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Computational thinking (CT) is an important 21st-century skill. This paper aims at investigating predictors of CT self-efficacy among high-school students. The hypothesized predictors are grouped into three areas: (1) student characteristics, (2) home environment, and (3) learning opportunities. CT self-efficacy is measured with the Computational Thinking Scales (CTS) that comprises five dimensions: creativity, algorithmic thinking, cooperativity, critical thinking, and problem solving. N = 202 high-school students act as the sample, linear regression as the analysis method. The best prediction is possible for algorithmic thinking (R[superscript 2] = 0.511). For cooperativity, the explanatory power of our model it is weak (R[superscript 2] = 0.146). Across all five CTS dimensions, CT self-concept is the best predictor for CT self-efficacy. [For the full proceedings, see ED636095.]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has far-reaching implications for education. Within organizations, especially companies, human resource development (HRD) enables and supports learning processes among employees. In a similar way to teachers and lecturers, HRD professionals play an important role in implementing AI in HRD. However, there is a lack of quantitative empirical evidence about this process. The aim of this paper is to shed light on how HRD professionals position themselves with respect to AI. The concept of Davenport and Kirby's augmentation strategies, adapted to HRD, act as the theoretical background. The core idea of augmentation lies in human-AI collaboration. In our study, we empirically validate this concept of augmentation strategies and predict the extent to which HRD professionals pursue the five strategies: step in, step up, step forward, step aside, and step narrowly. The predictors are grouped into three areas: attitudes, competence beliefs, and goal orientation. HRD professionals (N = 330) from German-speaking countries act as the sample. Covariance based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) act as the method for data analysis. The findings reveal the crucial impact of cognitive attitudes towards digitalization and AI anxiety when pursuing the augmentation strategies. AI competence beliefs are an important predictor for collaboration with AI. General digital competence beliefs can only indirectly predict the augmentation strategies. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Computational thinking (CT) is an important 21st-century skill. This paper aims at more useful CT assessment. Available evaluation instruments are reviewed; two generally accepted CT evaluation tools are selected for a comprehensive CT assessment: the CTt, a performance test, and the CTS, a self-assessment instrument. The sample comprises 202 high school students from German-speaking Switzerland. Concerning the CTt, Rasch-scalability is demonstrated. Utilizing the approach of the PISA studies, proficiency levels are formed that comprise tasks with specific characteristics that students are systematically able to master. This could help teachers to offer individual support to their students. In terms of the CTS, the original version is refined using confirmatory factor and measurement-invariance analysis. A latent profile analysis yielded four profiles, two of which are of particular interest. One profile comprises students with, on the one hand, moderate to high creative thinking ability, cooperativity, and critical thinking skills and, on the other hand, low algorithmic thinking ability. The second remarkable profile consists of students with particularly low cooperativity. Based on these strength and weakness profiles, teachers could offer support tailored to student needs.

