Consideration of building a common platform of collaborative learning environment

This paper reports on considerations about a common and basic functions/components for building a collaborative learning environment. We make efforts to specify the technological issues towards the future standardization of this environment through our research experiences. The problem of standardization includes many embarrassed aspects, however it will extend and widen the field of applications possible within the collaborative learning paradigm, and will make possible the usage of the fruits of years of research and individual implementations of the concept of collaborative learning, from many researches, developments and experiences. So we would like to locate this problem as building a common platform

Integrable Impurity Model with Spin and Flavour: Model Inspired by Resonant Tunneling in Quantum Dot

We introduce an integrable impurity model in which both electrons and impurity have spin and flavour degrees of freedom. This model is a generalization of the multi-channel Kondo model and closely related with resonant tunneling through quantum dot. The Hamiltonian is exactly diagonalized by means of the Bethe ansatz.Comment: 1 reference is adde

PICA-PICA: Exploring a Customisable Smart STEAM Educational Approach via a Smooth Combination of Programming, Engineering and Art

The STEAM approach in education has been gaining increasing popularity over the last decade. This is due to its potential in enhancing students' learning, when teaching arts and scientific disciplines together. This paper introduces the PICA-PICA concept, where we aim to develop a smart customisable environment, combining, in a unique way, teaching programming in conjunction with the engineering of artworks. The PICA-PICA concept was implemented, used and tested in real-life, by upper primary school students in Japan, during a 4-day workshop. Initial results illustrated the quality of the solution proposed by PICA-PICA. We noted that the integration was perceived as smooth, and not contrived: all participants understood how to use the PICA-PICA environment to engineer programmable art objects. Furthermore, the PICA-PICA approach led to high motivation: children did not get bored and were fully engaged. Finally, the quality of their work as a learning outcome was high: by including a programming segment with the other expressive activities in the artwork, the children were able to design the electronics in a more concentrated and meaningful way than their curriculum-structured learning. This study also presents an innovative implementation of the STEAM approach using Micro:bits technology to create exciting artwork whilst using household recyclable items, which also teaches about sustainability. The involvement of parents and their interest in learning is another unique aspect of this study

Probiotic Bifidobacterium breve Induces IL-10-Producing Tr1 Cells in the Colon

Specific intestinal microbiota has been shown to induce Foxp3+ regulatory T cell development. However, it remains unclear how development of another regulatory T cell subset, Tr1 cells, is regulated in the intestine. Here, we analyzed the role of two probiotic strains of intestinal bacteria, Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium breve in T cell development in the intestine. B. breve, but not L. casei, induced development of IL-10-producing Tr1 cells that express cMaf, IL-21, and Ahr in the large intestine. Intestinal CD103+ dendritic cells (DCs) mediated B. breve-induced development of IL-10-producing T cells. CD103+ DCs from Il10−/−, Tlr2−/−, and Myd88−/− mice showed defective B. breve-induced Tr1 cell development. B. breve-treated CD103+ DCs failed to induce IL-10 production from co-cultured Il27ra−/− T cells. B. breve treatment of Tlr2−/− mice did not increase IL-10-producing T cells in the colonic lamina propria. Thus, B. breve activates intestinal CD103+ DCs to produce IL-10 and IL-27 via the TLR2/MyD88 pathway thereby inducing IL-10-producing Tr1 cells in the large intestine. Oral B. breve administration ameliorated colitis in immunocompromised mice given naïve CD4+ T cells from wild-type mice, but not Il10−/− mice. These findings demonstrate that B. breve prevents intestinal inflammation through the induction of intestinal IL-10-producing Tr1 cells

Impaired Innate Immunity in Tlr4−/− Mice but Preserved CD8+ T Cell Responses against Trypanosoma cruzi in Tlr4-, Tlr2-, Tlr9- or Myd88-Deficient Mice

The murine model of T. cruzi infection has provided compelling evidence that development of host resistance against intracellular protozoans critically depends on the activation of members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family via the MyD88 adaptor molecule. However, the possibility that TLR/MyD88 signaling pathways also control the induction of immunoprotective CD8+ T cell-mediated effector functions has not been investigated to date. We addressed this question by measuring the frequencies of IFN-γ secreting CD8+ T cells specific for H-2Kb-restricted immunodominant peptides as well as the in vivo Ag-specific cytotoxic response in infected animals that are deficient either in TLR2, TLR4, TLR9 or MyD88 signaling pathways. Strikingly, we found that T. cruzi-infected Tlr2−/−, Tlr4−/−, Tlr9−/− or Myd88−/− mice generated both specific cytotoxic responses and IFN-γ secreting CD8+ T cells at levels comparable to WT mice, although the frequency of IFN-γ+CD4+ cells was diminished in infected Myd88−/− mice. We also analyzed the efficiency of TLR4-driven immune responses against T. cruzi using TLR4-deficient mice on the C57BL genetic background (B6 and B10). Our studies demonstrated that TLR4 signaling is required for optimal production of IFN-γ, TNF-α and nitric oxide (NO) in the spleen of infected animals and, as a consequence, Tlr4−/− mice display higher parasitemia levels. Collectively, our results indicate that TLR4, as well as previously shown for TLR2, TLR9 and MyD88, contributes to the innate immune response and, consequently, resistance in the acute phase of infection, although each of these pathways is not individually essential for the generation of class I-restricted responses against T. cruzi

IL-17RA Signaling Reduces Inflammation and Mortality during Trypanosoma cruzi Infection by Recruiting Suppressive IL-10-Producing Neutrophils

Members of the IL-17 cytokine family play an important role in protection against pathogens through the induction of different effector mechanisms. We determined that IL-17A, IL-17E and IL-17F are produced during the acute phase of T. cruzi infection. Using IL-17RA knockout (KO) mice, we demonstrate that IL-17RA, the common receptor subunit for many IL-17 family members, is required for host resistance during T. cruzi infection. Furthermore, infected IL-17RA KO mice that lack of response to several IL-17 cytokines showed amplified inflammatory responses with exuberant IFN-γ and TNF production that promoted hepatic damage and mortality. Absence of IL-17RA during T. cruzi infection resulted in reduced CXCL1 and CXCL2 expression in spleen and liver and limited neutrophil recruitment. T. cruzi-stimulated neutrophils secreted IL-10 and showed an IL-10-dependent suppressive phenotype in vitro inhibiting T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. Specific depletion of Ly-6G+ neutrophils in vivo during T. cruzi infection raised parasitemia and serum IFN-γ concentration and resulted in increased liver pathology in WT mice and overwhelming wasting disease in IL-17RA KO mice. Adoptively transferred neutrophils were unable to migrate to tissues and to restore resistant phenotype in infected IL-17RA KO mice but migrated to spleen and liver of infected WT mice and downregulated IFN-γ production and increased survival in an IL-10 dependent manner. Our results underscore the role of IL-17RA in the modulation of IFN-γ-mediated inflammatory responses during infections and uncover a previously unrecognized regulatory mechanism that involves the IL-17RA-mediated recruitment of suppressive IL-10-producing neutrophils