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Computing Education in African Countries: A Literature Review and Contextualised Learning Materials
Get PDFThis report begins with a literature review of computing education in Africa. We found a substantial body of work, scattered over more than 80 venues, which we have brought together here for the first time. Several important themes emerge in this dataset, including the need to contextualise computing education.
In the second part of this report we investigate contextualisation further. We present a pilot study, grounded in the literature review, of the development of course materials, sample code, and programming assignments for introductory programming, contextualised for six African countries: Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. We include the materials, report on a preliminary evaluation of the materials by fellow educators in African countries, and suggest a process by which other educators could develop materials for their local contexts
The emerging landscape of mouse bladder cancer models
No full textBladder cancer is common and urgently requires new therapies and management strategies. Mouse models are essential platforms that enable interventional studies to address important biological and clinical questions in vivo and provide critical evidence complementary to that from human studies. In this chapter, we present an overview of the current mainstream mouse platforms, then outline recent models that present novel insights into the understanding of bladder cancer and proof-of-principle for potential therapies, including the molecular analyses undertaken. Findings from recent models of Fgfr3 alterations, as well as potential targets to improve response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint immunotherapy are discussed. The new generation of mouse models and molecular understanding of them have allowed researchers to address issues that have previously been considered challenging, such as metastasis and sex differences in disease progression and treatment response. Despite technical difficulties and their resource-intensive nature, mouse in vivo platforms continue to be an invaluable tool for bladder cancer research
Hypotheses in light detection by vertebrate ancient opsin in the bird brain
Get PDFExtra-retinal photoreception is common across fish and avian species. In birds, the hypothalamus contains non-visual photoreceptors that detect light and regulate multiple endocrine systems. To date, light-dependent control of seasonal reproduction is one of the most well-studied systems that require deep brain photoreception. However, the precise photoreceptor(s) that detect light and the neuroendocrine connection between opsin-expressing cells and the gonadotropin-releasing hormone-1 (GnRH1) system remain poorly defined. In the past couple of decades, two opsin molecules have been proposed to link light detection with seasonal reproduction in birds: neuropsin (Opn5) and vertebrate ancient opsin (VA opsin). Only VA opsin is expressed in GnRH1 cells and has an absorption spectrum that matches the action spectrum of the avian photoperiodic reproductive response. This perspective describes how the annual change in daylength, referred to as photoperiod, regulates the neuroendocrine control of seasonal reproduction. The opsin genes are then outlined, and the cellular phototransduction cascade is described, highlighting the common feature of hyperpolarization in response to light stimulation. We then discuss the latest evidence using short-hairpin RNA to temporarily knock down VA opsin and Opn5 on transcripts involved in the neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction. Based on emerging data, we outline three theoretical scenarios in which VA opsin might regulate GnRH1 synthesis and release in birds. The models proposed provide a series of testable hypotheses that can be used to improve our understanding of avian light detection by VA opsin or other opsin-expressing cells in the brain
Acknowledgements from the editor
Get PDFAcknowledgements from the Journal of Leadership, Scholarship and Praxis in Education (LSPE) Editor
Comparative effect of aspirin versus clopidogrel monotherapy on incident type 2 diabetes in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases: a target trial emulation study
Get PDFAims:
To compare the effects of low-dose aspirin and clopidogrel on the risk of incident type 2 diabetes among patients with ASCVD.
Methods:
This target trial emulation study was performed using the IQVIA Medical Research Data UK primary care database, including adults with an incident first ASCVD event who initiated low-dose aspirin or clopidogrel between 2004 and 2021. We applied an overlap weighting approach to balance treatment groups. The observational analogues of intention-to-treat and per-protocol effects were estimated using pooled logistic regression.
