Good practice in Higher Education and Virtual Learning

[EN] Changes in faculty behavior patterns can occur either from surface modifications (change 1) or from changes supported by modifications of the teacher’s thinking and pedagogical knowledge (change 2). The present manuscript aims to motivate change 2 through a guide that invites teachers to reflect, how to address good teaching practices, from profound changes in their thinking and teaching style, specifically in university virtual modality. This proposal is based on a literature review: (1) good practices in different verticals, (2) good educational practices in virtual education and (3) models of good educational practices to identify a set of practices for virtual education. Subsequently, a guide of three moments is introduced, so teachers can use as an exercise for self-evaluation to determine whether good educational practices have been accepted only to fulfill an administrative – academic requirement or if these practices are part of a change in their thinking and pedagogical knowledge . Virtual education still faces great challenges in the knowledge society, as its quality is questioned, mostly because of the lack of physical interaction that characterizes the classroom education. Thus, an invitation is extended to faculty, to use the guide and iteratively question himself, what kind of change would faculty wants to embrace for his teaching career path?[ES] Los cambios en los patrones conductuales del docente se pueden dar a partir de modificaciones superficiales (cambio 1) o si este cambio viene acompañado de modificaciones en su pensamiento y conocimiento pedagógico en que se apoya (cambio 2). El presente artículo tiene como propósito promover el cambio 2, a través de una guía que invite al docente a la reflexión, de manera que pueda abordar las buenas prácticas docentes a partir de cambios profundos en su pensamiento y estilo de enseñanza específicamente en la educación virtual universitaria. Esta propuesta se sustenta en una revisión literaria sobre: (1) las buenas prácticas en diferentes verticales, (2) las buenas prácticas educativas en la educación virtual y (3) modelos de buenas prácticas educativas para identificar un conjunto de prácticas para la educación virtual. Posteriormente, se presenta una guía de tres momentos, que el docente podrá utilizar como ejercicio de autoevaluación y así determinar si la adopción de buenas prácticas educativas es del tipo cambio 1 o del tipo cambio 2. La educación virtual aún enfrenta retos y desafíos en la Sociedad del Conocimiento, ya que se cuestiona su calidad por la falta de interacción física, que por naturaleza, la educación presencial posee. Por ende, se invita al docente universitario a que utilice la guía y a la vez preguntarse iterativamente, ¿qué tipo de cambio desea asumir en su patrón conductual? Del tipo de cambio que asuma, dependerá su contribución a la calidad de la educación virtual.Durán Rodríguez, R.; Estay-Niculcar, CA. (2016). Las buenas prácticas docentes en la educación virtual universitaria. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. 14(2):159-186. doi:10.4995/redu.2016.5905.SWORD15918614

GRB 091127: The cooling break race on magnetic fuel

Using high-quality, broad-band afterglow data for GRB 091127, we investigate the validity of the synchrotron fireball model for gamma-ray bursts, and infer physical parameters of the ultra-relativistic outflow. We used multi-wavelength follow-up observations obtained with GROND and the XRT onboard the Swift satellite. The resulting afterglow light curve is of excellent accuracy, and the spectral energy distribution is well-sampled over 5 decades in energy. These data present one of the most comprehensive observing campaigns for a single GRB afterglow and allow us to test several proposed emission models and outflow characteristics in unprecedented detail. Both the multi-color light curve and the broad-band SED of the afterglow of GRB 091127 show evidence of a cooling break moving from high to lower energies. The early light curve is well described by a broken power-law, where the initial decay in the optical/NIR wavelength range is considerably flatter than at X-rays. Detailed fitting of the time-resolved SED shows that the break is very smooth with a sharpness index of 2.2 +- 0.2, and evolves towards lower frequencies as a power-law with index -1.23 +- 0.06. These are the first accurate and contemporaneous measurements of both the sharpness of the spectral break and its time evolution. The measured evolution of the cooling break (nu_c propto t^-1.2) is not consistent with the predictions of the standard model, wherein nu_c propto t^-0.5 is expected. A possible explanation for the observed behavior is a time dependence of the microphysical parameters, in particular the fraction of the total energy in the magnetic field epsilon_B. This conclusion provides further evidence that the standard fireball model is too simplistic, and time-dependent micro-physical parameters may be required to model the growing number of well-sampled afterglow light curves.Comment: accepted to A&A, 13 pages, 5 figure

