Applying Recommendations to Align Competences, Methodology, and Assessment in Telematics, Computing, and Electronic Engineering Courses

The alignment between competences, teachinglearning methodologies, and assessment is a key element of European higher education. This paper presents the efforts carried out by six telematics, computer science and electronic engineering education teachers toward achieving this alignment in their subjects. In a joint work with pedagogues, a set of recommended actions are identified. A selection of these actions are applied and evaluated in the six subjects. The cross analysis of the results indicates that the actions allow students to better understand the methodologies and assessments planned for the subjects, facilitate (self-) regulation, and increase students’ involvement in the subjects

eCultura. Platform for Preservation and Exploitation of Cultural Content

Poster presentado en Cultural Heritage on line (2009).The eCultura project aims at developing a semantically-enriched web platform that enables cultural heritage institutions to manage and exhibit the semantics of publicly available web assets at a minimal cost and with a short investments on required software infrastructure. The platform will provide a complete set of applications and services to enhance the user experience when accessing web-based contents of the cultural domain. These services include semantic wikis, multimedia annotations, timeline presentations, interactive maps, and so on, which are deployed on a common platform. The eCultura platform is integrated by a number of open source applications grounded on a semantic web infrastructure that supports the semantic integration of all services. Semantic web technologies enable to share information among these services, as well as provide interoperability with external systems. W3C knowledge representation languages and standards are used to describe concepts of the cultural domain and provide a semantically interoperable environment. Web 2.0 techniques are used to build user communities around the shared information of cultural institutions, having the specific goal of exploiting their knowledge base in learning and educational environments. The communication among software components and applications is based on a producer/consumer model. Some services, such as wikis and blogs, work as source of information and knowledge, while other services, such as interactive maps and timeline, work as consumers to exploit the semantically enriched information. The knowledge base is stored on a shared OWL repository gathering the semantics of diverse cultural fields, including the CIDOC reference model, the FRBR ontology and the MusicOntology

Combination of DROOL rules and Protégé knowledge bases in the ONTO-H annotation tool

ONTO-H is a semi-automatic collaborative tool for the semantic annotation of documents, built as a Protégé 3.0 tab plug-in. Among its multiple functionalities aimed at easing the document annotation process, ONTO-H uses a rule-based system to create cascading annotations out from a single drag and drop operation from a part of a document into an already existing concept or instance of the domain ontology being used for annotation. It also gives support to the detection of name conflicts and instance duplications in the creation of the annotations. The rule system runs on top of the open source rule engine DROOLS and is connected to the domain ontology used for annotation by means of an ad-hoc programmed Java proxy

Surface characterization of human serum albumin and sodium perfluorooctanoate mixed solutions by pendant drop tensiometry and circular dichroism

The interfacial behavior of mixed human serum albumin (HSA)/sodium perfluorooctanoate (C8FONa) solutions is examined by using two experimental techniques, pendant drop tensiometry and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Through the analysis of the surface tension of the mixed solutions, surface competitive adsorption at the air-water interface between C8FONa and HSA is detected. The dynamic adsorption curves exhibit the distinct regimes in their time-dependent surface tension. The nature of these regimes is further analyzed in terms of the variation of the molecules surface areas. As a consequence, a compact and dense structure was formed where protein molecules were interconnected and overlapped. Thus, a reduction of the area occupied per molecule from 100 to 0.2 nm2 is interpreted as a gel-like structure at the surface. The presence of the surfactant seems to favor the formation of this interfacial structure. Finally, measurements of circular dichroism suggests a compaction of the protein due to the association with the surfactant given by an increase of α-helix structure in the complexes as compared to that of pure protein.Fil: Messina, Paula Verónica. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Prieto, Gerardo. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Dodero, Veronica Isabel. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Cabrerizo-Vilchez, M.A.. Universidad de Granada. Facultad de Ciencias; EspañaFil: Maldonado Valderrama, J.. Universidad de Granada. Facultad de Ciencias; EspañaFil: Ruso, Juan M.. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Sarmiento, Félix. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; Españ

