Mannose-Binding Lectin Regulates Host Resistance and Pathology during Experimental Infection with Trypanosoma cruzi

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a humoral pattern-recognition molecule important for host defense. Although recent genetic studies suggest an involvement of MBL/MASP2-associated pathways in Chagas’ disease, it is currently unknown whether MBL plays a role in host resistance to the intracellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas’ disease. In this study we employed MBL−/− mice to assess the role of MBL in resistance to experimental infection with T. cruzi. T. cruzi infection enhanced tissue expression of MBL both at the mRNA and protein level. Similarly, symptomatic acute Chagas’ disease patients displayed increased serum concentrations of MBL compared to patients with indeterminate, asymptomatic forms of the disease. Furthermore, increased parasite loads in the blood and/or tissue were observed in MBL−/− mice compared to WT controls. This was associated with reduced systemic levels of IL-12/23p40 in MBL−/− mice. Importantly, MBL−/− mice infected with a cardiotropic strain of T. cruzi displayed increased myocarditis and cardiac fibrosis compared to WT controls. The latter was accompanied by elevated hydroxyproline content and mRNA levels of collagen-1 and -6 in the heart. These observations point to a previously unappreciated role for MBL in regulating host resistance and cardiac inflammation during infection with a major human pathogen

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Quality teaching and learning in the educational context: Teacher pedagogy to support learners of a modern digital society

National and international research has been undertaken on the effects of oneto- one (1:1) laptop programs in education, however, there is minimal literature available on the impacts of such a program on students’ achievements of learning outcomes in the Australian primary school setting. Therefore, this paper reports on the findings of an honours inquiry, which investigated whether a 1:1 laptop program could allow students to engage in higher-order thinking when participating in the laptop-based tasks designed by their teachers during a COGS unit of work. Through exploring the findings of this research study, an understanding can develop about the use of laptops as tools for learning in the educational context and allow an insight into whether laptops can enable quality teaching and learning to occur in Australian primary school classrooms. It is imperative that teachers develop quality teaching and learning experiences that allow their students to actively participate in their learning and engage in higher-order thinking. Thus, this paper draws on a number of sources such as the New South Wales Quality Teaching Model and the New South Wales Professional Teaching Standards to highlight the complexity of teachers’ work and the importance of planning for learning in a 21st century digital society

Exploring the influences on university teachers’ decisions to integrate technology in teaching

The rapid growth of technologies in modern society has brought significant changes to teaching and learning. In higher education, there is an expectation that university teachers will integrate technologies into their teaching to enhance student learning and study. Technologies in higher education have provided teachers with many choices in how to design and implement their teaching practice. Whilst university teachers can use technologies in varying ways in online and face-to-face environments, little empirical evidence has explored in depth how and why teachers integrate technologies into their teaching. Previous research has identified factors that influence university teachers’ technology integration, such as teacher knowledge, self-efficacy and ‘technology value’ (Benson & Ward, 2013, Chen, Liao, Chang, Hung & Chang, 2019; Khan, 2011; Mishra & Yahya, 2007; Horvitz, Beach, Anderson & Xia, 2015; Robinia & Anderson, 2010; Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008); however, these studies have mainly examined these factors in isolation. The purpose of this study was to explore university teachers’ integration of technology in teaching by investigating the influences of knowledge, self-efficacy and technology value in a single study addressing how and why university teachers integrate technologies in different academic contexts. A qualitative case study was conducted within one Australian university. Seven university teachers across different academic contexts in Education, Psychology, Information Technologies and Arts were interviewed and observed for one teaching semester. The research was guided by the question: In what ways does a university teacher’s TPCK, self-efficacy, and value of technology integration influence their use of technology in their teaching? The theoretical framework underpinning this research drew on three constructs to account for various factors that influence technology integration that have been identified in the literature: Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) Framework, Bandura’s (1977) Theory of Self-Efficacy and Eccles et al.’s (1983) Expectancy-Value Theory. The TPCK Framework was used to conceptualise the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge teachers possess and how these forms of knowledge interact to enable the effective integration of technology in teaching. Bandura\u27s Theory of Self-Efficacy framed teachers’ levels of selfefficacy when completing specific technology-based tasks. Eccles et al.’s Expectancy-Value Theory helped to account for the value that university teachers place on the use of technology in their teaching

A case study of how using laptops in a primary classroom facilitated Higher Order Thinking

Research about 1:1 laptop school initiatives highlight benefits for learning, however, there is little research about the impact of such initiatives in the primary school context. This case study reports how a 1:1 laptop program facilitated Higher Order Thinking (HOT) in an upper primary classroom in Australia. The class was observed during one unit of work and Bloom\u27s taxonomy of HOT was used as the analysis framework. Results showed that Higher Order Thinking was evident when laptop tasks encouraged students to take an active role in their learning. HOT was facilitated by students being able to make decisions on applications to use to complete tasks and class discussion facilitated by the teacher. Technical problems experienced using laptops also promoted HOT from students. This study suggests that a 1:1 computer initiative can promote HOT but is dependent on the pedagogical practices of the teacher. This small-scale study highlights that the teacher is key when implementing laptops in the classroom and further research is warranted to inform future 1:1 computer initiatives in primary schools

Designing online teaching curriculum to optimise learning for all students in higher education

Disruptions to higher education teaching have raised significant concerns over the best curriculum design for teaching online and for the inclusion of all students. Universal design for learning (UDL) together with curriculum research models – taxonomy of significant learning and integrated curriculum design (ICD), provides a curriculum approach to optimising students\u27 learning and building engagement with learning online. This paper outlines the redesign process and decisions made to improve the curriculum design in an online sociology course in teacher education. The goals of the redesign were to optimise all student learning, engagement and perceived satisfaction. Data collection included student responses (pre and post), course evaluation, analytics and reflections from an expert reviewer. Analysis was guided by the UDL curriculum design principles of engagement, representation and action/expression. Emerging from this research is the need to ensure that online learning redesign is user-friendly and engaging, with multiple supported learning opportunities for the students. This redesign strengthens the quality of online learning, with learning becoming more meaningful and learning activities incorporating elements that are reflective, instructional and social. One interesting aspect that emerged was the importance of the partnership between the academic and the instructional designer in the redesign process

