Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Digital Design Literacy in K-12 Education

This dissertation addresses the introduction, sustainment and articulation of digital design literacy in K-12 education. It is the result of my four years of research in the FabLab@school.dk research and development project. Within this project, I have researched the topic through constructive design research experiments on both students’ and teachers’ experiences and competencies with digital design as new subject matter in K-12. The contributions presented in this dissertation are positioned within the emerging research field of making in education. The contributions concern new possibilities that making in education creates for K–12 students to develop competencies to design and critique digital technologies. The point of departure for my work was to explore how the implementation of maker settings and technologies might provide novel ways to combine constructionism, design and digital technology with the intention of having students develop digital design literacy. Hence, this dissertation is a response to the question of how to educate K–12 students to understand, use, critically reflect on, and design digital technologies through the emerging educational possibilities enabled by maker activities, maker settings, and maker technologies. The dissertation is comprised of five research papers and two reports framed by an overview that sum up the arguments made in the papers and the contributions from these come together as a whole. The first contribution is a conceptual understanding of digital design literacy. I lay out a genealogy of traditional literacy toward new literacies to legitimize digital design as a new literacy in K–12 education. I contribute an understanding of how design and digital literacies are interrelated, can mutually benefit one another, and be synthesized and articulated holistically as integrated digital design literacy. The second contribution are quantitative measures of the state-of-the-actual in terms of students’ digital, design, and critical literacy and an assessment tool for quantitatively evaluating students’ stance towards inquiry, which I argue to be an important competence of digital design literacy. The third contribution is an understanding of three crucial aspects which must be considered when developing teachers’ capability to teach digital design literacy. I point to impediments for such teaching and to existing practicing teachers’ limited possibilities to meet demands presented by teaching digital design literacy. I contribute a framework for educating reflective design educators who can support students in developing digital design literacy. The accumulation of these three contributions has resulted in what is the main contribution of this dissertation overview: The Digital Design Literacy Framework. The framework contributes a legitmaziation, articulation and operational definitions of digital design as a new literacy and its underlying competencies.
BLOOD PARAMETERS IN WILD RUMINANTS IN KENYA1

Blood specimens from shot or drug-immobilized impala (Aepyceros melampus), Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsonii), Grant's gazelle (Gazella granti), mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorupula), blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), Coke's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus cokii), topi (Damaliscus korrigum), eland (Taurotragus oryx), buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and giraffe (Giraffa carnelopardalis) have been studied for the following parameters: erythrocyte and leukocyte counts, haematocrit and haemoglobin estimations, and serum calcium, inorganic phosphorus, magnesium and copper values. Both shot and drug-immobilized impala and shot wildebeest and topi had relatively high numbers of erythrocytes. The haematocrit and haemoglobin values were found to be comparatively low in the buffalo. Calcium and inorganic phosphorus values were low in the reedbuck and inorganic phosphorus low in the topi, when compared to normal values for domestic ruminants. When comparing data from shot and drug-immobilized impala, wildebeest and eland, statistically significantly higher values were found in erythrocyte counts, haematocrit and haemoglobin estimation in shot impala and wildebeest. Inorganic phosphorus was significantly higher in shot eland and wildebeest compared to immobilized animals of these species.
Medicinal plants used for treatment of wounds and skin infections: assessment of wound healing and antimicrobial properties of Mallotus oppositifolius and Momordica charantia

