Using digital pens to expedite the marking procedure

This is the Post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 Inderscience PublishersDigital pens have been introduced over the last six years and have demonstrated that they can be used effectively for collecting, processing and storing data. These properties make them ideal for use in education, particularly in the marking procedure of multiple-choice questions (MCQ). In this report, we present a system that was designed to expedite the marking procedure of MCQ, for use at any educational level. The main element of the system is a digital pen, i.e. given to the students prior to the examination. On return of the pen, the system immediately recognises the students' answers and produces their results. In this specific research, four groups of students were studied and a variety of data were collected, concerning issues, such as accuracy, time gained by the use of the system and the impressions of the students. The pedagogic value of the use of the system is also presented

Geochemistry and origin of the Asimotrypes carbonate hosted mesothermal gold deposit, Pangeon mountain, N. Greece

The Asimotrypes mesothermal gold deposit located in the Pangeon Mt (E. Macedonia, N. Greece), is part of the Western Rhodope Massif (WRM), which represents the metamorphic core complex of an alpine collision orogen. Alpine metamorphism, of U. Cretaceous - M. Eocene age, reached upper greenschist to lower amphibolite conditions. A low-pressure greenshist fades retrograde overprint during uplift marked the end of Alpine metamorphism in the Miocene. Post-metamorphic Miocene uplift has been recognised in the Pangeon Mt and it was ascribed to Late Cainozoic extensional tectonics.The Asimotrypes ore, of replacement and shear-zone style consists mainly of arsenopyrite, pyrite and gold, with subordinate sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, tetrahedrite-tennantite, marcasite, covellite and malachite. Gold is either refractory occurring mainly in arsenopyrite and to a lesser extent in Aspyrite, or free in the oxide minerals.Three types of fluid inclusions (with subtypes) were recognised based on constituent phases at room temperature and microthermometric behaviour: (i) H2O-CO2 3-phase inclusions: L1 (H2O)+L2 (CO2)+V (CO2); (ii) Aqueous 2-phase inclusions: L+V; and (iii) Naturally decrepitated and/or leaked inclusions: V or L+V. The fluids have low salinity (<5 wt % NaCl equiv.), but variable CO2/H2O ratios. Microthermometric studies in gangue quartz indicate early ore deposition at P-T conditions of 275º-310ºC and 2.7-3.1 kb during unmixing of the mineralising fluids, followed by deposition at temperatures down to 130ºC and low near surface pressures. δ34S values of primary sulphide minerals suggest a magmatic source for the sulphur. δ13C values in marble calcite are indicative of a marine environment of deposition, also supported by a plot of δ13C versus δ18O for the same samples. Calculated isotopic composition of ore fluids in quartz, sericite and whole rock at 275ºC and 340ºC are consistent with values of metamorphic fluids. Whole rock hydrogen isotopic composition of -117±7.5 (lσ) indicates that the mineralising fluid was of meteoric origin. Sr isotope data implies seawater origin for strontium. Lead isotope data in ores from the Rhodope showed that Pb is derived from crustal rock types.  Sulphide species such as Au (HS)-2, were probably the most effective complexing agents for gold in the Asimotrypes fluids, which were typically low in salinity. A decrease of sulphur species activity and cooling are suggested to be the favoured depositional mechanism in a reducing environment. Combined with geological evidence, the fluid inclusion and stable data of the Asimotrypes gold ore, are consistent with genesis from deeply convecting meteoric waters driven by regional uplift through rocks undergoing retrogressive greenschist facies metamorphism

First record of the wood-boring beetles Oxymirus cursor and Sinodendron cylindricum in Greece

Δύο είδη ξυλοφάγων κολεοπτέρων καταγράφηκαν για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα. Στα τέλη του Ιουνίου 2001, το είδος Oxymirus cursor (L.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) της φυλής Oxymirini βρέθηκε στο όρος Ροδόπη, ενώ στις αρχές Αυγούστου 2012 το είδος Sinodendron cylindricum (L.) (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) της φυλής Sinidendrini βρέθηκε στο όρος Φαλακρό, στη Β. Ελλάδα. Παρουσιάζονται εικόνες των δύο ειδών καθώς και πληροφορίες σχετικά με την εξάπλωση τους, την βιολογία και οικολογία τους.Two wood-boring beetles are recorded for the first time in Greece. On late June 2001, the lepturine longicorn beetle Oxymirus cursor (L.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) was found on Mt. Rodopi, and on early August 2012 the lucanid beetle Sinodendron cylindricum (L.) (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) was found on Mt. Falakron, in N. Greece. Images of both species and information on their distribution, ecology and biology, are presented

Epstein–Barr virus: LMP1 masquerades as an active receptor

AbstractThe Epstein–Barr virus protein LMP1 is essential for transformation of resting B cells by the virus, but how it works is unclear. Recent results suggest that LMP1 acts as a constitutively active receptor that shares certain characteristics with members of the tumour necrosis factor receptor superfamily

A Splicing Mutation in the Novel Mitochondrial Protein DNAJC11 Causes Motor Neuron Pathology Associated with Cristae Disorganization, and Lymphoid Abnormalities in Mice

Mitochondrial structure and function is emerging as a major contributor to neuromuscular disease, highlighting the need for the complete elucidation of the underlying molecular and pathophysiological mechanisms. Following a forward genetics approach with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-mediated random mutagenesis, we identified a novel mouse model of autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease caused by a splice-site hypomorphic mutation in a novel gene of unknown function, DnaJC11. Recent findings have demonstrated that DNAJC11 protein co-immunoprecipitates with proteins of the mitochondrial contact site (MICOS) complex involved in the formation of mitochondrial cristae and cristae junctions. Homozygous mutant mice developed locomotion defects, muscle weakness, spasticity, limb tremor, leucopenia, thymic and splenic hypoplasia, general wasting and early lethality. Neuropathological analysis showed severe vacuolation of the motor neurons in the spinal cord, originating from dilatations of the endoplasmic reticulum and notably from mitochondria that had lost their proper inner membrane organization. The causal role of the identified mutation in DnaJC11 was verified in rescue experiments by overexpressing the human ortholog. The full length 63 kDa isoform of human DNAJC11 was shown to localize in the periphery of the mitochondrial outer membrane whereas putative additional isoforms displayed differential submitochondrial localization. Moreover, we showed that DNAJC11 is assembled in a high molecular weight complex, similarly to mitofilin and that downregulation of mitofilin or SAM50 affected the levels of DNAJC11 in HeLa cells. Our findings provide the first mouse mutant for a putative MICOS protein and establish a link between DNAJC11 and neuromuscular diseases

The Transmembrane Domains of the EBV-Encoded Latent Membrane Protein 1 (LMP1) Variant CAO Regulate Enhanced Signalling Activity

AbstractSequence variants of the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-encoded latent membrane protein-1 (LMP1) have been reported in association with EBV-linked malignancies but little is known about their effects on signalling pathways and phenotype. We have examined the ability of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)-derived variant, CAO-LMP1 to activate the transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1 in epithelial cells. In this study, transient expression of CAO-LMP1 was found to activate higher levels of NF-κB and AP-1 than the prototype B95.8-LMP1 in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells and SV40-transformed keratinocytes (SVK). In addition, pulse–chase analysis revealed that CAO-LMP1 has a longer half-life than B95.8-LMP1. Chimera studies localised these phenomena to the transmembrane domains of CAO-LMP1, suggesting that this enhanced signalling capacity may be a consequence of its prolonged half-life. The ability of CAO-LMP1 to activate higher levels of NF-κB and AP-1 may contribute to its potent transforming properties