Disease presence in goat flocks on temperate valleys of Argentina’s Northwest

Una encuesta transversal ad hoc se llevó a cabo en veintitrés majadas caprinas correspondientes a unidades productivas (UP) familiares extensivos (UPF, n=19) y semiintensivas (UPL, n=4) dedicadas a la producción de leche en los valles templados de Salta y Jujuy con el objetivo de describir la presencia de enfermedades en sus majadas. Se recabaron datos del manejo general y sanitario en particular. Se procesaron sueros para el diagnóstico de brucelosis por las pruebas tamiz del antígeno bufferado en placa y confirmadas por polarización fluorescente. Paraparatuberculosis, herpesvirus caprino tipo 1 (CaHV-1), neosporosis y toxoplasmosis se utilizó ELISA indirecto y para leptospirosis microaglutinación. Se determinaron los valores de Cu2+, Zn2+, Mg2+ y Ca2+ sérico por espectrofotometría de absorción atómica. En heces, se realizó el recuento de huevos de helmintos por gramo (hpg) y la diferenciación de géneros por coprocultivo. Las UP muestreadas crían en promedio 48,4 ±30,7 (UPF) y 221,3 ±78,7 (UPL) caprinos respectivamente, sin contar los cabritos menores a los 45 días de edad. La cría de las UPF fue extensiva con encierre nocturno y la alimentación sobre pastizal natural mientras que las UPL combinaban pasturas bajo riego con suplementación en base de concentrados. Existen dos períodos de pariciones al año; el principal donde pare casi la totalidad de la majada se localiza desde fines de marzo a fines de septiembre y el segundo período donde pare una menor proporción de cabras se ubica desde septiembre a diciembre. El 94,7% de los productores desparasitaba en forma rutinaria toda la majada y el 75% trataban los piojos. En un 41,2% de las UP se inyectaba mineralizantes-vitamínicos a toda la majada y en solo un 15% vacunaba contra enfermedades Clostridiales. El promedio de la tasa de mortalidad anual fue del 20,1±9,8% y 7,8±3,0% respectivamente en UPF y UPL. En el 100% de las UPF se registró la ocurrencia de abortos, y de estos el 25% presentó retención de placenta. El promedio intramajada de abortos comunicados fue del 14,5 ±11,6%. El 58,8% de las UP declaró tener casos de ectima contagioso. Se registraron un 26,7% cuadros de muertes agudas probablemente por infecciones Clostridiales. En el 93,3% de las UPF se registraron problemas de mastitis. El porcentaje de UP con seroprevalencia positiva a brucelosis, leptospirosis, paratuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, neosporosis y CpHV-1 fue respectivamente de 0%, 0%, 0%, 73,3%, 40% y 87,5%. Los promedios de los hpg de invierno – primavera y los de verano-otoño fueron respectivamente de 965 y 2859 hpg, con Haemonchus y Trichostrongylus y en menor medida Teladorsagia como nematodes predominantes. En el 31,6% de las UP se diagnosticó Fasciolosis. El 66,7% de las UP describió la presencia, a la faena, de quistes hidatídicos. En un 58% de las majadas se describió bocio. Los promedios por UP de cobre, zinc, magnesio y calcio séricos fueron respectivamente 0,59±0,10 ppm, 0,67±0,05 ppm, 2,30±0,29mg/dl y 8,42±1,92 mg/dl. Sin embargo, para el cobre y el calcio los valores promedios difieren (p<0,05) entre las UPF (0,66±0,08 ppm y 9,36 ±1,85 mg/dl) y las UPL (0,54±0,06 ppm y 7,02±0,76 mg/dl). Un 63,6% de las UP dijo tener intoxicación con cegadera (Heterophyllaea pustulata) y de muertes (50%) en animales jóvenes atribuidas al romerillo (Baccharis coridifolia) y en menor medida a la hediondilla (Cestrum parqui). Un 58,8% de los propietarios declararon tener problemas de pérdidas de animales principalmente por pumas. Estos primeros resultados muestran la importancia de llevar a cabo estudios más específicos respecto de la salud de las majadas para incrementar la producción y el bienestar general de las familias productoras.A cross-sectional survey was performed in 23 goat flocks (UP) of family extensive farming units (UPF) and semi-intensive farming units (UPL) from the temperate valleys of Jujuy and Salta provinces, with the aim of describing disease occurrence