Advantages and Limitations of Mentoring Students Online in Building their Art University Entrance Portfolios

Abstract This thesis explores the advantages and limitations of online mentorship with students who are developing their portfolios for university admission. The research included 10 participants aged 18 to 19 at the time the research began. As of July 24th, 2016, six students have been accepted to the school they applied, two students have not replied my query regarding their acceptance, and the rest of the two students are continuously developing and refining their portfolios for 2017/18 entries. This Design- Based Research went through four iterations. Each iteration included adjustments to workshop content and social media platforms. They were also adjusted to optimize teaching and learning efficacy. The results of the collected data revealed the affordances and limitations of the online mentorship activities. The affordances include the improvement of artistic abilities through constant practice, recurring feedback exchange, increased motivation through social recognition, and identity formation. At the other end of the spectrum, the limitations include lesson content delivery methods, students over-dependence on the teacher-researcher, and distractions that come with using mobile phones. This research concludes that this form of online mentorship in the field of art education is worthy of continued investigation and refinement, which can enhance the noted affordances and address the limitations that were noted in this study

Nikki S. Lee’s Self-Stereotyping and Refiguring Cultural Stereotypes

This thesis examines a Korean Conceptual photographer, Nikki S. Lee’s performative photographs and film in the series of Projects (1998-2001) and Parts (2002-2005). Through a theoretical analysis of her self-representation in disguise, my research explores established Western stereotypes as well as the artist’s fluid identity in relation to other cultures

Predictors of abnormal brain computed tomography findings in patients with acute altered mental status in the emergency department

Objective Brain computed tomography (CT) is commonly performed to diagnose acute altered mental status (AMS), a critically important symptom in many serious diseases. However, negative CT results are common, which result in unnecessary CT use. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the clinical factors associated with positive CT findings. Methods Patients with acute AMS selected from an emergency department-based registry were retrospectively evaluated. Patients with non-traumatic and noncommunicable diseases on initial presentation and with Glasgow Comal Scale scores of <15 were included in the study. Results Among the 367 brain CT results of patients with AMS during the study period, 146 (39.8%) were positive. In a multivariate analysis, the presence of focal neurologic deficit (odds ratio [OR], 132.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 37.8 to 464.6), C-reactive protein level <2 mg/dL (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.4 to 10.6), and Glasgow Comal Scale score <9 (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2 to 4.8) were significantly associated with positive brain CT results. Conclusion The presence of focal neurologic deficit, initial Glasgow Comal Scale score of <9, and initial C-reactive protein levels of <2 mg/dL can facilitate the selection of brain CT to diagnose patients with acute AMS in the emergency department

Sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and cognitive efficiency as determinants of mistakes at work in shift and non-shift workers

IntroductionShift work is known to reduce productivity and safety at work. Previous studies have suggested that a variety of interrelated factors, such as mood, cognition, and sleep, can affect the performance of shift workers. This study aimed to identify potential pathways from depression, sleep, and cognition to work performance in shift and non-shift workers.Material and methodsOnline survey including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), as well as two items representing work mistakes were administered to 4,561 shift workers and 2,093 non-shift workers. A multi-group structural equation model (SEM) was used to explore differences in the paths to work mistakes between shift and non-shift workers.ResultsShift workers had higher PSQI, CES-D, and CFQ scores, and made more mistakes at work than non-shift workers. The SEM revealed that PSQI, CES-D, and CFQ scores were significantly related to mistakes at work, with the CFQ being a mediating variable. There were significant differences in the path coefficients of the PSQI and CES-D between shift and non-shift workers. The direct effects of sleep disturbances on mistakes at work were greater in shift workers, while direct effects of depressive symptoms were found only in non-shift workers.DiscussionThe present study found that shift workers made more mistakes at work than non-shift workers, probably because of depressed mood, poor sleep quality, and cognitive inefficiency. Sleep influences work performance in shift workers more directly compared to non-shift workers

