Investigating university students' adaptation to digital learner course portfolio

Digital learner portfolios are of growing importance in higher education as the sector seeks new teaching-learning-assessment methods which promote students" autonomy as managers of their own virtual learning environment. The purpose of this study was to analyse descriptively the undergraduate students" perceptions, attitudes and behaviour when using an eportfolio to support their learning and assessment in practice based courses at two traditional Spanish universities. The participants were 88 students, who were studying through a blended learning mode. Data were collected through questionnaires: a computer experience survey, another which examined the psychological, pedagogical and technological dimensions of eportfolios use. Further, an individual overall reflection was obtained from each student to help gain an understanding of their experiences of using the eportfolio. A mixed-method analysis was applied in order to study the impact of this technological innovation on students and their satisfaction. The results showed that the students had positive opinions and self-efficiency through the eportfolio as a tool to manage their learning and assessment during a semester, especially from the second month of use. However, the expected impact on their learning was not so significant. Nevertheless, the students emphasised that the eportfolio was valuable as a personal developmental learning tool.

Poland’s adaptation to the CFSP: success or failure?

This paper attempts to analyse the process of Poland’s adaptation to the European Union in the area of CFSP before the enlargement in order to show if such institutional processes might have impact on the present Polish position in the EU’s foreign policy. The first, introductory section sets out the analytical framework of such processes based upon the adaptation concept definition. The second section provides the analysis of Polish predisposition to adapt to the emerging external challenge. The third section is dedicated to the analysis of the institutional relations between Poland and EU paying special attention to the CFSP area. The fourth section discusses the Polish behavior towards different aspects of CFSP cooperation and her positions regarding further development of this area of European integration.

Calcium homeostasis in the central nervous system: adaptation to neurodegeneration.

Here we review the results of our recent studies on neurodegeneration together with data on cerebral calcium precipitation in animal models and humans. A model that integrates the diversity of mechanisms involved in neurodegeneration is presented and discussed based on the functional relevance of calcium precipitation.

Phenotyping maize for adaptation to drought

The need of a better adaptation of crops to drought is an issue of increasing urgency. However, enhancing the tolerance of maize has, therefore, proved to be somewhat elusive in terms of plant breeding. In that context, proper phenotyping remains as one of the main factors limiting breeding advance. Topics covered by this review include the conceptual framework for identifying secondary traits associated with yield response to drought and how to measure these secondary traits in practice.

Use of physiological constraints to identify quantitative design principles for gene expression in yeast adaptation to heat shock

Background: Understanding the relationship between gene expression changes, enzyme activity shifts, and the corresponding physiological adaptive response of organisms to environmental cues is crucial in explaining how cells cope with stress. For example, adaptation of yeast to heat shock involves a characteristic profile of changes to the expression levels of genes coding for enzymes of the glycolytic pathway and some of its branches. The experimental determination of changes in gene expression profiles provides a descriptive picture of the adaptive response to stress. However, it does not explain why a particular profile is selected for any given response. Results: We used mathematical models and analysis of in silico gene expression profiles (GEPs) to understand how changes in gene expression correlate to an efficient response of yeast cells to heat shock. An exhaustive set of GEPs, matched with the corresponding set of enzyme activities, was simulated and analyzed. The effectiveness of each profile in the response to heat shock was evaluated according to relevant physiological and functional criteria. The small subset of GEPs that lead to effective physiological responses after heat shock was identified as the result of the tuning of several evolutionary criteria. The experimentally observed transcriptional changes in response to heat shock belong to this set and can be explained by quantitative design principles at the physiological level that ultimately constrain changes in gene expression. Conclusion: Our theoretical approach suggests a method for understanding the combined effect of changes in the expression of multiple genes on the activity of metabolic pathways, and consequently on the adaptation of cellular metabolism to heat shock. This method identifies quantitative design principles that facilitate understating the response of the cell to stress.

