Acetyl Radical Production by the Methylglyoxal-Peroxynitrite System: A Possible Route for L-Lysine Acetylation

Methylglyoxal is an a-oxoaldehyde putatively produced in excess from triose phosphates, aminoacetone, and acetone in some disorders, particularly in diabetes. Here, we investigate the nucleophilic addition of ONOO(-), known as a potent oxidant and nucleophile, to methylglyoxal, yielding an acetyl radical intermediate and ultimately formate and acetate ions. The rate of ONOO(-) decay in the presence of methylglyoxal [k(2,app) = (1.0 +/- 0.1) x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1); k(2) approximate to 1.0 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1)] at pH 7.2 and 25 degrees C was found to be faster than that reported with monocarbonyl substrates (k(2) < 10(3) M(-1) diacetyl (k(2) = 1.0 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1)), or CO(2) (k(2) = 3-6 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1)). The pH profile of the methylglyoxal peroxynitrite reaction describes an ascendant curve with an inflection around pH 7.2, which roughly coincides with the pK(a) values of both ONOOH and H(2)PO(4)(-) ion. Electron paramagnetic resonance spin trapping experiments with 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane revealed concentration-dependent formation of an adduct that can be attributed to 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane-CH(3)CO(center dot) (a(N) = 0.83 mT). Spin trapping with 3,5-dibromo-4-nitrosobenzene sulfonate gave a signal that could be assigned to a methyl radical adduct [a(N) = 1.41 mT; a(H) = 1.35 mT; a(H(m)) = 0.08 mT]. The 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane-CH(3)CO(center dot) adduct could also be observed by replacement of ONOO(-) with H(2)O(2), although at much lower yields. Acetyl radicals could be also trapped by added L-lysine as indicated by the presence of W-acetyl-L-lysine in the spent reaction mixture. This raises the hypothesis that ONOO(-)/H(2)O(2) in the presence of methylglyoxal is endowed with the potential to acetylate proteins in post-translational processes.

Enhancing the distribution of Swedish tourism services on international markets : Possible export-ready criteria requisitioned by European tour operators

This paper identifies subjects which are relevant for Swedish suppliers of tourism services beforeapproaching foreign markets. Most suppliers are micro, small or medium sized companies anduse intermediaries, such as tour operators, for internationalization. The research considers theopinion of British and German tour operators, which require some criteria beforehand in orderto simplify both the initialization and the development of cooperation. Destination marketingorganizations (DMOs) are hereby the go-betweens since they not only represent small-scalesuppliers on international markets, but also initiate first encounters between suppliers and touroperators. Suppliers need to provide DMOs with accurate information in order to ensure thebest possible representation. After initializing collaboration, business relationships are sought todevelop in order to facilitate long-term cooperation. Proper preparation forms therefore the basefor strengthening the competitiveness of Swedish tourism prior approaching internationalmarkets. The enhancement of distributing Swedish tourism services on foreign markets appearedto be a profitable way to enable further growth, which is strongly limited on the domestic market.Increasing the export share therefore secures and further facilitates tourism’s valuablecontributions to the Swedish economy.

Making Learning Possible : Nätbaserad utbildning vid Högskolan Dalarna

Högskolan Dalarna (HDa) har gjort ett strategiskt/medvetet val genom att betona den pedagogiska utvecklingen för nästa generations lärande (NGL) och har under flera år utvecklat nätbaserade kurser. NGL centrum är ett nav i den pedagogiska utvecklingen på HDa. Vår roll är att möjliggöra studenters lärande. (Ramsden 2003). Vid vår högskola fokuserar vi på olika datorsystem som stödjer lärandet och möjliggör synkron interaktion och kommunikation, både vid seminarier och under föreläsningar. Vi har valt och utvecklat system som stödjer lärandet och kontakten mellan studenter och lärare på ett bra sätt, fokus ligger inte nödvändigtvis på den nyaste teknologin. Vi anser att det är viktigt att skapa förutsättningar för sociokulturella miljöer vid nätbaserade utbildingar och därför är seminarier och samtal mycket viktiga i våra utbildningar. (Säljö 2000). Vi har definierat tre huvudbehov för lärandeprocessen och vi har valt system för informationsutbyte (Fronter), Adobe Connect för seminarier och Videochat - vårt egenutvecklade system för föreläsningar. Vi vet sedan många år att föreläsningar hjälper studenterna att förstå litteraturen bättre. Ett LMS (Fronter) är ett sätt att samla information såsom scheman och uppgifter. Där sker diskussioner om innehåll och kursupplägg, inlämningar, nyheter och meddelanden. När det gäller föreläsningar har vi valt att använda ”live-streaming” med möjlighet att spela in föreläsningen. Vi betraktar varken Adobe Connect eller vår Videochat som virtuella verktyg. De möten som genomförs med dessa verktyg är på riktigt. Studenter och lärare vittnar ofta om att de interagerar mer i ett seminarium via Connect än vad som sker i en fysisk föreläsningssal och bekräftar den pedagogiska närheten. HDa har system som är säkra men vi tror samtidigt på öppenhet och lättillgänglighet. Vi välkomnar gäster in i systemen för att skapa transparens. Läraren har möjlighet att låsa mappar i vårt LMS och göra dem både säkra och privata. Vi vill berätta och visa för intresserade konferensdeltagare hur vi på Högskolan Dalarna jobbar generellt med nätbaserade verktyg men också visa på mer specifika lösningar som har uppskattats av våra studenter och lärare.   References Ramsden, Paul (2003). Learning to teach in higher education. 2. ed. London: RoutledgeFalmer Säljö, Roger (2000). Lärande i praktiken: ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. [Learning in practice - A sociocultural perspective]. Stockholm: Prisma

