University of Rijeka

About: University of Rijeka is a education organization based out in Rijeka, Croatia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Tourism. The organization has 3471 authors who have published 7993 publications receiving 110386 citations. The organization is also known as: Rijeka University & Sveučilište u Rijeci.

A Blended Learning Approach to Course Design and Implementation

Abstract: Blended learning has become an increasingly popular form of e-learning, and is particularly suitable to the process of transitioning towards e-learning from traditional forms of learning and teaching. This paper describes the use of the blended e-learning model, which is based on a mixture of collaborative learning, problem-based learning (PBL) and independent learning, in a course ldquoTeaching Methods in Information Science,rdquo given at the University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia. This model is realized as a combination of a face-to-face environment and online learning, using a proprietary learning management system (LMS) named adaptive hypermedia courseware (AHyCo). AHyCo is based on adaptive hypermedia and in addition to supporting learning and testing, introduces completely new constructivist and cognitivist elements to education. By supporting collaborative and project-oriented activities AHyCo promotes students' motivation for learning and establishes learning as an active and interactive process. This paper describes both the technology for, and the methodological approach to, course design and development which is aimed at supporting the evolution from traditional teaching to active learning, and raising interest in the topics of e-learning and Web courseware development among IT students. A survey conducted in the end of the course showed that students were satisfied with the pedagogical approach, and their academic achievements were also better than expected. Particularly important is that the dropout rate was greatly diminished, which could be related to students' satisfaction with the support they received from the instructor and the system.

Systematic Excision of Vector Sequences from the BAC-Cloned Herpesvirus Genome during Virus Reconstitution

Abstract: Recently the mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) genome was cloned as an infectious bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) (M. Messerle, I. Crnkovic ´, W. Hammerschmidt, H. Ziegler, and U. H. Koszinowski, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:14759‐14763, 1997). The virus obtained from this construct is attenuated in vivo due to deletion of viral sequences and insertion of the BAC vector. We reconstituted the full-length MCMV genome and flanked the BAC vector with identical viral sequences. This new construct represents a versatile basis for construction of MCMV mutants since virus generated from the construct loses the bacterial sequences and acquires wild-type properties. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous pathogen that can cause severe disease in immunologically immature and immunocompromised patients (5). The strict species specificity of HCMV precludes investigation of the HCMV infection in an animal host. Infection of the mouse with mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is a valuable in vivo model for studying various aspects of CMV pathogenesis (13, 14). Fast and efficient mutagenesis procedures for MCMV are desirable in order to analyze the role of CMV genes during the disease course in vivo. However, current mutagenesis schemes are difficult, laborious, and time-consuming since CMV replicates rather slowly and mutagenesis relies on rare recombination events in eukaryotic cells (12, 15, 18, 27, 28). Recently, we reported on a new approach for the generation of herpesvirus mutants that is based on homologous recombination in Escherichia coli (21). To this end, we cloned the MCMV genome as

Detrended cross-correlation analysis for non-stationary time series with periodic trends

Abstract: Noisy signals in many real-world systems display long-range autocorrelations and long-range cross-correlations. Due to periodic trends, these correlations are difficult to quantify. We demonstrate that one can accurately quantify power-law cross-correlations between different simultaneously recorded time series in the presence of highly non-stationary sinusoidal and polynomial overlying trends by using the new technique of detrended cross-correlation analysis with varying order l of the polynomial. To demonstrate the utility of this new method —which we call DCCA-l(n), where n denotes the scale— we apply it to meteorological data.

Conceptual design of the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)

Abstract: The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) will be a forth generation axion helioscope. As its primary physics goal, IAXO will look for axions or axion-like particles (ALPs) originating in the Sun via the Primakoff conversion of the solar plasma photons. In terms of signal-to-noise ratio, IAXO will be about 4–5 orders of magnitude more sensitive than CAST, currently the most powerful axion helioscope, reaching sensitivity to axion-photon couplings down to a few × 10−12 GeV−1 and thus probing a large fraction of the currently unexplored axion and ALP parameter space. IAXO will also be sensitive to solar axions produced by mechanisms mediated by the axion-electron coupling gae with sensitivity — for the first time — to values of gae not previously excluded by astrophysics. With several other possible physics cases, IAXO has the potential to serve as a multi-purpose facility for generic axion and ALP research in the next decade. In this paper we present the conceptual design of IAXO, which follows the layout of an enhanced axion helioscope, based on a purpose-built 20 m-long 8-coils toroidal superconducting magnet. All the eight 60cm-diameter magnet bores are equipped with focusing x-ray optics, able to focus the signal photons into ~ 0.2 cm2 spots that are imaged by ultra-low-background Micromegas x-ray detectors. The magnet is built into a structure with elevation and azimuth drives that will allow for solar tracking for ~ 12 h each day.