Designing and Facilitating Optimal LMS Student Learning Experiences: Considering students' needs for accessibility, navigability, personalization, and relevance in their online courses

Higher education institutions seek to provide instructional opportunities that challenge students with a high level of academic rigor founded in a robust curriculum. Recognizing that learners are more diverse than ever before, and instructional formats are shifting away from traditional inperson learning experiences and toward online learning, it is clear that new technologies, delivery platforms, and pedagogies are required. Further, for online learning to be successful, both courses and the platforms on which they are hosted must not only meet institutional goals, but also serve the unique needs of students by providing online learning that is accessible and navigable as well as providing learners with relevant and personalized experiences. The authors aim to provide research-based practices to support stakeholders who are interested in techniques that translate to a more beneficial and accessible student experience in online learning and help instructors engineer their course design with artful, targeted purpose

Steric Clash in the SET Domain of Histone Methyltransferase NSD1 as a Cause of Sotos Syndrome and Its Genetic Heterogeneity in a Brazilian Cohort

Most histone methyltransferases (HMTase) harbor a predicted Su(var)3–9, Enhancer-of-zeste, Trithorax (SET) domain, which transfers a methyl group to a lysine residue in their substrates. Mutations of the SET domains were reported to cause intellectual disability syndromes such as Sotos, Weaver, or Kabuki syndromes. Sotos syndrome is an overgrowth syndrome with intellectual disability caused by haploinsufficiency of the nuclear receptor binding SET domain protein 1 (NSD1) gene, an HMTase at 5q35.2–35.3. Here, we analyzed NSD1 in 34 Brazilian Sotos patients and identified three novel and eight known mutations. Using protein modeling and bioinformatic approaches, we evaluated the effects of one novel (I2007F) and 21 previously reported missense mutations in the SET domain. For the I2007F mutation, we observed conformational change and loss of structural stability in Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations which may lead to loss-of-function of the SET domain. For six mutations near the ligand-binding site we observed in simulations steric clashes with neighboring side chains near the substrate S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM) binding site, which may disrupt the enzymatic activity of NSD1. These results point to a structural mechanism underlying the pathology of the NSD1 missense mutations in the SET domain in Sotos syndrome. NSD1 mutations were identified in only 32% of the Brazilian Sotos patients in our study cohort suggesting other genes (including unknown disease genes) underlie the molecular etiology for the majority of these patients. Our studies also found NSD1 expression to be profound in human fetal brain and cerebellum, accounting for prenatal onset and hypoplasia of cerebellar vermis seen in Sotos syndrome

Poster 1023: Dupilumab suppresses Th2 inflammation in adult asthma and atopic dermatitis

Dupilumab (DPL) is a fully human IL-4Rα monoclonal antibody that potently inhibits both IL-4 and IL-13 signaling, drivers of T-helper 2 (Th2) mediated inflammation. In early clinical trials, DPL has recently been evaluated in proof-of-concept studies in asthma and atopic dermatitis (AD)

In situ modification of nanostructure configuration through the manipulation of hydrogen bonded amphiphile self-association

Herein, we report the synthesis of a novel amphiphilic salt containing a number of hydrogen bond donating (HBD) and accepting (HBA) functionalities. This amphiphile has been shown to self-associate via hydrogen bond formation in a DMSO solution, confirmed through a combination of NMR, UV-Vis and dynamic light scattering and supported by X-ray diffraction studies. The combination of different HBD and HBA functionalities within the amphiphile structure gives rise to a variety of competitive, self-associative hydrogen bonding modes that result in the formation of ‘frustrated’ hydrogen bonded nanostructures. These nanostructures can be altered through the addition of competitive HBD arrays and/or HBA anionic guests. The addition of these competitive species modifies the type of self-associative hydrogen bonding modes present between the amphiphilic molecules, triggering the in situ formation of novel hydrogen bonded nanostructures

The Endogenous Th17 Response in NO<inf>2</inf>-Promoted Allergic Airway Disease Is Dispensable for Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Distinct from Th17 Adoptive Transfer

