from the surface to the GaMnAs/GaAs interface. While high resolution x-ray diffraction clearly shows a homogeneous Mn distribution, a pronounced decrease of the carrier concentration from the surface towards the GaMnAs/GaAs interface has been found by Raman spectroscopy as well as electrochemical capacitance-voltage profiling. The gradient in Curie temperature seems to be a general feature of GaMnAs layers grown at low-temperature. Possible explanations are discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, submitted to AP

Bottom-up assembly of metallic germanium

Extending chip performance beyond current limits of miniaturisation requires new materials and functionalities that integrate well with the silicon platform. Germanium fits these requirements and has been proposed as a high-mobility channel material, a light emitting medium in silicon-integrated lasers, and a plasmonic conductor for bio-sensing. Common to these diverse applications is the need for homogeneous, high electron densities in three-dimensions (3D). Here we use a bottom-up approach to demonstrate the 3D assembly of atomically sharp doping profiles in germanium by a repeated stacking of two-dimensional (2D) high-density phosphorus layers. This produces high-density (1019 to 1020 cm-3) low-resistivity (10-4Ω ∙ cm) metallic germanium of precisely defined thickness, beyond the capabilities of diffusion-based doping technologies. We demonstrate that free electrons from distinct 2D dopant layers coalesce into a homogeneous 3D conductor using anisotropic quantum interference measurements, atom probe tomography, and density functional theory

The sarcoma diagnostic interval: a systematic review on length, contributing factors and patient outcomes

Sarcomas are rare and heterogeneous mesenchymal tumours of soft tissue or bone, making them prone to late diagnosis. In other malignancies, early diagnosis has an impact on stage of disease, complexity of therapeutic procedures, survival and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Little is known about what length of diagnostic interval should be considered as delay in patients with bone (BS) or soft tissue sarcomas (STS). To quantify total interval (defined as time from first symptom to histological diagnosis) and its components, identify contributing factors to its length and determine the impact on patients’ outcome in terms of mortality and HRQoL. A systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Seventy-six articles out of 2310 met the predefined inclusion criteria. Total intervals, varied broadly; 9–120.4 weeks for BS and 4.3–614.9 weeks for STS. Older age and no initial radiological examinations were contributing factors for a long interval in BS, while in STS results were conflicting. The impact of length of total interval on clinical outcomes in terms of survival and morbidity remains ambiguous; no clear relation could be identified for both BS and STS. No study examined the impact on HRQoL. The length of total interval is variable in BS as well as STS. Its effect on outcomes is contradictory. There is no definition of a clinically relevant cut-off point that discriminates between a short or long total interval. Prospero: CRD42017062492

Gold and silver diffusion in germanium: a thermodynamic approach

Diffusion properties are technologically important in the understanding of semiconductors for the efficent formation of defined nanoelectronic devices. In the present study we employ experimental data to show that bulk materials properties (elastic and expansivity data) can be used to describe gold and silver diffusion in germanium for a wide temperature range (702–1177 K). Here we show that the so-called cBΩ model thermodynamic model, which assumes that the defect Gibbs energy is proportional to the isothermal bulk modulus and the mean volume per atom, adequately metallic diffusion in germanium

Integrate mechanistic evidence from new approach methodologies (NAMs) into a read-across assessment to characterise trends in shared mode of action

This read-across case study characterises thirteen, structurally similar carboxylic acids demonstrating the application of in vitro and in silico human-based new approach methods, to determine biological similarity. Based on data from in vivo animal studies, the read-across hypothesis is that all analogues are steatotic and so should be considered hazardous. Transcriptomic analysis to determine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in hepatocytes served as first tier testing to confirm a common mode-of-action and identify differences in the potency of the analogues. An adverse outcome pathway (AOP) network for hepatic steatosis, informed the design of an in vitro testing battery, targeting AOP relevant MIEs and KEs, and Dempster-Shafer decision theory was used to systematically quantify uncertainty and to define the minimal testing scope. The case study shows that the read-across hypothesis is the critical core to designing a robust, NAM-based testing strategy. By summarising the current mechanistic understanding, an AOP enables the selection of NAMs covering MIEs, early KEs, and late KEs. Experimental coverage of the AOP in this way is vital since MIEs and early KEs alone are not confirmatory of progression to the AO. This strategy exemplifies the workflow previously published by the EUTOXRISK project driving a paradigm shift towards NAM-based NGRA.Toxicolog

Autologous lipoinjection of the patulous Eustachian tube: Harvesting, cellular analysis, clinical application and preliminary outcome

Sudhoff H, Schürmann M, Brotzmann V. Autologous lipoinjection of the patulous Eustachian tube: Harvesting, cellular analysis, clinical application and preliminary outcome. Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 2016;1(5)