24 research outputs found

    Mobile inquiry-based learning with sensor-data in the school: Effects on student motivation

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    The paper discusses the design, implementation and evaluation of a pilot project that integrated inquiry-based learning with mobile game design and introduced mobile devices and sensors into classroom learningweSPOT Project - IST (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement N° 318499The project was supported by the SURFnet innovation grant for sustainable ICT solutions

    The Physics of the B Factories

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    Disease modeling of a mutation in α-actinin 2 guides clinical therapy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

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    Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a cardiac genetic disease accompanied by structural and contractile alterations. We identified a rare c.740C>T (p.T247M) mutation in ACTN2, encoding α-actinin 2 in a HCM patient, who presented with left ventricular hypertrophy, outflow tract obstruction, and atrial fibrillation. We generated patient-derived human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and show that hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and engineered heart tissues recapitulated several hallmarks of HCM, such as hypertrophy, myofibrillar disarray, hypercontractility, impaired relaxation, and higher myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity, and also prolonged action potential duration and enhanced L-type Ca2+ current. The L-type Ca2+ channel blocker diltiazem reduced force amplitude, relaxation, and action potential duration to a greater extent in HCM than in isogenic control. We translated our findings to patient care and showed that diltiazem application ameliorated the prolonged QTc interval in HCM-affected son and sister of the index patient. These data provide evidence for this ACTN2 mutation to be disease-causing in cardiomyocytes, guiding clinical therapy in this HCM family. This study may serve as a proof-of-principle for the use of hiPSC for personalized treatment of cardiomyopathies.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

    Abscisic-acid and the induction of desiccation tolerance in the extremely xerophilic liverwort Exormotheca holstii

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    HELLWEGE EM, Dietz K-J, VOLK OH, HARTUNG W. Abscisic-acid and the induction of desiccation tolerance in the extremely xerophilic liverwort Exormotheca holstii. Planta. 1994;194(4):525-531.Abscisic acid (ABA) induces formation of a set of proteins in the xerophilic liverwort Exormotheca holstii. Some of them have immunological properties similar to the dehydrins of desiccated corn embryos and the desiccation-related proteins of Craterosrigma plantagineum. The fluctuations of endogenous ABA during cycles of desiccation and rehydration seem to be sufficiently high to indicate a role for ABA as a stress hormone and thereby as an endogenous inductor of stress-related protein synthesis. Desiccation tolerance disappears when thalli are cultivated for a longer period under well-watered conditions; such thalli are not able to increase stress-dependent ABA biosynthesis sufficiently, or to form the desiccation-related proteins unless they are treated with external ABA. The rehydrated thalli cannot recover from a rapid water loss, while ABA-treated, non-hardened thalli regain their photosynthetic activity within two hours
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