Results:
A total of 111,292 ASCVD patients who initiated aspirin (n = 78,012) or clopidogrel (n = 33,280) were included. In intention-to-treat analyses, aspirin and clopidogrel had similar risks of diabetes (Hazard ratio [HR] 1.02, 95 % Confidence interval [CI] 0.96 to 1.07), cardiovascular events (1.00, 0.95 to 1.05), and bleeding events (1.02, 0.97 to 1.08). In per-protocol analyses, risks remained comparable for diabetes (1.06, 0.97 to 1.15), cardiovascular events (0.96, 0.89 to 1.03), and bleeding events (1.01, 0.92 to 1.10).
Conclusions:
Aspirin and clopidogrel have similar risks of incident diabetes, cardiovascular events, and bleeding events among patients with ASCVD. The choice between these agents may thus be influenced more by factors like cost, patient preference, or tolerance than by clinical outcomes alone
Mitigating home institutional barriers to internationalise: network use by SMEs in an emerging economy context
No full textMicroglial depletion and repopulation differentially modulate sleep and inflammation in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury
Get PDFTraumatic brain injury (TBI) causes persistent sleep disturbances, leading to long-term neurological consequences and reduced quality of life. We hypothesized that microglial depletion via PLX5622 (PLX), a colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSFR1R) inhibitor, would exacerbate sleep disturbances and alter inflammatory profiles after TBI, and that microglial repopulation would ameliorate these effects. Male mice received PLX or control diets (21 days) followed by a midline fluid percussion injury (mFPI) or sham surgery. Physiological parameters were recorded non-invasively to determine sleep for 7 days post-injury. Subsequently, PLX was withdrawn to allow microglial repopulation, and sleep was assessed during the 7-day repopulation period. In a subset of mice, repeated blood draws were taken to quantify sleep regulatory cytokine concentrations (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α). TBI significantly reduced sleep in mice on a control diet during the light period (3, 5, and 7 days post-injury), but not the dark period. In PLX-treated mice, TBI did not alter sleep in the light period, however, sleep in the dark period was increased at 3 days post-injury. During the microglial repopulation period, PLX-treated TBI mice slept significantly more in the dark period compared to PLX sham mice and sleep was similar in control TBI vs PLX TBI mice. Analyses revealed that elimination of microglia did not alter baseline cytokine levels. IL-6 was elevated in PLX TBI mice at 1 and 7 days post-injury compared to TBI mice on control diet, while IL-1β and TNF-α remained unchanged. This study highlights the critical role of microglia in modulating post-TBI sleep and inflammation. Findings suggest differential effects of TBI on sleep depending on microglial depletion or repopulation status, with IL-6 serving as a marker of the inflammatory response in microglia-depleted conditions
Interplay of carrier density and mobility in Al-rich (Al,Ga)N-channel HEMTs: Impact on high-power device performance potential
Get PDFDespite considerable advancements, high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) based on gallium nitride (GaN) channels remain largely limited to power applications below 650 V. For higher power demands, the ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor alloy aluminum gallium nitride, (Al,Ga)N, has emerged as a key contender for next-generation HEMTs. In this simulation study, we show that Al-rich AlxGa1−xN-channel HEMTs (with x ≥ 0.5) outperform the GaN-channel counterparts at and above room temperature, across all Al compositions, x. This contrasts with recent theory reports, which suggest that only AlxGa1−xN HEMTs with high Al content (x ≥ 0.85) offer comparable performance to GaN-channel devices. Unlike previous assumptions of a constant two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density across the entire composition range x, we show that the 2DEG density is highly sensitive to both the Al content and thickness of the individual layers in a HEMT structure. We demonstrate that the superior performance of Al-rich (Al,Ga)N-channel HEMTs is driven by a competing effect between 2DEG density and electron mobility. This work challenges the assumptions of prior studies, which can result in a significant under or overestimation of the potential of high Al content HEMTs. The insights gained from our work provide a comprehensive understanding of the trade-offs between device and material parameters, thus helping to guide the design of future Al-rich (x = 0.5–1.0) AlxGa1−xN-channel HEMTs for high-power applications
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