In-service teacher education course module design focusing om usability of ICT applications in science education

Peer reviewe

α/β-Hydrolase Domain 6 Deletion Induces Adipose Browning and Prevents Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

SummarySuppression of α/β-domain hydrolase-6 (ABHD6), a monoacylglycerol (MAG) hydrolase, promotes glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by pancreatic β cells. We report here that high-fat-diet-fed ABHD6-KO mice show modestly reduced food intake, decreased body weight gain and glycemia, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, and enhanced locomotor activity. ABHD6-KO mice also show increased energy expenditure, cold-induced thermogenesis, brown adipose UCP1 expression, fatty acid oxidation, and white adipose browning. Adipose browning and cold-induced thermogenesis are replicated by the ABHD6 inhibitor WWL70 and by antisense oligonucleotides targeting ABHD6. Our evidence suggests that one mechanism by which the lipolysis derived 1-MAG signals intrinsic and cell-autonomous adipose browning is via PPARα and PPARγ activation, and that ABHD6 regulates adipose browning by controlling signal competent 1-MAG levels. Thus, ABHD6 regulates energy homeostasis, brown adipose function, and white adipose browning and is a potential therapeutic target for obesity and type 2 diabetes

Variation in Vector Competence for Dengue Viruses Does Not Depend on Mosquito Midgut Binding Affinity

Several factors, such as mosquito and virus genetics and environmental variables, determine the ability of mosquitoes to transmit dengue viruses. In this report, we describe new and important information that in some ways contradicts what is in the literature. Midgut infection barriers have been described as important determinants of virus transmission in mosquitoes but we found that virus binding to these midgut cells does not vary. When we compared binding of 8 different, low passage dengue viruses to mosquito midguts that were dissected out of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (the main vectors of dengue) from Mexico and Texas, we found that there were no differences. Previously, we (and others) had shown that these same viruses differed significantly in replication and dissemination throughout the rest of the mosquito body, including the salivary glands, and therefore they differed greatly in their potential to be transmitted to humans. Thus, the data presented here are important considerations for future studies of vector competence and in determining strategies for control of dengue viruses in the vector

L'artisanat en milieu rural sur le territoire de la suisse actuelle : présentation d'un projet de recherche

Im Rahmen des Projektes CRAFTS, das von der Vereinigung Instrumentum/SEMANT ins Leben gerufen wurde, sammelt ein interdisziplinâres Team, das vom Nationalfonds der Schweiz finanziert wird, seit Januar 2002 die Gesamtheit der auf helvetischem Gebiet verfügbaren Quellen zu römischem Handwerk. Diese Bestandsaumahme soil als Grundlage zur Analyse und dem Vergleich von Strukturen, der ökono- mischen Rolle und der sozialen Positionierung der Handwerker in der römischen Epoche in Italien und in den westlichen Provinzen dienen. Um die laufenden Arbeiten darzustellen, werden vier Fälle vorgestellt, die unter den bereits aufgenommenen Handwerken in ländlicher Umgebung ausgewählt wurden: Das Handwerk in einigen villae des Schweizer Plateaus, der Forschungsstand der alpinen Region, die Herstellung von konserviertem Fleisch und die Stein- und Eisenverarbeitung auf dem Fundplatz Chables- Les-Saux. Uber diese vier Fälle hinweg werden nicht weniger als acht Handwerke zitiert : Bauhandwerk, Bronze- und Eisenproduktion, Keramikherstellung, Abbau von Bergkristall und Muschelkalksandstein, Steinschnitt und Fleischverarbeitung.Since January 2002, as part of the CRAFTS project launched by the Instrumentum/SEMANT association, a multidisciplinary team financed by the Swiss National Fund is collecting all the available evidence for Roman craft industry in Switzerland. This survey is necessary to provide a framework for analysis and comparison of the structure, economic role and social position of the craftsmen in the Roman period in Italy and the western provinces. To illustrate work in progress four cases are presented, chosen amongst the already known craft industries in a rural environment : the craft industry in villas on the Swiss plateau, the state of research in Alpine areas, the production of preserved meat, and stone and iron working on the site of Châbles-Les Saux. These four cases involve no less than eight craft industries : building, bronze and iron working, pottery production, working of rock crystal and sandstone, potstone and meat treatment.Dans le cadre du projet CRAFTS lancé par l'association Instrumentum/SEMANT, une équipe pluridisciplinaire financée par le Fonds national suisse récolte depuis janvier 2002, pour le territoire helvétique, l'ensemble des sources disponibles sur l'artisanat romain. Ce recensement doit servir de base à une analyse et une comparaison des structures, du rôle économique et de la position sociale des artisans à l'époque romaine en Italie et dans les provinces occidentales. Afin d'évoquer le travail en cours, quatre cas sont présentés, choisis parmi les artisanats en milieu rural déjà recensés : l'artisanat dans quelques villae du Plateau suisse, l'état de la recherche dans les régions alpines, la production de conserves de viande et le travail de la pierre et du fer sur le site de Châbles-Les Saux. À travers ces quatre cas, ce ne sont pas moins de huit artisanats qui sont évoqués : construction, travail du bronze et du fer, production de céramique, exploitation du cristal de roche et du grès coquillier, taille de la pierre ollaire et traitement de la viande.Aimrein Heidi, Deschler-Erb Echhard, Deschler-Erb Sabine, Duvauchelle A., Pernet Lionel. L'artisanat en milieu rural sur le territoire de la Suisse actuelle : présentation d'un projet de recherche. In: Revue archéologique de Picardie, n°1-2, 2003. Cultivateurs, éleveurs et artisans dans les campagnes de Gaule romaine., sous la direction de Sébastien Lepetz et Véronique Matterne. pp. 185-193

Das römerzeitliche Handwerk in der Schweiz. Bestandsaufnahme und erste Synthesen / L'artisanat en Suisse à l'époque romaine. Recensement et premières synthèses.

Synthèse sur la question de l'artisanat romain sur le territoire de la Suisse actuelle

In-service teacher education course module design focusing on usability of ICT applications in science education

Teachers face challenges in adopting ICT applications for science teaching and learning. An in-service teacher education course module addressing the needs of science teachers particularly was developed through a design-based research (DBR) project. The course module is designed to improve the readiness of teachers in choosing ICT applications for science education and taking the technical and pedagogical usability of the application into account. An international survey showed that clarifyingthe needs and constraints of using ICT applications in science education as well as introducing and discussing both technical and pedagogical usability with the teachers was important. Moreover, a theoretical analysis of the usability of ICT applications offers various views on meaningful learning and motivational aspects of science teaching and learning. In this paper, we report what we learned from the experience of designing the course module, which is described and discussed in terms of theoutcomes of both the theoretical and empirical problem analysis