University of Córdoba (Spain)

About: University of Córdoba (Spain) is a education organization based out in Cordova, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 12006 authors who have published 22998 publications receiving 537842 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Córdoba (Spain) & Universidad de Córdoba.

Hypothalamic mTOR signaling mediates the orexigenic action of ghrelin.

Abstract: Current evidence suggests that ghrelin, a stomach derived peptide, exerts its orexigenic action through specific modulation of Sirtuin1 (SIRT1)/p53 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathways, which ultimately increase the expression of agouti-related protein (AgRP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC). However, there is a paucity of data about the possible action of ghrelin on alternative metabolic pathways at this level. Here, we demonstrate that ghrelin elicits a marked upregulation of the hypothalamic mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Of note, central inhibition of mTOR signaling with rapamycin decreased ghrelin’s orexigenic action and normalized the mRNA expression of AgRP and NPY, as well as their key downstream transcription factors, namely cAMP response-element binding protein (pCREB) and forkhead box O1 (FoxO1, total and phosphorylated). Taken together, these data indicate that, in addition to previous reported mechanisms, ghrelin also promotes feeding through modulation of hypothalamic mTOR pathway.

Classification via Clustering for Predicting Final Marks Based on Student Participation in Forums.

Abstract: This paper proposes a classification via clustering approach to predict the final marks in a university course on the basis of forum data. The objective is twofold: to determine if student participation in the course forum can be a good predictor of the final marks for the course and to examine whether the proposed classification via clustering approach can obtain similar accuracy to traditional classification algorithms. Experiments were carried out using real data from first-year university students. Several clustering algorithms using the proposed approach were compared with traditional classification algorithms in predicting whether students pass or fail the course on the basis of their Moodle forum usage data. The results show that the Expectation-Maximisation (EM) clustering algorithm yields results similar to those of the best classification algorithms, especially when using only a group of selected attributes. Finally, the centroids of the EM clusters are described to show the relationship between the two clusters and the two classes of students.

Evolutionary algorithms for subgroup discovery in e-learning: A practical application using Moodle data

Abstract: This work describes the application of subgroup discovery using evolutionary algorithms to the usage data of the Moodle course management system, a case study of the University of Cordoba, Spain. The objective is to obtain rules which describe relationships between the student's usage of the different activities and modules provided by this e-learning system and the final marks obtained in the courses. We use an evolutionary algorithm for the induction of fuzzy rules in canonical form and disjunctive normal form. The results obtained by different algorithms for subgroup discovery are compared, showing the suitability of the evolutionary subgroup discovery to this problem.

May the definition of pollen season influence aerobiological results

Abstract: This paper reviews the terms and major criteria used to define and limit the pollen season. Pollen data from Cordoba (Spain), Ourense (Spain) and Bologna (Italy) were used to ascertain the extent to which aerobiological results and pollen curves are modified by the criteria selected. Results were analysed using Spearmanȁ9s correlation test. Phenological observations were also used to determine synchronization between pollen curves and plant phenology. The criteria for limiting the shortest and longest pollen season periods, as well as the earliest and latest start and end dates, varied according to the city and the taxon under study; in many cases, results for a given taxon also depended on the year. The smallest differences were obtained for Platanus and the greatest for Poaceae.