Narrowing down dimensions of e-learning readiness in continuing vocational education - perspectives from the adult learner.

Although e-learning has become an important feature to promote learning experience, still little is known about the readiness of adult learners for e-learning in continuing vocational education. By exploring perceived challenges and benefits, it was our aim to identify dimensions that define e-learning readiness. Therefore, we conducted a study design with qualitative and quantitative components. It consisted of both, semi-structured interviews, as well as an online survey regarding biography, personality, learning behavior, and general attitudes toward e-learning. The continuing vocational education course that we were investigating comes from the field of project management. The learner group was heterogeneous regarding their biographical and occupational background. Our results suggest several dimensions of e-learning readiness which are namely: motivation, learning strategies/regulation, attitudes toward learning, and personality-associated aspects as well as digital literacy. These findings are in line with previous research to only some extent, but reveal the necessity to redefine single dimensions of e-learning readiness to develop an inventory that is generalizable for different adult learner groups. Based on these assumptions a new measure for e-learning readiness needs to be proposed in future research as a next step.

Converging Development of English as Foreign Language Listening and Reading Comprehension Skills in German Upper Secondary Schools.

Receptive skills in English as a second language are important for students on the verge of entering higher education as this student group (aged 17-19) is expected to apply English regularly in their later life. Previous research in this age group in Germany already implied an increasing overlap between both skills in this age group, although robustness of this effect across student groups with different learning experiences was not tested. We used language assessment data collected from upper secondary schools (i.e., from 17 to 19-year-old students) in Germany to compare correlations at the beginning and the end of upper secondary education in groups of students from (1) language-related versus non-language-related study profiles and (2) from students with frequent versus less frequent self-reported English-language out-of-school learning activities. In all of these groups, correlations were increasing, indicating converging skills in upper secondary education. The results are discussed in terms of implications for current theories of language research.

Improved survival of head and neck cancer patients in Greenland.

Previously, head and neck cancer (HNC) patients in Greenland have had significant diagnostic delay and poor survival rates. From 2005-2009 several initiatives have been made to ensure faster diagnosis and better survival. The aim of this study was to compare the prognosis before and after these initiatives were introduced. All Greenlandic patients diagnosed with HNC between 2005 and 2012 were included. Data were retrieved from medical records and national databases and compared with the period 1994-2003. A total of 98 patients were identified. Diagnostic delay was significantly lower compared to the period 1994-2004 (p=0.048). The 3-year overall survival was 56% for all HNC and 47% for nasopharyngeal carcinomas. We found that patients with HNC between 1994 and 2003 had a higher risk of death from all reasons compared with the period 2005-2012 (HR 2.17; CI 1.46-3.23) after adjustments for stage and diagnostic delay. Patients with head HNC in Greenland from 2005-2012 were diagnosed earlier and had a better overall survival compared to the period 1994-2003. The change in survival is more likely to be due to improvement in treatment rather than the initiated interventions. Although survival has improved in Greenland, demographic problems and lack of specialists remain a challenge.

[Renal cell carcinoma metastasis to the thyroid gland 15 years after nephrectomy]. / Renalcellekarcinommetastase til glandula thyroidea 15 år efter nefrektomi.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) metastasis to the thyroid gland is rare and can mimic primary thyroid carcinoma leading to diagnostic difficulties. We present a case of a 55-year-old female with RCC metastasis to the thyroid gland 15 years after nephrectomy. Diagnosis was made after total thyroidectomy. This case emphasizes the importance of considering metastasis in patients with increasing growth of the thyroid gland over a short period of time known with earlier RCC, even decades after nephrectomy.

Applying the Rasch sampler to identify aberrant responding through person fit statistics under fixed nominal α-level.

Testing hypotheses on a respondent's individual fit under the Rasch model requires knowledge of the distributional properties of a person fit statistic. We argue that the Rasch Sampler (Verhelst, 2008), a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for sampling binary data matrices from a uniform distribution, can be applied for simulating the distribution of person fit statistics with the Rasch model in the same way as it used to test for other forms of misfit. Results from two simulation studies are presented which compare the approach to the original person fit statistics based on normalization formulas. Simulation 1 shows the new approach to hold the expected Type I error rates while the normalized statistics deviate from the nominal alpha-level. In Simulation 2 the power of the new approach was found to be approximately the same or higher than for the normalized statistics under most conditions.

