Linked Data at the Spanish National Library and the application of IFLA RDFS models

The Spanish National Library (Biblioteca Nacional de España1. BNE) and the Ontology Engineering Group2 of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid are working on the joint project ?Preliminary Study of Linked Data?, whose aim is to enrich the Web of Data with the BNE authority and bibliographic records. To this end, they are transforming the BNE information to RDF following the Linked Data principles3 proposed by Tim Berners Lee

RDA e ISBD: historia de una relación

RDA and ISBD: History of a relationship.The article attempts to clarify the nature of the relationship between RDA and ISBD standards in order to be able to understand their differences and links, as well as remove some misinterpretations about this relationship. To this end, some aspects that can affect their differences, such as type of standards, points of view, scope, origin, policies of creation and development group or organization in charge that logically justify those differences, are analyzed. They have not presented any obstacle for a right relationship with the help of the Linked Data technology. In the article, account is also given to mappings and alignments work between both standards in order to properly contribute to the Semantic Web. This knowledge is the basic requirement for current catalogers in order to use standards judiciously, with knowledge and responsibility

RDA and ISBD: History of a relationship

El artículo trata de clarificar la naturaleza de la relación entre los estándares RDA (Resource Description and Access) e ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description), para poder entender sus diferencias y sus vinculaciones, a la vez que disipar ciertas malinterpretaciones sobre esta relación.                           Para ello se analiza la tipología de estándares y ciertos aspectos que pueden incidir en las diferencias como puntos de vista, alcance, origen, política de creación y grupo u organismo de elaboración, que justifica de manera lógica esas diferencias. Estas no han supuesto obstáculo alguno para una correcta vinculación con la ayuda de la tecnología Linked Data. Se da cuenta de los trabajos realizados de mapeos y alineamientos entre los estándares para contribuir correctamente a la Web semántica. Es este el conocimiento fundamental que se requiere al profesional catalogador hoy día, para poder emplearlos con criterio, conocimiento y responsabilidad.The article attempts to clarify the nature of the relationship between RDA and ISBD standards in order to be able to understand their differences and links, as well as remove some misinterpretations about this relationship.                                                                                        To this end, some aspects that can affect their differences, such as type of standards, points of view, scope, origin, policies of creation and development group or organization in charge that logically justify those differences, are analyzed. They have not presented any obstacle for a right relationship with the help of the Linked Data technology. In the article, account is also given to mappings and alignments work between both standards in order to properly contribute to the Semantic Web. This knowledge is the basic requirement for current catalogers in order to use standards judiciously, with knowledge and responsibility

Executive function assessment: Adaptation of the Amsterdam executive function inventory using Spanish first-year university students from two knowledge areas

Objective Many university students have difficulties in adapting to autonomous learning due to executive functioning deficits. In the Spanish university context, there is a lack of reliable validated instruments for the evaluation of executive functioning. In this sense, the aim of this research is to present the process of adaptation and validation of the Amsterdam Executive Function Inventory (AEFI) for the evaluation of executive functioning in the Spanish context. Methods This study integrates two sequential processes: questionnaire translation and back-translation, and evaluation of the psychometric properties (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted), reliability, validity and multigroup analysis to identify factorial invariance. An online questionnaire was used for data collection and R package lavaan software was administered to a sample of 519 first-year university students (270 females and 249 males). Results The exploratory factor analysis evidenced an interna structure of three factors with adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha higher than 0.70), endorsed in the confirmatory factor analysis that indicated an adequate goodness-of-fit-indexes for the model. The composite reliability showed values between 0.74 and 0.82, and the convergent (average variance extracted values ranged from 0.50 to 0.61) and discriminant validity were adequate. A multigroup-analysis showed the invariance factorial through the difference in the RMSEA, CFI and TLI index, performed both in the model comparison according to gender and academic disciplines. Conclusion The AEFI adapted for Spanish has practical implications for the management of university students, as it can facilitate the improvement of university policies designed to foster the development of executive functions, specifically in first-year students

