On the origin of and phylogenetic relationships among living amphibians

The phylogenetic relationships among the three orders of modern amphibians (Caudata, Gymnophiona, and Anura) have been estimated based on both morphological and molecular evidence. Most morphological and paleontological studies of living and fossil amphibians support the hypothesis that salamanders and frogs are sister lineages (the Batrachia hypothesis) and that caecilians are more distantly related. Previous interpretations of molecular data based on nuclear and mitochondrial rRNA sequences suggested that salamanders and caecilians are sister groups to the exclusion of frogs. In an attempt to resolve this apparent conflict, the complete mitochondrial genomes of a salamander (Mertensiella luschani) and a caecilian (Typhlonectes natans) were determined (16,656 and 17,005 bp, respectively) and compared with previously published sequences from a frog (Xenopus laevis) and several other groups of vertebrates. Phylogenetic analyses of the mitochondrial data supported with high bootstrap values the monophyly of living amphibians with respect to other living groups of tetrapods, and a sister group relationship of salamanders and frogs. The lack of phylogenetically informative sites in the previous rRNA data sets (because of its shorter size and higher among-site rate variation) likely explains the discrepancy between our results and those based on previous molecular data. Strong support of the Batrachia hypothesis from both molecule- and morphology-based studies provides a robust phylogenetic framework that will be helpful to comparative studies among the three living orders of amphibians and will permit better understanding of the considerably divergent vertebral, brain, and digit developmental patterns found in frogs and salamanders.

Perspectives on archaeal diversity, thermophily and monophyly from environmental rRNA sequences.

Phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal RNA sequences obtained from uncultivated organisms of a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park reveals several novel groups of Archaea, many of which diverged from the crenarchaeal line of descent prior to previously characterized members of that kingdom. Universal phylogenetic trees constructed with the addition of these sequences indicate monophyly of Archaea, with modest bootstrap support. The data also show a specific relationship between low-temperature marine Archaea and some hot spring Archaea. Two of the environmental sequences are enigmatic: depending upon the data set and analytical method used, these sequences branch deeply within the Crenarchaeota, below the bifurcation between Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, or even as the sister group to Eukaryotes. If additional data confirm either of the latter two placements, then the organisms represented by these ribosomal RNA sequences would merit recognition as a new kingdom, provisionally named "Korarchaeota."

Knowledge spirals, situational leadership and informal learning applied on b-learning methodology

The methodology “b-learning” is a new teaching scenario and it requires the creation, adaptation and application of new learning tools searching the assimilation of new collaborative competences. In this context, it is well known the knowledge spirals, the situational leadership and the informal learning. The knowledge spirals is a basic concept of the knowledge procedure and they are based on that the knowledge increases when a cycle of 4 phases is repeated successively.1) The knowledge is created (for instance, to have an idea); 2) The knowledge is decoded into a format to be easily transmitted; 3) The knowledge is modified to be easily comprehensive and it is used; 4) New knowledge is created. This new knowledge improves the previous one (step 1). Each cycle shows a step of a spiral staircase: by going up the staircase, more knowledge is created. On the other hand, the situational leadership is based on that each person has a maturity degree to develop a specific task and this maturity increases with the experience. Therefore, the teacher (leader) has to adapt the teaching style to the student (subordinate) requirements and in this way, the professional and personal development of the student will increase quickly by improving the results and satisfaction. This educational strategy, finally combined with the informal learning, and in particular the zone of proximal development, and using a learning content management system own in our University, gets a successful and well-evaluated learning activity in Master subjects focused on the collaborative activity of preparation and oral exhibition of short and specific topics affine to these subjects. Therefore, the teacher has a relevant and consultant role of the selected topic and his function is to guide and supervise the work, incorporating many times the previous works done in other courses, as a research tutor or more experienced student. Then, in this work, we show the academic results, grade of interactivity developed in these collaborative tasks, statistics and the satisfaction grade shown by our post-graduate students.

An electronic record system in nursing education: evaluation and utilization

The main objective of the present work is to analyze the results of the utilization and evaluation of the LORETO Record System (LRS), providing improvement areas in the teaching-learning process and technology, in second year nursing students. A descriptive, prospective, cross sectional study using inferential statics has been carried out on all electronic records reported by 55 nursing students during clinical internships (April 1º-June 26º, 2013). Electronic record average rated 7.22 points (s=0.6; CV=0.083), with differences based on the clinical practice units (p<0,05). Three items assessed did not exceed the quality threshold set at 0.7 (p<0.05). Record Rate exceeds the quality threshold set at 80% for the overall sample, with differences based on the practice units. Only two clinical practice units rated above the minimum threshold (p <0.05). Record of care provision every 3 days did not reach the estimated quality threshold (p <0.05). There is a dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative results of LRS. Improvement areas in theoretical education have been identified. The LRS seems an appropriate learning and assessment tool, although the development of a new APP version and the application of principles of gamification should be explored.

The brown-tail moth, Euproctis chrysorrhcea (L.). A report on the life history and habits of the imported brown-tail moth, together with a description of the remedies best suited for destroying it. By Charles H. Fernald ... and Archie H. Kirkland ... Pub. under the direction of the State board of agriculture by authority of the legislature.

1903

The brown-tail moth, Euproctis chrysorrhcea (L.). A report on the life history and habits of the imported brown-tail moth, together with a description of the remedies best suited for destroying it. By Charles H. Fernald ... and Archie H. Kirkland ... Pub. under the direction of the State board of agriculture by authority of the legislature.

