The current view of diabetic kidney disease, based on meticulously acquired ultrastructural morphometry and the utility of measuring plasma creatinine and urinary albumin, has been almost entirely ...focused on the glomerulus. While clearly of great importance, changes in the glomerulus are not the major determinant of renal prognosis in diabetes and may not be the primary event in the development of diabetic kidney disease either. Indeed, advances in biomarker discovery and a greater appreciation of tubulointerstitial histopathology and the role of tubular hypoxia in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease have given us pause to reconsider the current "glomerulocentric" paradigm and focus attention on the proximal tubule that by virtue of the high energy requirements and reliance on aerobic metabolism render it particularly susceptible to the derangements of the diabetic state. Such findings raise important issues for therapeutic advances specifically targeting the pathophysiological perturbations that develop in this part of the nephron.
Evolution is an on-going process, and it can be studied experimentally in organisms with rapid generations. My team has maintained 12 populations of Escherichia coli in a simple laboratory ...environment for >25 years and 60 000 generations. We have quantified the dynamics of adaptation by natural selection, seen some of the populations diverge into stably coexisting ecotypes, described changes in the bacteria's mutation rate, observed the new ability to exploit a previously untapped carbon source, characterized the dynamics of genome evolution and used parallel evolution to identify the genetic targets of selection. I discuss what the future might hold for this particular experiment, briefly highlight some other microbial evolution experiments and suggest how the fields of experimental evolution and microbial ecology might intersect going forward.
Computer Games in Education Mayer, Richard E
Annual review of psychology,
01/2019, Letnik:
70, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Visionaries offer strong claims for the educational benefits of computer games, but there is a need to test those claims with rigorous scientific research and ground them in evidence-based theories ...of how people learn. Three genres of game research are (
a
) value-added research, which compares the learning outcomes of groups that learn academic material from playing a base version of a game to the outcomes of those playing the same game with one feature added; (
b
) cognitive consequences research, which compares improvements in cognitive skills of groups that play an off-the-shelf game to the skill improvements of those who engage in a control activity; and (
c
) media comparison research, which compares the learning outcomes of groups that learn academic material in a game to the outcomes of those who learn with conventional media. Value-added research suggests five promising features to include in educational computer games: modality, personalization, pretraining, coaching, and self-explanation. Cognitive consequences research suggests two promising approaches to cognitive training with computer games: using first-person shooter games to train perceptual attention skills and using spatial puzzle games to train two-dimensional mental rotation skills. Media comparison research suggests three promising areas where games may be more effective than conventional media: science, mathematics, and second-language learning. Future research is needed to pinpoint the cognitive, motivational, affective, and social processes that underlie learning with educational computer games.
Alongside the scores of travel books about China written by foreign
visitors, Chinese travelers' impressions of their own country
rarely appear in translation. This anthology is the only
...comprehensive collection in English of Chinese travel writing from
the first century A.D. through the nineteenth. Early examples of
the genre describe sites important for their geography, history,
and role in cultural mythology, but by the T'ang dynasty in the
mid-eighth century certain historiographical and poetic discourses
converged to form the "travel account" ( yu-chi ) and later
the "travel diary" ( jih-chi ) as vehicles of personal
expression and autobiography. These first-person narratives provide
rich material for understanding the attitudes of Chinese literati
toward place, nature, politics, and the self. The anthology is
abundantly illustrated with paintings, portraits, maps, and
drawings. Each selection is meticulously translated, carefully
annotated, and prefaced by a brief description of the writer's life
and work. The entire collection is introduced by an in-depth survey
of the rise of Chinese travel writing as a cultural phenomenon.
Inscribed Landscapes provides a unique resource for
travelers as well as for scholars of Chinese literature, art, and
history.
Marine debris, especially plastic debris, is widely recognized as a global environmental problem. There has been substantial research on the impacts of plastic marine debris, such as entanglement and ...ingestion. These impacts are largely due to the physical presence of plastic debris. In recent years there has been an increasing focus on the impacts of toxic chemicals as they relate to plastic debris. Some plastic debris acts as a source of toxic chemicals: substances that were added to the plastic during manufacturing leach from plastic debris. Plastic debris also acts as a sink for toxic chemicals. Plastic sorbs persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances (PBTs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins, from the water or sediment. These PBTs may desorb when the plastic is ingested by any of a variety of marine species. This broad look at the current research suggests that while there is significant uncertainty and complexity in the kinetics and thermodynamics of the interaction, plastic debris appears to act as a vector transferring PBTs from the water to the food web, increasing risk throughout the marine food web, including humans. Because of the extremely long lifetime of plastic and PBTs in the ocean, prevention strategies are vital to minimizing these risks.
The goals of the study were (a) to compare the instructional effectiveness of immersive virtual reality (VR) versus a desktop slideshow as media for teaching scientific knowledge, and (b) to examine ...the efficacy of adding a generative learning strategy to a VR lesson. In Experiment 1, college students viewed a biology lesson about how the human body works either in immersive VR or via a self-directed PowerPoint slideshow on a desktop computer. Based on interest theory, it was predicted that students who learned in immersive VR would report more positive ratings of interest and motivation and would score higher on a posttest covering material in the lesson. In contrast, based on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, it was predicted that students who learned with a well-designed slideshow would score higher on a posttest, although they might not report higher levels of interest and motivation. The results showed that students who viewed the slideshow performed significantly better on the posttest than the VR group, but reported lower motivation, interest, and engagement ratings. In Experiment 2, students either viewed a segmented VR lesson and produced a written summary after each segment or viewed the original, continuous VR lesson as in Experiment 1. Students who summarized the lesson after each segment performed significantly better on the posttest and the groups did not differ on reported interest, engagement, and motivation. These results support the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and demonstrate the value of generative learning strategies in immersive VR environments.
Educational Impact and Implications Statement
The findings from Experiment 1 showed that a PowerPoint slideshow may be more effective for teaching scientific information than an equivalent lesson in an immersive virtual reality environment, but may be less enjoyable and motivating for students. This suggests that the conversion of multimedia lessons into virtual reality may not yet be warranted. However, because increasing student interest and motivation may be a critical factor in classrooms, it is worthwhile to examine what supplemental learning strategies could be added to a medium that students enjoy. Experiment 2 showed that asking students to summarize segments of the immersive virtual reality lesson increased their learning outcomes without diminishing their motivation and interest. Taken together, the 2 experiments showed that students' interest can be primed with new and exciting technology while still being an effective medium to convey scientific information comparable to traditional PowerPoint slideshow lessons.
Summary Individuals with diabetes are not only at high risk of developing heart failure but are also at increased risk of dying from it. Fortunately, antiheart failure therapies such as ...angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors, β blockers and mineralocorticoid-receptor antagonists work similarly well in individuals with diabetes as in individuals without the disease. Response to intensive glycaemic control and the various classes of antihyperglycaemic agent therapy is substantially less well understood. Insulin, for example, induces sodium retention and thiazolidinediones increase the risk of heart failure. The need for new glucose-lowering drugs to show cardiovascular safety has led to the unexpected finding of an increase in the risk of admission to hospital for heart failure in patients treated with the dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitor, saxagliptin, compared with placebo. Here we review the relation between glycaemic control and heart failure risk, focusing on the state of knowledge for the various types of antihyperglycaemic drugs that are used at present.
PDF
