Visual attention deficits in schizophrenia can arise from inhibitory dysfunction in thalamus or cortex

Schizophrenia is associated with diverse cognitive deficits, including disorders of attention-related oculomotor behavior. At the structural level, schizophrenia is associated with abnormal inhibitory control in the circuit linking cortex and thalamus. We developed a spiking neural network model that demonstrates how dysfunctional inhibition can degrade attentive gaze control. Our model revealed that perturbations of two functionally distinct classes of cortical inhibitory neurons, or of the inhibitory thalamic reticular nucleus, disrupted processing vital for sustained attention to a stimulus, leading to distractibility. Because perturbation at each circuit node led to comparable but qualitatively distinct disruptions in attentive tracking or fixation, our findings support the search for new eye movement metrics that may index distinct underlying neural defects. Moreover, because the cortico-thalamic circuit is a common motif across sensory, association, and motor systems, the model and extensions can be broadly applied to study normal function and the neural bases of other cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.R01 MH057414 - NIMH NIH HHS; R01 MH101209 - NIMH NIH HHS; R01 NS024760 - NINDS NIH HHSPublished versio

NEETin with ICT

Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC) outlines that 49% of EU citizens identified “job creation” and 33% identified “education and skills” as the top priorities for science and technology innovation over the next fifteen years. Both documents justify the needs in Europe for the ICT field especially for the NEET (not in education, employment or training) citizens. On the other hand, Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs (GC4DJ) in Europe identifies: the training and matching digital jobs; certification; innovative learning and teaching; mobility; awareness raising; increasing effectiveness of education; increasing equity and producing positive impact in the economy, as a priority for European countries. NEETin is a project directed to NEET citizens, to be developed by Higher Education Institutions, VET providers and Enterprises in order to help to overcome a social European dimension through lifelong learning. By creating a Joint Vocational Education Training in Digital Competences in a collaboration between VET providers and the Enterprises, widening the access to higher education, in an innovative student-centred learning model to apply in a European level, we aim to contribute to improve the quality of Education. Through this certified JVET, NEET citizens will develop their digital skills and the success of employability of these learners will be enhanced.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Educational communication in the 15-M movement. Notes about an ethnographic study in process

En este artículo presentamos el proceso de investigación etnográfica que estamos desarrollando sobre la Comunicación Educativa en el Movimiento 15-M. Detallamos la revisión bibliográfica realizada para justificar la urgencia de analizar las dimensiones mediático-comunicacional y pedagógica del movimiento así como para mostrar la necesidad de enriquecer los estudios en Comunicación Educativa. Asimismo, abordamos nuestro objeto de estudio desde la noción de ‘cultura política’ y exponemos el proceso etnográfico llevado a cabo hasta el momento. Para finalizar, esbozamos una serie de reflexiones preliminares.In this paper we present the process of ethnographic research that we are developing on Educational Communication in the 15M Movement. We detail the literature review made to justify the urgency to analyze the media-communicational and pedagogical dimensions of the movement, as well as to showcase the need to enrich the studies on Educational Communication. Furthermore, we address our object of study from the notion of “political culture” and we expose the ethnographical process conducted so far. Finally, we outline a series of preliminary reflections

Comunicación educativa y cultura política en el Movimiento 15-M. Aproximación teórica y reflexiones preliminares en torno a un estudio etnográfico.

En este artículo, presentamos algunos aspectos de la investigación etnográfica que hemos realizado sobre la dimensión pedagógico-política que subyace en los entornos y en los procesos de comunicación del Movimiento 15-M. Concretamente, abordamos los fundamentos teóricos de nuestro estudio a partir de los conceptos de comunicación educativa y cultura política, y reflexionamos sobre el carácter pedagógico-político implícito tanto en las prácticas asamblearias como en los proyectos de comunicación que el Movimiento 15-M ha desarrollado desde su aparición.En aquest article presentem alguns aspectes de la investigació etnogràfica que hem realitzat sobre la dimensió pedagogicopolítica que és subjacent als voltants i en els processos de comunicació del Moviment 15-M. Concretament, abordem els fonaments teòrics del nostre estudi a partir dels conceptes de comunicació educativa i cultura política, i reflexionem sobre el caràcter pedagogicopolític implícit tant en les pràctiques assembleàries com en els projectes de comunicació que el Moviment 15-M ha desenvolupat des que va aparèixer.In this paper, we present some aspects of the ethnographic research that we have done about the pedagogical-political dimension that underlies in the communication environments and processes of the 15-M movement. We specifically deal with the theoretical foundations of our study from the concepts of ‘educational communication’ and ‘political culture’, and we reflect on the pedagogical-political nature which is inherent in both the assembly-based practices and communication projects that the 15-M movement has developed since its emergence