1903

Growing global brands in foreign markets: A brand equity perspective. Impact of national culture on trademark registrations in emerging economy: Evidence from Russia. ACES Working Papers, August 2010

In this study we explore how firms deploy intellectual property assets (trademarks) in international context and the impact of cultural characteristics on such activities. Trademarks capture important elements of firm's brand-building efforts. Using growth model, a special case of hierarchical linear model, we demonstrate that that stock of trademarks in foreign market increase future trademark activity. Also, we explore the moderating roles of two cultural dimensions, individualism and masculinity, on such relationships. The findings indicated that firms from countries closer to host market (Russia) on individualism dimension tend to register more trademarks in host market. The opposite result is observed for masculinity dimension.

Extending Working Lives: A comparative analysis of how governments influence lifelong learning, CEPS Special Report No. 111, July 2015

This report offers a comparative policy study on adult learning within the scope of complementary research conducted by Beblavý et al. (2013) on how people upgrade their skills during their adult lifetimes. To achieve our objectives, we identified regulatory policies and financial support in 11 countries for two main categories of learning: formal higher education and employer-based training. Drawing upon the results of the country reports carried out by our partners in the MoPAct project, we found that in none of the countries examined is there an ‘older student’ policy. In most cases grants and financial support are awarded only up until a certain age. In all of the countries studied, standard undergraduate and post-graduate studies are available for part-time students. The distribution of full-time students and part-time students in tertiary education varies from one country to another as well as from one age group to another. The participation in full-time tertiary education programmes decreases with the age of students. In Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and the UK, there are no mandatory policies to ensure employer-based training. However, in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, employer-based training is more clearly regulated and the employers might have obligations to provide training for their staff. Taking into consideration Beblavý et al. (2013), we observe that comparative differences across countries can be related to policy differences only in some cases. The policy framework seems to impact more the employer-based training than the educational attainment (upgrade of ISCED level). In Denmark, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Poland, we find a perfect match between policy outcomes and the results of Beblavý et al. (2013) related to employer-based training. This is not the case in the United Kingdom, where the two aspects observed are not correlated.

La constitución histórica del campo de la cultura física y de la educación física. Actores, instituciones, discursos y políticas. Argentina (1901-1938)

El siguiente proyecto de investigación tiene como objetivo analizar la constitución del campo de la cultura física y de la educación física en la Argentina durante las primeras cuatro décadas del siglo XX. Centrará su atención en la disputa entre, por lo menos, dos grupos con sus instituciones de formación específicas. El Instituto Nacional Superior de Educación Física (INEF), cuyos orígenes se remontan a 1901 y la Escuela de Gimnasia y Esgrima del Ejército en creada en 1897 (Saraví Riviere, 1998; Bertoni, 1996, 2001; Aisenstein & Scharagrodsky, 2006).Cada una de estas matrices de formación pensó la pedagogía, la didáctica, la metodología y más ampliamente la política, la nación, la patria, los cuerpos o la sexualidad de formas diferentes y con sentidos y significados particulares. El objetivo será explorar las diferencias y similitudes entre ambas instituciones retomando algunos de los tópicos mencionados a partir de los discursos que legitimaron a los mismos, centrando el análisis tanto en el discurso pedagógico moderno como en el discurso médico hegemónico. En especial, analizaremos el discurso médico como legitimador del campo, y en particular, indagaremos las cuatro sub-disciplinas que se constituyeron en la grilla interpretativa por excelencia de los cuerpos en movimiento: la anatomía descriptiva, la fisiología del ejercicio, la ginecología y la antropometría

La constitución histórica del campo de la cultura física y de la educación física. Actores, instituciones, discursos y políticas. Argentina (1901-1938)

El siguiente proyecto de investigación tiene como objetivo analizar la constitución del campo de la cultura física y de la educación física en la Argentina durante las primeras cuatro décadas del siglo XX. Centrará su atención en la disputa entre, por lo menos, dos grupos con sus instituciones de formación específicas. El Instituto Nacional Superior de Educación Física (INEF), cuyos orígenes se remontan a 1901 y la Escuela de Gimnasia y Esgrima del Ejército en creada en 1897 (Saraví Riviere, 1998; Bertoni, 1996, 2001; Aisenstein & Scharagrodsky, 2006).Cada una de estas matrices de formación pensó la pedagogía, la didáctica, la metodología y más ampliamente la política, la nación, la patria, los cuerpos o la sexualidad de formas diferentes y con sentidos y significados particulares. El objetivo será explorar las diferencias y similitudes entre ambas instituciones retomando algunos de los tópicos mencionados a partir de los discursos que legitimaron a los mismos, centrando el análisis tanto en el discurso pedagógico moderno como en el discurso médico hegemónico. En especial, analizaremos el discurso médico como legitimador del campo, y en particular, indagaremos las cuatro sub-disciplinas que se constituyeron en la grilla interpretativa por excelencia de los cuerpos en movimiento: la anatomía descriptiva, la fisiología del ejercicio, la ginecología y la antropometría

Puerto Rico : update of selected information contained in a 1981 GAO report : fact sheet for the Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate /

"B-234765"--P. 1.

National Conference on Wood Transportation Structures /

Cover title.

Methodism and literature; a series of articles from several writers on the literary enterprise and achievements of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Includes index.

National conference on rural public transportation. Sixth. Final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Highway Planning, Washington, D.C.