Initial training and certification for the teaching profession, between desideratum and achievement

From a theoretical perspective, this study synthetically presents the main paradigms/models for future teachers’ training, which have been globally developed throughout the past decades, as well as the current teacher training model in Romania. On these grounds, the applicative ascertaining research that we have conducted had in view two main objectives: 1.The analysis of the performances obtained by future teachers during their initial training programme (at TTD, the Department of Teacher Training) and at certification exams; 2.The efficiency measurement for this programme accounts for a direct relation between the graduates’ results and the didactic profession standards. The research findings confirm the research hypotheses and point at the performances obtained by subjects throughout their initial training program for the didactic profession, as well as during their certification exam. There is a significant positive correlation between the TTD graduation general average grade and the average grade obtained by students at the certification exam, based on their portfolio assessment. The correlation indices between the diverse variables taken into account reveal significant differences between the students’ performances on the certification exam depending on the gender variable. There are also notable specialization-dependent variations in the general average grades obtained by students along the initial training program, as well as major differences (in 9 out of the 10 comparisons made) from one specialization to another, between the average grades obtained at the portfolio-based certification exam, in which the students in Letters obtained the best results

The paradigm of "reflexive practitioner" and the standards of professional training of teaching staff

Assuring the quality of the initial and continuous training programs for teaching stuff implies a constant effort for thoroughgoing studying of the theories, researches and models that have been developed at a global level, and also conceiving certain programs of suitable politics within this domain. Starting with the 80s, among the most popula ̀ r paradigms of the reflexive practitioner was the one elaborated by Schön. The most important consequences of developing and spreading the paradigm are: transposing it to the educational politics and substantiating the initial training programs on professional standards which correspond to the general competences; rethinking the initial training programs and directing them towards practice and competences of educators; integrating standards during the teachers certification exams; providing an adequate methodology in order to solve many problems that present education confronts with

Evaluating the Effects of Employee Recruitment and Selection Practices on the Organizational Change Process

The recruitment and selection process can be a valuable tool to enhance organizational adaptability and flexibility. Companies and organizations must quickly adapt to new requirements in a constantly changing business environment. By selecting candidates with relevant skills and experience, companies can increase their ability to cope with environmental changes and adapt to new market demands. In this context, the paper aims to evaluate the effects of practices regarding the recruitment and selection of human resources on the added value of organizational change in the employees' perception of organizations in Romania. These two aspects have a close relationship, and their integrated approach can lead to organizations' continuous development and improvement. Therefore, organizations can achieve success and excellent performance in an ever-evolving environment by recruiting and selecting suitable candidates and developing a changing culture

Evaluating the Effects of HRM Practices on Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture

Human resource management (HRM) is a critical field in business and organizations, and practices in this field can significantly influence employee engagement and organizational culture. The paper proposes a model for evaluating the effects of HRM practices on employee commitment and organizational culture. The empirical study in which the model is tested was carried out among 294 employees from Romanian organizations who answered the questionnaire questions. Structural equation modeling was used to process the data and obtain the results. HRM practices can directly influence employee engagement and organizational culture. Involving employees in the decision-making process, offering opportunities for career development, properly managing labor relations, and promoting diversity and inclusion are HRM practices that can increase employee engagement and develop a positive organizational culture. The study has important managerial implications by highlighting HRM practices that substantially affect employee engagement and organizational culture. Employees more involved and loyal to the organization are more likely to respect its values and goals, so the organizational culture becomes more substantial and better defined. Therefore, organizations must implement HRM practices that help increase employee engagement and develop a more robust and better-defined organizational culture

Uptake and Degradation of Bacteriophages by Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells

Bacteriophages (briefly, “phages”) are viruses which target bacteria, and are non-infectious to eukaryotic cells. It is estimated that more than 30 billion phages cross into the human body from the gut each day1, and eventually need to be cleared from the blood circulation. The liver plays a central role in pathogen clearance, and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), which form the lining of the numerous capillaries in the liver, are therefore on the front lines for this removal process. However, despite their strategic location and efficiency in removing small (<200 nm) particles2, LSECs have historically been poorly studied in terms of removal of phages. We hypothesized that LSECs play a critical role in the removal of phages from the bloodstream through endocytic uptake and lysosomal degradation, and used GFP-labeled T4 bacteriophages as a model system to study this clearance process. Uptake and trafficking of phages in primary cultured LSECs was monitored by deconvolution microscopy on both short (1 hour) and long (24 hours) term timescales, and structured illumination microscopy was used to confirm the identity of the LSECs using their unique, sub-diffraction scale morphological features: tiny holes called fenestrations. After being taken up by the cells, the phages were rapidly transported to late endosomes/lysosomes, as confirmed by colocalization studies with an LSEC-specific lysosomal vital marker. Challenging the LSEC cultures with radiolabeled phages for up to 24 hours showed that the phages were degraded about 4h after being taken up by the cells, with degradation products being increasingly released to the spent medium up to about 18h after uptake. In conclusion, our novel finding that LSECs internalize and degrade bacteriophages lends support to the hypothesis that LSECs play an important role in the clearance of blood borne phages

