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International student mobility has increased in the past years. The inclusion of a highly heterogeneous group of students requires updated recruitment and admission strategies. A particularly vulnerable group of international students are refugees, who have an exceptionally high risk of dropping out of their studies. We present an entrance assessment of incoming international students from 77 countries who are at the beginning of their studies in Germany. Based on this unique sample, we examine (i) whether there are systematic country-specific effects on the economic literacy of beginning students of business and economics and (ii) whether refugee students differ from the group of international students. The results show that refugee students have a higher level of economic literacy although their country-specific prerequisites are worse. Hence, the results highlight the high relevance of an international assessment of heterogeneous vulnerable learner groups to promote their integration into the increasingly internationalized higher education sector.

Accessing higher education without having to overcome bureaucratic hurdles is a serious concern for refugees. Although empirical studies on the integration and success of refugees in higher education are scarce, the challenges related to this issue are becoming apparent. The Success and Opportunities for Refugees in Higher Education (SUCCESS) research project has been launched to investigate the effectiveness of new online study programs offered on the Kiron Open Higher Education (Kiron) platform that provides refugees with access to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). SUCCESS measures the prior knowledge and skills of refugee students and investigates to what extent their study opportunities, learning processes, and chances of academic success can be improved effectively through different forms of support provided in Kiron. In this paper, we present the assessment framework and study design of the SUCCESS project as well as data on 1,376 students entering the study program in Kiron in summer 2017. As students' language skills, intellectual abilities, and prior study-related knowledge play a significant role in their performance in higher education degree programs, we focus on the crucial introductory study phase and valid diagnostics of students' study preconditions. We analyze refugee students' sociobiographical and educational data such as gender, country of origin, highest level of education achieved etc. and examine their English language skills, intellectual abilities, and previous study domain related knowledge. We find extreme differences in levels of education and preconditions on starting to study in Kiron. Based on these results, we discuss implications for the effective and successful integration of refugee students in higher education.

Spliced alignments are a key step in the construction of high-quality homology-based annotations of protein sequences. The exon/intron structure, which is computed as part of spliced alignment procedures, often conveys important information for the distinguishing paralogous members of gene families. Here we present an exon-centric pipeline for spliced alignment that is intended in particular for applications that involve exon-by-exon comparisons of coding sequences. We show that the simple, blat-based approach has advantages over established tools in particular for genes with very large introns and applications to fragmented genome assemblies.

Gaining access to higher education (HE) is a serious concern for refugees. Although studies on the integration and success of refugees in HE are scarce, the challenges associated with this issue as well as its international relevance are becoming apparent. The "Success and Opportunities for Refugees in Higher Education" (SUCCESS) project was launched to investigate the effectiveness of new online study programs offered through the "Kiron Open Higher Education" (Kiron) platform, the aim of which is to provide refugees worldwide with the opportunity to access HE. The results of the first project phase based on data from the enrolment process present an extremely heterogeneous sample. The students come from 54 countries around the world and are currently located in over 66 countries; their educational biographies and their language proficiency vary greatly. The described diversity, especially between the different current places of residence, and possible implications for practice and politics are discussed. The evidence from the SUCCESS project indicates that refugee students exhibit significant differences in level of education, and internal and external (pre)conditions and that the successful integration of refugees into HE worldwide requires new approaches to designing effective instructional and assessment methods.

Aims Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with altered cAMP/PKA signaling and an AF-promoting reduction of L-type Ca2+-current (ICa,L), the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. Cyclic-nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) degrade cAMP and regulate PKA-dependent phosphorylation of key calcium-handling proteins, including the ICa,L-carrying Cav1.2α1C subunit. The aim was to assess whether altered function of PDE type-8 (PDE8) isoforms contributes to the reduction of ICa,L in persistent (chronic) AF (cAF) patients. Methods and results mRNA, protein levels, and localization of PDE8A and PDE8B isoforms were measured by RT-qPCR, western blot, co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence. PDE8 function was assessed by FRET, patch-clamp and sharp-electrode recordings. PDE8A gene and protein levels were higher in paroxysmal AF (pAF) vs. sinus rhythm (SR) patients, whereas PDE8B was upregulated in cAF only. Cytosolic abundance of PDE8A was higher in atrial pAF myocytes, whereas PDE8B tended to be more abundant at the plasmalemma in cAF myocytes. In co-immunoprecipitation, only PDE8B2 showed binding to Cav1.2α1C subunit which was strongly increased in cAF. Accordingly, Cav1.2α1C showed a lower phosphorylation at Ser1928 in association with decreased ICa,L in cAF. Selective PDE8 inhibition increased Ser1928 phosphorylation of Cav1.2α1C, enhanced cAMP at the subsarcolemma and rescued the lower ICa,L in cAF, which was accompanied by a prolongation of action potential duration at 50% of repolarization. Conclusion Both PDE8A and PDE8B are expressed in human heart. Upregulation of PDE8B isoforms in cAF reduces ICa,L via direct interaction of PDE8B2 with the Cav1.2α1C subunit. Thus, upregulated PDE8B2 might serve as a novel molecular mechanism of the proarrhythmic reduction of ICa,L in cAF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]