Web literacy practices of teacher education students and in-service teachers in Greece : a comparative study

In the expanding context of new literacies and multiliteracies, the abilities to know how to locate, to evaluate and to exploit Web information resources in order to construct knowledge, are acknowledged as extremely important worldwide. Current literacy curricula should encourage the development of such abilities, and  their successful implementation requires teachers themselves to be properly prepared. The present study reports the web searching and evaluating practices for educational purposes employed by both pre-service and in-service teachers. Data was collected via an anonymous online questionnaire. The comparative study  exhibis teachers' web practices with the purpose of identifying aspects of web literacy that require attention when designing and implementing relevant educational initiatives. According to the research findings, both pre-service and in-service teachers are based almost exclusively on popular search engines to locate web information resources, and they choose such resources without examining their wider context. In order to evaluate web information resources, they consider mainly morphological and design elements, rather than content features such as their origin and credibility. The findings raise the potential of applying critical literacy principles on the Web so that teachers can approach it critiquely.[1] when using its resources in educational settings. [1] learn to think “critiquely” (a word coined by James Paul Gee), that is, not merely consume information but also “understand and critique systems of power and injustice in a world that [people] will see as simply economically inevitable" (Gee, 2000: 62).: In the expanding context of new literacies and multiliteracies, the abilities to know how to locate, to evaluate and to exploit Web information resources in order to construct knowledge, are acknowledged as extremely important worldwide. Current literacy curricula should encourage the development of such abilities, and  their successful implementation requires teachers themselves to be properly prepared. The present study reports the web searching and evaluating practices for educational purposes employed by both pre-service and in-service teachers. Data was collected via an anonymous online questionnaire. The comparative study  exhibis teachers' web practices with the purpose of identifying aspects of web literacy that require attention when designing and implementing relevant educational initiatives. According to the research findings, both pre-service and in-service teachers are based almost exclusively on popular search engines to locate web information resources, and they choose such resources without examining their wider context. In order to evaluate web information resources, they consider mainly morphological and design elements, rather than content features such as their origin and credibility. The findings raise the potential of applying critical literacy principles on the Web so that teachers can approach it critiquely.[1] when using its resources in educational settings. [1] learn to think “critiquely” (a word coined by James Paul Gee), that is, not merely consume information but also “understand and critique systems of power and injustice in a world that [people] will see as simply economically inevitable" (Gee, 2000: 62)

Μία ερευνητική μελέτη για την πρόσληψη και την κατανόηση αφηγηματικών κειμένων μέσα από την κινούμενη εικόνα και μέσα από την έντυπη αφήγηση από παιδιά της Γ' Δημοτικού

