Factors influencing teachers’ level of digital citizenship in underdeveloped regions of China

In digital times, new demands for higher levels of digital citizenship (DC) have aroused concern. Based on the study reported on here, we propose that 4 predictive factors, i.e., internet self-efficacy, internet attitudes, internet use behaviour and demographic characteristics affect teachers’ level of DC in underdeveloped regions of China. From 21 different provinces, 240 primary teachers in underdeveloped regions in China participated in this quantitative research. The description, significance, correlation, and structural equation modelling (SEM) were statistically performed and analysed. We concluded the following: 1) The average score for DC is low and its 5 dimensions score differently with the highest being the ethical element and the lowest being networking agency and critical perspective; no statistically-significant differences exist for gender, school types, teaching subject and professional rank in predicting DC, but do exist for birth-era, suggesting that young teachers have a higher level of DC. 2) Internet self-efficacy, internet attitudes and internet use behaviour are positively correlated with DC. 3) In the SEM test, internet use behaviour acts as a mediator in the research model; internet self-efficacy is the major determinant of DC, followed by internet use behaviour and internet attitudes. The results were analysed and recommendations to promote teachers’ high-level DC in underdeveloped regions are proposed

Hydrodynamic and entropic effects on colloidal diffusion in corrugated channels

In the absence of advection, confined diffusion characterizes transport in many natural and artificial devices, such as ionic channels, zeolites, and nanopores. While extensive theoretical and numerical studies on this subject have produced many important predictions, experimental verifications of the predictions are rare. Here, we experimentally measure colloidal diffusion times in microchannels with periodically varying width and contrast results with predictions from the Fick-Jacobs theory and Brownian dynamics simulation. While the theory and simulation correctly predict the entropic effect of the varying channel width, they fail to account for hydrodynamic effects, which include both an overall decrease and a spatial variation of diffusivity in channels. Neglecting such hydrodynamic effects, the theory and simulation underestimate the mean and standard deviation of first passage times by 40\% in channels with a neck width twice the particle diameter. We further show that the validity of the Fick-Jakobs theory can be restored by reformulating it in terms of the experimentally measured diffusivity. Our work thus demonstrates that hydrodynamic effects play a key role in diffusive transport through narrow channels and should be included in theoretical and numerical models.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Diffusion of Colloidal Rods in Corrugated Channels

In many natural and artificial devices diffusive transport takes place in confined geometries with corrugated boundaries. Such boundaries cause both entropic and hydrodynamic effects, which have been studied only for the case of spherical particles. Here we experimentally investigate diffusion of particles of elongated shape confined into a corrugated quasi-two-dimensional channel. Elongated shape causes complex excluded-volume interactions between particle and channel walls which reduce the accessible configuration space and lead to novel entropic free energy effects. The extra rotational degree of freedom also gives rise to a complex diffusivity matrix that depends on both the particle location and its orientation. We further show how to extend the standard Fick-Jacobs theory to incorporate combined hydrodynamic and entropic effects, so as, for instance, to accurately predict experimentally measured mean first passage times along the channel. Our approach can be used as a generic method to describe translational diffusion of anisotropic particles in corrugated channels.Comment: 12 pages and 4 figure

The Role of CXCR3 in the Induction of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

Objective. Investigate whether CXCR3 and its ligands were involved in the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in an autoimmune cholangitis animal model. Methods. Female C57BL/6 mice were injected with 5 mg/kg of poly I:C intraperitoneally twice a week for 24 weeks. PBC model was confirmed by liver function, serum autoantibodies and liver biopsy. Lymphocytes subsets in liver and spleen and CXCL10 serum level were tested by flow cytometry and ELISA. Liver specimens were collected to evaluate the differences in pathology between WT and CXCR3−/− mice. Results. Antimitochondrial antibody was detected in all PBC model. Numbers of infiltrates were detected in the portal areas 8 weeks after poly I:C injection, which progressed up to 24 weeks. Compared to control mice, CXCL10 serum level increased in PBC mice and the proportion of CXCR3+ cells increased in the intrahepatic infiltrates of PBC mice, chiefly on CD8+ cells, whereas the expression of CXCR3 on CD3+ and CD8+ splenocytes decreased in PBC model. Compared with WT mice, CXCR3−/− mice developed delayed and milder progression of cellular inflammation. Conculsions. CXCR3 might contribute to the development of PBC in murine model. Knockout of CXCR3 might delay and alleviate the PBC disease progression, but could not entirely block the disease development