An evaluation study of a digital library of ideas : Workflow Model and classroom use

The Department of Design Manufacturing and Engineering Management at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, has been developing a digital library to support design engineering student learning through the Digital Libraries for Global Distributed Innovative Design Education and Teamwork project (http://www.didet.ac.uk, December, 2007). Previous related studies have observed and analysed how students search for, store, structure and share design engineering information (Grierson et al. in paper presented at the Network Learning Conference, pp. 572-579, 2004; Nicol et al. in Open Learning 20(1):31-49, 2005) and these studies have identified the need for the design and development of a digital library with two system components, which best suit the design process: (i) an informal shared workspace; the 'LauLima' Learning Environment and (ii) a repository of more formal searchable and browsable design information; the 'LauLima' Digital Library (McGill et al. in Br. J. Educ. Technol. 36(4):629-642, 2005). This paper focuses on the Workflow Model developed to populate the digital library and presents findings from early use of the digital library by students and staff

A Population of HLA-DR(+) Immature Cells Accumulates in the Blood Dendritic Cell Compartment of Patients with Different Types of Cancer

Dendritic cell (DC) defects are an important component of immunosuppression in cancer. Here, we assessed whether cancer could affect circulating DC populations and its correlation with tumor progression. The blood DC compartment was evaluated in 136 patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer, and malignant glioma. Phenotypic, quantitative, and functional analyses were performed at various stages of disease. Patients had significantly fewer circulating myeloid (CD11c(+)) and plasmacytoid (CD123(+)) DC, and a concurrent accumulation of CD11c(-)CD123(-) immature cells that expressed high levels of HLA-DR(+) immature cells (DR(+)IC). Although DR(+)IC exhibited a limited expression of markers ascribed to mature hematopoietic lineages, expression of HLA-DR, CD40, and CD86 suggested a role as antigen-presenting cells. Nevertheless, DR(+)IC had reduced capacity to capture antigens and elicited poor proliferation and interferon-γ secretion by T-lymphocytes. Importantly, increased numbers of DR(+)IC correlated with disease status. Patients with metastatic breast cancer showed a larger number of DR(+)IC in the circulation than patients with local/nodal disease. Similarly, in patients with fully resected glioma, the proportion of DR(+)IC in the blood increased when evaluation indicated tumor recurrence. Reduction of blood DC correlating with accumulation of a population of immature cells with poor immunologic function may be associated with increased immunodeficiency observed in cancer