Personalised Learning Spaces and Self-Regulated Learning :Global examples of Effective Pedagogy

Recent educational research attests to an increasing awareness of the need to encourage learner control over the entire learning process. Web 2.0 and social software tools are capable of supporting informal conversation, dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide raft of ideas and representations. Used appropriately, they can shift control to the learner by promoting agency, autonomy and engagement in social networks that straddle multiple real and virtual learning spaces independent of physical, geographic, institutional and organisational boundaries. However, in order for selfregulated learning to come to fruition, students need not only to be able to choose and personalise what tools and content are available, but also to have access to appropriate scaffolding to support their learning. Emerging practices with social software, examples of which are showcased in this paper, signal the need for pedagogies that are more social, personal and participatory. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for practice, including current challenges faced by tertiary educators

Classical Nova Carinae 2018: Discovery of circumbinary iron and oxygen

We present time-lapse spectroscopy of a classical nova explosion commencing 9 days after discovery. These data reveal the appearance of a transient feature in Fe II and [O I]. We explore different models for this feature and conclude that it is best explained by a circumbinary disc shock-heated following the classical nova event. Circumbinary discs may play an important role in novae in accounting for the absorption systems known as THEA, the transfer of angular momentum, and the possible triggering of the nova event itself

The Zwitterionic Cell Wall Teichoic Acid of Staphylococcus aureus Provokes Skin Abscesses in Mice by a Novel CD4+ T-Cell-Dependent Mechanism

Zwitterionic polysaccharide (ZPS) components of the bacterial cell envelope have been shown to exert a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II-dependent activation of CD4+ T cells, which in turn can modulate the outcome and progression of infections in animal models. We investigated the impact of zwitterionic cell wall teichoic acid (WTA) produced by Staphylococcus aureus on the development of skin abscesses in a mouse model. We also compared the relative biological activities of WTA and capsular polysaccharide (CP), important S. aureus pathogenicity factors, in abscess formation. Expression of both WTA and CP markedly affected the ability of S. aureus to induce skin abscess formation in mice. Purified wild-type zwitterionic WTA was more active in inducing abscess formation than negatively charged mutant WTA or purified CP8. To assess the ability of purified native WTA to stimulate T cell proliferation in vitro, we co-cultivated WTA with human T-cells and antigen presenting cells in the presence and absence of various inhibitors of MHC-II presentation. Wild-type WTA induced T cell proliferation to a significantly greater extent than negatively charged WTA. T cell activation was dependent on the presentation of WTA on MHC II, since inhibitors of MHC II-dependent presentation and antibodies to MHC II significantly reduced T cell proliferation. T cells activated in vitro with wild-type WTA, but not negatively charged WTA, induced abscess formation when injected subcutaneously into wild-type mice. CD4−/− mice similarly injected with WTA failed to develop abscesses. Our results demonstrate that the zwitterionic WTA of S. aureus induces CD4+ T-cell proliferation in an MHCII-dependent manner, which in turn modulates abscess formation in a mouse skin infection model. An understanding of this novel T cell-dependent host response to staphylococcal abscess formation may lead to the development of new strategies to combat S. aureus skin and soft tissue infections

Reflection on-line or off-line: the role of learning technologies in encouraging students to reflect

This paper presents case studies that describe the experiences of the two authors in trying to use learning technologies to facilitate reflective thinking in their students. At the University of Leicester, a Web-based biology tutorial called ‘How Now Mad Cow’, which covers the topics of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and a new variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (nvCJD). At the University of Southampton, a web-based hyper-mail discussion list to support teaching on a first year psychosocial science module for occupational therapy and physiotherapy students has been established. In both examples, the tutors had attempted to create a learning environment that would engage students in the learning experience and facilitate reflection by helping them to create meaning from the learning experience and see things in a different way. The evaluation data from both case studies provides some evidence that the learning technologies helped to facilitate reflection for some students. However, the evidence for reflection is not overwhelming and the data provides some evidence that four key factors may have influenced how successful the use of learning technologies were in facilitating reflection. These factors are the way the learning technology is used, the nature of the student groups, the role of the tutor and student preferences for ‘off-line reflection’. These are discussed and ways forward are identified

Cumulative lifetime stress exposure, depression, anxiety, and well-being in elite athletes: A mixed-method study

Research suggests that elite athletes are at increased risk of poor mental health, partly due to the intense demands associated with top-level sport. Despite growing interest in the topic, the factors that influence the mental health and well-being of elite athletes remain unclear. From a theoretical perspective, the accumulation of stress and adversity experienced over the life course may be an important factor. To investigate this possibility, we employed a mixed-method design to: (a) examine whether cumulative lifetime stress predicted depression, anxiety, and well-being in elite athletes; and (b) help explain why cumulative lifetime stress exposure might have resulted in poor mental health and well-being. Ninety-five elite athletes (Mage = 29.81, SD = 10.88) completed the Stress and Adversity Inventory, Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, and the Scales of General Well-Being. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that total count and severity of lifetime stressor exposure significantly predicted greater depression (β = .42, p < .001; β = .46, p < .001) and anxiety symptoms (β = .34, p = .003; β = .28, p = .018), and worse well-being (β = -.42, p < .001; β = -.30, p = .015). Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with six athletes. Thematic analysis revealed that cumulative lifetime stress exposure fostered poor mental health and well-being by promoting maladaptive long-term coping strategies, increasing susceptibility to future stress, and limiting interpersonal relationships. These findings can help practitioners identify, and intervene accordingly with, elite athletes at risk of experiencing stress-related mental health problems

Acceptance and values clarification versus cognitive restructuring and relaxation: A randomized controlled trial of ultra-brief non-expert-delivered coaching interventions for social resilience.

