Blended learning has become a buzzword in many educational environments in recent years, usually referring to courses that employ a mix of face-to-face and online learning (Bonk & Gra-ham, 2012). The term originated in workplace learning literature, but is also now widely used in higher education, often describing courses that have had an online component added to them (MacDonald, 2006). Some a...

We analyse the distribution of three different samples of spiral galaxies of the Local Universe in the B-band luminosity-maximum rotational velocity (LB-VMax) plane, i.e. the B-magnitude Tully-Fisher (TF) relation. The first sample comprises 25+31 late-type (from Sa to Im-BCD) galaxies, selected from, respectively, the Virgo and the Ursa Major clusters. In addition, a sample of 20 group extreme...

The differentiated cell identities and structure of fully formed organs are generally stable after their development. In contrast, we report here that development of the C. elegans proximal somatic gonad (hermaphrodite uterus and spermathecae, and male vas deferens) can be redirected into intestine-like organs by brief expression of the ELT-7 GATA transcription factor. This process converts one...

We report the complete DNA sequence of the Escherichia coli elt A gene, which codes for the A subunit of the heat-labile enterotoxin, LT. The amino acid sequence of the LT A subunit has been deduced from the DNA sequence of elt A. The LT A subunit starts with methionine, ends with leucine, and comprises 264 amino acids. The computed molecular weight of LT A is 29,673. The A subunit of cho...

In the scope of the evaluation of architecture and technologies for the control system of the E-ELT (European-Extremely Large Telescope) instruments, a collaboration has been set up between the Instrumentation and Control Group of the INAF-OATs and the ESO Directorate of Engineering. The first result of this collaboration is the design and implementation of a prototype of a small but representa...

Aim In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of E. coli pathotypes and Shigella sero-groups and their antimicrobial profiles among diarrheic children in Nairobi city, Kenya. Background Although diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes and Shigella sero-groups are leading causes of diarrhea in children under five years in developing countries, their distribution and antimicrobial resistanc...

Exposure to early life trauma (ELT) is known to have a profound impact on mental development, leading to a higher risk for depression and anxiety. Our aim was to use multiple structural imaging methods to systematically investigate how traumatic stressors early in life impact the emotional brain circuits, typically found impaired with clinical diagnosis of depression and anxiety, across the lif...

Postembryonic development in Caenorhabditis elegans is a powerful model for the study of the temporal regulation of development and for the roles of microRNAs in controlling gene expression. Stable switch-like changes in gene expression occur during development as stage-specific microRNAs are expressed and subsequently down-regulate other stage-specific factors, driving developmental progressio...

This study aims at investigating the challenges of conducting qualitative research (QLR) from Iranian ELT (English Language Teaching) Ph.D. students’ and ELT faculty members’ viewpoints in the Iranian higher education context. The participants of the study consisted of 100 Ph.D. students majoring in ELT and 50 ELT faculty members. The study followed a mixed-method appro...