Scuola Nuova e democrazia in Italia e in Europa

L'article reconstrueix les característiques i la naturalesa de la relació entre les pràctiques innovadores de l'avantguarda educativa de l'ensenyament actiu, els processos de democratització i el moviment de les Escoles Noves en el marc del procés de la renovació de la cultura educativa italiana i europea a principis del segle xx. Aquest àmbit d'investigació, encara poc desenvolupat a Itàlia, revisa el conjunt de connexions que lliguen la renovació educativa italiana amb els processos d'expansió democràticade la instrucció, amb els horitzons de progrés de la nova pedagogia experimental i amb l'evolució del paper de l'educació, entesa com una important força motriu per al desenvolupament social, civil i econòmic de la societat. És una època amb nombroses i significatives pràctiques educatives i pedagògiques que promouen els processos de transformació i la reforma de l'escola, que maduren, en un sentit democràtic, associats al treball social i filantròpic per a la protecció dels drets de l'infant, el procés d'alfabetització i l'educació popular. En aquest context sorgeixen els fonaments per a una nova relació entre Escola Nova i democràcia, tot i que patirà un fort retrocés amb la progressiva consolidació del règim feixista.The article reconstructs the characteristics and nature of the relationship between innovative practices of the educational forefront of active teaching, the processes of democratisation and the movement of the New School in the framework of the process of renewal of Italian and European educational culture in the early 20th century. This area of research, poorly developed in Italy, revises the set of connections linking the Italian educational renewal with the processes of democratic expansion of the instruction, the horizons of progress that the incipient experimental pedagogy proposes and the changing role of education recognised as a driving force for social, civil and economic development of society. This is a period with numerous and significant educational and pedagogical practices that promote the processes of transformation and school reform, which mature in a democratic sense, associated with social and philanthropic work for the protection of children’s rights, the literacy process and popular education. In such a context, the basis for a new relationship between New School and democracy arise, which will suffer a serious setback with the progressive consolidation of the fascist regime.El artículo reconstruye las características y naturaleza de la relación entre las prácticas innovadoras de la vanguardia educativa de la enseñanza activa, los procesos de democratización y el movimiento de la Escuela Nueva en el marco del proceso de la renovación de la cultura educativa italiana y europea a principios del siglo xx. Este ámbito de investigación, todavía poco desarrollado en Italia, revisa el conjunto de conexiones que vinculan la renovación educativa italiana con los procesos de expansión democrática de la instrucción, los horizontes de progreso que la incipiente pedagogía experimental propone y la evolución del papel de la educación reconocida como una fuerza motriz para el desarrollo social, civil y económico de la sociedad. Es una época con numerosas y significativas prácticas educativas y pedagógicas que promueven los procesos de transformación y de reforma de la escuela, que maduran en un sentido democrático, asociados al trabajo social y filantrópico para la protección de los derechos del niño, el proceso de alfabetización y la educación popular. En dicho contexto, surgen las bases para una nueva relación entre Escuela Nueva y democracia que sufrirá un fuerte retroceso con la progresiva consolidación del régimen fascista

TeV Particle Astrophysics II: Summary comments

A unifying theme of this conference was the use of different approaches to understand astrophysical sources of energetic particles in the TeV range and above. In this summary I review how gamma-ray astronomy, neutrino astronomy and (to some extent) gravitational wave astronomy provide complementary avenues to understanding the origin and role of high-energy particles in energetic astrophysical sources.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; Conference summary talk for "TeV Particle Astrophysics II" at University of Wisconsin, Madison, 28-31 August 200

Methods of probing the interactions between small molecules and disordered proteins

It is generally recognized that a large fraction of the human proteome is made up of proteins that remain disordered in their native states. Despite the fact that such proteins play key biological roles and are involved in many major human diseases, they still represent challenging targets for drug discovery. A major bottleneck for the identification of compounds capable of interacting with these proteins and modulating their disease-promoting behaviour is the development of effective techniques to probe such interactions. The difficulties in carrying out binding measurements have resulted in a poor understanding of the mechanisms underlying these interactions. In order to facilitate further methodological advances, here we review the most commonly used techniques to probe three types of interactions involving small molecules: (1) those that disrupt functional interactions between disordered proteins; (2) those that inhibit the aberrant aggregation of disordered proteins, and (3) those that lead to binding disordered proteins in their monomeric states. In discussing these techniques, we also point out directions for future developments.Gabriella T. Heller is supported by the Gates Cambridge Trust Scholarship. Francesco A. Aprile is supported by a Senior Research Fellowship award from the Alzheimer’s Society, UK (grant number 317, AS-SF-16-003)

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

A natural product inhibits the initiation of alpha-synuclein aggregation and suppresses its toxicity

The self-assembly of alpha-synuclein is closely associated with Parkinson's disease and related syndromes. We show that squalamine, a natural product with known anticancer and antiviral activity, dramatically affects alpha-synuclein aggregation in vitro and in vivo. We elucidate the mechanism of action of squalamine by investigating its interaction with lipid vesicles, which are known to stimulate nucleation, and find that this compound displaces alpha-synuclein from the surfaces of such vesicles, thereby blocking the first steps in its aggregation process. We also show that squalamine almost completely suppresses the toxicity of alpha-synuclein oligomers in human neuroblastoma cells by inhibiting their interactions with lipid membranes. We further examine the effects of squalamine in a Caenorhabditis elegans strain overexpressing alpha-synuclein, observing a dramatic reduction of alpha-synuclein aggregation and an almost complete elimination of muscle paralysis. These findings suggest that squalamine could be a means of therapeutic intervention in Parkinson's disease and related conditions