Style Guidelines for Naming and Labeling Ontologies in the Multilingual Web

In the context of the Semantic Web, natural language descriptions associated with ontologies have proven to be of major importance not only to support ontology developers and adopters, but also to assist in tasks such as ontology mapping, information extraction, or natural language generation. In the state-of-the-art we find some attempts to provide guidelines for URI local names in English, and also some disagreement on the use of URIs for describing ontology elements. When trying to extrapolate these ideas to a multilingual scenario, some of these approaches fail to provide a valid solution. On the basis of some real experiences in the translation of ontologies from English into Spanish, we provide a preliminary set of guidelines for naming and labeling ontologies in a multilingual scenario

Advocating for a change of mentality in the development of metadata standards: historical celestial cartography as a specialization example

We live in a highly volatile technological environment, in which the generation of new data and information access tools has increased the level of specialization of the users’ information needs. In this changeable scenario, standards and the role of librarians must also evolve along with the services provided to users. The lack of specialization in standards is leading librarians to improvise local solutions when cataloguing specialized resources, thus failing to benefit global interoperability among libraries, and with other institutions and initiatives. As different cataloguing standards, as well as many conceptual models, point out the necessity to deal with the specific users’ needs, the main goal of this paper is to advocate for meeting those needs through the development of metadata standards. In particular, our methodology consists in showing and explaining the needs of a particular type of users (astronomers and astrophysicists) and proposing the inclusion in the standards of elements important for the description of historical astronomical resources. Through an example, we show not only the feasibility of application of these elements, but also how the enhancement of the level of specialization of the standards, and therefore of the records made under their rules, can definitely contribute to a global solution for a much improved scientific information retrieval

Preclinical studies of toxicity and safety of the AS-48 bacteriocin

The in vitro antimicrobial potency of the bacteriocin AS-48 is well documented, but its clinical application requires investigation, as its toxicity could be different in in vitro (haemolytic and antibacterial activity in blood and cytotoxicity towards normal human cell lines) and in vivo (e.g. mice and zebrafish embryos) models. Overall, the results obtained are promising. They reveal the negligible propensity of AS-48 to cause cell death or impede cell growth at therapeutic concentrations and support the suitability of this peptide as a potential therapeutic agent against several microbial infections, due to its selectivity and potency at low concentrations. In addition, AS-48 exhibits low haemolytic activity in whole blood and does not induce nitrite accumulation in non-stimulated RAW macrophages, indicating a lack of pro-inflammatory effects. The unexpected heightened sensitivity of zebrafish embryos to AS-48 could be due to the low differentiation state of these cells. The low cytotoxicity of AS-48, the absence of lymphocyte proliferation in vivo after skin sensitization in mice, and the lack of toxicity in a murine model support the consideration of the broad spectrum antimicrobial peptideThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2013-48971-C2-1-R, CSD2010-00065, and AGL2015-67995-C3-3-R, all including funds from the European Regional Development Funding, ERDF) and by the Research Groups (BIO160, CTS 944 and CTS 164, UGR) from Junta de Andalucía (Spain). The CIBER-EHD is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. RM-E is grateful for an FPU Grant (FPU14/01537) from the Ministry of Education, (Spain)

A bicyclic α-iminophosphonate improves cognitive decline in 5xFAD murine model of neurodegeneration

I2 receptors (I2-IR) are widely distributed in the central nervous system. I2-IR ligands are associated with a neuroprotective effect but, as I2-IR structure remains unknown, the discovery of better and more selective ligands is necessary to understand the pharmacological and molecular implications of I2-IR. Recently, we described a new imidazoline-structure family which showed high affinity and selectivity for I2-IR. In vivo studies in mice indicated a neuroprotective role and revealed beneficial effects in behaviour and cognition with a murine model of neurodegeneration, senescence-accelerated prone mouse (SAMP8). Herein, we report a novel non-imidazoline-structure of bicyclic α-iminophosphonates family with high affinities for I2-IR. In vivo studies in 5X-FAD mice (a transgenic representative model of AD) and SAMP8 mice (a model of neurodegeneration linked to aging) showed an improvement in behaviour and cognition, a reduction of AD hallmarks and of neuroinflammation markers for the mice treated with the lead compound B06. After evaluating several pathways associated with neurodegeneration, we demonstrated that CaN pathway plays a critical role on the neuroprotective effects of I2-IR ligands on SAMP8 mice model. To rule out warnings of the novel family, we calculated DMPK and physicochemical properties for the novel bicyclic α-iminophosphonates. As well, we carried out drug metabolism, safety studies and in vivo pharmacokinetics for lead compound B06. In summary, we present a novel family of I2-IR ligands, its effectiveness in in vivo models and the possible neuroprotective molecular mechanism mediated by them. This highlights that the modulation of I2-IR by bicyclic α-iminophosphonates may open a new therapeutic venue for unmet neurodegenerative conditions

