Artificial Intelligence And Big Data Technologies To Close The Achievement Gap.

We observe achievement gaps even in rich western countries, such as the UK, which in principle have the resources as well as the social and technical infrastructure to provide a better deal for all learners. The reasons for such gaps are complex and include the social and material poverty of some learners with their resulting other deficits, as well as failure by government to allocate sufficient resources to remedy the situation. On the supply side of the equation, a single teacher or university lecturer, even helped by a classroom assistant or tutorial assistant, cannot give each learner the kind of one-to-one attention that would really help to boost both their motivation and their attainment in ways that might mitigate the achievement gap. In this chapter Benedict du Boulay, Alexandra Poulovassilis, Wayne Holmes, and Manolis Mavrikis argue that we now have the technologies to assist both educators and learners, most commonly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects (STEM), at least some of the time. We present case studies from the fields of Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED) and Big Data. We look at how they can be used to provide personalised support for students and demonstrate that they are not designed to replace the teacher. In addition, we also describe tools for teachers to increase their awareness and, ultimately, free up time for them to provide nuanced, individualised support even in large cohorts

Enhanced human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell function on 3D printed nanobone scaffolds with microvascular network

Critical sized bone defects resulting from traumatic injury, cancer, degenerative diseases, or birth defects present a crucial clinical problem. The area of such defects is typically large and is often debilitating to those afflicted. As a multifunctional tissue comprised of both a porous nanobone extracellular matrix and an interconnected microstructure of blood vessels, it is hard to repair due to the need for an adequate vascular network. Although various biomaterials and 3D fabrication approaches to address critical sized bone defects have been investigated, it is still very challenging to replicate the complex integration of vasculature within a bone structure. In addition, it is difficult to create large engineered bone constructs that replicate macroscopic patient specific injuries, although also adequately incorporating biomimetic nano and micro architecture. In this study, we will integrate 3D bioprinting and nanomaterials to create a novel vascularized bone scaffold. A series of microstructured scaffolds containing both a bone matrix and a microvascular network were designed and 3D printed. The size of the bone microstructure was kept constant (i.e., 350 µm hexagonally shaped pores alternating with dense linear patterns, layer by layer, to adequately restrict fluid perfusion through the bone network itself). The sizes of the microvascular network were 500 µm (large vascular) and 350 µm (small vascular). Printed scaffolds were then conjugated with nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (nHA, bone minerals), using an acetylation chemical functionalization process. Young’s modulus compiled from mechanical compression data showed the scaffold with a smaller microvascular network has higher mechanical stiffness and more bone-like properties. Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) 4 h adhesion and 1, 3, and 5 day proliferation were investigated in vitro. The 4-h cell adhesion result demonstrated that 3D printed scaffolds with a smaller microvascular network and nHA had the greatest cell adhesion. In addition, 5-day hMSC proliferation result also showed an excellent cell growth on all scaffolds, with the greatest increase on small microvascular nHA scaffolds, at 1 and 5 days. Further study will focus on co-culturing hMSCs and endothelial cells in the bone scaffold for improved osteogenesis and bone formation

3D printed biomimetic bone model with micronetwork and -nanohydroxyapatite for breast cancer metastasis study

Currently, metastatic breast cancer (BrCa) provides a crucial clinical challenge. Metastasis occurs as part of a cascade of BrCa evolution, after vascular remodeling and extravasation at the tumor site occur. BrCa tumors commonly metastasize into bone; therefore, it is important to develop a working bone model that accurately simulates the metastasis, arrival, and eventual invasion of BrCa into bone. Here, we propose to use a 3D printing system and nanomaterial to recreate a biomimetic and tunable bone model suitable for the effective simulation and study of metastatic BrCa invading and colonizing a bone environment. For this purpose, we designed and 3D printed a series of scaffolds, comprised of a bone microstructure and nanohydroxyapatites (nHA, inorganic nanocomponents in bone). The size and geometry of the bone microstructure was varied with 250- and 150-µm pores, in repeating square and hexagon patterns, for a total of four different pore geometries. 3D printed scaffolds were subsequently conjugated with nHA, using an acetylation chemical functionalization process and then characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM imaging showed that our designed microfeatures were printable with the predesigned resolutions described earlier. Imaging further confirmed that acetylation effectively attached nHA to the surface of scaffolds and induced a nanoroughness. Metastatic BrCa cell 4 h adhesion and 1-, 3-, and 5-day proliferation was investigated in the bone model in vitro. The cell adhesion and proliferation results showed that all scaffolds are cytocompatible for BrCa cell growth; in particular, the nHA scaffolds with small hexagonal pores had the highest cell density. Given this data, it can be stipulated that our 3D printed nHA scaffolds may make effective biomimetic environments for studying BrCa bone metastasis