Professional development of teachers at Malta’s Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School : contributions from a stake-holding think tank

This paper synthesises a group of educators’ engagement with an action research project endorsed by the Council of Europe’s Pestalozzi Programme’s Action Research Group 2013 – 2014. Educators fulfilling duties at Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School (GCHSS) collaborated within the context of a think-tank by engaging in action research on professional development for teachers at Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School (PDGCHSS). Data that emerged from the foregoing research indicate that professional development (PD) should be grounded in, and not disconnected from, the school-context, and must be relevant to the teachers’ everyday teaching. In addition, knowledge gained from PD training should not be sporadic or disconnected, but transferable to everyday practice. A highly bureaucratized system and lack of resources, such as time, financial resources and technological skills, are detrimental to teachers’ motivation for PDpeer-reviewe

Be aware of diversity and deal with it – Learning from dilemmas

Dilemma-Diskussionen bringen im Unterricht vielerlei Diversitätsaspekte zum Vorschein. Einerseits zeigen sie die Diversität moralischer Ideale und Überzeugungen und ihre Ko-Konstruktion in unterschiedlichen Lebenswelten, andererseits trainieren sie gleichzeitig den Umgang mit Diversität. Voraussetzung dafür ist eine für die Versuchsgruppe geeignete Dilemma-Geschichte und die Einhaltung von Diskussionsregeln. (DIPF/Orig.)Dilemma discussions bring out many aspects of diversity in the classroom. On the one hand, they show the diversities of moral ideals and convictions and their co-construction in different lifeworlds; on the other hand, they simultaneously train how to deal with diversity. The prerequisite for this is a dilemma story suitable for the experimental group and adherence to discussion rules. (DIPF/Orig.

NMR for food profiling - Long Drink, Short Experiment. An interdisciplinary approach to promoting judgement

Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt ein interdisziplinäres Projekt der Unterrichtsfächer Chemie und Ernährungs- und Verbraucher*innenbildung vor. Es zielt darauf ab, dass Schülerinnen und Schüler eine wissensbasierte Urteilskompetenz entwickeln, um in ihrem Alltag reflektierte Entscheidungen für eine nachhaltige Lebensführung zu treffen. Mit Hilfe dieser Urteilskompetenz können sie ein faktenbasiert begründetes Maß zwischen Konsum und Verzicht finden. (DIPF/Orig.)This article presents an interdisciplinary project of the subjects chemistry and nutrition and consumer education. It aims to develop a knowledge-based judgement competence for decisions for a sustainable lifestyle in everyday life. With this judgement competence, students can find a fact-based, well-founded measure between consumption and renunciation. (DIPF/Orig.

Private household as a place of knowledge transfer and social responsibility? Analyses of a central concept and implications for nutrition and consumer education

Der Begriff ‚Haushalt‘ in Fachbezeichnungen von Studien- und Unterrichtsfächern gibt immer wieder Anlass zum Diskurs. Die fachlichen und fachdidaktischen Analysen wie auch die Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Lehrer*innenbefragung in Gesamtösterreich verdeutlichen die Komplexität des Haushalts als grundlegenden Ort der Lebensführung und damit einhergehend den Anspruch einer grundständigen haushaltsbezogenen Bildung. (DIPF/Orig.)The term ‘household’ in subject titles of study and teaching subjects repeatedly gives rise to discourse. The subject-specific and subject-didactic analyses, as well as the results of a qualitative teacher survey in Austria, illustrate the complexity of the household as a basic place of living and thus the claim of a basic household-related education. (DIPF/Orig.

Inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase cooperate with molnupiravir and N4-hydroxycytidine to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication

The nucleoside analog N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC) is the active metabolite of the prodrug molnupiravir, which has been approved for the treatment of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 incorporates NHC into its RNA, resulting in defective virus genomes. Likewise, inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) reduce virus yield upon infection, by suppressing the cellular synthesis of pyrimidines. Here, we show that NHC and DHODH inhibitors strongly synergize in the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro. We propose that the lack of available pyrimidine nucleotides upon DHODH inhibition increases the incorporation of NHC into nascent viral RNA. This concept is supported by the rescue of virus replication upon addition of pyrimidine nucleosides to the media. DHODH inhibitors increased the antiviral efficiency of molnupiravir not only in organoids of human lung, but also in Syrian Gold hamsters and in K18-hACE2 mice. Combining molnupiravir with DHODH inhibitors may thus improve available therapy options for COVID-19

School catering in the area of tension between measuring and moderation. Simply low-priced versus sustainably modern

Schulverpflegung – ein (vernachlässigbarer) Teil des schulischen Alltags oder doch ein wichtiger Faktor der formalen Ernährungsbildung? Mithilfe einer Mixed Methods Untersuchung werden Möglichkeiten aktiver Partizipation seitens der Schulgemeinschaft im Gestaltungsprozess der Schulverpflegung aufgezeigt; Spannungsfelder in den Bereichen Genuss und Geschmack, Wirtschaftlichkeit, Nachhaltigkeit und Gesundheit werden erläutert. (DIPF/Orig.)School meals – an (inconsequential) part of the school day, or an important component of formal nutrition education? A Mixed Methods study explored ways in which the school community can actively participate in the formation process of school catering. Potentially conflicting priorities of enjoyment and taste, economy, sustainability, and health are elucidated. (DIPF/Orig.

Continuous presence of genetically diverse rustrela virus lineages in yellow-necked field mouse reservoir populations in northeastern Germany.

