Cartoon planet: Micro-reflection through digital cartoons - a case study on teaching and learning with young people

The young learners of today tend to show little enthusiasm for formal schooling. This does not necessarily mean pupils are not interested in learning or developing new skills and competences. In fact, the opposite often happens in the informal settings they belong to. Finding ways of transferring pupil’s informal learning to the school setting is therefore important. This paper gives a brief overview on the development of informal learning activities to encourage young people’s active reflection on their informally acquired competencies through the use of web technologies. The researchers also explore the role of the teacher, and the need of a participatory learning environment in a less formal classroom. Reflections on the experiences and recommendations are also provided

Power negotiation on the tango dancefloor: The adoption of AI in B2B marketing

© 2021 The Authors. Acknowledging the lack of empirical research on the adoption of AI in B2B marketing and the research gap in studying power from a network perspective, this paper explores how the drivers of AI adoption as marketing solutions affect network actors' power dynamics. Using data collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with business managers and engineers involved in AI adoption for B2B marketing activities, as well as academic experts in the field of AI, this paper discusses how AI adoption priorities and motives shape the power dynamics amongst the various network actors, including focal firms, AI suppliers and tech giant companies. The findings show that, in the context of AI adoption in B2B, both technology and expertise are key sources of power, and that data creates and perpetuates power negotiations and renegotiations in the network. We envisage this process as the movements on a busy dancefloor where groups of actors are engaged in what we refer to as the Power Tango. This paper contributes to the power dependence theory by showing that, through the adoption process, network actors' power is exchanged, exercised, counter-balanced and perpetuated, creating fluid network dynamics

Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor inhibits neuropilin-1 upregulation on IL-2 responding CD4+ T cells

Neuropilin-1 (Nrp1), a transmembrane protein expressed on CD4 + T cells, is mostly studied in the context of regulatory T cell (Treg) function. More recently, there is increasing evidence that Nrp1 is also highly expressed on activated effector T cells and that increases in these Nrp1-expressing CD4 + T cells correspond with immunopathology across several T cell-dependent disease models. Thus, Nrp1 may be implicated in the identification and function of immunopathologic T cells. Nrp1 downregulation in CD4 + T cells is one of the strongest transcriptional changes in response to immunoregulatory compounds that act though the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand-activated transcription factor. To better understand the link between AhR and Nrp1 expression on CD4 + T cells, Nrp1 expression was assessed in vivo and in vitro following AhR ligand treatment. In the current study, we identified that the percentage of Nrp1 expressing CD4 + T cells increases over the course of activation and proliferation in vivo . The actively dividing Nrp1 + Foxp3 - cells express the classic effector phenotype of CD44 hi CD45RB lo , and the increase in Nrp1 + Foxp3 - cells is prevented by AhR activation. In contrast, Nrp1 expression is not modulated by AhR activation in non-proliferating CD4 + T cells. The downregulation of Nrp1 on CD4 + T cells was recapitulated in vitro in cells isolated from C57BL/6 and NOD (non-obese diabetic) mice. CD4 + Foxp3 - cells expressing CD25, stimulated with IL-2, or differentiated into Th1 cells, were particularly sensitive to AhR-mediated inhibition of Nrp1 upregulation. IL-2 was necessary for AhR-dependent downregulation of Nrp1 expression both in vitro and in vivo . Collectively, the data demonstrate that Nrp1 is a CD4 + T cell activation marker and that regulation of Nrp1 could be a previously undescribed mechanism by which AhR ligands modulate effector CD4 + T cell responses

Platelet Munc13-4 regulates hemostasis, thrombosis and airway inflammation

Platelet degranulation is crucial for hemostasis and may participate in inflammation. Exocytosis in platelets is mediated by SNARE proteins and should be controlled by Munc13 proteins. We found that platelets express Munc13-2 and -4. We assessed platelet granule exocytosis in Munc13-2 and -4 global and conditional knockout (KO) mice, and observed that deletion of Munc13-4 ablates dense granule release and indirectly impairs alpha granule exocytosis. We found no exocytic role for Munc13-2 in platelets, not even in the absence of Munc13-4. In vitro, Munc13-4-deficient platelets exhibited defective aggregation at low doses of collagen. In a flow chamber assay, we observed that Munc13-4 acted as a rate-limiting factor in the formation of thrombi. In vivo, we observed a dose-dependency between Munc13-4 expression in platelets and both venous bleeding time and time to arterial thrombosis. Finally, in a model of allergic airway inflammation, we found that platelet-specific Munc13-4 KO mice had a reduction in airway hyper-responsiveness and eosinophilic inflammation. Taken together, our results indicate that Munc13-4-dependent platelet dense granule release plays essential roles in hemostasis, thrombosis and allergic inflammation