Mallotus oppositifolius and Momordica. charantia are two medicinal plants used in folk medicine for the treatment of skin infections and disorders, wounds, peptic ulcer, fever, piles and parasitic infections. The aim of the study was to determine the antimicrobial, antioxidant and wound healing properties of the methanol leaf extracts of M. oppositifolius and M. charantia. The two plants extracts were screened for their phytochemical composition and their antimicrobial activity was also determined against three gram-positive, two gram-negative bacteria and a fungus . The antioxidant or free radical scavenging activity of the methanol leaf extracts was also determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The wound healing activity of the extracts was determined by the excision wound model in rats. The results indicated that both extracts contain tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids and glycosides and M. charantia contains saponins. The two extracts exhibited activity against all the test organisms. MICs of the methanol leaf extract of M. oppositifolius was between 0.01 to 3.75 mg/mL and that of M. charantia was between 1.88 to 7.5 mg/mL. The IC 50 of methanol leaf extracts of M. oppositifolius and M. charantia were 16.11 and 7.09 µg/mL respectively. The wound contraction rate was significant (p<0.05) for both extracts of M. oppositifolius and M. charantia on the 11 th day compared to the untreated group. The extracts exhibited high antimicrobial and antioxidant activities and increased fibrosis and collagenation in the wound tissues and the rate of wound closure compared with the untreated wounds at the late phase of the wound healing process.
Ecological associations and genetic divergence in Black-bellied Salamanders (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) of the Southern Appalachian Mountains

th October. Abstract. The discovery and subsequent description of cryptic biodiversity is often chal- lenging, especially for groups that have undergone rapid lineage accumulation in the relatively recent past. Even without formal descriptions, understanding genetic diversity patterns as they relate to underlying ecological or historical processes can be important for conservation. The dusky salamanders of the genus Desmognathus, with 20 described species, comprise the second largest genus of plethodontid salamanders in the eastern United States. However, due to the presence of high genetic diversity and relatively few morphological synapomorphies, the number of species is likely to increase. For the three nominal species within the D. quadramaculatus species complex, including D. quad - ramaculatus, D. folkertsi, and D. marmoratus, we used a portion of the mitochondrial genome and nuclear markers in the form of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) to uncover spatial patterns of genetic diversity. Within D. quadramaculatus and D. marmoratus, we uncovered four well-supported lineages with the mitochondrial sequences; phylogeographic patterns were not congruent with the AFLP data. Both sets of markers identified a clear isolation by stream distance. Using multiple regressions, we found that historical river drainages and terrestrial ecoregions explained the phylogeo- graphic patterning we observed for D. quadramaculatus .
Biochemical characterization of indigenous Fulani and Yoruba ecotypes chicken of Nigeria

The study was carried out to characterize two indigenous chickens of Nigeria using protein markers; haemolglobin (HB) and carbonic anhydrase (CA). Separation of the two proteins was achieved by cellulose acetate electrophoresis and direct gene counting method was employed to interpret the result. Palentological statistics was used to generate dendrogram that measured genetic similarity within and between each of the population studied. HB was interpreted into three phenotypes: AA, AB and BB which were genetically controlled two codominant alleles HB A and HB B . Allele frequencies of HB A and HB B in Yoruba ecotype chicken were 0.34 and 0.66, respectively, while those of Fulani ecotype were 0.28 and 0.72, respectively. CA was also interpreted into three phenotypes (FF, FS and SS) which are genetically controlled by two codominant alleles CA F and CA S ; their respective allele frequencies were 0.33 and 0.67 in Yoruba ecotype chicken and 0.24 and 0.76 in Fulani ecotype chicken. Genetic similarity within ecotype indicated 60% in Fulani, 80% in Yoruba and 40% between Yoruba and Fulani at HB locus while at CA locus, genetic similarity was 69% in Fulani ecotype, 50% in Yoruba ecotype and 42% between Yoruba and Fulani ecotype. Cavalli-Sforza genetic distance between the two Ecotypes was 2.1x10 -2 . Conclusively, the two populations were genetically related and further studies should focus on other protein markers and at molecular level. Keywords: Ecotype, protein marker, genetic distance and selection Afr. J. Biotechnol. Vol. 12 No. 50
Biodiversity HOT SPOT and important refugium of the potamocoen? Aquatic beetles (Coleoptera: Adephaga, Hydrophiloidea, Staphylinodea, Byrrhoidea) of the River Bug valley between Wlodawa and Koden (Eastern Poland)

