Horizontal diversity of higher education institutions. The case of Hungary – in European context

In the European Higher Education Area the diversification of higher education is considered to be an emphasized value, a guarantee of creativity. The various institutional rankings are the displays of vertical diversity, but in parallel with these, there is an increasing attention directed at horizontal diversity, the entirety of the institutions' activities. The European Mapping Project (U-map) undertook this challenge. The paper presents the research program, which is an attempt to adapt the U-map model to Hungary. According to the results, the U-map method which was intended for application on an international level, is very useful in the identification of the main groups of institutions in a specific national higher education system as well, and may provide a basis for the creation of institutional strategies and the development of the institutions’ network.

The performance of high -ability Black upper elementary grade students in an International Baccalaureate program

The purpose of this study was to investigate the common factors and experiences that contribute to the success of high ability Black students enrolled in Frank C. Martin Elementary School, the first school in Florida authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP). The study further sought to determine ways in which educators and stakeholders assisted in maintaining and in increasing Black students' achievement that motivated and encouraged them to pursue similar programs at the middle and high school levels. ^ Three sources of data were used: (a) individual interviews with fourth and fifth grade high ability Black students using a semi-structured format elicited discussion of their perceptions of the PYP and factors contributing to their success; (b) individual interviews with their fourth and fifth grade teachers elicited discussion of teacher expectations and effective instructional strategies; and (c) a questionnaire asked parents of the participating students their reasons for choosing the PYP, their perceptions of the program, and their own level of involvement in their child's learning. Three separate focus groups gathered further data. ^ The results revealed that the factors contributing to the success of high ability Black elementary school students are consistent with those of students in other racial groups. These are a challenging program, high teacher and parental expectations, strong parental involvement and support, a celebration of culture and diversity in a caring and nurturing environment, and the development and internalization of positive attitudes. ^ Implications for future studies might include a longitudinal study conducted over seven years to trace the achievements of Black students throughout the entire IB Program. ^

[Full Program] Interior Design Symposium 2013: Well + Being

The full program of the 2013 Interior Design Symposium. Includes schedule, invited speaker bios, and a list of invited presenters.

Long-finned pilot whale population diversity and structure in Atlantic waters assessed through biogeochemical and genetic markers

Acknowledgements. Cetacean samples were collected under the auspices of stranding monitoring programs run by the Sociedade Portuguesa de Vida Selvagem, the Coordinadora para o Estudio dos Mamíferos Mariños (supported by the regional government Xunta de Galicia), the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme and the Scottish Agriculture College Veterinary Science Division (jointly funded by Defra and the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales), the Marine Mammals Research Group of the Institute of Marine Research (Norway), the Museum of Natural History of the Faroe Islands and the International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Program (USA). The authors thank all the members of these institutions and organizations for their assistance with data and sample collection. S.S.M., P.M.F. and M.F. were supported by PhD grants from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (POPH/FSE ref SFRH/BD/ 38735/ 2007, SFRH/BD/36766/2007 and SFRH/BD/30240/ 2006, respectively). A.L. was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BPD/82407/2011). The work related to strandings and tissue collection in Portugal was partially supported by the SafeSea project EEAGrants PT 0039 (supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism), the MarPro project Life09 NAT/PT/000038 (funded by the European Union program LIFE+) and the project CetSenti FCT RECI/AAG-GLO/0470/2012 (FCOMP- 01-0124-FEDER-027472) (funded by the program COMPETE and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia). G.J.P. thanks the University of Aveiro and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portugal) for financial support. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the chemical analysts at Marine Scotland Science with the fatty acid analysis.

Long-finned pilot whale population diversity and structure in Atlantic waters assessed through biogeochemical and genetic markers