A Simultaneous Test of Synchrony Causal Factors in Muskrat and Mink Fur Returns at Different Scales across Canada

Synchrony among populations has been attributed to three major hypotheses: dispersal, the Moran effect, and trophic-level interactions. Unfortunately, simultaneous testing of these hypotheses demands complete and detailed data, which are scarce for ecological systems.Hudson's Bay Company data on mink and muskrat fur returns in Canada represent an excellent opportunity to test these hypotheses because of the detailed spatial and temporal data from this predator-prey system. Using structural equation modelling, support for each hypothesis was evaluated at two spatial scales: across Canada and dividing the country into three regions longitudinally. Our results showed that at both scales mink synchrony is a major factor determining muskrat synchrony, supporting the hypothesis of trophic-level interactions, but the influence of winter precipitation synchrony is also important in eastern Canada. Moreover, mink synchrony is influenced principally by winter precipitation synchrony at the level of all Canada (Moran effect), but by distance at regional level, which might suggest some influence of dispersal at this level.Our result is one of the few reports of synchrony mediated by trophic-level interactions, highlighting the importance of evaluation of scale effects in population synchrony studies

Ecology of the collapse of Rapa Nui society

Collapses of food producer societies are recurrent events in prehistory and have triggered a growing concern for identifying the underlying causes of convergences/divergences across cultures around the world. One of the most studied and used as a paradigmatic case is the population collapse of the Rapa Nui society. Here, we test different hypotheses about it by developing explicit population dynamic models that integrate feedbacks between climatic, demographic and ecological factors that underpinned the sociocultural trajectory of these people. We evaluate our model outputs against a reconstruction of past population size based on archaeological radiocarbon dates from the island. The resulting estimated demographic declines of the Rapa Nui people are linked to the long-term effects of climate change on the island's carrying capacity and, in turn, on the 'per-capita food supply'

Oligophrenin-1: the link between calcium-regulated exocytosis and compensatory endocytosis in neuroendocrine cells

In neuroendocrine cells, hormones and neuropeptides are released from large-dense core vesicles (secretory granules) by calcium-regulated exocytosis. Following exocytosis, compensatory uptake of membrane is required to maintain membrane homeostasis and allow recycling of secretory vesicle membranes. How these cells initiate and regulate this compensatory endocytosis remains poorly understood. Our recent data suggests that oligophrenin-1 (OPHN1) is a link coupling calcium-regulated exocytosis to compensatory endocytosis of secretory granules in the adrenal chromaffin cells (Houy et al., 2015, J Neurosci. 2015, 35:11045-55). Here, we highlight the major evidence and discuss how OPHN1 could couple these two processes

Reactivation of Fault Systems by Compartmentalized Hydrothermal Fluids in the Southern Andes Revealed by Magnetotelluric and Seismic Data

In active volcanic arcs such as the Andean volcanic mountain belt, magmatically‐sourced fluids are channelled through the brittle crust by faults and fracture networks. In the Andes, volcanoes, geothermal springs and major mineral deposits have a spatial and genetic relationship with NNE‐trending, margin‐parallel faults and margin‐oblique, NW‐trending Andean Transverse Faults (ATF). The Tinguiririca and Planchón‐Peteroa volcanoes in the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) demonstrate this relationship, as their spatially associated thermal springs show strike alignment to the NNE‐oriented El Fierro Thrust Fault System. We constrain the fault system architecture and its interaction with volcanically sourced hydrothermal fluids using a combined magnetotelluric (MT) and seismic survey that was deployed for 20 months. High conductivity zones are located along the axis of the active volcanic chain, delineating fluids and/or melt. A distinct WNW‐trending cluster of seismicity correlates with resistivity contrasts, considered to be a reactivated ATF. Seismicity occurs below 4 km, suggesting activity is limited to basement rocks, and the cessation of seismicity at 9 km delineates the local brittle‐ductile transition. As seismicity is not seen west of the El Fierro fault, we hypothesize that this structure plays a key role in compartmentalizing magmatically‐derived hydrothermal fluids to the east, where the fault zone acts as a barrier to cross‐fault fluid migration and channels fault‐parallel fluid flow to the surface from depth. Increases in fluid pressure above hydrostatic may facilitate reactivation. This site‐specific case study provides the first three‐dimensional seismic and magnetotelluric observations of the mechanics behind the reactivation of an ATF