UPTAKE ICT – MOOC on digital employabilty

Uptake_ICT2life-cycle: digital literacy and inclusion to learners with disadvantaged background" is an Erasmus+ project that aims at enhancing digital literacy among adults with disadvantaged backgrounds. One of the project’s outputs is a MOOC on Digital Employability. This paper presents and reflects upon this product, analysing data collected from the students that followed the course as pilot-group. The experience has proved very positive since students recognized the technical quality of the MOOC, as well as the interest, relevance and utility of its contents. A bridge between academia and the work market was established and the students’ awareness of several career opportunities was raised. These various aspects seem to recommend the replication of this MOOC as well as the making of similar ones. The adopted methodology that the trainers involved in this action decided to use aimed at reaching two major target groups: higher education students and other participants that were enrolled in parallel training sessions. Trainees from the Higher School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Santarem had two sorts of profile, according to their study area, more specifically, communication and multimedia or plastic arts and multimedia. So, the idea underlying the chosen strategy was to diversify the target population of the MOOC, and to establish a bridge between participants who had more competencies in the field of ICTs (the multimedia class), and those who has lesser skills in this field (the art class). This diversity implied that the achieved results and metrics, both analytical data and statistic results concerning the used platform and the course’s content, included answers given by students with different learning profiles. The MOOC focused on the importance of ICT for employability. It presented information and suggestions on three main areas, Employability, Freelancing and Entrepreneurship. Each module of the course had several lessons since the educational contents were structured into specific sections, each one addressing a key subject and providing sets of examples that helped students to better understand the focused issues. The MOOC also includes video presentations with real life examples of successful entrepreneurs and freelancers, telling about their experiences and giving advice on how to thrive in the current job market. This is an innovative aspect that means both an approach between business and education, as well as to bring students closer to the objective requirements of working life outside schools.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Etiologia e sensibilidade bacteriana em infecções do tracto urinário