Τα γραπτά κείμενα αποτέλεσαν και αποτελούν τον κύριο μοχλό απόκτησης γνώσεων και πληροφοριών για το άτομο καθώς ο γραπτός λόγος εδώ και πολλούς αιώνες συντελεί καθοριστικά στη διακίνηση ιδεών, αντιλήψεων και γνώσεων μέσα στις κοινωνίες. Τα τελευταία χρόνια όμως η εμφάνιση των σύγχρονων οπτικοακουστικών μέσων έχει διαμορφώσει νέους επικοινωνιακούς τρόπους μέσω των οποίων η μετάδοση μηνυμάτων παύει να γίνεται μονοτροπικά, μόνο μέσω του γλωσσικού συστήματος. Αντιθέτως, το περιεχόμενο ενός κειμένου δομείται και παρουσιάζεται πλέον πολυτροπικά μέσα από ποικίλους σημειωτικούς τρόπους όπως είναι η εικόνα, ο ήχος, η κίνηση κ.α. διαμορφώνοντας έτσι μία νέα πραγματικότητα στη διαδικασία πρόσληψης, επεξεργασίας και κατανόησης του κειμένου. Τα παιδιά από πολύ νωρίς και με μεγάλη συχνότητα γίνονται αποδέκτες πολυτροπικών κειμένων μέσα από τα προγράμματα που παρακολουθούν σε ψηφιακές συσκευές, όπως είναι η τηλεόραση, το κινητό τηλέφωνο ή ο υπολογιστής, οι οποίες πλέον αποσπούν ένα μεγάλο κομμάτι της καθημερινότητάς τους. Η κατανόηση τέτοιων κειμένων αποτελεί μία σύγχρονη διάσταση της αναγνωστικής διαδικασίας η οποία, ανεξάρτητα από το μέσο, αποβλέπει στη δόμηση του νοήματος του κειμένου από τον ίδιο τον αναγνώστη. Το νέο αυτό πλαίσιο επεξεργασίας και κατανόησης έντυπων και οπτικοακουστικών κειμένων αποτέλεσε το πεδίο της βιβλιογραφικής ανασκόπησης της παρούσας εργασίας ενώ παράλληλα με βάση αυτό διεξήχθη μία έρευνα μικρής κλίμακας σε παιδιά της Γ’ τάξης του δημοτικού. Κύριο θέμα της έρευνας αποτέλεσε η επίδραση του μέσου παρουσίασης (βιβλίο- βίντεο) όσον αφορά στην επεξεργασία και κατανόηση ενός αφηγηματικού κειμένου ενώ ως ερευνητικά ζητούμενα τέθηκαν οι διαφορές οι οποίες εντοπίζονται στην κατανόηση της ίδιας ιστορίας όταν αυτή παρουσιάζεται στους μαθητές σε έντυπη και σε ψηφιακή μορφή. Η συγκριτική μελέτη των αναδιηγήσεων των παιδιών και των ερωτήσεων κατανόησης που τους τέθηκαν μετά την πρόσληψη της ιστορίας αποτέλεσαν το μεθοδολογικό εργαλείο επεξεργασίας των ερευνητικών δεδομένων για την ανάδειξη των συμπερασμάτων της έρευνας.Written texts have always been the main factor for people to acquire knowledge and information. That is because written speech has decisively conduced to the transferring of ideas, beliefs and knowledge within societies for many centuries. Recently, though, the use of audiovisual systems has formed new communicative ways so that the conveyance of messages can be achieved with many different ways and not only through the language system. The context of a text is structured and presented multimodally through many different semiotic modes such as pictures, sound, movement e.t.c. forming this way a new reality in the process of elaboration and cognition of the text. From an early age and very often, children receive multimodal texts through programs watched in digital appliances such as: television, mobile phones and computers, as all these appliances are a big part of children’s everyday life. The comprehension of these texts constitutes a modern dimension of the reading process which, no matter the means, aims to the figuration of the meaning of the text by the reader. This new frame of processing and reading comprehension of these written and audiovisual texts has been the field of the bibliographical review concerning the present project. At the same time, based on this frame, a small research has been carried out among pupils of the 3rd Grade. The way the pupils have been affected by the means of presentation (book- video) concerning the elaboration and understanding of a narration has been the main issue of the research. In addition, the purpose of the research has been the differences that come up among the pupils, always referring to the comprehension of the same story as it is presented in written as well as in digital form. The comparative study of the pupils’ retelling and of their answers to certain comprehension questions has been the methodological tool for examining the research data so that the results of the research can be shown

Functional Re-organization of Cortical Networks of Senior Citizens After a 24-Week Traditional Dance Program

Neuroscience is developing rapidly by providing a variety of modern tools for analyzing the functional interactions of the brain and detection of pathological deviations due to neurodegeneration. The present study argues that the induction of neuroplasticity of the mature human brain leads to the prevention of dementia. Promising solution seems to be the dance programs because they combine cognitive and physical activity in a pleasant way. So, we investigated whether the traditional Greek dances can improve the cognitive, physical and functional status of the elderly always aiming at promoting active and healthy aging. Forty-four participants were randomly assigned equally to the training group and an active control group. The duration of the program was 6 months. Also, the participants were evaluated for their physical status and through an electroencephalographic (EEG) examination at rest (eyes-closed condition). The EEG testing was performed 1–14 days before (pre) and after (post) the training. Cortical network analysis was applied by modeling the cortex through a generic anatomical model of 20,000 fixed dipoles. These were grouped into 512 cortical regions of interest (ROIs). High quality, artifact-free data resulting from an elaborate pre-processing pipeline were segmented into multiple, 30 s of continuous epochs. Then, functional connectivity among those ROIs was performed for each epoch through the relative wavelet entropy (RWE). Synchronization matrices were computed and then thresholded in order to provide binary, directed cortical networks of various density ranges. The results showed that the dance training improved optimal network performance as estimated by the small-world property. Further analysis demonstrated that there were also local network changes resulting in better information flow and functional re-organization of the network nodes. These results indicate the application of the dance training as a possible non-pharmacological intervention for promoting mental and physical well-being of senior citizens. Our results were also compared with a combination of computerized cognitive and physical training, which has already been demonstrated to induce neuroplasticity (LLM Care)

