Disko: ferramenta lúdica para incentivar o trabalho colaborativo para estudantes universitários em 2021

This article documents a qualitative and quantitative investigation, which has included the application of Disko, a ludic tool composed by five mini games for virtual classes. The orientation of design towards a people-centered vision is considered relevant by the authors, to achieve this, the empowerment of empathy is decisive. Cooperation dimension was prioritized from five indicators: collaborative work, leadership, interaction, assertive communication and commitment. The sample included 94 students from two subjects, active in first and second cycles during 2021-I. The applied design was quasi-experimental with posttest; with a control group (CG) that diagnosed usual tools, and an experimental group (EG), to which DisKo was applied. This tool proved to be useful after being statistically tested. It collaborated in empathic learning increase between students and contributed in social satisfaction improvement, making teacher work easier.Este artículo documenta una investigación experimental cuali-cuantitativa que aplicó DisKo, herramienta lúdica compuesta por cinco microjuegos para clases virtuales. Los autores consideran relevante orientar el diseño hacia una visión centrada en las personas, para lograrlo es decisivo potenciar la empatía. Se priorizó la dimensión cooperación desde cinco indicadores: trabajo colaborativo, liderazgo, interacción, comunicación asertiva y compromiso. La muestra incluyó 94 estudiantes de dos asignaturas, activos en primer y segundo ciclo durante 2021-I. El diseño aplicado fue cuasiexperimental con posprueba; con un grupo control (GC) que diagnosticó herramientas habituales, y un grupo experimental (GE), al que se aplicó DisKo. Esta herramienta demostró ser de utilidad tras ser testeada estadísticamente. Colaboró en el aumento del aprendizaje empático entre estudiantes y contribuyó al mejoramiento del ambiente social, facilitando el trabajo docente.O presente artigo documenta uma pesquisa experimental de caráter quali-quantitativo, que aplicou Disko, uma ferramenta lúdica composta por cinco micro jogos para classes virtuais. Os autores consideram relevante orientar design para uma visão centrada nas pessoas, para isso é decisiva da empatia: se priorizo a dimensão cooperação a partir de cinco indicadores: trabalho colaborativo, liderança, interação, comunicação assertiva e compromisso. A mostra incluiu 94 estudantes das dois disciplinas, ativos nos primeiro e segundo ciclos durante 2021-I. O projeto aplicado foi quase desenvolvido com posttest; com grupo controle (GC) que diagnosticou o uso das ferramentas habituais, e grupo experimental (GE), ao qual se aplicou DisKo. Esta ferramenta demonstrou ser de utilidade após ser testada estatisticamente. Colhaboro na aumento de aprendizagem empático entre oz estudantes eu contribuo para melhorar o meio ambiente sociai, facilitando o trabalho docente

Dye Sensitization of Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide with Osmium and Ruthenium Polypyridyl Complexes

A series of osmium polypyridyl complexes having various ground-state reduction potentials has been synthesized and used to sensitize nanoporous titanium dioxide electrodes to solar illumination. The spectral response and current vs potential properties of electrodes modified with these dyes have been compared with the behavior of their ruthenium analogues. The trends can be explained by the differences in absorption spectra and ground-state redox potentials. The osmium complexes appear to be promising candidates for further optimization in operating photoelectrochemical cells for solar energy conversion applications. Of the materials studied, all complexes having ground-state redox potentials in methanol more positive than ∼0.4 V vs aqueous SCE were able to sustain oxidation of I-/I_3- with a high steady-state quantum yield. For electrodes with very low dye coverages, the open-circuit voltage was mainly determined by the rate of reduction of I_2, whereas for high dye coverages, the open-circuit voltage depended on the nature of the complex and on the dye loading level

GABA uptake transporters support dopamine release in dorsal striatum with maladaptive downregulation in a parkinsonism model

Striatal dopamine (DA) is critical for action and learning. Recent data show that DA release is under tonic inhibition by striatal GABA. Ambient striatal GABA tone on striatal projection neurons can be determined by plasma membrane GABA uptake transporters (GATs) located on astrocytes and neurons. However, whether striatal GATs and astrocytes determine DA output are unknown. We reveal that DA release in mouse dorsolateral striatum, but not nucleus accumbens core, is governed by GAT-1 and GAT-3. These GATs are partly localized to astrocytes, and are enriched in dorsolateral striatum compared to accumbens core. In a mouse model of early parkinsonism, GATs are downregulated, tonic GABAergic inhibition of DA release augmented, and nigrostriatal GABA co-release attenuated. These data define previously unappreciated and important roles for GATs and astrocytes in supporting DA release in striatum, and reveal a maladaptive plasticity in early parkinsonism that impairs DA output in vulnerable striatal regions

