Long-Term Effects of Axotomy on β-Tubulin and NF Gene Expression in Rat DRG Neurons

To compare the long-term recovery of gene expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons under conditions of regeneration vs. non-regeneration, Northern blotting and in situ hybridization were used to assess steady-state neurofilament (NF) and beta tubulin mRNA levels 12 weeks following axonal injury. Adult male rats sustained either a crush lesion of the mid-sciatic nerve (regeneration occurs), or a cut lesion of the sciatic nerve combined with ligation of the proximal nerve stump and removal of a large segment of the distal nerve (regeneration does not occur). In the latter case, neuroma formation physically prevented axonal regeneration. Results of Northern blotting of total RNA obtained from the DRG indicated that NF-L and NF-Μ mRNA levels had largely returned to control levels at 12 weeks following crush axotomy but were still substantially depressed following cut/ligation injury of the sciatic nerve at that time. in situ hybridization studies indicated that both crush and cut/ligation axotomy resulted in significantly lower NF-L mRNA levels in large-sized (>1000 μm2) DRG neurons at 12 weeks post-axotomy. Discrepancies in the conclusions from Northern blotting and in situ hybridization experiments were also noted in the case of tubulin mRNA changes at long intervals after axotomy. in situ hybridization data derived from the large-sized DRG neurons using a coding region β-tubulin cDNA (which recognizes both βII and βIII mRNAs) showed complete recovery of β-tubulin mRNA levels in surviving, large-sized DRG neurons after crush axotomy, but significantly elevated tubulin mRNA levels in surviving large DRG cells at 12 weeks after cut/ligation axotomy. In contrast, Northern blotting results indicated that βII-tubulin mRNA levels in the crush axotomy condition remained elevated relative to control while they were substantially lower than control in cut/ligation axotomy samples. Results from analysis of βIII-tubulin mRNA changes were not conclusive. The lack of complete correspondence in the results from the two different methods of analysis of mRNA changes (blotting vs. in situ) is likely to be due to selective loss of large-sized DRG neurons in the long-standing cut/ligation injury condition. This would influence results from blotting data, where RNA is derived from the DRG as a whole, more so than in situ hybridization experiments which specifically focus on the surviving largesized neurons. Overall, data from these experiments indicate that altered patterns of gene expression remain in the DRG for long intervals after axonal injury, whether or not axonal regeneration has been successful. However, recovery of “normal8221; patterns of cytoskeletal gene expression in the DRG is considerably more complete after crush injury than after cut/ligation injury

When digital capital is not enough: reconsidering the digital lives of disabled university students.

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleThe relationship that disabled university students have with both their technologies and institutions is poorly understood. This paper seeks to illuminate this relationship using the conceptual lens of digital capital. The results from a study that explored the technology experiences of 31 disabled students studying in one university were analysed with a view to revealing evidence for both cultural and social digital capital. The analysis suggests that disabled students possess significant levels of both cultural and social capital, but that there are times when this capital is compromised or insufficient to enable students to fully benefit from technologies. Possessing digital capital does not appear to guarantee complete inclusion into university life

Can serious games help to mitigate climate change? Exploring their influence on Spanish and American teenagers’ attitudes

Es urgente y necesario reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y mitigar el cambio climático, y esta lucha requiere un cambio en las actitudes de los adolescentes. En la búsqueda de nuevos enfoques dirigidos a los jóvenes, los serious games en formato online parecen una prometedora herramienta de comunicación y educación. Basándonos en el juego 2020 Energy como estudio de caso, el principal objetivo de este artículo es examinar la influencia de dicho juego sobre las actitudes de adolescentes españoles y estadounidenses (N = 108), empleando un diseño pretest-posttest con una condición experimental (jugar al juego) y una condición de control (no jugar al juego). Los resultados muestran que no había diferencias estadísticamente significativas después de jugar al juego, aunque una observación más detallada de cada factor ofrece algunas consecuencias positivas.There is an urgent need to curb emissions and mitigate climate change, and this fight requires a change in teenagers’ attitudes. In search of new approaches targeting youth, online games are seen as a promising tool for communication and education. Using the serious game 2020 Energy as a case study, the main objective of this paper is to examine the influence of the game on Spanish and American teenagers’ attitudes (N = 108), employing a pretest-posttest design with an experimental condition (playing the game) and a control condition (not playing the game). Results show that there have not been statistically significant differences after playing the game, although when looking closer at each factor, some positive consequences can be found.HUM466 Acceso y evaluación de la información científic

