Complex Adaptive Systems and Quantitative Reasoning in an Interdisciplinary STEM Mathematics Classroom

In this presentation we will share outcomes from the Real STEM project, which provides professional development for rural teachers in the Georgia Coastal Plains supporting implementation of interdisciplinary STEM courses as well as STEM modules in mathematics and science courses. Real STEM includes a number of innovative student-active strategies for teaching including: Understanding by Design (UbD) approaches to teaching for understanding, problem-based learning (PBL), place-based education (PBE), complex adaptive systems (CAS) thinking, and quantitative reasoning (QR). QR is the mathematical underpinning of the projects. The projects are ongoing so we will report our results on impact on teacher practice and student learning to this point. We will conclude with a discussion of how the projects may address issues of engagement for rural, low socio-economic status student populations in STEM in Central America and the Caribbean

Foxp1 and lhx1 coordinate motor neuron migration with axon trajectory choice by gating Reelin signalling.

Topographic neuronal maps arise as a consequence of axon trajectory choice correlated with the localisation of neuronal soma, but the identity of the pathways coordinating these processes is unknown. We addressed this question in the context of the myotopic map formed by limb muscles innervated by spinal lateral motor column (LMC) motor axons where the Eph receptor signals specifying growth cone trajectory are restricted by Foxp1 and Lhx1 transcription factors. We show that the localisation of LMC neuron cell bodies can be dissociated from axon trajectory choice by either the loss or gain of function of the Reelin signalling pathway. The response of LMC motor neurons to Reelin is gated by Foxp1- and Lhx1-mediated regulation of expression of the critical Reelin signalling intermediate Dab1. Together, these observations point to identical transcription factors that control motor axon guidance and soma migration and reveal the molecular hierarchy of myotopic organisation

Pengembangan Keterampilan Sosial dan Kewirausahaan pada Organisasi Pemuda Keagamaan di Depok

Penelitian ini mengkaji kelompok pemuda dalam organisasi Muhammadiyah sebagai Faith Based Organization (FBO) menjadi agen Perubah dalam pengembangan masyarakat lokal di Kelurahan Cinangka, Depok, Jawa Barat. Penelitian ini membahas tentang proses intervensi kelompok pemuda dengan mempergunakan strategi penelitian aksi (participatory action research). Tahapan penelitian aksi terdiri dari tiga tahap, yaitu mengidentifikasi kebutuhan dan potensi (look), merancang program intervensi (think), dan mengimplementasikan program intervensi (act). Berdasarkan identifikasi masalah dan kebutuhan pada tahap look, penelitian ini menemukan potensi masyarakat dalam upaya menyelesaian permasalahan lingkungan. Selain pemuda yang tergabung dalam FBO, ada juga kelompok ibu yang terlibat. Tahap look memperlihatkan bahwa potensi pemuda dari FBO dapat maksimal apabila mendapatkan dukungan dari elemen lain, terutama orang tua di dalam komunitas sasaran. Kemudian melalui proses perencanaan kegiatan dalam tahap think bersama komunitas sasaran, terdapat beberapa kegiatan yang diimplementasikan dalam penelitian ini, yaitu pengembangan keterampilan sosial dan kewirausahaan. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa intervensi kelompok pemuda dalam pengembangan komunitas melalui pengembangan keterampilan kewirausahaan, tidak dapat menanggalkan urgensi keterampilan sosial guna memperkuat peran pemuda dari FBO di komunitas.Kata Kunci: pengembangan masyarakat, intervensi kelompok pemuda, pengelolaan lingkungan, Faith Based Organization, keterampilan mikro.This study examines the youth groups in the Muhammadiyah organization as an Faith Based Organization (FBO) as agents of change in community development at Cinangka Village, Depok, West Java. By using a Participatory Action Research, this study discusses the process of youth group intervention in three stages, which covers needs and potencies assessment (look), action plan (think) and implementation (act). Based on ‘look' phase, this study found people's potential at their community which are youth in FBO and groups women. In this phase has identified that youth's potencies in FBO could be maximized if supported by parents. In the next stage through planning process, there were some activities that are implemented in this study which are development of social skills and entrepreneurship. This study has found that youth group intervention should also recognize social skills on strengthen the role of youth in FBO