Genome sequence and phenotypic analysis of a first German Francisella sp. isolate (W12-1067) not belonging to the species Francisella tularensis.

BACKGROUND: Francisella isolates from patients suffering from tularemia in Germany are generally strains of the species F. tularensis subsp. holarctica. To our knowledge, no other Francisella species are known for Germany. Recently, a new Francisella species could be isolated from a water reservoir of a cooling tower in Germany. RESULTS: We identified a Francisella sp. (isolate W12-1067) whose 16S rDNA is 99% identical to the respective nucleotide sequence of the recently published strain F. guangzhouensis. The overall sequence identity of the fopA, gyrA, rpoA, groEL, sdhA and dnaK genes is only 89%, indicating that strain W12-1067 is not identical to F. guangzhouensis. W12-1067 was isolated from a water reservoir of a cooling tower of a hospital in Germany. The growth optimum of the isolate is approximately 30°C, it can grow in the presence of 4-5% NaCl (halotolerant) and is able to grow without additional cysteine within the medium. The strain was able to replicate within a mouse-derived macrophage-like cell line. The whole genome of the strain was sequenced (~1.7 mbp, 32.2% G + C content) and the draft genome was annotated. Various virulence genes common to the genus Francisella are present, but the Francisella pathogenicity island (FPI) is missing. However, another putative type-VI secretion system is present within the genome of strain W12-1067. CONCLUSIONS: Isolate W12-1067 is closely related to the recently described F. guangzhouensis species and it replicates within eukaryotic host cells. Since W12-1067 exhibits a putative new type-VI secretion system and F. tularensis subsp. holarctica was found not to be the sole species in Germany, the new isolate is an interesting species to be analyzed in more detail. Further research is needed to investigate the epidemiology, ecology and pathogenicity of Francisella species present in Germany.

Oligonucleotide microarray chip for the quantification of MS2, ΦX174, and adenoviruses on the multiplex analysis platform MCR 3.

Pathogenic viruses are emerging contaminants in water which should be analyzed for water safety to preserve public health. A strategy was developed to quantify RNA and DNA viruses in parallel on chemiluminescence flow-through oligonucleotide microarrays. In order to show the proof of principle, bacteriophage MS2, ΦX174, and the human pathogenic adenovirus type 2 (hAdV2) were analyzed in spiked tap water samples on the analysis platform MCR 3. The chemiluminescence microarray imaging unit was equipped with a Peltier heater for a controlled heating of the flow cell. The efficiency and selectivity of DNA hybridization could be increased resulting in higher signal intensities and lower cross-reactivities of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products from other viruses. The total analysis time for DNA/RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis for RNA viruses, polymerase chain reaction, single-strand separation, and oligonucleotide microarray analysis was performed in 4-4.5 h. The parallel quantification was possible in a concentration range of 9.6 × 10(5)-1.4 × 10(10) genomic units (GU)/mL for bacteriophage MS2, 1.4 × 10(5)-3.7 × 10(8) GU/mL for bacteriophage ΦX174, and 6.5 × 10(3)-1.2 × 10(5) for hAdV2, respectively, by using a measuring temperature of 40 °C. Detection limits could be calculated to 6.6 × 10(5) GU/mL for MS2, 5.3 × 10(3) GU/mL for ΦX174, and 1.5 × 10(2) GU/mL for hAdV2, respectively. Real samples of surface water and treated wastewater were tested. Generally, found concentrations of hAdV2, bacteriophage MS2, and ΦX174 were at the detection limit. Nevertheless, bacteriophages could be identified with similar results by means of quantitative PCR and oligonucleotide microarray analysis on the MCR 3.

Surveillance of adenoviruses and noroviruses in European recreational waters.