Analysis of the association between spawning time QTL markers and the biannual spawning behavior in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The rainbow trout is a salmonid fish that occasionally exhibits broodstocks with biannual spawning behavior, a phenomenon known as a double annual reproductive cycle (DARC). Spawning time quantitative trait loci (SPT-QTLs) affect the time of the year that female rainbow trout spawn and may influence expression of the DARC trait. In this study, microsatellite markers linked and unlinked to SPT-QTLs were genotyped to investigate the underlying genetics of this trait. SPT-QTLs influenced the DARC trait since in two case-control comparisons three linked markers (OmyFGT12TUF, One3ASC and One19ASC) had significant levels of allelic frequency differentiation and marker-character association. Furthermore, alleles of One3ASC and One19ASC had significantly higher frequencies in populations that carried the DARC trait

Thermal Variability Increases the Impact of Autumnal Warming and Drives Metabolic Depression in an Overwintering Butterfly

Increases in thermal variability elevate metabolic rate due to Jensen's inequality, and increased metabolic rate decreases the fitness of dormant ectotherms by increasing consumption of stored energy reserves. Theory predicts that ectotherms should respond to increased thermal variability by lowering the thermal sensitivity of metabolism, which will reduce the impact of the warm portion of thermal variability. We examined the thermal sensitivity of metabolic rate of overwintering Erynnis propertius (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) larvae from a stable or variable environment reared in the laboratory in a reciprocal common garden design, and used these data to model energy use during the winters of 1973–2010 using meteorological data to predict the energetic outcomes of metabolic compensation and phenological shifts. Larvae that experienced variable temperatures had decreased thermal sensitivity of metabolic rate, and were larger than those reared at stable temperatures, which could partially compensate for the increased energetic demands. Even with depressed thermal sensitivity, the variable environment was more energy-demanding than the stable, with the majority of this demand occurring in autumn. Autumn phenology changes thus had disproportionate influence on energy consumption in variable environments, and variable-reared larvae were most susceptible to overwinter energy drain. Therefore the energetic impacts of the timing of entry into winter dormancy will strongly influence ectotherm fitness in northern temperate environments. We conclude that thermal variability drives the expression of metabolic suppression in this species; that phenological shifts will have a greater impact on ectotherms in variable thermal environments; and that E. propertius will be more sensitive to shifts in phenology in autumn than in spring. This suggests that increases in overwinter thermal variability and/or extended, warm autumns, will negatively impact all non-feeding dormant ectotherms which lack the ability to suppress their overwinter metabolic thermal sensitivity

Influence of androgen receptor in vascular cells on reperfusion following hindlimb ischaemia

AIMS:Studies in global androgen receptor knockout (G-ARKO) and orchidectomised mice suggest that androgen accelerates reperfusion of the ischaemic hindlimb by stimulating angiogenesis. This investigation used novel, vascular cell-specific ARKO mice to address the hypothesis that the impaired hindlimb reperfusion in G-ARKO mice was due to loss of AR from cells in the vascular wall. METHODS AND RESULTS:Mice with selective deletion of AR (ARKO) from vascular smooth muscle cells (SM-ARKO), endothelial cells (VE-ARKO), or both (SM/VE-ARKO) were compared with wild type (WT) controls. Hindlimb ischaemia was induced in these mice by ligation and removal of the femoral artery. Post-operative reperfusion was reduced in SM-ARKO and SM/VE-ARKO mice. Immunohistochemistry indicated that this was accompanied by a reduced density of smooth muscle actin-positive vessels but no change in the density of isolectin B4-positive vessels in the gastrocnemius muscle. Deletion of AR from the endothelium (VE-ARKO) did not alter post-operative reperfusion or vessel density. In an ex vivo (aortic ring culture) model of angiogenesis, AR was not detected in vascular outgrowths and angiogenesis was not altered by vascular ARKO or by exposure to dihydrotestosterone (DHT 10(-10)-10(-7)M; 6 days). CONCLUSION:These results suggest that loss of AR from vascular smooth muscle, but not from the endothelium, contributes to impaired reperfusion in the ischaemic hindlimb of G-ARKO. Impaired reperfusion was associated with reduced collateral formation rather than reduced angiogenesis