Implementation of technology-supported personalized learning—its impact on instructional quality

Digital technology especially raised hopes to open up new possibilities to personalize learning. Although various schools have implemented approaches of technology-supported personalized learning, the impact on instructional quality remains unclear. As a common definition of the multilayered construct personalized learning is lacking, our study focuses on two theoretical dimensions of technology-supported personalized learning to investigate the impact on instructional quality. For this purpose, our study has analyzed data from a survey of N = 860 students (8th grade) from 31 Swiss schools with personalized learning concepts. Results show that student-centered teaching methods in the context of technology-supported personalized learning stimulate the cognitive activation of the students, and the supportive climate increases slightly with a higher degree of students’ voice and choice on the computer

Throat Swabs Are Necessary to Reliably Detect Carriers of Staphylococcus aureus

The anterior nares are the most important screening site of colonization with Staphylococcus aureus. We screened 2966 individuals for S. aureus carriage with swabs of both nares and throat. A total of 37.1% of persons were nasal carriers, and 12.8% were solely throat carriers. Screening of throat swabs significantly increases the sensitivity of detection among carriers by 25.7

Selbstwirksamkeit von Lehrpersonen bei der Entwicklung einer personalisierten Lehr-Lernkultur

In diesem Beitrag wird die Bedeutung der Selbstwirksamkeit von Lehrpersonen bei der Entwicklung einer personalisierten Lehr-Lernkultur untersucht. Die Auswertung der längsschnittlich erhobenen Fragebogendaten von 188 Lehrpersonen aus 42 Primar- und Sekundarschulen mittels Skalen- und Korrelationsanalysen sowie auto-regressiven Modellen ergibt folgende Hauptbefunde: Die Lehrpersonen schätzen ihre Selbstwirksamkeit in Bezug auf Unterrichtsentwicklung zu personalisiertem Lernen in drei aufeinanderfolgenden Schuljahren jeweils hoch ein. Ihre hohe Selbstwirksamkeit lässt sich auf personale (Enthusiasmus, Identifikation mit der Schule), nicht aber auf subjektiv wahrgenommene Kontextfaktoren (Kollektive Selbstwirksamkeit, Schulklima, Innovationsklima) zurückführen und hängt positiv mit rückblickend berichteten lehr- und lernseitigen Veränderungen zusammen. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass die Selbstwirksamkeit der Lehrpersonen auch bei der Unterrichtsentwicklung zu personalisiertem Lernen eine nicht zu unterschätzende Rolle spielt und daher empirisch genauer beleuchtet und in der Entwicklungspraxis beachtet werden sollte

Prevalence of Polyomavirus BK and JC Infection and Replication in 400 Healthy Blood Donors

BackgroundThe replication of BK virus (BKV) and JC virus (JCV) is linked to polyomavirus-associated nephropathy, hemorrhagic cystitis, and multifocal leukoencephalopathy in immunodeficient patients, but the behavior of these viruses in immunocompetent individuals has hardly been characterized MethodsWe used EIA to study samples obtained from 400 healthy blood donors aged 20-59 years for BKV- and JCV-specific antibodies against virus-like particles. We also studied BKV and JCV loads in plasma and urine among these individuals by use of real-time polymerase chain reaction ResultsIgG seroprevalence was 82% (328 of 400 donors) for BKV and 58% (231 of 400) for JCV. As age increased (age groups were divided by decade), the seroprevalence of BKV decreased from 87% (87 of 100) in the youngest group (aged 20-29 years) to 71% (71 of 100) in the oldest group (aged 50-59 years) (P=.006), whereas the seroprevalence of JCV increased from 50% (50 of 100) in the youngest group to 68% (68 of 100) in the oldest group (P=.06). Asymptomatic urinary shedding of BKV and JCV was observed in 28 (7%) and 75 (19%) of 400 subjects, respectively, with median viral loads of 3.51 and 4.64 log copies/mL, respectively (P<.001). Unlike urinary BKV loads, urinary JCV loads were positively correlated with IgG levels. The shedding of JCV was more commonly observed among individuals who were seropositive only for JCV, compared with individuals who were seropositive for both BKV and JCV, suggesting limited cross-protection from BKV immunity. Noncoding control regions were of archetype architecture in all cases, except for 1 rearranged JCV variant. Neither BKV nor JCV DNA was detected in plasma ConclusionsOur study provides important data about polyomavirus infection and replication in healthy, immunocompetent individuals. These data indicate significant differences between BKV and JCV with respect to virus-host interaction and epidemiolog

RNAi Screening Uncovers a Synthetic Sick Interaction between CtIP and the BARD1 Tumor Suppressor

Human CtIP is best known for its role in DNA end resection to initiate DNA double-strand break repair by homologous recombination. Recently, CtIP has also been shown to protect reversed replication forks from nucleolytic degradation upon DNA replication stress. However, still little is known about the DNA damage response (DDR) networks that preserve genome integrity and sustain cell survival in the context of CtIP insufficiency. Here, to reveal such potential buffering relationships, we screened a DDR siRNA library in CtIP-deficient cells to identify candidate genes that induce synthetic sickness/lethality (SSL). Our analyses unveil a negative genetic interaction between CtIP and BARD1, the heterodimeric binding partner of BRCA1. We found that simultaneous disruption of CtIP and BARD1 triggers enhanced apoptosis due to persistent replication stress-induced DNA lesions giving rise to chromosomal abnormalities. Moreover, we observed that the genetic interaction between CtIP and BARD1 occurs independently of the BRCA1-BARD1 complex formation and might be, therefore, therapeutical relevant for the treatment of BRCA-defective tumors.Peer reviewe

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Personalised learning. On the analysis of an educational keyword and first results from the \u27perLern\u27-study

Seit der Jahrtausendwende ist das Konzept der Personalisierung vor allem im englischsprachigen Bildungsraum zu einem Topos in der Diskussion um die Weiterentwicklung von Schule und Unterricht geworden. Personalisiertes Lernen steht dabei weniger für ein klar umrissenes Konzept als für einen \u27Containerbegriff\u27 für maßgeschneiderte Bildungsangebote, didaktische Zugänge und Lernprozessqualitäten einer individuell adaptiven Förderung von Schülerinnen und Schülern in heterogenen Lerngruppen. Der Beitrag analysiert Kontexte, Erscheinungsweisen und theoretische Dimensionen des Konzeptes und berichtet erste Ergebnisse aus einer Deutschschweizer Unterrichtsstudie. (DIPF/Orig.)Since the turn of the millennium, the concept of personalising education has become a topos in the debate on the advancement of education and teaching, especially in the Anglophone area. In this connection, personalized learning is not a fixed and clearly defined concept, but rather a collective term for customized learning opportunities, didactic approaches and learning process qualities of individual support for pupils in heterogeneous learner groups. The article analyses contexts, manners of appearance and theoretical dimensions of this concept and reports on the first results of a German Swiss study on lessons. (DIPF/Orig.