Analysis of p27 mutations in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

B-CLL is characterized by the accumulation of resting lymphocytes. The cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor p27, inhibiting all cdk complexes, contributes to cell cycle arrest. High p27 protein expression has been reported in B-CLL correlating with poor prognosis. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of rearrangements and point mutations of the coding region of p27 gene in B-CLL.Methods:DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 35 patients with B-CLL. P27 gene rearrangements were studied by Southern blot. DNA was digested with EcoR1 and Hind III. The probe used was the PCR product of exon 1 p27 gene amplification, labeled with a32PdCTP (Multiprime DNA labeling protocol, Amersham). Mutational analysis was performed using a radioactive PCR-SSCP method. P27 exons 1 and 2 were amplified from 100ng of DNA using a32PdCTP for labeling. Electrophoresis of radiolabelled products was performed on a 0.5XMDE gel (MSDS, AT Biochem) at room temperature in 0.6TBE Buffer for 14 hours. Samples with altered migration pattern by SSCP were sequenced directly using the double-strand DNA Cycle Sequencing System. All amplified exons were sequenced in both sense and antisense direction.Results:The Southern analysis revealed non rearranged bands in 33/35 cases. Homozygous deletions were not observed. In 2/35 cases rearranged bands were detected with EcoR1 and Hind III enzymes. These cases included one with stage C and one with stage A disease.The PCR SSCP analysis of exon 2 detected normal pattern of migration in all cases. The analysis of exon 1 revealed abnormal migration pattern in 4/35 cases. One of those had stage C disease and presented a rearranged p27 band on Southern analysis also. Two cases had stage B and 1 stage A disease. Sequencing analysis of these cases showed that in this patient a previously described polymorphism was found in exon 1. This polymorphism represents a base substitution at codon 115 (GCGGCA) that results in no amino acid change A[Ala]A[Ala].Conclusion: P27 gene rearrangements were observed in B-CLL at a low frequency: 2/35(5.7%) of cases. Point mutations were detected by PCR SSCP screening in 4/35(11.4%) of the cases in the first exon of p27 gene. Sequencing of these cases revealed the presence of the ALA115ALA polymorphism. In conclusion these results indicate that CDKN1B might be rarely mutated in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.Κατά την μελέτη του γονιδίου p27 σε ασθενείς Χρόνια Λεμφοκυτταρική Λευχαιμία δεν διαπιστώθηκαν ελλείμματα ή σημειακές μεταλλάξεις του γονιδίου. Η μελέτη έγινε με βάση την τεχνική Southern blotting, PCR-SSCP αλλά και ανάλυση της νουκλεοτιδικής αλληλουχίας ύποπτων ασθενών. Αναδιατάξεις του P27 γονιδίου σε Β-ΧΛΛ ασθενείς παρατηρήθηκαν σε χαμηλή συχνότητα: 2/35 (5,7%) των περιπτώσεων. Η ανάλυση του 2ου εξωνίου με PCR SSCP έδειξε φυσιολογική εικόνα κατά την ηλεκτροφόρηση. Η ανάλυση του 1ου εξωνίου έδειξε επιπρόσθετες μπάντες κατά την ηλεκτροφόρηση σε 4 περιπτώσεις 4/35(11.4%). Η ανάλυση αλληλουχιών που ακολούθησε δεν επιβεβαίωσε μεταλλάξεις του γονιδίου εκτός από έναν πολυμορφισμό σε έναν μόνο ασθενή. Η βιολογική και κλινική σημασία αυτών των αλλοιώσεων μένει να αποσαφηνιστεί σε μελλοντικές μελέτες.Τα αποτελέσματα αυτά βρίσκονται σε συμφωνίας με αντίστοιχα αποτελέσματα άλλων μελετών που υποστηρίζουν ότι το γονίδιο p27Kip1 δεν είναι ένας συχνός στόχος μεταλλάξεων που προδιαθέτουν σε καρκίνο. Υπάρχουν μια σειρά από ανεξάρτητες ανακοινώσεις [374, 375], που έχουν δείξει την απουσία μεταλλάξεων του p27, σε μια σειρά από καρκίνους. Ωστόσο, το p27 ενεργεί σαν στοιχειομετρικός αναστολέας των G1-cyclin-cdks και ακόμα και μικρές αλλαγές στα σχετικά επίπεδα του p27 μπορούν να έχουν σημαντική επίδραση στην εξέλιξη στην G1 φάση [376]. Άρα είναι πιθανό ότι μετα-μεταγραφικές ή μετα-μεταφραστικές τροποποιήσεις, ή ακόμα και τροποποιημένο πρότυπο έκφρασης του p27, μπορεί να συμβάλει στη διεργασία της ογκογένεσης. Εναλλακτικά, άλλα γονίδια με τα προϊόντα αποκωδικοποίησής τους που επηρεάζουν ενισχυτικά ή κατασταλτικά τον p27 μηχανισμό δράσης, μπορεί να ευθύνονται για συγκεκριμένους καρκίνους

