ALBERT

Description: The common understanding of e-learning has shifted over the last decade from the traditional learning objects portals to learning paradigms that enforces constructivism, discovery learning and social collaboration. Such type of learning takes place outside the formal academic settings (e.g., seminars or lectures) where a learning environment is created by using some kind of web application mashup tools. The use of these mashup tools moves the learning environment further away from being a monolithic platform towards providing an open set of learning tools, an unrestricted number of actors, and an open corpus of artifacts, either pre-existing or created by the learning process – freely combinable and utilizable by learners within their learning activities. However, collaboration, mashup and contextualization can only be supported through services, which can be created and modified dynamically based on middlewares to suit the current needs and situations of learners. This article identifies middlewares suitable for creating effective personal learning environment based on Web 2.0 mashup tools. This article also proposed a general framework for constructing such personal learning environments based on Ambient Learning realized by learning agents and the use of Enterprise Mashup servers.

Description: The common understanding of e-learning has shifted over the last decade from the traditional learning objects portals to learning paradigms that enforces constructivism, discovery learning and social collaboration. Such type of learning takes place outside the formal academic settings (e.g., seminars or lectures) where a learning environment is created by using some kind of web application mashup tools. The use of these mashup tools moves the learning environment further away from being a monolithic platform towards providing an open set of learning tools, an unrestricted number of actors, and an open corpus of artifacts, either pre-existing or created by the learning process – freely combinable and utilizable by learners within their learning activities. However, collaboration, mashup and contextualization can only be supported through services, which can be created and modified dynamically based on middlewares to suit the current needs and situations of learners. This article identifies middlewares suitable for creating effective personal learning environment based on Web 2.0 mashup tools. This article also proposed a general framework for constructing such personal learning environments based on Ambient Learning realized by learning agents and the use of Enterprise Mashup servers.

Description: The common understanding of e-learning has shifted over the last decade from the traditional learning objects portals to learning paradigms that enforces constructivism, discovery learning and social collaboration. Such type of learning takes place outside the formal academic settings (e.g., seminars or lectures) where a learning environment is created by using some kind of web application mashup tools. The use of these mashup tools moves the learning environment further away from being a monolithic platform towards providing an open set of learning tools, an unrestricted number of actors, and an open corpus of artifacts, either pre-existing or created by the learning process – freely combinable and utilizable by learners within their learning activities. However, collaboration, mashup and contextualization can only be supported through services, which can be created and modified dynamically based on middlewares to suit the current needs and situations of learners. This article identifies middlewares suitable for creating effective personal learning environment based on Web 2.0 mashup tools. This article also proposed a general framework for constructing such personal learning environments based on Ambient Learning realized by learning agents and the use of Enterprise Mashup servers.

Description: Diversity, Vol. 9, Pages 31: 16S rRNA Gene-Based Metagenomic Analysis of Ozark Cave Bacteria Diversity doi: 10.3390/d9030031 Authors: Cássia Oliveira Lauren Gunderman Cathryn Coles Jason Lochmann Megan Parks Ethan Ballard Galina Glazko Yasir Rahmatallah Alan Tackett David Thomas The microbial diversity within cave ecosystems is largely unknown. Ozark caves maintain a year-round stable temperature (12–14 °C), but most parts of the caves experience complete darkness. The lack of sunlight and geological isolation from surface-energy inputs generate nutrient-poor conditions that may limit species diversity in such environments. Although microorganisms play a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth and impacting human health, little is known about their diversity, ecology, and evolution in community structures. We used five Ozark region caves as test sites for exploring bacterial diversity and monitoring long-term biodiversity. Illumina MiSeq sequencing of five cave soil samples and a control sample revealed a total of 49 bacterial phyla, with seven major phyla: Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, and Nitrospirae. Variation in bacterial composition was observed among the five caves studied. Sandtown Cave had the lowest richness and most divergent community composition. 16S rRNA gene-based metagenomic analysis of cave-dwelling microbial communities in the Ozark caves revealed that species abundance and diversity are vast and included ecologically, agriculturally, and economically relevant taxa.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 179: Incorporating Road User Costs into Integrated Life-Cycle Cost Analyses for Infrastructure Sustainability: A Case Study on Sr-91 Corridor Improvement Project (Ca) Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10010179 Authors: Eul-Bum Lee David Thomas Douglas Alleman Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a decision-making tool that allows governing agencies the ability to assess several long-term alternative investment options. This paper presents a LCCA analysis process which integrates the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) program, RealCost (a road user cost calculation program), the FHWA-endorsed Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (CA4PRS) and Caltrans specific design tools (CalFP and CalAC), into the existing Caltrans LCCA process (a modified version of the FHWA LCCA process). In using tools backed by the FHWA and validated through previous agency use, the presented process has a potential to be replicated on urban corridor improvement projects across the US while aiding agencies in achieving economical sustainability throughout the infrastructure maintenance phases. This paper also fills the gap identified by Ozbay et al. in 2004, incorporating road user cost calculations into the LCCA process. Validation was achieved through the execution of the recently completed $1.4 B US California SR-91 Corridor Improvement Project. The SR-91 team used the presented tool to choose one of the two alternatives (maintain HOV SR-91 lane and add I-15 HOV lane using long-life Portland Cement Concrete Pavement or add Express Lane to SR-91 and I-15 using long-life Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement and Asphalt Concrete Pavement), equating to an estimated life-cost savings of $32 M.

