Computational Thinking and Genetic Engineering learning: An Approach from Design Research

La programación se está incorporando en los espacios educativos a través de diferentes resoluciones. Una de las perspectivas de su incorporación es hacerlo de manera transversal conjuntamente con otros espacios curriculares y en este contexto el Pensamiento Computacional adquiere relevancia. En este trabajo presentamos una investigación que adoptó la metodología conocida como estudios de diseño donde se planificó una secuencia didáctica para el aprendizaje de la Ingeniería Genética, en la escuela secundaria, la cual se encuentra prescripta en los diseños curriculares de 5º año con orientación en Ciencias Naturales. Para ello se le propuso a las y los estudiantes situaciones problemáticas en donde debían construir modelos de Ingeniería Genética utilizando Scratch. Los principales resultados muestran que la utilización de Scratch como primer lenguaje de programación permite el acercamiento del estudiantado al desarrollo del Pensamiento Computacional al tiempo que desarrollan prácticas científicas como la modelización.Programming is being incorporated into educational spaces through different resolutions. One of the perspectives of this incorporation is by means of a transversal relationship with other curricular spaces and in this context Computational Thinking acquires relevance. In this work we present an investigation that adopted the methodology known as design studies where a didactic sequence was planned for the learning of Genetic Engineering in high schools, which is included in the 5th year programme with an orientation in Natural Sciences. This end, different problematic situations were proposed to students where they had to build Genetic Engineering models using Scratch. The main results show that the use of Scratch as the first programming language allows students to approach Computational Thinking while developing scientific practices such as modeling.Facultad de Informátic

Reflexionar sobre Prácticas de Enseñanza y Residencias en Pandemia

Entendemos a las situaciones educativas situadas en contexto y caracterizadas por su incertidumbre, singularidad, complejidad e historicidad (Sanjurjo, 2020). Por lo tanto, en las condiciones particulares que se plantearon a partir del aislamiento social obligatorio nos preguntamos qué trayectos de residencias se podrían desplegar y cómo. Una primera cuestión que analizamos fue si las situaciones educativas desarrolladas de modo remoto serían una experiencia formativa para las y los practicantes en tanto fueran instancias que promovieran los aprendizajes requeridos para nuestra asignatura. Aquí los aportes de Dussel (2020) resultaron claves para identificar que a pesar de que el encuentro entre residente y estudiantes fuera diferido y no simultáneo, se generaban conversaciones pedagógicas que como tales tienen la potencialidad de fomentar aprendizajes. A su vez, las decisiones didácticas que se toman en estos contextos podrían ser objeto de reflexión en función de las características de la conversación que pudiera establecerse. Por otra parte, reflexionamos acerca de cuáles serían aquellos aprendizajes esenciales que no se estarían pudiendo desarrollar en este contexto y evaluamos si estos aprendizajes serían imprescindibles para la acreditación de la residencia. En este sentido, identificamos claramente que un aprendizaje que quedaría pendiente es la gestión de las situaciones que se despliegan cuando las personas y sus cuerpos comparten un mismo espacio y tiempo. Sin embargo, las condiciones de aislamiento planteaban nuevos desafíos y exigían saberes para los cuales las y los docentes en el ejercicio de su profesión no tuvieron formación específica (Sanjurjo, 2020). En suma, aceptamos que algunas situaciones no serían experimentadas en esta residencia, pero no por ello el trayecto ofrecido dejaría de brindar oportunidades para reflexionar y desarrollarse como futuros profesionales de la educación en Biología.publishedVersionFil: Occelli, Maricel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Enseñanza de la Ciencia y la Tecnología. Cátedra de Práctica de la Enseñanza; Argentina.Fil: Biber, Priscila Ariadna. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Enseñanza de la Ciencia y la Tecnología. Cátedra de Práctica de la Enseñanza; Argentina.Fil: Fussero, Gimena B. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Enseñanza de la Ciencia y la Tecnología. Cátedra de Práctica de la Enseñanza; Argentina.Fil: Mari, Macarena Mariel. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Enseñanza de la Ciencia y la Tecnología. Cátedra de Práctica de la Enseñanza; Argentina

Immune checkpoint inhibitor associated vitiligo and its impact on survival in patients with metastatic melanoma: an Italian Melanoma Intergroup study

Background: Checkpoint inhibitors in melanoma can lead to self-immune side-effects such as vitiligo-like depigmentation (VLD). Beyond the reported association with favorable prognosis, there are limited data regarding VLD patient features and their echo on the therapeutic outcomes. Methods: To assess the association between VLD and a series of clinical and biological features as well as therapeutic outcomes, we built an observational cohort study by recruiting patients who developed VLD during checkpoint inhibitors. Results: A total of 148 patients from 15 centers (101 men, median age 66 years, BRAF mutated 23%, M1c 42%, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) status 0/1 99%, normal lactate dehydrogenase 74%) were enrolled. VLD was induced by ipilimumab, programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors, and their combination in 32%, 56%, and 12%, respectively. The median onset was 26 weeks and it was associated with other skin and nonskin toxicities in 27% and 28%, respectively. After 3 years of VLD onset, 52% (95% confidence interval 39% to 63%) were progression free and 82% (95% confidence interval 70% to 89%) were still alive. The overall response rate was 73% with 26% complete response. Univariable analysis indicated that BRAF V600 mutation was associated with a better overall survival (P = 0.028), while in multivariable analysis a longer progression-free survival was associated with BRAF V600 (P = 0.093), female sex (P = 0.008), and M stage other than 1a (P = 0.024). When VLD occurred, there was a significant decrease of white blood cell (WBC) count (P = 0.05) and derived WBC-to-lymphocytes ratio (dWLR; P = 0.003). A lower monocyte count (P = 0.02) and dWLR (P = 0.01) were also reported in responder patients. Conclusions: Among VLD population, some features might help to identify patients with an effective response to immunotherapy, allowing clinicians to make more appropriate choices in terms of therapeutic options and duration

