Traceable clonal culture and chemodrug assay of heterogeneous prostate carcinoma PC3 cells in microfluidic single cell array chips

Cancer heterogeneity has received considerable attention for its role in tumor initiation and progression, and its implication for diagnostics and therapeutics in the clinic. To facilitate a cellular heterogeneity study in a low cost and highly efficient manner, we present a microfluidic platform that allows traceable clonal culture and characterization. The platform captures single cells into a microwell array and cultures them for clonal expansion, subsequently allowing on-chip characterization of clonal phenotype and response against drug treatments. Using a heterogeneous prostate cancer model, the PC3 cell line, we verified our prototype, identifying three different sub-phenotypes and correlating their clonal drug responsiveness to cell phenotype.     

Designing your web site for instructional effectiveness and completeness: First steps

TechTrends - Developing and publishing Web sites is becoming almost trivially easy today, and there are many sites on the Web nowadays that purport to be instructional in one way or another. In...     

Supporting student teachers in developing and applying professional knowledge with videoed events

Student teachers often struggle with handling events in the complex environment that is a classroom. This article reports on a study that investigates the potential of using video-based materials to support mathematics student teachers in developing and applying professional knowledge. Student teachers viewed videos of classroom events with possible teacher reactions to each event. This article reports on the discourse that occurred before and after the viewing of the four possible responses in terms of the content and the nature of the discussions. Results show that when the event focused on mathematics, the focus of the responses shifted from themselves as teachers to the learners. However, the converse was true when the event focused on generic classroom management issues. Additionally, the nature of both sets of responses became more evaluative and interpretive following the video clips of possible responses.     

Teaching for well-being? Introducing mindfulness in an undergraduate course

Student mental health and well-being are increasing concerns in higher education. This exploratory study examined students’ learning in a mindfulness programme incorporated into an undergraduate class. Six brief mindfulness-based practices were introduced: mindfulness meditation, walking meditation, body scan, mindful eating, loving-kindness and Tonglen meditation. Fourteen students were interviewed after completion of the course to explore their conceptions and use of mindfulness and other self-care practices. Results of thematic analyses suggest that there were variations in students’ adoption of mindfulness-based practices and students’ preferred mindfulness techniques. Most participants reported that mindfulness instruction and practice were beneficial but this was not universal; some students reported that mindfulness was ‘not for them’. Findings suggest that mindfulness fostered self-reflection, self-awareness and relaxation for many students and incorporating mindfulness at the beginning of class improved the overall quality of discussion and facilitated students’ learning. Findings further suggest that students incorporated mindfulness into existing self-care practices that included a variety of other preferred techniques to enhance self-reflection, self-awareness and relaxation. Overall, our findings suggest that students should be helped, through explicit instruction, to develop a ‘toolbox’ of self-care approaches that may include, but are not necessarily limited to, mindfulness techniques.     

Using student‐centred teaching to develop human resource management competencies

The paper examines the management of student ‐ centred learning in a human resource management undergraduate module with a hospitality industry focus. It outlines the educational aims, approaches to the management of delivery, assessment and monitoring issues of attempts to foster the deep learning capabilities of management students about to embark on their careers. The case for wide application of syndicates, dialogue and team ‐ working to in‐house training and development across the educational\training spectrum can be made. Tips, guidelines, reservations and applications are listed to help hospitality trainers customise the general approach to suit their own needs. Some of the advantages claimed are that individual learners can draw upon a structure of learning resources which can help ground their work and so alleviate anxiety, leaving the learners to pursue their own learning goals, show competence and enjoy the process of learning for its own value.     

Rats in a levered T-maze task show evidence of time–place discriminations in two different measures

It is difficult for rats to learn to go to an arm of a T-maze to receive food that is dependent on the time of day, unless the amount of food in each daily session is different. In the same task, rats show evidence of time–place discriminations if they are required to press levers in the arms of the T-maze, but learning is only evident when the first lever press is considered, and not the first arm visited. These data suggest that rats struggle to use time as a discriminative stimulus unless the rewards/events differ in some dimension, or unless the goal locations can be visited prior to making a response. If both of these conditions are met in the same task, it might be possible to compare time–place learning in two different measures that essentially indicate performance before and after entering the arms of the T-maze. In the present study, we investigated time–place learning in rats with a levered T-maze task in which the amounts of food varied depending on the time of day. The first arm choices and first lever presses both indicated that the rats had acquired time–place discriminations, and both of these measures became significantly different from chance during the same block. However, there were subtle differences between the two measures, which suggest that time–place discrimination is aided by visiting the goal locations.