bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PRIMARY STUDENTS' STEREOTYPIC IMAGE OF INVENTOR IN KOREA
Authors: Lee Eunsang , Kwon Hyuksoo
Published: February 2021

The purpose of this research is to compare the previous stereotypes of the scientist image and the current stereotypes of the inventor image among Korean students. For this purpose, three primary schools located in the metropolitan area of Korea were selected under a convenience sampling method, with one class selected for each of the 2nd, 4th, and 6th grades of each school.
The conclusions of this research are as follows. First, analyzing students' stereotypes of the inventor image showed that older students had more stereotypes about inventors than younger students did. Second, as a result of analyzing the images according to each indicator, Korean students were found to have stereotypes about the inventor. Third, the symbol of research was expressed together with one of the science-related experiment tool and the making-related experiment tool. Fourth, primary students perceived the inventor as mainly male. Male students mostly drew male inventors and female students mostly drew female inventors.
Based on the conclusions obtained through this research, various educational implications to be reflected in primary technology education were suggested to escape the stereotypes of the inventor’s image.
Keywords: Inventor images, invention education, technology education, science education, South Korea
THE PSYCHOSOCIAL AND COGNITIVE INFLUENCE OF ICT ON COMPETENCES OF STEM STUDENTS
Authors: Flogie Andrej , Lakota Andreja Barle , Aberšek Boris
Published: February 2021

Information and communications technology (ICT) shapes life and work in every educational system. Where to place ICT in the pedagogical process and how it affects students' psychosocial and cognitive abilities are questions that do not have one definitive answer. The research addresses the intense introduction of ICT that accords with educational trends and the requirements of today’s society, but sometimes neglects social competences and any potential psychosocial effects. A need for new and effective methods in upbringing and education to offer everyone, equal opportunities become more and more important in the “world of the 21st century”. The research also proved that innovative didactic methods of teaching (4.0) using a transdisciplinary model and supported by state-of-the-art information and communications technology as well as cooperative learning, have a positive psychosocial effect on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students. Students who experience innovative didactic teaching supported by ICT reach higher taxonomic, cognitive and social standards of competence and are thus better prepared for the challenges of future society. Keywords: cognitive competences, education system, ICT, psychosocial influence, social competences.
AN ANALYSIS OF PLANT BLINDNESS IN TURKISH TEXTBOOKS USED AT THE BASIC EDUCATION LEVEL
Authors: Ahi Berat , Atasoy Volkan , Balci Sibel
Published: February 2021

The importance of plants is not as clearly understood as that of animals. This lack of attention is called “plant blindness” and is considered one of the most important problems in biology education. Textbooks do not put much emphasis on plants and, therefore, they may contribute to plant blindness. In this research, ten textbooks used for teaching at the basic education level in Turkey were analyzed for plant blindness using the document analysis method. The words and photographs associated with plants and animals were analyzed. The data analysis did not find any evidence that could lead to a conclusion of plant blindness based on the text and photos of these textbooks. However, if the number of plant and animal species covered is increased, and more words and photos are used to introduce these species, children will become more familiar with plants and animals. Besides textbooks, other educational tools can be analyzed in terms of plant blindness to expand on the related literature.
Keywords: plant blindness, photograph in textbook, document analysis, written text.
REASONS OF STUDENT DIFFICULTIES WITH RIGHT-HAND RULES IN ELECTROMAGNETISM
Authors: Özdemir Erdoğan , Coramik Mustafa
Published: February 2021

In electromagnetism, to determine the direction of the electromagnetic force and magnetic field, the right-hand rule (RHR) is used. Previous researches show that students have difficulty in applying the RHR. This research is aimed to find out the factors which make it difficult for the students to apply the RHR. To achieve this, qualitative case study design is used and 270 students who took Basic Physics II course at university participated. The Right-Hand Rule-Diagnostic Test (RHR-DT) and the unstructured interview were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of the data, firstly, the right-hand types used by the students were determined. Then the right-hand types used by the students in the solution of each task are presented. After that, eight of these students were interviewed about their RHR-DT answers and those interviews were video recorded. Video recordings are divided into three categories according to the level of students: upper, middle and lower. According to the results of this research, it can be said that the conceptual understanding of electromagnetism, the vector algebra and spatial cognition effect the usage of the RHR. In the light of research results, suggestions were made for the teaching of RHR to physics teachers. Keywords: magnetism education, right-hand rule, conceptual understanding, vector algebra, spatial cognition.
THE EFFECTS OF USING BLOG AS A WEB TOOL IN BIOLOGY TEACHING IN HIGH SCHOOLS
Authors: Lazarević Tihomir , Miljanović Tomka , Županec Vera , Zarić Goran
Published: February 2021

