Analysing self-regulated learning strategies of MOOC learners through self-reported data

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) require registered learners to be autonomous in their learning. Nevertheless, prior research studies showed that many learners lack the necessary self-regulated learning (SRL) skills to succeed in MOOCs. This research study aimed to gain insights into the relationships that exist between SRL and background information from MOOC learners. To this end, a series of three MOOCs on computer programming offered through edX were used to collect self-reported data from learners using an adaptation of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Results show significant differences in general learning strategies and motivation by continent, prior computing experience and percentage of completed MOOCs. Men reported higher motivation than women, whereas pre-university learners needed further guidance to improve their learning strategies.This work was supported in part by the FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación, through the Smartlet Project under Grant TIN2017-85179-C3-1-R, and in part by the Madrid Regional Government through the e-Madrid-CM Project under Grant S2018/TCS-4307, a project which is co-funded by the European Structural Funds (FSE and FEDER). Partial support has also been received from the European Commission through Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education projects, more specifically through projects LALA, InnovaT and PROF-XXI (586120-EPP-1-2017-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), (598758-EPP-1-2018-1-AT-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), (609767-EPP-1-2019-1-ES-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP). This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and funders cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

Deletion of the primase-polymerases encoding gene, located in a mobile element in Thermus thermophilus HB27, leads to loss of function mutation of addAB genes

DNA primase-polymerases (Ppol) have been shown to play active roles in DNA repair and damage tolerance, both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The ancestral thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus strain HB27 encodes a Ppol protein among the genes present in mobile element ICETh2, absent in other T. thermophilus strains. Using different strategies we ablated the function of Ppol in HB27 cells, either by knocking out the gene through insertional mutagenesis, markerless deletion or through abolition of its catalytic activity. Whole genome sequencing of this diverse collection of Ppol mutants showed spontaneous loss of function mutation in the helicase-nuclease AddAB in every ppol mutant isolated. Given that AddAB is a major player in recombinational repair in many prokaryotes, with similar activity to the proteobacterial RecBCD complex, we have performed a detailed characterization of the ppol mutants in combination with addAB mutants. The results show that knockout addAB mutants are more sensitive to DNA damage agents than the wild type, and present a dramatic three orders of magnitude increase in natural transformation efficiencies with both plasmid and lineal DNA, whereas ppol mutants show defects in plasmid stability. Interestingly, DNA-integrity comet assays showed that the genome of all the ppol and/or addAB mutants was severely affected by widespread fragmentation, however, this did not translate in neat loss of viability of the strains. All these data support that Ppol appears to keep in balance the activity of AddAB as a part of the DNA housekeeping maintenance in T. thermophilus HB27, thus, playing a key role in its genome stabilityThis work was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PID2019-109073RB-I00. CV was a holder of a competitive FPI contract. An institutional grant from Fundación Ramón Areces to the CBMSO was also acknowledge

A modular vector toolkit with a tailored set of thermosensors to regulate gene expression in thermus thermophilus

The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b02107Modular plasmid architectures have shown to be a very useful resource to standardize, build, share, and compare biological parts and functional vectors, and are being applied in an increasing number of microorganisms. Here, we present a modular plasmid toolkit for Thermus thermophilus, a species considered as a workhorse for biotechnology and a model for high-temperature biology. Apart from integrating improved versions of already existing parts, we have characterized specific promoters and developed a thermosensor-based palette that restricts the expression to Thermus and, at the same time, controls protein expression in this organism in a temperature-dependent mannerThis work was supported by the European Union grant H2020-BIOTEC-2014-2015/H2020-LEIT-BIO-2015-1 and grant BIO2016-77031R from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU). An institutional grant to CBMSO from Fundación Ramón Areces and an FPI contract to C.V. from the MCIU are also acknowledge

Assessment of Relative Technical Efficiency of Small Mental Health Areas in Bizkaia (Basque Country, Spain)