Infections Associated With the Hemophagocytic Syndrome

The hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is an unusual but potentially fatal disease resulting from dysregulated activation and proliferation of natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T cells. The term hemophagocytosis describes the pathological finding of activated macrophages, engulfing erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, and their precursor cells. The clinical appearance of the syndrome is heterogeneous, characterized by hemophagocytosis in bone marrow, liver, or lymph nodes, variable cytopenias, hyperferritinenia, hypercytokinemia, high fever, coagulation disorders, hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy. The syndrome can be either primary or secondary. Until recently, we believed that symptoms of HPS due to genetic causes generally arose during infancy and early childhood. The truth is that the first episode of HPS can occur throughout life, from prenatal to the seventh decade. With the availability of genetic testing, distinctions between primary (genetically determined) and secondary (acquired) forms of HPS have become increasingly blurred. Secondary or reactive HPS is associated with infections, autoimmune diseases, or malignancies. This review summarizes the pathogenesis, clinical and diagnostic features and management of HPS in the context of specific infections. It is important to realize that both primary and secondary syndromes can be precipitated by an infection, particularly Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and other herpes viruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza, parvovirus, hepatitis viruses, as well as bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections

Thyroid function during critical illness

AbstrAct The metabolic support of the critically ill patient is a relatively new target of active research and little is as yet known about the effects of critical illness on metabolism. The nonthyroidal illness syndrome, also known as the low T3 syndrome or euthyroid sick syndrome, describes a condition characterized by abnormal thyroid function tests encountered in patients with acute or chronic systemic illnesses. The laboratory parameters of this syndrome include low serum levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and high levels of reverse T3, with normal or low levels of thyroxine (t4) and normal or low levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). This condition may affect 60 to 70% of critically ill patients. The changes in serum thyroid hormone levels in the critically ill patient seem to result from alterations in the peripheral metabolism of the thyroid hormones, in TSH regulation, in the binding of thyroid hormone to transport-protein and in receptor binding and intracellular uptake. Medications also have a very important role in these alterations. Hormonal changes can be seen within the first hours of critical illness and, interestingly, these changes correlate with final outcome. Data on the beneficial effect of thyroid hormone treatment on outcome in critically ill patients are so far controversial. Thyroid function generally returns to normal as the acute illness resolves

Thyroid function changes and cytokine alterations following major surgery

To establish whether cytokine release is implicated in thyroid hormone changes during surgical stress we studied 36 adult patients (20 men; mean age +/- SD: 68.5 +/- 10.5 years) undergoing elective major abdominal operations. We measured tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and IL-10 and thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT 4) and triiodothyronine (T 3) before scheduled non-emergency surgery, immediately postoperatively, on the 1st postoperative day (post-1) and on the 2nd postoperative day (post-2). TNF alpha, IL-6 and IL-8 peaked on day post-1 whereas IL-10 peaked immediately postoperatively. Fourteen of 36 patients had low T 3 levels after surgery, indicating non-thyroidal illness (NTI). Significant negative correlations were noted among TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-8 against T-3 and FT4. Cytokines are responsible, at least in part, for NTI following major operations. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Burnout in Healthcare Professionals During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Healthcare professionals who are directly involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and general care of patients with SARS-CoV-2 are at risk of developing adverse psychological reactions. A cross-sectional study of healthcare professionals aimed to determine the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals in two of the largest referral hospitals in Athens, Greece