Relating the Chondrocyte Gene Network to Growth Plate Morphology: From Genes to Phenotype

During endochondral ossification, chondrocyte growth and differentiation is controlled by many local signalling pathways. Due to crosstalks and feedback mechanisms, these interwoven pathways display a network like structure. In this study, a large-scale literature based logical model of the growth plate network was developed. The network is able to capture the different states (resting, proliferating and hypertrophic) that chondrocytes go through as they progress within the growth plate. In a first corroboration step, the effect of mutations in various signalling pathways of the growth plate network was investigated

Implementing ICT in classroom practice: what else matters besides the ICT infrastructure?

Abstract Background The large-scale International Computer and Information Literacy Study (2018) has an interesting finding concerning Luxembourg teachers. Luxembourg has one of the highest reported level of technology-related resources for teaching and learning, but a relatively lower reported use of ICT in classroom practice. Methods ICT innovation requires a high initial level of financial investment in technology, and Luxembourg has achieved this since 2015. Once the necessary financial investment in ICT technology has been made, the key question is what else matters to increase the use of ICT in teaching. To identify the relevant factors, we used the “Four in Balance” model, aimed explicitly at monitoring the implementation of ICT in schools. Results Using data for 420 teachers in Luxembourg, we identify that within such a technology-driven approach to digitalization, teachers’ vision of ICT use in teaching, level of expertise, and the use of digital learning materials in class are significant support factors. Leadership and collaboration, in the form of an explicit vision of setting ICT as a priority for teaching in the school, also prove to be important. Conclusions Through these findings, we show that the initial investment in school infrastructure for ICT needs to be associated in its implementation with teachers’ ICT-related beliefs, attitudes, and ICT expertise

A Markov Modelling Approach for Surgical Process Analysis in Cataract Surgery

Variability of surgical times heavily affects efficiency and utilisation of the operating room. This chapter develops a data-driven mathematical model that characterises the actions of the surgical process and their contribution to the total surgical time, including variability. The model gives insight into the surgical process, without the need to analyse a large number of surgeries for application of statistical methods. A surgical flow chart of cataract surgery is constructed by observing 85 cataract surgeries performed at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), combined with expert opinion. Markov chain analysis, based on this flow chart, is used to analyse the surgical process. The model identifies the sources of delay and variability in the surgical process and provides a structured way of analysing surgeries. The obtained surgical time distribution approximates the empirical surgical time distribution of cataract surgeries performed in 2009 and 2010 at LUMC. The model developed in this chapter may be used to study the influence of modifications in the surgical process and to predict the resulting surgical times. It can easily be adapted to analyse future surgical processes or to represent different surgical procedures

Exploration of direct and indirect associations of system-level policy-amenable variables with reading literacy performance

As expectations of the economic impact of educational attainment are soaring (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2009) and conjectures about successful national educational reforms (Mourshed, Chijioke, & Barber, 2010) are welcomed by educational policy-makers in many countries, a careful assessment of the empirical evidence for these kinds of claims is needed. In this article, we present a methodology that was applied to an international data set. A multi-level model of education was used to present a hypothetical scenario, indicated as the “implementation scenario”. The scenario was tested on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 data set by means of multi-level structural equation modelling. Although we find some evidence for direct effects and some support for straightforward implementation, the overall impact of malleable conditions at the system and school level appears disappointingly small. A theoretical strand of literature that would account for “limited malleability” is referred to in discussing these results