Issues of cultural diversity, migration, and displacement in teacher education programmes

eaching in a context of cultural diversity requires specific competencies to impart common fundamental values, communicate effectively with families and students, take an active stand against all forms of discrimination, and conduct psychosocial interventions. In particular this article aims to identify the main topics that are covered and methods used in the training courses (practical vs theoretical approach). The current work focuses on teacher training programmes in five main categories capturing different aspects of cultural diversity, migration and displacement. Among them are: cross-cultural knowledge, sensitivity and awareness of different cultures, intercultural and professional communication skills, culturally responsive pedagogic approaches and psychosocial interventions. Key examples of teacher training programmes in these categories are discussed and recommendations are proposed in orderto improve the quality of teacher education and ultimately improve the inclusion and academic success of displaced students and those from a migrant background.The following sections examine the role of teachers, particularly in culturally diverse settings. Next, the analysis focuses on each of the five main categories of teacher training for cultural diversity. The paper examines if there is a difference in teachers’ training courses on offer in low and high-immigration countries respectively. In order to provide better understanding of the content of the courses the paper then presents a few case studies of programmes offered across different countries

Analysis of predictive factors influencing dupilumab continuation rate in adult patients with atopic dermatitis. results from an italian multicenter study

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the drug survival rate of dupilumab up to 2 years in a large real-world cohort of adult patients affected by moderate/severe atopic dermatitis (AD), and to investigate the clinical, demographic and predictive factors influencing the patients’ treatment persistence. Material and methods: This study included adult patients affected by moderate-to-severe AD treated with dupilumab for at least 16 weeks who visited 7 dermatologic outpatient clinics in Lazio, Italy, from January 2019 until August 2021. Results: A total of 659 adult patients (345 male [52.3%], mean age: 42.8 years) with an average treatment duration of 23.3 months were enrolled in the study. Overall, 88.6% and 76.1% of patients were still on treatment after 12 and 24 months, respectively. The drug survival rate for discontinuation due to AEs and dupilumab ineffectiveness was 95.0% at 12 months and 90.0% at 24 months. The main reasons for drug discontinuation included inefficacy (29.6%), failed compliance (17.4%), persistent efficacy (20.4%) and adverse events (7.8%). Adult AD onset (≥18 years) and EASI score severity measured at the last follow-up visit were the only factors significantly associated with lower drug survival. Conclusion: This study revealed an increased cumulative probability of dupilumab survival at 2 years, reflected by a sustained effectiveness and a favorable safety profile of the drug

Ins and outs of the Dutch life course savings scheme

Item does not contain fulltextStudiedag 'PAS: hoe verder na het arrest van het Hof van Justitie?' van het Instituut voor Bouwrecht, 11 december 2018Utrecht : [S.n.

Automated reference tissue normalization of T2-weighted MR images of the prostate using object recognition

Objectives To develop and evaluate an automated method for prostate T2-weighted (T2W) image normalization using dual-reference (fat and muscle) tissue. Materials and methods Transverse T2W images from the publicly available PROMISE12 (N = 80) and PROSTATEx (N = 202) challenge datasets, and an in-house collected dataset (N = 60) were used. Aggregate channel features object detectors were trained to detect reference fat and muscle tissue regions, which were processed and utilized to normalize the 3D images by linear scaling. Mean prostate pseudo T2 values after normalization were compared to literature values. Inter-patient histogram intersections of voxel intensities in the prostate were compared between our approach, the original images, and other commonly used normalization methods. Healthy vs. malignant tissue classification performance was compared before and after normalization. Results The prostate pseudo T2 values of the three tested datasets (mean ± standard deviation = 78.49 ± 9.42, 79.69 ± 6.34 and 79.29 ± 6.30 ms) corresponded well to T2 values from literature (80 ± 34 ms). Our normalization approach resulted in significantly higher (p < 0.001) inter-patient histogram intersections (median = 0.746) than the original images (median = 0.417) and most other normalization methods. Healthy vs. malignant classification also improved significantly (p < 0.001) in peripheral (AUC 0.826 vs. 0.769) and transition (AUC 0.743 vs. 0.678) zones. Conclusion An automated dual-reference tissue normalization of T2W images could help improve the quantitative assessment of prostate cancer

Utility of T2-weighted MRI texture analysis in assessment of peripheral zone prostate cancer aggressiveness: a single-arm, multicenter study

T2-weighted (T2W) MRI provides high spatial resolution and tissue-specific contrast, but it is predominantly used for qualitative evaluation of prostate anatomy and anomalies. This retrospective multicenter study evaluated the potential of T2W image-derived textural features for quantitative assessment of peripheral zone prostate cancer (PCa) aggressiveness. A standardized preoperative multiparametric MRI was performed on 87 PCa patients across 6 institutions. T2W intensity and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram, and T2W textural features were computed from tumor volumes annotated based on whole-mount histology. Spearman correlations were used to evaluate association between textural features and PCa grade groups (i.e. 1–5). Feature utility in differentiating and classifying low-(grade group 1) vs. intermediate/high-(grade group ≥ 2) aggressive cancers was evaluated using Mann–Whitney U-tests, and a support vector machine classifier employing “hold-one-institution-out” cross-validation scheme, respectively. Textural features indicating image homogeneity and disorder/complexity correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with PCa grade groups. In the intermediate/high-aggressive cancers, textural homogeneity and disorder/complexity were significantly lower and higher, respectively, compared to the low-aggressive cancers. The mean classification accuracy across the centers was highest for the combined ADC and T2W intensity-textural features (84%) compared to ADC histogram (75%), T2W histogram (72%), T2W textural (72%) features alone or T2W histogram and texture (77%), T2W and ADC histogram (79%) combined. Texture analysis of T2W images provides quantitative information or features that are associated with peripheral zone PCa aggressiveness and can augment their classification

Enzymic enhancement of W3 polyunsaturated fatty acids content in brazilian sardine oil

Se ensayaron cuatro lipasas microbianas con la intención de aumentar el contenido de los ácidos grasos poliinsaturados de la serie W3 (AGPI W3) en la fracción de glicéridos no hidrolizados después de la hidrólisis del aceite de sardina brasileño. La lipasa de Candida cylindracea fue la más eficiente entre las enzimas ensayadas, aumentando el contenido de ácido decosahexaenoico (DHA) del 10,2% en el aceite original al 22,5% en relación a los ácidos grasos totales después de 16 h de reacción a 35 °C, lo que equivale a un incremento del 120% en relación a la cantidad presente antes de la hidrólisis. Las cuatro lipasas probadas no fueron eficientes para aumentar el contenido del ácido eicosapentenoico (EPA) en el aceite de sardina brasileño en las condiciones del ensayo.In an attempt to concentrate the content of W3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( W3 PUFA) in the partially hydrolyzed glycerides, Brazilian sardine oil was hydrolyzed with four kinds of microbial lipases. The enzyme from Candida cylindracea was the most effective for the production of oil with high concentration of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Sardine oil was treated at 35 °C with this lipase for 16 h reaction and 60.0% hydrolysis resulted in an increase in the DHA content from 10.2% in the original oil to 22.5% (2.20- fold enrichment) in the unhydrolysed acylglycerol. None the four lipases tested could raise the EPA content significantly.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire