University of Luxembourg

About: University of Luxembourg is a education organization based out in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & European union. The organization has 4744 authors who have published 22175 publications receiving 381824 citations.

Pragmatising the curriculum: bringing knowledge back into the curriculum conversation, but via pragmatism

Abstract: In this paper, I explore the role of knowledge in the curriculum through a discussion of John Dewey's transactional theory of knowing. I do so against the background of recent calls to bring knowledge back into the discussion about the curriculum in which pragmatism has been depicted as a problematic form of relativism that should have no place in contemporary curriculum theory and practice. I show that rather than being a form of relativism, pragmatism actually moves beyond the modern opposition of objectivism versus relativism. Dewey's transactional theory of knowing moves the question of knowledge from the domain of certainty to the domain of possibility. I show in this paper how Dewey develops this argument and give reasons why this is an important contribution to the ongoing discussion about knowledge and the curriculum.

Higher Spin Gravity Amplitudes From Zero-form Charges

Abstract: We examine zero-form charges in Vasiliev's four-dimensional bosonic higher spin gravities. These are classical observables given by integrals over noncommutative twistor space of adjoint combinations of the zero-form master fields, including insertions of delta functions in the deformed oscillators serving as gauge invariant regulators. The regularized charges admit perturbative expansions in terms of multi-linear functionals in the Weyl zero-form, which are Bose symmetric and higher spin invariant by construction, and that can be interpreted as basic building blocks for higher spin gravity amplitudes. We compute two- and three-point functions by attaching external legs given by unfolded bulk-to-boundary propagators, and identify the result with the two- and three-current correlation functions in theories of free conformal scalars and fermions in three dimensions. Modulo assumptions on the structure of the sub-leading corrections, and relying on the generalized Hamiltonian off-shell formulation, we are thus led to propose an expression for the free energy as a sum of suitably normalized zero-form charges

A genomic perspective on vitamin D signaling.

Abstract: The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a ligand-inducible transcription factor whose target genes play key roles in cellular metabolism, bone formation, cellular growth, differentiation and in controlling inflammation. Many of these VDR target genes are also involved in dysregulated pathways leading to common human diseases, such as cancer. The activation of VDR by natural and synthetic ligands may improve such pathological conditions. On a genomic level, these pathways converge on regulatory modules, some of which contain VDR-binding sites, so-called vitamin D response elements (VDREs). Transcriptome analysis, chromatin immunoprecipitation scans and in silico screening approaches have already identified many genomic targets of the VDR. Important cancer regulatory modules with VDREs should have a major impact on understanding the role and potential therapeutic value of VDR in cancer.

Particulate matter from both heavy fuel oil and diesel fuel shipping emissions show strong biological effects on human lung cells at realistic and comparable in vitro exposure conditions

Abstract: Background Ship engine emissions are important with regard to lung and cardiovascular diseases especially in coastal regions worldwide. Known cellular responses to combustion particles include oxidative stress and inflammatory signalling. Objectives To provide a molecular link between the chemical and physical characteristics of ship emission particles and the cellular responses they elicit and to identify potentially harmful fractions in shipping emission aerosols. Methods Through an air-liquid interface exposure system, we exposed human lung cells under realistic in vitro conditions to exhaust fumes from a ship engine running on either common heavy fuel oil (HFO) or cleaner-burning diesel fuel (DF). Advanced chemical analyses of the exhaust aerosols were combined with transcriptional, proteomic and metabolomic profiling including isotope labelling methods to characterise the lung cell responses. Results The HFO emissions contained high concentrations of toxic compounds such as metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and were higher in particle mass. These compounds were lower in DF emissions, which in turn had higher concentrations of elemental carbon (“soot”). Common cellular reactions included cellular stress responses and endocytosis. Reactions to HFO emissions were dominated by oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, whereas DF emissions induced generally a broader biological response than HFO emissions and affected essential cellular pathways such as energy metabolism, protein synthesis, and chromatin modification. Conclusions Despite a lower content of known toxic compounds, combustion particles from the clean shipping fuel DF influenced several essential pathways of lung cell metabolism more strongly than particles from the unrefined fuel HFO. This might be attributable to a higher soot content in DF. Thus the role of diesel soot, which is a known carcinogen in acute air pollution-induced health effects should be further investigated. For the use of HFO and DF we recommend a reduction of carbonaceous soot in the ship emissions by implementation of filtration devices.