Making learning possible - Nätbaserad utbildning för funktionsnedsatta studenter

Making learning possible - Nätbaserad utbildning för funktionsnedsatta studenter Högskolan Dalarna har gjort ett strategiskt/medvetet val genom att betona den pedagogiska utvecklingen för nästa generations lärande (NGL) och har under flera år utvecklat nätbaserade kurser.  Detta innebär även att ibland måste anpassa våra system för t.ex. hörselskadade studenter. Högskolan har en lång tradition av teckentolka föreläsningar i sal. Vi har även under en längre tid teckentolkat inspelade föreläsningar. Efter att ha provat olika sätt att spela in dessa har vi nu landat i ett system där originalföreläsningen är till vänster och tar upp c:a 80% av skärmen. Teckentolken syns i de resterande 20% till höger. Eftersom vi använder samma system för teckentolkningen som våra lärare har i studion blir det ”strömlinjeformat” då vi bara behöver hantera ett system och får den automatisering som är inbyggd. När det gäller seminarier använder vi oss av Adobe Connect. Lärarna, teckentolken och studenterna (även de hörselskadade) är i ett rum där läraren visar sina dokument, samtalar med studenterna o.s.v.. Teckentolken och den hörselskadade studenten har ett extra rum i Connect där tolken syns. När studenten ska prata så tecknar studenten och det taltolkas av tolken i Connect-rummet med läraren. För detta har teckentolkarna ett separat rum/studio med två skärmar för att kunna se och höra båda Connect-rummen. Vi rekommenderar studenten att också ha två skärmar. Teoretiskt borde detta även kunna användas för en hörselskadad lärare men det har inte gjorts några försök hos oss. Vi vill visa med ljud och bild för intresserade åhörare hur vi har byggt detta arbete och hur hinder kan överbryggas. References Ramsden, Paul (2003). Learning to teach in higher education. 2. ed. London: RoutledgeFalmer Säljö, Roger (2000). Lärande i praktiken: ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. [Learning in practice - A sociocultural perspective]. Stockholm: Prisma

Det är enklare i teorin… Om skolutveckling i praktiken : En fallstudie av ett skolutvecklingsprojekt i en gymnasieskola

This dissertation is a case study dealing with a school development project that took place in an upper secondary school as a result of a merger of two schools with different cultures. The project used a method called “Frirumsmodellen” and was planned to be conducted in three steps. The first was to carry out a cultural analysis in order to map the preconditions to start a school development project. The second was to carry out concrete actions and finally study eventual effects from such activities by doing a second cultural analysis. My role was to be a supervisor in the school development work, but at the same time study how this work was conducted and its impact in the ordinary school day. The dissertation takes its departure in the fact that schools are political governed. The mission of schools is never neutral; it is always an expression of behind laying social forces, ideologies and ideals of the contemporary society. Of this reason, there is a close connection between the macro political level and the micro political level. Another point of departure is the transition from a modern to a post modern society that gives the character to the changes that take place in schools. Steering of schools has partly been treated as a technical implementation problem. Schools contain on going conflicts between different interest groups that, more or less regularly, end up in educational reforms. These reforms generate school development activities in the single school. Undoubtedly, this makes school development to a complex process. At a rather late stage of the study I decided not to fulfil my task to follow the original plan. I instead let the school development project as a model to be in focus. The over all purpose was formulated: How is it possible to understand what happened in the school development project in the Falkgymnasiet and why was it not possible to carry it out as it was said in the project plan? To interpret what took place during the project I did create an interpretation frame of implementation and complexity theory that also made it possible to critically scrutinise the “Frirumsmodellen”. Already in an early stage of the process it was obvious that the “Frirumsmodellen” did not supply any tools to use and it became disconnected from the project. The project in it selves was marginalised and made invisible. The headmaster used the situation to change things she thought were important to develop. As a result, things happened, but most of the involved people did not at first hand connect this to the project. It is, of course, difficult in detail to say what caused what. The complexity theory successively made the hidden patterns revealed, hidden unofficial potentates visible, as well as unpredictable conditions that generated reactions from the personnel in front of a development work. Together this was rather efficient obstacles for not changing this school. I also discuss school development and implementation problems on a general level, for example, the possibility to transform a top-down initiated project to be bottom-up driven and using project as a tool for school development work. It was obvious that headmasters and teachers must be prepared to handle the ideological dimensions of problems schools have to face. Consequently, development work is about making problems visible and to handle these in the intersection point between the intentions of educational policies, pedagogical researchers, school administrators, headmasters, teachers and pupils. The ideological dimension also contains an existential issue. Do I as a teacher share the intentions for the development work? If not, how must I act?

