Subject: Biological sciences

Ecology

This course provides students with a broad background in the principles of ecology. It covers ecology at different levels of organization, including behavioral, physiological, evolutionary, population & community, and ecosystem ecology. Some other specialized topics are also discussed.

Lectures generally follow a textbook, but materials outside the textbook are also covered. Students are responsible for all the materials covered in lectures — attendance is essential for a satisfactory completion of the course.

Lectures are mostly done using PowerPoint slides although some concepts are explained using the blackboard. The slide file of a lecture may be available before the lecture (I will try to upload the file by Wednesday night for the lecture given in the following day).

There are three exams. These exams account for 100% of the course grade. We do not curve exam scores regardless of the average score.

Attendance (including class participation) will affect bonus points. By asking questions and expressing ideas in class, you may gain bonus points. Poor attendance (e.g., absence and tardiness) as well as poor participation (e.g., sleeping, chatting, playing with an electronic device) would reduce bonus points. Poor participation is equivalent to missing a lecture. Your bonus points may become negative, but the minimum bonus point you will get for your final grade is 0. You should not expect to receive any bonus point after missing three or more lectures.

Unannounced quizzes may be given. Quizzes and assignments (if any are given — no assignments were given last year) are for bonus points. Because of this, even if a student misses a quiz with a legitimate reason, no make-up quiz will be given. Quizzes and assignments count for bonus points only when attendance and participation are satisfactory.

The maximum possible bonus point is 10% in the final grade. Students who get 100% on the exams and have good attendance can earn more than 100% in the course, but the maximum possible grade is 100%. The detail about the value of bonus points may change. If it changes, the value can only increase, but students should not expect a change to take place.

If any questions, including potential grading errors, arise for your grade on an exam, an assignment or a quiz, submit a written request with your rationale for a regrade. Requests must be made within one week of the return of a graded material, otherwise the grade is final. This one week starts from the day an exam is first returned in a class even if a student does not receive it by missing the class.

If you miss a class and do not receive a graded material, you can pick it up at the instructor’s office. The instructor will not bring it to a class again unless an arrangement is made.

If your grade based on the three exams is less than 60%, the maximum obtainable grade (with bonus points) is 60% (C-). In addition, master’s students whose grade is less than 70% based on the three exams can get at most 70% with bonus points.

Doctoral students will not receive bonus points. Exam scores completely determine the grade.

The schedule (described in the content section of this website) is subject to change throughout the semester. The dates on which the exams are scheduled can also change. After completing this course students will
1.have an understanding of fundamental concepts in ecology
2.become better prepared for taking advanced courses in ecology
3.be able to perceive nature scientifically
College of Bio-Resources & Agriculture Main Campus *Prerequisite: Calculus (general Mathematics)preferred Toshinori Okuyama 40 Thursday 6,7,8 ENT3003 3 Half Department of Entomology http://www.entomol.ntu.edu.tw/en/

Ecology Lab.

This is a lab course intended to complement the lecture course (ENT3003). It is designed such that students who are currently enrolled in ENT3003 can have better understanding of selected topics covered in the lecture course. Students cannot take the lab course without concurrently taking the lecture course. Students who had completed an equivalent ecology lecture course may take this course, but it is not recommended to do so because the lecture (ENT3003) and the lab (ENT3020) are not designed independently.

Attendance

Students are required to attend every lab. The following penalties will be applied:

Absence: -14 points.

Tardiness (< 15 min): -5 points. Tardiness (>= 15 min): -14 points.

(1 point is 1% of the final grade.)

Students who missed a lab are not allowed to submit any assigned work associated with the lab. Therefore, a missed lab can affect both attendance and assignment points at the same time.

No cellphones or mobile computers are to be used in class unless otherwise instructed by the instructor. Poor attendance in terms of participation (e.g., using a cellphone, sleeping, not participating in lab activities, etc.) will greatly reduce attendance points (e.g., equivalent to being absent).

Assignments

Everything students are asked to submit is an assignment (e.g., lab materials, data, quiz, report, homework). Submit an assignment on time. No late assignments are accepted. Lab activities are also counted as assignments. A missed assignment results in at least 6 points deduction.

Exam

There will be one exam in this course, and it is held at the end of the semester. The exam will ask the details of lab activities, including the interpretations of experimental methods and results. Participating in labs and understanding each lab activity is the best way to prepare for the exam.

Grading

Attendance and Assignments 55%

Exam 45%

There are no bonus points offered in this course.

A student can potentially get a negative final grade (e.g., many absenses), but such a student will still get an F as the final grade.

