Transposition Process Research Articles

Nutrition and health as virtual class at Open University (Portugal): pedagogical strategies for higher education

The Open University is the sole distance learning public university in Portugal. The present paper reflects the work that is carried out in a curricular unit that belongs to the scientific field of nutrition and that is integrated in an MSc degree. The work is based on the pedagogical model of the University and on the process of didactic and pedagogical transposition in the planning of the structure and dynamics of the curricular unit. Distance education now uses the new technologies of information and communication and the process of teaching / learning benefits from a pedagogical model specifically designed to be used with a platform adapted to the needs of the University. The objective of the reflection and of the proposed study, as well as the results presented, was to show that the interaction between students and between the lecturer and the students is not only intensive but is also beneficial for the learning process and the successful outcomes.

Melodies as Maximally Disordered Systems under Macroscopic Constraints with Musical Meaning.

One of the most relevant features of musical pieces is the selection and utilization of musical elements by composers. For connecting the musical properties of a melodic line as a whole with those of its constituent elements, we propose a representation for musical intervals based on physical quantities and a statistical model based on the minimization of relative entropy. The representation contains information about the size, location in the register, and level of tonal consonance of musical intervals. The statistical model involves expected values of relevant physical quantities that can be adopted as macroscopic constraints with musical meaning. We studied the occurrences of musical intervals in 20 melodic lines from seven masterpieces of Western tonal music. We found that all melodic lines are strictly ordered in terms of the physical quantities of the representation and that the formalism is suitable for approximately reproducing the final selection of musical intervals made by the composers, as well as for describing musical features as the asymmetry in the use of ascending and descending intervals, transposition processes, and the mean dissonance of a melodic line.

Institutional and economic determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure by banks

PurposeThis study aims to explore the firm’s and country-level institutional forces that determine banks’ CSR reporting diversity, during the recent global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachSpecifically, this study assesses whether economic and institutional conditions explain CSR disclosure strategies used by 30 listed and unlisted banks from six countries in the context of the recent 2007/2008 global financial crisis. The annual reports and social responsibility reports of the largest banks in Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal were content analyzed.FindingsThe findings suggest that economic factors do not influence CSR disclosure. Institutional factors associated with the legal environment, industry self-regulation and the organization’s commitments in maintaining a dialogue with relevant stakeholders are crucial elements in explaining CSR reporting. Consistent with the Dillard et al.’s (2004) model, CSR disclosure by banks not only stems from institutional legitimacy processes, but also from strategic ones.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the importance of CSR regulation to properly monitor manager’s’ opportunistic use of CSR information and regulate the assurance activities (regarding standards, their profession or even the scope of assurance) to guarantee the proper credibility reliability of CSR information.Originality/valueThe study makes two major contributions. First, it extends and modifies the model used by Chih et al. (2010). Second, drawn on the new institutional sociology, this study develops a theoretical framework that combines the multilevel model of the dynamic process of institutionalization, transposition and deinstitutionalization of organizational practices developed by Dillard et al. (2004) with Campbell’s (2007) theoretical framework of socially responsible behavior. This theoretical framework incorporates a more inclusive social context, aligned with a more comprehensive sociology-based institutional theory (Dillard et al., 2004; Campbell, 2007), which has never been used in the CSR reporting literature hitherto.

Genome plasticity favours double chromosomal Tn4401b-blaKPC-2 transposon insertion in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa ST235 clone

BackgroundPseudomonas aeruginosa Sequence Type 235 is a clone that possesses an extraordinary ability to acquire mobile genetic elements and has been associated with the spread of resistance genes, including genes that encode for carbapenemases. Here, we aim to characterize the genetic platforms involved in resistance dissemination in blaKPC-2-positive P. aeruginosa ST235 in Colombia.ResultsIn a prospective surveillance study of infections in adult patients attended in five ICUs in five distant cities in Colombia, 58 isolates of P. aeruginosa were recovered, of which, 27 (46.6%) were resistant to carbapenems. The molecular analysis showed that 6 (22.2%) and 4 (14.8%) isolates harboured the blaVIM and blaKPC-2 genes, respectively. The four blaKPC-2-positive isolates showed a similar PFGE pulsotype and belonged to ST235. Complete genome sequencing of a representative ST235 isolate shows a unique chromosomal contig of 7097.241 bp with eight different resistance genes identified and five transposons: a Tn6162-like with ant(2″)-Ia, two Tn402-like with ant(3″)-Ia and blaOXA-2 and two Tn4401b with blaKPC-2. All transposons were inserted into the genomic islands. Interestingly, the two Tn4401b copies harbouring blaKPC-2 were adjacently inserted into a new genomic island (PAGI-17) with traces of a replicative transposition process. This double insertion was probably driven by several structural changes within the chromosomal region containing PAGI-17 in the ST235 background.ConclusionThis is the first report of a double Tn4401b chromosomal insertion in P. aeruginosa, just within a new genomic island (PAGI-17). This finding indicates once again the great genomic plasticity of this microorganism.