Exposure to human pathogenic viruses in recreational waters has been shown to cause disease outbreaks. In the context of Article 14 of the revised European Bathing Waters Directive 2006/7/EC (rBWD, CEU, 2006) a Europe-wide surveillance study was carried out to determine the frequency of occurrence of two human enteric viruses in recreational waters. Adenoviruses were selected based on their near-universal shedding and environmental survival, and noroviruses (NoV) selected as being the most prevalent gastroenteritis agent worldwide. Concentration of marine and freshwater samples was done by adsorption/elution followed by molecular detection by (RT)-PCR. Out of 1410 samples, 553 (39.2%) were positive for one or more of the target viruses. Adenoviruses, detected in 36.4% of samples, were more prevalent than noroviruses (9.4%), with 3.5% GI and 6.2% GII, some samples being positive for both GI and GII. Of 513 human adenovirus-positive samples, 63 (12.3%) were also norovirus-positive, whereas 69 (7.7%) norovirus-positive samples were adenovirus-negative. More freshwater samples than marine water samples were virus-positive. Out of a small selection of samples tested for adenovirus infectivity, approximately one-quarter were positive. Sixty percent of 132 nested-PCR adenovirus-positive samples analysed by quantitative PCR gave a mean value of over 3000 genome copies per L of water. The simultaneous detection of infectious adenovirus and of adenovirus and NoV by (RT)PCR suggests that the presence of infectious viruses in recreational waters may constitute a public health risk upon exposure. These studies support the case for considering adenoviruses as an indicator of bathing water quality.

[A case of possibly life-threatening abscess formation in cervical lymph node tuberculosis]. / Livstruende abscedering af halsglandel tuberculose.

Abscess formation in the cervical lymph nodes is a well-known clinical manifestation. Special care should be taken in atypical cases. In this article we describe the case of a young foreign male with tuberculosis-induced cervical abscess formation where surgery revealed a large connecting mediastinal abscess.

Platelet factor 4 inhibits proliferation and cytokine release of activated human T cells.

Platelet factor 4 (PF-4), a platelet-derived CXC chemokine, has been shown to induce the differentiation of monocytes into a subset of macrophages that lack the expression of HLA-DR Ag. This suggests a potential role for PF-4 in the modulation of monocyte-dependent T cell activation. Using an Ag-specific stimulation model in which T cells were cocultured with monocytes in the presence of recall Ags, we could show that under these conditions PF-4-treatment caused a strong decrease of T cell proliferation as well as of IFN-gamma release. However, inhibition of T cell functions such as proliferation, IL-2 release, and IL-2 mRNA production did also occur when isolated T cells were activated in the absence of monocytes with immobilized Abs directed against CD3 in combination with cross-linked anti-CD28 Abs. The effect could be reversed when low concentrations of exogenous IL-2 instead of anti-CD28 were used as a costimulus in combination with anti-CD3 Abs. Further evidence for direct modulation of T cell function by PF-4 was obtained by the detection of specific binding sites for the chemokine on the surface of these cells. Taken together, our results show that specific binding of PF-4, resulting in the down-regulation of the IL-2-release correlates with the inhibition of functions in activated T cells.

Intracellular survival of Leishmania major in neutrophil granulocytes after uptake in the absence of heat-labile serum factors.

The role of polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (PMN) in defense against the intracellular parasite Leishmania is poorly understood. In the present study, the interaction of human PMN with Leishmania major promastigotes was investigated in vitro. In the presence of fresh human serum, about 50% of PMN phagocytosed the parasites within 10 min and the parasite uptake led to PMN activation, resulting in the killing of most ingested parasites. Heat inactivation of the serum markedly reduced the rate of early parasite phagocytosis, suggesting a role of complement components in the early uptake of Leishmania. However, over 50% of PMN were able to ingest parasites in the presence of heat-inactivated serum if the coincubation was extended to 3 h. After 3 h, 10% of the PMN were found to internalize Leishmania even under serum-free conditions. These findings indicate that PMN possess mechanisms for both opsonin/complement-dependent and -independent uptake of Leishmania. Both pathways of uptake could be partially blocked by anti-CR3 antibody. Mannan-binding lectin was found not to be involved in this process. When phagocytosed in the absence of opsonin, the majority of Leishmania parasites survived intracellularly in PMN for at least 1 day. These data suggest a dual role of PMN in the early response to L. major infection. On the one hand, PMN can rapidly eliminate the intracellular parasites, and on the other hand, Leishmania can survive intracellularly in PMN. These data, together with the finding that intact parasites were seen in PMN isolated from the skin of infected mice, suggest that PMN can serve as host cells for the intracellular survival of Leishmania within the first hours or days after infection.