The ghost of social environments past: dominance relationships include current interactions and experience carried over from previous groups.

Dominance hierarchies pervade animal societies. Within a static social environment, in which group size and composition are unchanged, an individual's hierarchy rank results from intrinsic (e.g. body size) and extrinsic (e.g. previous experiences) factors. Little is known, however, about how dominance relationships are formed and maintained when group size and composition are dynamic. Using a fusion-fission protocol, we fused groups of previously isolated shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) into larger groups, and then restored groups to their original size and composition. Pre-fusion hierarchies formed independently of individuals' sizes, and were maintained within a static group via winner/loser effects. Post-fusion hierarchies differed from pre-fusion ones; losing fights during fusion led to a decline in an individual's rank between pre- and post-fusion conditions, while spending time being aggressive during fusion led to an improvement in rank. In post-fusion tanks, larger individuals achieved better ranks than smaller individuals. In conclusion, dominance hierarchies in crabs represent a complex combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, in which experiences from previous groups can carry over to affect current competitive interactions.

Una aproximació a l'alfabetització digital en l'àmbit educatiu no universitari de Catalunya (a partir de la recerca PIC escoles de la UOC)

Aquest treball s'estructura en tres parts. En la primera hi ha el projecte de treball. La segona part vol reflectir tot el marc conceptual elaborat i reelaborat amb profunditat entorn de la recerca, el qual és necessari per a estructurar, entendre i autoavaluar-la. El marc conceptual se centra bàsicament en tres aspectes: en primer lloc, el mètode de recerca emprat en la recerca PIC a les escoles; en segon lloc, l'evolució de les tecnologies en l'ensenyament paral·lelament a la mateixa concepció de l'ensenyament-aprenentatge, i, com a conseqüència dels dos anteriors, finalment, s'hi analitza l'evolució del concepte d'alfabetització, concretant l'estudi en l'alfabetització digital, com també la possibilitat ampliada per a les TIC de fomentar l'aprenentatge col·laboratiu. La tercera part del treball analitza la funció social de l'escola en la societat del coneixement.

Determinants of the educational use of digital learning materials: The mediating role of self-efficacy, perceived norm and attitude

Initiatives to stimulate the development and propagation of open educational resources (OER) need a sufficiently large community that can be mobilized to participate in this endeavour. Failure to achieve this could lead to underuse of OER. In the context of the Wikiwijs initiative a large scale survey was undertaken amongst primary and secondary school teachers to explore possible determinants of the educational use of digital learning materials (DLMs). Basing on the Integrative Model of Behaviour Prediction it was conjectured that self-efficacy, attitude and perceived norm would take a central role in explaining the intention to use DLMs. Several other predictors were added to the model as well whose effects were hypothesized to be mediated by the three central variables.All conjectured relationships were found using path analysis on survey data from 1484 teachers. Intention to DLMs was most strongly determined by self-efficacy, followed by attitude. ICT proficiency was in its turn the strongest predictor of self-efficacy. Perceived norm played only a limited role in the intention to use DLMs. Concluding, it seems paramount for the success of projects such as Wikiwijs to train teachers in the use of digital learning materials and ICT (e.g. the digital blackboard) and to impact on their attitude.

PERSONAL(ONTO) : Personalizing the Learning Process in Virtual Environments by means of Adaptive Formative Itineraries based on Reusable Learning Objects and Ontologies TIN2006-15107-C02

Personalization in e-learning allows the adaptation of contents, learning strategiesand educational resources to the competencies, previous knowledge or preferences of the student. This project takes a multidisciplinary perspective for devising standards-based personalization capabilities into virtual e-learning environments, focusing on the conceptof adaptive learning itinerary, using reusable learning objects as the basis of the system and using ontologies and semantic web technologies.

