Microfluidic platform for the study of intercellular communication via soluble factor-cell and cell-cell paracrine signaling

Diffusion of autocrine and paracrine signaling molecules allows cells to communicate in the absence of physical contact. This chemical-based, long-range communication serves crucial roles in tissue function, activation of the immune system, and other physiological functions. Despite its importance, few in vitro methods to study cell-cell signaling through paracrine factors are available today. Here, we report the design and validation of a microfluidic platform that enables (i) soluble molecule-cell and/or (ii) cell-cell paracrine signaling. In the microfluidic platform, multiple cell populations can be introduced into parallel channels. The channels are separated by arrays of posts allowing diffusion of paracrine molecules between cell populations. A computational analysis was performed to aid design of the microfluidic platform. Specifically, it revealed that channel spacing affects both spatial and temporal distribution of signaling molecules, while the initial concentration of the signaling molecule mainly affects the concentration of the signaling molecules excreted by the cells. To validate the microfluidic platform, a model system composed of the signaling molecule lipopolysaccharide, mouse macrophages, and engineered human embryonic kidney cells was introduced into the platform. Upon diffusion from the first channel to the second channel, lipopolysaccharide activates the macrophages which begin to produce TNF-α. The TNF-α diffuses from the second channel to the third channel to stimulate the kidney cells, which express green fluorescent protein (GFP) in response. By increasing the initial lipopolysaccharide concentration an increase in fluorescent response was recorded, demonstrating the ability to quantify intercellular communication between 3D cellular constructs using the microfluidic platform reported here. Overall, these studies provide a detailed analysis on how concentration of the initial signaling molecules, spatiotemporal dynamics, and inter-channel spacing affect intercellular communication.     

Institutional Microaggressions at a Hispanic Serving Institution: A Diné (Navajo) Woman Utilizing Tribal Critical Race Theory through Student Activism

From private to public, from small to large, campus protests and demonstrations have risen across the country to address institutional racism regarding a range of issues including offensive Halloween costumes, university/college seals, lack of faculty color, and racist vandalism. One such example occurred at Southwest University where Native American students were protesting the university seal, which represents settler colonialism and genocide. In this article, we provide a case study of Joy, a Diné (Navajo) young woman, and describe her student activism in regards to the seal and how she utilizes it to connect to her culture, language, and identity. We utilize critical race theory (CRT) and tribal critical race theory (TribalCrit) to analyze the institutional microaggressions that Joy experienced on campus. Our main conclusions explain how student activism enables students to address systemic racism and provides a vehicle to create better conditions on university campuses.     

Teachers' concerns about inclusive education in Ahmedabad,India

This study was undertaken to determine the concerns of primary school teachers about the inclusion of students with disabilities in Ahmedabad, India. A total of 560 teachers, working in government‐run schools, returned the completed survey. A two‐part questionnaire was used in this study. Part 1 gathered information relating to personal and professional characteristics of the teachers. Part 2 was a 21‐item Likert scale titled Concerns about Inclusive Education – Gujarati. The major finding of the study was that the teachers in Ahmedabad were moderately concerned about including students with disabilities in their classrooms. The teachers were most concerned about lack of infrastructural resources and least concerned about lack of social acceptance of students with disabilities in inclusive education classrooms. Significant differences existed in teacher concerns based on the following background variables: gender, qualifications in special education, teaching experience and number of students with disabilities in class. A number of implications are discussed to address teacher concerns for inclusive education in India.     

The PEWTER Study: Breaking Bad News Communication Skills Training for Counseling Programs

The efficacy of teaching communication skills for breaking bad news in graduate-level counseling programs was examined. A structured model, PEWTER (Prepare, Evaluate, Warning, Telling, Emotional Response, Regrouping; Keefe-Cooperman and Nardi 2004), provides a method for this difficult task. Prior to training in using the model, students reported not feeling adequately trained or comfortable giving bad news. The PEWTER training undertaken was significantly related to students’ increased feelings of preparedness and comfort. Breaking bad news is a universal experience across cultures and the structured protocol seems to offer value in helping counselors in training be better prepared for such a challenging task.     