Monologic epistolary fiction of the 20th and 21st centuries

La fiction longue entièrement composée d'une lettre ininterrompue – le roman (ou la pièce) épistolaire monologique – représente un cas de figure négligé, souvent même refusé, par la théorie. Son existence est démontrée ici par un corpus de quinze textes en anglais, français, italien et allemand, de Gide (1902) à Norman (2011) via Yourcenar, Coetzee, Celestini, ou Amis.Ce travail mesure dans un premier temps les dimensions de cet inventaire : sa largeur, grâce à la mise en place d'un cadre formel ; sa longueur historique ; la profondeur de ses interactions avec la lettre réelle, le genre épistolaire, et enfin avec les qualités épistolaires de toute fiction, dont la lettre monologique est un miroir aux déformations calculées.Le corpus révèle l'intérêt de ce cadrage technique grâce à des thèmes récurrents, qui interrogent trois caractéristiques-clé de l'écriture épistolaire. Le thème de la mort de soi (Yourcenar, Coetzee, Bernstein, Robinson, Amis) se conjugue à une réflexion sur la structure physique de tout texte que la lettre rend soudainement tangible, établissant une réflexion sur la lettre-cadavre. Une imagerie apocalyptique (Auster, Coetzee, Amis) problématise ensuite cette idée de la lettre qui se résumerait comme manifestation physique de la mort de l'auteur ; il met en scène un portrait de la temporalité qui ouvre à des superpositions et des rencontres. Ces deux chapitres établissent les pôles du débat pour un dernier, qui emprunte l'imagerie du double pour parler de la communication épistolaire (Gide, Coetzee, Bernstein, Celestini). Après l'absence et la correspondance, ce chapitre interroge le problématique “avec” du titre ; le plan narré de la lettre et le plan dramatique de son envoi sont rejoints par un troisième, pragmatique, posant la question de l'éthique de la correspondance épistolaire, et à travers elle, l'éthique de la fiction même.Long fictions composed of one uninterrupted letter – monologic epistolary fictions – are underrepresented in critical discourse, and frequently shunted more or less overtly beyond its margins. Their existence is brought to light here by one play and fourteen novels in French, English, Italian and German, ranging from 1902 (Gide) to 2011 (Norman) via a cast of authors including Yourcenar, Coetzee, Amis and Celestini.This study aims firstly to fill the critical lacuna, establishing the dimensions of this new sub- genre. It measures the breadth of the formal definitions of the single-letter epistolary novel, the length of its inscription in literary history, and the depth conferred upon it by critical discourse about real letters, the letter-novel genre and a certain epistolary quality to be found in all literature, which our novels set themselves up to reflect and refract.Our rather disparate corpus of texts reveals the interest of this technical framework, haunted as it is by recurrent themes which illuminate the characteristics of monological epistolary writing. Firstly, the theme of one's own death (Yourcenar, Coetzee, Bernstein, Robinson, Amis) shines a light on the physical structure of any text, rendered visible in the format of the letter; this conjunction suggests the idea of the text as corpse. A series of apocalyptic universes complicates this rather empirical portrait, which reads like the symbol of the Death of the Author; novels by Coetzee, Amis and Auster use complex portraits of fictional time to suggest the possibility of coincidence, overlap, meetings both epistolary and literary. These two chapters set up the terms of a final debate concerning literary communication, investigated via the symbol of the double (Gide, Coeztee, Bernstein, Celestini). After the narrative of the text itself and the implied drama of the letter's trajectory, a pragmatic dimension comes to light. This final analysis allows us to investigate the ethics of correspondence, and the letter as one key to understanding those of fiction itself

An Outbreak of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection Linked to a "Black Friday" Piercing Event.

Outbreaks linked to cosmetic piercing are rare, but can cause significant illness. We report the investigation and management of a point-source outbreak that occurred during a Black Friday promotional event in North West England. Outbreak investigation was led by Public Health England, and included active case finding among individuals pierced at a piercing premises between 25/11/2016 (Black Friday) and 7/12/2016. Detailed epidemiological, environmental (including inspection and sampling), and microbiological investigation was undertaken. During the Black Friday event (25/11/2016), 45 people were pierced (13 by a newly-appointed practitioner). Eleven cases were identified (7 microbiologically-confirmed, 2 probable, and 2 possible). All cases had clinical signs of infection around piercing sites, and five required surgical intervention, with varying degrees of post-operative disfigurement. All confirmed and probable cases had a scaffold piercing placed with a guide bar by the newly-appointed practitioner. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, indistinguishable at nine-locus variable-number tandem repeat loci, was isolated from four of the confirmed cases, and from pre- and post-flush samples from five separate water taps (three sinks) in the premises. Water samples taken after remedial plumbing work confirmed elimination of Pseudomonas contamination. Although high levels of Pseudomonas water contamination and some poor infection control procedures were identified, infection appeared to require additional exposure to an inexperienced practitioner, and the more invasive scaffold piercing. A proactive collaborative approach between piercers and health and environmental officials is required to reduce outbreak risk, particularly when unusually large events are planned

High Quantum Yield Sensitization of Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide Photoelectrodes withcis-Dicyanobis(4,4‘-dicarboxy-2,2‘-bipyridine)osmium(II) or Tris(4,4‘-dicarboxy-2,2‘-bipyridine)osmium(II) Complexes

Osmium polypyridyl complexes were used as sensitizers in solar cells that utilize nanocrystalline titanium dioxide photoelectrodes. Exposure of TiO_2 electrodes to sources of Os^(II)(H_2L‘)_2(CN)_2 (where L‘ is 4,4‘-dicarboxylato-2,2‘-bipyridine) or Os^(II)(H_2L‘)_3^(2+) extended the light absorption and spectral response of the cell to longer wavelengths than did exposure of TiO_2 to Ru(H_2L‘)_2(NCS)_2. The Os complexes also provided very high external quantum yields for photocurrent flow and produced open-circuit voltages similar to those of the Ru complex. The Os-based systems therefore offer promise in developing efficient dye-sensitized nanocrystalline TiO_2-based photoelectrochemical cells