Distribution of events of positive selection and population differentiation in a metabolic pathway: the case of asparagine N-glycosylation

Background: Asparagine N-Glycosylation is one of the most important forms of protein post-translational modification in eukaryotes. This metabolic pathway can be subdivided into two parts: an upstream sub-pathway required for achieving proper folding for most of the proteins synthesized in the secretory pathway, and a downstream sub-pathway required to give variability to trans-membrane proteins, and involved in adaptation to the environment andinnate immunity. Here we analyze the nucleotide variability of the genes of this pathway in human populations, identifying which genes show greater population differentiation and which genes show signatures of recent positive selection. We also compare how these signals are distributed between the upstream and the downstream parts of the pathway, with the aim of exploring how forces of population differentiation and positive selection vary among genes involved in the same metabolic pathway but subject to different functional constraints. Results:Our results show that genes in the downstream part of the pathway are more likely to show a signature of population differentiation, while events of positive selection are equally distributed among the two parts of the pathway. Moreover, events of positive selection arefrequent on genes that are known to be at bifurcation points, and that are identified as beingin key position by a network-level analysis such as MGAT3 and GCS1.Conclusions: These findings indicate that the upstream part of the Asparagine N-Glycosylation pathway has lower diversity among populations, while the downstream part is freer to tolerate diversity among populations. Moreover, the distribution of signatures of population differentiation and positive selection can change between parts of a pathway, especially between parts that are exposed to different functional constraints. Our results support the hypothesis that genes involved in constitutive processes can be expected to show lower population differentiation, while genes involved in traits related to the environment should show higher variability. Taken together, this work broadens our knowledge on how events of population differentiation and of positive selection are distributed among different parts of a metabolic pathway.

Distribution of events of positive selection and population differentiation in a metabolic pathway: the case of asparagine N-glycosylation

Asparagine N-Glycosylation is one of the most important forms of protein post-translational modification in eukaryotes. This metabolic pathway can be subdivided into two parts: an upstream sub-pathway required for achieving proper folding for most of the proteins synthesized in the secretory pathway, and a downstream sub-pathway required to give variability to trans-membrane proteins, and involved in adaptation to the environment and innate immunity. Here we analyze the nucleotide variability of the genes of this pathway in human populations, identifying which genes show greater population differentiation and which genes show signatures of recent positive selection. We also compare how these signals are distributed between the upstream and the downstream parts of the pathway, with the aim of exploring how forces of population differentiation and positive selection vary among genes involved in the same metabolic pathway but subject to different functional constraints. Our results show that genes in the downstream part of the pathway are more likely to show a signature of population differentiation, while events of positive selection are equally distributed among the two parts of the pathway. Moreover, events of positive selection are frequent on genes that are known to be at bifurcation points, and that are identified as being in key position by a network-level analysis such as MGAT3 and GCS1. These findings indicate that the upstream part of the Asparagine N-Glycosylation pathway has lower diversity among populations, while the downstream part is freer to tolerate diversity among populations. Moreover, the distribution of signatures of population differentiation and positive selection can change between parts of a pathway, especially between parts that are exposed to different functional constraints. Our results support the hypothesis that genes involved in constitutive processes can be expected to show lower population differentiation, while genes involved in traits related to the environment should show higher variability. Taken together, this work broadens our knowledge on how events of population differentiation and of positive selection are distributed among different parts of a metabolic pathway.

Evolutionary dynamics of molecular markers during local adaptation: a case study in Drosophila subobscura

Background: Natural selection and genetic drift are major forces responsible for temporal genetic changes in populations. Furthermore, these evolutionary forces may interact with each other. Here we study the impact of an ongoing adaptive process at the molecular genetic level by analyzing the temporal genetic changes throughout 40 generations of adaptation to a common laboratory environment. Specifically, genetic variability, population differentiation and demographic structure were compared in two replicated groups of Drosophila subobscura populations recently sampled from different wild sources. Results: We found evidence for a decline in genetic variability through time, along with an increase in genetic differentiation between all populations studied. The observed decline in genetic variability was higher during the first 14 generations of laboratory adaptation. The two groups of replicated populations showed overall similarity in variability patterns. Our results also revealed changing demographic structure of the populations during laboratory evolution, with lower effective population sizes in the early phase of the adaptive process. One of the ten microsatellites analyzed showed a clearly distinct temporal pattern of allele frequency change, suggesting the occurrence of positive selection affecting the region around that particular locus. Conclusion: Genetic drift was responsible for most of the divergence and loss of variability between and within replicates, with most changes occurring during the first generations of laboratory adaptation. We also found evidence suggesting a selective sweep, despite the low number of molecular markers analyzed. Overall, there was a similarity of evolutionary dynamics at the molecular level in our laboratory populations, despite distinct genetic backgrounds and some differences in phenotypic evolution.

