Selective cell capture and analysis using shallow antibody-coated microchannels

Demand for analysis of rare cells such as circulating tumor cells in blood at the single molecule level has recently grown. For this purpose, several cell separation methods based on antibody-coated micropillars have been developed (e.g., Nagrath et al., Nature 450, 1235–1239 (2007)). However, it is difficult to ensure capture of targeted cells by these methods because capture depends on the probability of cell-micropillar collisions. We developed a new structure that actively exploits cellular flexibility for more efficient capture of a small number of cells in a target area. The depth of the sandwiching channel was slightly smaller than the diameter of the cells to ensure contact with the channel wall. For cell selection, we used anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule antibodies, which specifically bind epithelial cells. First, we demonstrated cell capture with human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells, which are relatively homogeneous in size; in situ single molecule analysis was verified by our rolling circle amplification (RCA) method. Then, we used breast cancer cells (SK-BR-3) in blood, and demonstrated selective capture and cancer marker (HER2) detection by RCA. Cell capture by antibody-coated microchannels was greater than with negative control cells (RPMI-1788 lymphocytes) and non-coated microchannels. This system can be used to analyze small numbers of target cells in large quantities of mixed samples.     

Practice Makes Pretty Good: Assessment of Primary Literature Reading Abilities across Multiple Large-Enrollment Biology Laboratory Courses

Primary literature is essential for scientific communication and is commonly utilized in undergraduate biology education. Despite this, there is often little time spent training our students how to critically analyze a paper. To address this, we introduced a primary literature module in multiple upper-division laboratory courses. In this module, instructors conduct classroom discussions that dissect a paper as researchers do. While previous work has identified classroom interventions that improve primary literature comprehension within a single course, our goal was to determine whether including a scientific paper module in our classes could produce long-term benefits. On the basis of performance in an assessment exam, we found that our module resulted in longitudinal gains, including increased comprehension and critical-thinking abilities in subsequent lab courses. These learning gains were specific to courses utilizing our module, as no longitudinal gains were seen in students who had taken other upper-division labs that lacked extensive primary literature discussion. In addition, we assessed whether performance on our assessment correlated with a variety of factors, including grade point average, course performance, research background, and self-reported confidence in understanding of the article. Furthermore, all of the study conclusions are independent of biology disciplines, as we observe similar trends within each course.     

郭店楚简《五行》的修养论

本文基于"郭店楚简"等20世纪末年问世的新出土文献带来的新知见,探讨孟子性善论形成过程的一系列论考之中探讨《五行》思想的部分.《五行》将"知"视为觉醒认知能力之过程,并将之分为"圣"和"智"两种.在此格局上,《五行》设定修养过程为:借由"智"之觉醒察觉到"贤人"之"德",通过模仿"行"本身来掌握"仁""义"等,从而实现"人道"之"善",进而从此阶段上升,借由"圣"的觉醒达到"天道"之"德",亦即能够在"德之行"的层次实践"仁""义"等.另外,《五行》"说"的相关论述中,"说"的作者用"仁气""义气"等术语对上述过程加以解说.从这一点可推测出《五行》的思想与《性自命出》的"性即气"的思维方式相当接近.     

孟子与《五行》

20世纪末年郭店楚简等新出土文献问世后,新的知识与见解也随之而来.笔者基于此新知见,对孟子性善论的形成过程有一系列论考.本文即其中探讨《五行》与孟子思想关系的部分.孟子思想的形成虽然受到了子思《五行》的影响,但其中不动心体验往后的修养模式,却完全舍弃了《五行》中的理论.也就是说,孟子 舍弃了《五行》中"性即气"的思维,将"心"放置在"气"的上位,并以"心"为基础展开了四端说.通过这种立足 于"心"的修养论,孟子彻底解决了"性即气"思维模式中所包含的问题.而这种从"气"至"心"的转换,正是使孟子成为独具一格之思想家的重要之处.     

构建“学习共同体”的学校改革

日本学校改革的目标是创建“学习共同体”，“学习共同体”的建立，不仅使其可成为孩子们学习和成长的天地，也是教师共同学习成长的地方，并且还可以作为家长、市民支持和参加学校改革、共同学习成长的重要场所。改革的理论基础主要是杜威的公共哲学。推进作为“学习共同体”的学校建设，需要遵循少则多、简则优、小则精的原则。这种改革并没有特定的形态、特定的运动以及特定的处方，是任何一所学校的任何人都可以参与挑战的“活动体系”。     

Perceptions of Black Student Athletes About Academic Mentorship at a Predominantly White Institution in Higher Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the mentorship experiences of Black student athletes attending undergraduate programs at a Predominantly White Institution in Higher Education (PWI-HE). The research site for this study was a co-educational public research institution (PWI-HE) with an approximate enrollment of 45,000 students. A total of six Black student athletes (five African American and one Jamaican) agreed to participate in this study. Four major interrelated and complex themes emerged from the data analyses. These themes were: (a) mentoring study habits and routines, (b) mentoring academic schedule and time management, (c) personal development within an isolated environment, and (d) family members’ support and encouragements. To better support Black student athletes at PWI-HEs, athletic department administrators, coaches, faculty, and all students should be encouraged to respect, value, and embrace the racial identities, origins, languages, and cultures of the student athletes that are being mentored.     

Academic inbreeding: exploring its characteristics and rationale in Japanese universities using a qualitative perspective

This study analyses why and how academic inbreeding as a recruitment practice continues to prevail in Japan, a country with a mature higher education system, where high rates of academic inbreeding endure in most of the research-oriented universities in spite of several higher education reforms. Based on a qualitative analysis, we disclose three characteristics that lead academics to become inbred at Japanese universities. One characteristic—the adoption of “open recruitment processes” in detriment of “closed recruitment processes”—changed over time, limiting academic inbreeding practices, but two other characteristics remained unchanged over time: the “one university learning experience” and the “concentration of doctoral supervisors at the same university”. These latter characteristics represent difficult challenges to be tackled as they are also traditional characteristics of the Japanese higher education system. The research also shows that academic inbreeding practices are a means to assure organizational stability and institutional identity, features perceived as important by Japanese universities. A central challenge for the Japanese universities is then to guarantee these features without needing to rely on academic inbreeding practices to obtain them. However, devising policies to meet this challenge calls for institutional will to change, proactive strategies and time.