Analysis of Recognition and Educational Needs on Competency of Secondary School Informatics Teachers

Recently, efforts have been made to enhance educational competency based on Computational Thinking (CT) in relation to informatics education at home and abroad. Although many informatics teachers training programs are steadily operated in order to cultivate the education capacity in response to the changing demands of the times, this is done without acceptance of an opinion process of informatics teachers’ educational needs. Therefore, this study analyzed recognition and educational needs based on the competency model developed for the informatics teachers in secondary school. Educational needs were analyzed using Borich’s needs formula. The results of the study are as follows: First, the average of Required Competency Level (RCL) of each competency-unit was higher than average of Present Competency Level (PCL) and there were statistically significant differences between RCL and PCL. Secondly, the educational need of each competency-unit was highest in ‘Informatics Teaching and Learning Strategy Establishment and Operation’. Thirdly, the educational needs of Knowledge domain showed the highest educational needs in the competencies of the ‘Informatics Teaching and Learning Strategy Establishment and Operation’ obtaining more than 7 points. Finally, the educational needs of Skill domain took the 1st to 3rd priorities and indicated higher in the competencies of the same competency-unit as Knowledge domain

Draft genome sequence of lytic bacteriophage CF1 infecting Citrobacter freundii isolates

Citrobacter freundii is a facultative anaerobic and a Gram- negative bacterium of Enterobacteriaceae family, and is an opportunistic pathogen. Bacteriophages infecting C. freundii can be an effective treatment for C. freundii infections. Here, the complete genomic sequence is announced for a lytic bacteriophage CF1 infecting C. freundii isolates

Pixel Image Analysis and Its Application with an Alcohol-Based Liquid Scintillator for Particle Therapy

We synthesized an alcohol-based liquid scintillator (AbLS), and we implemented an auxiliary monitoring system with short calibration intervals using AbLS for particle therapy. The commercial liquid scintillator used in previous studies did not allow the user to control the chemical ratio and its composition. In our study, the chemical ratio of AbLS was freely controlled by simultaneously mixing water and alcohol. To make an equivalent substance to the human body, 2-ethoxyethanol was used. There was no significant difference between AbLS and water in areal density. As an application of AbLS, the range was measured with AbLS using an electron beam in an image analysis that combined AbLS and a digital phone camera. Given a range–energy relationship for the electron expressed as areal density, the electron beam range (cm) in water can be easily estimated. To date, no literature report for the direct comparison of a pixel image analysis and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has been published. Furthermore, optical tomography of the inverse problem was performed with AbLS and a mobile phone camera. Analyses of optical tomography images provide deeper insight into Radon transformation. In addition, the human phantom, which is difficult to compose with semiconductor diodes, was easily implemented as an image acquisition and analysis system

A novel mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, 7,3',4'-trihydroxyisoflavone improves skin barrier function impaired by endogenous or exogenous glucocorticoids

Abstract Excess glucocorticoids (GCs) with either endogenous or exogenous origins deteriorate skin barrier function. GCs bind to mineralocorticoid and GC receptors (MRs and GRs) in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). Inappropriate MR activation by GCs mediates various GC-induced cutaneous adverse events. We examined whether MR antagonists can ameliorate GC-mediated skin barrier dysfunction in NHEKs, reconstructed human epidermis (RHE), and subjects under psychological stress (PS). In a preliminary clinical investigation, topical MR antagonists improved skin barrier function in topical GC-treated subjects. In NHEKs, cortisol induced nuclear translocation of GR and MR, and GR and MR antagonists inhibited cortisol-induced reductions of keratinocyte differentiation. We identified 7,3’,4’-trihydroxyisoflavone (7,3’,4’-THIF) as a novel compound that inhibits MR transcriptional activity by screening 30 cosmetic compounds. 7,3’,4’-THIF ameliorated the cortisol effect which decreases keratinocyte differentiation in NHEKs and RHE. In a clinical study on PS subjects, 7,3',4'-THIF (0.1%)-containing cream improved skin barrier function, including skin surface pH, barrier recovery rate, and stratum corneum lipids. In conclusion, skin barrier dysfunction owing to excess GC is mediated by MR and GR; thus, it could be prevented by treatment with MR antagonists. Therefore, topical MR antagonists are a promising therapeutic option for skin barrier dysfunction after topical GC treatment or PS