S-COL: A Copernican turn for the development of flexibly reusable collaboration scripts

Collaboration scripts are usually implemented as parts of a particular collaborative-learning platform. Therefore, scripts of demonstrated effectiveness are hardly used with learning platforms at other sites, and replication studies are rare. The approach of a platform-independent description language for scripts that allows for easy implementation of the same script on different platforms has not succeeded yet in making the transfer of scripts feasible. We present an alternative solution that treats the problem as a special case of providing support on top of diverse Web pages: In this case, the challenge is to trigger support based on the recognition of a Web page as belonging to a specific type of functionally equivalent pages such as the search query form or the results page of a search engine. The solution suggested has been implemented by means of a tool called S-COL (Scripting for Collaborative Online Learning) and allows for the sustainable development of scripts and scaffolds that can be used with a broad variety of content and platforms. The tool’s functions are described. In order to demonstrate the feasibility and ease of script reuse with S-COL, we describe the flexible re-implementation of a collaboration script for argumentation in S-COL and its adaptation to different learning platforms. To demonstrate that a collaboration script implemented in S-COL can actually foster learning, an empirical study about the effects of a specific script for collaborative online search on learning activities is presented. The further potentials and the limitations of the S-COL approach are discussed

6. Vortrag (22.03.2007): Aufbau einer integrierten eLearning-Infrastruktur und Vorlesungsübertragungen an der TU München

Inhalt: TU München Rahmendaten; IntegraTUM; IuK Dienste für Lehre und Forschung; Rückblick - eLearning@TUM; "eLearning-Szenarien"; elecTUM - Ziele und Rahmendaten; CLIX - Learning Management System für die TUM; Organisationsstruktur; Aufbau der Supportstruktur; Laufende Aktivitäten; Integrationskonzepte - Schnittstellen; Aktuelle Nutzerzahlen; Fazi

Localization of a FMRFamide-related peptide in efferent neurons and analysis of neuromuscular effects of DRNFLRFamide (DF2) in the crustacean Idotea emarginata.

In the ventral nerve cord of the isopod Idotea emarginata, FMRFamide-immunoreactive efferent neurons are confined to pereion ganglion 5 where a single pair of these neurons was identified. Each neuron projects an axon into the ipsilateral ventral and dorsal lateral nerves, which run through the entire animal. The immunoreactive axons form numerous varicosities on the ventral flexor and dorsal extensor muscle fibres, and in the pericardial organs. To analyse the neuromuscular effects of a FMRFamide, we used the DRNFLRFamide (DF2). DF2 acted both pre- and postsynaptically. On the presynaptic side, DF2 increased transmitter release from neuromuscular endings. Postsynaptically, DF2 depolarized muscle fibres by approximately 10 mV. This effect was not observed in leg muscles of a crab. The depolarization required Ca2+, was blocked by substituting Ca2+ with Co2+, but not affected by nifedipine or amiloride. In Idotea, DF2 also potentiated evoked extensor muscle contractions. The amplitude of high K+ contractures was increased in a dose dependent manner with an EC50 value of 40 nm. In current-clamped fibres, DF2 strongly potentiated contractions evoked by current pulses exceeding excitation-contraction threshold. In voltage-clamped fibres, the inward current through l-type Ca2+ channels was increased by the peptide. The observed physiological effects together with the localization of FMRFamide-immunoreactive efferent neurons suggest a role for this type of peptidergic modulation for the neuromuscular performance in Idotea. The pre- and postsynaptic effects of DF2 act synergistically and, in vivo, all should increase the efficacy of motor input to muscles resulting in potentiation of contractions

HOCHSCHULÜBERGREIFENDES E-LEARNING: TECHNISCHE REALISIERUNG UND DATENSCHUTZ

Learning Management Systeme (LMSe), die hochschulintern bereits etabliert sind, werden zunehmend aus strategischen und politischen Gründen auch hochschulübergreifend eingesetzt. Für solche Szenarien konnten sich proprietäre Ansätze in der Praxis nicht durchsetzen. Mittlerweile stehen jedoch internationale Standards zur Verfügung, die an nationale Anforderungen angepasst werden können. Im vorliegenden Artikel beschreiben wir die notwendigen Anpassungen an bereits eingesetzte LMSen und die Mehrwerte, die sich durch ein deutschlandweit erarbeitetes einheitliches Datenmodell ergeben. Darauf aufbauend diskutieren wir sowohl aus Benutzer- als auch aus Betreibersicht die neuen Herausforderungen für den Datenschutz, die sich aus der hochschulübergreifenden Nutzung von Benutzerprofilen ergeben, und stellen Lösungskonzepte vor

Internet-based Collaborative Simulation in Computational Prototyping and Scientific Research