Acknowledgements. Cetacean samples were collected under the auspices of stranding monitoring programs run by the Sociedade Portuguesa de Vida Selvagem, the Coordinadora para o Estudio dos Mamíferos Mariños (supported by the regional government Xunta de Galicia), the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme and the Scottish Agriculture College Veterinary Science Division (jointly funded by Defra and the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales), the Marine Mammals Research Group of the Institute of Marine Research (Norway), the Museum of Natural History of the Faroe Islands and the International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Program (USA). The authors thank all the members of these institutions and organizations for their assistance with data and sample collection. S.S.M., P.M.F. and M.F. were supported by PhD grants from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (POPH/FSE ref SFRH/BD/ 38735/ 2007, SFRH/BD/36766/2007 and SFRH/BD/30240/ 2006, respectively). A.L. was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (ref SFRH/BPD/82407/2011). The work related to strandings and tissue collection in Portugal was partially supported by the SafeSea project EEAGrants PT 0039 (supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism), the MarPro project Life09 NAT/PT/000038 (funded by the European Union program LIFE+) and the project CetSenti FCT RECI/AAG-GLO/0470/2012 (FCOMP- 01-0124-FEDER-027472) (funded by the program COMPETE and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia). G.J.P. thanks the University of Aveiro and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portugal) for financial support. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the chemical analysts at Marine Scotland Science with the fatty acid analysis.

Complexities in Context: Pathways to Preparing Teachers for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Citizen science and natural resource governance: program design for vernal pool policy innovation

Effective natural resource policy depends on knowing what is needed to sustain a resource and building the capacity to identify, develop, and implement flexible policies. This retrospective case study applies resilience concepts to a 16-year citizen science program and vernal pool regulatory development process in Maine, USA. We describe how citizen science improved adaptive capacities for innovative and effective policies to regulate vernal pools. We identified two core program elements that allowed people to act within narrow windows of opportunity for policy transformation, including (1) the simultaneous generation of useful, credible scientific knowledge and construction of networks among diverse institutions, and (2) the formation of diverse leadership that promoted individual and collective abilities to identify problems and propose policy solutions. If citizen science program leaders want to promote social-ecological systems resilience and natural resource policies as outcomes, we recommend they create a system for internal project evaluation, publish scientific studies using citizen science data, pursue resources for program sustainability, and plan for leadership diversity and informal networks to foster adaptive governance.

Development, characterization and use of genomic SSR markers for assessment of genetic diversity in some Saudi date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars

Background: The present study was undertaken towards the development of SSR markers and assessing genetic relationships among 32 date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L.) representing common cultivars grown in different geographical regions in Saudi Arabia. Results: Ninety-three novel simple sequence repeat markers were developed and screened for their ability to detect polymorphism in date palm. Around 71% of genomic SSRs were dinucleotide, 25% tri, 3% tetra and 1% penta nucleotide motives. Twenty-two primers generated a total of 91 alleles with a mean of 4.14 alleles per locus and 100% polymorphism percentage. A 0.595 average polymorphic information content and 0.662 primer discrimination power values were recorded. The expected and observed heterozygosities were 0.676 and 0.763 respectively. Pair-wise similarity values ranged from 0.06 to 0.89 and the overall cultivars averaged 0.41. The UPGMA cluster analysis recovered by principal coordinate analysis illustrated that cultivars tend to group according to their class of maturity, region of cultivation, and fruit color. Analysis of molecular variations (AMOVA) revealed that genetic variation among and within cultivars were 27% and 73%, respectively according to geographical distribution of cultivars. Conclusions: The developed microsatellite markers are additional values to date palm characterization tools that can be used by researchers in population genetics, cultivar identification as well as genetic resource exploration and management. The tested cultivars exhibited a significant amount of genetic diversity and could be suitable for successful breeding program. Genomic sequences generated from this study are available at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Sequence Read Archive (Accession numbers. LIBGSS_039019).

MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF MANGO GERMPLASM FROM THE UPPER ATHI RIVER REGION OF EASTERN KENYA: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON NON- FRUIT DESCRIPTORS