Molecular evidence to suggest the origin of a colonization: Drosophila subobscura in America

Abstract The recent colonization of America by Drosophila subobscura represents a great opportunity for evolutionary biology studies. Knowledge of the populations from which the colonization started would provide an understanding of how genetic composition changed during adaptation to the new environment. Thus, a 793 nucleotide fragment of the Odh (Octanol dehydrogenase) gene was sequenced in 66 chromosomal lines from Barcelona (western Mediterranean) and in 66 from Mt. Parnes (Greece, eastern Mediterranean). No sequence of Odh fragment in Barcelona or Mt. Parnes was identical to any of those previously detected in America. However, an Odh sequence from Barcelona differed in only one nucleotide from another found in American populations. In both cases, the chromosomal lines presented the same inversion: O7, and the Odh gene was located within this inversion. This evidence suggests a possible western Mediterranean origin for the colonization. Finally, the molecular and inversion data indicate that the colonization was not characterized by multiple reintroductions.

Teleost fish larvae adapt to dietary arachidonic acid supply through modulation of the expression of lipid metabolism and stress response genes

Dietary fatty acid supply can affect stress response in fish during early development. Although knowledge on the mechanisms involved in fatty acid regulation of stress tolerance is scarce, it has often been hypothesised that eicosanoid profiles can influence cortisol production. Genomic cortisol actions are mediated by cytosolic receptors which may respond to cellular fatty acid signalling. An experiment was designed to test the effects of feeding gilthead sea-bream larvae with four microdiets, containing graded arachidonic acid (ARA) levels (0·4, 0·8, 1·5 and 3·0 %), on the expression of genes involved in stress response (steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, glucocorticoid receptor and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase), lipid and, particularly, eicosanoid metabolism (hormone-sensitive lipase, PPARα, phospholipase A2, cyclo-oxygenase-2 and 5-lipoxygenase), as determined by real-time quantitative PCR. Fish fatty acid phenotypes reflected dietary fatty acid profiles. Growth performance, survival after acute stress and similar whole-body basal cortisol levels suggested that sea-bream larvae could tolerate a wide range of dietary ARA levels. Transcription of all genes analysed was significantly reduced at dietary ARA levels above 0·4 %. Nonetheless, despite practical suppression of phospholipase A2 transcription, higher leukotriene B4 levels were detected in larvae fed 3·0 % ARA, whereas a similar trend was observed regarding PGE2 production. The present study demonstrates that adaptation to a wide range of dietary ARA levels in gilthead sea-bream larvae involves the modulation of the expression of genes related to eicosanoid synthesis, lipid metabolism and stress response. The roles of ARA, other polyunsaturates and eicosanoids as signals in this process are discussed.

Metodologías de desarrollo de proyectos informáticos en entornos web

El presente TFC tiene dos objetivos principales: 1. Determinar el grado de adaptación de las metodologías ágiles al desarrollo de proyectos web puesta en contexto con la adaptación de las metodologías clásicas a este mismo entorno. 2. Realizar una clasificación de las metodologías de desarrollo de software según el grado de adaptación a los proyectos web.

Un programa psicosocial: programa psicoestimulatiu integral (P.P.I.) amb persones afectades de malaltia d' Alzheimer

L'any 2011 la malaltia d'Alzheimer es situava com la quarta causa de mort més freqüent amb un augment de fins a 11.907, més del doble de morts que l'any 2000 (INE). Aquestes dades demostren l'augment del número de persones que pateixen una demència a mesura que envelleixen i una de les explicacions és l'augment de l'esperança de vida. Per aquest motiu l'estudi de la qualitat de vida ha adquirit una gran importància des de la dècada dels 90. La qualitat de vida és un concepte especialment subjectiu pel fet que cada persona la viu segons la pròpia percepció de salut i benestar i el grau d'adaptació a l'entorn que l'envolta. Per aquest motiu es planteja un programa de psicoestimulació integral (PPI) centrat en les individualitats de cada persona: valors, interessos, història ocupacional..., des de la filosofia de la Teràpia Ocupacional. El projecte està elaborat mitjançant la metodologia qualitativa utilitzant l'enquesta en profunditat semi-estructurada per a realitzar les entrevistes i obtenir la informació principal a l'inici i al final del programa juntament amb tota la informació que s'obtingui de l'observació participant del dia a dia de cada un dels professionals per tal d'estudiar fins a quin punt aquesta atenció centrada en la persona contribueix a millorar la qualitat de vida de les persones afectades de Malaltia d'Alzheimer que reben tractaments no farmacològics com el proposat en aquest projecte. Com a tot estudi es poden trobar alguns factors condicionants com pot ser l'evolució pròpia de la malaltia amb les conseqüències negatives que això comporta i/o el número de participants que formen la mostra.