The schedule (described in the content section of this website) is subject to change throughout the semester. The following skills will be developed:

  • The scientific method (experimental design)
  • Understanding of selected ecological topics

    College of Bio-Resources & Agriculture Main Campus Toshinori Okuyama 40 Thursday 2,3,4 ENT3020 1 Half Department of Entomology http://www.entomol.ntu.edu.tw/en/

    The Applications of Statistics in Marine Chemistry

    This course is designed based on the teaching method of “authentic learning” to guide students to learn about the applications of statistics in marine chemistry. Basic statistics will be introduced with real-world marine chemical data sets. This course is complementary to the mandatory course “NTU Fundamentals of Oceanic Statistics” (基礎海洋統計) and to the Marine Chemistry Laboratory (海洋化學實習) for students in the chemical oceanography division.

    A variety of data set from analytical methods including spectrophotometry, chromatography, mass spectrometry, chemiluminescent, fluorimeter, optical sensor and pH sensors, commonly used by chemical oceanographers. While the principles of analysis differs significantly among analytical methods, it is important that students be versatile in dealing with various data set. For example, spectrophotometry is a basic method for the analyses of marine micro nutrients, its sensitivity and stability can be directly estimated based on the extinction coefficient—the intensiveness of the color. The limit of detection is a fixed value. While other instruments such as a mass spectrometer, can be tuned in a various ways to provide a better sensitivities, different labs report different limits of detection. While the cost of an analysis using a spectrophotometer is only 1/1000 of the cost using a mass spectrometer, by using statistic tools and the combination of knowledge in analytical chemistry, students will learn to choose the most suitable method for their research.

    The course will start by having students to look for problems in a reported data set. For example, a figure of data points without the report of error bars. Students will have to explore possible ways to estimate the errors. We will then discuss how to design experiments to measure the uncertainties. The course will then provide data from spectrophotometry, chromatography, mass spectrometry, chemiluminescent, fluorimeter, optical sensor and pH sensors, for students to report the data in a statistically acceptable way.

    A variety of data set from analytical methods including spectrophotometry, chromatography, mass spectrometry, chemiluminescent, fluorimeter, optical sensor and pH sensors, commonly used by chemical oceanographers. While the principles of analysis differs significantly among analytical methods, it is important that students be versatile in dealing with various data set. For example, spectrophotometry is a basic method for the analyses of marine micro nutrients, its sensitivity and stability can be directly estimated based on the extinction coefficientthe intensiveness of the color. The limit of detection is a fixed value. WhWhile other instruments such as a mass spectrometer, can be tuned in a various ways to provide a better sensitivities, different labs report different limits of detection. While the cost of an analysis using a spectrophotometer is only 1/1000 of the cost using a mass spectrometer, by using statistic tools and the combination of knowledge in analytical chemistry, students will learn to choose the most suitable method for their research.

    The course will start by having students to look for problems in a reported data set. For example, a figure of data points without the report of error bars. Students will have to explore possible ways to estimate the errors. We will then discuss how to design experiments to measure the uncertainties. The course will then provide data from spectrophotometry, chromatography, mass spectrometry, chemiluminescent, fluorimeter, optical sensor and pH sensors, for students to report the data in a statistically acceptable way.

    (1) Students will know about basic statistics for chemical oceanographic data.

    – Numbers of replicates

    – Limit of detection

    – Sensitivity

    – Error analysis

    – Outliers

    – Significance tests

    – Distribution patterns

    – Principle component analysis

    – Factor analysis

    (2) Students will be able to identify problems in reported data set.

    (3) Students will have the capability to use statistical tools to explore their research data.

    College of Science Main Campus *Chinese may be used when no international students sign up for this course. Huei-Ting Lin 10 Friday 1,2 Ocean5106 2 Half Graduate Institute of Oceanography, Chemical Oceanography Division http://www.oc.ntu.edu.tw/?lang=en

    Biological Oceanography

    This is an introductory course intended for undergraduate and graduate students with knowledge of basic ecology. The focus will be on OCEANOGRAPHY, with investigation on interactive biological, chemical, and physical processes in the ocean. The purposes are to give an overview of biological ocean science (a wide rather than deep view) and to provide basic information and training for graduate research. The discussion will range from physical effects on the biology to biological effects on biogeochemical cycling; the spatial scale will range from individual organisms (e.g. viscosity and turbulences on plankton feeding and nutrient uptake) to ecosystem (e.g. remote sensing and circulation modeling); the organism will range from virus to whales. Students will gain knowledge of biological oceanography College of Science Main Campus Chih-Hao Hsieh 25 Tuesday 2,3,4 Ocean5051 3 Half Graduate Institute of Oceanography, Marine Biology & Fisheries Division,

    Earth System Science,

    Sustainable Development Resource,

    Introductory Course of Marine Science
    http://www.oc.ntu.edu.tw/?lang=en

    Advanced Chemical Biology(Ⅰ)

    This class will discuss various special topics at the interface of chemistry and biology.