Mental disorders cause an enormous burden to society. Considering the current economic context, an efficient use of scarce inputs, with an appropriate outcome production, is crucial. This situation defines a classical Relative Technical Efficiency (RTE) problem. A well-known methodology to assess RTE is the Data Envelopment Analysis, although it presents some limitations. These may be overcome through a hybrid strategy that integrates Monte-Carlo simulation and artificial intelligence. This study aims to (1) design of a Decision Support System for the assessment of RTE of Small Mental Health Areas based on DEA; and (2) analyse 19 mental health areas of the Bizkaian Healthcare System (Spain) to classify them and to identify potential management improvements. The results have showed higher global RTE in the output-oriented orientation than in the input-oriented one. This suggests that a decision strategy based on improving the input management, within the ranges of the expert-driven model of community healthcare, could be appropriate. A future research line will focus our attention on the validation process through the analysis of micromanagement interventions and their potential impacts in the real system

Physiological and Metabolic Responses of Marine Mussels Exposed to Toxic Cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and Chrysosporum ovalisporum

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are a major contaminant in inland aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, toxic blooms are carried downstream by rivers and waterways to estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Concerning marine and estuarine animal species, very little is known about how these species are affected by the exposure to freshwater cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins. So far, most of the knowledge has been gathered from freshwater bivalve molluscs. This work aimed to infer the sensitivity of the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis to single as well as mixed toxic cyanobacterial cultures and the underlying molecular responses mediated by toxic cyanobacteria. For this purpose, a mussel exposure experiment was outlined with two toxic cyanobacteria species, Microcystis aeruginosa and Chrysosporum ovalisporum at 1 × 105 cells/mL, resembling a natural cyanobacteria bloom. The estimated amount of toxins produced by M. aeruginosa and C. ovalisporum were respectively 0.023 pg/cell of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and 7.854 pg/cell of cylindrospermopsin (CYN). After 15 days of exposure to single and mixed cyanobacteria, a depuration phase followed, during which mussels were fed only non-toxic microalga Parachlorella kessleri. The results showed that the marine mussel is able to filter toxic cyanobacteria at a rate equal or higher than the non-toxic microalga P. kessleri. Filtration rates observed after 15 days of feeding toxic microalgae were 1773.04 mL/ind.h (for M. aeruginosa), 2151.83 mL/ind.h (for C. ovalisporum), 1673.29 mL/ind.h (for the mixture of the 2 cyanobacteria) and 2539.25 mL/ind.h (for the non-toxic P. kessleri). Filtering toxic microalgae in combination resulted in the accumulation of 14.17 ng/g dw MC-LR and 92.08 ng/g dw CYN. Other physiological and biochemical endpoints (dry weight, byssus production, total protein and glycogen) measured in this work did not change significantly in the groups exposed to toxic cyanobacteria with regard to control group, suggesting that mussels were not affected with the toxic microalgae. Nevertheless, proteomics revealed changes in metabolism of mussels related to diet, specially evident in those fed on combined cyanobacteria. Changes in metabolic pathways related with protein folding and stabilization, cytoskeleton structure, and gene transcription/translation were observed after exposure and feeding toxic cyanobacteria. These changes occur in vital metabolic processes and may contribute to protect mussels from toxic effects of the toxins MC-LR and CYNPortuguese Science Foundation and under the Projects MOREBIVALVES (PTDC/ASP-PES/31762/2017) and UID/Multi/04423/2013NORTE 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union through the ERDF, and by FCT. Moreover, Project AGL2015-64558-RMINECO/FEDER, UE, and the grant FPI (BES-2016–078773