The Internet is a service where much information from the world of science, technology, fashion and entertainment can be found. With the development of mobile devices, information from the Internet has become available almost everywhere. This fact should be used to help students learn curriculum e-materials from smartphones, tablets and netbooks. One of the Internet services that can be successfully applied in teaching is a blog. This research has analyzed the effects of using blog as a web tool in biology teaching. The sample under research included 171 students divided into two groups: an experimental group which used a blog and a control group in which the teaching was conducted without a blog as a teaching tool. The students from both groups were first tested by means of a pre-test according to which the groups were at the same level of knowledge of biology and after covering the topic of Cytology both groups did the post-test. The research showed that the students who used the blog had statistically a significantly better result on the post-test. Further research showed that students make equal progress at all levels of knowledge with the help of blogs and that the blog is the most useful to advanced students. Keywords: blog in teaching biology, ICT in classroom, internet and education, learning biology.
HEURISTIC REASONING OF PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS IN CHEMISTRY TOPICS
Authors: Ugras Mustafa
Published: February 2021

The aim of the present research is to explain how the heuristics utilized by the students in a multiple choice examination on the general chemistry subject of “chemical bonding theories and molecular structures” caused biases on intuitive judgment and decision making processes, using the three characteristics of associative memory (attribute substitution, fluency process and associative coherence). A mixed-methods approach, both qualitative and quantitative research methods, were used in this research. Therefore, both questionnaire and individual interview were utilized to collect data. The results of the current research demonstrated that the participants used 4 different decision making strategies. Detailed evaluation of these strategies demonstrated that most of the participants did not prefer the processes related to the use of chemical knowledge and thus, were not able to assess the target attribute. Furthermore, it was identified that most of the students’ decision making processes were dependent on one or more of these three associative memory processes. It was also determined by this research that the most dominant of these three associative memory processes is the fluency effect, since participants often prefer to use superficial features. The dependence of participants on associative memory processes caused various biases, so participants often responded incorrectly to questions.
Keywords: chemistry education, chemical reasoning, intuitive judgments, science education.
STUDENTS’ VIEWS OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IN A CREATIVE DRAMA ACTIVITY
Authors: Sarışan-Tungaç Aslı , Yaman Süleyman , Bal-Incebacak Belgin
Published: February 2021

One of the most important objectives of the science education includes helping students to think about the nature of scientific inquiries like a scientist and keep this point of view in order to understand the events occurring around them. This research aims to (1) compare secondary school students’ views -who have creative drama & conventional education- about scientific inquiry, (2) and whether the experimental and control group students’ views about scientific research differ depending on gender after process. Pre-experimental design with control group was used in this research. The sample of this research consisted of 130 students of 6th grade secondary school in Samsun, Turkey. The data were collected by using VOSI-E questionnaire. Data collected with VOSI-E were analyzed using grouping standards, and students were classified as novice, transition and expert. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and nonparametric chi-square test. Research results show that when compared to conventional activities in terms of developing positive views about scientific inquiry, creative drama activities lead higher number of students to expert level. Also, it was found out that the number of students in expert category in experimental group was higher than those in control group at the end of education process.
Keywords: creative drama, views of scientific inquiry (VOSI), science curriculum.
THE IMPACT OF CARICATURE DRAWINGS IN THE ACQUISITION OF SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS AND ATTITUDES OF 4TH GRADE STUDENTS FOR BASIC EDUCATION TOWARDS SCIENCE
Authors: Al-Araimi Sheikha , Ambusaidi Abdullah , Selim Mohammed , Al Amri Mohammed
Published: February 2021

This research aimed to examine the impact of caricature drawings in the acquisition of scientific concepts and attitudes of 4th grade students for basic education towards science. The sample of the research consisted of 162 students from 4th grade.
The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences at (p = .001) between the two groups in acquisition of scientific concepts in favour of experimental group. In addition to that, females scored significantly more than males in the post-test (p = .001), whereas the interaction between group and gender was not significant.
The results also indicated that there were statistically significant differences (p = .001) between the two group in the attitudes towards science in favour of experimental group scores. The gender also has a significant impact on developing positive attitudes towards science in favour of females, whereas the interaction between group and gender was not significant. Finally, there was a statistically significant difference (p = .001) between pre- and post-application of students’ attitudes towards science scale in favour of post-application for the experimental group. Accordingly, the research recommends the use of caricature drawings to help students’ in the acquisition of scientific concept and developing positive attitudes towards science.
Keywords: attitudes towards science, caricature drawings, scientific concepts.
THE EFFECTS OF ELECTIVE COURSE DESIGNED WITH DIFFERENT CONTENTS ON PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ORGANIZING CURRICULUM BASED FIELD TRIPS
Authors: Bozdoğan Aykut Emre
Published: February 2021

This research examined the effect of a course designed with different content on pre-service science teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and knowledge about organizing curriculum-based trips. A pre-test post-test quasi experimental design was used in the research. One-hundred and thirty pre-service science teachers participated in the research. The research was carried out within the context of an elective course called “Informal Learning Environments in Science Education” and was conducted over 14 weeks in total for two hours per week. The research data were obtained by means of a questionnaire, self–efficacy scale for designing curriculum-based field trips (CFTSES) and semi-structured focus-group interviews. As a result of the research, it was found that the course content which included in-class and out-of-school setting practices in the 3rd group was the most effective. This was followed by the 2nd group which included only in-class implementations. The first group which was supported with visuals and theoretical related presented information was the group which was the least effected. The results of the research revealed that pre-service science teachers had mainly different concerns about safety, but that this did not deter them, as they still continued to design curriculum-based field trips for learners.
Keywords: elective course, field trip, knowledge level, pre-service teachers, self-efficacy.
THE COGNITIVE STRUCTURE OF PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS ABOUT ENERGY METABOLISM
Authors: Yener Yeşim , Bahar Mehmet , Demir Naciye Somuncu , Yılmaz Mustafa , Yener Dündar
Published: February 2021

In this research word association test was used to explore the cognitive structure of Pre-service science teachers about biological energy metabolism. The participant group constitutes 67 Pre-service students at a university in Black Sea Region of Turkey. Ten key concepts in General Biology course were given as a stimulating word and a mind map was established by using the frequency values of valid response words. The results showed that the total number of different response words for the key word “enzyme” is the highest with “cell” and “energy” being higher than others and for the key word “photosynthesis” is the lowest. The mind map also showed that they based their cognitive perceptions of the biological energy mechanism mostly on scientific concepts that are emphasized in the lessons and are academically acknowledged and included in the concepts used in everyday life at the least. However, they were not able to see the key concept “enzymes” as a part of branched network and they had also problems regarding the respiratory event in the plants as well as realization process of photosynthesis in the cellular level. Implications of the results in terms of understanding the subject of biological energy metabolism are also discussed. Keywords: biological energy metabolism, cognitive structure, mind map, pre-service science teacher, word association test.
BIOLOGY EDUCATION STUDENTS’ MENTAL MODELS ON GENETIC CONCEPTS
Authors: Jalmo Tri , Suwandi Tri
Published: February 2021

This research aims to explore the concept of mental model of students about genetic concepts through drawing-writing test. The participants were 85 students of Biology Education at University of Lampung, which has taken genetics course. Mental model of students was categorized into five levels (levels 1-5) based on coding framework which was adapted from Kose (2008) and Saka et al. (2006). The results showed that the most dominant mental models found in each concept through drawing-writing test (D/W) respectively were D3/W3 (drawings with misconceptions/partial understanding with alternative conceptions) on the concept of "genetic materials", D2/W2 (non-representational drawings/alternative conceptions) on the concept of "heredity", D2/W3 (non-representational drawings/partial understanding with alternative conceptions) on the concept of "gene expression", D2/W3 (non-representational drawings/partial understanding with alternative conceptions) on the concept of "gene regulation in metabolic processes", and D1/W2 (no understanding/alternative conception) on the concept of "gene regulation of the growth and development of an organisms". The results indicated that drawing-writing test can be used in probing the learning difficulties and misconseption on genetics. Keywords: drawing-writing test, genetic concepts, mental models.
Türkiye’de ileri yaştaki yetişkinlerin düşme durumları
Authors: AKKAYA KOZAK Deniz , BAHAR N. Tuğba , AY Faruk , KILIÇ Barış , ÖZGÜN BAŞIBÜYÜK Gülüşan
Published: February 2021

Yaşla birlikte artış gösteren düşme, yaşlılarda yüksek oranda morbidite ve mortaliteye neden olan bir sağlık sorunudur. Düşmeler bireyleri fizyolojik ve psikolojik olarak negatif yönde etkilemekte olup, içsel ve dışsal faktörlerden kaynaklanmaktadır. TÜBİTAK 115M548 No’lu “Anadolu Yaşlılarının Antropometrik Boyutları” adlı 1001 Projemiz kapsamında; her iki cinsiyet ve üç yaş grubundan (65-74, 75-84, 85+) yedi bölge, 26 ilde toplam 2721 bireyden veriler toplanmıştır. Elde edilen bilgiler veri tabanına aktarılıp SPSS 22.00 programında değerlendirilerek Türkiye yaşlılarına ait düşme durumları ve demografik bilgiler için veri bankası oluşturulmuştur. Araştırmaya göre; düşme ile cinsiyet ve bölgeler arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ilişki bulunmuştur. Kadınlarda düşme erkeklere göre daha sıklıkla görülmektedir. Düşme oranlarının en fazla olduğu bölgeler Karadeniz ve Güneydoğu Anadolu’dur. Ayrıca düşme korkusu ile bireylerin yaşları, yaşadıkları bölgeler ve cinsiyet arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ilişki tespit edilmiştir. İleri yaş ve kadın cinsiyette düşme korkusunda artış görülmüştür. Bölgelere göre dağılımlara bakıldığında düşme korkusu en çok Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde saptanmıştır. Yaş ve yaralanmalar arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı pozitif yönlü ilişki bulunmuştur. Düşme sonucu yaralanmalarda kadınların daha fazla yaralandığı ve kırıklarının oluştuğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca 85 yaş ve üzeri katılımcılar daha çok konut içinde düşme deneyimlerken 65-74 ve 75-84 yaş grubundaki bireyler daha çok çevrede düşmüştür. Kadınlarda konut içinde, erkeklerde çevrede düşmeler daha fazla görülmüştür. İleri yaşla birlikte yüksek morbidite ve mortaliteye neden olan düşme için risk faktörleri belirlenmeli, iç ve dış mekân düzenlemeleri yapılarak bireylerin sosyal hayata katılımı desteklenmelidir.
Tıp fakültesi öğrencilerinin 2P:4P el parmak uzunluk oranları ile kişilik özellikleri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi
Authors: KARAOĞLU Nazan , AÇAR Gülay
Published: February 2021