    1. Nucleic acid structure and synthesis

    2. DNA sequencing and mimetics

    3. RNA: RNA interference

    4. Ribozymes and aptamers

    5. Carbohydrates: structure

    6. Carbohydrates: biosynthesis and function

    7. Carbohydrates: applications

    8. Carbohydrates: chemical synthesis

    9. Introduction to lipids and membranes

    10. Lipid structure

    11. Protein synthesis and folding

    12. Protein degradation and quality control

    13. Protein misfolding and neurodegeneration

    14. Producing proteins and peptides

    15. Chromatography and electrophoresis

    16. Protein extraction, subcellular fractionation, centrifugation

    17. Antibody technologies

    18. Humanized antibody

    19. Structural Biology

    20. Labeling with fluorophores and biotin

    21. Fluorescent proteins and FRET

    22. Basics of Fluorescence Microscopy

    23. Super-resolution Optical Microscopy

    24. Bioorthogonal chemistry; Active site probe

    25. Mass spec: instrumentation

    26. Mass spec of proteins

    27. Mass spec and protein quantification

    28. Post-translational modifications

    Understand the chemical principles behind the materials and methods commonly encountered in modern biology labs. Apply chemical thinking to solve biological problems. College of Science Main Campus *Majors-only (including minor and double major students).
    *Restrict to graduate students. Hwan-Ching Tai 50 Monday 6,7 Thursday 6,7 Chem7037 4 Half Division of Chemical Biology http://www.ch.ntu.edu.tw/english/en_index.htm

    Brain and Language

    This course focuses on the neural basis of language. It addresses how the brain works to process speaking, reading, and understanding language in human beings. It emphasizes how neuro-imaging data are used to form the theories of language. I will present empirical evidence of conventional psycholinguistic studies and recent imaging findings. The aim of this course is to provide an integrative overview of how the components of the language system combine together. Students are required to take part weekly article presentations. College of Science Main Campus Tai-Li Chou 15 Wednesday 2,3,4 Psy5274 3 Half Department of Psychology,
    Graduate Institute of Psychology,
    Program of Neurobiology and Cognitive Science
    http://140.112.62.170/index.php/eng

    Advanced Inorganic Chemistry(Ⅰ)

    Outline

    I. Symmetry & Bonding

    Molecular Geometry, Symmetry Elements & Operations, Point Groups,

    Representation & Character Tables, Applications to Spectroscopies

    Symmetry-adapted Linear Combinations

    Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals

    Molecular Orbital Theory for ABn Type Molecules

    Tanabe and Sugano Diagrams, Walsh Diagrams



    II. Transition Metal Chemistry

    Electronic Configuration, Spectroscopy, Magnetism

    Coordination Chemistry

    Bonding, Structures, Reactivity & Reaction Mechanisms



    III. Main Group Chemistry

    Ionic & Covalent Bond, Chemical Forces, H-Bonding & Acid-Base

    Chemistry

    Structures & Reactivity

    Supramolecular Chemistry & Organometallic Chemistry

    A Brief Introduction on Modern Development


    Bonding, Structure, Reactivity, Mechanism, and Applications of Inorganic Compounds College of Science Main Campus *Majors-only (including minor and double major students).
    *Restrict to graduate students. Kong Kien Voon 50 Wednesday 6,7,8 Chem7029 3 Half Division of Chemistry http://www.ch.ntu.edu.tw/english/en_index.htm

    Study of mother-infant interaction in an ethological approach: theoretical and practical aspects.

    The initial mother-baby/infant is a subject of research interest of all areas in Psychology and its importance for the development of the infant and for the attachment bond is consensus among Ethologists. The ethological approach offers an important theoretical contributions to the study of these early exchanges and methodological contributions through methods of direct observation of different aspects of this relationship. In addition, learn to use modern tools, used by Behavioral researchers around the world, will be of great value to students with research interests centered on social relations, and specifically on the mother-baby/infant relationship. To present the ethological approach to study of the early mother-infant interactions, focusing on the contribution of researches with non-human primates and, in a broader perspective, compared to the maternal care in humans. The discipline will also have practical classes, in which the students will learn about methods of investigating the mother-infant interactions through direct observation, especially videotape data, ant to use modern software of video analysis (Observe XT) to quantify and measure diverse aspects of mother-infant interaction. It is expected that in the end of the course, students can be able to plan and conduct a research in this area. Institute of Psychology (IP) São Paulo main campus Mother-infant interactions in an ethological perspective: historical bases and contributions from comparative approach; Parental investment, maternal styles of care, attachment, and parent-offspring conflict; Mother-infant initial interactions and their implications for the attachment bound and infant’s development; Proximate and ultimate causes of variation in maternal care; Models of parental practices in humans; Methods of observation to investigate mother-infant interactions; Process of design and conducting investigation on social interactions though direct observation; Introduction to software tools to encode and measure observational data in video (Observer). Michele Pereira Verderane 22 PSE5942 8 Participation in class, oral presentation, and written report. http://www.ip.usp.br/psiclin/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&lang=en