Phenotypic variation in plants can be evaluated by morphological characterization using visual attributes. Fruits have been the major descriptors for identification of different varieties of fruit crops. However, even in their absence, farmers, breeders and interested stakeholders require to distinguish between different mango varieties. This study aimed at determining diversity in mango germplasm from the Upper Athi River (UAR) and providing useful alternative descriptors for the identification of different mango varieties in the absence of fruits. A total of 20 International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptors for mango were selected for use in the visual assessment of 98 mango accessions from 15 sites of the UAR region of eastern Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to identify farmers growing diverse varieties of mangoes. Evaluation of the descriptors was performed on-site and the data collected were then subjected to multivariate analysis including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis, one- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi square tests. Results classified the accessions into two major groups corresponding to indigenous and exotic varieties. The PCA showed the first six principal components accounting for 75.12% of the total variance. A strong and highly significant correlation was observed between the color of fully grown leaves, leaf blade width, leaf blade length and petiole length and also between the leaf attitude, color of young leaf, stem circumference, tree height, leaf margin, growth habit and fragrance. Useful descriptors for morphological evaluation were 14 out of the selected 20; however, ANOVA and Chi square test revealed that diversity in the accessions was majorly as a result of variations in color of young leaves, leaf attitude, leaf texture, growth habit, leaf blade length, leaf blade width and petiole length traits. These results reveal that mango germplasm in the UAR has significant diversity and that other morphological traits apart from fruits can be useful in morphological characterization of mango.

Microsatellite analysis of pacu broodstocks used in the stocking program of Paranapanema River, Brazil

O monitoramento da diversidade genética é fundamental em um programa de repovoamento. Avaliouse a diversidade genética de pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) em duas estações de piscicultura em Andirá -Paraná, Brasil, utilizadas no programa de repovoamento do Rio Paranapanema. Foram amplificados seis loci microssatélite para avaliar 60 amostras de nadadeira. O estoque de reprodutores B apresentou maior número de alelos e heterozigose (alelos: 22 e H O: 0,628) que o estoque de reprodutores A (alelos: 21 e H O: 0,600). Alelos com baixos níveis de frequência foram observados nos dois estoques. Os coeficientes positivos de endogamia no locus Pme2 (estoque A: F IS = 0,30 e estoque B: F IS = 0,20), Pme5 (estoque B: F IS = 0,15), Pme14 (estoque A: F IS = 0,07) e Pme28 (estoque A: F IS = 0,24 e estoque B: F IS = 0,20), indicaram deficiência de heterozigotos. Foi detectada a presença de um alelo nulo no lócus Pme2. As estimativas negativas nos loci Pme4 (estoque A: F IS = -0,43 e estoque B: F IS= -0,37), Pme5 (estoque A: F IS = - 0,11), Pme14 (estoque B: F IS = - 0,15) e Pme32 (estoque A: F IS = - 0,93 e estoque B: F IS = - 0,60) foram indicativas de excesso de heterozigotos. Foi evidenciado desequilíbrio de ligação e riqueza alélica baixa só no estoque A. A diversidade genética de Nei foi alta nos dois estoques. A distância (0,085) e identidade (0,918) genética mostraram similaridade entre os estoques, o qual reflete uma possível origem comum. 6,05% da variância genética total foi devida a diferenças entre os estoques. Foi observado um recente efeito gargalo nos dois estoques. Os resultados indicaram uma alta diversidade genética nos estoques de reprodutores e baixa diferenciação genética entre eles, o que foi causado pelo manejo reprodutivo das pisciculturas, redução do tamanho populacional e intercâmbio genético entre as pisciculturas.

Characterization Of Microsatellite Markers Developed From Prosopis Rubriflora And Prosopis Ruscifolia (leguminosae - Mimosoideae), Legume Species That Are Used As Models For Genetic Diversity Studies In Chaquenian Areas Under Anthropization In South America.

Prosopis rubriflora and Prosopis ruscifolia are important species in the Chaquenian regions of Brazil. Because of the restriction and frequency of their physiognomy, they are excellent models for conservation genetics studies. The use of microsatellite markers (Simple Sequence Repeats, SSRs) has become increasingly important in recent years and has proven to be a powerful tool for both ecological and molecular studies. In this study, we present the development and characterization of 10 new markers for P. rubriflora and 13 new markers for P. ruscifolia. The genotyping was performed using 40 P. rubriflora samples and 48 P. ruscifolia samples from the Chaquenian remnants in Brazil. The polymorphism information content (PIC) of the P. rubriflora markers ranged from 0.073 to 0.791, and no null alleles or deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HW) were detected. The PIC values for the P. ruscifolia markers ranged from 0.289 to 0.883, but a departure from HW and null alleles were detected for certain loci; however, this departure may have resulted from anthropic activities, such as the presence of livestock, which is very common in the remnant areas. In this study, we describe novel SSR polymorphic markers that may be helpful in future genetic studies of P. rubriflora and P. ruscifolia.

