AfrOBIS: a marine biogeographic information system for sub-Saharan Africa

AfrOBIS is one of 11 global nodes of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), a freely accessible network of databases collating marine data in support of the Census of Marine Life. Versatile graphic products, provided by OBIS, can be used to display the data. To date, AfrOBIS has loaded about3.2 million records of more than 23 000 species located mainly in the seas around southern Africa. This forms part of the 13.2 million records of more than 80 000 species currently stored in OBIS. Scouting for South African data has been successful, whereas locating records in other African countries has been much less so

AfrOBIS: a marine biogeographic information system for sub-Saharan Africa

AfrOBIS is one of 11 global nodes of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), a freely accessible network of databases collating marine data in support of the Census of Marine Life. Versatile graphic products, provided by OBIS, can be used to display the data. To date, AfrOBIS has loaded about 3.2 million records of more than 23 000 species located mainly in the seas around southern Africa. This forms part of the 13.2 million records of more than 80 000 species currently stored in OBIS. Scouting for South African data has been successful, whereas locating records in other African countries has been much less so

Improving the assessment of transferable skills in chemistry through evaluation of current practice

The development and assessment of transferable skills acquired by students, such as communication and teamwork, within undergraduate degrees is being increas-ingly emphasised. Many instructors have designed and implemented assessment tasks with the aim to provide students with opportunities to acquire and demon-strate these skills. We have now applied our previously published tool to evaluate whether assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate achievement of these transferable skills. The tool allows detailed evaluation of the alignment of any as-sessment item against the claimed set of learning outcomes. We present here two examples in which use of the tool provides evidence for the level of achievement of transferable skills and a further example of use of the tool to inform curricu-lum design and pedagogy, with the goal of increasing achievement of communi-cation and teamwork bench marks. Implications for practice in assessment design for learning are presented

The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education in Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Using a teaching model framework, we systematically review empirical evidence on the impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) in higher education on a range of entrepreneurial outcomes, analyzing 159 published articles from 2004 to 2016. The teaching model framework allows us for the first time to start rigorously examining relationships between pedagogical methods and specific outcomes. Reconfirming past reviews and meta-analyses, we find that EE impact research still predominantly focuses on short-term and subjective outcome measures and tends to severely underdescribe the actual pedagogies being tested. Moreover, we use our review to provide an up-to-date and empirically rooted call for less obvious, yet greatly promising, new or underemphasized directions for future research on the impact of university-based entrepreneurship education. This includes, for example, the use of novel impact indicators related to emotion and mind-set, focus on the impact indicators related to the intention-to-behavior transition, and exploring the reasons for some contradictory findings in impact studies including person-, context-, and pedagogical model-specific moderator

Gut Microbiota, Probiotics and Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition of multifactorial origin, involving several molecular mechanisms related to the intestinal microbiota for its development. In type 2 diabetes, receptor activation and recognition by microorganisms from the intestinal lumen may trigger inflammatory responses, inducing the phosphorylation of serine residues in insulin receptor substrate-1, reducing insulin sensitivity. In type 1 diabetes, the lowered expression of adhesion proteins within the intestinal epithelium favours a greater immune response that may result in destruction of pancreatic β cells by CD8+ T-lymphocytes, and increased expression of interleukin-17, related to autoimmunity. Research in animal models and humans has hypothesized whether the administration of probiotics may improve the prognosis of diabetes through modulation of gut microbiota. We have shown in this review that a large body of evidence suggests probiotics reduce the inflammatory response and oxidative stress, as well as increase the expression of adhesion proteins within the intestinal epithelium, reducing intestinal permeability. Such effects increase insulin sensitivity and reduce autoimmune response. However, further investigations are required to clarify whether the administration of probiotics can be efficiently used for the prevention and management of diabetes

Adubos orgânicos e organominerais como alternativa sustentável para a cultura do milho (Zea mays L.).

