Student participation in the design of learning and teaching: Disentangling the terminology and approaches

Background: Students are ever more involved in the design of educational practices, which is reflected in the growing body of literature about approaches to student participation. Similarities and differences between these approaches often remain vague since the terms are used interchangeably. This confusing and fragmented body of literature hampers our understanding the process and outcomes of student participation and choosing the most suitable approach for it. Method: We identified the three most frequently used terms related to the design of learning and teaching–design-based research (DBR), participatory design (PD), and co-creation–and disentangled the terminology by focusing on relevant definitions, aims, involvement of students, outcomes, and related terminology. Results: Differences between the approaches to student participation can be found in the degree to which students are the central actors and the degree to which the design is informed by educational theory. Conclusion: It is important to align the level of student participation with the purpose of the approach

Reply: Familial ovarian screening: how to address abnormal TVU findings and its influence on the efficacy of screening?

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B Cells Migrate into Remote Brain Areas and Support Neurogenesis and Functional Recovery after Focal Stroke in Mice

Lymphocytes infiltrate the stroke core and penumbra and often exacerbate cellular injury. B cells, however, are lymphocytes that do not contribute to acute pathology but can support recovery. B cell adoptive transfer to mice reduced infarct volumes 3 and 7 d after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAo), independent of changing immune populations in recipient mice. Testing a direct neurotrophic effect, B cells cocultured with mixed cortical cells protected neurons and maintained dendritic arborization after oxygen-glucose deprivation. Whole-brain volumetric serial two-photon tomography (STPT) and a custom-developed image analysis pipeline visualized and quantified poststroke B cell diapedesis throughout the brain, including remote areas supporting functional recovery. Stroke induced significant bilateral B cell diapedesis into remote brain regions regulating motor and cognitive functions and neurogenesis (e.g., dentate gyrus, hypothalamus, olfactory areas, cerebellum) in the whole-brain datasets. To confirm a mechanistic role for B cells in functional recovery, rituximab was given to human CD20+ (hCD20+) transgenic mice to continuously deplete hCD20+-expressing B cells following tMCAo. These mice experienced delayed motor recovery, impaired spatial memory, and increased anxiety through 8 wk poststroke compared to wild type (WT) littermates also receiving rituximab. B cell depletion reduced stroke-induced hippocampal neurogenesis and cell survival. Thus, B cell diapedesis occurred in areas remote to the infarct that mediated motor and cognitive recovery. Understanding the role of B cells in neuronal health and disease-based plasticity is critical for developing effective immune-based therapies for protection against diseases that involve recruitment of peripheral immune cells into the injured brain

Samenwerken en zakendoen via het Internet

In de Internetwereld zien we een nieuwe paradigma ontstaan: de ‘retailer’. Ook al is niet helemaal duidelijk wie deze rol gaat invullen, duidelijk is wel dat eindgebruikers een éénduidige ingang wensen voor een scala aan diensten. Transparantie van, onder andere, kosten is hierbij gewenst. Een dienstenaanbieder wil zich ook niet langer zorgen hoeven maken over generieke functionaliteit zoals authenticiteit en autorisatie van gebruikers, transacties, ‘application hosting’, betaling, of andere zaken die de zogenoemde retailer voor hem kan oplossen. Zo’n retailer past in een dienst-, in plaats van productgerichte aanpak. Het retailer paradigma wordt ondersteund door technische ontwikkelingen rondom het ASP model, de programmeertaal Java, ‘interoperabiliteit’, component software (hergebruik) en ‘netwerkcomputers’. Gebaseerd op het bovenstaande paradigma heeft FRIENDS een geïntegreerd platform ontwikkeld dat ondersteuning biedt aan zowel eindgebruikers, als ontwikkelaars, als aanbieders van on-line gedistribueerde diensten

Evidence for Human Fronto-Central Gamma Activity during Long-Term Memory Encoding of Word Sequences