Rustrela virus (RusV; species Rubivirus strelense, family Matonaviridae) was discovered in different zoo animal species affected by fatal encephalitis. Simultaneous RusV RNA detection in multiple yellow-necked field mice (Apodemus flavicollis) suggested this rodent as a reservoir of RusV. Here, we investigated 1,264 yellow-necked field mice and sympatric other small mammals from different regions in Germany for RusV RNA using an optimized reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) protocol and high-throughput sequencing. The investigation resulted in the detection of RusV RNA exclusively in 50 of 396 (12.6 per cent) yellow-necked field mice but absence in other sympatric species. RT-qPCR-determined tissue distribution of RusV RNA revealed the highest viral loads in the central nervous system, with other tissues being only very rarely affected. The histopathological evaluation did not reveal any hints of encephalitis in the brains of infected animals despite the detection of viral RNA in neurons by in situ hybridization (ISH). The positive association between the body mass of yellow-necked field mice and RusV RNA detection suggests a persistent infection. Phylogenetic analysis of partial E1 and full-genome sequences showed a high diversification with at least four RusV lineages (1A-1D) in northeastern Germany. Moreover, phylogenetic and isolation-by-distance analyses indicated evolutionary processes of RusV mostly in local reservoir populations. A comparison of complete genome sequences from all detected RusV lineages demonstrated a high level of amino acid and nucleotide sequence variability within a part of the p150 peptide of the non-structural polyprotein and its coding sequence, respectively. The location of this region within the RusV genome and its genetic properties were comparable to the hypervariable region of the rubella virus. The broad range of detected RusV spillover hosts in combination with its geographical distribution in northeastern Germany requires the assessment of its zoonotic potential and further analysis of encephalitis cases in mammals. Future studies have to prove a putative co-evolution scenario for RusV in the yellow-necked field mouse reservoir

An evolutionary paradox on threadsnakes: Phenotypic and molecular evidence reveal a new and remarkably polymorphic species of Siagonodon (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae: Epictinae) from Amazonia

Threadsnakes are known for their conserved external morphology and historically controversial systematics, challenging taxonomic, biogeographic and evolutionary researches in these fields. Recent morphological studies—mostly based on µCT data of the skull and lower jaw—have resolved systematic issues within the group, for instance leading to the description of new taxa or re-positioning little-known scolecophidian taxa in the tree of life. Herein we describe a new polymorphic species of the genus Siagonodon from Amazonia based on morphological (external, osteology and hemipenis) and molecular data, and provide the first hemipenial description for the genus. We also reassign Siagonodon acutirostris to the genus Trilepida based on osteological data in combination with molecular evidence. The new species described represents an evolutionary paradox for scolecophidians because the species displays a remarkable variation in the shape of the snout region that is otherwise always highly conserved in this clade. Finally, this study reinforces the importance of protected areas as essential in maintaining vertebrate populations, including those that are not yet formally described

Inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase cooperate with molnupiravir and N4-hydroxycytidine to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication

Funding Information: We thank Thorsten Wolff, Daniel Bourquain, Jessica Schulz, and Christian Mache from the Robert-Koch Institute and Martin Beer from the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) for providing isolates of SARS-CoV-2 variants. We thank Anna Kraft and Gabriele Czerwinski (both FLI) for support in the preparation of samples for pathology, and Catherine Hambly (University of Aberdeen) for help with daily energy expenditure measurements. We would like to thank Cathrin Bierwirth (University Medical Center Göttingen), Isabell Schulz, Anne-Kathrin Donner, and Frank-Thorben Peters for excellent technician assistance and Jasmin Fertey and Alexandra Rockstroh for providing the virus stocks for the mice experiment (Fraunhofer Institute IZI Leipzig). We acknowledge support by the Open Access Publication Funds of the Göttingen University. KMS was a member of the Göttingen Graduate School GGNB during this work. This work was funded by the COVID-19 Forschungsnetzwerk Niedersachsen (COFONI) to MD, by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Germany ( Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; BMBF ; OrganSARS , 01KI2058 ) to SP and TM, and by a grant of the Max Planck Foundation to DG. Declaration of interests AS, HK, EP, and DV are employees of Immunic AG and own shares and/or stock-options of the parent company of Immunic AG, Immunic Inc. Some of the Immunic AG employees also hold patents for the Immunic compounds described in this manuscript (WO2012/001,148, WO03006425). KMS, AD, and MD are employees of University Medical Center Göttingen, which has signed a License Agreement with Immunic AG covering the combination of DHODH inhibitors and nucleoside analogs to treat viral infections, including COVID-19 (inventors: MD, KMS, and AD). The other authors declare no conflict of interest.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A safe, effective and adaptable live-attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to reduce disease and transmission using one-to-stop genome modifications.

Approved vaccines are effective against severe COVID-19, but broader immunity is needed against new variants and transmission. Therefore, we developed genome-modified live-attenuated vaccines (LAV) by recoding the SARS-CoV-2 genome, including 'one-to-stop' (OTS) codons, disabling Nsp1 translational repression and removing ORF6, 7ab and 8 to boost host immune responses, as well as the spike polybasic cleavage site to optimize the safety profile. The resulting OTS-modified SARS-CoV-2 LAVs, designated as OTS-206 and OTS-228, are genetically stable and can be intranasally administered, while being adjustable and sustainable regarding the level of attenuation. OTS-228 exhibits an optimal safety profile in preclinical animal models, with no side effects or detectable transmission. A single-dose vaccination induces a sterilizing immunity in vivo against homologous WT SARS-CoV-2 challenge infection and a broad protection against Omicron BA.2, BA.5 and XBB.1.5, with reduced transmission. Finally, this promising LAV approach could be applicable to other emerging viruses