Bicyclic alfa-iminophosphonates as high affinity imidazoline I2 receptor ligands for Alzheimer's disease

Imidazoline I2 receptors (I2-IR), widely distributed in the CNS and altered in patients that suffered from neurodegenerative disorders, are orphan from the structural point of view and new I2-IR ligands are urgently required for improving their pharmacological characterization. We report the synthesis and 3D-QSAR studies of a new family of bicyclic α-iminophosphonates endowed with relevant affinities for human brain I2-IR. Acute treatment in mice with a selected compound significantly decreased the FADD protein in the hippocampus, a key marker in neuroprotective actions. Additionally, in vivo studies in the familial Alzheimer's disease 5xFAD murine model revealed beneficial effects in behavior and cognition. These results are supported by changes in molecular pathways related to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore bicyclic α-iminophosphonates are tools that may open new therapeutic avenues for I2-IR, particularly for unmet neurodegenerative conditions

Identification of teaching skills in the implementation of training plans for university teaching staff

[ES] Este artículo presenta el proyecto desarrollado durante el año 2011 por las unidades y centros de formación de las universidades públicas catalanas. El proyecto se orienta a la mejora de la calidad del sistema de educación superior y de la actividad del profesorado universitario mediante planes de formación específicamente diseñados con esta finalidad, centrándose primeramente en la identificación de competencias docentes definidas por la comunidad académica. Partiendo del contexto de implementación del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior se identifican aquellas competencias propias de la función docente, para que posteriormente puedan ser adquiridas, desarrolladas y evaluadas mediante la formación, identificando modelos, estrategias, instrumentos y recursos que lo permitan. El proceso de identificación de las competencias docentes del profesorado universitario se ha desarrollado partiendo de una revisión bibliográfica del estado del arte, para posteriormente ser modificada y validada por grupos de discusión conformados por expertos en competencias y formación docente. Los resultados de identificación de dichas competencias han sido finalmente refrendados mediante una encuesta respondida por una muestra representativa de la comunidad académica de las ocho universidades públicas catalanas. El objetivo fundamental del proyecto que aquí presentamos no es otro que el de contribuir a una formación de calidad del profesorado universitario, que permita la adquisición, desarrollo y evaluación de las competencias que, como docente, gran parte de la comunidad académica considera que debe poseer para el ejercicio de su labor profesional, definidas como: interpersonal, metodológica, comunicativa, de planificación y gestión de la docencia, de trabajo en equipo y de innovación.[EN] This article present the project developed in 2011 by units and training centers from all public universities in Catalonia. The project is devised towards the quality improvement of the higher education system and of the activity undertaken by the faculty at the university. In order to achieve these objectives, it focuses on the identification of teaching skills, defined by the academic community through training programs specifically designed for this purpose. Taking the implementation of the European Higher Education as starting point, the project intends to analyze the skills considered to belong by nature to the teaching task, as well as to define the necessary procedures to acquire, develop and evaluate them through training. At the same time it seeks to identify models, strategies, tools and resources. To this identification process we will make the necessary bibliographical research, in which the criteria of teaching excellence will allow us to select a representative sample of teachers. The selection will be performed through a survey and its quality will be validated by experts. The primary objective of the project shown here is basically to contribute to the quality training of university teachers, allowing the acquisition, development and evaluation of the skills considered essential by the academic community, in order to properly undertake their professional tasks, defined as: interpersonal, methodology, communication, planning and management of teaching, teamwork and innovation.Torra Bitlloch, I.; De Corral Manuel De Villena, I.; Pérez Cabrera, MJ.; Pagès Costas, T.; Valderrama Valles, E.; Màrquez Cebrian, MD.; Sabaté Díaz, S.... (2012). Identificación de competencias docentes que orienten el desarrollo de planes de formación dirigidos a profesorado universitario. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. 10(2):21-56. https://doi.org/10.4995/redu.2012.6096OJS2156102Aylett, R. & Gregory, K. (1997). Criteria for teaching competence and teaching excellence in Higher Education. London: Lalmer Press.Cano, E. (2005). Cómo mejorar las competencias de los docentes. Guía para la autoevaluación y el desarrollo de las competencias del profesorado. Colección desarrollo profesional del profesorado. Barcelona: Grao.Fielden, J. (2001). "Higher education staff development continuing mission". En Thematic dabte of the follow-up to the World Conference on High Education. UNESCO.Galán, A. (2007). El perfil del profesor universitario. Situación actual y retos de futuro. Madrid: Ediciones Encuentro.GIFD -Grup Interuniversitari de Formació Docent (2011). "Identificación, desarrollo y evaluación de competencias docentes en la aplicación de planes de formación dirigidos a profesorado universitario" (EA2010-0099). Programa estudios y análisis destinado a la mejora de la calidad de la enseñanza superior y de la actividad del profesorado universitario, Ministerio de Educación, Gobierno de España.González Soto, Á. P. & Sánchez Delgado, P. (2005). "¿Qué sabemos de cómo aprenden los alumnos en la universidad?". En Chamorro Plaza, M. & Sánchez Delgado, P. (Coords.) (2005): Iniciación a la docencia universitaria: Manual de ayuda. Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid. 11-44.González, F. & Wagenaar, R. (2003). Tuning Educational Structures in Europe. Final Repport. Phase One. Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto.OCDE (2001). Definition and selection of competencies: Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations. DeSeCo Background Paper.Perrenoud, P. (2004). Diez nuevas competencias para enseñar. Barcelona: Graó.Real Decreto 1393/2007, de 29 de octubre, por el que se establece la ordenación de las enseñanzas universitarias oficiales (BOE 30-10-07).Rodríguez Espinar, S. (2003). "La formación del profesorado universitario."Revista de Educación, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte de España, nº 331, Mayo- Agosto. 67-99. En Rué, J. (2007): Enseñar en la universidad: el EEES como reto para la educación superior. Madrid: Narcea.Rope, F. & Tanguy, L. (Dirs.) (1994). Savoirs et compétences. De l'usage de ces notions dans l'école et dans l'entreprise. L'Harmattan, col. «Logiques Sociales», París. Citado en: HORMS, O. (2009) La formación profesional en España. Hacia la sociedad del conocimiento. Colección Estudios Sociales nº 25, Edición electrónica disponible en: http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/ambitos/estudiossociales/volumenes09_es.html#vol25. [Consultado el 14 de marzo de 2011].Simpson, R.D. & Smith, K.S. (1995). "Validacing teaching competencies for graduate teaching assistants: a national study using the Delphi Method." En Innovative High Education, nº 2, 18, 133-146.Valcárcel, M. (Coord.) (2009). Modelos Prácticos y eficientes de formación y evaluación de competencias transversales en estudiantes y profesores. (Memoria EA2009-0127). Disponible en http://82.223.210.121/mec/ayudas. [Consultado el 10 de enero de 2011]Zabalza, M.A. (2007). Planes de formación del profesorado universitario. Encuentro ANECA sobre La evaluación del profesorado dentro de los Sistemas de Garantía de Calidad de las Instituciones Universitarias. http://www.aneca.es/servicios/docs/burgos07_09_zabalza.pdf [Consultado el 10 de enero de 2011]Zarifian, P. (1999). Objectif compétence. Pour une nouvelle logique. París: Éditions Liaisons, col. Enterprise et carrières