Description: Abstract 2011 Although both talin and kindlin-3 binding to the β3 cytoplasmic domain are required for agonist-induced αIIbβ3 activation in platelets, the biochemical basis for this dual requirement is not clear. Recent NMR and hydrogen-deuterium exchange studies of disulfide-stabilized complexes containing the full cytoplasmic domains of αIIb and β3 dispersed in detergent micelles or lipid bilayers revealed that the β3 cytoplasmic domain consists of three helices: a stable proximal helix contiguous with the transmembrane domain and two distal dynamic amphiphilic helices whose fluctuations allow interaction of the helices with lipid bilayers or cytoplasmic proteins. These results suggest a cooperative model for talin and kindlin-3 binding to β3 with the talin and kindlin-3 binding sites kinetically- and thermodynamically-linked. Whether there is a preferred temporal sequence for kindlin-3 versus talin binding to β3 during physiological αIIbβ3 activation in platelets is not known, but the greater mobility of the kindlin-3 binding site suggests it might have a kinetic advantage over talin, assuming both are present in appropriate forms for binding. Much is known about the structure and function of talin, but substantially less is known about kindlin-3 in part because it has not been possible to express the complete molecule in bacterial expression systems. To address this issue, we have examined kindlin-3 expression and function in human platelets. Two kindlin-3 isoforms have been identified, a long form (Mr ∼ 76 kDa; accession: NM_178443) and a short form (Mr ∼75 kDa accession: NM_031471), that differ by the presence of 4 residues (RIPR; residues 360–363) in the PH domain of the long isoform. Using highly purified platelet and leukocyte RNA and RT PCR, we found that kindlin-3 expressed in platelets and leukocytes consist almost entirely of the 663 amino acid short isoform. Kindlin-3 present in platelet extracts is functionally active and spontaneously binds to the β3 cytoplasmic domain in pull down assays. Moreover, because kindlin-3 binding is abrogated by the β3 mutations S752P and T759A, but not T759F, the in vitro binding of kindlin-3 does not appear to be phosphorylation dependent. Further, surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy suggests that the PH domain of kindlin-3 partially drives membrane binding in the presence of phospholipids. Treatment of washed human platelets with the PAR1-activating peptide TRAP-6 (SFLLRNP) resulted in the rapid incorporation of kindlin-3 present in the platelet cytosol into the platelet cytoskeleton. We also found that kindlin-3 is present in dense fractions when platelets extracts were fractionated on sucrose gradients. Likewise, immunofluorescent images of platelets adherent to fibrinogen and platelet immuno-electron microscopy detected the presence of kindlin-3 in vesicular structures. Finally, using out-dated human platelets as starting material, we purified kindlin-3 to near homogeneity by the sequential use of ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. These results provide a foundation for understanding the unique role that kindlin-3 plays in regulating the activity of platelet αIIbβ3. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.