Inferring gene coexpression networks for low dose ionizing radiation using graph theoretical algorithms and systems genetics

Background Biological data generated through large scale -omics technologies have resulted in a new paradigm in the study of biological systems. Instead of focusing on individual genes or proteins these technologies enable us to extract biological networks using powerful computing and statistical algorithms that are scalable to very large datasets. Materials and methods We have developed a tool chain using novel graph algorithms to extract gene coexpression networks from microarray data. We highlight implementation of our tool chain to investigate the effects of in vivo low dose ionizing radiation treatments on mice. We are using systems genetics approach to investigate the biological effects of low dose (10 cGy) ionizing radiation. We measured the base line gene expression profile from spleen tissue of BXD recombinant inbred mice using Illumina microarrays. The data was filtered using coefficient of variance after robust spline normalization and variance stabilizing transformation. A graph was then derived from this data, with probes as vertices and edges between them representing correlations. The graph was analyzed using our toolkit to find the size and number of maximal cliques. We deployed another tool called paraclique that relaxes clique’s requirement that every edge be present between all vertices. Paraclique enables us to account for inherent noise in the microarray data and stochastic nature of biological processes. Using immunophenotype data from the baseline BXD mice, we employed biclique analysis to determine interactions between genotypes and immunophenotypes (%CD4, %CD3, LN T:B, %CD8, and LN CD4:CD8). We also extracted eQTLs from BXD data using QTL-Reaper from base line gene expression profiles. 1881 transcripts were associated with 686 loci. The eQTLs were classified as cis or trans according to their genomic positions. Besides population level studies we also investigated the differential effect of low dose and high dose (1Gy) of ionizing radiations on spleen gene expression in inbred parental strains (C57BL/6J and DBA/2J) of BXD recombinant inbred mice as well as BALB/c mice, a known radiation-sensitive strain

Dersimelagon, a novel oral melanocortin 1 receptor agonist, demonstrates disease-modifying effects in preclinical models of systemic sclerosis

BACKGROUND Activation of melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) is known to exert broad anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of dersimelagon, a novel oral MC1R agonist, as a therapeutic agent for systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS The effects of dersimelagon phosphoric acid (MT-7117) on skin fibrosis and lung inflammation were evaluated in bleomycin (BLM)-induced SSc murine models that were optimized for prophylactic and therapeutic evaluation. Microarray-based gene expression analysis and serum protein profiling were performed in the BLM-induced SSc models. The effect of MT-7117 on transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced activation of human dermal fibroblasts was evaluated in vitro. Immunohistochemical analyses of MC1R expression in the skin of SSc patients were performed. RESULTS Prophylactic treatment with MT-7117 (≥ 0.3 mg/kg/day p.o.) significantly inhibited skin fibrosis and lung inflammation, and therapeutic treatment with MT-7117 (≥ 3 mg/kg/day p.o.) significantly suppressed the development of skin fibrosis in the BLM-induced SSc models. Gene array analysis demonstrated that MT-7117 exerts an anti-inflammatory effect via suppression of the activation of inflammatory cells and inflammation-related signals; additionally, vascular dysfunction was extracted as the pathology targeted by MT-7117. Serum protein profiling revealed that multiple SSc-related biomarkers including P-selectin, osteoprotegerin, cystatin C, growth and differentiation factor-15, and S100A9 were suppressed by MT-7117. MT-7117 inhibited the activation of human dermal fibroblasts by suppressing TGF-β-induced ACTA2 (encoding α-smooth muscle actin) mRNA elevation. MC1R was expressed by monocytes/macrophages, neutrophils, blood vessels (endothelial cells), fibroblasts, and epidermis (keratinocytes) in the skin of SSc patients, suggesting that these MC1R-positive cells could be targets for MT-7117. CONCLUSIONS MT-7117 demonstrates disease-modifying effects in preclinical models of SSc. Investigations of its mechanism of action and target expression analyses indicate that MT-7117 exerts its positive effect by affecting inflammation, vascular dysfunction, and fibrosis, which are all key pathologies of SSc. The results of the present study suggest that MT-7117 is a potential therapeutic agent for SSc. A phase 2 clinical trial investigating the efficacy and tolerability of MT-7117 in patients with early, progressive diffuse cutaneous SSc is currently in progress