Blunting the tensions between informal and formal education in science : reforming the relationship between the school and the science museum in Greece

In this paper, I explore the relationship between formal and informal approaches to science education as mechanisms for dissemination of scientific knowledge. I then posit the combination of specific characteristics from the two approaches into a unified process of non-formal science education. In the second part of the paper, I describe the different types of science museum and present a taxonomy with respect to their educational mission. Finally, I describe the role of the three approaches in the educational system and I illustrate each one with specific examples from science museumspeer-reviewe

Structural and functional basis for TRIM25 E3 ligase catalytic activity and NS1-mediated suppression

Abstract Ubiquitination is a post-translational modification of proteins with broad regulatory roles across cellular biology. This process involves the addition of ubiquitin molecules on target proteins, altering their cellular role and properties. Ubiquitination is performed by an enzymatic cascade consisting of three enzymes: ubiquitin activating enzymes (E1), ubiquitin conjugating enzymes (E2) and ubiquitin ligases (E3). The tripartite motif (TRIM) family of proteins constitutes one of the largest subfamilies of RING E3 ligases and the majority of them are contributing to the regulation of innate immune responses. They are characterized by a conserved tripartite motif in their N-terminal region which comprises a RING domain, one or two B-box domains and a coiled-coil region. Self-association is believed to be crucial for catalytic activity of TRIM proteins, however, the precise molecular mechanism underlying this observation remains elusive. The work presented in this thesis provides insights into the E3 ligase function of TRIM25 and shows how its oligomeric state is linked to its catalytic activity. The crystal structure of a complex between the TRIM25 RING domain and a ubiquitin-loaded E2 identifies the structural and mechanistic features that promote activation of E2~Ub allowing us to propose a model for the regulation of activity in the full-length protein. In the second part of this thesis, the molecular details of Influenza A NS1-mediated TRIM25 inhibition are presented. The crystal structures of NS1 bound to TRIM25 along with biochemical analysis allowed us to identify the interacting domains and propose a model for the inhibition of substrate ubiquitination during viral infection. The results of this project extend our understanding of the mechanism, structure and regulation of TRIM E3 ligases and their substrates, leading to increased chances of targeting specific steps of the ubiquitination pathway during disease

DESCRIBING THE EDUCATIONAL ROLE OF NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS: AN ANALYSIS TOOL FOR PRE-SERVICE AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS

This study presents a tool for description and potential analysis of the educational role of the Science and Technology museum. This tool has been constructed from the point of view of formal education and it is proposed as a framework for the approach of the science/technology museum from the teachers and education administrators. More specifically, the tool is, at first, described in terms of structure, content and functionality and, afterwards, examples are provided for cases of international, national and local natural history museums (Natural History Museum in Paris, Goulandris Natural History Museum in Athens and University of Patras Zoology Museum accordingly). Finally, there is a discussion regarding the suitability of this tool to inform, instruct and train future and in-service teachers in aspects of museum education. Article visualizations

The 1999 Athens (Greece) Earthquake: Energy and Duration- Related Response Spectral Characteristics of Different Site Conditions

An earthquake of September 7, 1999 (M5.9) has occurred in the Athens (Attika) area and was felt in almost all central Greece. The earthquake caused a lot of damage and extensive loss of life. The most damaged region is located within a distance of 10 km from the epicenter and numerous modem buildings and industrial facilities collapsed. The accelerograms, which have been recorded during the main event, are processed and compared with the empirical predictive relations proposed for Greece. For each record, the bracketed and significant duration as well as various energy-related measures are estimated. The correlation of these measures with the macroseismic intensity of the particular accelerographic site is then examined. Thus, the destructiveness of the individual records, based solely on the analysis of the ground motion process, is established. The influence of duration and frequency content on structural damage is then incorporated into the response spectral values via the adoption of novel site-dependent probabilistic 3Dspectra. Finally all the above characteristics are compared in order to select the strong-motion properties and response spectral parameters that encapsulate the damage potential of the seismic action and therefore are best suited for design purposes

El «análisis del contenido conceptual» de los currículos y programas de ciencia : una posible herramienta de mediación entre la didáctica y la enseñanza de las ciencias

En este trabajo se propone el análisis del contenido conceptual de currículos y programas de ciencias como una posible herramienta de mediación entre la didáctica de las ciencias como disciplina académica y la enseñanza de las ciencias como práctica profesional. A partir del análisis, se presenta una clasificación de diversos programas recientes y actuales que introducen el concepto de energía en el nivel secundario; la clasificación consiste en tres «tipos ideales» de programa (tradicional, innovador y constructivista), cada uno caracterizado por una serie de «ejes». Finalmente, se discute cómo podría usarse esa clasificación a la hora de acercar los resultados de la investigación didáctica al día a día de las aulas de ciencias.In this paper we propose the analysis of the conceptual contents of Science curricula and programmes as a possible mediation tool between Didactics of Science (i.e. Science Education as an academic discipline) and Science Teaching as a professional practice. From the analysis we carried out, a classification of different recent and current programmes which introduce the concept of energy in the secondary level; such classification consists of three «ideal types» of programme (traditional, innovative, and constructivist), each of them characterised by a series of «axes». Finally, we discuss how we could use this classification when trying to bring the results of didactical (i.e. Science educational) research closer to the Science classrooms

Teaching animal categorization in preschool-ers using typical -non typical educational en-viroments

The aim of this research study is to present the goals, the content and some evaluation elements of a teaching intervention for preschool children concerning animal categorization. The intervention combines typical and non typical educational characteristics and takes place both in the school class and in a zoological museum. More specifically, we will present the cognitive objectives of the intervention which are the following: (a) the familiarization of children with various samples of animals, (b) the movement of children’s ideas from using anthropomorphic or functional criteria to the use of morphological criteria for classification of animal samples, (c) the identification of new samples of animals with one of the constructed categories of animals and (d) the creation of a new class of animals in case of the animal sample does not fit in any of the constructed categories. In this study we will focus on the characteristics of teaching activities which take place during the visit to the zoological museum at the University of Patras. Some preliminary results which support the hypothesis that the museum educational activities have a positive impact on the fulfillment of the mentioned didactical objectives will be presented

LUBAC synthesizes linear ubiquitin chains via a thioester intermediate

The linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC) is a RING E3 ligase that regulates immune and inflammatory signalling pathways. Unlike classical RING E3 ligases, LUBAC determines the type of ubiquitin chain being formed, an activity normally associated with the E2 enzyme. We show that the RING-in-between-RING (RBR)-containing region of HOIP—the catalytic subunit of LUBAC—is sufficient to generate linear ubiquitin chains. However, this activity is inhibited by the N-terminal portion of the molecule, an inhibition that is released upon complex formation with HOIL-1L or SHARPIN. Furthermore, we demonstrate that HOIP transfers ubiquitin to the substrate through a thioester intermediate formed by a conserved cysteine in the RING2 domain, supporting the notion that RBR ligases act as RING/HECT hybrids