Empathic Patterns in Complex Discourse

Successful functioning at organizational settings in a complex, shifting and vague era, such as the Covid- 19 pandemic, requires soft skills. The present study attempts to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on empathy - an essential 21st century soft skill - by honing on the explicit and expressive aspects of empathic competencies. In accordance with our aim to identify, transcribe and demonstrate empathic patterns in complex interactions in the field of education, we conducted a collaborative qualitative analysis of videotaped simulations of emotionally charged interactions, which occur in school and other educational settings. This led to the development of the Empathic Patterns in Interpersonal Communication (EPIC) conceptual model addressing cognitive, emotional and behavioral elements of empathy. The importance of EPIC, which represents an initial step in conceptualizing empathic patterns, is that it could be implemented as a practical tool that encourages effective communication among students and teachers

Bias factors in mathematics achievement tests among Israeli students from the Former Soviet Union

This study explains mathematical difficulties of students who immigrated from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) vis-à-vis Israeli students, by identifying the existing bias factors in achievement tests. These factors are irrelevant to the mathematical knowledge being measured, and therefore threaten the test results. The bias factors were identified through a structured process that included analysis of mathematics achievement test results, as well as interviews with immigrant students and “culture experts.” The prominent bias factors among the immigrants were primarily specific test items unfamiliar to their way of thinking as well as insufficient attention to item instructions that appeared in a different typographic presentation. This paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings

CD74 is a regulator of hematopoietic stem cell maintenance.

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are a small population of undifferentiated cells that have the capacity for self-renewal and differentiate into all blood cell lineages. These cells are the most useful cells for clinical transplantations and for regenerative medicine. So far, it has not been possible to expand adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) without losing their self-renewal properties. CD74 is a cell surface receptor for the cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), and its mRNA is known to be expressed in HSCs. Here, we demonstrate that mice lacking CD74 exhibit an accumulation of HSCs in the bone marrow (BM) due to their increased potential to repopulate and compete for BM niches. Our results suggest that CD74 regulates the maintenance of the HSCs and CD18 expression. Its absence leads to induced survival of these cells and accumulation of quiescent and proliferating cells. Furthermore, in in vitro experiments, blocking of CD74 elevated the numbers of HSPCs. Thus, we suggest that blocking CD74 could lead to improved clinical insight into BM transplant protocols, enabling improved engraftment