Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Macrophage Response to Radiation Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging modality which, in conjunction with biopsies, provide a qualitative assessment of tumor response to treatment. Intravenous injection of contrast agents such as fluorine (19F) nanoemulsions labels systemic macrophages, which can, then, be tracked in real time with MRI. This method can provide quantifiable insights into the behavior of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in the tumor microenvironment and macrophage recruitment during therapy. METHODS: Female mice received mammary fat pad injections of murine breast or colon cancer cell lines. The mice then received an intravenous 19F nanoemulsion injection, followed by a baseline 19F MRI. For each cancer model, half of the mice then received 8 Gy of localized radiation therapy (RT), while others remained untreated. The mice were monitored for two weeks for tumor growth and 9F signal using MRI. RESULTS: Across both cohorts, the RT-treated groups presented significant tumor growth reduction or arrest, contrary to the untreated groups. Similarly, the fluorine signal in treated groups increased significantly as early as four days post therapy. The fluorine signal change correlated to tumor volumes irrespective of time. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate the potential of 19F MRI to non-invasively track macrophages during radiation therapy and its prognostic value with regard to tumor growth.

The influence of organizational factors on the acceptance of online teaching among college faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide study in mainland China.

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) promoted online teaching on an unprecedented scale, raising researchers' attention to the importance of faculty's acceptance of this urgent teaching shift. This study aimed to explore the influence of organizational factors on faculty's acceptance of online teaching in terms of behavioral intention and perceived usefulness. A multilevel structural equation model was employed to analyze data on 209,058 faculty in 858 higher education institutions based on a nationwide survey conducted in mainland China. The results showed that three key organizational factors, namely strategic planning, leadership, and teaching quality monitoring, impacted faculty's acceptance of online teaching, although in different ways. Strategic planning had a direct impact on perceived usefulness, while leadership had a direct impact on behavioral intentions, and teaching quality monitoring had a direct impact on both perceived usefulness and behavioral intentions. In addition, an indirect effect was found between strategic planning and faculty's behavioral intentions through the mediation of the perceived usefulness of online teaching. The findings of this study have practical implications for college administrators and policymakers, which should effectively implement and promote online teaching and learning, and consider key organizational factors to increase faculty acceptance.

Impact of information literacy, self-directed learning skills, and academic emotions on high school students' online learning engagement: A structural equation modeling analysis.

The adoption of online learning for adolescent students accelerated with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have investigated the mechanisms influencing adolescent students' online learning engagement systematically and comprehensively. This study applied the Presage-Process-Product (3P) model of learning to investigate the direct effects of presage factors (i.e., information literacy and self-directed learning skills) and process factors (i.e., academic emotions) on high school students' online learning engagement; and the mediating role of process factors. Data from 1993 high school students in China (49.3% males and 50.7% females) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The result showed that students' information literacy, self-directed learning skills, and positive academic emotions positively predicted their online learning engagement. Moreover, the positive impact of self-directed learning skills on students' online learning engagement was significantly and largely enhanced through the mediation effects of positive academic emotions (ß = 0.606, 95% CI = [0.544, 0.674]). Based on these results, to enhance adolescent students' online learning engagement, it is important for school administrators, teachers, and parents to improve students' information literacy, self-directed learning skills, and positive academic emotions.

Investigating teachers' participation patterns in online teacher professional development: what is the relationship between participation frequency and participation quality?

Online teacher professional development (OTPD) opportunities are made available to teachers and draw increasing research attention. As the key characteristics of teachers' participation in OTPD, the frequency and quality of participation are increasingly concerned. However, the relationship between teacher participation frequency and participation quality is still unclear. Addressing this problem not only helps reveal teachers' participation patterns in OTPD, but also provides support for promoting teachers' online professional learning and improving OTPD organization and management. To identify teachers' participation patterns and the relationship between participation frequency and participation quality in OTPD, this study analyzed 5,064 log records of 415 teachers using lag sequential analysis, t-test, and Chi-square test. The findings indicated that teachers preferred shallow participation behaviors, such as sharing resources and experience, and seldom carried out deep participation/engagement behaviors (e.g., proposing knowledge topics, establishing teaching and research practices). Teachers with higher participation frequency had lower participation quality in OTPD and tended to repeat shallow participation behaviors. Finally, the study proposed some suggestions for better supporting teachers' participation in online professional development, such as strengthening the links between information sharing activities, knowledge construction activities, and teaching and research practices.

