Different applications of concept maps in Higher Education

Purpose: The aim of this work is to show different applications of concept maps in higher education, concretely in qualifications of the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Design/methodology/approach: Different methodologies have been used depending on the application of concept maps: as evaluation tool, as knowledge organizing tool, and as meaningful learning tool. Findings: Students consider the concept maps useful principally to select key ideas, to achieve a comprehensive view of the lesson, and to bring up the subject. Moreover, concept maps promote the meaningful and active learning, help students to understand, follow-up, and learn subjects with a high load of contents. Research limitations/implications: The most important limitation is the use of the concept maps in subjects with a high number of students. Practical implications: The realization of concept maps allows the student to develop generic competences. Originality/value: The originality of this work is to show how a same tool can be used in different subjects of different qualifications. © Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 2011.Bes Piá, A.; Blasco-Tamarit, E.; Muñoz Portero, MJ. (2011). Different applications of concept maps in Higher Education. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management. 4(1):81-102. doi:10.3926/jiem.2011.v4n1.p81-102Senia811024

Tensor-based morphometry (TBM) of T₂-weighted images to contrast anatomical changes in MPTP-treated marmosets.

<p>Color scales are for volume difference (green), the raw t-statistical value at each voxel and the direction of the change (warm colors = expansion, cold colors = atrophy). Volume changes which survive multiple comparisons corrections across all voxels in the brain (False Discovery Rate with q<0.05) are also shown. <b>A.</b> 6 degrees of freedom (dof) TBM reveals local changes, but does not control for brain size differences. The t maps reveal sub-regional changes in the MPTP-treated animals compared to controls. The directionality map indicates that regional increases are mostly reflected in the ventricular system or the space between the cerebellum and spinal cord. Atrophy is seens mostly in the motor, temporal and parietal cortex, but little change in observed in sub-cortical structures on these comparisons. None of these changes survive a FDR correction for multiple statistical comparisons potentially due to variability and insufficient power. One source of variation that can dramatically affect sub-regional detection of changes is the difference in brain size due to animals of different ages being included here. <b>B.</b> Accounting for 9 dof, TBM can reveal sub-region-specific changes that are corrected for global changes (i.e. differences in brain volume). Indeed, this correction produces more consistent effects that survive FDR. Still, cortical areas show a clearer pattern of atrophy compared to sub-cortical regions, with only very subtle effects evident in the caudate or putamen. (Ctx = Cortex, Ento = Entorhinal, Temp = temporal; SMC = somatosensory cortex, SN = substantia nigra, VTA = ventral tegmental area, Hypothal = hypothalamus).</p

Definition and delineation of regions of interests on T₂-weighted MRI scans.

<p>To control for overall age and growth differences between animals, total skull volume was measured, as this is considered an independent measurement that is not affected by changes in brain tissue and allows a contrast with total brain volume. Using the marmoset atlas [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0180733#pone.0180733.ref049" target="_blank">49</a>], the caudate, the putamen, the substantia nigra (SN), and hippocampus were delineated. Cortical thickness was evaluated in the motor, parietal and temporal cortex (Ctx) using five measurements each. For relative signal measurements, a ROI in the visual cortex (purple square) served as internal control.</p

Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the substantia nigra (SN) of normal (a) and MPTP-treated common marmosets.

<p>TH-immunoreactive neurones in normal, drug naive (a) and MPTP-treated (b) substantia nigra were significantly reduced at the level of 3^rd cranial nerve following MPTP treatment. Each data point represents mean ± sem (n = 7) ***P<0.001(c). The scale bar represents 200 μm.</p

Motor performance and loss of dopaminergic innervation of the nigral-striatal pathway.

