ChatGPT as Co-Advisor in Scientific Initiation: Action Research with Project-Based Learning in Elementary Education

Background: In the contemporary educational landscape, technology has the power to drive innovative pedagogical practices. Overcoming the resistance of teachers and students to adopting new methods and technologies is a challenge that needs to be addressed. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of ChatGPT as a co-advisor in research projects and its influence on the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PBL), as well as overcoming resistance to the use of new pedagogical methodologies. Design: An action-research methodology was employed, including unstructured interviews and the application of questionnaires via Google Forms. Setting and Participants: The research was conducted in an elementary school, involving 353 students and 16 teachers. Data Collection and Analysis: Data were gathered through observations and notes in meetings and interviews, complemented by electronic questionnaires, with quantitative and qualitative analyses performed via Microsoft Excel and Google Forms. Results: The introduction of ChatGPT as a pedagogical tool led to increased student engagement and decreased teacher resistance, reflected in recognition at local science fairs. Conclusion: The study confirmed the utility of ChatGPT in school research co-orientation, highlighting its role in facilitating PBL and promoting cultural changes in educational practice, with proactive school management identified as a catalysing element in adapting to educational innovations

On the stranding of sea cow Dugong dugon at Mandapam along the Gulf of Mannar coast.

A dead male sea cow Dugong dugon (Muller) measuring 194 cm in total length and about 125kg in weight was stranded along the Gulf of Mannar coast at Mandapam.The morphometric measurements of specimen were taken and identified to species level

On a hump-back dolphin Sousa chinensis (Osbeck) washed ashore at Sangumal (Palk Bay) near Rameswaram

The Carcass of a female dolphin was washed ashore at Sangumal (Palk Bay) near Rameswaram. After studying the external characters it was idenfified to be Sousa chinensis (Osbeck

Unusual landing of Sardinella longiceps at Pamban in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu

On 09-05-2007, 1000 kg of Sardinella longiceps was landed in a single unit of Choodai Valai (Sardine gillnet), operated near Thangachimadam, in Palk Bay, at a depth of 10 meters. The net was operated from a Vallam fitted with an inboard engine, at a distance of 5 km. from the shore, with the help of 3 persons

Fishing methods in coral reef areas of the Gulf of Mannar

Fishing methods being practised in the reef areas of the Gulf of Mannar for finfishes are trawling, gillnetting, fishing by hooks and lines and traps. Out of these, the most important device is trawling by which the most diverse and the highest quantity of finfishes are being landed from coral reef areas in this region

Studies of transverse and longitudinal relaxations of 55^{55}Mn in molecular cluster magnet Mn12_{12}Ac

The transverse and longitudinal relaxation rates 1/$T_2$ and 1/$T_1$ of $^{55}$Mn in molecular cluster magnet Mn$_{12}$Ac have been measured al low temperatures down to 200mK and in the fields upto 9T. Both of 1/$T_2$ and 1/$T_1$ exhibit remarkable decreases with decreasing temperature and with increasing field, with the relative relation $T_1/T_2 \approx 200$. In the analysis, we adopt a simple model that the thermal fluctuation of the cluster spin $S$=10 associated with the spin-phonon interactionis, is only due to the excitation to the first excited state from the ground state with the average life-times $\tau_ 1$ and $\tau_0$ ($\tau_ 0$$\gg$$\tau_1$). We show that 1/$T_2$ is interpreted in terms of the strong collision regime as given by 1/$\tau_ 0$, and that 1/$T_1$ is understood by the high-frequency limit based on standard perturbation treatment for the step-wise fluctuating field, thus being proportional to 1/$\tau_0\omega_N^2$.Comment: 12 pages, 11 fugures, revtex

Results of the mother oyster culture and pearl production in Pinctada fucata (Gould) in the inshore waters of the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay

It is established experimentally that the inshore areas of the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay bordering Mandapam Camp can profitably be used for mother oyster culture and cultured pearl production. The depth of the inshore waters of the Gulf of Mannar is comparatively deeper where the raft culture can be adopted from November to May. whereas, the nearshore waters of Palk Bay is shallow where rack can be used to farm the oysters from June to October, thus a continued farming is possible in all months in a calender year. Though the hydrological and environmental conditions of both the seas are almost same, it is found that Gulf of Mannar is better suited for mother oyster culture as indicated by the better growth rates of spat and oysters. If farming is done properly, high survival rates of spat, mother oysters and implanted oysters can be achieved with an enhanced rate of production of better quality cultured pearls

Hatchery seed production and nursery rearing of Indian pearl oyster Pinctadafucata (Gould) under onshore and offshore conditions at Mandapam, Tamil Nadu

A full fledged pearl oyster hatchery was established at R.C. of CMFRI, Mandapam Camp along with a temperature controlled micro algal culture laboratory. The hatchery house four 5 ton capacity circular FRP tanks for storage of filtered sea water and 28 nos of 1.5 ton rectangular FRP tanks for larval rearing. A central drain of 80 m length connects the hatchery to the sea. Sea water supply is effected through 7.5 and 10 HP pumps connected to sedimentation tanks, ground level sumps and to overhead tank. Two sand filters were erected for effective filtering of sea water. Aeration is provided with air blowers and air compressors. The annual production capacity is estimated to be 2.8 million spats. Induced spawning and larval rearing gave encouraging results and 0.7 million spats were produced during June-August 1997

Walk to me when I smile, step back when I’m angry: emotional faces modulate whole-body approach–avoidance behaviors

Facial expressions are potent social cues that can induce behavioral dispositions, such as approach–avoidance tendencies. We studied these tendencies by asking participants to make whole-body forward (approach) or backward (avoidance) steps on a force plate in response to the valence of social cues (happy or angry faces) under affect-congruent and incongruent mappings. Posturographic parameters of the steps related to automatic stimulus evaluation, step initiation (reaction time), and step execution were determined and analyzed as a function of stimulus valence and stimulus–response mapping. The main result was that participants needed more time to initiate a forward step towards an angry face than towards a smiling face (which is evidence of a congruency effect), but with backward steps, this difference failed to reach significance. We also found a reduction in spontaneous body sway prior to the step with the incongruent mapping. The results provide a crucial empirical link between theories of socially induced action tendencies and theories of postural control and suggest a motoric basis for socially guided motivated behavior

Negative Regulation of Interferon-β Gene Expression during Acute and Persistent Virus Infections

The production of type I interferons (IFNs) in response to viral infections is critical for antiviral immunity. However, IFN production is transient, and continued expression can lead to inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. Thus, understanding the mechanisms underlying the negative regulation of IFN expression could lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of these diseases. We report that the transcription factor IRF3 plays a central role in the negative regulation of interferon-β (IFNβ) expression during both acute and persistent (chronic) virus infections. We show that the degradation of IRF3 during acute infections, rather than the activation of transcriptional repressors, leads to the down regulation of IFNβ expression. We also show that the block to IFNβ expression in mouse embryonic fibroblasts that are persistently infected with Sendai virus (SeV) correlates with the absence of transcriptionally active IRF3. Remarkably, ongoing protein synthesis and viral replication are required to maintain repression of the IFNβ gene in persistently infected cells, as the gene can be activated by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, or by the antiviral drug ribavirin. Finally, we show that the SeV V protein inhibits IRF3 activity in persistently infected cells. Thus, in conjunction with the known interference with STAT1 by the SeV C protein, both IFN activation and its signaling pathways are blocked in persistently infected cells. We conclude that the transcription factor IRF3 is targeted for turnover and inactivation through distinct mechanisms from both the host cells and virus, leading to the inhibition of IFNβ gene expression during acute and persistent viral infections. These observations show that IRF3 plays a critical role, not only in the activation of the IFNβ gene, but also in the controlling the duration of its expression. (284 words