A conducive learning environment in international higher education:A systematic review of research on students’ perspectives

Higher education institutions (HEIs) strive to meet international students' needs and expectations regarding their learning environments. Current literature covers a wide range of needs, expectations, and HEIs' responses. However, there doesn't seem to be a consensus about the needs and expectations to be addressed. A coherent theoretical framework may help HEIs identify areas of need and provide additional resources and comprehensive services. We performed a systematic review to obtain an overview of international students' needs, expectations, and experiences regarding their learning environments as described in the literature. We categorized students' perspectives into dimensions. Subsequently, we investigated whether these dimensions related to the three key domains outlined in the theoretical framework and the coverage of these key domains by HEIs. Sixty-three studies were eligible for inclusion. We identified 18 dimensions of international students' needs, expectations, and experiences that could be mapped onto the framework. Based on these results, the content of the three domains could be summarized as goal direction, relationships, and supporting services. Thirteen studies covered one domain, 14 covered two domains, and 36 covered three domains. To provide optimal support, HEIs should cover all three domains. Our study may help to better understand and optimize learning environments for international students

The Chromodomain of LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 Is Essential for H3K27me3 Binding and Function during Arabidopsis Development

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are essential to maintain gene expression patterns during development. Transcriptional repression by PcG proteins involves trimethylation of H3K27 (H3K27me3) by Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) in animals and plants. PRC1 binds to H3K27me3 and is required for transcriptional repression in animals, but in plants PRC1-like activities have remained elusive. One candidate protein that could be involved in PRC1-like functions in plants is LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 (LHP1), because LHP1 associates with genes marked by H3K27me3 in vivo and has a chromodomain that binds H3K27me3 in vitro. Here, we show that disruption of the chromodomain of Arabidopsis thaliana LHP1 abolishes H3K27me3 recognition, releases gene silencing and causes similar phenotypic alterations as transcriptional lhp1 null mutants. Therefore, binding to H3K27me3 is essential for LHP1 protein function

The DREEM, part 1: measurement of the educational environment in an osteopathy teaching program

Background Measurement of the educational environment has become more common in health professional education programs. Information gained from these investigations can be used to implement and measure changes to the curricula, educational delivery and the physical environment. A number of questionnaires exist to measure the educational environment, and the most commonly utilised of these is the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). Methods The DREEM was administered to students in all year levels of the osteopathy program at Victoria University (VU), Melbourne, Australia. Students also completed a demographic survey. Inferential and correlational statistics were employed to investigate the educational environment based on the scores obtained from the DREEM. Results A response rate of 90% was achieved. The mean total DREEM score was 135.37 (+/- 19.33) with the scores ranging from 72 to 179. Some subscales and items demonstrated differences for gender, clinical phase, age and whether the student was in receipt of a government allowance. Conclusions There are a number of areas in the program that are performing well, and some aspects that could be improved. Overall students rated the VU osteopathy program as more positive than negative. The information obtained in the present study has identified areas for improvement and will enable the program leaders to facilitate changes. It will also provide other educational institutions with data on which they can make comparisons with their own programs

A Link among DNA Replication, Recombination, and Gene Expression Revealed by Genetic and Genomic Analysis of TEBICHI Gene of Arabidopsis thaliana

Spatio-temporal regulation of gene expression during development depends on many factors. Mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana TEBICHI (TEB) gene encoding putative helicase and DNA polymerase domains-containing protein result in defects in meristem maintenance and correct organ formation, as well as constitutive DNA damage response and a defect in cell cycle progression; but the molecular link between these phenotypes of teb mutants is unknown. Here, we show that mutations in the DNA replication checkpoint pathway gene, ATR, but not in ATM gene, enhance developmental phenotypes of teb mutants, although atr suppresses cell cycle defect of teb mutants. Developmental phenotypes of teb mutants are also enhanced by mutations in RAD51D and XRCC2 gene, which are involved in homologous recombination. teb and teb atr double mutants exhibit defects in adaxial-abaxial polarity of leaves, which is caused in part by the upregulation of ETTIN (ETT)/AUXIN RESPONSIVE FACTOR 3 (ARF3) and ARF4 genes. The Helitron transposon in the upstream of ETT/ARF3 gene is likely to be involved in the upregulation of ETT/ARF3 in teb. Microarray analysis indicated that teb and teb atr causes preferential upregulation of genes nearby the Helitron transposons. Furthermore, interestingly, duplicated genes, especially tandemly arrayed homologous genes, are highly upregulated in teb or teb atr. We conclude that TEB is required for normal progression of DNA replication and for correct expression of genes during development. Interplay between these two functions and possible mechanism leading to altered expression of specific genes will be discussed

Polycomb-group proteins repress the floral activator AGL19 in the FLC independent vernalization pathway

Polycomb-group (PcG) proteins form a cellular memory by maintaining developmental regulators in a transcriptionally repressed state. We identified a novel flowering gene that is under PcG control in Arabidopsis—the MADS-box gene AGL19. AGL19 expression is maintained at very low levels by the PcG proteins MSI1, CLF, and EMF2, and AGL19 is partly responsible for the early flowering phenotype of clf mutants. AGL19 chromatin is strongly enriched in trimethylation of Lys 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) but not in H3K9me2. Repressive H3K27me3 marks were reduced by decreased CLF or MSI1 levels and by prolonged cold, suggesting that the PcG proteins MSI1 and CLF repress AGL19 in the absence of cold. Ectopic expression of AGL19 strongly accelerates flowering, and agl19 mutants have a decreased response to vernalization, the promotion of flowering by prolonged cold. Epistasis analyses revealed that AGL19 works in the poorly characterized FLC-independent vernalization pathway and does not require SOC1 to function. In this pathway, prolonged cold relieves AGL19 from PcG repression by a mechanism that requires VIN3 but not VRN2. Elevated AGL19 levels activate LFY and AP1 and eventually cause flowering

Mean (SD) domain scores for the final draft and abbreviated versions of the Scan of Postgraduate Educational Environment Domains (SPEED).

<p>Mean (SD) domain scores for the final draft and abbreviated versions of the Scan of Postgraduate Educational Environment Domains (SPEED).</p

Items in the abbreviated version of the Scan of Postgraduate Educational Domains (SPEED), grouped per domain and subject theme, with their adjusted correlation coefficients to total domain score in the validation dataset.

<p>Items in the abbreviated version of the Scan of Postgraduate Educational Domains (SPEED), grouped per domain and subject theme, with their adjusted correlation coefficients to total domain score in the validation dataset.</p

Items in the final draft version of the Scan of Postgraduate Educational Environment Domains (SPEED), grouped per domain and subject theme, with their adjusted correlation coefficients to total domain score in the derivation dataset^a.

<p>Items in the final draft version of the Scan of Postgraduate Educational Environment Domains (SPEED), grouped per domain and subject theme, with their adjusted correlation coefficients to total domain score in the derivation dataset<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0137872#t001fn001" target="_blank">^a</a>.</p

Plant Chromatin Immunoprecipitation

Development of multicellular organisms is based on specialized gene expression programs. Because chromatin establishes the environment for transcription, understanding composition and dynamics of chromatin is an important part of developmental biology. The knowledge about chromatin has been greatly advanced by the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) technique, because ChIP allows to map the position of proteins as well as modifications of DNA and histones to specific genomic regions. Although ChIP has been applied to a wide range of model organisms, including Arabidopsis, it remains a challenging technique, and a careful experimental setup including appropriate positive and negative controls are required to obtain reliable results. Here, we describe a ChIP protocol adapted for material from Arabidopsis, which we routinely apply in our laboratory, and we discuss required controls and methods for data analysis