Mineral fertilizers, in addition to being costly when misused, can be aggressive to the soil and the environment. For this reason, it is necessary to evaluate other sources of nutrients for plants. For this purpose, the experiment was installed under field conditions, with the objective of evaluating the efficiency of bat guano and organomineral organic fertilizers, resulting from the mixture based on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK), in formula-12-24-12, on the development and yield of corn (Zea mays L.), submitted to a completely randomized block design, with 4 treatments and 4 repetitions. The treatments were mineral fertilizer (NPK, 12-24-12), bat guano, organomineral (NPK and bat guano), and the control. The results show that the bat guano provided the greatest increase in plant height and number of grains, while the largest increments in stem diameter, number of leaves, cob weight, grain weight, and higher yield, were obtained by the organomineral. These results have been achieved, despite the fact that organic fertilizers have low concentrations of NPK, when complemented with mineral fertilization, they promote positive effects on plants, since they make better use of nutrients through the timing of release throughout their development. It was concluded that organic and organomineral fertilizers can be used as a sustainable alternative to increase yields in the corn crop in replacement of mineral fertilizers.Los fertilizantes minerales, además de ser costosos cuando se usan incorrectamente, pueden ser agresivos para el suelo y el medio ambiente. Por esta razón, es necesario evaluar otras fuentes de nutrientes para las plantas. Para este propósito, el experimento se instaló en condiciones de campo, con el objetivo de evaluar la eficiencia del guano de murciélago orgánico y los fertilizantes organominerales, como resultado de la mezcla de guano y fertilizante complejo a base de nitrógeno, fósforo y potasio. (NPK), en la fórmula 12-24-12, sobre el desarrollo y rendimiento del cultivo de maíz (Zea mays L.), sometido a un diseño experimental de bloques completos al azar, con 4 tratamientos y 4 repeticiones. Los tratamientos fueron fertilizante mineral (NPK, 24-12-12), guano de murciélago, organomineral y el control. Los resultados muestran que el guano de murciélago proporcionó el mayor aumento en la altura de la planta y el número de granos por mazorca, mientras que los mayores incrementos en el diámetro del tallo, el número de hojas, el peso de la mazorca, el peso del grano, así como un mayor rendimiento por área , fueron obtenidos por el organomineral. Estos resultados se lograron, a pesar del hecho de que los fertilizantes orgánicos tienen bajas concentraciones de NPK, cuando se complementan con la fertilización mineral, promueven efectos positivos en las plantas, ya que hacen un mejor uso de los nutrientes a través del momento de la liberación a lo largo de su desarrollo. Se concluyó que los fertilizantes minerales orgánicos y orgánicos pueden usarse como una alternativa sostenible para aumentar los rendimientos en el cultivo de maíz en reemplazo de los fertilizantes minerales.Os fertilizantes minerais para além de apresentarem custos onerosos, quando mal empregues, podem ser agressivos aos solos e ao meio ambiente. Por este motivo, é necessária a avaliação de outras fontes de nutrientes para as plantas. Para o efeito, foi instalado o experimento em condições de campo, com o objetivo de avaliar a eficiência dos adubos orgânicos a base de guano de morcego e o organomineral, resultante da mistura do guano e do fertilizante complexo a base de nitrogênio, fosforo e potássio (NPK), na fórmula-12-24-12, sobre o desenvolvimento e rendimento da cultura do milho (Zea mays L.), submetidas em desenho experimental de blocos completos casualizados, com 4 tratamentos e 4 repetições. Os tratamentos foram, o adubo mineral (NPK, 12-24-12), o guano de morcego, o organomineral, e a testemunha. Os resultados mostram que o guano de morcego proporcionou maior incremento na altura da planta e número de grãos por espiga, enquanto que os maiores incrementos do diâmetro do caule, número de folhas, peso da espiga, peso dos grãos, assim como maior rendimento por área, foram obtidos pelo organomineral. Estes resultados foram alcançados, apesar dos adubos orgânicos apresentarem baixas concentrações de NPK, quando complementados com adubação mineral, promovem efeitos positivos às plantas, uma vez que estas aproveitam melhor os nutrientes através do sincronismo de liberação ao longo do seu desenvolvimento. Concluiu-se que, os adubos orgânicos e organominerais podem ser utilizados como alternativa sustentável para o aumento dos rendimentos na cultura do milho em substituição dos adubos minerais