Web-oriented Platform Research Articles

Using Information Communication Technologies in Professional Training of Future Civil Aviation Pilots

The present study underlines the importance of developing self-study skills for future aviation specialists aimed at embracing the concept of life long education. The article states that self-study skills should be formed in an effective self study environment which enhances acquiring professional competences and improves professional training. The analysis of the scientific literature has defined the term ‘self-study’. The application of ICT into educational process is based on social constructivism engaging students’ collaboration, active learning, and development self-study and self-control reflexive skills. The main principles (adaptability, longevity, accessibility, and cost efficiency) and methodological approaches (differential and system ones) of ICT implementation are described. The study shows that teachers’ collaboration plays a significant role in the organization of learning process in higher education. The results of the experiment at the Flight Academy of National Aviation University demonstrate that using the MOODLE Web-oriented platform improves the future pilots’ self-study and has a mutual positive effect for teachers and students.

Integrated three-dimensional models for noninvasive monitoring and valorization of the Morgantina silver treasure (Sicily)

The Morgantina silver treasure belonging to the Archaeological Museum of Aidone (Sicily) was involved in a three-dimensional (3-D) survey and diagnostics campaign for monitoring the collection over time in anticipation of their temporary transfer to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for a period of 4 years. Using a multidisciplinary approach, a scientific and methodological protocol based on noninvasive techniques to achieve a complete and integrated knowledge of the precious items and their conservation state, as well as to increase their valorization, has been developed. All acquired data, i.e., 3-D models, ultraviolet fluorescence, x-ray images, and chemical information, will be made available, in an integrated way, within a web-oriented platform, which will present an in-progress tool to deepen existing archaeological knowledge and production technologies and to obtain referenced information of the conservation state before and after moving of the collection from its exposure site.

RulNet: A Web-Oriented Platform for Regulatory Network Inference, Application to Wheat -Omics Data.

With the increasing amount of –omics data available, a particular effort has to be made to provide suitable analysis tools. A major challenge is that of unraveling the molecular regulatory networks from massive and heterogeneous datasets. Here we describe RulNet, a web-oriented platform dedicated to the inference and analysis of regulatory networks from qualitative and quantitative –omics data by means of rule discovery. Queries for rule discovery can be written in an extended form of the RQL query language, which has a syntax similar to SQL. RulNet also offers users interactive features that progressively adjust and refine the inferred networks. In this paper, we present a functional characterization of RulNet and compare inferred networks with correlation-based approaches. The performance of RulNet has been evaluated using the three benchmark datasets used for the transcriptional network inference challenge DREAM5. Overall, RulNet performed as well as the best methods that participated in this challenge and it was shown to behave more consistently when compared across the three datasets. Finally, we assessed the suitability of RulNet to analyze experimental –omics data and to infer regulatory networks involved in the response to nitrogen and sulfur supply in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grains. The results highlight putative actors governing the response to nitrogen and sulfur supply in wheat grains. We evaluate the main characteristics and features of RulNet as an all-in-one solution for RN inference, visualization and editing. Using simple yet powerful RulNet queries allowed RNs involved in the adaptation of wheat grain to N and S supply to be discovered. We demonstrate the effectiveness and suitability of RulNet as a platform for the analysis of RNs involving different types of –omics data. The results are promising since they are consistent with what was previously established by the scientific community.

Towards a System of Enhanced Transparency of Medical Curriculum

Introduction: A correctly compiled and balanced curriculum across medical fields is an essential prerequisite for medical education. Just as in other fields, it is vividly evident in medicine that the overall structure and lesson content are not ideal and it is quite common for the overlap between theoretical and clinical subjects to be either too extensive or, on the contrary, rather insufficient. The issue of curriculum innovation has been addressed in many medical and health care fields by different academic institutions, as proclaimed in the analysis of the current global situation. The need for a computer-aided management system providing a transparent overview of the curriculum at specific faculties has been duly emphasized. Aim: An original methodology for managing the changes during optimization of the medical curriculum in tertiary education is introduced in the paper, together with its conceptual data model. Methods: According to the conclusions of the Bologna Process, which promotes outcome-based education, the theoretical basis is oriented to the new paradigm of teaching and learning. Results: We introduce the all-in-one web-oriented platform covering all elements linked to global curriculum management and providing sufficient information for the curriculum designers. Conclusion: A new powerful and robust system for the management, visualization and analysis of curriculum should pinpoint specific learning imperfections and potential overlaps across the chosen field of study. It brings useful and beneficial information for students, teachers as well as the faculty management.

Integration of a neuroimaging processing pipeline into a pan-canadian computing grid

The ethos of the neuroimaging field is quickly moving towards the open sharing of resources, including both imaging databases and processing tools. As a neuroimaging database represents a large volume of datasets and as neuroimaging processing pipelines are composed of heterogeneous, computationally intensive tools, such open sharing raises specific computational challenges. This motivates the design of novel dedicated computing infrastructures. This paper describes an interface between PSOM, a code-oriented pipeline development framework, and CBRAIN, a web-oriented platform for grid computing. This interface was used to integrate a PSOM-compliant pipeline for preprocessing of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging into CBRAIN. We further tested the capacity of our infrastructure to handle a real large-scale project. A neuroimaging database including close to 1000 subjects was preprocessed using our interface and publicly released to help the participants of the ADHD-200 international competition. This successful experiment demonstrated that our integrated grid-computing platform is a powerful solution for high-throughput pipeline analysis in the field of neuroimaging.

Clickmd: An Intuitive Web-Oriented Molecular Dynamics Platform

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are broadly used to reproduce protein motions at an atomic level of detail. Running MD simulations is generally considered an expert-driven task. ClickMD provides an integrated web-oriented platform for processing and analyzing the time-dependent behavior of a biomolecular system in an MD workflow. ClickMD is freely available online and can be easily integrated into the drug-design process, in particular in combination with molecular docking simulations. ClickMD has the potential to reduce the shuffling among various software applications and to facilitate the seamless processing of the MD trajectories.