Adult reversal of cognitive phenotypes in neurodevelopmental disorders

Recent findings in mice suggest that it is possible to reverse certain neurodevelopmental disorders in adults. Changes in development, previously thought to be irreparable in adults, were believed to underlie the neurological and psychiatric phenotypes of a range of common mental health problems with a clear developmental component. As a consequence, most researchers have focused their efforts on understanding the molecular and cellular processes that alter development with the hope that early intervention could prevent the emergent pathology. Unexpectedly, several different animal model studies published recently, including animal models of autism, suggest that it may be possible to reverse neurodevelopmental disorders in adults: Addressing the underlying molecular and cellular deficits in adults could in several cases dramatically improve the neurocognitive phenotypes in these animal models. The findings reviewed here provide hope to millions of individuals afflicted with a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, since they suggest that it may be possible to treat or even cure them in adults

Bologna process, more or less: nursing education in the European economic area: a discussion paper

Palese A, Zabalegui A, Sigurdardottir AK, Bergin M, Dobrowolska B, Gasser C, Pajnkihar M, Jackson C. Abstract Abstract The Bologna Declaration and the subsequent processes is the single most important reform of higher education taking place in Europe in the last 30 years. Signed in 1999, it includes 46 European Union countries and aimed to create, a more coherent, compatible, comparable and competitive European Higher Education Area. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Bologna Declaration achievements in nursing education at 2010 within eight countries that first signed the Declaration on 1999. Researchers primarily identified national laws, policy statements, guidelines and grey literature; then, a literature review on Bologna Declaration implementation in nursing was conducted on the Medline and CINAHL databases. Critical analyses of these documents were performed by expert nurse educators. Structural, organizational, functional and cultural obstacles are hindering full Bologna Process implementation in nursing education within European Economic Area. A call for action is offered in order to achieve a functionally unified system within nursing

SPECIFIC SEMINAR COMPETENCES AND THEIR ACQUISITION LEVEL Code Competences Level

(This information is for guidance purposes only. It may vary due to changes in the format of the guide, errors, omissions or any incidents occurred during the semester in which the module takes place.

Conceptualising the role of Information and Communication Technologies in the design of higher education teaching models used in the UK

Despite the widespread availability of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and some research into specific pedagogical practices using them, there has been little research on the role of these technologies in shaping broader pedagogical approaches in higher education (HE). Increased experimentation in using ICTs raises questions about their pedagogical role in teaching, learning and assessment provision, and in creating innovative pedagogies. An accepted approach is needed to compare the different ways ICTs and rich media are used in HE teaching models. Within the SusTEACH HE sustainability research project this was needed to support the carbon-based environmental assessment of HE courses using ICTs. Building on a review of learning design theories and models, and ICTs used for pedagogical purposes, this paper considers several approaches to conceptualising the role of ICTs in HE courses, leading to the development of the Teaching Models Rating Tool designed to examine the role of ICTs in course provision. This tool characterises courses as using Face-to-face Teaching Models; Distance Teaching Models; ICT-enhanced blended Teaching Models; or Online Teaching Models. Whilst this Tool was designed to support research on sustainable HE teaching models in the UK, it has wider applications to support comparative assessments of pedagogical and economic impacts. Further developments will be informed by the complex and evolving role of ICTs in HE teaching models