Factors that shape pedagogical practices in next generation learning spaces

International figures on university expenditure on the development of next generation learning spaces (NGLS) are not readily available but anecdote suggests that simply retrofitting an existing classroom as an NGLS conservatively costs $AUD200,000, while developing new buildings often cost in the region of 100 million dollars and over the last five years, many universities in Australia, Europe and North America have developed new buildings. Despite this considerable investment, it appears that the full potential of these spaces is not being realised. While researchers argue that a more student centred learning approach to teaching has inspired the design of next generation learning spaces (Tom, Voss, & Scheetz, 2008) and that changed spaces change practice (Joint Information Systems Committee, 2009) when 'confronted' with a next generation learning spaces for the first time, anecdotes suggest that many academics resort to teaching as they have always taught and as they were taught. This chapter highlights factors that influence teaching practices, showing that they are to be found in the external, organisational and personal domains. We argue that in order to fully realise significant improvements in student outcomes through the sector's investment in next generation learning spaces, universities need to provide holistic and systematic support across three domains - the external, the organisational and the personal domains, by changing policies, systems, procedures and localised practices to better facilitate changes in teaching practices that maximise the potential of next generation learning spaces

#3CityLink: Disrupting Learning through a Translocal Art Pedagogy Exchange Project

© 2018 The Authors. iJADE © 2018 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd #3CityLink involved fine arts researchers, artists and students in three cities: Regina, Canada; Coventry, UK; and Gyumri, Armenia. The project presented a platform for translocal creative interactions using online screen-based media and on-the-ground dialogues. Artists and students investigated the concerns of their locale, questioning the role of the artist in building narratives, revealing lost histories and imagining the future of where they live. Using descriptive case study design, the findings present the opportunities for enriching the student learning experience through challenging habitual approaches to art production, through alternative approaches to digital pedagogy in art education. Students’ artwork took on new dimensions beyond what they could have produced working in relative isolation in a university-only studio setting. Students were encouraged to pursue and persist in online learning spaces whilst also taking responsibility for organising their own learning and that of others. Nonetheless, using visual technology and social media for connected, artistic, co-investigation needs further refinement to engage learners, and enhance the quality of visual presence and its potential in open education

Medical student attitudes toward video games and related new media technologies in medical education

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies in K-12 and college students show that their learning preferences have been strongly shaped by new media technologies like video games, virtual reality environments, the Internet, and social networks. However, there is no known research on medical students' game experiences or attitudes towards new media technologies in medical education. This investigation seeks to elucidate medical student experiences and attitudes, to see whether they warrant the development of new media teaching methods in medicine.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medical students from two American universities participated. An anonymous, 30-item, cross-sectional survey addressed demographics, game play experience and attitudes on using new media technologies in medical education. Statistical analysis identified: 1) demographic characteristics; 2) differences between the two universities; 3) how video game play differs across gender, age, degree program and familiarity with computers; and 4) characteristics of students who play most frequently.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>217 medical students participated. About half were female (53%). Respondents liked the idea of using technology to enhance healthcare education (98%), felt that education should make better use of new media technologies (96%), and believed that video games can have educational value (80%). A majority (77%) would use a multiplayer online healthcare simulation on their own time, provided that it helped them to accomplish an important goal. Men and women agreed that they were most inclined to use multiplayer simulations if they were fun (97%), and if they helped to develop skill in patient interactions (90%). However, there was significant gender dissonance over types of favorite games, the educational value of video games, and the desire to participate in games that realistically replicated the experience of clinical practice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, medical student respondents, including many who do not play video games, held highly favorable views about the use of video games and related new media technology in medical education. Significant gender differences in game play experience and attitudes may represent male video game design bias that stresses male cognitive aptitudes; medical educators hoping to create serious games that will appeal to both men and women must avoid this.</p

