Asthmatics Exhibit Altered Oxylipin Profiles Compared to Healthy Individuals after Subway Air Exposure

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and oxidants are important factors in causing exacerbations in asthmatics, and the source and composition of pollutants greatly affects pathological implications.This randomized crossover study investigated responses of the respiratory system to Stockholm subway air in asthmatics and healthy individuals. Eicosanoids and other oxylipins were quantified in the distal lung to provide a measure of shifts in lipid mediators in association with exposure to subway air relative to ambient air.Sixty-four oxylipins representing the cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolic pathways were screened using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)-fluid. Validations through immunocytochemistry staining of BAL-cells were performed for 15-LOX-1, COX-1, COX-2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Multivariate statistics were employed to interrogate acquired oxylipin and immunocytochemistry data in combination with patient clinical information.Asthmatics and healthy individuals exhibited divergent oxylipin profiles following exposure to ambient and subway air. Significant changes were observed in 8 metabolites of linoleic- and α-linolenic acid synthesized via the 15-LOX pathway, and of the COX product prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). Oxylipin levels were increased in healthy individuals following exposure to subway air, whereas asthmatics evidenced decreases or no change.Several of the altered oxylipins have known or suspected bronchoprotective or anti-inflammatory effects, suggesting a possible reduced anti-inflammatory response in asthmatics following exposure to subway air. These observations may have ramifications for sensitive subpopulations in urban areas

Evaluation of a MOOC on "Sustainability in Everyday Life" -The teachers' experiences

Abstract Universities all over the world have been developing Massive Online Open Courses, MOOCs. In this paper, we discuss our experiences during the production of and running the MOOC "Sustainability in everyday life", that was developed at Chalmers University of Technology. The MOOC ran over a period of 7 weeks, from early June until late July, 2015 and attracted about 9000 participants. The purpose of this paper is (1) to describe and evaluate the further development and content production, and subsequent running of the course; and (2) to share our experiences of running a MOOC for the first time. An action research approach, that focuses on the experience of the teachers, was combined with information obtained from the course statistics, and from the course evaluations by the participants. This approach was used to identify the challenges that were met during the development of the course material and running the MOOC. The results show that, on the one hand, the major challenges were the planning of the content production process and the formulation of the assignments. On the other hand, although time consuming, the production of the video content was perceived as a nice activity. The course statistics and evaluations by the MOOC participants reflected the teachers' experiences to some extent, and this information can be used to improve the MOOC. The role of MOOCs in higher education for sustainable developmen

Design and early development of a MOOC on "Sustainability in Everyday Life" : role of the teachers

Universities all over the world have developed Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) to attract students and explore new ways of learning. The MOOC “Sustainability in Everyday Life” (SiEL) is currently in its design and early development stage at Chalmers University of Technology. It aims at developing the MOOC participant’s capacity to appreciate the complexity of sustainable everyday life by developing skills such as systems thinking and critical reflection on the information flow in public media. This paper aims at sharing first experiences regarding the design and early development of the SiEL MOOC and identifying the role(s) of the teachers and its features during the course design and early development based on these first experiences. An action research approach was used to reach these aims, and the teachers’ narratives about these first experiences were used as data source. Three distinct processes (pedagogical, production and interaction) and six roles (owners, teachers, learners, designers, developers and negotiators) were identified. The teachers’ roles and the processes and activities taking place during the design and early development are closely linked to each other and need to be carefully considered in order to guarantee a successful MOOC design and development process.Non UBCUnreviewedFacultyOthe