Differential Requirement for c-Jun N-terminal Kinase 1 in Lung Inflammation and Host Defense

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) - 1 pathway has been implicated in the cellular response to stress in many tissues and models. JNK1 is known to play a role in a variety of signaling cascades, including those involved in lung disease pathogenesis. Recently, a role for JNK1 signaling in immune cell function has emerged. The goal of the present study was to determine the role of JNK1 in host defense against both bacterial and viral pneumonia, as well as the impact of JNK1 signaling on IL-17 mediated immunity. Wild type (WT) and JNK1 −/− mice were challenged with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, or Influenza A. In addition, WT and JNK1 −/− mice and epithelial cells were stimulated with IL-17A. The impact of JNK1 deletion on pathogen clearance, inflammation, and histopathology was assessed. JNK1 was required for clearance of E. coli, inflammatory cell recruitment, and cytokine production. Interestingly, JNK1 deletion had only a small impact on the host response to S. aureus. JNK1 −/− mice had decreased Influenza A burden in viral pneumonia, yet displayed worsened morbidity. Finally, JNK1 was required for IL-17A mediated induction of inflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial peptides both in epithelial cells and the lung. These data identify JNK1 as an important signaling molecule in host defense and demonstrate a pathogen specific role in disease. Manipulation of the JNK1 pathway may represent a novel therapeutic target in pneumonia

Making the invisible visible : on professional development initiated by the teachers themselves

New technology provides teachers with a variety of ways for choosing forms and content of professional development. Teachers in Sweden widely use Facebook as a way of professional development. Within Facebook teachers create groups and pose questions and responses in issues regarding teaching they themselves choose. Our research focuses on the subjects mathematics and Swedish and maps what kind of questions and comments teachers post in relation to the different parts of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), as described by Shulman. Our question is if there are specific parts of PCK that appear of more interest in such Facebook groups. The outcome has implications for pre-service and in-service teacher education as the outcome will inform on challenges and difficulties teachers encounter once practicing as a teacher. Such challenges and difficulties have previously been hidden as teachers have not publically discussed these issues</p

Making the invisible visible [Elektronisk resurs] : on professional development initiated by the teachers themselves

New technology provides teachers with a variety of ways for choosing forms and content of professional development. Teachers in Sweden widely use Facebook as a way of professional development. Within Facebook teachers create groups and pose questions and responses in issues regarding teaching they themselves choose. Our research focuses on the subjects mathematics and Swedish and maps what kind of questions and comments teachers post in relation to the different parts of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), as described by Shulman.Our question is if there are specific parts of PCK that appear of more interest in such Facebook groups. The outcome has implications for pre-service and in-service teacher education as the outcome will inform on challenges and difficulties teachers encounter once practicing as a teacher. Such challenges and difficulties have previously been hidden as teachers have not publically discussed these issues</p

Capturing, Managing and Analyzing Teachers' Informal Professional Development on Social Media

Teachers’ professional discussions have now expanded onto different platforms on social media. Collecting such digital open accessible data from social media brings new challenges for educational researchers. Teachers’ discussions on Facebook are the focus of this study and the methodological issues coming from capturing, managing and analyzing our data are explored. Different social media generate different types of data and the difference between dialogical and monological communication becomes clear. Further, the issue of anonymity requires special attention, as one has to redefine what can be considered public information. As the data is relatively easy to gather, it can result in large quantities and a stratified sample of the data is suggested, both for qualitative and generalizable results. This report aims to convey our findings but also raises some unresolved questions, for instance concerning the use of different modalities or future technological development.