Student Perceptions of an Online Ungraded Course

What do grades mean? What purpose do they serve? What role do they play in the learning process? Teachers and scholars have recently begun to re-examine these questions central to our current grading system. As a result, many have started to re-assess how grades are assigned in their classes. In this case study, I examine the effectiveness of ungrading, an approach centered around students assigning their own grades through reflecting on the learning process. After contextualizing and describing the approach developed for this fully online, asynchronous history class, I share quantitative and qualitative data regarding student perceptions, motivation, and information usage to argue that systems such as ungrading have potential for contributing to the construction of highly effective and meaningful learning environments

Understanding and Motivating Generation Z Students

Presented at Lilly conference Designing Effective Teaching in Bethesda, MD. Assesses characteristics associated with Gen Z students and connects them with concepts from Cognitive theory

Post-fidelity: a new age of technological innovation and music consumption

Since the popularization of the iPod, the ideal recorded music consumption experience for most consumers has become one of quantity, variety, ease of use, and visual style. I focus on the contrast between these values and the emphasis on fidelity that dominated discussions of sound reproduction throughout the 20th century. I first demonstrate the extent to which fidelity dominated innovation and marketing during the 20th century, showing that even new devices which did not improve fidelity were advertised to give the impression that they did. I then examine the iPod as a breakthrough product, which changed the format of music and how we define the ideal listening experience in this post-fidelity era. Finally, I contextualize the importance of this trend in consumer culture: using print and internet sources to argue that even audiophiles have begun to value these other qualities as much or more than sound quality

Course Transformation: Measuring Improvements in Student Learning

Presentation on the outcomes and assessment measures for Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) program on student academic performance at the International Society of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSoTL) Conference. Proves a agriculture economics example for the course transformation decisions

Instructor Perception of Incorporating Active Learning in College of Agriculture Classrooms

Significant numbers of studies declare the effectiveness of “active learning” and numerous universities develop programs to support the incorporation of active learning methods, yet despite various incentives, adoption is met with resistance. This work shares the results of a study of instructor perceptions about active learning at a large research university in the United States. Instructor motivation, perceptions of competence and autonomy (related to colleagues and administrators), experience in training programs, as well as actual practices were explored with regard to active learning. Drawing on self-determination theory, this exploratory study will help universities in developing strategies for increasing the adoption of evidence-based teaching practices. Our results suggest that the work climate related to colleagues, gender, and participation in a Faculty Learning Community influenced both the implementation and motivation to implement active learning in the classroom.

Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Gene Expression Is Induced by Nanog and Oct4, Essential Pluripotent Stem Cells? Transcription Factors

Pluripotent stem cells possess complex systems that protect them from oxidative stress and ensure genomic stability, vital for their role in development. Even though it has been reported that antioxidant activity diminishes along stem cell differentiation, little is known about the transcriptional regulation of the involved genes. The reported modulation of some of these genes led us to hypothesize that some of them could be regulated by the transcription factors critical for self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In this work, we studied the expression profile of multiple genes involved in antioxidant defense systems in both ESCs and iPSCs. We found that Manganese superoxide dismutase gene (Mn-Sod/Sod2) was repressed during diverse differentiation protocols showing an expression pattern similar to Nanog gene. Moreover, Sod2 promoter activity was induced by Oct4 and Nanog when we performed a transactivation assay using two different reporter constructions. Finally, we studied Sod2 gene regulation by modulating the expression of Oct4 and Nanog in ESCs by shRNAs and found that downregulation of any of them reduced Sod2 expression. Our results indicate that pluripotency transcription factors positively modulate Sod2 gene transcription.Fil: Solari, Claudia María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Echegaray, Camila. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Cosentino, María Soledad. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Petrone Parcero, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Waisman, Ariel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Luzzani, Carlos Daniel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Francia, Marcos Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Villodre, Emilly. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Lenz, Guido. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Miriuka, Santiago Gabriel. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Neurociencias Aplicadas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barañao, Lino. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Guberman, Alejandra Sonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentin

A therapy-grade protocol for differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into mesenchymal stem cells using platelet lysate as supplement

Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising source of cells for regenerative therapies. Although they can be isolated easily from several tissues, cell expansion is limited since their properties are lost with successive passages. Hence, pluripotent derived MSCs (PD-MSCs) arise as a suitable alternative for MSC production. Nevertheless, at present, PD-MSC derivation protocols are either expensive or not suitable for clinical purposes. Methods: In this work we present a therapy-grade, inexpensive and simple protocol to derive MSCs from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) based on the use of platelet lysate (PL) as medium supplement. Results: We showed that the PD-MSCPL expressed multiple MSC markers, including CD90, CD73, CD105, CD166, and CD271, among others. These cells also show multilineage differentiation ability and immunomodulatory effects on pre-stimulated lymphocytes. Thorough characterization of these cells showed that a PD-MSCPL resembles an umbilical cord (UC) MSC and differs from a PSC in surface marker and extracellular matrix proteins and integrin expression. Moreover, the OCT-4 promoter is re-methylated with mesenchymal differentiation comparable with the methylation levels of UC-MSCs and fibroblasts. Lastly, the use of PL-supplemented medium generates significantly more MSCs than the use of fetal bovine serum. Conclusions: This protocol can be used to generate a large amount of PD-MSCs with low cost and is compatible with clinical therapies.Fil: Luzzani, Carlos Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; ArgentinaFil: Neiman, Gabriel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Garate, Ximena. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Questa, María. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Solari, Claudia María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Espinosa, Darío. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; ArgentinaFil: García, Marcela Nilda. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Departamento de Ciencias Morfológicas; ArgentinaFil: Errecalde, Ana Lía. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Departamento de Ciencias Morfológicas; ArgentinaFil: Guberman, Alejandra Sonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Scassa, María Elida. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; ArgentinaFil: Sevlever, Gustavo. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; ArgentinaFil: Romorini, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; ArgentinaFil: Miriuka, Santiago Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentin

Extracellular vesicles from pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells acquire a stromal modulatory proteomic pattern during differentiation

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) obtained from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) constitute an interesting alternative to classical MSCs in regenerative medicine. Among their many mechanisms of action, MSC extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a potential suitable substitute for MSCs in future cell-free-based therapeutic approaches. Unlike cells, EVs do not elicit acute immune rejection, and they can be produced in large quantities and stored until ready to use. Although the therapeutic potential of MSC EVs has already been proven, a thorough characterization of MSC EVs is lacking. In this work, we used a label-free liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry proteomic approach to identify the most abundant proteins in EVs that are secreted from MSCs derived from PSCs (PD-MSCs) and from their parental induced PSCs (iPSCs). Next, we compared both datasets and found that while iPSC EVs enclose proteins that modulate RNA and microRNA stability and protein sorting, PD-MSC EVs are rich in proteins that organize extracellular matrix, regulate locomotion, and influence cell–substrate adhesion. Moreover, compared to their respective cells, iPSCs and iPSC EVs share a greater proportion of proteins, while the PD-MSC proteome appears to be more specific. Correlation and principal component analysis consistently aggregate iPSCs and iPSC EVs but segregate PD-MSC and their EVs. Altogether, these findings suggest that during differentiation, compared with their parental iPSC EVs, PD-MSC EVs acquire a more specific set of proteins; arguably, this difference might confer their therapeutic properties.Facultad de Ciencias MédicasConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

Integrin alpha-5 subunit is critical for the early stages of human pluripotent stem cell cardiac differentiation

The stem cell niche has a strong influence in the differentiation potential of human pluripotent stem cells with integrins playing a major role in communicating cells with the extracellular environment. However, it is not well understood how interactions between integrins and the extracellular matrix are involved in cardiac stem cell differentiation. To evaluate this, we performed a profile of integrins expression in two stages of cardiac differentiation: mesodermal progenitors and cardiomyocytes. We found an active regulation of the expression of different integrins during cardiac differentiation. In particular, integrin α5 subunit showed an increased expression in mesodermal progenitors, and a significant downregulation in cardiomyocytes. To analyze the effect of α5 subunit, we modified its expression by using a CRISPRi technique. After its downregulation, a significant impairment in the process of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition was seen. Early mesoderm development was significantly affected due to a downregulation of key genes such as T Brachyury and TBX6. Furthermore, we observed that repression of integrin α5 during early stages led to a reduction in cardiomyocyte differentiation and impaired contractility. In summary, our results showed the link between changes in cell identity with the regulation of integrin α5 expression through the alteration of early stages of mesoderm commitment.Fil: Neiman, Gabriel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Scarafia, Maria Agustina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: la Greca, Alejandro Damián. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Santín Velazque, Natalia Lucía. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Garate, Ximena. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Waisman, Ariel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Möbbs, Alan Miqueas. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Kasai-Brunswick, Tais Hanae. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Mesquita, Fernanda. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Martire Greco, Daiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Moro, Lucía Natalia. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Luzzani, Carlos Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Bastos Carvalho, Adriana. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Sevlever, Gustavo. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Campos de Carvalho, Antonio. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Guberman, Alejandra Sonia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Miriuka, Santiago Gabriel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin