Technology in Help of Personalised Education

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, June, 2017The aim of the research is to evaluate the potential of new technologies applied in education. We assess the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) for personalisation of learning resources by examining opinion of teachers in a survey. The results show that to be used in different learning contexts and to meet the needs and preferences of the learners most parameters of educational resources should be changeable. In addition, we examine the views of teachers on how technology-assisted teaching methods affect the students.Association for the Development of the Information Society, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski

Big Data – Opportunities and Challenges for Education

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2015The paper reveals the potential of Big Data applied in education. The specifics of Big Data in educational contexts and different sources for their extraction are described. The power of innovative tools for data collection, management, and analysis by which to identify best practices or problems in the educational process is shown. Considering these findings, a conceptual proposal for an example of educational system using Big Data is presented. The possible effects of the implementation of Big Data in education are discussed.Association for the Development of the Information Society, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski

Spatial mapping of the collagen distribution in human and mouse tissues by force volume atomic force microscopy

Changes in the elastic properties of living tissues during normal development and in pathological processes are often due to modifications of the collagen component of the extracellular matrix at various length scales. Force volume AFM can precisely capture the mechanical properties of biological samples with force sensitivity and spatial resolution. The integration of AFM data with data of the molecular composition contributes to understanding the interplay between tissue biochemistry, organization and function. The detection of micrometer-size, heterogeneous domains at different elastic moduli in tissue sections by AFM has remained elusive so far, due to the lack of correlations with histological, optical and biochemical assessments. In this work, force volume AFM is used to identify collagen-enriched domains, naturally present in human and mouse tissues, by their elastic modulus. Collagen identification is obtained in a robust way and affordable timescales, through an optimal design of the sample preparation method and AFM parameters for faster scan with micrometer resolution. The choice of a separate reference sample stained for collagen allows correlating elastic modulus with collagen amount and position with high statistical significance. The proposed preparation method ensures safe handling of the tissue sections guarantees the preservation of their micromechanical characteristics over time and makes it much easier to perform correlation experiments with different biomarkers independently

Deconvoluting hepatic processing of carbon nanotubes

Single-wall carbon nanotubes present unique opportunities for drug delivery, but have not advanced into the clinic. Differential nanotube accretion and clearance from critical organs have been observed, but the mechanism not fully elucidated. The liver has a complex cellular composition that regulates a range of metabolic functions and coincidently accumulates most particulate drugs. Here we provide the unexpected details of hepatic processing of covalently functionalized nanotubes including receptor-mediated endocytosis, cellular trafficking and biliary elimination. Ammonium-functionalized fibrillar nanocarbon is found to preferentially localize in the fenestrated sinusoidal endothelium of the liver but not resident macrophages. Stabilin receptors mediate the endocytic clearance of nanotubes. Biocompatibility is evidenced by the absence of cell death and no immune cell infiltration. Towards clinical application of this platform, nanotubes were evaluated for the first time in non-human primates. The pharmacologic profile in cynomolgus monkeys is equivalent to what was reported in mice and suggests that nanotubes should behave similarly in humans

Tunneling Nanotubes Provide a Unique Conduit for Intercellular Transfer of Cellular Contents in Human Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Tunneling nanotubes are long, non-adherent F-actin-based cytoplasmic extensions which connect proximal or distant cells and facilitate intercellular transfer. The identification of nanotubes has been limited to cell lines, and their role in cancer remains unclear. We detected tunneling nanotubes in mesothelioma cell lines and primary human mesothelioma cells. Using a low serum, hyperglycemic, acidic growth medium, we stimulated nanotube formation and bidirectional transfer of vesicles, proteins, and mitochondria between cells. Notably, nanotubes developed between malignant cells or between normal mesothelial cells, but not between malignant and normal cells. Immunofluorescent staining revealed their actin-based assembly and structure. Metformin and an mTor inhibitor, Everolimus, effectively suppressed nanotube formation. Confocal microscopy with 3-dimensional reconstructions of sectioned surgical specimens demonstrated for the first time the presence of nanotubes in human mesothelioma and lung adenocarcinoma tumor specimens. We provide the first evidence of tunneling nanotubes in human primary tumors and cancer cells and propose that these structures play an important role in cancer cell pathogenesis and invasion

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: a global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions’ effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior—several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people’s initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors

Educational Games in Schools – Survey and Analysis

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, June, 2018In today's world full of digital devices, information and communication technologies (ICT) are already well placed in education. As an effective tool for supporting teaching, they engage learners’ attention, motivate them, facilitate knowledge acquisition, and provide access to a vast amount of learning resources. Computer educational games are the most intriguing among them. However, whether teachers are willing to practice this approach, we have tried to find out by surveying them. Based on results, an analysis of usage of educational games in different school grades and their application in various subjects have been made. Advantages of using learning games and their impact on learners have also been explored.Association for the Development of the Information Society, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski