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Although project-based learning is a well-known and widely used instructional strategy, it remains a challenging issue to effectively apply this approach to practical settings for improving the learning performance of students. In this study, a project-based digital storytelling approach is proposed to cope with this problem. With a quasi-experiment, the proposed approach has been applied to a learning activity of a science course in an elementary school. A total of 117 Grade 5 students in an elementary school in southern Taiwan were assigned to an experimental group (N = 60) and a control group (N = 57) to compare the performance of the approach with that of conventional project-based learning. A web-based information-searching system, Meta-Analyzer, was used to enable the students to collect data on the Internet based on the questions raised by the teachers, and Microsoft's Photo Story was used to help the experimental group develop movies for storytelling based on the collected data. Moreover, several measuring tools, including the science learning motivation scale, the problem-solving competence scale and the science achievement test, were used to collect feedback as well as evaluate the learning performance of the students. The experimental results show that the project-based learning with digital storytelling could effectively enhance the students' science learning motivation, problem-solving competence, and learning achievement.

This paper presents the design of a dual-band filter and a diplexer using an extremely miniaturized substrate-integrated coaxial cavity (SICC) structure. The presented dual-band filter can function as a front-end circuit block connected to 5G antennae, enabling dual-passband operation for 5G applications. The diplexer is designed for use in 5G communication systems, positioned after the 5G antennae to facilitate the switching of transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) signals between the Tx and Rx terminals. The main contribution of this work is the development of a highly miniaturized substrate-integrated coaxial cavity (SICC) to design a dual-band filter (DBF) and a diplexer. The circuit area of the proposed dual-frequency SICC is a mere 2.1% of its conventional substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity counterpart when operating at the same frequency. A dual-band filter and a diplexer are realized using two and three highly miniaturized SICC resonators, respectively. The dual-band filter is designed to have a transmission zero on each passband side to enhance signal selectively. At most in-band frequencies, the isolation between the diplexer’s channel bands exceeds 20 dB. A sample dual-band filter and diplexer have been fabricated for experimental validation, demonstrating excellent agreement between the measured and simulated data. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the designed dual-band filter and diplexer achieve the highest circuit area efficiency within the categories of dual-band SIW cavity filters and diplexers.

Mutations in lamin A (LMNA) are responsible for a variety of human dystrophic and metabolic diseases. Here, we created a mouse model in which progerin, the lamin A mutant protein that causes Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), can be inducibly overexpressed. Muscle‐specific overexpression of progerin was sufficient to induce muscular dystrophy and alter whole‐body energy expenditure, leading to premature death. Intriguingly, sarcolipin (Sln), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)‐associated protein involved in heat production, is upregulated in progerin‐expressing and Lmna knockout (Lmna−/−) skeletal muscle. The depletion of Sln accelerated the early death of Lmna−/− mice. An examination at the molecular level revealed that progerin recruits Sln and Calnexin to the nuclear periphery. Furthermore, progerin‐expressing myoblasts presented enhanced store‐operated Ca2+ entry, as well as increased co‐localization of STIM1 and ORAI1. These findings suggest that progerin dysregulates calcium homeostasis through an interaction with a subset of ER‐associated proteins, resulting in thermogenic and metabolic abnormalities. A model for progerin in calcium homeostasis and thermogenesis. In the molecular level, progerin can recruits a subset of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins including Sln and Calnexin, but not SERCA2 or Calreticulin to the nuclear periphery, and may thus induce ER stress and enhance store‐operated calcium entry. The disturbed calcium homeostasis in progeric muscle may trigger transcriptional activation of Sln and ER‐stress associated genes and alter muscle‐based thermogenesis, leading to premature death of the animals. Cyt., cytosolic.

Background Constitutive activation of PI3K signaling has been well recognized in a subset of small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the cancer type which has the most aggressive clinical course amongst pulmonary tumors. Whereas cancers that acquire a mutation/copy gain in PIK3CA or loss of PTEN have been implicated in enhanced sensitivity to inhibitors targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, the complexities of the pathway and corresponding feedback loops hamper clear predictions as to the response of tumors presenting these genomic features. Methods The correlation between the expression profile of proteins involved in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling and cell viability in response to treatment with small molecule inhibitors targeting isoform-specific PI3Ks, AKT, and mTOR was assessed in 13 SCLC cancer cell lines. Athymic nude mice were used to determine the effect of PI3K/mTOR dual inhibition on the growth of xenograft SCLC tumors in vivo. The activation of caspase signaling and proteolytic cleavages of mTOR companion proteins were assessed using recombinant caspases assays and Western blot analyses. Results Our results indicate that the sensitivity of these SCLC cell lines to GSK2126458, a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, is positively correlated with the expression levels of phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) at Thr308 and Ser473. Inhibition of pan-class I PI3Ks or PI3K/mTOR dual inhibition was shown to induce proteolytic cleavage of RICTOR and RPTOR, which were respectively dependent on Caspase-6 and Caspase-3. A combination of a clinically approved PI3Kα-selective inhibitor and an mTORC1 inhibitor was shown to have synergistic effects in inducing the death of SCLC cells with high p-AKT. We observed no clear correlation between PTEN levels and the survival of SCLCs in response to PI3K/mTOR dual inhibition; however, PTEN depletion was shown to increase the susceptibility of low p-AKT SCLC cells to dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor-induced cell death as well as the proteolytic cleavage of RICTOR. Conclusions These results suggest the level of p-AKT can be a companion diagnostic biomarker for the treatment of SCLC involving the combinational use of clinically approved isoform-specific PI3K and mTOR inhibitors.

Learning styles are considered to be one of the factors that need to be taken into account in developing adaptive learning systems. However, few studies have been conducted to investigate if students have the ability to choose the best-fit e-learning systems or content presentation styles for themselves in terms of learning style perspective. In this paper, we aim to investigate these issues by using two versions of an educational game developed based on the sequential/global dimension of the learning style proposed by Felder and Silverman. The experimental results showed that the choices made by the students were not related to their cognitive process or learning style; instead, most students made their choices by intuition based on personal preferences. Moreover, the students who learned with learning style-fit versions showed significantly better learning achievement than those who learned with non-fit versions. Consequently, it is concluded that students preferring one game over another does not necessarily mean that they will learn better with that version, revealing the importance and necessity of developing adaptive learning systems based on learning styles.

The cause of nuclear shape abnormalities which are often seen in pre-neoplastic and malignant tissues is not clear. In this study we report that deformation of the nucleus can be induced by TGFβ1 stimulation in several cell lines including Huh7. In our results, the upregulated histone H3.3 expression downstream of SMAD signaling contributed to TGFβ1-induced nuclear deformation, a process of which requires incorporation of the nuclear envelope (NE) proteins lamin B1 and SUN1. During this process, the NE constitutively ruptured and reformed. Contrast to lamin B1 which was relatively stationary around the nucleus, the upregulated lamin A was highly mobile, clustering at the nuclear periphery and reintegrating into the nucleoplasm. The chromatin regions that lost NE coverage formed a supra-nucleosomal structure characterized by elevated histone H3K27me3 and histone H1, the formation of which depended on the presence of lamin A. These results provide evidence that shape of the nucleus can be modulated through TGFβ1-induced compositional changes in the chromatin and nuclear lamina.

Printed books have long been an important means for people to obtain knowledge; nevertheless, educators have pointed out problems of learning from some printed books, in particular, the lack of learning supports, such as supplementary materials and learning guiding tools. In this study, a concept map-oriented ubiquitous learning approach is proposed for supporting printed science book reading activities for children via mobile devices with QR-code facilities. A quasi-experiment has been conducted in an elementary school to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, in which 92 sixth graders participated. The experimental results show that the concept map-oriented ubiquitous learning approach is significantly more helpful to the students in reading printed books than traditional book reading and the conventional ubiquitous learning approach in terms of learning achievements; moreover, the students had a high level of acceptance of such a mobile technology-assisted learning system in terms of ＂ease of use＂, ＂usefulness＂ and ＂attitude and intention of future use.＂

In this study, a peer assessment-based game development approach is proposed for improving students' learning achievements, motivations and problem-solving skills. An experiment has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in a science course at an elementary school. A total of 167 sixth graders participated in the experiment, 82 of whom were assigned to the experimental group and learned with the peer assessment-based game development approach, while 85 students were in the control group and learned with the conventional game development approach. From the empirical results, it was found that the proposed approach could effectively promote students' learning achievement, learning motivation, problem-solving skills, as well as their perceptions of the use of educational computer games. Moreover, it was found from the openended questions that most of the students perceived peer assessment-based game development as an effective learning strategy that helped them improve their deep learning status in terms of \"in-depth thinking,\" \"creativity,\" and \"motivation.\"

In this study, the game-based development approach is proposed for improving the learning motivation, problem solving skills, and learning achievement of students. An experiment was conducted on a learning activity of an elementary school science course to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. A total of 59 sixth graders from two classes of the elementary school participated in the experiment. One class of 30 students was selected as the experimental group, and the other class of 29 students was the control group. From the experimental results, it was found that the proposed game development-based learning approach could effectively promote the students' problem-solving skills. However, the students' learning achievement and motivations were quite different from our expectations. A discussion of the experimental group interview data is provided and suggestions made.

In recent years, many researchers have been engaged in the development of educational computer games; however, previous studies have indicated that, without supportive models that take individual students' learning needs or difficulties into consideration, students might only show temporary interest during the learning process, and their learning performance is often not as good as expected. Learning styles have been recognized as being an important human factor affecting students' learning performance. Previous studies have shown that, by taking learning styles into account, learning systems can be of greater benefit to students owing to the provision of personalized learning content presentation that matches the information perceiving and processing styles of individuals. In this paper, a personalized game-based learning approach is proposed based on the sequential/global dimension of the learning style proposed by Felder and Silverman. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a role-playing game has been implemented based on the approach; moreover, an experiment has been conducted on an elementary school natural science course. From the experimental results, it is found that the personalized educational computer game not only promotes learning motivation, but also improves the learning achievements of the students.