Primary rat LSECs preserve their characteristic phenotype after cryopreservation

Mönkemöller V, Mao H, Hübner W, et al. Primary rat LSECs preserve their characteristic phenotype after cryopreservation. Scientific Reports. 2018;8(1): 14657.Liver disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recently, the liver nonparenchymal cells have gained increasing attention for their potential role in the development of liver disease. Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), a specialized type of endothelial cells that have unique morphology and function, play a fundamental role in maintaining liver homeostasis. Current protocols for LSEC isolation and cultivation rely on freshly isolated cells which can only be maintained differentiated in culture for a few days. This creates a limitation in the use of LSECs for research and a need for a consistent and reliable source of these cells. To date, no LSEC cryopreservation protocols have been reported that enable LSECs to retain their functional and morphological characteristics upon thawing and culturing. Here, we report a protocol to cryopreserve rat LSECs that, upon thawing, maintain full LSEC-signature features: fenestrations, scavenger receptor expression and endocytic function on par with freshly isolated cells. We have confirmed these features by a combination of biochemical and functional techniques, and super-resolution microscopy. Our findings offer a means to standardize research using LSECs, opening the prospects for designing pharmacological strategies for various liver diseases, and considering LSECs as a therapeutic target

Primary rat LSECs preserve their characteristic phenotype after cryopreservation

Liver disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recently, the liver non-parenchymal cells have gained increasing attention for their potential role in the development of liver disease. Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), a specialized type of endothelial cells that have unique morphology and function, play a fundamental role in maintaining liver homeostasis. Current protocols for LSEC isolation and cultivation rely on freshly isolated cells which can only be maintained differentiated in culture for a few days. This creates a limitation in the use of LSECs for research and a need for a consistent and reliable source of these cells. To date, no LSEC cryopreservation protocols have been reported that enable LSECs to retain their functional and morphological characteristics upon thawing and culturing. Here, we report a protocol to cryopreserve rat LSECs that, upon thawing, maintain full LSEC-signature features: fenestrations, scavenger receptor expression and endocytic function on par with freshly isolated cells. We have confirmed these features by a combination of biochemical and functional techniques, and super-resolution microscopy. Our findings offer a means to standardize research using LSECs, opening the prospects for designing pharmacological strategies for various liver diseases, and considering LSECs as a therapeutic target

Klebsiella pneumoniae cryptogenic liver abscess and endophthalmitis – a case report and review of literature

Klebsiella pneumoniae has emerged as the predominant pathogenic agent of liver abscess in Asia, and the incidence is increasing worldwide. Hypervirulent strains are associated with septic metastatic dissemination in the eyes, lungs, and central nervous system, causing severe morbidity. We present the case of a 54year old man, with no previous comorbidities, admitted in emergency for the blind red painful eye. Further investigation documented septic endophthalmitis with transscleral extension and orbital cellulitis. Thoraco-abdominal computed tomography evidenced a hepatic abscess as the locus of the primary infection. Intravenous antibiotherapy with cefuroxime, followed by meropenem and vancomycin were efficient for managing the hepatic abscess. However, as the eyeball was perforated at the admission, evisceration was performed. The vitreous sample revealed Klebsiella pneumoniae, with a positive string test as the etiologic agent. The diagnostic and therapeutic management required a permanent collaboration between an ophthalmologist, infectious diseases specialist, surgeon, and radiologist

Chitosan-Based Therapeutic Systems for Superficial Candidiasis Treatment. Synergetic Activity of Nystatin and Propolis

The paper deals with new approaches to chitosan (CS)-based antifungal therapeutic formulations designed to fulfill the requirements of specific applications. Gel-like formulations were prepared by mixing CS dissolved in aqueous lactic acid (LA) solution with nystatin (NYS) powder and/or propolis (PRO) aqueous solution dispersed in glycerin, followed by water evaporation to yield flexible mesoporous (pore widths of 2–4 nm) films of high specific surfaces between 1 × 103 and 1.7 × 103 m2/g. Morphological evaluation of the antifungal films showed uniform dispersion and downsizing of NYS crystallites (with initial sizes up to 50 μm). Their mechanical properties were found to be close to those of soft tissues (Young’s modulus values between 0.044–0.025 MPa). The films presented hydration capacities in physiological condition depending on their composition, i.e., higher for NYS-charged (628%), as compared with PRO loaded films (118–129%). All NYS charged films presented a quick release for the first 10 min followed by a progressive increase of the release efficiency at 48.6%, for the samples containing NYS alone and decreasing values with increasing amount of PRO to 45.9% and 42.8% after 5 h. By in vitro analysis, the hydrogels with acidic pH values around 3.8 were proven to be active against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata species. The time-killing assay performed during 24 h on Candida albicans in synthetic vagina-simulative medium showed that the hydrogel formulations containing both NYS and PRO presented the faster slowing down of the fungal growth, from colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL of 1.24 × 107 to CFU/mL < 10 (starting from the first 6 h)