Use of didactic terminology by teachers at various stages of professional communication

The article is based on the study that involved 115 students acquiring professional pedagogical education and 115 practicing teachers. The article describes the process of emergence of individual conceptual and terminological frameworks during various stages of professional communication, i.e. training and pedagogical activity. Individual frameworks of concepts have been studied through comparison of interpretations of definitions of basic didactic concepts by respondents (a total of 3487 definitions have been processed), 353 concept maps, as well as wordings of professionally significant problems in which didactic terms were used as well (a total of 400 statements have been analyzed). Factors that influence the nature of how teachers use didactic terms in various instances of professional communication have been described

Case Method as a Tool for Evaluation and Development of Terminological Competence of Future Teachers

Introduction. Theoretical and practical aspects of applying case methods have been considered for the first time as tools for developing terminological competence of students mastering educational programs in the field of pedagogics. The aim of the study is to determine scientific basis for choosing and applying cases while studying specifics of development of terminological competence in the field of didactics, and assessment of their efficiency at different levels of professional training of a teacher . Materials and methods. The study is based on the analysis of solution of pedagogical cases. The data were processed using mathematical statistics methods. The sample included 860 persons, among them students currently undergoing vocational training and those receiving higher education, teachers of secondary schools and institutions of secondary vocational pedagogical education. Results. The findings of the study indicate that object-cognitive, professional-speech and reflective-evaluation cases provide for efficient use of the case method in evaluation of the level of formedness of terminological competence. Empirical verification of the cases allowed to identify differences in the extent to which terminological competence of future teachers is formed at different stages of professional training, and the significance of object-cognitive component in ensuring that professional terminology is duly mastered. The effectiveness of completion of different case types was evaluated. This study expanded our understanding of principles of selection and structuring of case tasks to evaluate and improve development of future teachers’ terminological competence in the course of learning theoretical basics of modern teaching. The research results provide a better understanding of case methods in pedagogical education. Discussion and conclusion. The case method is an important issue for future research. A further study of the other subject fields in professional pedagogical training with special focus on the level of terminological competence of educators in secondary and vocational schools is suggested. Practical significance of this article lies in the prospect of uncovering potential capabilities of the case method for diagnostic and didactic purposes in universities

Selective footprints and genes relevant to cold adaptation and other phenotypic traits are unscrambled in the genomes of divergently selected chicken breeds

Background: The genomes of worldwide poultry breeds divergently selected for performance and other phenotypic traits may also be affected by, and formed due to, past and current admixture events. Adaptation to diverse environments, including acclimation to harsh climatic conditions, has also left selection footprints in breed genomes. Results: Using the Chicken 50K_CobbCons SNP chip, we genotyped four divergently selected breeds: two aboriginal, cold tolerant Ushanka and Orloff Mille Fleur, one egg-type Russian White subjected to artificial selection for cold tolerance, and one meat-type White Cornish. Signals of selective sweeps were determined in the studied breeds using three methods: (1) assessment of runs of homozygosity islands, (2) FST based population differential analysis, and (3) haplotype differentiation analysis. Genomic regions of true selection signatures were identified by two or more methods or in two or more breeds. In these regions, we detected 540 prioritized candidate genes supplemented them with those that occurred in one breed using one statistic and were suggested in other studies. Amongst them, SOX5, ME3, ZNF536, WWP1, RIPK2, OSGIN2, DECR1, TPO, PPARGC1A, BDNF, MSTN, and beta-keratin genes can be especially mentioned as candidates for cold adaptation. Epigenetic factors may be involved in regulating some of these important genes (e.g., TPO and BDNF). Conclusion: Based on a genome-wide scan, our findings can help dissect the genetic architecture underlying various phenotypic traits in chicken breeds. These include genes representing the sine qua non for adaptation to harsh environments. Cold tolerance in acclimated chicken breeds may be developed following one of few specific gene expression mechanisms or more than one overlapping response known in cold-exposed individuals, and this warrants further investigation

Prevalence of psychoactive substance use among acutely hospitalised patients in Oslo and Moscow: a cross-sectional, observational study

Objectives The use of psychoactive prescription medication is increasing in the general population. This is a cause for concern, particularly among the elderly, where physiological changes related to senescence increase the risk for adverse effects. While previous studies regarding psychoactive substance use have generally been population based, we sought to determine the frequency of such use among acutely hospitalised patients. Setting Two emergency departments (EDs), one in Oslo and one in Moscow, admitting patients to Departments of Internal Medicine. Participants 5583 patients aged ≥18 years participated, distributed evenly between genders and study locations. Patients unable to give informed consent were excluded. The study sites did not admit patients with surgical conditions and/or injuries. Primary and secondary outcomes The presence of psychoactive substances was determined through blood analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Secondary outcomes comprised demographic data (including age, gender, employment and marital status), degree of psychological distress, concurrent alcohol use, and self-reported alcohol, psychoactive drug and illicit substance use. Results 32.3% in Oslo and 12% in Moscow were positive for one or more psychoactive medicinal drugs (benzodiazepines, z-hypnotics, opioids or barbiturates). In Oslo, medicinal drug use was associated with being aged 61 to 70 years (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.61 to 3.58) compared with 18 to 40 years, and psychological distress (OR 2.61, 95% CI 2.06 to 3.30). In Moscow, psychoactive medicinal drug use was also associated with psychological distress (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.39), and was less common among patients aged 41 to 60 years (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.88) than among patients aged 18 to 40 years. Conclusion A significant proportion of admitted patients used one or more psychoactive medicinal drugs, in particular benzodiazepines (Oslo and Moscow) and opiates (Oslo). We suggest formalised screening for inappropriate prescription drug use and increased adherence to clinical prescription guidelines

Harmful alcohol use among acutely ill hospitalized medical patients in Oslo and Moscow: A cross-sectional study

Background The aim was to estimate the prevalence of harmful alcohol use in relation to socio-demographic characteristics among acutely ill medical patients, and examine identification measures of alcohol use, including the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol 16:0/18:1 (PEth). Methods A cross-sectional study, lasting one year at one hospital in Oslo, Norway and one in Moscow, Russia recruiting acute medically ill patients (≥ 18 years), able to give informed consent. Self-reported data on socio-demographics, mental distress (Symptom Check List-5), alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-4 (AUDIT-4) and alcohol consumption past 24 h were collected. PEth and alcohol concentration were measured in whole blood. Results Of 5883 participating patients, 19.2% in Moscow and 21.1% in Oslo were harmful alcohol users, measured by AUDIT-4, while the prevalence of PEth-positive patients was lower: 11.4% in Oslo, 14.3% in Moscow. Men in Moscow were more likely to be harmful users by AUDIT-4 and PEth compared to men in Oslo, except of those being ≥ 71 years. Women in Oslo were more likely to be harmful users compared to those in Moscow by AUDIT-4, but not by PEth for those aged < 61 years. Conclusions The prevalence of harmful alcohol use was high at both study sites. The prevalence of harmful alcohol use was lower when assessed by PEth compared to AUDIT-4. Thus, self-reporting was the most sensitive measure in revealing harmful alcohol use among all groups except for women in Moscow. Hence, screening and identification with objective biomarkers and self-reporting might be a method for early intervention

Erratum to: Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition) (Autophagy, 12, 1, 1-222, 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

non present