The status of basic technology in Cross River State Junior Secondary Schools, Nigeria

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the status of basic technology in Cross River State junior secondary schools. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The study was guided by three (3) research questions. The population for the study comprised of one hundred and twelve (112) basic technology teachers employed by the state school board Calabar. The sample for the study consisted of sixty (60) basic technology teachers from the three zones. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample. The instrument for data collection was a researcher’s structured questionnaire titled. “Status of Basic Technology Inventory (SOBTI). The data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The study revealed that there was inadequacy in instructional materials for teaching basic technology in junior secondary school in Cross River State and even when materials are made available for teaching the students some teachers seem to lack experience in handling the equipment for teaching of practical class. It was further recommended that adequate instructional materials should be provided for the teaching of basic technology in junior secondary schools in Cross River State and in-service or on the job training should be given to teachers in this subject area for professional growth among others.Keywords: Technology, Basic Technology, Junior Secondary Schoo

Arterial spin labelling shows functional depression of non-lesion tissue in chronic Wernicke’s aphasia

Behavioural impairment post-stroke is a consequence of structural damage and altered functional network dynamics. Hypoperfusion of intact neural tissue is frequently observed in acute stroke, indicating reduced functional capacity of regions outside the lesion. However, cerebral blood flow is rarely investigated in chronic stroke. This study investigated cerebral blood flow in individuals with chronic Wernicke’s aphasia and examined the relationship between lesion, cerebral blood flow and neuropsychological impairment. Arterial spin labelling cerebral blood flow imaging and structural MRIs were collected in 12 individuals with chronic Wernicke’s aphasia and 13 age-matched control participants. Joint independent component analysis (jICA) investigated the relationship between structural lesion and hypoperfusion. Partial correlations explored the relationship between lesion, hypoperfusion and language measures. Joint ICA revealed significant differences between the control and WA groups reflecting a large area of structural lesion in the left posterior hemisphere and an associated area of hypoperfusion extending into grey matter surrounding the lesion. Small regions of remote cortical hypoperfusion were observed, ipsilateral and contralateral to the lesion. Significant correlations were observed between the neuropsychological measures (naming, repetition, reading and semantic association) and the jICA component of interest in the WA group. Additional ROI analyses found a relationship between perfusion surrounding the core lesion and the same neuropsychological measures

Alveolar regeneration through a Krt8+ transitional stem cell state that persists in human lung fibrosis.

The cell type specific sequences of transcriptional programs during lung regeneration have remained elusive. Using time-series single cell RNA-seq of the bleomycin lung injury model, we resolved transcriptional dynamics for 28 cell types. Trajectory modeling together with lineage tracing revealed that airway and alveolar stem cells converge on a unique Krt8 + transitional stem cell state during alveolar regeneration. These cells have squamous morphology, feature p53 and NFkB activation and display transcriptional features of cellular senescence. The Krt8+ state appears in several independent models of lung injury and persists in human lung fibrosis, creating a distinct cell-cell communication network with mesenchyme and macrophages during repair. We generated a model of gene regulatory programs leading to Krt8+ transitional cells and their terminal differentiation to alveolar type-1 cells. We propose that in lung fibrosis, perturbed molecular checkpoints on the way to terminal differentiation can cause aberrant persistence of regenerative intermediate stem cell states

Alveolar regeneration through a Krt8+ transitional stem cell state that persists in human lung fibrosis

Injury repair is characterized by the generation of transient cell states important for tissue recovery. Here, the authors present a single cell RNA-seq map of recovery from bleomycin lung injury in mice and uncover a Krt8+ transitional stem cell state that precedes the regeneration of AT1 cells and persists in human lung fibrosis

Alveolar regeneration through a Krt8+ transitional stem cell state that persists in human lung fibrosis.

The cell type specific sequences of transcriptional programs during lung regeneration have remained elusive. Using time-series single cell RNA-seq of the bleomycin lung injury model, we resolved transcriptional dynamics for 28 cell types. Trajectory modeling together with lineage tracing revealed that airway and alveolar stem cells converge on a unique Krt8 + transitional stem cell state during alveolar regeneration. These cells have squamous morphology, feature p53 and NFkB activation and display transcriptional features of cellular senescence. The Krt8+ state appears in several independent models of lung injury and persists in human lung fibrosis, creating a distinct cell-cell communication network with mesenchyme and macrophages during repair. We generated a model of gene regulatory programs leading to Krt8+ transitional cells and their terminal differentiation to alveolar type-1 cells. We propose that in lung fibrosis, perturbed molecular checkpoints on the way to terminal differentiation can cause aberrant persistence of regenerative intermediate stem cell states