The potential of a mobile group blog to support cultural learning among overseas students

We explored the use of mobile social software, in the form of a mobile group blog, to assist cultural learning. The potential of using this technology for cultural adaptation among overseas students was examined as those students adapted to the everyday life of studying abroad. Two pilot studies and a successful field study of a mobile group blog as used by UK overseas students are reported. A further study with prospective overseas students witnessing this ‘moblogging’ in China revealed the advantages of communicating through this technology as a form of peer-supported preparation for cultural adaptation. Potential advantages for learning a second language via this system, were highlighted as communication was interweaved with cultural adaptation and exercised in the blog entries. Given mobile internet, the language experience together with cultural observation impressively supported these students' growing confidence with time, space and imagination

Ndel1 Promotes Axon Regeneration via Intermediate Filaments

Failure of axons to regenerate following acute or chronic neuronal injury is attributed to both the inhibitory glial environment and deficient intrinsic ability to re-grow. However, the underlying mechanisms of the latter remain unclear. In this study, we have investigated the role of the mammalian homologue of aspergillus nidulans NudE, Ndel1, emergently viewed as an integrator of the cytoskeleton, in axon regeneration. Ndel1 was synthesized de novo and upregulated in crushed and transected sciatic nerve axons, and, upon injury, was strongly associated with neuronal form of the intermediate filament (IF) Vimentin while dissociating from the mature neuronal IF (Neurofilament) light chain NF-L. Consistent with a role for Ndel1 in the conditioning lesion-induced neurite outgrowth of Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) neurons, the long lasting in vivo formation of the neuronal Ndel1/Vimentin complex was associated with robust axon regeneration. Furthermore, local silencing of Ndel1 in transected axons by siRNA severely reduced the extent of regeneration in vivo. Thus, Ndel1 promotes axonal regeneration; activating this endogenous repair mechanism may enhance neuroregeneration during acute and chronic axonal degeneration

Student-Produced Podcasts as an Assessment Tool: An Example from Geomorphology

The emergence of user-friendly technologies has made podcasting an accessible learning tool in undergraduate teaching. In a geomorphology course, student-produced podcasts were used as part of the assessment in 2008-2010. Student groups constructed radio shows aimed at a general audience to interpret and communicate geomorphological data within the context of relevant social and environmental issues. Questionnaire results suggest that the novel format engaged students, and promoted group working, IT, language and oral communication skills, and a deeper understanding of the context of geomorphic data. For teachers, podcasting technology offers efficient teaching of oral communication, with opportunities for distance and self-directed learning

The Behavioral Roots of Information Systems Security:Exploring Key Factors Related to Unethical IT Use

Unethical information technology (IT) use, related to activities such as hacking, software piracy, phishing, and spoofing, has become a major security concern for individuals, organizations, and society in terms of the threat to information systems (IS) security. While there is a growing body of work on this phenomenon, we notice several gaps, limitations, and inconsistencies in the literature. In order to further understand this complex phenomenon and reconcile past findings, we conduct an exploratory study to uncover the nomological network of key constructs salient to this phenomenon, and the nature of their interrelationships. Using a scenario-based study of young adult participants, and both linear and nonlinear analyses, we uncover key nuances of this phenomenon of unethical IT use. We find that unethical IT use is a complex phenomenon, often characterized by nonlinear and idiosyncratic relationships between the constructs that capture it. Overall, ethical beliefs held by the individuals, along with economic, social, and technological considerations are found to be relevant to this phenomenon. In terms of practical implications, these results suggest that multiple interventions at various levels may be required to combat this growing threat to IS security