Fostering the importance of language awareness through CLIL-Mathematics teaching/learning

This contribution investigates the role played by a second language in teaching/learning mathematics and how it could strengthen the importance of natural language in mathematics. It is particularly significant to deepen this issue since many European Countries have already introduced or are going to introduce the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methodology. CLIL pursues a dualfocused goal promoting at the same time teaching/learning of both a foreign language and a non-linguistic content. This new trend in education asks for analysing limits and potential for using a second language in mathematics education

Exercise and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers among Adult with Cancer: A Systematic Review

Evidence shows that exercise can have a favourable effect in cancer patients. The exercise's clinical benefits are likely to concern multiple interrelated biological pathways, among which oxidative stress plays a key role. Regular training can induce an adaptive response that strengthens the antioxidative status of the body. To formulate public health recommendations regarding the optimal exercise prescription for cancer patients, a detailed understanding is needed regarding the effect of exercise on variables linked to oxidative stress and antioxidant status of patients. The goal of this systematic review, based on PRISMA, was to explore and critically analyse the evidence regarding the efficacy of exercise on oxidative stress biomarkers among people with cancer. Study search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, Embase, PEDro, and SPORTDiscus. The studies' quality was assessed with the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and STROBE scale. After identification and screening steps, 10 articles were included. The findings provide an encouraging picture of exercise, including resistance training and aerobic activities, in people with cancer. The exercise improved the indicators of the total antioxidant capacity, increased the antioxidant enzymes' activity, or reduced the biomarkers of oxidative damage in various forms of cancer such as breast, lung, head, and neck Regarding oxidative DNA damage, the role of exercise intervention has been difficult to assess. The heterogeneity of study design and the plethora of biomarkers measured hampered the comparison of the articles. This limited the possibility of establishing a comprehensive conclusion on the sensitivity of biomarkers to estimate the exercise's benefits. Further high-quality studies are required to provide data regarding oxidative stress biomarkers responding to exercise. This information will be useful to assess the efficacy of exercise in people with cancer and support the appropriate prescription of exercise in anticancer strategy

Brain Plasticity and Disease: A Matter of Inhibition

One major goal in Neuroscience is the development of strategies promoting neural plasticity in the adult central nervous system, when functional recovery from brain disease and injury is limited. New evidence has underscored a pivotal role for cortical inhibitory circuitries in regulating plasticity both during development and in adulthood. This paper summarizes recent findings showing that the inhibition-excitation balance controls adult brain plasticity and is at the core of the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, Down syndrome, and Rett syndrome

The Impact of an Adapted Physical Activity Program on Bone Turnover, Physical Performance and Fear of Falling in Osteoporotic Women with Vertebral Fractures: A Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study

Physical activity has been indicated as a potential strategy to counteract osteoporosis (OP). This study of post-menopausal women with osteoporotic vertebral fractures investigated the effect of an adapted physical activity (APA) program on two serum bone turnover biomarkers (Bone Alkaline Phosphatase, B-ALP and C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen, CTX-1), functional capacity (6-Minutes Walking Test, 6MWT), and risk and fear of falls (Tinetti and Falls Efficacy scale). The APA group (n = 12) performed a 1-h group session twice per week for 6 months whereas the control group (n = 9) was asked to maintain their current lifestyle. The exercise program did not affect the serum concentrations of B-ALP and CTX-1 biomarkers measured at the baseline and after 6 months in women of the APA group. Moreover, at the end of intervention no significant differences in serum concentrations for either biomarker was observed between the two study groups. Interestingly, when compared to the control group, women in the APA group showed significant improvement in the functional capacity measures by 6MWT (p = 0.037) and a decrease of the risk and fear of falls as indicated by the Tinetti test (p = 0.043). Based on these findings, exercise could provide new perspectives for the care and management of OP

IGF-1 Restores Visual Cortex Plasticity in Adult Life by Reducing Local GABA Levels

The central nervous system architecture is markedly modified by sensory experience during early life, but a decline of plasticity occurs with age. Recent studies have challenged this dogma providing evidence that both pharmacological treatments and paradigms based on the manipulation of environmental stimulation levels can be successfully employed as strategies for enhancing plasticity in the adult nervous system. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a peptide implicated in prenatal and postnatal phases of brain development such as neurogenesis, neuronal differentiation, synaptogenesis, and experience-dependent plasticity. Here, using the visual system as a paradigmatic model, we report that IGF-1 reactivates neural plasticity in the adult brain. Exogenous administration of IGF-1 in the adult visual cortex, indeed, restores the susceptibility of cortical neurons to monocular deprivation and promotes the recovery of normal visual functions in adult amblyopic animals. These effects were accompanied by a marked reduction of intracortical GABA levels. Moreover, we show that a transitory increase of IGF-1 expression is associated to the plasticity reinstatement induced by environmental enrichment (EE) and that blocking IGF-1 action by means of the IGF-1 receptor antagonist JB1 prevents EE effects on plasticity processes

Co-regulated expression of alpha and beta mRNAs encoding HLA-DR surface heterodimers is mediated by the MHCII RNA operon

Major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) molecules are heterodimeric surface proteins involved in the presentation of exogenous antigens during the adaptive immune response. We demonstrate the existence of a fine level of regulation, coupling the transcription and processing of mRNAs encoding α and β chains of MHCII molecules, mediated through binding of their Untraslated Regions (UTRs) to the same ribonucleoproteic complex (RNP). We propose a dynamic model, in the context of the ‘MHCII RNA operon’ in which the increasing levels of DRA and DRB mRNAs are docked by the RNP acting as a bridge between 5′- and 3′-UTR of the same messenger, building a loop structure and, at the same time, joining the two chains, thanks to shared common predicted secondary structure motifs. According to cell needs, as during immune surveillance, this RNP machinery guarantees a balanced synthesis of DRA and DRB mRNAs and a consequent balanced surface expression of the heterodimer