İnsan vücudu ve hastalık semptomlarının genetik ve sosyokültürel yapıya bağlı olarak sürekli farklılık gösterdiği son yıllarda medikal antropoloji alanında yapılan çalışmalarda ortaya konmuştur. Benzer olarak hekimin kişilik özellikleri ve toplumun sosyokültürel yapısına bağlı değişimleri hekimlik pratiği için önemlidir. Prenatal cinsiyet hormonlarının hem kişilik özellikleri hem de elin işaret (2. parmak) ve yüzük (4. parmak) parmaklarının uzunluk oranları (2P:4P) ile ilişkili olduğu söylenmektedir. Bu çalışmada, preklinik tıp öğrencilerinde cinsiyet hormonlarının etkisine bağlı ortaya çıkan 2P:4P oranı ile pozitif-negatif duygulanımlar arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi amaçlandı. Çalışmaya katılan 493 tıp öğrencisinin (199 erkek, 294 kadın) boy, kilo ve iki elin 2. ve 4. parmak uzunlukları ölçülerek 2P:4P oranı bulundu. Ayrıca sosyodemografik bilgilerle Pozitif-Negatif Duygu Ölçeği (PANAS) ve Beş Faktörlü Kişilik Envanteri Kısa Formu (BFKE-K)’nu içeren anket uygulandı. Boy, kilo ve vücut kitle indeksi değerleri erkeklerde, her iki el 2P:4P oranları ise kadınlarda anlamlı düzeyde yüksek bulundu (p<0,001). Sağ el 2P:4P oranı ile PANAS- Pozitif ve Negatif Duygu puanları arasında negatif yönde zayıf korelasyon (r=-0,106, p=0,018; r=-0,087, p=0,052) ve BFKE-K puanı arasında pozitif yönde zayıf korelasyon (r=0,090, p=0,045) saptandı. Sağ ve sol el 2P:4P oranlarının uyumluluk puanı ile pozitif korelasyon (r=0,126, p=0,005; r=0,091, p=0,043) gösterdiği bulundu. Dışa dönüklük puanı 3. sınıf öğrencilerinde yüksekti (p=0,006 ve p=0,002). Çalışmamızda olumlu kişilik özellikleri ve pozitif duygulanım puanı erkeklerde kızlara göre ve 3. sınıf öğrencilerinde ilk iki yıl öğrencilerine göre anlamlı düzeyde yüksek bulundu. Bu çalışmanın oluşturduğu farkındalıklar, hekimin kişilik özelliklerine uygun daha iyi bir tıp eğitimi almasını sağladığı gibi, seçtiği uzmanlık dalında daha etkin tedavi çözümleri üretmesine yardımcı olabilir.
A STUDY ON GCR-LIGHTLIKE SUBMANIFOLDS OF SEMI-RIEMANNIAN PRODUCT MANIFOLDS
Authors: POYRAZ Nergiz
Published: February 2021

We study GCR-lightlike submanifolds of semi-Riemannian product manifolds. We give some equivalent conditions for the integrability of various distributions of GCR-lightlike submanifolds of semi-Riemannian product manifolds and investigate the geometry of leaves of distributions.
The Profile of Brain Tumor Cases in RSUD Dr Soetomo, Surabaya
Authors: Mohan R. Yuvasanghar Ravindra , Wahyuhadi Joni , Tirthaningsih Ni Wajan
Published: February 2021

Brain tumor is a condition affecting many people worldwide.Patients often had similar functional neurological symptoms even if the type of tumors diagnosed were entirely different at a later stage.Some of the neurological symptoms were tingling in the feet, changes in eyesight,tremors in the extremities, headaches or migraines and more. Patients who suffer from brain tumor go through a screening process to identify the cause of the problem. Factors such as age and gender was observed in this study which affected the data distribution of brain tumors. This study aimed to find the data distribution of the brain tumor cases in RSUD Dr Soetomo. The results obtained showed that the highest number of brain tumor found were meningiomas followed by unspecified brain neoplasms as the second highest and adenomas being the third highest tumor type found in RSUD Dr Soetomo. The total number of female patients with brain tumor were higher than that of males. The median age of the patients was found to be 45. The highest number of tumor cases were seen in the adult age group followed by teens, children and elderly. The benign tumor type is found to be higher in number as compared to malignant. The number of supratentorial tumors are also found to be higher than infratentorial overall.