Agrobacterium-mediated Tnt1 mutagenesis of moss protonemal filaments and generation of stable mutants with impaired gametophyte.

The gametophyte of moss exhibits a simple body plan, yet its growth is regulated by complex developmental phenomena similar to angiosperms. Because moss can be easily maintained under laboratory conditions, amenable for gene targeting and the availability of genome sequence, P. patens has become an attractive model system for studying evolutionary traits. Until date, there has been no Agrobacterium-mediated Tnt1 mutagenesis protocol for haploid protonemal filaments of moss. Hence, we attempted to use the intact tobacco Tnt1 retrotransposon as a mutagen for P. patens. Bioinformatic analysis of initiator methionyl-tRNA (Met-tRNAi), a critical host factor for Tnt1 transposition process, suggested that it can be explored as a mutagen for bryophytes. Using protonemal filaments and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, 75 Tnt1 mutants have been generated and cryopreserved. SSAP analysis and TAIL-PCR revealed that Tnt1 is functional in P. patens and has a high-preference for gene and GC-rich regions. In addition, LTR::GUS lines exhibited a basal but tissue-specific inducible expression pattern. Forward genetic screen resulted in 5 novel phenotypes related to hormonal and gravity response, phyllid, and gamete development. SSAP analysis suggests that the Tnt1 insertion pattern is stable under normal growth conditions and the high-frequency phenotypic deviations are possibly due to the combination of haploid explant (protonema) and the choice of mutagen (Tnt1). We demonstrate that Agrobacterium-mediated Tnt1 insertional mutagenesis could generate stable P. patens mutant populations for future forward genetic studies.

The Question of External Integration of Jurisprudence in the Context of its Political Character

The paper analyzes methodological determinants of jurisprudence, indicating several problems in the process of its integration with other sciences; the complex internal structure of jurisprudence and difficulty in meeting the requirements of the general-methodological naturalistic paradigm are considered sources of problems. According to the author, it is more appropriate to define integration as seeking links between theory of law and theories of related disciplines, which is the easiest in respect of political sciences and sociology (postulate of the political character of the law and the science of law). This is because of similar methodological determinants and commonly analyzed phenomena, as well as shared contemporary challenges. The author considers the process of mere transposition of methods and/or concepts developed in other disciplines to be an overly simplified vision of external integration.

The Question of External Integration of Jurisprudence in the Context of its Political Character.

The paper analyzes methodological determinants of jurisprudence, indicating several problems in the process of its integration with other sciences; the complex internal structure of jurisprudence and difficulty in meeting the requirements of the general-methodological naturalistic paradigm are considered sources of problems. According to the author, it is more appropriate to define integration as seeking links between theory of law and theories of related disciplines, which is the easiest in respect of political sciences and sociology (postulate of the political character of the law and the science of law). This is because of similar methodological determinants and commonly analyzed phenomena, as well as shared contemporary challenges. The author considers the process of mere transposition of methods and/or concepts developed in other disciplines to be an overly simplified vision of external integration.

Continental ichthyofauna from the Paraíba do Norte River basin pre-transposition of the São Francisco River, Northeastern Brazil

Abstract: Freshwater ichthyofauna from Brazil Northeast region was considered as being poorly known until recent years, with a considerable number of publications becoming available in the last decade. The present study provides an inventory of freshwater fish species from the Paraíba do Norte River basin located in Paraíba State, Brazil. This inventory is intended to contribute to the of knowledge to the regional fish diversity, pre-transposition of the São Francisco River. Collecting data was obtained from ichthyological databases of both national and foreign institutions. A total of 47 freshwater fish species are registered within the Paraíba do Norte River basin, represented by 38 genera, 20 families and six orders. Characiformes, comprising 47% (22 species), Cichliformes, and Siluriformes are among the most representative orders, 19% (9 species) each, of total recorded species. Seven species of Cichliformes are reported as introduced species in this basin. Cyprinodontiformes and Gobiiformes also registered in this region and correspond to 5% (two species) and Gymnotiformes, Perciformes and Synbranchiformes, 2% (one species each) of total recorded species. Paraíba do Norte River basin stands out in the current national scenario as it comprises the first region from the Mid-Northeastern Caatinga freshwater ecoregion to receive water from the transposition of the São Francisco River. The current inventory is important as it provides scientific data related to the ichthyofauna of Paraíba do Norte River basin prior to the commencement of the river transposition process. An identification key is also given for the freshwater fish species of the region.