Validation of miRNA-mRNA interactions by electrophoretic mobility shift assays

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs involved in gene expression regulation by targeting specific regions in the 3[prime]-UTR of the mRNA of their target genes. This binding leads to a decrease in the protein levels of such genes either by mRNA degradation or mRNA destabilization and translation inhibition. The interaction between a miRNA and its target mRNAs is usually studied by co-transfection of a reporter expression vector containing the 3[prime]-UTR region of the mRNA and an inhibitory or precursor molecule for the miRNA. This approach, however, does not measure the direct and physical interaction between a miRNA and a specific mRNA. FINDINGS: RNA molecules corresponding to miR-224 and to the 3[prime]-UTR of SLC4A4 were incubated together and their interaction studied under different binding conditions using electrophoretic mobility shift assays. A direct and specific interaction between miR-224 and SLC4A4 mRNA was observed. This interaction was abolished in the presence of competitors. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we explored a new application for the electrophoretic mobility shift assay and we demonstrated that it is a useful alternative method to assess, in a direct and specific manner, whether a miRNA binds to a specific predicted target mRNA

Impact of the workforce allocation on the technical performance of mental health services: the collective case of Helsinki-Uusimaa (Finland)

Background Long-term mental health (MH) policies in Finland aimed at investing in community care and promoting reforms have led to a reduction in the number of psychiatric hospital beds. However, most resources are still allocated to hospital and community residential services due to various social, economic and political factors. Despite previous research focussing on the number and cost of these services, no study has evaluated the emerging patterns of use, their technical performance and the relationship with the workforce structure. Objective The purpose of this study was to observe the patterns of use and their technical performance (efciency) of the main types of care of MH services in the Helsinki-Uusimaa region (Finland), and to analyse the potential rela‑ tionship between technical performance and the corresponding workforce structure. Methods The sample included acute hospital residential care, non-hospital residential care and outpatient care services. The analysis was conducted using regression analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, fuzzy inference and data envelopment analysis. Results The analysis showed a statistically signifcant linear relationship between the number of service users and the length of stay, number of beds in non-hospital residential care and number of contacts in outpatient care services. The three service types displayed a similar pattern of technical performance, with high relative technical efciency on average and a low probability of being efcient. The most efcient acute hospital and outpatient care services integrated multidisciplinary teams, while psychiatrists and nurses characterized non-hospital residential care. Conclusions The results indicated that the number of resources and utilization variables were linearly related to the number of users and that the relative technical efciency of the services was similar across all types. This suggests homogenous MH management with small variations based on workforce allocation. Therefore, the distribution of workforce capacity should be considered in the development of efective policies and interventions in the southern Finnish MH system

Modelling mental healthcare improvement in highly integrated care systems: the case of the Basque Country (Spain)

Currently there is growing interest in providing integrated mental health care between hospital (acute residential care) and community-based services (… and other health systems). Mental health systems are complex due to the high disorder prevalence, socio-economic burden, stigma associated, and high gap of unmet population needs. Mental health can be considered an ecosystem related to, at least, physical health and social services ones. Decision support systems are robust tools for guiding and improving planning and management of health ecosystems by integrating methods like Bayesian networks. These models identify critical variables, domains and constructs and their corresponding causal relationships. The objective of this research is to design an integrated and integral theoretical Bayesian network for guiding mental health planning and management, and in consequence, improving mental health care delivery

A thermostable DNA primase-polymerase from a mobilegenetic element involved in defence againstenvironmental DNA.

Primase-polymerases (Ppol) are one of the few enzymes able to start DNA synthesis on ssDNA templates. The role of Thermus thermophilus HB27 Ppol, encoded along a putative helicase (Hel) within a mobile genetic element (ICETh2), has been studied. A mutant lacking Ppol showed no effects on the replication of the element. Also, no apparent differences in the sensitivity to DNA damaging agents and other stressors or morphological changes in the mutant cells were detected. However, the mutants lacking Ppol showed an increase in two to three orders of magnitude in their transformation efficiency with plasmids and genomic DNA acquired from the environment (eDNA), independently of its origin and G + C content. In contrast, no significant differences with the wild type were detected when the cells received the DNA from other T. thermophilus partners in conjugation-like mating experiments. The similarities of this behaviour with that shown by mutants lacking the Argonaute (ThAgo) protein suggests a putative partnership Ppol-ThAgo in the DNA–DNA interference mechanism of defence, although other eDNA defence mechanisms independent of ThAgo cannot be discarded.post-print697 K