Keywords: age; gender; brain tumor
The Influence of Age and Nutritional Status on Heat Strains Incident on Workers of Brem Making in Kaliabu Village, Madiun
Authors: Handayani Siska Wahyu , Hernawati Sri , Ningtyias Farida Wahyu
Published: February 2021

Workers at brem industries are particularly at risk of heat strains at work. This is due to the age factor of the workers as well as the nutritional status that can be the main cause in case of heat strain events. Purpose of this study was to find out the level of influence of age factor and nutritional status on heat strain events in brem industries workers in Kaliabu village, Madiun. Quantitative observational analytical research with a cross sectional approach where the sample of research amounted to 157 respondents from a total population of 266 workers. Regression test with Amos 23 tools in analyzing data. Result in the age variable was 0.072 and for the nutritional status obtained the result of 0.079 against the incidence of heat strains where both variables had a significant influence on heat strains. So that the need for spatial planning and fulfillment of good nutrition by industry managers.

Keywords: heat strain; nutritional status; age; brem; industries
Financial Forecasting With α-RNNs: A Time Series Modeling Approach
Authors: Dixon Matthew , London Justin
Published: February 2021

The era of modern financial data modeling seeks machine learning techniques which are suitable for noisy and non-stationary big data. We demonstrate how a general class of exponential smoothed recurrent neural networks (α-RNNs) are well suited to modeling dynamical systems arising in big data applications such as high frequency and algorithmic trading. Application of exponentially smoothed RNNs to minute level Bitcoin prices and CME futures tick data, highlight the efficacy of exponential smoothing for multi-step time series forecasting. Our α-RNNs are also compared with more complex, “black-box”, architectures such as GRUs and LSTMs and shown to provide comparable performance, but with far fewer model parameters and network complexity.
Impact of Excipients on Stability of Polymer Microparticles for Autoimmune Therapy
Authors: Gosselin Emily A. , Noshin Maeesha , Black Sheneil K. , Jewell Christopher M.
Published: February 2021

Therapies for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes are not curative and cause significant challenges for patients. These include frequent, continued treatments required throughout the lifetime of the patient, as well as increased vulnerability to infection due to the non-specific action of therapies. Biomaterials have enabled progress in antigen-specific immunotherapies as carriers and delivery vehicles for immunomodulatory cargo. However, most of this work is in the preclinical stage, where small dosing requirements allow for on-demand preparation of immunotherapies. For clinical translation of these potential immunotherapies, manufacturing, preservation, storage, and stability are critical parameters that require greater attention. Here, we tested the stabilizing effects of excipients on the lyophilization of polymeric microparticles (MPs) designed for autoimmune therapy; these MPs are loaded with peptide self-antigen and a small molecule immunomodulator. We synthesized and lyophilized particles with three clinically relevant excipients: mannitol, trehalose, and sucrose. The biophysical properties of the formulations were assessed as a function of excipient formulation and stage of addition, then formulations were evaluated in primary immune cell culture. From a manufacturing perspective, excipients improved caking of lyophilized product, enabled more complete resuspension, increased product recovery, and led to smaller changes in MP size and size distribution over time. Cocultures of antigen-presenting cells and self-reactive T cells revealed that MPs lyophilized with excipients maintained tolerance-inducing function, even after significant storage times without refrigeration. These data demonstrate that excipients can be selected to drive favorable manufacturing properties without impacting the immunologic properties of the tolerogenic MPs.
Design and Implementation of Medical Ultrasound Remote Control Software Based on Sensor Design
Authors: Deng Shuhao , Jiang Quan , Zhang Yingchun , Lu Xin , Shi Xiurong , Zhang Yuan
Published: February 2021

With the development of medical technology, medical ultrasound technology is widely used in the diagnosis of human diseases. It has become an indispensable diagnostic method in modern clinical medicine by detecting the internal physiology or tissue structure of the human body by ultrasound and then discovering diseases. Based on this, this paper designs a medical ultrasonic remote control software based on sensor design. The system software communicates with the stimulator through the Bluetooth port of the mobile phone and can send the parameter information input by the mobile phone to the field-programmable gate array of the stimulator for compilation. The upper computer control interface with a remote communication function is written by Lab VIEW software. A socket is used to establish inter-network process connection, and medical ultrasonic equipment simulates hardware key input according to the received control instructions so as to achieve the purpose of remote control. Experiments show that, compared with other systems, the infrared human body temperature measurement system with the functions of environmental temperature compensation and distance compensation can effectively reduce the influence of environmental temperature, distance, and other factors and has the advantages of non-contact, low power consumption, fast response speed, high sensitivity, and high accuracy, which is suitable for rapid and accurate human body temperature measurement in crowded places with large traffic.
The Cancer Microenvironment: Mechanical Challenges of the Metastatic Cascade
Authors: Amos Sebastian E. , Choi Yu Suk
Published: February 2021