Impaired learning and memory in CD38 null mutant mice

CD38 is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of cyclic ADP ribose and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate, both of which are involved in the mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. Recently, CD38 has been shown to regulate oxytocin release from hypothalamic neurons. Importantly, CD38 mutations are associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and CD38 knockout (CD38(-/-)) mice display ASD-like behavioral phenotypes including deficient parental behavior and poor social recognition memory. Although ASD and learning deficits commonly co-occur, the role of CD38 in learning and memory has not been investigated. We report that CD38(-/-)mice show deficits in various learning and memory tasks such as the Morris water maze, contextual fear conditioning, and the object recognition test. However, either long-term potentiation or long-term depression is not impaired in the hippocampus of CD38(-/-)mice. Our results provide convincing evidence that CD38(-/-)mice show deficits in various learning and memory tasks including spatial and non-spatial memory tasks. Our data demonstrate that CD38 is critical for regulating hippocampus-dependent learning and memory without modulating synaptic plasticity.open1

Epidemiology of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Asia: A Systematic Review

Ethnic and geographical differences are important factors in studying disease frequencies, because they may highlight the environmental or genetic influences in the etiology. We retrieved the studies which have been published regarding the epidemiologic features of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in Asia, based on the definitions of GERD, study settings, publication years and geographical regions. From the population-based studies, the prevalence of symptom-based GERD in Eastern Asia was found to be 2.5%-4.8% before 2005 and 5.2%-8.5% from 2005 to 2010. In Southeast and Western Asia, it was 6.3%-18.3% after 2005, which was much higher than those in Eastern Asia. There were robust epidemiologic data of endoscopic reflux esophagitis in medical check-up participants. The prevalence of endoscopic reflux esophagitis in Eastern Asia increased from 3.4%-5.0% before 2000, to 4.3%-15.7% after 2005. Although there were only limited studies, the prevalence of extra-esophageal syndromes in Asia was higher in GERD group than in controls. The prevalence of Barrett's esophagus was 0.06%-0.84% in the health check-up participants, whereas it was 0.31%-2.00% in the referral hospital settings. In summary, the prevalence of symptom-based GERD and endoscopic reflux esophagitis has increased in Asian countries. However, the prevalence of Barrett's esophagus in Asia has not changed and also still rare

Atg7-Mediated Autophagy Is Involved in the Neural Crest Cell Generation in Chick Embryo

Autophagy plays a very important role in numerous physiological and pathological events. However, it still remains unclear whether Atg7-induced autophagy is involved in the regulation of neural crest cell production. In this study, we found the co-location of Atg7 and Pax7+ neural crest cells in early chick embryo development. Upregulation of Atg7 with unilateral transfection of full-length Atg7 increased Pax7+ and HNK-1+ cephalic and trunk neural crest cell numbers compared to either Control-GFP transfection or opposite neural tubes, suggesting that Atg7 over-expression in neural tubes could enhance the production of neural crest cells. BMP4 in situ hybridization and p-Smad1/5/8 immunofluorescent staining demonstrated that upregulation of Atg7 in neural tubes suppressed the BMP4/Smad signaling, which is considered to promote the delamination of neural crest cells. Interestingly, upregulation of Atg7 in neural tubes could significantly accelerate cell progression into the S phase, implying that Atg7 modulates cell cycle progression. However, β-catenin expression was not significantly altered. Finally, we demonstrated that upregulation of the Atg7 gene could activate autophagy as did Atg8. We have also observed that similar phenotypes, such as more HNK-1+ neural crest cells in the unilateral Atg8 transfection side of neural tubes, and the transfection with full-length Atg8-GFP certainly promote the numbers of BrdU+ neural crest cells in comparison to the GFP control. Taken together, we reveal that Atg7-induced autophagy is involved in regulating the production of neural crest cells in early chick embryos through the modification of the cell cycle

Rapid Turnover of Cortical NCAM1 Regulates Synaptic Reorganization after Peripheral Nerve Injury

Peripheral nerve injury can induce pathological conditions that lead to persistent sensitized nociception. Although there is evidence that plastic changes in the cortex contribute to this process, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. Here, we find that activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) induced by peripheral nerve injury increases the turnover of specific synaptic proteins in a persistent manner. We demonstrate that neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) is one of the molecules involved and show that it mediates spine reorganization and contributes to the behavioral sensitization. We show striking parallels in the underlying mechanism with the maintenance of NMDA-receptor- and protein-synthesis-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in the ACC. Our results, therefore, demonstrate a synaptic mechanism for cortical reorganization and suggest potential avenues for neuropathic pain treatment