    Advanced Topics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I

    The course “Advanced Topics” is mandatory for graduate students of the Program in Biological Sciences-Biochemistry. Lecturers, who are Brazilian and foreign researchers, will present their recent research results and projects in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This course is presented every semester. Along this course, graduate students in be in contact with recent advances and projects in a free discussion situation, so they should develop an analytical viewpoint of the lectures and topics discussed. This course aims to present a broad view of research projects, recent advances and methodologies in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Institute of Chemistry (IQ) São Paulo main campus Students enrolled in this course should be familiar with the content of textbooks as Biochemistry (Voet & Voet), Principles of Biochemistry (Lehninger) and Genes (B. Lewin). Topics will be focused in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and they will be determined by the lecturers. Topics will include recent advances and research projects, approaches and methodologies, experimental results and published manuscripts. F_bio Lu_s Forti, Roberto Kopke Salinas, Alexandre Bruni Cardoso 60 QBQ5759 2 Students should present at least one written question to the speaker. http://www3.iq.usp.br/index.php?a=&idioma=us

    Advanced Topics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II

    The course “Advanced Topics” is mandatory for graduate students of the Program in Biological Sciences-Biochemistry. Lecturers, who are Brazilian and foreign researchers, will present their recent research results and projects in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This course is presented every semester. Along this course, graduate students in be in contact with recent advances and projects in a free discussion situation, so they should develop an analytical viewpoint of the lectures and topics discussed. This course aims to present a broad view of research projects, recent advances and methodologies in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Institute of Chemistry (IQ) São Paulo main campus Students enrolled in this course should be familiar with the content of textbooks as Biochemistry (Voet & Voet), Principles of Biochemistry (Lehninger) and Genes (B. Lewin). Topics will be focused in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and they will be determined by the lecturers. Topics will include recent advances and research projects, approaches and methodologies, experimental results and published manuscripts. F_bio Lu_s Forti, Roberto Kopke Salinas, Alexandre Bruni Cardoso 60 QBQ5764 2 Students should present at least one written question to the speaker. http://www3.iq.usp.br/index.php?a=&idioma=us

    Advanced Topics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology III

    The course “Advanced Topics” is mandatory for graduate students of the Program in Biological Sciences-Biochemistry. Lecturers, who are Brazilian and foreign researchers, will present their recent research results and projects in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This course is presented every semester. Along this course, graduate students in be in contact with recent advances and projects in a free discussion situation, so they should develop an analytical viewpoint of the lectures and topics discussed. This course aims to present a broad view of research projects, recent advances and methodologies in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Institute of Chemistry (IQ) São Paulo main campus Students enrolled in this course should be familiar with the content of textbooks as Biochemistry (Voet & Voet), Principles of Biochemistry (Lehninger) and Genes (B. Lewin). Topics will be focused in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and they will be determined by the lecturers. Topics will include recent advances and research projects, approaches and methodologies, experimental results and published manuscripts. F_bio Lu_s Forti, Roberto Kopke Salinas, Alexandre Bruni Cardoso 60 QBQ5765 2 Students should present at least one written question to the speaker. http://www3.iq.usp.br/index.php?a=&idioma=us

    Advanced Topics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology IV

    The course “Advanced Topics”
    Is mandatory for graduate students of the Program in Biological Sciences-Biochemistry. Lecturers, who are Brazilian and foreign researchers, will present their recent research results and projects in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This course is presented every semester. Along this course, graduate students in be in contact with recent advances and projects in a free discussion situation, so they should develop an analytical viewpoint of the lectures and topics discussed. This course aims to present a broad view of research projects, recent advances and methodologies in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Institute of Chemistry (IQ) São Paulo main campus Students enrolled in this course should be familiar with the content of textbooks as Biochemistry (Voet & Voet), Principles of Biochemistry (Lehninger) and Genes (B. Lewin). Topics will be focused in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and they will be determined by the lecturers. Topics will include recent advances and research projects, approaches and methodologies, experimental results and published manuscripts. F_bio Lu_s Forti, Roberto Kopke Salinas, Alexandre Bruni Cardoso 60 QBQ5766 2 Students should present at least one written question to the speaker. http://www3.iq.usp.br/index.php?a=&idioma=us