The metastatic cascade presents a significant challenge to patient survival in the fight against cancer. As metastatic cells disseminate and colonize a secondary site, stepwise exposure to microenvironment-specific mechanical stimuli influences and protects successful metastasis. Following cancerous transformation and associated cell recruitment, the tumor microenvironment (TME) becomes a mechanically complex niche, owing to changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness and architecture. The ECM mechanically reprograms the cancer cell phenotype, priming cells for invasion. 2D and 3D hydrogel-based culture platforms approximate these environmental variables and permit investigations into tumor-dependent shifts in malignancy. Following TME modification, malignant cells must invade the local ECM, driven toward blood, and lymph vessels by sensing biochemical and biophysical gradients. Microfluidic chips recreate cancer-modified ECM tracks, empowering studies into modes of confined motility. Intravasation and extravasation consist of complex cancer-endothelial interactions that modify an otherwise submicron-scale migration. Perfused microfluidic platforms facilitate the physiological culture of endothelial cells and thus enhance the translatability of basic research into metastatic transendothelial migration. These platforms also shed light on the poorly understood circulating tumor cell, which defies adherent cell norms by surviving the shear stress of blood flow and avoiding anoikis. Metastatic cancers possess the plasticity to adapt to new mechanical conditions, permitting their invasiveness, and ensuring their survival against anomalous stimuli. Here, we review the cellular mechanics of metastasis in the context of current in vitro approaches. Advances that further expose the mechanisms underpinning the phenotypic fluidity of metastatic cancers remain central to the development of novel interventions targeting cancer.
Advantages of Heterotrophic Microalgae as a Host for Phytochemicals Production
Authors: Jareonsin Surumpa , Pumas Chayakorn
Published: February 2021

Currently, most commercial recombinant technologies rely on host systems. However, each host has their own benefits and drawbacks, depending on the target products. Prokaryote host is lack of post-transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms, making them unsuitable for eukaryotic productions like phytochemicals. Even there are other eukaryote hosts (e.g., transgenic animals, mammalian cell, and transgenic plants), but those hosts have some limitations, such as low yield, high cost, time consuming, virus contamination, and so on. Thus, flexible platforms and efficient methods that can produced phytochemicals are required. The use of heterotrophic microalgae as a host system is interesting because it possibly overcome those obstacles. This paper presents a comprehensive review of heterotrophic microalgal expression host including advantages of heterotrophic microalgae as a host, genetic engineering of microalgae, genetic transformation of microalgae, microalgal engineering for phytochemicals production, challenges of microalgal hosts, key market trends, and future view. Finally, this review might be a directions of the alternative microalgae host for high-value phytochemicals production in the next few years.
Deep Transfer Learning and Time-Frequency Characteristics-Based Identification Method for Structural Seismic Response
Authors: Liao Wenjie , Chen Xingyu , Lu Xinzheng , Huang Yuli , Tian Yuan
Published: February 2021

The cost of dedicated sensors has hampered the collection of the high-quality seismic response data required for real-time health monitoring and damage assessment. The emergence of crowdsensing technology, where a large number of mobile devices collectively share data and extract information of common interest, may help remove such obstacles and mitigate the seismic hazard. The present study proposes a crowdsensing-oriented vibration acquisition and identification method based on time–frequency characteristics and deep transfer learning. It can distinguish the responses during an earthquake event from vibration under serviceability conditions. The core classification process is performed using a combination of wavelet transforms and deep transfer networks. The latter were pre-trained using finite element models calibrated with the monitored seismic responses of the structures. The validation study confirmed the superior identification accuracy of the proposed method.
Comprehensive Review of Optimal and Smart Design of Nonlinear Building Structures With and Without Passive Dampers Subjected to Earthquake Loading
Authors: Takewaki Izuru , Akehashi Hiroki
Published: February 2021

The optimal and smart design of nonlinear building structures with and without passive dampers subjected to earthquake loading is of great concern in the structural design of building structures. The research started around 1980 and many investigations have been conducted. A comprehensive review on this subject is made in this article. After the description of essential features of the optimal design problem of nonlinear building structures under earthquake ground motions, analysis types of optimization problems are explained and the significance of the dynamic pushover analysis is discussed from the viewpoint of analysis of limit states under earthquake ground motions of magnitude larger than the code-specified level. Then, the categorization by the response of frames and dampers was made. In this categorization, several subjects are discussed first: 1) Optimal design of bare nonlinear building frames under seismic loading, 2) Optimal design of nonlinear dampers for elastic building frames under seismic loading, 3) Optimal design of linear dampers for nonlinear building frames under seismic loading, 4) Optimal design of nonlinear building frames with specified nonlinear dampers under seismic loading, 5) Optimal design of nonlinear dampers for specified nonlinear building frames under seismic loading, 6) Simultaneous optimization of elastic-plastic building structures and passive dampers. Finally, the classification of researches in view of solution strategies is conducted for providing another viewpoint.
Cyclic Behavior of Beam-Column Connections in Precast Structures
Authors: Meydanli Atalay Hilal , Ozden Sevket
Published: February 2021

