Role of the cellular prion protein in oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation and differentiation in the developing and adult mouse CNS

There are numerous studies describing the signaling mechanisms that mediate oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) proliferation and differentiation, although the contribution of the cellular prion protein (PrPc) to this process remains unclear. PrPc is a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored glycoprotein involved in diverse cellular processes during the development and maturation of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Here we describe how PrPc influences oligodendrocyte proliferation in the developing and adult CNS. OPCs that lack PrPc proliferate more vigorously at the expense of a delay in differentiation, which correlates with changes in the expression of oligodendrocyte lineage markers. In addition, numerous NG2-positive cells were observed in cortical regions of adult PrPc knockout mice, although no significant changes in myelination can be seen, probably due to the death of surplus cells.

A Virtual Laboratory Structure for Developing Programming Labs

Virtual Laboratories are an indispensablespace for developing practical activities in a Virtual Environment. In the field of Computer and Software Engineering different types of practical activities have tobe performed in order to obtain basic competences which are impossible to achieve by other means. This paper specifies an ontology for a general virtual laboratory.The proposed ontology provides a mechanism to select the best resources needed in a Virtual Laboratory once a specific practical activity has been defined and the maincompetences that students have to achieve in the learning process have been fixed. Furthermore, the proposed ontology can be used to develop an automatic and wizardtool that creates a Moodle Classroom using the practical activity specification and the related competences.

CRM and higher education : developing a monitoring system to improve relationships in e-learning environments

Peer-reviewed

The Determinants of Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

We address the question of what determines entrepreneurship in developing countries. In particular, because of the influence that this may have on the design of entrepreneurship policies, our main concern is whether the determinants of entrepreneurship are the same and/or have the same impact in developed and developing countries. To this end, we discuss the arguments put forward in the literature in support of the existence of differences in the determinants of entrepreneurship between developed and developing countries. We also analyse the results found in empirical studies on the determinants of formal firm entry (following the World Bank, our proxy of entrepreneurship) in developing countries and compare these results with those typically found in developed countries. Our main conclusion is that policy makers in developing economies should be careful when using evidence from developed countries to design entrepreneurship-promoting policies. Key words: entrepreneurship, developing countries. JEL: O1; O12; L26; M13

A panel data analysis of FDI and informal labor markets

The objective of this paper is to examine whether informal labor markets affect the flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and also whether this effect is similar in developed and developing countries. With this aim, different public data sources, such as the World Bank (WB), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) are used, and panel econometric models are estimated for a sample of 65 countries over a 14 year period (1996-2009). In addition, this paper uses a dynamic model as an extension of the analysis to establish whether such an effect exists and what its indicators and significance may be.

'Situaciones problema' y desarrollo de la competencia motriz en educación física escolar: cuestiones didácticas = Problem situations and developing motor competence in Physical Education at school: didactic questions

From the areas of motor learning and the teaching of Physical Education we promote coherent methodological orientationswith the present curricular guide that are focused in such a way so that the student is able to act independently. In thissense we may consider the problem situations as a good example for methodological proposals. So as to determine its useand adequateness for Physical Education it is conveniente to analyse the characteristics of the motor tasks that areproposed as well as the features of the teaching intervention in such a way as to ease the adquisition and development ofthe motor competence of the students