Criteria for ICT-supported Higher Education Teachers Training

Aquest document pretén recollir aportacions teòriques sobre les pràctiques pedagògiques que incorporen i promouen l'ús de les TIC per tal de definir els criteris per al disseny de la formació dels professors d'educació superior en les TIC.

Analysis of teachers training for ICT Higher Education

Aquest document pretén recollir aportacions teòriques i pràctiques sobre les pràctiques pedagògiques que incorporen i promouen l'ús de les TIC per tal d'aclarir, facilitar i fer coherent el disseny de la formació dels professors d'educació superior en les TIC. El seu propòsit és trobar alternatives de formació que compleixin amb les necessitats educatives del professor, així com per superar o atenuar les dificultats i/o la manca de voluntat a les quals s'enfronta en la pràctica educativa en introduir aplicacions de les TIC.

Transnational study of roles/functions and associated ICT competencies for Higher Education teachers

Aquest estudi forma part del projecte eLene-TLC1 Virtual Campus (2007-2008) recolzat pel programa eLearning de la Comissió Europea. L'objectiu d'aquest projecte és que els professors i els estudiants facin el millor ús possible de les TIC en l'educació superior, preparant als professors per als estudiants de la generació xarxa, permetent als estudiants a la transferència de coneixements i pràctiques de la vida quotidiana per al seu aprenentatge i estimular tant la integració plena de pràctiques innovadores d'ensenyament i d'aprenentatge possibilitades per un entorn tecnològic en constant evolució. Per tal de cobrir part d'aquest objectiu general, es va concebre un estudi per examinar les competències en TIC professors d'Educació Superior en entorns d'aprenentatge en línia.

Active transport of proton and calcium in higher plant cells.

Membrane transport of proton and calcium (Ca2+) plays a fundamental role in growth and developmental processes in higher plant cells. The plasma membrane contains an ATPase (P-ATPase) that pumps protons into the extracellular space, whereas two proton pumps, a vacuolar-type ATPase (V-ATPase) and a pyrophosphatase (H+-PPase) are associated with the tonoplast and pump protons into the vacuole. The P-ATPase, V-ATPase and H+-PPase catalyse electrogenic H+-translocation, giving rise to a proton motive force used to transport different molecules, via specific transport proteins (channels or carriers: H+-symport or H+-antiport), across the plasma membrane and the tonoplast

Validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the DN4 (Douleur Neuropathique 4 questions) questionnaire for differential diagnosis of pain syndromes associated to a neuropathic or somatic component

BACKGROUND This study assesses the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of DN4 questionnaire as a tool for differential diagnosis of pain syndromes associated to a neuropathic (NP) or somatic component (non-neuropathic pain, NNP). METHODS A study was conducted consisting of two phases: cultural adaptation into the Spanish language by means of conceptual equivalence, including forward and backward translations in duplicate and cognitive debriefing, and testing of psychometric properties in patients with NP (peripheral, central and mixed) and NNP. The analysis of psychometric properties included reliability (internal consistency, inter-rater agreement and test-retest reliability) and validity (ROC curve analysis, agreement with the reference diagnosis and determination of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values in different subsamples according to type of NP). RESULTS A sample of 164 subjects (99 women, 60.4%; age: 60.4 +/- 16.0 years), 94 (57.3%) with NP (36 with peripheral, 32 with central, and 26 with mixed pain) and 70 with NNP was enrolled. The questionnaire was reliable [Cronbach's alpha coefficient: 0.71, inter-rater agreement coefficient: 0.80 (0.71-0.89), and test-retest intra-class correlation coefficient: 0.95 (0.92-0.97)] and valid for a cut-off value > or = 4 points, which was the best value to discriminate between NP and NNP subjects. DISCUSSION This study, representing the first validation of the DN4 questionnaire into another language different than the original, not only supported its high discriminatory value for identification of neuropathic pain, but also provided supplemental psychometric validation (i.e. test-retest reliability, influence of educational level and pain intensity) and showed its validity in mixed pain syndromes.

