Methods for compressing k-mers set with counters

openWith this work we want to find an efficient way to compress k-mers sets with counters since they take up a lot of disk space but their use brings several advantages over genomes or sets of genomes. Here some strategies are pro- posed to explore the cdBGs in order to produce smaller files than UST and the counts encoding has been revised. A new application has been presented to implement the above strategies and fix a bug in UST which caused wrong counts ordering. It has been shown that it is possible to improve the com- pression with respect to UST based on the density of the graph. Finally, a small value of k leads to denser graphs and therefore better results.With this work we want to find an efficient way to compress k-mers sets with counters since they take up a lot of disk space but their use brings several advantages over genomes or sets of genomes. Here some strategies are pro- posed to explore the cdBGs in order to produce smaller files than UST and the counts encoding has been revised. A new application has been presented to implement the above strategies and fix a bug in UST which caused wrong counts ordering. It has been shown that it is possible to improve the com- pression with respect to UST based on the density of the graph. Finally, a small value of k leads to denser graphs and therefore better results

Formare per innovare al Politecnico di Torino: Faculty Development, esperienza e ricerca con gli studenti del corso di Ingegneria aerospaziale attraverso il Team Based Learning

Questo articolo descrive un’esperienza di didattica innovativa nata nell’ambito del progetto Learning to Teach (L2T) presso il Politecnico di Torino. L2T è un progetto di Faculty Development che comprende essenzialmente tre fasi: un corso longitudinale mirato allo sviluppo delle competenze didattiche dei docenti universitari, la sperimentazione di nuove forme di  insegnamento/apprendimento e l’accompagnamento dei docenti sperimentatori. L’articolo riporta l’esperienza di un docente senior del Politecnico, il quale, dopo aver partecipato al corso L2T, ha deciso di introdurre una strategia didattica collaborativa, il Team Based Learning(TBL), nel suo insegnamento di ingegneria aerospaziale. L’articolo descrive il contesto del Politecnico di Torino, le caratteristiche del TBL, la sperimentazione condotta dal docente corredata dai risultati raggiuntidagli studenti. Questo articolo evidenzia il circolo virtuoso che si può realizzare tra formazione, sperimentazione, riflessione e comunicazione scientifica, cioè come iniziative di Faculty Development possano produrrecambiamenti nei comportamenti dei docenti e favorire anche attività di riflessione e ricerca sulla didattica universitaria, dando avvio a processi di scholarship of teaching and learning

Team-Based Learning in Aerospace Engineering Education: Fostering Collaboration, Inclusivity, and long-term Knowledge Retention

Aerospace engineering education demands innovative approaches to prepare students for the complexities of the industry. Team-Based Learning (TBL) offers a solution by cultivating active learning, critical thinking, and teamwork. This abstract explores TBL's integration in aerospace engineering education, emphasizing its impact on student engagement, knowledge retention, and collaborative skills and fostering a more inclusive learning environment. TBL addresses the multidisciplinary nature of aerospace through team collaboration on authentic engineering problems. The readiness assurance process is central, involving pre-class individual study, team assessments, and peer discussions. This fosters critical thinking and justifying solutions, replicating real-world aerospace scenarios. One notable advantage of TBL is its positive impact on long term knowledge retention. Collaborative activities and peer interactions facilitate deeper understanding and memory consolidation, contributing to a solid foundation—an essential aspect of aerospace education. Moreover, Inclusive TBL addresses diversity-related challenges often present in STEM fields. By encouraging diverse perspectives, it creates a space where underrepresented students feel valued and heard. Collaborative tasks also provide opportunities for students to learn from each other's unique experiences and backgrounds, enriching the learning process. This work describes an innovative training experience carried out as part of the Learning to Teach (L2T) project at the Politecnico di Torino. L2T is a Faculty Development project which basically includes three steps: a longitudinal course aimed at developing the teaching skills of university lecturers, the experimentation of new forms of teaching/learning and the coaching of the experimenting lecturers. The article reports on the experience of a senior lecturer at the Politecnico who, after completing the L2T course, has decided to introduce a collaborative teaching strategy, Team Based Learning (TBL), into his aerospace engineering course. The work will describe the context of the Politecnico di Torino, the features of TBL, the experimentation carried out by the faculty member and the results achieved by the students. This article highlights the virtuous circle that can be implemented by training, experimentation, scientific thinking, and communication, in other words, how Faculty Development initiatives can produce changes in the attitudes of lecturers and also encourage activities of reflection and research on university training, giving rise to processes of scholarship of teaching and learning