IntroductionExtracellular ATP (eATP) released from damaged cells activates the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) ion channel on the surface of surrounding cells, resulting in calcium influx, potassium efflux and inflammasome activation. Inherited changes in the P2X7R gene (P2RX7) influence eATP induced responses. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of P2RX7 influence both function and signaling of the receptor, that in addition to ion flux includes pathogen control and immunity.MethodsSubjects (n = 105) were admitted to the ICU at the University Hospital Ulm, Germany between June 2018 and August 2019. Of these, subjects with a diagnosis of sepsis (n = 75), were also diagnosed with septic shock (n = 24), and/or pneumonia (n = 42). Subjects with pneumonia (n = 43) included those without sepsis (n = 1), sepsis without shock (n = 29) and pneumonia with septic shock (n = 13). Out of the 75 sepsis/septic shock patients, 33 patients were not diagnosed with pneumonia. Controls (n = 30) were recruited to the study from trauma patients and surgical patients without sepsis, septic shock, or pneumonia. SNP frequencies were determined for 16 P2RX7 SNPs known to affect P2X7R function, and association studies were performed between frequencies of these SNPs in sepsis, septic shock, and pneumonia compared to controls.ResultsThe loss-of-function (LOF) SNP rs17525809 (T253C) was found more frequently in patients with septic shock, and non-septic trauma patients when compared to sepsis. The LOF SNP rs2230911 (C1096G) was found to be more frequent in patients with sepsis and septic shock than in non-septic trauma patients. The frequencies of these SNPs were even higher in sepsis and septic patients with pneumonia. The current study also confirmed a previous study by our group that showed a five SNP combination that included the GOF SNPs rs208294 (C489T) and rs2230912 (Q460R) that was designated #21211 was associated with increased odds of survival in severe sepsis.DiscussionThe results found an association between expression of LOF P2RX7 SNPs and presentation to the ICU with sepsis, and septic shock compared to control ICU patients. Furthermore, frequencies of LOF SNPs were found to be higher in sepsis patients with pneumonia compared to those without pneumonia. In addition, a five SNP GOF combination was associated with increased odds of survival in severe sepsis. These results suggest that P2RX7 is required to control infection in pneumonia and that inheritance of LOF variants increases the risk of sepsis when associated with pneumonia. This study confirms that P2RX7 genotyping in pneumonia may identify patients at risk of developing sepsis. The study also identifies P2X7R as a target in sepsis associated with an excessive immune response in subjects with GOF SNP combinations.

The genus Alphavirus harbors arboviruses of great concern, such as the Chikungunya virus and the equine encephalitis viruses. Transmission of pathogenic alphaviruses by mosquitoes could be influenced by insect-specific alphaviruses such as Eilat virus (EILV). However, insect-specific alphaviruses are rarely found in wild mosquitoes and only a few have been described in the literature. Here, we report the detection of EILV in a Culex univittatus mosquito from the north-eastern Namibian Zambezi region. Full genome analysis of MP458-NA-2018 showed 94.5% nucleotide identity to an EILV isolate from Israel. MP458-NA-2018 grouped with EILV in phylogenetic analysis and was placed within the clade of insect-specific alphaviruses. The virus was isolated in mosquito cells and shown to be restricted to insects as hosts by the inability to infect different vertebrate cell lines and a complete block of virus replication at 34°C. We further showed that infection of cells with EILV MP458-NA-2018 reduced production of infectious particles of Sindbis virus by 2000-fold over the entire course of infection, whereas reduction rates of Bagaza and Middleburg virus were approximately 3-10-fold and dependent on time after infection. While production of infectious particles of cells superinfected with the Chikungunya virus were approximately 30-fold reduced and more pronounced at a lower multiplicity of infection of 0.01, EILV seemed to enhance production of West Nile virus infectious particles by >5-fold when superinfected at a multiplicitiy of infection of 0.1. In summary, EILV from the Namibian Zambezi region influences in vitro replication of endemic flavi- and alphaviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Alphavirus harbors arboviruses of great concern, such as the Chikungunya virus and the equine encephalitis viruses. Transmission of pathogenic alphaviruses by mosquitoes could be influenced by insect-specific alphaviruses such as Eilat virus (EILV). However, insect-specific alphaviruses are rarely found in wild mosquitoes and only a few have been described in the literature. Here, we report the detection of EILV in a Culex univittatus mosquito from the north-eastern Namibian Zambezi region. Full genome analysis of MP458-NA-2018 showed 94.5% nucleotide identity to an EILV isolate from Israel. MP458-NA-2018 grouped with EILV in phylogenetic analysis and was placed within the clade of insect-specific alphaviruses. The virus was isolated in mosquito cells and shown to be restricted to insects as hosts by the inability to infect different vertebrate cell lines and a complete block of virus replication at 34°C. We further showed that infection of cells with EILV MP458-NA-2018 reduced production of infectious particles of Sindbis virus by 2000-fold over the entire course of infection, whereas reduction rates of Bagaza and Middleburg virus were approximately 3-10-fold and dependent on time after infection. While production of infectious particles of cells superinfected with the Chikungunya virus were approximately 30-fold reduced and more pronounced at a lower multiplicity of infection of 0.01, EILV seemed to enhance production of West Nile virus infectious particles by >5-fold when superinfected at a multiplicitiy of infection of 0.1. In summary, EILV from the Namibian Zambezi region influences in vitro replication of endemic flavi- and alphaviruses.