Association between education and quality of diabetes care in Switzerland

PURPOSE: Low socioeconomic status is associated with higher prevalence of diabetes, worse outcomes, and worse quality of care. We explored the relationship between education, as a measure of socioeconomic status, and quality of care in the Swiss context. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were drawn from a population-based survey of 519 adults with diabetes during fall 2011 and summer 2012 in a canton of Switzerland. We assessed patients and diabetes characteristics. Eleven indicators of quality of care were considered (six of process and five of outcomes of care). After bivariate analyses, regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, and diabetic complications were performed to assess the relationship between education and quality of care. RESULTS: Of 11 quality-of-care indicators, three were significantly associated with education: funduscopy (patients with tertiary versus primary education were more likely to get the exam: odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.004-3.3) and two indicators of health-related quality of life (patients with tertiary versus primary education reported better health-related quality of life: Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life: β=0.6 [95% CI, 0.2-0.97]; SF-12 mean physical component summary score: β=3.6 [95% CI, 0.9-6.4]). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest the presence of educational inequalities in quality of diabetes care. These findings may help health professionals focus on individuals with increased needs to decrease health inequalities.

Weighted Logratio Biplots, Correspondence Analysis and Spectral Maps

Starting with logratio biplots for compositional data, which are based on the principle of subcompositional coherence, and then adding weights, as in correspondence analysis, we rediscover Lewi's spectral map and many connections to analyses of two-way tables of non-negative data. Thanks to the weighting, the method also achieves the property of distributional equivalence

New insights on river water chemistry by using non-centred simplicial principal component analysis: a case study

The use of perturbation and power transformation operations permits the investigation of linear processes in the simplex as in a vectorial space. When the investigated geochemical processes can be constrained by the use of well-known starting point, the eigenvectors of the covariance matrix of a non-centred principalcomponent analysis allow to model compositional changes compared with a reference point.The results obtained for the chemistry of water collected in River Arno (central-northern Italy) have open new perspectives for considering relative changes of the analysed variables and to hypothesise the relative effect of different acting physical-chemical processes, thus posing the basis for a quantitative modelling

Compositional analysis of archaeological glasses

At CoDaWork'03 we presented work on the analysis of archaeological glass composi-tional data. Such data typically consist of geochemical compositions involving 10-12variables and approximates completely compositional data if the main component, sil-ica, is included. We suggested that what has been termed `crude' principal componentanalysis (PCA) of standardized data often identi ed interpretable pattern in the datamore readily than analyses based on log-ratio transformed data (LRA). The funda-mental problem is that, in LRA, minor oxides with high relative variation, that maynot be structure carrying, can dominate an analysis and obscure pattern associatedwith variables present at higher absolute levels. We investigate this further using sub-compositional data relating to archaeological glasses found on Israeli sites. A simplemodel for glass-making is that it is based on a `recipe' consisting of two `ingredients',sand and a source of soda. Our analysis focuses on the sub-composition of componentsassociated with the sand source. A `crude' PCA of standardized data shows two clearcompositional groups that can be interpreted in terms of di erent recipes being used atdi erent periods, reected in absolute di erences in the composition. LRA analysis canbe undertaken either by normalizing the data or de ning a `residual'. In either case,after some `tuning', these groups are recovered. The results from the normalized LRAare di erently interpreted as showing that the source of sand used to make the glassdi ered. These results are complementary. One relates to the recipe used. The otherrelates to the composition (and presumed sources) of one of the ingredients. It seemsto be axiomatic in some expositions of LRA that statistical analysis of compositionaldata should focus on relative variation via the use of ratios. Our analysis suggests thatabsolute di erences can also be informative

Evaluation of a linear spectral mixture model and vegetation indices (NDVI and EVI) in a study of schistosomiasis mansoni and Biomphalaria glabrata distribution in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

This paper analyses the associations between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) on the prevalence of schistosomiasis and the presence of Biomphalaria glabrata in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil. Additionally, vegetation, soil and shade fraction images were created using a Linear Spectral Mixture Model (LSMM) from the blue, red and infrared channels of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer spaceborne sensor and the relationship between these images and the prevalence of schistosomiasis and the presence of B. glabrata was analysed. First, we found a high correlation between the vegetation fraction image and EVI and second, a high correlation between soil fraction image and NDVI. The results also indicate that there was a positive correlation between prevalence and the vegetation fraction image (July 2002), a negative correlation between prevalence and the soil fraction image (July 2002) and a positive correlation between B. glabrata and the shade fraction image (July 2002). This paper demonstrates that the LSMM variables can be used as a substitute for the standard vegetation indices (EVI and NDVI) to determine and delimit risk areas for B. glabrata and schistosomiasis in MG, which can be used to improve the allocation of resources for disease control.

Is the ability of biocontrol fluorescent pseudomonads to produce the antifungal metabolite 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol really synonymous with higher plant protection?

The antifungal compound 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl) contributes to biocontrol in pseudomonads, but whether or not Phl(+) biocontrol pseudomonads display higher plant-protecting activity than Phl(-) biocontrol pseudomonads remains to be demonstrated. This issue was addressed by assessing 230 biocontrol fluorescent pseudomonads selected from a collection of 3132 bacterial isolates obtained from 63 soils worldwide. One-third of the biocontrol pseudomonads were Phl(+) and almost all Phl(+) isolates also produced hydrogen cyanide (HCN). The only Phl(+) HCN(-) strain did harbor hcn genes, but with the deletion of a 134 bp hcnC fragment corresponding to an ADP-binding motif. Statistical analysis of biocontrol isolate distributions indicated that Phl production ability was associated with superior disease suppression activity in the Pythium-cucumber and Fusarium-tomato pathosystems, but this was also the case with HCN production ability. However, HCN significance was not as strong, as indicated both by the comparison of Phl(-) HCN(+) and Phl(-) HCN(-) strains and by correlation analyses. This is the first population-level demonstration of the higher plant-protecting activity of Phl(+) biocontrol pseudomonads in comparison with Phl(-) biocontrol pseudomonads.

Patterns of Subject Mix in Higher Education Institutions : A First Empirical Analysis Using the AQUAMETH Database

Teaching and research are organised differently between subject domains: attempts to construct typologies of higher education institutions, however, often do not include quantitative indicators concerning subject mix which would allow systematic comparisons of large numbers of higher education institutions among different countries, as the availability of data for such indicators is limited. In this paper, we present an exploratory approach for the construction of such indicators. The database constructed in the AQUAMETH project, which includes also data disaggregated at the disciplinary level, is explored with the aim of understanding patterns of subject mix. For six European countries, an exploratory and descriptive analysis of staff composition divided in four large domains (medical sciences, engineering and technology, natural sciences and social sciences and humanities) is performed, which leads to a classification distinguishing between specialist and generalist institutions. Among the latter, a further distinction is made based on the presence or absence of a medical department. Preliminary exploration of this classification and its comparison with other indicators show the influence of long term dynamics on the subject mix of individual higher education institutions, but also underline disciplinary differences, for example regarding student to staff ratios, as well as national patterns, for example regarding the number of PhD degrees per 100 undergraduate students. Despite its many limitations, this exploratory approach allows defining a classification of higher education institutions that accounts for a large share of differences between the analysed higher education institutions.

Bat flies on phyllostomid hosts in the Cerrado region: component community, prevalence and intensity of parasitism

Streblidae flies are specialised parasites of bat hosts, mainly phyllostomids. There is a high richness of streblids in the savannah-like Cerrado region; however, there is little quantitative data available in parasitological indices. Here, we describe the component community, prevalence and intensity of a streblid infestation on a phyllostomid bat assemblage in Serra da Bodoquena, a Cerrado region in Southwest Brazil. We conducted surveys by capturing and inspecting bat hosts during the seven-month period between October 2004-December 2005. All the ectoparasites found on the bats were collected in the field and then counted and identified in the laboratory. We captured 327 bats belonging to 13 species, of which eight species were parasitized by 17 species of streblids. Carollia perspicillata and Glossophaga soricina were infested with seven streblid species, whereas the other bat species were infested with four or fewer streblid species. Megistopoda proxima and Aspidoptera falcata flies were found on Sturnira lilium, and Trichobius joblingi was the most prevalent fly on C. perspicillata. Megistopoda aranea and Aspidoptera phyllostomatis were highly prevalent and had a high intensity of infestation on Artibeus planirostris. Overall comparisons of the available data suggest that the component communities of streblids vary more between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest phytogeographical regions than between localities within the same phytogeographical region.