<p><b>A.</b> Motor activity and motor disability in MPTP treated common marmoset treated with a single dose of 12.5mg/kg levodopa plus 12.5 mg/kg carbidopa. Administration of levodopa led a marked increased in motor activity (left panel) and marked reduction in motor disability (right panel). Both motor activity and motor disability peak at around 90 min of levodopa oral administration. Each data point is a mean ± s.e.m, n = 7. <b>B.</b> A denervation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive dopaminergic fibers is seen in the caudate and putamen after MPTP administration. <b>C.</b> A higher magnification of the caudate and putamen further highlights the dramatic loss of dopaminergic fibers in both structures with an even loss throughout the structure. <b>D.</b> A quantification of TH+ neurons in the substantia nigra further demonstrated a significant (p<0.001) loss of ~80% of these neurons due to MPTP treatment.</p

Frequency dependent increase in contractile response of isolated detrusor strips in response to trains of 20 pulses at frequencies ranging from 0.25 to 40 Hz in the absence or in the presence of 1 μM atropine in normal and equivalent tissues from MPTP animals respectively.

<p>In detrusor strips from drug naïve animals, atropine significantly inhibited peak contractile responses at frequencies above 20 Hz (a). In strips from MPTP-treated animals (b), atropine did not significantly decrease peak contractions. Time course of EFS-evoked contractile responses of detrusor strips from normal detrusor strips at 4 Hz (c) and 40 Hz (d) shows a biphasic contractile profile. In this tissue both phases of contraction were reduced by atropine while in MPTP tissues, atropine inhibited the second phase to a greater extent at the 4 Hz (e) and 40 Hz (f). Each data point represents mean ± sem (n = 5) * P<0.05.</p

Calculation of statistical power.

<p><b>A.</b> Graphical representation of total sample size required for a given effect size to achieve different levels of statistical power for two-tailed (i.e. if no hypothesis regarding direction of effect is available) t-test comparisons. The effect size for different comparisons is indicated in this graph with the corresponding statistical power. With N = 11 in the current experiment, a sufficient statistical power 1-β>0.8 is achieved to avoid Type II errors (i.e. false negatives) with a Type I error (false positives) rate set at 5% (i.e. p<0.05). <b>B.</b> Illustration of a power analysis for Pearson’s correlations indicates that small r values (<0.4) require substantial sample sizes to achieve sufficient power to afford a valid comparison at the 5% Type I error rate. In primate studies small sample size are typical due to availability of subjects. A total sample size of 11 is insufficient to achieve an 80% power even with r = 0.9. Significant correlations with medium to high associations of measures would require sample sizes >50 subjects. In rats, we have previously demonstrated that significant correlations between neuropathological measurements and MRI can be performed with N = 15 with high associations (r>0.7) [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0180733#pone.0180733.ref025" target="_blank">25</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0180733#pone.0180733.ref027" target="_blank">27</a>].</p

Animal characteristics.

<p>Animal characteristics.</p

Annotated provisional agenda. Fifty-sixth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean

<p>Data are individual scores. Left graph: dyskinesia score in MPTP-treated marmosets having received Radiprodil (2 mg/kg) and Tozadenant (150 mg/kg) treatment alone or in combination over the 10-hour of behavioural recording. Right graph: dyskinesia scores recorded over 5 hours after L-Dopa treatment (8 mg/kg; **, p<0.05, Mann-Withney test).</p

Delineation and distinction of anatomical structures on T₂-weighted MR images.

<p>The high spatial resolution used here (0.0875 mm³/voxel) afforded the clear delineation of anatomical regions in the midbrain, such as the deep mesencephalic nucleus, red nucleus, ventral tegmental area, rostral subnucleus. subthalamic nucleus, as well as the substantia nigra. However, the lack of well-defined signal differences between these did not allow separate volumetric quantification of these. The putamen in contrast could be reliable delineated against surround structures, such as the external globus pallidus, the internal capsule, the caudate, as well as the insularis cortex. The caudate was also easily distinguished from surrounding structures, such as the corona radiate, the putamen and overlaying cortical areas, such as the motor and parietal cortex. Although no clear anatomical distinction between motor and parietal cortex was possible based on signal intensity, the distinctive shapes of the corona radiate allowed us to perform separate and consistent measurements within the motor and parietal cortical areas. The hippocampus was clearly resolved on T₂-weighted images and afforded a reliable measurement with a high inter- and intra-rater reliability (>96%), but sub-structures, such as the CA1-4, granular layer of the dentate gyrus (GrDG), alveus, or the parasubiculum (PaS), prosubiculum (ProS), presubiculum (PrS), subiculum (S) could not be sufficiently and consistently resolved for separate volumetric measurements.</p