Introduction: Extracellular ATP (eATP) released from damaged cells activates the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) ion channel on the surface of surrounding cells, resulting in calcium influx, potassium efflux and inflammasome activation. Inherited changes in the P2X7R gene (P2RX7) influence eATP induced responses. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of P2RX7 influence both function and signaling of the receptor, that in addition to ion flux includes pathogen control and immunity. Methods: Subjects (n = 105) were admitted to the ICU at the University Hospital Ulm, Germany between June 2018 and August 2019. Of these, subjects with a diagnosis of sepsis (n = 75), were also diagnosed with septic shock (n = 24), and/ or pneumonia (n = 42). Subjects with pneumonia (n = 43) included those without sepsis (n = 1), sepsis without shock (n = 29) and pneumonia with septic shock (n = 13). Out of the 75 sepsis/septic shock patients, 33 patients were not diagnosed with pneumonia. Controls (n = 30) were recruited to the study from trauma patients and surgical patients without sepsis, septic shock, or pneumonia. SNP frequencies were determined for 16 P2RX7 SNPs known to affect P2X7R function, and association studies were performed between frequencies of these SNPs in sepsis, septic shock, and pneumonia compared to controls. Results: The loss-of-function (LOF) SNP rs17525809 (T253C) was found more frequently in patients with septic shock, and non-septic trauma patients when compared to sepsis. The LOF SNP rs2230911 (C1096G) was found to be more frequent in patients with sepsis and septic shock than in non-septic trauma patients. The frequencies of these SNPs were even higher in sepsis and septic patients with pneumonia. The current study also confirmed a previous study by our group that showed a five SNP combination that included the GOF SNPs rs208294 (C489T) and rs2230912 (Q460R) that was designated #21211 was associated with increased odds of survival in severe sepsis. Discussion: The results found an association between expression of LOF P2RX7 SNPs and presentation to the ICU with sepsis, and septic shock compared to control ICU patients. Furthermore, frequencies of LOF SNPs were found to be higher in sepsis patients with pneumonia compared to those without pneumonia. In addition, a five SNP GOF combinationwas associated with increased odds of survival in severe sepsis. These results suggest that P2RX7 is required to control infection in pneumonia and that inheritance of LOF variants increases the risk of sepsis when associated with pneumonia. This study confirms that P2RX7 genotyping in pneumonia may identify patients at risk of developing sepsis. The study also identifies P2X7R as a target in sepsis associated with an excessive immune response in subjects with GOF SNP combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of hitherto unknown viral pathogens presents a great challenge for researchers to develop effective therapeutics and vaccines within a short time to avoid an uncontrolled global spread, as seen during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, rapid and simple methods to identify immunogenic antigens as potential therapeutical targets are urgently needed for a better pandemic preparedness. To address this problem, we chose the well-characterized Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-T7pol expression system to establish a workflow to identify immunogens when a new pathogen emerges, generate candidate vaccines, and test their immunogenicity in an animal model. By using this system, we detected severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleoprotein (N)-, and spike (S)-specific antibodies in COVID-19 patient sera, which is in line with the current literature and our observations from previous immunogenicity studies. Furthermore, we detected antibodies directed against the SARS-CoV-2-membrane (M) and -ORF3a proteins in COVID-19 patient sera and aimed to generate recombinant MVA candidate vaccines expressing either the M or ORF3a protein. When testing our candidate vaccines in a prime-boost immunization regimen in humanized HLA-A2.1-/HLA-DR1-transgenic H-2 class I-/class II-knockout mice, we were able to demonstrate M- and ORF3a-specific cellular and humoral immune responses. Hence, the established workflow using the MVA-T7pol expression system represents a rapid and efficient tool to identify potential immunogenic antigens and provides a basis for future development of candidate vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]