Severe, glucocorticoid-resistant asthma comprises 5-7% of patients with asthma. IL-17 is a biomarker of severe asthma, and the adoptive transfer of Th17 cells in mice is sufficient to induce glucocorticoid-resistant allergic airway disease. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an environmental toxin that correlates with asthma severity, exacerbation, and risk of adverse outcomes. Mice that are allergically sensitized to the antigen ovalbumin by exposure to NO2 exhibit a mixed Th2/Th17 adaptive immune response and eosinophil and neutrophil recruitment to the airway following antigen challenge, a phenotype reminiscent of severe clinical asthma. Because IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling is critical in the generation of the Th17 response in vivo, we hypothesized that the IL-1R/Th17 axis contributes to pulmonary inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in NO2-promoted allergic airway disease and manifests in glucocorticoid-resistant cytokine production. IL-17A neutralization at the time of antigen challenge or genetic deficiency in IL-1R resulted in decreased neutrophil recruitment to the airway following antigen challenge but did not protect against the development of AHR. Instead, IL-1R-/- mice developed exacerbated AHR compared to WT mice. Lung cells from NO2-allergically inflamed mice that were treated in vitro with dexamethasone (Dex) during antigen restimulation exhibited reduced Th17 cytokine production, whereas Th17 cytokine production by lung cells from recipient mice of in vitro Th17-polarized OTII T-cells was resistant to Dex. These results demonstrate that the IL-1R/Th17 axis does not contribute to AHR development in NO2-promoted allergic airway disease, that Th17 adoptive transfer does not necessarily reflect an endogenously-generated Th17 response, and that functions of Th17 responses are contingent on the experimental conditions in which they are generated. © 2013 Martin et al

Reading Across Cultures: Global Narratives, Hotels and Railway Stations

This is the final version of the article. Available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.This article takes its cue from the English critic, novelist and painter John Berger. He argues that what we know determines what we see. Hotels and railway stations, though they differ in size, design and appearance, are places of temporary national and international congress that are recognized by everyone. They become visible or even iconic once their history or their role is turned into at least part of a wider narrative—in literature, film or in other arts. This provides a representative focus by which we may read a city’s or a nation’s past. In exemplifying such connections I focus first on the long-term history of Friedrichstraße station and some of the surrounding hotels in the context of the history of Berlin, situating them within the national and, by implication, also the international context. Secondly, I will consider the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 as an event in which the role of railway stations generated both personal and collective memories across cultures and over several decades

Adenosine/A2B receptor signaling ameliorates the effects of ageing and counteracts obesity

The combination of aging populations with the obesity pandemic results in an alarming rise in non-communicable diseases. Here, we show that the enigmatic adenosine A2B receptor (A2B) is abundantly expressed in skeletal muscle (SKM) as well as brown adipose tissue (BAT) and might be targeted to counteract age-related muscle atrophy (sarcopenia) as well as obesity. Mice with SKM-specific deletion of A2B exhibited sarcopenia, diminished muscle strength, and reduced energy expenditure (EE), whereas pharmacological A2B activation counteracted these processes. Adipose tissue-specific ablation of A2B exacerbated age-related processes and reduced BAT EE, whereas A2B stimulation ameliorated obesity. In humans, A2B expression correlated with EE in SKM, BAT activity, and abundance of thermogenic adipocytes in white fat. Moreover, A2B agonist treatment increased EE from human adipocytes, myocytes, and muscle explants. Mechanistically, A2B forms heterodimers required for adenosine signaling. Overall, adenosine/A2B signaling links muscle and BAT and has both anti-aging and anti-obesity potential

Examining mindfulness-based stress reduction: Perceptions from minority older adults residing in a low-income housing facility

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs are becoming increasingly common, but have not been studied in low income minority older populations. We sought to understand which parts of MBSR were most important to practicing MBSR members of this population, and to understand whether they apply their training to daily challenges.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted three focus groups with 13 current members of an MBSR program. Participants were African American women over the age of 60 in a low-income housing residence. We tape recorded each session and subsequently used inductive content analysis to identify primary themes.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>Analysis of the focus group responses revealed three primary themes stress management, applying mindfulness, and the social support of the group meditation. The stressors they cited using MBSR with included growing older with physical pain, medical tests, financial strain, and having grandchildren with significant mental, physical, financial or legal hardships. We found that participants particularly used their MBSR training for coping with medical procedures, and managing both depression and anger.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A reflective stationary intervention delivered in-residence could be an ideal mechanism to decrease stress in low-income older adult's lives and improve their health.</p

Comparison of proteomic responses as global approach to antibiotic mechanism of action elucidation

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. New antibiotics are urgently needed to address the mounting resistance challenge. In early drug discovery, one of the bottlenecks is the elucidation of targets and mechanisms. To accelerate antibiotic research, we provide a proteomic approach for the rapid classification of compounds into those with precedented and unprecedented modes of action. We established a proteomic response library of Bacillus subtilis covering 91 antibiotics and comparator compounds, and a mathematical approach was developed to aid data analysis. Comparison of proteomic responses (CoPR) allows the rapid identification of antibiotics with dual mechanisms of action as shown for atypical tetracyclines. It also aids in generating hypotheses on mechanisms of action as presented for salvarsan (arsphenamine) and the antirheumatic agent auranofin, which is under consideration for repurposing. Proteomic profiling also provides insights into the impact of antibiotics on bacterial physiology through analysis of marker proteins indicative of the impairment of cellular processes and structures. As demonstrated for trans-translation, a promising target not yet exploited clinically, proteomic profiling supports chemical biology approaches to investigating bacterial physiology