Dimensions of Metaphorical Meaning

Recent work suggests that concreteness and imageability play an important role in the meanings of figurative expressions. We investigate this idea in several ways. First, we try to define more precisely the context within which a figurative expression may occur, by parsing a corpus annotated for metaphor. Next, we add both concreteness and imageability as “features” to the parsed metaphor corpus, by marking up words in this corpus using a psycholinguistic database of scores for concreteness and imageability. Finally, we carry out detailed statistical analyses of the augmented version of the original metaphor corpus, cross-matching the features of concreteness and imageability with others in the corpus such as parts of speech and dependency relations, in order to investigate in detail the use of such features in predicting whether a given expression is metaphorical or not

The importance of school leaders for deploying and integrating ICT in schools: From the perspective of Catholic rural school leaders.

In an era of unprecedented funding in education, a proportion of the billions of dollars being spent will influence the deployment and integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools. School leaders will be one of many roles within schools accountable for the effective and efficient use of ICT in these environments. This paper reports the findings of a study to help understand more about the role of school leaders for the deployment and integration of ICT. The study used an online survey of a sample of principals, assistant/associate principal and leaders/head teacher/coordinators who volunteered to participate and then followed up those who agreed to be interviewed to further investigate findings. Analysis used basic statistics and qualitative interpretation to help understand why all participants thought their role was considerably, or critically, important for the integration of technology, but ranged from not important, to critical importance for deployment

A systematic narrative review of literature on Catholic schools in Australia to better understand the role of School Leadership deploying and integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in this environment

Research literature within school education present school leaders with a range of roles deploying and integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Roles range from being critically important for success, being needed but to a lesser extent, through to not being needed at all. Australian Catholic schools operate in the same political and social context as schools from other sectors but assimilate the Catholic mission in what they do. To determine if the role of school leadership deploying and integrating ICT in Australian Catholic schools reflected literature from the broader education environment, this study carried out a systematic narrative literature review of nine recent relevant articles published in peer-reviewed journals. None of the studies reviewed were specifically about the role of school leaders deploying and integrating ICT, however, four reasons emerged from further analysis, as to how literature on Catholic schools describe the relationship between school leaders and ICT. Firstly, the relationship is one of many contexts relevant to schools. Secondly, it is one of many contexts of leadership. Thirdly, the relationship may or may not be considered relevant to researchers and subsequently considered, inferred or ignored in research design. Finally, there is ongoing Professional Development (PD) to support teachers deploy and integrate ICT in the classroom, but it is not clear to what extent, if any, is carried out for school leaders. Further questions arising from the study may reflect a greater need to better understand the role of leadership in Australian Catholic schools and influences deploying and integrating ICT

MHCII-mediated dialog between group 2 innate lymphoid cells and CD4+ T cells potentiates type 2 immunity and promotes parasitic helminth expulsion

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) release interleukin-13 (IL-13) during protective immunity to helminth infection and detrimentally during allergy and asthma. Using two mouse models to deplete ILC2s in vivo, we demonstrate that T helper 2 (Th2) cell responses are impaired in the absence of ILC2s. We show that MHCII-expressing ILC2s interact with antigen-specific T cells to instigate a dialog in which IL-2 production from T cells promotes ILC2 proliferation and IL-13 production. Deletion of MHCII renders IL-13-expressing ILC2s incapable of efficiently inducing Nippostrongylus brasiliensis expulsion. Thus, during transition to adaptive T cell-mediated immunity, the ILC2 and T cell crosstalk contributes to their mutual maintenance, expansion and cytokine production. This interaction appears to augment dendritic-cell-induced T cell activation and identifies a previously unappreciated pathway in the regulation of type-2 immunity

Peptide exchange on MHC-I by TAPBPR is driven by a negative allostery release cycle.

Chaperones TAPBPR and tapasin associate with class I major histocompatibility complexes (MHC-I) to promote optimization (editing) of peptide cargo. Here, we use solution NMR to investigate the mechanism of peptide exchange. We identify TAPBPR-induced conformational changes on conserved MHC-I molecular surfaces, consistent with our independently determined X-ray structure of the complex. Dynamics present in the empty MHC-I are stabilized by TAPBPR and become progressively dampened with increasing peptide occupancy. Incoming peptides are recognized according to the global stability of the final pMHC-I product and anneal in a native-like conformation to be edited by TAPBPR. Our results demonstrate an inverse relationship between MHC-I peptide occupancy and TAPBPR binding affinity, wherein the lifetime and structural features of transiently bound peptides control the regulation of a conformational switch located near the TAPBPR binding site, which triggers TAPBPR release. These results suggest a similar mechanism for the function of tapasin in the peptide-loading complex

Development and field testing of a standardised goal setting package for person-centred discharge care planning in stroke

Objective: Develop and test a person-centred goal-setting package for discharge care planning in acute and rehabilitation stroke units. Methods: A multidisciplinary, expert working group (n = 15), and consumer group (n = 4) was convened. A multistage iterative approach was used to develop and test the package. Stages included: (i) contextual understanding, (ii) package development, and (iii) clinician training and field-testing in acute and rehabilitation settings. Observational field notes were taken and clinicians\u27 perspectives captured using semi-structured focus groups post-testing. Results: The final package included a 34-item menu aligned with a manual containing: guideline summaries; common goals; goal metrics based on the SMART Goal Evaluation Method (SMART-GEM); evidence-based strategies; and worked examples. Twenty-three clinicians attended training. Clinician observations (n = 5) indicated that: the package could be incorporated into practice; a range of person-centred goals were set; and opportunities provided to raise additional issues. Clinician feedback (n = 8) suggested the package was useful and facilitated person-centred goal-setting. Enablers included potential for incorporation into existing processes and beliefs that it promoted person-centred care. Barriers included additional time. Conclusion: The package demonstrated potential to facilitate comprehensive person-centred goal-setting for patients with stroke. Innovation: We developed an innovative approach to support structured person-centred goal setting in clinical and research settings

