Teaching portfolios in higher education and their effects: an explorative study

Although many authors claim benefits of teaching portfolios for use in higher education settings, there are few empirical studies that investigate these benefits. This article deals with the question of whether teaching portfolios are used in higher education, and if so, which effects they bring about. Furthermore, the attitude of teachers towards the use of teaching portfolios is examined. The study shows that currently not very many teachers are using teaching portfolios. When used, a teaching portfolio is an instrument that can bring about some important positive effects. Respondents report that, due to the use of portfolios, they were stimulated to reflect on their own teaching, to actualise the learning content, to improve their course materials, to search for alternative educational methods, etc. When teachers are using teaching portfolios it is important that, besides any negative effects, they also experience positive effects. If this is not the case, teachers will see the teaching portfolio only as an extra administrative inconvenience

Steatoda nobilis : A comparative study including full body MALDI Imaging and application to Venomics field.

The Noble false widow spider Steatoda nobilis is a member of the Therididae family, akin the ¿true¿ Black widows of the genus Latrodectus. Sn is rapidly expanding its geographic range throughout Europe and parts of the Americas, particularly in and around human dwellings. Sn has also been shown to be of medical significance in the UK and in Ireland, where a growing number of severe cases of envenomation has occurred over the past five years [Dunbar, 2021]. To illustrate the comparison of both male and female Sn profiles, we additionally present the first whole-body imaging of a spider using MALDI mass spectrometry. This proof-of concept allows to compare the anatomy of females and males based on molecular markers (specific m/z distribution on spider slices)

FT-ICR Mass Spectrometry Imaging at Extreme Mass Resolving Power Using a Dynamically Harmonized ICR Cell with 1 omega or 2 omega Detection

ABSTRACT: MALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) is a powerful analytical method for achieving 2D localization of compounds from thin sections of typically but not exclusively biological samples. The dynamically harmonized ICR cell (ParaCell) was recently introduced to achieve extreme spectral resolution capable of providing the isotopic fine structure of ions detected in complex samples. The latest improvement in the ICR technology also includes 2 omega detection, which significantly reduces the transient time while preserving the nominal mass resolving power of the ICR cell. High-resolution MS images acquired on FT-ICR instruments equipped with 7T and 9.4T superconducting magnets and the dynamically harmonized ICR cell operating at suboptimal parameters suffered severely from the pixel-to-pixel shifting of m/z peaks due to space-charge effects. The resulting profile average mass spectra have depreciated mass measurement accuracy and mass resolving power under the instrument specifications that affect the confidence level of the identified ions. Here, we propose an analytical workflow based on the monitoring of the total ion current to restrain the pixel-to-pixel m/z shift. Adjustment of the laser parameters is proposed to maintain high spectral resolution and mass accuracy measurement within the instrument specifications during MSI analyses. The optimized method has been successfully employed in replicates to perform high-quality MALDI MS images at resolving power (FWHM) above 1,000,000 in the lipid mass range across the whole image for superconducting magnets of 7T and 9.4T using 1 and 2 omega detection. Our data also compare favorably with MALDI MSI experiments performed on higher-magnetic-field superconducting magnets, including the 21T MALDI FT-ICR prototype instrument of the NHMFL group at Tallahassee, Florida

FT-ICR Mass Spectrometry Imaging at Extreme Mass Resolving Power Using a Dynamically Harmonized ICR Cell with 1 omega or 2 omega Detection

peer reviewedMALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) is a powerful analytical method for achieving 2D localization of compounds from thin sections of typically but not exclusively biological samples. The dynamically harmonized ICR cell (ParaCell) was recently introduced to achieve extreme spectral resolution capable of providing the isotopic fine structure of ions detected in complex samples. The latest improvement in the ICR technology also includes 2ω detection, which significantly reduces the transient time while preserving the nominal mass resolving power of the ICR cell. High-resolution MS images acquired on FT-ICR instruments equipped with 7T and 9.4T superconducting magnets and the dynamically harmonized ICR cell operating at suboptimal parameters suffered severely from the pixel-to-pixel shifting of m/z peaks due to space-charge effects. The resulting profile average mass spectra have depreciated mass measurement accuracy and mass resolving power under the instrument specifications that affect the confidence level of the identified ions. Here, we propose an analytical workflow based on the monitoring of the total ion current to restrain the pixel-to-pixel m/z shift. Adjustment of the laser parameters is proposed to maintain high spectral resolution and mass accuracy measurement within the instrument specifications during MSI analyses. The optimized method has been successfully employed in replicates to perform high-quality MALDI MS images at resolving power (FWHM) above 1,000,000 in the lipid mass range across the whole image for superconducting magnets of 7T and 9.4T using 1 and 2ω detection. Our data also compare favorably with MALDI MSI experiments performed on higher-magnetic-field superconducting magnets, including the 21T MALDI FT-ICR prototype instrument of the NHMFL group at Tallahassee, Florida