Benefici percepiti della lettura ad alta voce in età prescolare: analisi di uno strumento di monitoraggio per la fascia d’età 0-6

In an extremely complex framework such as the Italian education system, which moves between innovative impulses and a tendency towards conservation, emerges the need to promote teaching practices that make it possible to increase literacy levels from early childhood. This study fits into this panorama, within the broader context of ‘Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza’, an educational policy promoted by the Tuscany Region in collaboration with the University of Perugia. The purpose of this study is to investigate what emerged from the subjective perceptions of educators and teachers who joined the action-research project, systematically and intensively reading aloud to chil-dren aged 0-6 in various educational services, through the analysis of a monitoring tool: an ongoing semi-structured diary. This study also aims to understand whether the subjective perceptions of educators provide support to the evidence in the literature on the positive effects of reading aloud in the development of pre-school children. The diaries compiled by educators provided important insights with respect to the improvement of different dimensions perceived as related to the practice of reading aloud: cognitive, emotive-relational, linguistic and interest. Finally, limitations, implications and and future prospects of the present study will be discussed.In an extremely complex framework such as the Italian education system, which moves between innovative impulses and a tendency towards conservation, emerges the need to promote teaching practices that make it possible to increase literacy levels from early childhood. This study fits into this panorama, within the broader context of ‘Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza’, an educational policy promoted by the Tuscany Region in collaboration with the University of Perugia. The purpose of this study is to investigate what emerged from the subjective perceptions of educators and teachers who joined the action-research project, systematically and intensively reading aloud to chil-dren aged 0-6 in various educational services, through the analysis of a monitoring tool: an ongoing semi-structured diary. This study also aims to understand whether the subjective perceptions of educators provide support to the evidence in the literature on the positive effects of reading aloud in the development of pre-school children. The diaries compiled by educators provided important insights with respect to the improvement of different dimensions perceived as related to the practice of reading aloud: cognitive, emotive-relational, linguistic and interest. Finally, limitations, implications and and future prospects of the present study will be discussed

La parola agli studenti! Un’esperienza di Focus Group a scuola sul tema della lettura nell’ambito della politica educativa «Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza»

The Floor To The Students! A Focus Group Experience At Schoool On The Subject Of Reading As Part Of The Educational Policy «Leggere: Forte! Ad Alta Voce Fa Crescere L’Intelligenza» This descriptive survey, conducted as part of «Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza» an educational policy promoted by Region of Tuscany to introduce intensive and systematic reading aloud by teachers in schools of all levels, aims to explore how exposure to reading aloud influences students’ perceptions toward reading itself. 16 Focus Groups were conducted in Primary and Secondary Schools both with adhering (LF) and not-adhering (NLF) classes to the «Leggere: Forte!» policy. Data analysis included a triangular categorization of the transcribed corpus among three independent researchers and an in-epth investigation of emotional-affective evidence, using Mood Meter (Brackett, Caruso, & Stern, 2006; Nathanson et al., 2016) as a reference model. The study showed differences in category occurrences between LF and NLF groups. Emotional mapping analysis, in particular, found a significantly larger expressed emotional repertoire in LF classes. The evidence suggests that exposure to narrative training promotes the acquisition of greater emotional competence, a relevant variable for academic success

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged).Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editin

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory. Athena is a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, as selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), X-IFU aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over a hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR (i.e. in the course of its preliminary definition phase, so-called B1), browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters, such as the instrument efficiency, spectral resolution, energy scale knowledge, count rate capability, non X-ray background and target of opportunity efficiency. Finally, we briefly discuss the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation and the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, The Netherlands and Italy, with ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, with additional contributions from the United States and Japan.The French contribution to X-IFU is funded by CNES, CNRS and CEA. This work has been also supported by ASI (Italian Space Agency) through the Contract 2019-27-HH.0, and by the ESA (European Space Agency) Core Technology Program (CTP) Contract No. 4000114932/15/NL/BW and the AREMBES - ESA CTP No.4000116655/16/NL/BW. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 and PID2020-115325GB-C31 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Commissural axon navigation in the spinal cord: A repertoire of repulsive forces is in command

International audienceThe navigation of commissural axons in the developing spinal cord has attracted multiple studies over the years. Many important concepts emerged from these studies which have enlighten the general mechanisms of axon guidance. The navigation of commissural axons is regulated by a series of cellular territories which provides the diverse guidance information necessary to ensure the successive steps of their pathfinding towards, across, and away from the ventral midline. In this review, we discuss how repulsive forces, by propelling, channelling, and confining commissural axon navigation, bring key contributions to the formation of this neuronal projection

Iterative inhibition of commissural growth cone exploration, not post-crossing barrier, ensures forward midline navigation through SlitC-PlxnA1 signaling

Sensitization to Slits and Semaphorin (Sema)3B floor plate repellents after midline crossing is thought to be the mechanism expelling commissural axons contralaterally and preventing their back-turning. We studied the role of Slit-C terminal fragment sharing with Sema3B the Plexin (Plxn) A1 receptor, newly implicated in midline guidance. We generated a knock-in mouse strain baring PlxnA1Y1815F mutation altering SlitC but not Sema3B responses and observed recrossing phenotypes. Using fluorescent reporters, we found that Slits and Sema3B form clusters decorating an unexpectedly complex mesh of ramified FP glia basal processes spanning the entire navigation path. Time-lapse analyzes revealed that impaired SlitC sensitivity destabilized axon trajectories by inducing high levels of growth cone exploration from the floor plate entry, increasing risk of aberrant decisions. Thus, FP crossing is unlikely driven by post-crossing sensitization to SlitC. Rather, SlitC limits growth cone plasticity and exploration through reiterated contacts, continuously imposing a straight and forward-directed trajectory

SlitC-PlexinA1 mediates iterative inhibition for orderly passage of spinal commissural axons through the floor plate

International audienceSpinal commissural axon navigation across the midline in the floor plate requires repulsive forces from local Slit repellents. The long-held view is that Slits push growth cones forward and prevent them from turning back once they became sensitized to these cues after midline crossing. We analyzed with fluorescent reporters Slits distribution and FP glia morphology. We observed clusters of Slit-N and Slit-C fragments decorating a complex architecture of glial basal process ramifications. We found that PC2 proprotein convertase activity contributes to this pattern of ligands. Next, we studied Slit-C acting via PlexinA1 receptor shared with another FP repellent, the Semaphorin3B, through generation of a mouse model baring PlexinA1 Y1815F mutation abrogating SlitC but not Sema3B responsiveness, manipulations in the chicken embryo, and ex vivo live imaging. This revealed a guidance mechanism by which SlitC constantly limits growth cone exploration, imposing ordered and forward-directed progression through aligned corridors formed by FP basal ramifications

A Spatiotemporal Sequence of Sensitization to Slits and Semaphorins Orchestrates Commissural Axon Navigation

International audienceHighlights d Live monitoring of guidance receptors reveals specific dynamics in commissural axons d Slit and Semaphorin receptors have different temporal patterns of membrane insertion d A front-rear polarity organizes PlxnA1 and Robo1 receptors at the growth-cone surface d Robo1, but not Robo2, is sorted during midline crossin