1 Motivation Computational Simulation has established itself as an indispensable tool in scientific research as well as in industrial product design. Mature modeling methods are available in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Computational Structural Mechanics, Digital Mockup, Computational Electromagnetics, and other disciplines that allow to replace a great deal of experiments with prototypes by numerical simulation. Today, scientific research as well as industrial product design are performed in multidisciplinary, multi-organizational teams that are geographically distributed. But despite all progress in the domains of modeling algorithms and parallel execution, Computational Simulation still is performed in a batch-oriented process of pre-processing, computation, and postprocessing. Ubiquitous availability of the Internet allows us to do much of our every-day business on-line from our desktop, e.g., electronic banking, ordering books, making travel arrangements, etc. Applications in Scientific Computing in general still operate off-line, in batch-mode. Yet, today's multi-disciplinary, distributed project teams need network-based, on-line interactive collaboration- not just for convenience, but as a prerequisite for effective collaboration across geographical distances

The Neuromuscular Junctions of the Slow and the Fast Excitatory Axon in the Closer of the Crab Eriphia spinifrons Are Endowed with Different Ca 2 � Channel Types and Allow Neuron-Specific Modulation of Transmitter Release by Two Neuropeptides

Most crustacean muscle fibers receive double excitatory innervation by functionally different motor neurons termed slow and fast. By using specific �-toxins we show that the terminals of the slow closer excitor (SCE) and the fast closer excitor (FCE) at a crab muscle are endowed with different sets of presynaptic Ca 2� channel types. �-Agatoxin, a blocker of vertebrate P/Q-type channels, reduced the amplitude of EPSCs by decreasing the mean quantal content of transmitter release in both neurons by 70–85%, depending on the concentration. We provide the first evidence that �-conotoxin-sensitive channels also participate in transmission at crustacean neuromuscular terminals and are colocalized with �-agatoxin-sensitive channels in an axon-type-specific distribution. �-Conotoxin, a blocker of vertebrate N-type channels, inhibited release by 20–25 % only at FCE, not at SCE endings. Low concentrations of Ni 2 � , which block vertebrate R-type channels, inhibited release in endings of the SCE by up to 35%, but had little effects in FCE endings. We found that two neuropeptides, the FMRFamide-like DF 2 and proctolin, which occur in many crustaceans, potentiated evoked transmitter release differentially. Proctolin increased release at SCE and FCE endings, and DF 2 increased release only at FCE endings. Selective blocking of Ca 2 � channels by different �-toxins in the presence of peptides revealed that the target of proctolin-mediated modulation is the �-agatoxin-sensitive channel (P/Q-like), that of DF 2 the �-conotoxin-sensitive channel (N-like). The differential effects of these two peptides allows fine tuning of transmitter release at two functionally different motor neurons innervating the same muscle

The neuropeptide proctolin induces phosphorylation of a 30 kDa protein associated with the thin filament in crustacean muscle

In the isopod Idotea emarginata, the neuropeptide proctolin is contained in a single pair of motoneurones located in pereion ganglion 4. The two neurones supply dorsal extensor muscle fibres of all segments. Proctolin (1μmoll−1) potentiates the amplitude of contractures of single extensor muscle fibres elicited by 10mmoll−1 caffeine. In western blots of myofibrillar proteins isolated from single muscle fibres and treated with an anti-phosphoserine antibody, a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 30kDa was consistently found. The phosphorylation of this protein was significantly increased by treating the fibres with proctolin. After separation of myofibrillar filaments, a 30kDa protein was found only in the thin filament fraction. This protein is phosphorylated and detected by an antiserum against crustacean troponin I

Allatostatin modulates skeletal muscle performance in crustaceans through pre- and postsynaptic effects

Allatostatins, originally identified in insects as peptide inhibitors of juvenile hormone biosynthesis, are regarded as potent inhibitory regulators of intestinal muscles in insects and crustaceans. However, accumulating data indicate that allatostatins might also be involved in modulation of skeletal neuromuscular events. We show that most ganglia of two isopod crustaceans (Idotea baltica and I. emarginata) contain pairs of large, allatostatin-immunoreactive motor neurons which supply several segmental muscles. Among them are the dorsal extensor muscles, of which some fibres receive immunoreactive, varicose innervation. We demonstrate, on identified muscle fibres, that allatostatin exerts a twofold inhibitory effect: it reduces contractions of single voltage-clamped fibres, and it decreases the amplitude of evoked excitatory junctional currents recorded from individual release boutons. No change in excitation-contraction threshold or in passive membrane parameters was observed. As the amplitude of miniature currents generated by spontaneously released single transmitter quanta was not changed, the inhibitory effect of the peptide on junctional currents must be of presynaptic origin. Supportive results were obtained on leg muscles of the crab Eriphia spinifrons, where allatostatin decreased evoked synaptic currents by reducing the mean number of transmitter quanta released by presynaptic depolarization without affecting the amplitudes of currents generated by single quanta. This effect of allatostatin was similar for two functionally different neurons, the slow and the fast closer excitor.The data show that allatostatin occurs in identified motor neurons of Idotea and exerts complementary pre- and postsynaptic modulatory effects which reduce muscle responses. Thus, allatostatin counteracts the effects of another neuropeptide, proctolin, which is also present in Idotea and causes potentiating effects on the same muscle fibres