Although human gamma activity (30–80 Hz) associated with visual processing is often reported, it is not clear to what extend gamma activity can be reliably detected non-invasively from frontal areas during complex cognitive tasks such as long term memory (LTM) formation. We conducted a memory experiment composed of 35 blocks each having three parts: LTM encoding, working memory (WM) maintenance and LTM retrieval. In the LTM encoding and WM maintenance parts, participants had to respectively encode or maintain the order of three sequentially presented words. During LTM retrieval subjects had to reproduce these sequences. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG) we identified significant differences in the gamma and beta activity. Robust gamma activity (55–65 Hz) in left BA6 (supplementary motor area (SMA)/pre-SMA) was stronger during LTM rehearsal than during WM maintenance. The gamma activity was sustained throughout the 3.4 s rehearsal period during which a fixation cross was presented. Importantly, the difference in gamma band activity correlated with memory performance over subjects. Further we observed a weak gamma power difference in left BA6 during the first half of the LTM rehearsal interval larger for successfully than unsuccessfully reproduced word triplets. In the beta band, we found a power decrease in left anterior regions during LTM rehearsal compared to WM maintenance. Also this suppression of beta power correlated with memory performance over subjects. Our findings show that an extended network of brain areas, characterized by oscillatory activity in different frequency bands, supports the encoding of word sequences in LTM. Gamma band activity in BA6 possibly reflects memory processes associated with language and timing, and suppression of beta activity at left frontal sensors is likely to reflect the release of inhibition directly associated with the engagement of language functions

Surveillance of women at high risk for hereditary ovarian cancer is inefficient

To determine the effectiveness of annual gynaecological screening (pelvic examination, transvaginal ultrasound, and CA-125), a prospective cohort study of women at high risk for hereditary ovarian cancer was conducted. Women were offered DNA analysis followed by either annual screening or prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO). Study population consisted of 512 high-risk women (median follow-up 2.07 years, range 0–9.4 years): 265 women (52%) had a BRCA mutation. Persisting abnormalities indicated diagnostic surgery in 24 women resulting in one primary ovarian cancer FIGO stage IIIc was found. The effectiveness of screening was studied by calculating the probability of finding ovarian cancers in the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 carrier group and comparing this to the identified number of ovarian cancers. The number of ovarian cancer patients found at surveillance was in accordance with the predicted number of ovarian cancers. A total number of 169 women underwent prophylactic BSO: one ovarian cancer stage IIb was found. In conclusion, the surveillance programme for hereditary ovarian cancer does identify patients with ovarian cancer but is very inefficient considering the high number of surveillance visits and the advanced stage of ovarian cancer in the identified patient. For prevention of advanced stage ovarian cancer, prophylactic BSO from age 35–40 years is a more efficient alternative

Giant Merkel cell carcinoma of the eyelid: a case report and review of the literature

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare cutaneous tumor and cases located in the eyelid have been described, but still its rarity may lead to difficulty in diagnosis and delay in treatment. A 51-year-old female patient that presented with large lesions in the eyelid underwent surgery after the diagnosis of acute chalazion. Following respiratory distress secondary to pulmonary metastasis, the patient's condition deteriorated and was not fit for complete excision treatment. Histopathological investigation of the biopsies, taken from the tumor, revealed that it was undifferentiated small cell carcinoma. Our aim with this paper is to point out that more cases should be reported for more effective diagnosis, histopathological study, clinical investigation, treatment and prognosis of this specific neoplasm

Theoretical models of nonlinear effects in two-component cooperative supramolecular copolymerizations

The understanding of multi-component mixtures of self-assembling molecules under thermodynamic equilibrium can only be advanced by a combined experimental and theoretical approach. In such systems, small differences in association energy between the various components can be significantly amplified at the supramolecular level via intricate nonlinear effects. Here we report a theoretical investigation of two-component, self-assembling systems in order to rationalize chiral amplification in cooperative supramolecular copolymerizations. Unlike previous models based on theories developed for covalent polymers, the models presented here take into account the equilibrium between the monomer pool and supramolecular polymers, and the cooperative growth of the latter. Using two distinct methodologies, that is, solving mass-balance equations and stochastic simulation, we show that monomer exchange accounts for numerous unexplained observations in chiral amplification in supramolecular copolymerization. In analogy with asymmetric catalysis, amplification of chirality in supramolecular polymers results in an asymmetric depletion of the enantiomerically related monomer pool