India's technological capability: An analysis of its achievements and limits

Four types of technological capability are distinguished: capability in the purchase of technology, plant operation, duplication and expansion, and innovation. In the purchase of technology, Indian buyers are observed to be less inhibited by lack of knowledge as by the inability to attract technology sellers of their choice; the difficulty becomes greater if the buyers become significant exporters. The scaling down of plants and the adaptation of processes to locally available materials have called for local technological development, which has been more successful in engineering than in the process industries. The engineering industry was built up through blanket import substitution, whose cost was paid by the investing industries in the form of high capital costs and low quality of equipment. But in industries where a large number of plants was built, teething problems in plant construction were overcome, and cheap and reliable equipment came to be made which formed the basis of India's technology exports in the late seventies.     

Market structure and technology: Their interdependence in Indian industry

A survey of 37 Indian industries shows that their market structures are competitive; they range from oligopolistic industries to industries with a large number of firms. The number of firms has been increasing in almost all industries. The paper classifies the market structures into four classes based on the degree of concentration and the coefficient of variation of market shares. A large number of small firms emerge in industries with two characteristics: namely, where technology is easily transferred within the country, and where buyers are sensitive to price and insensitive to quality. Industries with the opposite characteristics tend to be oligopolistic. The paper proposes a classification of the technological behaviour of firms on the basis of whether a firm produces more innovations than it uses or less, and whether its stimulus to innovation is scientific or economic.     

Comparative Study of Two ELISA Kits for Estimation of Antibodies to Hepatitis B Virus in Human Normal Immunoglobulin and Specific Immunoglobulin Intended for Intravenous or Intramuscular Use

Current study is conducted to evaluate method verification of two locally available kits manufactured by DSI & BIORAD for quantitative estimation of Hepatitis B virus antibodies in human normal immunoglobulin by using International standard of National Institute of Biological Standards and Control. Four analyst perform five sets of test in duplicate analysing accuracy, precision, and limit of detection, sensitivity and specificity. Our results suggest that both DSI and BIORAD kits fulfil the validation criteria and are sensitive to detect up to 10 mIU concentration precisely and accurately. DSI kit is more precise at concentration 100 mIU and economically 4–5 times cheaper in local market; on the other hand, BIORAD kits provide larger detection range up to 1000 mIU.     

Utilizing Theatre of the Oppressed Within Teacher Education to Create Emancipatory Teachers

A key focus of teacher preparation should be critical self-reflection, especially given the current context of market-driven school reform, which often leads to school closings, increases school segregation, and devastates local communities. The question, then, becomes how best to guide critical self-reflection for preservice teachers so that they are aware of their biases, privileges, and positions of power, as well as being cognizant of how these school reforms detrimentally impact poor communities of color. More often than not, when such discussions are broached, preservice teachers want to change the topic to practical teaching strategies rather than addressing issues of social justice. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore how “Theatre of the Oppressed” can be utilized to help prepare preservice teachers to become highly effective and socially just educators. More importantly, how can “Theatre of the Oppressed” be employed to engage teacher candidates in critical reflection and consciousness, as well as increase their understanding of systemic inequality.     

Manipulating Treatment Dose: Evaluating the Frequency of a Small Group Intervention Targeting Whole Number Operations

Treatment dose is an understudied aspect of treatment effectiveness. This study compared the frequency with which a small‐group mathematics intervention was delivered weekly (i.e., four times, twice, once) with a control condition while controlling for total duration. 101 at‐risk students in grades 2–4 were randomly assigned to a condition following universal screening and skill‐based assessments. Multilevel modeling was used to evaluate final score and growth on three measures. Results suggested that for the most proximal computation measure, treatment sessions occurring four times weekly produced clear benefits. On the application measure, students in all treatment groups outperformed students in the control condition. For the most complex computation measure, frequency was not a useful predictor. Grade was a moderating variable.     

Tenets of Body-Soul Rooted Pedagogy: teaching for critical consciousness,nourished resistance,and healing

ABSTRACT

For marginalized communities, schooling is mired in social/bodily control, tracking, and cultural erasure circumscribing difference/culture as obstacles, as opposed to sites of wisdom, connectedness, and critical consciousness. Authors shape a transformative pedagogical framework across teacher education and partnering schools by utilizing spiritually embodied, land-based Chicana Feminist and Indigenous Epistemologies. We outline six tenets of Body-Soul Rooted Pedagogy which: 1) construct education politically, 2) enact schooling as decolonization/empowerment, 3) center epistemologies, multiliteracies of marginalized groups, 4) foster critical frameworks navigating oppression, 5) engage social action pedagogy, and 6) engender hope, well-being. Scholarship has implications for educational theory and practice at all levels.