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Metaverse is understood with technological terms such as augmented reality, lifelogging, mirrored worlds, and virtual worlds, and using a metaverse platform is considered an emerging form of learning. Yet, its pedagogical features, such as self-learning, collaborative learning, and learning-by-doing, are identical to those of online learning. In this study, we argue that metaverse-based learning refers to a new reality learners create by assuming that the existence of reality is different in the metaverse. We extracted six educational values in epistemological and ontological senses, reviewing the four realities of the metaverse, including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and extended reality, which is a way to avoid technological determinists'; approach to education. Based on the values -- bottom-up, collaboration, authorship, ownership, interconnectivity, and community, primary school children's (year 5 & 6) groups (n = 20) redesigned 20 assigned school spaces such as classroom teacher office, science room, and music room on their chosen metaverse platforms. Throughout the thematic analysis of design artifacts, activity scenarios, and reflection & presentation, we discovered four themes: collaborative learning with co-ownership and co-authorship; being interconnected with all living and non-living things; co-participants with different roles; and transdisciplinary research-driven learning, which is used to articulate a framework for metaverse-based learning, which is different from online learning.

How often, and in what contexts, have archaeologists discussed racism over the last four decades? Do societal events lead to sustained discussions of racism among the academic community? Here, the authors seek to answer these questions by applying computational text analysis methods to 68 176 abstracts from 41 meetings of the Society for American Archaeology. Discussions of racism are found to be rare--usually a passing mention in the context of broader social issues. Historical archaeologists have addressed racism more frequently than other archaeologists. The results form a baseline against which the discipline's engagement with racism as a research theme and with anti-racist strategies might be tracked. Keywords: computational text analysis, racism, academic discourse, Society for American Archaeology, history of archaeology, Introduction On 25 May 2020, George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Scenes of a White police officer kneeling on a Black man's neck ignited widespread protests, not [...]

Electrospun polymer nanofibers with entrapped magnetic nanoparticles (magnetic NP-NF) represent a novel scaffold substrate that can be functionalized for single-step isolation and activation of specific lymphocyte subsets. Using a surface-embedded T cell receptor ligand/trigger (anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody), we demonstrate, as proof of principle, the use of magnetic NP-NF to specifically isolate, enrich, and activate CD3(+) T cells from a heterogeneous cell mixture, leading to preferential expansion of CD8(+)CD3(+) T cells. The large surface area, adjustable antibody density, and embedded paramagnetic properties of the NP-NF permitted enhanced activation and expansion; its use represents a strategy that is amenable to an efficient selection process for adoptive cellular therapy as well as for the isolation of other cellular subsets for downstream translational applications.

Author(s): Chris Clarkson (corresponding author) [1]; Zenobia Jacobs (corresponding author) [2, 3]; Ben Marwick [3, 4]; Richard Fullagar [3]; Lynley Wallis [5]; Mike Smith [6]; Richard G. Roberts [2, 3]; [...], The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australias megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Many procedures in modern clinical medicine rely on the use of electronic implants in treating conditions that range from acute coronary events to traumatic injury (1,2). However, standard permanent electronic [...]

Motivation Kethoxal-assisted ssDNA sequencing (KAS-seq) is rapidly gaining popularity as a robust and effective approach to study the nascent dynamics of transcriptionally engaged RNA polymerases through profiling of genome-wide single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Its latest variant, spKAS-seq, a strand-specific version of KAS-seq, has been developed to map genome-wide R-loop structures by detecting imbalances of ssDNA on two strands. However, user-friendly, open-source computational tools tailored for KAS-seq data are still lacking. Results Here, we introduce KAS-Analyzer, the first comprehensive computational framework aimed at streamlining and enhancing the analysis and interpretation of KAS-seq and spKAS-seq data. In addition to standard analyses, KAS-Analyzer offers many novel tools specifically designed for KAS-seq data, including, but not limited to: calculation of transcription-related metrics, identification of single-stranded transcribing (SST) enhancers, high-resolution mapping of R-loops, and differential RNA polymerase activity analysis. We provided a detailed overview of KAS-seq data and its diverse applications through the implementation of KAS-Analyzer. Using the example time-course KAS-seq datasets, we further showcase the robust capabilities of KAS-Analyzer for investigating dynamic transcriptional regulatory programs in response to UVB radiation. Availability and implementation KAS-Analyzer is available at https://github.com/Ruitulyu/KAS-Analyzer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive, high doses of ultraviolet B (UVB) UVB irradiation are known to cause skin cancer, aging and immunosuppression. On the contrary, moderate low doses of UVB irradiation are shown to be essential and beneficial to human health, including a tumor‐suppressive effect. However, the mechanism by which low levels of UVB suppress tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here, using tumor‐bearing mouse models, we show that moderate low repetitive UVB irradiation increases the percentage of activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and CD103+ conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s), while it decreases the number of immunosuppressive, M2‐like macrophages in the tumors. Finally, in mice, deletion of Batf3, a transcription factor critical for the development of conventional dendritic cells, including the CD103+ cDC1s, showed increased tumor growth in both sham‐ and UVB‐irradiated mice. Our findings demonstrate that moderate low UVB irradiation inhibits M2‐like tumor‐associated macrophages, increases CD103+ cDC1s and promotes antitumor immunity in mice with an established tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive, high doses of ultraviolet B (UVB) UVB irradiation are known to cause skin cancer, aging and immunosuppression. On the contrary, moderate low doses of UVB irradiation are shown to be essential and beneficial to human health, including a tumor‐suppressive effect. However, the mechanism by which low levels of UVB suppress tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here, using tumor‐bearing mouse models, we show that moderate low repetitive UVB irradiation increases the percentage of activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and CD103+ conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s), while it decreases the number of immunosuppressive, M2‐like macrophages in the tumors. Finally, in mice, deletion of Batf3, a transcription factor critical for the development of conventional dendritic cells, including the CD103+ cDC1s, showed increased tumor growth in both sham‐ and UVB‐irradiated mice. Our findings demonstrate that moderate low UVB irradiation inhibits M2‐like tumor‐associated macrophages, increases CD103+ cDC1s and promotes antitumor immunity in mice with an established tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]