Between 2004 and 2007, aquatic beetles of the River Bug Valley between Wlodawa and Koden (65 km of the course of the river) were studied. As a result of the study, 118 species were recorded. More than 20 of those were found for the fi rst time in Podlasie as a faunistic region, are very rare in Poland, and/or data on the species are important for the determination of their distribution areas. The following were the most valuable: Aulonogyrus concinnus, Rhantus incognitus, Hydrochus fl avipennis, H. megaphallus, Ochthebius fl avipes, Potamophilus acuminatus, and Macronychus quadrituberculatus. Oxbow lakes were the most signifi cant for fauna species diversity, and the River Bug was inhabited by the most valuable and the most natural fauna. The hypothesis that the middle course of the River Bug is a refugium of potamocoen fauna was partially confi rmed.
Chromosome numbers of selected woody species from the Bulgarian flora

The chromosome numbers of 15 woody species from the Bulgarian flora are reported: Acer platanoides, A. pseudoplatanus, Ailanthus altissima, Alnus glutinosa, Carpinus betulus, Cornus mas, C. sanguinea, Coronilla emerus subsp. emeroides, Euonymus latifolia, Fraxinus ornus, Humulus lupulus, Periploca graeca, Quercus dalechampii, Sambucus nigra and Viburnum opulus. The results for 12 species confirm previously reported counts from Bulgaria and elsewhere, whereas the chromosome numbers of Ailanthus altissima (2n = 64), Alnus glutinosa (2n = 28) and Cornus mas (2n = 18) are reported for the first time from Bulgarian accessions. New chromosome count of 2n = 14 has been established for Coronilla emerus subsp. emeroides from Bulgarian accession.
Visual Cues and Host-Plant Preference of the Bird Cherry-Oat Aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Alate aphids respond to short (UV) and long (green—yellow) wavelength stimuli during host-plant searching behaviour. Although many aphids are attracted to yellow, the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi, is attracted to green. As part of identifying suitable plant species for crop border plants for seed potatoes, the attraction of R. padi to different shades of green in relation to differences in spectral reflectance of three cultivars of a non-host, potato, and two host-plant species, maize and wheat, were determined. Choice experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions to evaluate aphid landing preference for stimuli of different colours. Rhopalosiphum padi alates preferred to land on the colour targets with the highest reflectance. Significantly more alates landed on yellow and lime colour targets with a maximum wavelength reflectance of 46 % from 600–610 nm and 26 % from 525–531 nm, respectively. The peak light reflectance of the crop plants ranged between 12 % (potato; 532–555 nm) and 20 % (wheat; 537–553 nm). The results on aphid landing preference for different colour targets suggest that R. padi will land in higher numbers on the wheat plants, compared to potato, due to their higher peak percentage reflectance. In addition, the study indicates that the wavelength reflectance curves of plants can be used as a characteristic to select possible crop border plants when making choices between seemingly equally suitable plant species/cultivars.
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS): HOPE, AND THE INTERFACES OF SCIENCE, CONSERVATION, AND POLITICS