Examining key factors of beginner's continuance intention in blended learning in higher education.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, blended learning became exceptionally widespread, especially in higher education. As a result, many college students became beginners in this learning method. To identify key factors that impact beginners' continuance intention in blended learning, this study surveyed 1845 first-year college students at a university in central China in the falls of 2020 and 2021 who used blended learning for the first time. Structural equation modeling was employed to verify a model that integrates intrinsic motivation and academic self-efficacy in the Expectation-Confirmation Model of Information System Continuance. The results show that performance expectancy, intrinsic motivation, and satisfaction significantly impact beginners' continuance intention in blended learning. Moreover, performance expectancy, intrinsic motivation, and confirmation significantly impact beginners' continuance intention through mediating variable satisfaction. Academic self-efficacy does not directly impact college students' continuance intention but indirectly impacts their continuance intention through intrinsic motivation. Finally, this study provides suggestions for educators to improve beginners' blended learning experience thus promoting their continuance intention in blended learning.

Assessing quality of online learning platforms for in-service teachers' professional development: The development and application of an instrument.

To help optimize online learning platforms for in-service teachers' professional development, this study aims to develop an instrument to assess the quality of this type of platforms on teacher satisfaction. After reliability and validity tests and expert empowerment, the 27-item instrument was formed. Based on the information systems (IS) success model, this instrument was designed to measure teacher perceptions of the quality of online learning platforms from three dimensions, namely, content quality, technical quality, and service quality. Moreover, the developed instrument was used to analyze the effects of the National Teacher Training Platform amid the COVID-19 outbreak in China. The findings revealed that the improvement of the platform's style, tool function, operating efficiency, and teaching methods could enhance teachers' experience of online training.

Exploring the Factors That Influence the Intention to Co-create Open Educational Resources: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective.

Purpose: Based on social exchange theory, this study aimed to investigate, from the cost-benefits perspective, the intention to co-create open educational resources (OER). Design/Methodology/Approach: Participants in the study included 311 undergraduate students selected from those enrolled in a course on the China University MOOC platform. Regression analysis was conducted to examine cost and benefits factors that influenced participants' intentions to co-create OER. Findings: (1) From the perspective of benefits, expected reciprocity, increase in knowledge self-efficacy, and creative self-efficacy were found to significantly and positively impact the intention to co-create OER, while increase in internet self-efficacy was not. (2) From the perspective of cost, perceived effort and perceived privacy were found to significantly and negatively impact the intention to co-create OER, while perceived intellectual property risks were not significant. Originality/Value: Three strategies are recommended to promote the intention to co-create OER based on the findings of this study: (1) focusing on OER communities and developing reciprocity norms; (2) popularizing and promoting knowledge and use of Creative Commons copyright licenses; (3) providing easy-to-use online resource editing tools for use with OER repositories. Research Limitations/Implications: Future research should explore other ages, cultural backgrounds, and types of online learning experience to help broaden the universality of the results.

Social Network Analysis of COVID-19 Sentiments: 10 Metropolitan Cities in Italy.

The pandemic spread rapidly across Italy, putting the region's health system on the brink of collapse, and generating concern regarding the government's capacity to respond to the needs of patients considering isolation measures. This study developed a sentiment analysis using millions of Twitter data during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 10 metropolitan cities in Italy's (1) north: Milan, Venice, Turin, Bologna; (2) central: Florence, Rome; (3) south: Naples, Bari; and (4) islands: Palermo, Cagliari. Questions addressed are as follows: (1) How did tweet-related sentiments change over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) How did sentiments change when lagged with policy shifts and/or specific events? Findings show an assortment of differences and connections across Twitter sentiments (fear, anger, and joy) based on policy measures and geographies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results can be used by policy makers to quantify the satisfactory level of positive/negative acceptance of decision makers and identify important topics related to COVID-19 policy measures, which can be useful for imposing geographically varying lockdowns and protective measures using historical data.

Using Technologies in Nursing Research Education: A Mixed Methods Case Study.

To better prepare nurses for the new and expanding roles required in healthcare, faculty are expected to integrate emerging technology into educational processes. Using a mixed methods research design, this study aimed to examine nursing student reactions and learning based on their participation in an online research course through two technology-enhanced assignments: (1) annotation of the structure of a research article and (2) reflection on the content of a research article. Quantitative analysis examined students' questionnaire responses, and qualitative analysis explored students' reflective learning journals and the instructor's notes. These two separate strands of data were then integrated using a joint display. The discussion was guided by two components of the New World Kirkpatrick model, reaction and learning. Our findings suggest that the use of technology in the design of assignments is a way to engage students in learning and can be used to enhance nursing students' research learning online.