Low social resilience (e.g., susceptibility to social anxiety, and social avoidance) has been associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes, and can lead to ostracism. Support services such as university counselling centres, which deal with non-diagnosable psychological distress, linked to low social resilience, require effective yet brief interventions deliverable by non-experts to meet service demands. As it is not always possible to prevent subjectively negative experiences, acceptance-based interventions aim to change how we respond behaviourally to such experiences. The present study tests the efficacy of an ultra-brief (1hr) non-expert delivered acceptance and values-based (AV) coaching intervention to increase resilience to negative social interactions. This was compared to a comparable dose of a cognitive restructuring and relaxation-based (CRR) analogue, and a psycho-education and progressive muscle relaxation-based (PE-PMR) control. Participants ( N =60) were assessed on perceived burdensomeness, belonging, and 3 scenarios measuring anxiety and likelihood to engage in social situations. Participants then played Cyberball, an ostracising task, before recompleting the aforementioned measures. Physiological measures indicated Cyberball was an aversive experience. In the AV condition only, we observed an improved behavioral intention to engage with social scenarios ( dppc2 = .57). Ultra-brief AV-based coaching interventions delivered by non-expert coaches appear promising in increasing participant’s likelihood to continue engaging in social interactions after a stressful social experience. We tentatively conclude that gains in committed action may increase the propensity of at-risk individuals to seek social support

Assessing lifetime stressor exposure in sport performers:Associations with trait stress appraisals, health, well-being, and performance

Research has found that greater lifetime stressor exposure increases the risk for mental and physical health problems. Despite this, few studies have examined how stressors occurring over the entire lifespan affect sport performers’ health, well-being, and performance, partly due to the difficulty of assessing lifetime stressor exposure. To address this issue, we developed a sport-specific stress assessment module (Sport SAM) for the Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN) and then analyzed the instrument’s usability, acceptability, validity, and test-retest reliability. Furthermore, we examined whether trait-like tendencies to appraise stressful situations as a challenge or threat mediated the association between lifetime stressor exposure and health, well-being, and performance. Participants were 395 sport performers (M(age) = 22.50 years, SD = 5.33) who completed an online survey. Results revealed that the Sport SAM demonstrated good usability and acceptability, good concurrent validity in relation to the Adult STRAIN (rs = 0.23 to 0.29), and very good test-retest reliability (r(icc) = 0.87 to 0.89). Furthermore, the Sport SAM was significantly associated with symptoms of depression (β = 0.21 to 0.24, ps ≤ .001) and anxiety (β = 0.13 to 0.19, ps ≤ .012), and general physical (β = 0.24 to 0.27, ps = ≤ 0.001) and mental (β = 0.23 to 0.32, p ≤ .001) health complaints. Finally, we found that associations between total lifetime non-sport and sport-specific stressor severity and health were mediated by trait stress appraisals. Consequently, these findings may help practitioners better identify sport performers who are at risk of developing stress-related health problems

Quantizing String Theory in AdS_5 X S^5: Beyond the pp-Wave

In a certain kinematic limit, where the effects of spacetime curvature (and other background fields) greatly simplify, the light-cone gauge world-sheet action for a type IIB superstring on AdS_5 x S^5 reduces to that of a free field theory. It has been conjectured by Berenstein, Maldacena, and Nastase that the energy spectrum of this string theory matches the dimensions of operators in the appropriately defined large R-charge large-N_c sector of N=4 supersymmetric Yang--Mills theory in four dimensions. This holographic equivalence is thought to be exact, independent of any simplifying kinematic limits. As a step toward verifying this larger conjecture, we have computed the complete set of first curvature corrections to the spectrum of light-cone gauge string theory that arises in the expansion of AdS_5 x S^5 about the plane-wave limit. The resulting spectrum has the complete dependence on lambda = g_YM^2 N_c; corresponding results in the gauge theory are known only to second order in lambda. We find precise agreement to this order, including the N=4 extended supermultiplet structure. In the process, we demonstrate that the complicated schemes put forward in recent years for defining the Green--Schwarz superstring action in background Ramond-Ramond fields can be reduced to a practical (and correct) method for quantizing the string.Comment: 39 pages; substantial improvement

Lymphangiomyomatosis discovered by massive hemoptysis during general anesthesia -A case report-

Lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease that is characterized by the progressive proliferation of atypical smooth muscle-like cells, which leads to severe respiratory impairment and death. Dyspnea, cough, recurrent pneumothorax, and hemoptysis are the most common clinical symptoms of LAM. We report a 29-year-old female patient with massive hemoptysis during laparoscopic gynecologic surgery under general anesthesia, who was diagnosed with pulmonary LAM

Open string integrability and AdS/CFT

We present a set of long-range Bethe ansatz equations for open quantum strings on AdS_5 x S^5 and demonstrate that they diagonalize bosonic su(2) and sl(2) sectors of the theory in the near-pp-wave limit. Results are compared with energy spectra obtained by direct quantization of the open string theory, and we find agreement in this limit to all orders in the 't Hooft coupling lambda = g_YM^2 N_c. We also propose long-range Bethe ansaetze for su(2) and sl(2) sectors of the dual N=2 defect conformal field theory. In accordance with previous investigations, we find exact agreement between string theory and gauge theory at one- and two-loop order in lambda, but a general disagreement at higher loops. It has been conjectured that the sudden mismatch at three-loop order may be due to long-range interaction terms that are lost in the weak coupling expansion of the gauge theory dilatation operator. These terms are thought to include interactions that wrap around gauge-traced operators, or around the closed-string worldsheet. We comment on the role these interactions play in both open and closed sectors of string states and operators near the pp-wave/BMN limit of the AdS/CFT correspondence.Comment: v2: minor clarifications, typos corrected, references added; v3: references added; LaTeX, 32 pages, 4 figure