I 1986, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service appointed an Advisory Commi ee to evaluate the status of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis), a species that had been on U.S. endangered species lists since their inception. James Tanner, who was the foremost authority on the species, Lester Short, a leading authority on woodpeckers of the world, and I served on the commi ee. Other members included government biologists and long-time seekers of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. We were told that we were being called an “Advisory Commi ee” because we could not be called a “Recovery Team,” given that there were no birds to recover and, as such, there could be no Recovery Plan. At our fi rst meeting, held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we learned that our intended function was to serve as a sanctioning body to “offi cially” declare the Ivory-billed Woodpecker extinct. We reviewed published and unpublished reports of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers that had accumulated since the 1940s and agreed that the evidence for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker’s continued existence was slim, though there had been a continuing stream of anecdotal reports of the species from across the Southeast. Both Tanner and Short were prepared to declare the species extinct, given that more than 50 years had passed without confi rmation of its existence. But there had not been a range-wide systematic survey of potential Ivory-billed Woodpecker habitats since Tanner’s eff orts in the 1930s. Thus, it was unreasonable, I argued, to declare the species extinct without making a serious eff ort to fi nd it. In part as a response to the Advisory Commi ee meeting, Michael Harwood (1986) wrote an article in Audubon, bemoaning the lack of a ention given to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and lambasting the “ornithological establishment” for doing nothing in response to the fl ow of anecdotal reports. In the article, titled “You Can’t Protect What Isn’t There,” Harwood (1986:118) noted that “the ghostly Ivory-bill, lacking offi cial sanction, might just as well have been extinct all these years.listing has led to virtually nothing in the way of federal rescue activity. ” The Ivory-billed Woodpecker Advisory Commi ee concurred that we owed it to the species to make one last search. As the dissenter, and as one doing research on woodpeckers in the Southeast, the searching fell to me. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided a grant of $60,000, and I used a sabbatical to conduct the search. Because of limited funding, I focused Whitaker Center, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Fort Myers, Florida 33965, USA JEROME A. JACKSON1 IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS): HOPE, AND THE INTERFACES OF SCIENCE, CONSERVATION, AND POLITICS The Auk 123(1):1–15, 2006 © The American Ornithologists’ Union, 2006. Printed in USA.
Lentiviruses in cancer immunotherapy

Lentiviral vectors have emerged as promising tools for cancer immunotherapy owing to their capacity to transduce a wide range of different cell types, including dendritic cells (DCs), the key regulators of immunity. Ex vivo transduced DCs proved to be potent inducers of strong antigen-specific T-cell responses, both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, lentiviral vectors have been successfully applied for antigen-specific immunization, offering the advantage that the same lentivirus can be used for all patients resulting in an ‘off-the-shelf’ therapeutic. This review provides an update on the state-of-the-art induction of tumor-specific immune responses in vivo upon direct administration of tumor-associated antigen-encoding lentiviruses. Focusing on the cell types transduced, the results of current studies and the explanation for the potency of lentiviral vectors are discussed.
Female response and male signals in the acoustic communication system of the field

Male field crickets produce calling song by stridulating their tegmina. The harp structure on the tegmina has long been thought to be the primary resonant structure responsible for the predominant resonant frequency produced. However, a recent study has questioned the role of this structure during sound production, suggesting instead that other areas of the wing may be responsible for the resonant frequencies. We manipulated the tegmina of male field crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus, through sequential ablation experiments and recorded the resulting song. Cycle-by-cycle frequency analysis revealed that neither the cross veins of the harp, the harp membrane or the tegmen distal to the Cu2 vein (file) are required for resonance during the syllable. Using equations describing a simple resonance system, we were able to closely predict the results due to mass change of the system only, further questioning the role of the harp in producing the dominant frequency. Furthermore, we suggest that the left and right wings both play different roles during the syllable but that it is not as simplistic as previously reported. Finally, we demonstrate between-individual as well as within-individual variation in sound production in animals with manipulated tegmina. This suggests that ways of muscle contraction (independent of the wing structure) radically affect sound production in crickets. This area of bioacoustics deserves future research. Introduction Female field crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus, (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) are attracted to male calling song produced by raising the sclerotized forewings (tegmina) and scraping the plectrum of the left wing (posterior edge) over a series of teeth (file) on the underside of University of Pretoria etd – Verburgt, L (2006)
COMPARACIÓN DE LA DIETA DE GUANACOS Y VACAS SEGÚN LOS RECURSOS EN EL ECOTONO DE TIERRA DEL FUEGO