in goat flocks. Farmers were subjected to an ad hoc survey to gather data on general management and specific health issues. Sera were processed to diagnose brucellosis using the BPA screening test and positive sera were confirmed by FPA test. Paratuberculosis, caprine herpesvirus 1, toxoplasmosis and neosporosis were tested by indirect ELISA, and leptospirosis by microagglutination test. Serum Cu2+, Zn2+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Fecal samples were taken for eggs counts per gram of feaces (epg) and identifying genera by coproculture. UP had on average 48,4 ±30,7 (UPF) y 221,3 ±78,7 (UPL) goats (not including kids). UPF animals are extensively bred, with nocturnal enclosure, and flock feeding is based on grazing the hills and UPL combined pastures under irrigation with concentrate-based supplementation. Kidding is concentrated in two periods: from late March to late September, when almost all the flock kids, and a second minor kid period that was from September to December. Farmers (94,7%) routinely treat all the flock against parasites and the 71,8% treat against lice. The 41,2% of UP provide all the flock with mineral-vitamin mixtures and only the 15, % vaccinated against clostridium diseases. Mean annual mortality rate per flock was 20,1±9,8% and 7,8±3,0% respectively for UPF and UPL. Abortions were recorded in 100% of the UP, 25% with retained placenta. Mean within-flock reported abortions were 14,5 ±11,6%. Contagious echtyma (orf) was detected in 58,8% of the UP and acute deaths probably due to clostridial infections were recorded in 26,7% of the UP. Mastitis-associated problems were recorded in 93,3% of UP. Positive seroprevalence of brucellosis, leptospirosis, paratuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, neosporosis and CpHV-1, in UP was 0%, 25%, 50%, 42,8%, 88,8%, 85,7%, 12,5% and 0% respectively. Mean epg were 965 and 2859 for winter-spring and summer-autumn respectively, with Haemonchus and Trichostrongylus and secondly Teladorsagia being the prevailing nematodes. Fasciola infections were recorded in 31,6% of the UP. The presence of hydatid cysts in slaughtered animals were indicated by 66,7% of UP. Signs of goiter were described in 58% of the flocks. Mean serum cooper, zinc, magnesium and calcium per UP were 0,59±0,10 ppm, 0,67±0,05 ppm, 2,30±0,29mg/dl and 8,42±1,92 mg/dl respectively. However cooper and calcium was different (p<0,05) between UPF (0,66±0,08 ppm and 9,36±1,85 mg/dl) and UPL (0,54±0,06 ppm and 7,02±0,76 mg/dl). A 63,6% of the UP reported cases of intoxication by cegadera (Heterophyllaea pustulata) and death (50%) were reported and attributed by farmers to the ingestion of romerillo (Baccharis coridifolia) and secondly of hediondilla (Cestrum parqui) by young animals. Some farmers (58.8%) indicated loss of animals mostly due to the attack by pumas. These first results regarding show the importance of conducting specific studies about the health of flocks in order to increase competitiveness in goat production and the welfare of farming families.Fil: Suarez, Víctor Humberto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Dodero, Ana Mariela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; ArgentinaFil: Almudevar, F. M.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Bertoni, E. A.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Salatin, A. O.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; ArgentinaFil: Viñabal, A. E.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; ArgentinaFil: Saldaño, R.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Martínez, G. M.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Micheloud, Juan Francisco. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Salta-Jujuy. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Fiorentino, Maria Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Brihuega, Bibiana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Castelar; ArgentinaFil: Romera, Sonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Castelar; Argentin