Transposition of Russian Verbs Tense

러시아어는 일정한 의사소통 상황에서 전이 과정(하나의 형태적 형태가 다른 의미로 사용되는 현상)이 발생한다. 모든 전이 유형은 다양한 문체적 뉘앙스를 표현하고 문장의 의미에 오버톤(обертон)을 전달한다. 즉, 화자의 표현 수단이며 주관적인 양상 표현 수단이 된다. 이러한 역할을 하는 요소 중 가장 빈도와 비중이 높은 것이 동사의 시제 형태이다. 러시아어 동사는 과거, 현재, 미래 3가지 문법적 시제 형태를 가지고 각시제의 고유한 의미 뿐 아니라 다른 시제형태의 의미로도 사용된다. 이것은술어 역할을 하는 동사의 형태적 시제가 의미적 시제와 일치하지 않음을 의미한다. 이러한 동사 시제의 전이 유형은 6가지가 있다. 즉, 과거시제 의 미인 문맥에서 동사의 문법적 형태를 현재시제나 미래시제로 사용하고, 현 재시제 의미인 문맥에서 과거시제나 미래시제의 문법적 형태를 사용하며, 미래시제 의미인 문맥에서 과거시제나 현재시제 형태의 동사를 사용하는경우가 발생한다. 이러한 모든 유형의 시제 전이는 서술적 기능면에서 형태적 시제와 의미적 시제의 불일치를 유발하게 된다. 그래서 형태적 시제에 대한 행위의 연관성이 약화되는 결과를 초래하고 문법 시제의미가 가지는 뉘앙스도 약해진다. 문법적 형태의 의미는 내포적인 뉘앙스(коннотативный оттенок)로작용하여 외연적 의미(денотативное значение)인 문맥적 의미에 오버톤(обертон)역할을 하게 됨을 알 수 있다. 본 논문은 러시아 문학작품 텍스트를 주로 이용하여 러시아어 동사의 시제 전이 현상을 유형별로 살펴보고 문맥적 효과를 분석하기 위한 것이다.In the language system, there are transposition processes - the use of one morphological form in another meaning in certain communicative situations. All types of transpositions express different stylistic nuances, inform the sentence of brighter overtones of meaning, and the act as means of expression and the subjective modality of the speaker. This is due to the fact that the forms of tense have various meanings. They are used not only in their own meaning, but also in the meaning of other tense forms. This means that the morphological characteristics of the verb in the predicate function may not coincide with the semantic tense. Thus, the following transposition variants of the verb tense are possible: - use of the form of the present tense in the meaning of the past (the so-called present historical); - use of the form of the present tense in the meaning of the future; - use of the form of the past tense in the meaning of the present; - use of the form of the past tense in the meaning of the future; - use of the form of the future tense in the meaning of the past; - use of the form of the future tense in the meaning of the present; When the grammatical tense and in-context meaning are paired together, the result is (1) the weakening of the significance of the attribution of the action to the grammatical form, (2) the meaning of the grammatical form eventually weakens, sometimes imperceptibly. The meaning of the grammatical form becomes a connotative nuance that accompanies, as a kind of overtone, the basic denotative meaning from the context.

The Transposition of the Antitrust Damages Directive in the Small Member States of the EU—A Comparative Perspective

The selected EU Member States (i.e. Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg) have faced technical and linguistic intricacies in their attempts to align the Antitrust Damages Directive’s provisions with national rules. It seems that the copying/literal method combined with the minimalistic approach dominated in this transposition process, especially in newer small Member States. In the context of the elaboration and gold-plating methods, the paper also discovered some deviations or uncertainties which require to be settled in the future.

Prácticas que obstaculizan los procesos de transposición didáctica en escuelas asentadas en contextos vulnerables: Desafíos para una transposición didáctica contextualizada