POSSIBLE MIGRATION ROUTES THROUGH MAINE BY VERNAL MIGRANTS

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlasofmaine2009/1032/thumbnail.jpg

Possible Migration Routes Through Maine by Vernal Migrants

In this study we evaluate the possibility of two routes of migration into the state of Maine. The first possible route would be for migrants to continue along the coast, north of the Maine/New Hampshire border, and later swinging inland across the interior. The second path is for migrants who come up the east coast and straight into Maine, spreading across the state as they move north. In order to evaluate these possible routes we utilize a citizen-science project that measures the spring arrival dates of migrants according to the biophysical regions of Maine (Wilson 2007). Independent t-Tests and maps indicate that there is a trend of birds continuing along the coast before moving inland; six of the nine species show this pattern. Of the nine birds studied, only the eastern phoebe showed a significant trend of moving directly inland and moving across the state. Two birds show non-significant patterns of migration which could indicate insufficient data, or random migration patterns. The results are not conclusive because several of the biophysical regions have less reporting, and so the relationships among regions regarding arrival dates are skewed. Continued data collection and analysis is recommended.

Sistema de informação de custos : o método de custeio ABC (Activity-Based Costing) como ferramenta de gestão de instituições de ensino : estudo de caso

Com a globalização do mercado e o alto nível de competitividade no setor educacional, as organizações, para manterem-se, devem ser ágeis e competentes. Neste contexto, a gestão eficiente dos recursos e a obtenção de informações precisas que apóiem a tomada de decisão dependerão, em grande parte, de um sistema de informações de custos. Este sistema deverá ter como base um método de custeio que forneça informações, a fim de atender as distintas necessidades dos gestores dos diversos níveis hierárquico e das diversas áreas de atuação. O trabalho consiste no estudo de uma metodologia de custeio aplicável a uma Instituição de Ensino Superior – IES privada, a qual atenda as três perspectivas que são fornecer informações para embasar a composição dos preços, para apoiar o processo decisório e para o planejamento e controle de gastos. Para tanto, partiu-se da pesquisa bibliográfica no levantamento do estado da arte relacionada ao tema. Com o estudo de caso buscou-se a identificação das necessidades de informações de custos, demandadas pelos gestores da IES, por meio de pesquisa qualitativa. A partir dessa identificação, as necessidades foram cruzadas com os métodos de custeio existentes, o que permitiu a identificação do método mais adequado a IES. Nesta etapa foi possível o cruzamento entre a teoria e a prática, onde foram comparados o método proposto em relação ao atual método adotado pela IES o que possibilitou a identificação das deficiências do modelo atual e suas causas. A partir disto, propõe-se uma sistemática mais adequada para apoiar a tomada de decisão, com o intuito de melhoria do desempenho da instituição. Os resultados obtidos demonstram o cumprimento do objetivo onde, considerando as necessidades de informações de custos dos gestores, o método de custeio por atividades é o mais adequado para o suporte a gestão da IES.

Government actions to support coffee producers - an investigation of possible measures from the European Union

We outline possible actions to be adopted by the European Union to ensure a better share of total coffee revenues to producers in developing countries. The way to this translates, ultimately, in producers receiving a fair price for the commodity they supply, i.e., a market price that results from fair market conditions in the whole coffee producing chain. We plead for proposals to take place in the consuming countries, as market conditions in the consuming-countries side of the coffee producing chain are not fair; market failures and ingenious distortions are responsible for the enormous asymmetry of gains in the two sides. The first of three proposals for consumer government supported actions is to help in the creation of domestic trading companies for achieving higher export volumes. These tradings would be associated to roasters that, depending on the final product envisaged, could perform the roasting in the country and export the roasted – and sometimes ground – coffee, breaking the increasing importers-exporters verticalisation. Another measure would be the systematic provision of basic intelligence on the consuming markets. Statistics of the quantities sold according to mode of consumption, by broad “categories of coffee” and point of sale, could be produced for each country. They should be matched to the exports/imports data and complemented by (aggregate) country statistics on the roasting sector. This would extremely help producing countries design their own market and producing strategies. Finally, a fund, backed by a common EU tax on roasted coffee – created within the single market tax harmonisation programme, is suggested. This European Coffee Fund would have two main projects. Together with the ICO, it would launch an advertising campaign on coffee in general, aimed at counterbalancing the increasing “brandification” of coffee. Basic information on the characteristics of the plant and the drink would be passed, and the effort could be extended to the future Eastern European members of the Union, as a further assurance that EU processors would not have a too privileged access to these new markets. A quality label for every coffee sold in the Union could complement this initiative, helping to create a level playing field for products from outside the EU. A second project would consist in a careful diversification effort, to take place in selected producing countries.