Xanthine oxidase inhibition and white matter hyperintensity progression following ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack (XILO-FIST): a multicentre, double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND: People who experience an ischaemic stroke are at risk of recurrent vascular events, progression of cerebrovascular disease, and cognitive decline. We assessed whether allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, reduced white matter hyperintensity (WMH) progression and blood pressure (BP) following ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). METHODS: In this multicentre, prospective, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial conducted in 22 stroke units in the United Kingdom, we randomly assigned participants within 30-days of ischaemic stroke or TIA to receive oral allopurinol 300 mg twice daily or placebo for 104 weeks. All participants had brain MRI performed at baseline and week 104 and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring at baseline, week 4 and week 104. The primary outcome was the WMH Rotterdam Progression Score (RPS) at week 104. Analyses were by intention to treat. Participants who received at least one dose of allopurinol or placebo were included in the safety analysis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02122718. FINDINGS: Between 25th May 2015 and the 29th November 2018, 464 participants were enrolled (232 per group). A total of 372 (189 with placebo and 183 with allopurinol) attended for week 104 MRI and were included in analysis of the primary outcome. The RPS at week 104 was 1.3 (SD 1.8) with allopurinol and 1.5 (SD 1.9) with placebo (between group difference −0.17, 95% CI −0.52 to 0.17, p = 0.33). Serious adverse events were reported in 73 (32%) participants with allopurinol and in 64 (28%) with placebo. There was one potentially treatment related death in the allopurinol group. INTERPRETATION: Allopurinol use did not reduce WMH progression in people with recent ischaemic stroke or TIA and is unlikely to reduce the risk of stroke in unselected people. FUNDING: The British Heart Foundation and the UK Stroke Association

Lateral flow test engineering and lessons learned from COVID-19

The acceptability and feasibility of large-scale testing with lateral flow tests (LFTs) for clinical and public health purposes has been demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. LFTs can detect analytes in a variety of samples, providing a rapid read-out, which allows self-testing and decentralized diagnosis. In this Review, we examine the changing LFT landscape with a focus on lessons learned from COVID-19. We discuss the implications of LFTs for decentralized testing of infectious diseases, including diseases of epidemic potential, the ‘silent pandemic’ of antimicrobial resistance, and other acute and chronic infections. Bioengineering approaches will play a key part in increasing the sensitivity and specificity of LFTs, improving sample preparation, incorporating nucleic acid amplification and detection, and enabling multiplexing, digital connection and green manufacturing, with the aim of creating the next generation of high-accuracy, easy-to-use, affordable and digitally connected LFTs. We conclude with recommendations, including the building of a global network of LFT research and development hubs to facilitate and strengthen future diagnostic resilience

Structure of a bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel pore reveals mechanisms of opening and closing

Voltage-gated sodium channels are vital membrane proteins essential for electrical signalling; in humans, they are key targets for the development of pharmaceutical drugs. Here we report the crystal structure of an open-channel conformation of NavMs, the bacterial channel pore from the marine bacterium Magnetococcus sp. (strain MC-1). It differs from the recently published crystal structure of a closed form of a related bacterial sodium channel (NavAb) by having its internal cavity accessible to the cytoplasmic surface as a result of a bend/rotation about a central residue in the carboxy-terminal transmembrane segment. This produces an open activation gate of sufficient diameter to allow hydrated sodium ions to pass through. Comparison of the open and closed structures provides new insight into the features of the functional states present in the activation cycles of sodium channels and the mechanism of channel opening and closing

Recent breast cancer trends among Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and African-American women in the US: changes by tumor subtype

Abstract available at publisher's website