Este artículo presenta el siguiente objetivo: Analizar las prácticas que obstaculizan los procesos de trasposición didáctica que desarrolla el profesorado en el aula en escuelas situadas en contextos vulnerables de la comuna de Curacautín de la Araucanía. Para ello, se planteó un diseño cualitativo descriptivo, con base en la teoría fundamentada y método comparativo constante. Los sujetos de estudio fueron 28 docentes de escuelas rurales. Las técnicas de recolección de información fueron la observación etnográfica y la entrevista semiestructurada. Los resultados del estudio indican que dentro de los prácticas que obstaculizan la transposición didáctica se evidencian modelos de planificación de enseñanza rígidos, la estrategia didáctica que se impone en el proceso de enseñanza en el aula es la clase expositiva centrada en el personal docente, con un enfoque vertical. Al mismo tiempo, se visualiza un débil manejo del dominio disciplinar y pedagógico del contenido. El proceso evaluativo, no se centra en la continuidad ni en la mejora del proceso de aprendizaje. Además, se visualiza ausencia de liderazgo pedagógico. Por lo tanto, se concluye que los procesos de transposición didáctica tienen una orientación conductista, y descontextualizada. En tal sentido, se espera de que los grupos docentes rompan con la forma tradicional de enseñanza, para facilitar los procesos de transposición didáctica con base en estrategias y recursos didácticos contextualizados, a fin de mejorar los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje y, por tanto, provocar transformaciones sociales en contextos de vulnerables.

Can Didactic Transposition and Popularization Explain Transformations of Genetic Knowledge from Research to Classroom?

We will attempt a synthesis from various research perspectives that have analyzed the alterations that knowledge inevitably goes through while percolating into classroom activities. We will try to identify some of their causes and will illustrate them with examples in genetics. First, we will discuss some research on knowledge transformation when genetics knowledge is popularized (Staerkle and Clemence 2002), to show how knowledge is transformed in specific predictable manners as it moves from experts to general public. Then, we will draw from a large body of (French) research in didactic transposition (Chevallard 1991) in order to highlight what knowledge characteristically thrives or is lost as it percolates into school practice and learner’s knowledge. We will then draw from Huberman’s (Science Communication, 4(4), 478–510, 1983) analysis of knowledge use in schools the specificities of knowledge that teachers effectively use. All three perspectives reveal that cognitive and social environment are crucial determinants of what knowledge will be found in schools. An ecological metaphor explains how different cognitive environments from research into education favor knowledge adapted to specificities of this ecosystem. This transposition of knowledge is therefore not decay but inescapable and necessary. Ignoring this transposition has considerably reduced the effectiveness of many educational reforms. We will combine these three to propose an evolutionary perspective that could inform ways of expressing research into educational recommendations fed into the system to optimize the didactic transposition process.

Adapting national legislation to Directive 2017/164/EU and to Directive 2017/2398/EU amending Directive 2004/37/EC

This article discusses the transposition process of Directive 2017/164/EU of January 31, 2017, establishing the fourth list of indicative occupational exposure limit values into national law, and the Directive 2017/2398/UE of December 12, 2017 amending Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work.

Institutional conditions for effective parliamentary oversight of European Union politics

The implementation of European Union directives into national law frequently triggers extensive parliamentary activities, especially if they are complex, salient, and conflictive. These activities can cause delayed transposition. The literature suggests that early parliamentary involvement may speed up the subsequent transposition process. In this article, it is argued theoretically and empirically shown that this hope is only fulfilled where parliaments are sufficiently strong. On the empirical side, the article looks at the effect of ex-ante scrutiny on the duration of the transposition of more than 650 directives in four weak parliaments as well as in four strong parliaments. It is found that an early involvement of strong parliaments may speed up transposition. By contrast, weak parliaments’ early engagement with EU directives may even cause a further delay of the transposition process.

Think globally, act locally: Implementing the sustainable development goals in Montenegro

Following the UN adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015, the Government of Montenegro entered in the final phase of revising of National Strategy for Sustainable Development (NSSD 2030). Under the supervision of the National Council for Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, an NSSD team of national and international experts was assembled under the coordination of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism. To demonstrate commitment to the UN 2030 Agenda, Montenegro decided to center the NSSD 2030 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets and indicators. One of the first UN member countries to implement the UN 2030 Agenda within the national policy context, Montenegro adopted its NSSD 2030 on July 7, 2016. As members of the NSSD team, here we 1) describe how the UN 2030 Agenda has been implemented within the policy context of Montenegro’s NSSD 2030, and 2) focus on the identification of the NSSD 2030 monitoring and reporting framework. Our key finding is that 26 institutions will be handling data for assessing 137 out of the 241 (56.8%) SDG indicators in the first reporting period scheduled for 2019. Although the paper deals with the implementation of the SDGs in Montenegro and its implications, we believe it will be useful in informing other countries in their process of national transposition and operationalization of the UN 2030 Agenda.