Identifying quantitative operation principles in metabolic pathways: a systematic method for searching feasible enzyme activity patterns leading to cellular adaptive responses

Background: Optimization methods allow designing changes in a system so that specific goals are attained. These techniques are fundamental for metabolic engineering. However, they are not directly applicable for investigating the evolution of metabolic adaptation to environmental changes. Although biological systems have evolved by natural selection and result in well-adapted systems, we can hardly expect that actual metabolic processes are at the theoretical optimum that could result from an optimization analysis. More likely, natural systems are to be found in a feasible region compatible with global physiological requirements. Results: We first present a new method for globally optimizing nonlinear models of metabolic pathways that are based on the Generalized Mass Action (GMA) representation. The optimization task is posed as a nonconvex nonlinear programming (NLP) problem that is solved by an outer- approximation algorithm. This method relies on solving iteratively reduced NLP slave subproblems and mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) master problems that provide valid upper and lower bounds, respectively, on the global solution to the original NLP. The capabilities of this method are illustrated through its application to the anaerobic fermentation pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We next introduce a method to identify the feasibility parametric regions that allow a system to meet a set of physiological constraints that can be represented in mathematical terms through algebraic equations. This technique is based on applying the outer-approximation based algorithm iteratively over a reduced search space in order to identify regions that contain feasible solutions to the problem and discard others in which no feasible solution exists. As an example, we characterize the feasible enzyme activity changes that are compatible with an appropriate adaptive response of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to heat shock Conclusion: Our results show the utility of the suggested approach for investigating the evolution of adaptive responses to environmental changes. The proposed method can be used in other important applications such as the evaluation of parameter changes that are compatible with health and disease states.

Age-Related Tooth Wear Differs between Forest and Savanna Primates

Tooth wear in primates is caused by aging and ecological factors. However, comparative data that would allow us to delineate the contribution of each of these factors are lacking. Here, we contrast age-dependent molar tooth wear by scoring percent of dentine exposure (PDE) in two wild African primate populations from Gabonese forest and Kenyan savanna habitats. We found that forest-dwelling mandrills exhibited significantly higher PDE with age than savanna yellow baboons. Mandrills mainly feed on large tough food items, such as hard-shell fruits, and inhabit an ecosystem with a high presence of mineral quartz. By contrast, baboons consume large amounts of exogenous grit that adheres to underground storage organs but the proportion of quartz in the soils where baboons live is low. Our results support the hypothesis that not only age but also physical food properties and soil composition, particularly quartz richness, are factors that significantly impact tooth wear. We further propose that the accelerated dental wear in mandrills resulting in flatter molars with old age may represent an adaptation to process hard food items present in their environment.

Inbreeding and thermal adaptation in Drosophila subobscura

Using a well-adapted Drosophila subobscura population (Avala, Serbia), a drastic experiment of inbreeding was carried out to assess whether the expected level of homozygosity could be reached or if other evolutionary forces affected the process. In general, no significant changes of inversion (or arrangement) frequencies were detected after 12 brother sister mating generations. Furthermore, no significant differences were obtained between observed and expected (under the inbreeding model) karyotypic frequencies. Thus, these results seemed to indicate that the main evolutionary factor in the experiment was inbreeding. However, in the G12 generation, complete chromosomal fixation was reached only in two out of the eight final inbred lines. In these lines, the chromosomal compositions were difficult to interpret, but they could be likely a consequence of adaptation to particular laboratory conditions (constant 18 °C, food, light period, etc.). Finally, in a second experiment, the inbred lines presented higher fertility at 18 °C than at 13 °C. Also, there was a significant line effect on fertility: inbred line number 6 (A1, J1, U1+2; U1+2+6, E8, and O3+4+7) presented the highest values, which maybe the result of an adaptation to laboratory conditions. Thus, the results obtained in our experiments reflect the adaptive potential of D. subobscura inversions.