The performance of precast concrete structures is greatly influenced by the response of beam–to-column connections. In this study, a new moment resisting precast concrete beam-column connection detail with post-tensioning bolts, made out of high yield strength spring steel, has been experimentally investigated as an alternative to the conventional precast moment resisting connections. Precast specimens and an aseismic monolithic reference specimen have been tested under reverse cycling loads. The contribution of the mild steel in the connection region to the flexural moment capacity, and to the initial pre-stressing force on post-tensioning bolt have been the main test variables. The moment capacity, stiffness, energy dissipation capacity and the residual displacement performance of the precast connections have been compared with those of the aseismically detailed monolithic connection. The conducted tests reveal that the connection detail with steel corbel along with the post-tensioning bolt and mild steel has superior performance properties as compared to the companion precast specimens.
Efficient CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Knock-In of Composite Tags in Zebrafish Using Long ssDNA as a Donor
Authors: Ranawakage Deshani C. , Okada Keita , Sugio Kota , Kawaguchi Yuya , Kuninobu-Bonkohara Yuki , Takada Takuya , Kamachi Yusuke
Published: February 2021

Despite the unprecedented gene editing capability of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated targeted knock-in, the efficiency and precision of this technology still require further optimization, particularly for multicellular model organisms, such as the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Our study demonstrated that an ∼200 base-pair sequence encoding a composite tag can be efficiently “knocked-in” into the zebrafish genome using a combination of the CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex and a long single-stranded DNA (lssDNA) as a donor template. Here, we targeted the sox3, sox11a, and pax6a genes to evaluate the knock-in efficiency of lssDNA donors with different structures in somatic cells of injected embryos and for their germline transmission. The structures and sequence characteristics of the lssDNA donor templates were found to be crucial to achieve a high rate of precise and heritable knock-ins. The following were our key findings: (1) lssDNA donor strand selection is important; however, strand preference and its dependency appear to vary among the target loci or their sequences. (2) The length of the 3′ homology arm of the lssDNA donor affects knock-in efficiency in a site-specific manner; particularly, a shorter 50-nt arm length leads to a higher knock-in efficiency than a longer 300-nt arm for the sox3 and pax6a knock-ins. (3) Some DNA sequence characteristics of the knock-in donors and the distance between the CRISPR-Cas9 cleavage site and the tag insertion site appear to adversely affect the repair process, resulting in imprecise editing. By implementing the proposed method, we successfully obtained precisely edited sox3, sox11a, and pax6a knock-in alleles that contained a composite tag composed of FLAGx3 (or PAx3), Bio tag, and HiBiT tag (or His tag) with moderate to high germline transmission rates as high as 21%. Furthermore, the knock-in allele-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for both the 5′ and 3′ junctions indicated that knock-in allele frequencies were higher at the 3′ side of the lssDNAs, suggesting that the lssDNA-templated knock-in was mediated by unidirectional single-strand template repair (SSTR) in zebrafish embryos.
Sex Hormone Regulation of Proteins Modulating Mitochondrial Metabolism, Dynamics and Inter-Organellar Cross Talk in Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Lynch Shannon , Boyett James E. , Smith M. Ryan , Giordano-Mooga Samantha
Published: February 2021

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide. Sex-related disparities have been identified in the presentation and incidence rate of CVD. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in both the etiology and pathology of CVD. Recent work has suggested that the sex hormones play a role in regulating mitochondrial dynamics, metabolism, and cross talk with other organelles. Specifically, the female sex hormone, estrogen, has both a direct and an indirect role in regulating mitochondrial biogenesis via PGC-1α, dynamics through Opa1, Mfn1, Mfn2, and Drp1, as well as metabolism and redox signaling through the antioxidant response element. Furthermore, data suggests that testosterone is cardioprotective in males and may regulate mitochondrial biogenesis through PGC-1α and dynamics via Mfn1 and Drp1. These cell-signaling hubs are essential in maintaining mitochondrial integrity and cell viability, ultimately impacting CVD survival. PGC-1α also plays a crucial role in inter-organellar cross talk between the mitochondria and other organelles such as the peroxisome. This inter-organellar signaling is an avenue for ameliorating rampant ROS produced by dysregulated mitochondria and for regulating intrinsic apoptosis by modulating intracellular Ca2+ levels through interactions with the endoplasmic reticulum. There is a need for future research on the regulatory role of the sex hormones, particularly testosterone, and their cardioprotective effects. This review hopes to highlight the regulatory role of sex hormones on mitochondrial signaling and their function in the underlying disparities between men and women in CVD.
Erythroblastic Island Macrophages Shape Normal Erythropoiesis and Drive Associated Disorders in Erythroid Hematopoietic Diseases
Authors: Li Wei , Guo Rongqun , Song Yongping , Jiang Zhongxing
Published: February 2021