Autologous stem-cell transplantation as consolidation of first-line chemotherapy in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma : a multicenter GELTAMO/FIL study

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are a heterogeneous group of rare lymphoid malignancies that mostly have poor prognoses with currently available treatments. Upfront consolidation with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is frequently carried out, but its efficacy has never been investigated in randomized trials. We designed a multicenter, international, retrospective study with the main objective of comparing progression-free survival and overall survival of patients with PTCL who underwent ASCT in complete remission (CR) after first-line chemotherapy with a control group who did not undergo ASCT. From the initial population of 286 registered patients, 174 patients with PTCL other than anaplastic large cell lymphoma, ALK-positive, deemed fit for ASCT at the time of diagnosis, and who were in CR or uncertain CR after induction therapy (CR1) were included in our analysis. one hundred and three patients underwent ASCT, whereas 71 did not, in most cases (n=53) because the physician decided against it. With a median follow-up of 65.5 months, progression-free survival was significantly better in the transplanted patients than in the non-transplanted group: 63% versus 48% at 5 years (P =0.042). Overall survival was significantly longer for ASCT patients in the subgroup with advanced stage at diagnosis (5-year overall survival: 70% vs. 50%, P =0.028). In the multivariate analysis, first-line ASCT was associated with significantly prolonged progression-free survival (HR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.35-0.93) and overall survival (HR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.33-0.99). In conclusion, our study supports the use of ASCT as a consolidation strategy for patients with PTCL in CR1. These results should be confirmed in a prospective randomized study

A Knowledge Production Protocol for Cooperative

In a distributed eLearning environment, the developmentof learning objects becomes a cooperative task. We consider learning objects as knowledge pieces, which are subject to the management processes of acquisition, delivery, and production. We present a two-tier architecture for cooperative knowledge production tasks. In our model, knowledgeproducing agents are arranged into knowledge domains or marts, and a distributed negotiation protocol is used to consolidate knowledge produced in a mart. The architecture can be extended to a multiple-tier architecture, where consolidated knowledge can be negotiated in higher-level foreign marts. This approach is applied to cooperativedevelopment of learning objects, although it is proposed to be also applicable to other knowledge production tasks

Rheological properties of ovalbumin hydrogels as affected by surfactants addition

The gel properties of ovalbumin mixtures with three different surfactants (sodium perfluorooctanoate, sodium octanoate and sodium dodecanoate) have been studied by rheological techniques. The gel elasticities were determined as a function of surfactant concentration and surfactant type. The fractal dimension of the formed structures was evaluated from plots of storage modulus against surfactant concentration. The role of electrostatic, hydrophobic and disulfide SS interactions in these systems has been demonstrated to be the predominant. The viscosity of these structures tends to increase with surfactant concentration, except for the fluorinated one. Unfolded ovalbumin molecules tend to form fibrillar structures that tend to increase with surfactant concentration, except for the fluorinated one. This fact has been related to the particular nature of this molecule. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.Fil: Hassan, Natalia. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Messina, Paula Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Dodero, Veronica Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Química. Instituto de Química del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Ruso, Juan M.. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; Españ

Aplicación de recomendaciones para la alineación de competencias, metodología y evaluación en asignaturas de Ingeniería Telemática, Informática y Electrónica

The alignment between competences, teaching-learning methodologies and assessment is a key element of the European Higher Education Area. This paper presents the efforts carried out by six Telematics, Computer Science and Electronic Engineering Education teachers towards achieving this alignment in their subjects. In a joint work with pedagogues, a set of recommended actions were identified. A selection of these actions were applied and evaluated in the six subjects. The cross-analysis of the results indicate that the actions allow students to better understand the methodologies and assessment planned for the subjects, facilitate (self-) regulation and increase students’ involvement in the subjects.La alineación entre las competencias, metodología y evaluación es un elemento clave en el marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Este trabajo presenta los esfuerzos llevados a cabo por seis profesores de Ingeniería Telemática, Informática y Electrónica en aras a lograr esta alineación en sus asignaturas. Se identificaron, mediante un trabajo conjunto entre pedagogos y profesorado del área de Ingeniería, una serie de acciones en forma de recomendación dirigidas a promover esta alineación. Es una selección de dichas recomendaciones las que han sido aplicadas en las seis asignaturas que a lo largo de este trabajo se explicitan. El análisis comparativo de los resultados indica que las acciones experimentadas han permitido una mayor comprensión por parte de los estudiantes tanto de las metodologías utilizadas como del sistema de evaluación utilizado, cosa que favorece su auto regulación así como un mayor grado de implicación y participación en las asignaturas