Status of the LEP2 Spectrometer Project

The LEP spectrometer has been conceived to provide a determination of the beam energy with a relative accuracy of 10-4 in the LEP2 physics region where insufficient polarisation levels prevent the application of the resonant depolarisation method. The setup consists of a steel bending magnet flanked by a triplet of Beam Position Monitors (BPM) at each side providing a measurement of changes in the bending angle when the beams are accelerated to physics energies. The goal for a 100 ppm relative precision on the beam energy involves a ± 1 micron BPM resolution and the calibration of the dipole bending strength to a 30 ppm accuracy. This paper reports on the results of the commissioning of the Spectrometer during the 1999 LEP Run and on the experience acquired on the behaviour of the several sub-systems with circulating beams

Combined immunotherapy in melanoma patients with brain metastases: A multicenter international study

Background: Ipilimumab plus nivolumab (COMBO) is the standard treatment in asymptomatic patients with melanoma brain metastases (MBM). We report a retrospective study aiming to assess the outcome of patients with MBM treated with COMBO outside clinical trials. Methods: Consecutive patients treated with COMBO have been included. Demographics, steroid treatment, Central Nervous System (CNS)-related symptoms, BRAF status, radiotherapy or surgery, response rate (RR), progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) have been analyzed. Results: 376 patients were included: 262 received COMBO as first-line and 114 as a subsequent line of therapy, respectively. In multivariate analysis, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) (≥1 vs 0) [HR 1.97 (1.46-2.66)], extracerebral metastases [HR 1.92 (1.09-3.40)], steroid use at the start of COMBO [HR 1.59 (1.08-2.38)], CNS-related symptoms [HR 1.59 (1.08-2.34)], SRS (Stereotactic radiosurgery) [HR 0.63 (0.45-0.88)] and surgery [HR 0.63 (0.43-0.91)] were associated with OS. At a median follow-up of 30 months, the median OS (mOS) in the overall population was 21.3 months (18.1-24.5), whilst OS was not yet reached in treatment-naive patients, steroid-free at baseline. In patients receiving COMBO after BRAF/MEK inhibitors(i) PFS at 1-year was 15.7%. The dose of steroids (dexamethasone < vs ≥ 4 mg/day) was not prognostic. SRS alongside COMBO vs COMBO alone in asymptomatic patients prolonged survival. (p = 0.013). Toxicities were consistent with previous studies. An independent validation cohort (n = 51) confirmed the findings. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate remarkable long-term survival in treatment-naïve, asymptomatic, steroid-free patients, as well as in those receiving SRS plus COMBO. PFS and OS were poor in patients receiving COMBO after progressing to BRAF/MEKi

Tactual perception: a review of experimental variables and procedures

This paper reviews literature on tactual perception. Throughout this review we will highlight some of the most relevant variables in touch literature: interaction between touch and other senses; type of stimuli, from abstract stimuli such as vibrations, to two- and three-dimensional stimuli, also considering concrete stimuli such as the relation between familiar and unfamiliar stimuli or the haptic perception of faces; type of participants, separating studies with blind participants, studies with children and adults, and an analysis of sex differences in performance; and finally, type of tactile exploration, considering conditions of active and passive touch, the relevance of movement in touch and the relation between exploration and time. This review intends to present an organised overview of the main variables in touch experiments, attending to the main findings described in literature, to guide the design of future works on tactual perception and memory.This work was funded by the Portuguese “Foundation for Science and Technology” through PhD scholarship SFRH/BD/35918/2007

Neural protection by naturopathic compounds—an example of tetramethylpyrazine from retina to brain

Given the advantages of being stable in the ambient environment, being permeable to the blood–brain and/or blood–eye barriers and being convenient for administration, naturopathic compounds have growingly become promising therapeutic candidates for neural protection. Extracted from one of the most common Chinese herbal medicines, tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), also designated as ligustrazine, has been suggested to be neuroprotective in the central nervous system as well as the peripheral nerve network. Although the detailed molecular mechanisms of its efficacy for neural protection are understood limitedly, accumulating evidence suggests that antioxidative stress, antagonism for calcium, and suppression of pro-inflammatory factors contribute significantly to its neuroprotection. In animal studies, systemic administration of TMP (subcutaneous injection, 50 mg/kg) significantly blocked neuronal degeneration in hippocampus as well as the other vulnerable regions in brains of Sprague–Dawley rats following kainate-induced prolonged seizures. Results from us and others also demonstrated potent neuroprotective efficacy of TMP for retinal cells and robust benefits for brain in Alzheimer’s disease or other brain injury. These results suggest a promising prospect for TMP to be used as a treatment of specific neurodegenerative diseases. Given the assessment of the distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity information that is already available on most neuroprotective naturopathic compounds such as TMP, it would not take much preclinical data to justify bringing such therapeutic compounds to clinical trials in humans