La biblioteca digital

Aquest article defineix i dóna una visió general sobre què són les biblioteques digitals en el moment present: els desenvolupaments que es porten a terme arreu del món en aquest sentit, els avantatges de la generalització d'aquests processos, els beneficis a curt i a mitjà termini per a una gran part de la societat, especialment en el camp de la recerca, i els problemes que l'evolució tecnològica, econòmica, social, etc. constant, fan emergir entorn d'aquest camp.

Diversity of Chromobacterium violaceum isolates from aquatic environments of state of Pará, Brazilian Amazon

The present study intended to characterize the phenotypic and genetic diversity of Brazilian isolates of Chromobacterium violaceum from aquatic environments within the Amazon region. Nineteen isolates showed morphological properties of C. violaceum and the majority grew at 44°C. Low temperatures, in contrast, showed to be inhibitory to their growth, as eleven isolates did not grow at 10ºC and nine did not produce pigmentation, clearly indicating an inhibition of their metabolism. The largest variation among isolates was observed in the citrate test (Simmons), in which 12 isolates were positive, and in the oxidation/fermentation of sucrose, with six positives isolates. Chloramphenicol, gentamicin and sulfonamides efficiently inhibited bacterial growth. Amplified products of the recA gene were digested with HindII or PstI, which produced three or four restriction fragments patterns, respectively. The combined analysis arranged the isolates into six genospecies. The higher diversity observed in Belém (genotypes C, D, E and F) may be a consequence of intense human occupation, pollution of the aquatic environment or due to the higher diversity of the environments sampled in that region. In conclusion, a high level of genetic and phenotypic diversity was observed, and four new genospecies were described.

La biblioteca digital

Aquest article defineix i dóna una visió general sobre què són les biblioteques digitals en el moment present: els desenvolupaments que es porten a terme arreu del món en aquest sentit, els avantatges de la generalització d'aquests processos, els beneficis a curt i a mitjà termini per a una gran part de la societat, especialment en el camp de la recerca, i els problemes que l'evolució tecnològica, econòmica, social, etc. constant, fan emergir entorn d'aquest camp.

Derechos de autor y acceso a la información : los conflictos en la era digital

Al maig de 2001, el Parlament Europeu i el Consell aprovaven la Directiva relativa a l'harmonització de determinats aspectes dels drets d'autor i drets afins als drets d'autor en la societat de la informació. L'aprovació d'aquest text culminava un llarg - i difícil - procés els orígens del qual hem de buscar en el Llibre Verd sobre drets d'autor i els drets afins en la Societat de la Informació aparegut el 1995.

La formación de usuarios en una biblioteca virtual universitaria

En un context d'educació a distància i amb usuaris virtuals, la formació en l'ús dels serveis i recursos d'una biblioteca universitària requereix d'una adaptació de les formes tradicionalment ofertes des de les Biblioteques presencials al nou entorn amb mètodes nous i innovadors. En aquest sentit, la Biblioteca de l'UOC ha desenvolupat noves vies de comunicació i nous formats per poder difondre serveis i per formar els nostres usuaris en l'ús d'aquests. La característica comuna de la majoria d'ells, és la de ser 'formació a distància' que es du a terme a través d'un 'Campus virtual'. Les diferents opcions seran analitzades en la comunicació així com les problemàtiques i avantatges que presenten els diversos mètodes de formació duts a terme per les biblioteques universitàries en entorns virtuals.

Comparison of multislice computerized tomography angiography and digital subtraction angiography in the postoperative evaluation of patients with clipped aneurysms.