Antigen-specific CD4 cells assist CD8 T-effector cells in eliminating keratinocytes

Keratinocytes expressing tumor or viral antigens can be eliminated by antigen-primed CD8 cytotoxic T cells. CD4 T-helper cells help induction of CD8 cytotoxic T cells from naive precursors and generation of CD8 T-cell memory. In this study, we show, unexpectedly, that CD4 cells are also required to assist primed CD8 effector T cells in rejection of skin expressing human growth hormone, a neo-self-antigen, in keratinocytes. The requirement for CD4 cells can be substituted by CD40 costimulation. Rejection of skin expressing ovalbumin (OVA), a non-self-antigen, by primed CD8 cytotoxic T cells can in contrast occur without help from antigen-specific CD4 T cells. However, rejection of OVA expressing keratinocytes is helped by antigen-specific CD4 T cells if only low numbers of primed or naive OVA-specific CD8 T cells are available. Effective immunotherapy directed at antigens expressed in squamous cancer may therefore be facilitated by induction of tumor antigen-specific CD4 helper T cells, as well as cytotoxic CD8 T cells

A mixed-methods feasibility study of a new digital health support package for people after stroke : The Recovery-focused Community support to Avoid readmissions and improve Participation after Stroke (ReCAPS) intervention

Background Evidence for digital health programmes to support people living with stroke is growing. We assessed the feasibility of a protocol and procedures for the Recovery-focused Community support to Avoid readmissions and improve Participation after Stroke (ReCAPS) trial. Methods We conducted a mixed-method feasibility study. Participants with acute stroke were recruited from three hospitals (Melbourne, Australia). Eligibility: Adults with stroke discharged from hospital to home within 10 days, modified Rankin Score 0–4 and prior use of Short Message System (SMS)/email. While in hospital, recruited participants contributed to structured person-centred goal setting and completed baseline surveys including self-management skills and health-related quality of life. Participants were randomised 7–14 days after discharge via REDCap® (1:1 allocation). Following randomisation, the intervention group received a 12-week programme of personalised electronic support messages (average 66 messages sent by SMS or email) aligned with their goals. The control group received six electronic administrative messages. Feasibility outcomes included the following: number of patients screened and recruited, study retainment, completion of outcome measures and acceptability of the ReCAPS intervention and trial procedures (e.g. participant satisfaction survey, clinician interviews). Protocol fidelity outcomes included number of goals developed (and quality), electronic messages delivered, stop messages received and engagement with messages. We undertook inductive thematic analysis of interview/open-text survey data and descriptive analysis of closed survey questions. Results Between November 2018 and October 2019, 312 patients were screened; 37/105 (35%) eligible patients provided consent (mean age 61 years; 32% female); 33 were randomised (17 to intervention). Overall, 29 (88%) participants completed the12-week outcome assessments with 12 (41%) completed assessments in the allocated timeframe and 16 also completing the satisfaction survey (intervention=10). Overall, trial participants felt that the study was worthwhile and most would recommend it to others. Six clinicians participated in one of three focus group interviews; while they reported that the trial and the process of goal setting were acceptable, they raised concerns regarding the additional time required to personalise goals. Conclusion The study protocol and procedures were feasible with acceptable retention of participants. Consent and goal personalisation procedures should be centralised for the phase III trial to reduce the burden on hospital clinicians. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12618001468213 (date 31/08/2018); Universal Trial Number: U1111-1206-723

Murine CD4+ T Cell Responses Are Inhibited by Cytotoxic T Cell-Mediated Killing of Dendritic Cells and Are Restored by Antigen Transfer

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) provide protection against pathogens and tumors. In addition, experiments in mouse models have shown that CTL can also kill antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DC), reducing their ability to activate primary and secondary CD8+ T cell responses. In contrast, the effects of CTL-mediated killing on CD4+ T cell responses have not been fully investigated. Here we use adoptive transfer of TCR transgenic T cells and DC immunization to show that specific CTL significantly inhibited CD4+ T cell proliferation induced by DC loaded with peptide or low concentrations of protein antigen. In contrast, CTL had little effect on CD4+ T cell proliferation induced by DC loaded with high protein concentrations or expressing antigen endogenously, even if these DC were efficiently killed and failed to accumulate in the lymph node (LN). Residual CD4+ T cell proliferation was due to the transfer of antigen from carrier DC to host APC, and predominantly involved skin DC populations. Importantly, the proliferating CD4+ T cells also developed into IFN-γ producing memory cells, a property normally requiring direct presentation by activated DC. Thus, CTL-mediated DC killing can inhibit CD4+ T cell proliferation, with the extent of inhibition being determined by the form and amount of antigen used to load DC. In the presence of high antigen concentrations, antigen transfer to host DC enables the generation of CD4+ T cell responses regardless of DC killing, and suggests mechanisms whereby CD4+ T cell responses can be amplified

Dimensions of Methaphorical Meaning

Recent work suggests that concreteness and imageability play an important role in the meanings of figurative expressions. We investigate this idea in several ways. First, we try to define more precisely the context within which a figurative expression may occur, by parsing a corpus annotated for metaphor. Next, we add both concreteness and imageability as “features” to the parsed metaphor corpus, by marking up words in this corpus using a psycholinguistic database of scores for concreteness and imageability. Finally, we carry out detailed statistical analyses of the augmented version of the original metaphor corpus, cross-matching the features of concreteness and imageability with others in the corpus such as parts of speech and dependency relations, in order to investigate in detail the use of such features in predicting whether a given expression is metaphorical or not