Stepwise reprogramming of liver cells to a pancreas progenitor state by the transcriptional regulator Tgif2

The development of a successful lineage reprogramming strategy of liver to pancreas holds promises for the treatment and potential cure of diabetes. The liver is an ideal tissue source for generating pancreatic cells, because of its close developmental origin with the pancreas and its regenerative ability. Yet, the molecular bases of hepatic and pancreatic cellular plasticity are still poorly understood. Here, we report that the TALE homeoprotein TGIF2 acts as a developmental regulator of the pancreas versus liver fate decision and is sufficient to elicit liver-to-pancreas fate conversion both ex vivo and in vivo. Hepatocytes expressing Tgif2 undergo extensive transcriptional remodelling, which represses the original hepatic identity and, over time, induces a pancreatic progenitor-like phenotype. Consistently, in vivo forced expression of Tgif2 activates pancreatic progenitor genes in adult mouse hepatocytes. This study uncovers the reprogramming activity of TGIF2 and suggests a stepwise reprogramming paradigm, whereby a ‘lineage-restricted’ dedifferentiation step precedes the identity switch

Current Wildland Fire Patterns and Challenges in Europe : A Synthesis of National Perspectives

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009-2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action "Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society" funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.Peer reviewe

Modelos de administración y gestión, políticas y metodologías, en materia de e-learning para la enseñanza en la universidad pública española

Proyecto elaborado en el ámbito de la 'III convocatoria de ayudas a la innovación educativa: convocatoria para el desarrollo y participación en proyectos de innovación educativa y mejora de la calidad docente, curso 2007-2008'No existe un modelo estándar, ni aproximaciones pedagógicas, tecnológicas u organizativas únicas al e-learning. Por ello es necesario determinar cuáles son los elementos que definen la elección de un modelo u otro para su aplicación al ámbito de la educación superior. En este sentido se ofrece una aproximación a los distintos modelos existentes de e-learning para, a continuación, realizar un estudio sobre el aprendizaje derivado del uso de estos modelos: aprendizaje significativo, aprendizaje basado en problemas, aprendizaje basado en proyectos, y aprendizaje basado en casos. Por último, se ofrece un apartado en el que se describe la situación del e-learning en la Universidad pública española, se proponen modelos de evaluación del e-learning y se dan herramientas para la acción docente y para la gestión de modelos en el ámbito universitario.MadridBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín 5 -3 Planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]

Current wildland fire patterns and challenges in Europe: a synthesis of national perspectives

Summarization: Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009–2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action “Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society” funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.Presented on