As infecções do tracto urinário (ITU) são muito prevalentes no ser humano, ocupando o segundo lugar, logo a seguir às infecções respiratórias. Os principais microrganismos envolvidos têm-se mantido relativamente constantes, ao longo dos tempos, sendo o seu tratamento, em muitos casos, realizado empiricamente, recorrendo-se a antibióticos que, à partida, serão de espectro alargado e conseguirão debelar a infecção. O objectivo fundamental deste trabalho, foi o de conhecer o comportamento das estirpes mais prevalentes que provocam infecções do tracto urinário e avaliar se se manifesta alguma evolução das suas resistências aos antibióticos, em dois períodos temporais distintos. O estudo, retrospectivo, foi realizado no Hospital Sousa Martins, recorrendo-se a 100 uroculturas com resultado positivo, metade do ano 2002 e as restantes do ano 2007. Todas as urinas foram semeadas em gelose de CLED. A identificação e o seu respectivo antibiograma foram realizados no sistema VITEK 1 (bioMérieux). De entre os principais resultados destaca-se que a estirpe mais prevalente no ano de 2002 foi E. coli constituindo 64% das estirpes identificadas, seguida da S. marcescens com 16% e da K. pneumoniae com 14%. Em relação ao ano de 2007, predominou novamente a E. coli com 66% das infecções urinárias, seguida da P. aeruginosa com 14%. Quanto ao comportamento face aos antibióticos das estirpes mais prevalentes, verificamos que ocorreu um aumento de sensibilidade da Escherichia coli face à amoxicilina (68,8% em 2002 para 93,9% em 2007), face à ampicilina (56,3% em 2002 para 75,8% em 2007) e à cefalotina (84,4% em 2002 para 93,9% em 2007). Apenas aumentou a sua resistência face ao trimetoprim, sendo que no ano 2002 apresentava uma resistência de 18,8% e no 2007 este valor passou a 24,2%. A Klebsiella pneumoniae aumentou a sua capacidade de resistência à amoxicilina (0% no ano 2002 para 75% no ano 2007), tornou-se completamente resistente à ampicilina e diminui a sua sensibilidade à cefalotina (85,7% em 2002 e apenas 25% em 2007). Aumentou ainda a sua resistência à pefloxacina, uma vez que em 2002 todas as estirpes foram sensíveis e em 2007 apenas 25% apresentaram sensibilidade perante este antibiótico. Em relação ao trimetoprim verificou-se também um acentuado aumento de resistência por parte desta bactéria, sendo que em 2002 apenas 28,6% das estirpes de Klebsiella pneumoniae eram resistentes, ao passo que em 2007 este número passou para 75%. Apenas aumentou a sua susceptibilidade à netilmicina, passando de uma sensibilidade de 85,7% em 2002 para 100% em 2007. A partir dos resultados podemos constatar que a Escherichia coli não alterou muito o seu comportamento face aos antibióticos testados, aumentando mesmo a sua sensibilidade em alguns casos. Já em relação à Klebsiella pneumoniae, há uma clara diminuição da sua sensibilidade face à maioria dos antibióticos testados

Online Scientific Volunteering: the technological immersion for the co-construction of knowledge, employability, entrepreneurship and innovation in a logic of inclusion

“We all have something to learn and something to share” is the motto of this project, through which we aim to assess the impact of a multilingual platform which combines and makes the most of the potentials of digital environments and favours inclusion, in the co-construction of knowledge in learning/practice, in employability, entrepreneurism and innovation. In this article we will introduce an ongoing project which is founded on the principle of openness to the research community. Its philosophy is Online Scientific Volunteering for the co-construction of knowledge about learning best practices. The platform that will emerge from the project will be open access. The academic community, whether national or international, can contribute with content and knowledge to the platform, through interaction and discussions around relevant and emerging topics. The community may also exploit, without encumbrance, the contents of the platform for their own benefit. This way students and scientific expertise can share in a common knowledge space, and together build a comprehensive knowledge base.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Normas de familiaridade subjectiva, concreteza e valência emocional de itens críticos de listas de associados semânticos em língua portuguesa

O presente estudo apresenta dados normativos de familiaridade subjectiva, concreteza e valência emocional de 12 itens críticos de listas de associados semânticos em língua portuguesa (Albuquerque, 2005). Estas normas visam apoiar outros investigadores interessados em estudar o fenómeno de memórias falsas a partir do paradigma Deese-Roediger-McDermott.The current study presents normative data of subjective familiarity, concreteness and emotional valence of 12 critical items of semantic associate words lists in Portuguese (Albuquerque, 2005). With these norms we aim to support the research of others authors interested in studying the false memory effect with the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm

Differentiating signals to make biological sense – a guide through databases for MS-based non-targeted metabolomics

Metabolite identification is one of the most challenging steps in metabolomics studies and reflects one of the greatest bottlenecks in the entire workflow. The success of this step determines the success of the entire research, therefore the quality at which annotations are given requires special attention. A variety of tools and resources are available to aid metabolite identification or annotation, offering different and often complementary functionalities. In preparation for this article, almost 50 databases were reviewed, from which 17 were selected for discussion, chosen for their on-line ESI-MS functionality. The general characteristics and functions of each database is discussed in turn, considering the advantages and limitations of each along with recommendations for optimal use of each tool, as derived from experiences encountered at the Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO) in Madrid. These databases were evaluated considering their utility in non-targeted metabolomics, including aspects such as ID assignment, structural assignment and interpretation of results