Erythroblastic islands (EBIs), discovered more than 60 years ago, are specialized microenvironments for erythropoiesis. This island consists of a central macrophage with surrounding developing erythroid cells. EBI macrophages have received intense interest in the verifications of the supporting erythropoiesis hypothesis. Most of these investigations have focused on the identification and functional analyses of EBI macrophages, yielding significant progresses in identifying and isolating EBI macrophages, as well as verifying the potential roles of EBI macrophages in erythropoiesis. EBI macrophages express erythropoietin receptor (Epor) both in mouse and human, and Epo acts on both erythroid cells and EBI macrophages simultaneously in the niche, thereby promoting erythropoiesis. Impaired Epor signaling in splenic niche macrophages significantly inhibit the differentiation of stress erythroid progenitors. Moreover, accumulating evidence suggests that EBI macrophage dysfunction may lead to certain erythroid hematological disorders. In this review, the heterogeneity, identification, and functions of EBI macrophages during erythropoiesis under both steady-state and stress conditions are outlined. By reviewing the historical data, we discuss the influence of EBI macrophages on erythroid hematopoietic disorders and propose a new hypothesis that erythroid hematopoietic disorders are driven by EBI macrophages.
Receptor Oligomerization and Its Relevance for Signaling by Receptors of the Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily
Authors: Kucka Kirstin , Wajant Harald
Published: February 2021

With the exception of a few signaling incompetent decoy receptors, the receptors of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) are signaling competent and engage in signaling pathways resulting in inflammation, proliferation, differentiation, and cell migration and also in cell death induction. TNFRSF receptors (TNFRs) become activated by ligands of the TNF superfamily (TNFSF). TNFSF ligands (TNFLs) occur as trimeric type II transmembrane proteins but often also as soluble ligand trimers released from the membrane-bound form by proteolysis. The signaling competent TNFRs are efficiently activated by the membrane-bound TNFLs. The latter recruit three TNFR molecules, but there is growing evidence that this is not sufficient to trigger all aspects of TNFR signaling; rather, the formed trimeric TNFL–TNFR complexes have to cluster secondarily in the cell-to-cell contact zone for full TNFR activation. With respect to their response to soluble ligand trimers, the signaling competent TNFRs can be subdivided into two groups. TNFRs of one group, designated as category I TNFRs, are robustly activated by soluble ligand trimers. The receptors of a second group (category II TNFRs), however, failed to become properly activated by soluble ligand trimers despite high affinity binding. The limited responsiveness of category II TNFRs to soluble TNFLs can be overcome by physical linkage of two or more soluble ligand trimers or, alternatively, by anchoring the soluble ligand molecules to the cell surface or extracellular matrix. This suggests that category II TNFRs have a limited ability to promote clustering of trimeric TNFL–TNFR complexes outside the context of cell–cell contacts. In this review, we will focus on three aspects on the relevance of receptor oligomerization for TNFR signaling: (i) the structural factors which promote clustering of free and liganded TNFRs, (ii) the signaling pathway specificity of the receptor oligomerization requirement, and (iii) the consequences for the design and development of TNFR agonists.
MiR-132-3p Modulates MEKK3-Dependent NF-κB and p38/JNK Signaling Pathways to Alleviate Spinal Cord Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Hindering M1 Polarization of Macrophages
Authors: Fang Hua , Li Hua-Feng , Pan Qin , Jin Hon-Ling , Yang Miao , Wang Ru-Rong , Wang Quan-Yun , Zhang Jian-Ping
Published: February 2021

Spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (SCIR) injury is a serious complication of open surgical and endovascular aortic procedures. MicroRNA-132-3p (miR-132-3p) has been reported to be involved in the progression of various diseases, but its role in SCIR injury is unclear. Thus, we aimed in this study to investigate the mechanism of miR-132-3p in SCIR injury and explore its pathway as a therapeutic target for SCIR injury. We first constructed a SCIR injury rat model and documented motor function in the model. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPC)R and Western blot analysis were used to detect the expression of miR-132-3p and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 3 (MEKK3) in SCIR injury rats. The interaction between miR-132-3p and MEKK3 was identified by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. Then, the effects of miR-132-3p and MEKK3 on macrophage M1 polarization were evaluated in vitro and in vivo by altering their expression in macrophages of SCIR injury rats, with treatments altering the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/p38 signaling pathways using SP600125, SB203580, or PDTC. The SCIR injury rats had a high Tarlov score and low miR-132-3p expression along with high MEKK3 expression. miR-132-3p could directly bind to MEKK3, and that macrophage M1 polarization and inflammation could be inhibited by overexpression of miR-132-3p through downregulating MEKK3 and inactivating the NF-κB and p38/JNK signaling pathways. Besides, increased miR-132-3p expression could decrease the injured rat Tarlov score. Overall, our study demonstrated that miR-132-3p can suppress M1 polarization of macrophages and alleviate SCIR injury by blocking the MEKK3-dependent activation of the NF-κB and p38/JNK signaling pathway. Thus, miR-132-3p and its downstream pathways may be useful targets to alleviate the symptoms of SCIR injury.