Culturable Bacterial Diversity From A Feed Water Of A Reverse Osmosis System, Evaluation Of Biofilm Formation And Biocontrol Using Phages.

Biofilm formation on reverse osmosis (RO) systems represents a drawback in the application of this technology by different industries, including oil refineries. In RO systems the feed water maybe a source of microbial contamination and thus contributes for the formation of biofilm and consequent biofouling. In this study the planktonic culturable bacterial community was characterized from a feed water of a RO system and their capacities were evaluated to form biofilm in vitro. Bacterial motility and biofilm control were also analysed using phages. As results, diverse Protobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were identified. Alphaproteobacteria was the predominant group and Brevundimonas, Pseudomonas and Mycobacterium the most abundant genera. Among the 30 isolates, 11 showed at least one type of motility and 11 were classified as good biofilm formers. Additionally, the influence of non-specific bacteriophage in the bacterial biofilms formed in vitro was investigated by action of phages enzymes or phage infection. The vB_AspP-UFV1 (Podoviridae) interfered in biofilm formation of most tested bacteria and may represent a good alternative in biofilm control. These findings provide important information about the bacterial community from the feed water of a RO system that may be used for the development of strategies for biofilm prevention and control in such systems.

Bacterial Diversity Assessment In Soil Of An Active Brazilian Copper Mine Using High-throughput Sequencing Of 16s Rdna Amplicons.

Mining activities pose severe environmental risks worldwide, generating extreme pH conditions and high concentrations of heavy metals, which can have major impacts on the survival of organisms. In this work, pyrosequencing of the V3 region of the 16S rDNA was used to analyze the bacterial communities in soil samples from a Brazilian copper mine. For the analysis, soil samples were collected from the slopes (geotechnical structures) and the surrounding drainage of the Sossego mine (comprising the Sossego and Sequeirinho deposits). The results revealed complex bacterial diversity, and there was no influence of deposit geographic location on the composition of the communities. However, the environment type played an important role in bacterial community divergence; the composition and frequency of OTUs in the slope samples were different from those of the surrounding drainage samples, and Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, and Gammaproteobacteria were responsible for the observed difference. Chemical analysis indicated that both types of sample presented a high metal content, while the amounts of organic matter and water were higher in the surrounding drainage samples. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (N-MDS) analysis identified organic matter and water as important distinguishing factors between the bacterial communities from the two types of mine environment. Although habitat-specific OTUs were found in both environments, they were more abundant in the surrounding drainage samples (around 50 %), and contributed to the higher bacterial diversity found in this habitat. The slope samples were dominated by a smaller number of phyla, especially Firmicutes. The bacterial communities from the slope and surrounding drainage samples were different in structure and composition, and the organic matter and water present in these environments contributed to the observed differences.

Ecosystem Engineering Effects On Species Diversity Across Ecosystems: A Meta-analysis.

Ecosystem engineering is increasingly recognized as a relevant ecological driver of diversity and community composition. Although engineering impacts on the biota can vary from negative to positive, and from trivial to enormous, patterns and causes of variation in the magnitude of engineering effects across ecosystems and engineer types remain largely unknown. To elucidate the above patterns, we conducted a meta-analysis of 122 studies which explored effects of animal ecosystem engineers on species richness of other organisms in the community. The analysis revealed that the overall effect of ecosystem engineers on diversity is positive and corresponds to a 25% increase in species richness, indicating that ecosystem engineering is a facilitative process globally. Engineering effects were stronger in the tropics than at higher latitudes, likely because new or modified habitats provided by engineers in the tropics may help minimize competition and predation pressures on resident species. Within aquatic environments, engineering impacts were stronger in marine ecosystems (rocky shores) than in streams. In terrestrial ecosystems, engineers displayed stronger positive effects in arid environments (e.g. deserts). Ecosystem engineers that create new habitats or microhabitats had stronger effects than those that modify habitats or cause bioturbation. Invertebrate engineers and those with lower engineering persistence (<1 year) affected species richness more than vertebrate engineers which persisted for >1 year. Invertebrate species richness was particularly responsive to engineering impacts. This study is the first attempt to build an integrative framework of engineering effects on species diversity; it highlights the importance of considering latitude, habitat, engineering functional group, taxon and persistence of their effects in future theoretical and empirical studies.