Search Results (4)

Müller cells play a critical role in the closure of macular holes, and their proliferation and migration are facilitated by the internal limiting membrane (ILM). Despite the importance of this process, the underlying molecular mechanism remains underexplored. This study investigated the effects of ILM components on the microRNA (miRNA) profile of Müller cells. Rat Müller cells (rMC-1) were cultured with a culture insert and varying concentrations of ILM component coatings, namely, collagen IV, laminin, and fibronectin, and cell migration was assessed by measuring cell-free areas in successive photographs following insert removal. MiRNAs were then extracted from these cells and analyzed. Mimics and inhibitors of miRNA candidates were transfected into Müller cells, and a cell migration assay and additional cell viability assays were performed. The results revealed that the ILM components promoted Müller cell migration (p < 0.01). Among the miRNA candidates, miR-194-3p was upregulated, whereas miR-125b-1-3p, miR-132-3p, miR-146b-5p, miR-152-3p, miR-196a-5p, miR-542-5p, miR-871-3p, miR-1839-5p, and miR-3573-3p were significantly downregulated (p < 0.05; fold change > 1.5). Moreover, miR-152-3p and miR-196a-5p reduced cell migration (p < 0.05) and proliferation (p < 0.001), and their suppressive effects were reversed by their respective inhibitors. In conclusion, miRNAs were regulated in ILM component-activated Müller cells, with miR-152-3p and miR-196a-5p regulating Müller cell migration and proliferation. These results serve as a basis for understanding the molecular healing process of macular holes and identifying potential new target genes in future research. Full article

In professional training, it is important to provide students with opportunities to make judgments on practical cases. However, most training courses are conducted in a one-to-many teaching mode, and it is not easy to consider the needs of individual students. In this study, a technology-supported Decision, Reflection, and Interaction (DRI)-based professional training approach is proposed to cope with this problem for those courses aiming at fostering students’ competence in making correct judgments when facing real cases. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, an experiment was conducted. Two classes of 38 students from a nursing school were the participants. One class was an experimental group using the DRI-based professional training approach, and the other class was the control group using the conventional technology-assisted training approach. The experimental results showed that applying the proposed approach significantly improved the students’ learning achievement and self-efficacy more than the conventional technology-assisted approach. In addition, based on the interview results, the students generally believed that learning through the DRI-based professional training approach benefited them from several perspectives, including “increasing the value of activities”, “enhancing the planning and expensive capacity of conspicuous approaches”, “promoting decision-making”, “improving learning reflection”, and “providing students with personalized interaction”. Full article

Scholars have emphasized the importance of situating learners in authentic learning contexts. Nevertheless, it is sometimes challenging to provide learners with real contexts owing to various reasons, such as safety or economic consideration. The advent of virtual reality (VR) has provided the opportunity to enable learners to experience and interact in authentic contexts. On the other hand, researchers have pinpointed that, during the VR learning process, a student’s attempt or engagement levels play an important role in their knowledge gains. That is, without a clear goal, their learning outcomes could be disappointing. Hence, the present study proposes a goal-oriented reflection strategy-based VR (GRS-VR) model. Moreover, a VR-based learning system is developed based on the model. To examine the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a quasi-experiment was conducted in an English-speaking course at a junior high school. Two classes of ninth graders were recruited in this study: one class was an experimental group adopting the GRS-VR learning approach, while the other was a control group adopting the conventional VR (C-VR) learning approach. The results indicated that the experimental group had significantly better English oral performance, learning motivation and reflective thinking than the C-VR group. Full article

Learning mathematics has been considered as a great challenge for many students. The advancement of computer technologies, in particular, artificial intelligence (AI), provides an opportunity to cope with this problem by diagnosing individual students’ learning problems and providing personalized supports to maximize their learning performances in mathematics courses. However, there is a lack of reviews from diverse perspectives to help researchers, especially novices, gain a whole picture of the research of AI in mathematics education. To this end, this research aims to conduct a bibliometric mapping analysis and systematic review to explore the role and research trends of AI in mathematics education by searching for the relevant articles published in the quality journals indexed by the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) from the Web of Science (WOS) database. Moreover, by referring to the technology-based learning model, several dimensions of AI in mathematics education research, such as the application domains, participants, research methods, adopted technologies, research issues and the roles of AI as well as the citation and co-citation relationships, are taken into account. Accordingly, the advancements of AI in mathematics education research are reported, and potential research topics for future research are recommended. Full article