Development of a Teaching Material for the Human Skeleton using a Visual Information Compensation Function

Abstract: We investigated the use of a talking pen (Touch Memo ® ) combined with a specially labeled model of the human skeleton as a self-learning material on anatomy for visually impaired students. The talking pen replays previously input information when a dot-code label (re-recordable label) is touched. This study aimed to obtain students' evaluations of sites at which the dot-code labels can be attached at the indicative positions on the skeleton model to ensure ease of use, thereby determining the most user-friendly ways to use the labels for visually impaired students. Twenty-two visually impaired students specializing in acupuncture and moxibustion participated in the study. Four sites of attachment of the dot-code label to the skeleton module were examined: (a) directly to the bone, (b) head of a wooden screw in the skeleton model, (c) inside a hole of a 3.5-mm diameter, and (d) inside a hole with a 5-mm diameter. The participants evaluated the talking pen using a 5-point scale on the basis of recognition of the dot-code label and the responsiveness of the talking pen to the dot-code label. The results showed that students experienced more difficulty in recognizing the dot-code label by touch and in getting the talking pen to respond when the label was attached to a 3.5-mm hole than when it was attached by other means. In addition, regardless of t he degree of visual impairment, the most user-friendly sites were when the label was attached to the model directly and when it was attached to a 5-mm hole. However, attaching the label directly to the skeleton model often peeled off; therefore, we conclude that the use of the model with a 5-mm hole should be used and improved further

Development of a Teaching Material for the Human Skeleton using a Visual Information Compensation Function

We investigated the use of a talking pen (Touch Memo®) combined with a specially labeled model of the human skeleton as a self-learning material on anatomy for visually impaired students. The talking pen replays previously input information when a dot-code label (re-recordable label) is touched. This study aimed to obtain students’ evaluations of sites at which the dot-code labels can be attached at the indicative positions on the skeleton model to ensure ease of use, thereby determining the most user-friendly ways to use the labels for visually impaired students. Twenty-two visually impaired students specializing in acupuncture and moxibustion participated in the study. Four sites of attachment of the dot-code label to the skeleton module were examined: (a) directly to the bone, (b) head of a wooden screw in the skeleton model, (c) inside a hole of a 3.5-mm diameter, and (d) inside a hole with a 5-mm diameter. The participants evaluated the talking pen using a 5-point scale on the basis of recognition of the dot-code label and the responsiveness of the talking pen to the dot-code label. The results showed that students experienced more difficulty in recognizing the dot-code label by touch and in getting the talking pen to respond when the label was attached to a 3.5-mm hole than when it was attached by other means. In addition, regardless of the degree of visual impairment, the most user-friendly sites were when the label was attached to the model directly and when it was attached to a 5-mm hole. However, attaching the label directly to the skeleton model often peeled off; therefore, we conclude that the use of the model with a 5-mm hole should be used and improved further

Gut microbiome-derived metabolites modulate intestinal epithelial cell damage and mitigate graft-versus-host disease

The effect of alterations in intestinal microbiota on microbial metabolites and on disease processes such as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is not known. Here we carried out an unbiased analysis to identify previously unidentified alterations in gastrointestinal microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) after allogeneic bone marrow transplant (allo-BMT). Alterations in the amount of only one SCFA, butyrate, were observed only in the intestinal tissue. The reduced butyrate in CD326 + intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) after allo-BMT resulted in decreased histone acetylation, which was restored after local administration of exogenous butyrate. Butyrate restoration improved IEC junctional integrity, decreased apoptosis and mitigated GVHD. Furthermore, alteration of the indigenous microbiota with 17 rationally selected strains of high butyrate-producing Clostridia also decreased GVHD. These data demonstrate a heretofore unrecognized role of microbial metabolites and suggest that local and specific alteration of microbial metabolites has direct salutary effects on GVHD target tissues and can mitigate disease severity