Having a go: Looking at teachers\u27 experience of risk-taking in technology integration

Risk is an integral part of change. Technology-related change in teachers\u27 practice is guided by confidence engaging in and beliefs about integration. However, it is also affected by how teachers feel about taking risks, experimenting and change. This paper presents a theoretical framework of affect and emotion to understand how teachers experience and take risks in technology integration. The emphasis of this approach is on how individual teachers cope with risk and how it relates to learning. To illustrate the use of this approach, one teachers\u27 experience with technology integration over 3 years in an Australian one-to-one laptop program is presented. Analysis of their experience using technology and experimenting through emotions of anxiety and happiness reveals the development of specific coping strategies to support integration. Successful coping strategies resulted in decreased concern about using new technologies in teaching and increasingly positive beliefs about student learning through technologies. Implications for supporting change and experimentation are discussed

Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Differences in ​Friendship Quality and Conflict Resolution

Cross-sex friendships are common during young adulthood. Yet, they vary widely and are vulnerable to misunderstanding, even by the friends themselves. We examined how cross- and same-sex friends responded to different types of relationship conflict. We hypothesized that same-sex friends would respond more negatively to conflict than would cross-sex friends. Young adult participants (n= 127) were primarily women (64%) and equally divided between African American (41%) and Caucasian (39%). Participants were randomly prompted to either think of their closest same-sex or opposite sex friend and then to respond to the McGill Friendship Questionnaire. Participants then encountered three conflict scenarios (hurtful remark, social exclusion, betrayed secret) and asked how they would respond if these occurred with the imagined friend. Our hypothesis was not supported. We did not find differences in friendships based solely on the gender match or mismatch of the friendship. Instead we found that men were very sensitive about a female friend making a hurtful comment or socially excluding him. Neither gender was surprised by a male friend being socially exclusive. Despite these findings, how adults reacted to the friendship scenarios depended more on their gender than on the gender of their friend. In general, women were more upset by our conflict scenarios than were men and felt it was important to help their friend see their point of view. Age and race were not predictive of friendship perceptions. These findings add to our understanding of this common experience of young adulthood

Community memory screening as a strategy for recruiting older adults into Alzheimer's disease research.

BackgroundGrowing awareness of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has prompted a demand for quick and effective ways to screen for memory loss and cognitive decline in large numbers of individuals in the community. Periodic Memory Screening Day events provide free, brief cognitive screening aimed at those 65 years and older, and can serve as an opportunity to gauge participants' attitudes towards AD research and recruit them into ongoing research projects.MethodsOver 6 single-day events in 2 years, more than 574 individuals were individually screened using the MoCA and a story recall task (immediate and delayed), given feedback about their performance, and introduced to AD research and opportunities to participate.ResultsScreening classified 297 individuals (52.0%) as having "No Decline," 192 (33.6%) as "Possible decline," and 82 (14.4%) as "Likely decline." Those with "Likely decline" were older and less educated, had more memory concerns, were more likely to be men, and were less likely to have a positive family history of dementia than those with "No Decline." Subsequent validation of screening procedures against a full clinical evaluation showed 72% classification accuracy with a skew towards over-calling Possible and Likely decline and thereby guiding questionable individuals to a more thorough evaluation. Of those screened, 378 (66%) agreed to additional research and consented to being listed in a research registry, and a majority (70-85%) of those consenting reported they were amenable to various AD research procedures including lumbar puncture, MRI, and autopsy. Overall, 19.1% of those screened met inclusion criteria for ongoing studies and were successfully recruited into AD research.ConclusionsConducting a few concentrated community memory screening events each year may help meet the public's demand for brief assessment of memory concerns and can be a relatively effective and efficient recruitment strategy for AD research

Community memory screening as a strategy for recruiting older adults into Alzheimer's disease research.

BackgroundGrowing awareness of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has prompted a demand for quick and effective ways to screen for memory loss and cognitive decline in large numbers of individuals in the community. Periodic Memory Screening Day events provide free, brief cognitive screening aimed at those 65 years and older, and can serve as an opportunity to gauge participants' attitudes towards AD research and recruit them into ongoing research projects.MethodsOver 6 single-day events in 2 years, more than 574 individuals were individually screened using the MoCA and a story recall task (immediate and delayed), given feedback about their performance, and introduced to AD research and opportunities to participate.ResultsScreening classified 297 individuals (52.0%) as having "No Decline," 192 (33.6%) as "Possible decline," and 82 (14.4%) as "Likely decline." Those with "Likely decline" were older and less educated, had more memory concerns, were more likely to be men, and were less likely to have a positive family history of dementia than those with "No Decline." Subsequent validation of screening procedures against a full clinical evaluation showed 72% classification accuracy with a skew towards over-calling Possible and Likely decline and thereby guiding questionable individuals to a more thorough evaluation. Of those screened, 378 (66%) agreed to additional research and consented to being listed in a research registry, and a majority (70-85%) of those consenting reported they were amenable to various AD research procedures including lumbar puncture, MRI, and autopsy. Overall, 19.1% of those screened met inclusion criteria for ongoing studies and were successfully recruited into AD research.ConclusionsConducting a few concentrated community memory screening events each year may help meet the public's demand for brief assessment of memory concerns and can be a relatively effective and efficient recruitment strategy for AD research