Bridging gaps: a systematic literature review of brokerage in educational change

Bridging gaps between educational stakeholders at the classroom, school, and system levels is essential to achieve sustainable change in primary and secondary education. However, transferring knowledge or building capacity within this network of loosely coupled stakeholders is demanding. The brokerage concept holds promise for studying these complex patterns of interaction, as it refers to how specific actors (brokers) link loosely coupled or disconnected individuals (brokering). However, different research traditions, in terms of theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches, and various stakeholders examined in their role as bridge builders make understanding the role of brokers, brokering, and brokerage in changing educational practice challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the current literature on these concepts in educational change research. In a systematic literature review based on 42 studies, we analyzed each study’s theoretical assumptions, methodological approach, scope in terms of stakeholders involved, and empirical findings. First, the literature review revealed that research on educational change refers to four different theoretical frameworks when focusing on brokers, brokering, or brokerage. Second, our results indicate that predominantly qualitative approaches have been applied. Third, using content network graphs, we identified teachers and principals as among the most frequently analyzed brokers. Fourth, four relevant aspects of the empirical findings are presented: brokers’ personal characteristics, conditions that enable brokering, successful brokering strategies, and outcomes of brokerage. Finally, we outline a future research agenda based on the empirical evidence base and shortcomings

Serodiagnosis of Echinococcus spp. Infection: Explorative Selection of Diagnostic Antigens by Peptide Microarray

Crude or purified, somatic or metabolic extracts of native antigens are routinely used for the serodiagnosis of human helminthic infections. These antigens are often cross-reactive, i.e., recognized by sera from patients infected with heterologous helminth species. To overcome limitations in antigen production, test sensitivity and specificity, chemically synthesized peptides offer a pure and standardized alternative, provided they yield acceptable operative characteristics. Ongoing genome and proteome work create new resources for the identification of antigens. Making use of the growing amount of genomic and proteomic data available in public databases, we tested a bioinformatic procedure for the selection of potentially antigenic peptides from a collection of protein sequences including conceptually translated nucleotide sequence data of Echinococcus multilocularis and E. granulosus (Plathyhelminthes, Cestoda). The in silico selection was combined with high-throughput screening of peptides on microarray and systematic validation of reactive candidates in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Our study proved the applicability of this approach for selection of peptide antigens with good diagnostic characteristics. Our results suggested the pooling of several peptides to reach a high level of sensitivity required for reliable immunodiagnosis

AF394, AF395, AF397, AK142, AK652, AN193 and AV441 antibodies label the GFP protein by western blot

The recombinant antibodies AF394, AF395, AF397, AK142, AK652, AN193 and AV441 detect the GFP protein by western blot.</p

AG275, AG294 and AG274 antibodies recognize the hen egg-white lysozyme by ELISA

The recombinant antibodies AG275, AG294 and AG274 detect the hen egg-white lysozyme by ELISA.</p

AC650, AC653, AC656 and AD460 antibodies label the human CD8α protein by immunofluorescence

The recombinant antibodies AC650, AC653, AC656 and AD460 detect by immunofluorescence the human CD8α protein.</p

AC650, AC653, AC656 and AD460 antibodies recognize the human CD8α protein by flow cytometry

The recombinant antibodies AC650, AC653, AC656 and AD460 detect the human CD8α protein by flow cytometry.</p