OBJECT: In this study the accuracy of multislice computerized tomography (MSCT) angiography in the postoperative examination of clip-occluded intracranial aneurysms was compared with that of intraarterial digital subtraction (DS) angiography METHODS: Forty-nine consecutive patients with 60 clipped aneurysms (41 of which had ruptured) were studied with the aid of postoperative MSCT and DS angiography. Both types of radiological studies were reviewed independently by two observers to assess the quality of the images, the artifacts left by the clips, the completeness of aneurysm occlusion, the patency of the parent vessel, and the duration and cost of the examination. The quality of MSCT angiography was good in 42 patients (86%). Poor-quality MSCT angiograms (14%) were a result of the late acquisition of images in three patients and the presence of clip or motion artifacts in four. Occlusion of the aneurysm on good-quality MSCT angiograms was confirmed in all but two patients in whom a small (2-mm) remnant was confirmed on DS angiograms. In one patient, occlusion of a parent vessel was seen on DS angiograms but missed on MSCT angiograms. The sensitivity and specificity for detecting neck remnants on MSCT angiography were both 100%, and the sensitivity and specificity for evaluating vessel patency were 80 and 100%, respectively (95% confidence interval 29.2-100%). Interobserver agreements were 0.765 and 0.86, respectively. The mean duration of the examination was 13 minutes for MSCT angiography and 75 minutes for DS angiography (p < 0.05). Multislice CT angiography was highly cost effective (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Current-generation MSCT angiography is an accurate noninvasive tool used for assessment of clipped aneurysms in the anterior circulation. Its high sensitivity and low cost warrant its use for postoperative routine control examinations following clip placement on an aneurysm. Digital subtraction angiography must be performed if the interpretation of MSCT angiograms is doubtful or if the aneurysm is located in the posterior circulation.

Non-invasive dry mass determination and monitoring at the single cell level with digital holographic microscopy

Digital holography microscopy (DHM) is an optical microscopy technique which allows recording non-invasively the phase shift induced by living cells with nanometric sensitivity. Here, we exploit the phase signal as an indicator of dry mass (related to the protein concentration). This parameter allows monitoring the protein production rate and its evolution during the cell cycle. ©2008 COPYRIGHT SPIE

Embodied Autonomy in Digital Ecosystems: From Bio-Inspired Agents to Cognitive Systems

This paper proposes to promote autonomy in digital ecosystems so that it provides agents with information to improve the behavior of the digital ecosystem in terms of stability. This work proposes that, in digital ecosystems, autonomous agents can provide fundamental services and information. The final goal is to run the ecosystem, generate novel conditions and let agents exploit them. A set of evaluation measures must be defined as well. We want to provide an outline of some global indicators, such as heterogeneity and diversity, and establish relationships between agent behavior and these global indicators to fully understand interactions between agents, and to understand the dependence and autonomy relations that emerge between the interacting agents. Individual variations, interaction dependencies, and environmental factors are determinants of autonomy that would be considered. The paper concludes with a discussion of situations when autonomy is a milestone

Studies about the atomic capabilities concept for linear control systems in physical multi-agent environments

This paper shows the impact of the atomic capabilities concept to include control-oriented knowledge of linear control systems in the decisions making structure of physical agents. These agents operate in a real environment managing physical objects (e.g. their physical bodies) in coordinated tasks. This approach is presented using an introspective reasoning approach and control theory based on the specific tasks of passing a ball and executing the offside manoeuvre between physical agents in the robotic soccer testbed. Experimental results and conclusions are presented, emphasising the advantages of our approach that improve the multi-agent performance in cooperative systems

Homer and the New Testament as "Multitexts" in the Digital Age ?

The field of classical studies has undergone a radical transformation with the arrival of the digital age, particularly with regard to the editing of ancient texts. As Umberto Eco (2003) pointed out, the digital age may mean the end of the history of variants and of the notion of the "original text." Among the texts of antiquity, the editing of Homer and of the New Testament are more especially susceptible to the effects of digital technology because of their numerous manuscripts. Whereas the "Homer Multitext" project recognizes that the notion of a synthetic critical edition is now seriously brought into question, the prototype of the online Greek New Testament continues to be based on the aim of obtaining a unique text, in the style of a printed critical edition. As it moves from a printed culture to the digital age, the editing of the Greek NT is also confronted by the emergence of non-Western scholarship. For example, the presence is to be noted of Arabic Muslim websites that examine Greek New Testament manuscripts but without directly interacting with Western scholarship.