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: Author(s): Davide Mancusi, Alain Boudard, Joseph Cugnon, Jean-Christophe David, Thomas Gorbinet, and Sylvie Leray [Phys. Rev. C 84, 064615] Published Tue Dec 27, 2011

Description: The U.S. Department of Energy has mandated the production of 16 billion gallons (60.6 billion liters) of renewable biofuel from cellulosic feedstocks by 2022. The perennial grass, Miscanthus x giganteus , is a potential candidate for cellulosic biofuel production because of high productivity with minimal inputs. This study determined the effect of three different spring fertilizer treatments (0, 60, and 120 kg N ha −1 yr −1 as urea) on biomass production, soil organic matter (SOM), and inorganic N leaching in Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Virginia, along with N 2 O and CO 2 emissions at the IL site. There were no significant yield responses to fertilizer treatments, except at the IL site in 2012 (yields in 2012, year 4, varied from 10 to 23.7 Mg ha −1 across all sites). Potentially mineralizable N increased across all fertilizer treatments and sites in the 0 – 10 cm soil depth. An increase in permanganate oxidizable carbon (POX-C, labile C) in surface soils occurred at the IL and NJ sites, which were regularly tilled before planting. Decreases in POX-C were observed in the 0 – 10 cm soil depth at the KY and NE sites where highly managed turfgrass was grown prior to planting. Growing M . x giganteus altered SOM composition in only four years of production by increasing the amount of potentially mineralizable N at every site, regardless of fertilization amount. Nitrogen applications increased N leaching and N 2 O emission without increasing biomass production. This suggests that for the initial period (4 yr) of M . x giganteus production, N application has a detrimental environmental impact without any yield benefits and thus should not be recommended. Further research is needed to define a time when N application to M . x giganteus results in increased biomass production. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Background: In 2006, we were funded by the US National Institutes of Health to implement a study of tuberculosis epidemiology in Peru. The study required a secure information system to manage data from a target goal of 16,000 subjects who needed to be followed for at least one year. With previous experience in the development and deployment of web-based medical record systems for TB treatment in Peru, we chose to use the OpenMRS open source electronic medical record system platform to develop the study information system. Supported by a core technical and management team and a large and growing worldwide community, OpenMRS is now being used in more than 40 developing countries.We adapted the OpenMRS platform to better support foreign languages. We added a new module to support double data entry, linkage to an existing laboratory information system, automatic upload of GPS data from handheld devices, and better security and auditing of data changes. We added new reports for study managers, and developed data extraction tools for research staff and statisticians. Further adaptation to handle direct entry of laboratory data occurred after the study was launched. Results: Data collection in the OpenMRS system began in September 2009. By August 2011 a total of 9,256 participants had been enrolled, 102,274 forms and 13,829 laboratory results had been entered, and there were 208 users. The system is now entirely supported by the Peruvian study staff and programmers. Conclusions: The information system served the study objectives well despite requiring some significant adaptations mid-stream. OpenMRS has more tools and capabilities than it did in 2008, and requires less adaptations for future projects. OpenMRS can be an effective research data system in resource poor environments, especially for organizations using or considering it for clinical care as well as research.

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.