La herbivoria del ganado domestico y de guanacos provoca disturbios en la zona del ecotono fueguino, que llevan a cambios en la estructura y el funcionamiento de los pastizales naturales. En la actualidad, se cree que se ha incrementado la poblacion de guanacos en la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, de forma tal que se plantean conflictos con actividades ganaderas y forestales. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue evaluar que especies vegetales usan del pastizal y el grado de solapamiento espacial con vacas en el periodo estival. Se trabajo en la Estancia Ushuaia, donde pastan guanacos y ganado domestico. La dieta se analizo mediante la identificacion de restos botanicos presentes en las heces, previamente tratadas. Se obtuvieron las frecuencias relativas por especie ingerida y se analizaron en funcion de sus formas de vida. Las formas de vida mas consumidas son las mismas tanto para los guanacos como para las vacas y corresponden a Pastos blandos, Dicotiledoneas herbaceas, Graminoideas y Arbustos, siendo los primeros los de mayor frecuencia de ingesta. La forma de vida Arbol solo se presenta en dietas de guanacos, en una frecuencia baja (2,5%) frente a las otras formas de vida. En el caso de las dicotiledoneas herbaceas, las dietas se diferencian en las especies ingeridas y la frecuencia de ingesta, lo mismo sucede con las graminoideas. Si bien Poa pratensis. , es la especie mas ingerida por ambos herbivoros, el guanaco ademas incorpora, con baja frecuencia de ingesta, otros pastos blandos. Estos resultados nos permiten establecer que el guanaco modifica su dieta en funcion de la presencia de otros herbivoros, presentando un solapamiento trofico con el ganado vacuno.
Rapid acclimation to cold allows the cane toad to invade montane areas within its Australian range.

Summary The cane toad (Rhinella marina) invasion of Australia has now reached areas much colder than most of its native range in tropical America. Understanding the toad's ability to function in such conditions can clarify its potential for further spread. In northeastern New South Wales (NSW), cane toads have been recorded up to 1100 m above sea level (asl). Our monitoring over summer 2012–2013 confirmed that ground temperatures were lower at three high-elevation (750–1010 m asl) sites than at two nearby lower (100–210 m asl) sites (by day, 18°C vs. 25°C; at night, 17–18°C vs. 20–25°C, respectively). Critical thermal minima (CTmins) of field-collected toads (loss of the righting reflex) were lower for high-elevation than low-elevation toads (5·5°C vs. 7·5°C), but laboratory acclimation abolished this difference. A toad's CTmin was not affected by site of collection, nor by 1 month's exposure to warm (24°C) or cool (12°C) conditions; instead, a toad's CTmin was determined by its thermal exposure over the previous 12 h. Locomotor ability was affected by test temperature, by elevation and by acclimation. Toads from high elevations exhibited equal endurance at cold and warm test temperatures after month-long acclimation to cold conditions, whereas toads from low elevations performed better at high temperatures regardless of previous temperature treatments. Cane toads at the southern edge of their expanding Australian range can function under cool conditions by adjusting their thermal tolerance within a few hours of encountering low temperatures. The toads' ability for rapid thermal acclimation suggests that current models underestimate the potential range of abiotic conditions accessible to this invading species.
A Comparative Analysis of Specialization and Extinction Risk in Temperate‐Zone Bats

Abstract: Identifying the factors that influence the extinction risk of animals is essential in conservation biology because they help identify endangered species and provide the basis for their preservation. We present a comparative study that uses data from the literature on the diet and morphological specialization of European and North American bat species to investigate the effect of specialization on extinction risk. We focused on bats because many species are endangered and their high ecological diversity makes them a good model system for our purpose. After correcting for phylogenetic inertia, we compared the influence of dietary niche breadth as a measure of food specialization and of wing morphology as a measure of foraging strategy, habitat adaptation, and migratory ability on the vulnerability of 35 insectivorous bat species. Our results do not support the hypothesis that a narrow dietary niche breadth is related to high extinction risk. Instead they suggest that habitat specialization, which is reflected in wing morphology, influences the extinction risk of bats. Our study shows that an initial risk assessment in temperate‐zone bats could be based on data of wing morphology but not on dietary data obtained from fecal analyses.