Effekte der Teilnahme am Wahlpflichtfach Coding und Robotik auf die Entwicklung des Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepts bei Schüler:innen der Sekundarstufe I im österreichischen Burgenland

Aufgrund der zunehmend alle Lebensbereiche durchdringenden Digitalisierung reichen Kompetenzen, wie sie im traditionellen schulischen Curriculum der Sekundarstufe vermittelt werden, für eine erfolgreiche gesellschaftliche Teilhabe nicht mehr aus. International wird diesem Umstand durch die Entwicklung und Implementierung schulischer Curricula, die sich am Konzept des Computational Thinkings (CT) in Verbindung mit Educational Robotics (ER) orientieren, Rechnung getragen. Wenn dabei lebensweltliche Problemstellungen anschaulich anhand von digitalen Technologien bearbeitet werden, können auf diese Weise eine Reihe digitaler Kompetenzen aber auch verschiedene kognitive, soziale und motivationale Kompetenzen gefördert werden. Diesem Ansatz folgt das im österreichischen Burgenland in der Sekundarstufe I eingeführte Wahlpflichtfach (Wpf.) Coding und Robotik (C & R). In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird untersucht, ob sich für die an dem Wpf. teilnehmenden Schüler:innen Effekte auf das Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept (FSK) im Umgang mit digitalen Medien bzw. digitalen Technologien und in Bezug auf das schulbezogene akademische Selbstkonzept zeigen. In einer längsschnittlichen Vollerhebung wurden dazu 1.383 Schüler:innen der siebenten Schulstufe an burgenländischen Mittelschulen zu drei Zeitpunkten (Beginn, Mitte und Ende des Schuljahres 2018/19) untersucht. 404 der Schüler:innen besuchten das Wpf. C & R, 979 andere Wahlpflichtfächer. Die Ergebnisse stützen die Annahme, dass sich schulische Lernarrangements, die CT in Verbindung mit ER aufgreifen, günstig auf die Entwicklung eines positiven FSK der Schüler:innen auswirken

Impact of Immunosuppressive Drugs on Fibroblasts:: An In Vitro Study

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the direct impact of different agents for immunosuppressive therapy on mouse fibroblasts as a possible cause of drug-induced gingival overgrowth (DIGO). Methods: 3T3 mouse fibroblasts were cultivated in cell-specific media (2 × 104 cells/mL) and treated for 6, 24, 48 and 72 h with one of three immunosuppressive drugs (IsDs): cyclosporin a (CsA), tacrolimus (TaC) and sirolimus (SiR). Different concentrations (10–750 ng/mL) were used to mimic serum levels under active immunosuppressive therapy conditions. Cell population characteristics (cell number, viability and morphology) were assessed using computer-assisted cell analysis. Expression of pro-collagen type I carboxy-terminal propeptide (PICP) was identified using an ELISA assay. Results: The influence of IsDs on the biological status of 3T3 fibroblasts was time- and dose-dependent. Comparing CsA and TaC, the total cell amount was enhanced using concentrations in the range of 10–150 ng/mL (p > 0.05). In contrast, treatment with SiR resulted in a decrease in the average cell number (p 0.05). Conclusions: Our results revealed time-dependent effects of IsDs, with distinct influences on cell number. The cell morphology and the PICP balance of the investigated fibroblast cell line remained unaffected. Hence, the potential role of IsDs is not a unilateral mechanism of action but rather a multifactorial process

Cardiac engraftment of genetically-selected parthenogenetic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

Parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) are a promising candidate donor for cell therapy applications. Similar to embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), PSCs exhibit self-renewing capacity and clonogenic proliferation in vitro. PSCs exhibit largely haploidentical genotype, and as such may constitute an attractive population for allogenic applications. In this study, PSCs isolated from transgenic mice carrying a cardiomyocyte-restricted reporter transgene to permit tracking of donor cells were genetically modified to carry a cardiomyocyte-restricted aminoglycoside phosphotransferase expression cassette (MHC-neor/pGK-hygror) to permit the generation of highly enriched cardiomyocyte cultures from spontaneously differentiating PSCs by simple selection with the neomycin analogue G148. Following engraftment into isogenic recipient hearts, the selected cardiomyocytes formed a functional syncytium with the host myocardium as evidenced by the presence of entrained intracellular calcium transients. These cells thus constitute a potential source of therapeutic donor cells

Comparison of Non-human Primate versus Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes for Treatment of Myocardial Infarction.

Non-human primates (NHPs) can serve as a human-like model to study cell therapy using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs). However, whether the efficacy of NHP and human iPSC-CMs is mechanistically similar remains unknown. To examine this, RNU rats received intramyocardial injection of 1 × 107 NHP or human iPSC-CMs or the same number of respective fibroblasts or PBS control (n = 9-14/group) at 4 days after 60-min coronary artery occlusion-reperfusion. Cardiac function and left ventricular remodeling were similarly improved in both iPSC-CM-treated groups. To mimic the ischemic environment in the infarcted heart, both cultured NHP and human iPSC-CMs underwent 24-hr hypoxia in vitro. Both cells and media were collected, and similarities in transcriptomic as well as metabolomic profiles were noted between both groups. In conclusion, both NHP and human iPSC-CMs confer similar cardioprotection in a rodent myocardial infarction model through relatively similar mechanisms via promotion of cell survival, angiogenesis, and inhibition of hypertrophy and fibrosis