2. On the Educational Potential of Folk Dance

Abstract Folk dance, described in Folkloristics through notions like traditional dance, or, more often, folk choreography, refers to a specific domain of traditional spirituality, and is the third major component of folklore, alongside traditional literature/literary folklore and traditional music/musical folklore.The relation between folk dance and the Romanian education system is a long-lasting one, having taken various forms and degrees of intensity, as this folklore category offers resources and contents that have been used, and still are, in the education of children, youth, and adults. This article refers to the basic components of folk dance distinguished in Ethnochoreology which can offer useful contents to the process of didactic transposition at different levels of education in the Romanian school.

The Birth and Demise of the ISApl1-mcr-1-ISApl1 Composite Transposon: the Vehicle for Transferable Colistin Resistance.

ABSTRACTThe origin and mobilization of the ~2,609-bp DNA segment containing the mobile colistin resistance gene mcr-1 continue to be sources of uncertainty, but recent evidence suggests that the gene originated in Moraxella species. Moreover mcr-1 can be mobilized as an ISApl1-flanked composite transposon (Tn6330), but many sequences have been identified without ISApl1 or with just a single copy (single ended). To further clarify the origins and mobilization of mcr-1, we employed the Geneious R8 software suite to comprehensively analyze the genetic environment of every complete mcr-1 structure deposited in GenBank as of this writing (September 2017) both with and without associated ISApl1 (n = 273). This revealed that the 2,609-bp mcr-1 structure was likely mobilized from a close relative of a novel species of Moraxella containing a chromosomal region sharing >96% nucleotide identity with the canonical sequence. This chromosomal region is bounded by AT and CG dinucleotides, which have been described on the inside ends (IE) of all intact Tn6330 described to date and represent the ancestral 2-bp target site duplications (TSDs) generated by ISApl1 transposition. We further demonstrate that all mcr-1 structures with just one ISApl1 copy or with no ISApl1 copies were formed by deletion of ISApl1 from the ancestral Tn6330, likely by a process related to the “copy-out–paste-in” transposition mechanism. Finally, we show that only the rare examples of single-ended structures that have retained a portion of the excised downstream ISApl1 including the entire inverted right repeat might be capable of mobilization.

A Backprojection Slice Theorem for Tomographic Reconstruction.

Fast image reconstruction techniques are becoming important with the increasing number of scientific cases in high resolution micro and nano tomography. The processing of the large scale 3D data demands new mathematical tools for the tomographic reconstruction. Due to the high computational complexity of most current algorithms, big data sizes demands powerful hardware and more sophisticated numerical techniques. Several reconstruction algorithms are dependent on a mathematical tool called backprojection (a transposition process). A conventional implementation of the backprojection operator has cubic computational complexity. In the present manuscript we propose a new fast backprojection operator for the processing of tomographic data, providing a low-cost algorithm for this task. We compare our formula against other fast transposition techniques, using real and simulated large data sets.

Comparing the Implementation of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive

The paper analyses the implementation of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive in four European Member States: UK, Germany, France and Italy. The first part reviews the main trends, key differences and potential difficulties or unexpected consequences of the Directive. The paper then explores in more detail key substantive elements of the Directive, and how these have been dealt with by each of the surveyed states. This section includes an overview of the scope and format, environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to report on, the information to be provided, the notion of materiality, the verification process, the basis of reporting and the consequences of non-compliance. The paper also presents a comparative table and comprehensive analysis of the domestic transpositions of each of the four countries under review. The Directive provides the first comprehensive framework for ESG reporting at the EU level but gives considerable leeway to Member states in the transposition process. Whilst generally the new EU-wide legislation has been a positive step, there are a number of gaps in the Directive itself, which have not been adequately addressed in the implementing legislation.

Reverse transcriptase sequences from mulberry LTR retrotransposons: characterization analysis

AbstractCopiaandGypsyplay important roles in structural, functional and evolutionary dynamics of plant genomes. In this study, a total of 106 and 101,CopiaandGypsy reverse transcriptase(rt) were amplified respectively in theMorus notabilisgenome using degenerate primers. All sequences exhibited high levels of heterogeneity, were rich in AT and possessed higher sequence divergence ofCopia rtin comparison toGypsy rt. Two reasons are likely to account for this phenomenon: a) these elements often experience deletions or fragmentation by illegitimate or unequal homologous recombination in the transposition process; b) strong purifying selective pressure drives the evolution of these elements through “selective silencing” with random mutation and eventual deletion from the host genome. Interestingly, mulberryrtclustered with otherrtfrom distantly related taxa according to the phylogenetic analysis. This phenomenon did not result from horizontal transposable element transfer. Results obtained from fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that most of the hybridization signals were preferentially concentrated in pericentromeric and distal regions of chromosomes, and these elements may play important roles in the regions in which they are found. Results of this study support the continued pursuit of further functional studies ofCopiaandGypsyin the mulberry genome.