A case study of psychoeducational intervention for language learning

This paper presents a case study focused on psychoeducational intervention for supporting language learning. It concerns a child that lost about 80% of hearing functioning at 11 months age, caused by an occlusive otitis. Despite successful surgery, the child didn’t learn to talk. The paper’s objective is to briefly describe the psychoeducational intervention used. This was based on inclusive practices aimed to develop language skills, and carried out by an interdisciplinary team in collaboration with primary school teachers. The methodology used for describing the case study consisted of a naturalistic observation that allowed collecting information on changes as result of the intervention. This permitted the analysis of the insights generated through practical experiences, and to find evidence in research on language learning. Also, the results emerged through the observation of this case study provided useful elements for encouraging the exploration of psychoeducational intervention’s potentiality, and inspire future trajectories of research

Ciechi per la matematica? Analisi delle difficolt\ue0 matematiche per la persona non vedente

La realt\ue0 delle persone prive della vista, e la didattica della matematica, rappresentano da sempre ambiti di estremo interesse teorico e pratico per la riflessione pedagogica. Comunemente considerabili come settori a s\ue9 stanti, lo stimolo ad una ricerca comune deriva da molteplici esigenze educative: da una parte, la constatazione che molti adolescenti ciechi sono costretti ad evitare curricula di studi che implichino elevate quantit\ue0 di materie scientifiche, perch\ue9 sprovvisti dei mezzi per affrontarle; dall\u2019altra, il fervente dibattito scientifico attorno alla didattica della matematica nelle scuole di ogni ordine e grado, rispetto ad una materia considerata tradizionalmente pi\uf9 problematica delle altre. Il percorso di ricerca che qui si delinea intende andare alle origini di queste due realt\ue0, distinte solo in apparenza, scoprendone in primo luogo i molti elementi comuni, al fine di chiedersi se esiste una logica condivisa che permetta di superarne le rispettive difficolt\ue0. La conclusione che ne deriva, dopo qualche anno di ricerca, \ue8 di una sconcertante semplicit\ue0: tutte le problematiche derivanti dalla psicopatologia della matematica e dall\u2019educazione del cieco provengono dal considerale realt\ue0 divise e indipendenti, in ultima analisi nel percepirle solo ad un livello sintomatico e superficiale. Gli approcci normalmente considerati tendono, tanto per la matematica quanto per l\u2019educazione del cieco, a considerarne solo la sintomatologia delle situazioni contingenti, senza operare un\u2019analisi delle cause profonde. L\u2019articolarsi dell\u2019argomentazione porta a scoprire che l\u2019educazione dei deprivati sensoriali e la rappresentazione matematica del mondo sottintendono la medesima radice comune. Nel primo capitolo si \ue8 cercato di riscoprire il valore storico e antropologico della rappresentazione matematica, rivalutando lo stretto legame con il quotidiano che tale materia implica. Nel capitolo secondo sono, in modo complementare, presentate le diverse situazioni di mancata comprensione del linguaggio matematico, a partire da deficit organici fino alle carenze di tipo pi\uf9 squisitamente educativo. La descrizione dei diversi modelli diagnostici e riabilitativi \ue8 il primo importante passo per comprendere quale collocazione sia possibile dare al cieco nel suo complesso rapporto con la matematica. Il terzo capitolo \ue8 logicamente speculare al precedente: centrato sulle persone non vedenti, si utilizzano i modelli riabilitativi esplicitati in precedenza per comprendere diverse implicazioni psicologiche afferenti alla realt\ue0 della privazione visiva. Nel quarto capitolo si riportano i resoconti pi\uf9 significativi degli incontri e delle interviste fatte nel corso della ricerca, prediligendo quei contributi che maggiore spessore hanno potuto dare agli elementi teorici e didattici. Alla trattazione ordinaria, seguono due appendici: la prima, una trattazione esaustiva della percettologia aptica, elaborata e messa a pubblica disposizione sul web dalla dott.sa Elena Pasquinelli, al tempo dottoranda in psicologia presso l\u2019Universit\ue0 di Pisa; la seconda, utilizzata e divulgata in diversi corsi di aggiornamento per insegnanti di scuola primaria, media inferiore e superiore, esplicita in modo semplice gli elementi concettuali di base della privazione visiva. Con grande sorpresa, soprattutto di chi scrive, la presente ricerca non porta alla strutturazione dell\u2019ennesimo modello riabilitativo specifico, n\ue9 verso la cecit\ue0, n\ue9 verso la matematica: la scoperta di tali e tanti elementi comuni vuole per\uf2 spingere la riflessione pedagogica verso una pi\uf9 approfondita analisi dell\u2019educazione e della didattica, a possibile soluzione dei diversi stati di empasse cui sono condannati, in egual misura, studenti ciechi e normodotati nelle scuole italiane.Not Avaiabl

Alfaxalone and Dexmedetomidine as an alternative to gas anesthesia for micro-CT lung imaging in a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis murine model

Micro-CT imaging could be considered a powerful non-invasive tool for accessing pulmonary fibrosis in mice. However, the choice of the anesthesia protocol plays a fundamental role to obtain robust and reproducible data, avoiding misinterpretations of the results. Inhaled anesthesia is commonly used for micro-CT lung imaging, but sometimes the standardization of the protocol may be challenging for routine activities in drug discovery. In this study we used micro-CT to evaluate the effects of two anesthetic protocols, consisting in Alfaxalone and Dexmedetomidine mixture, as injectable agents, and gaseous isoflurane, on vehicle and bleomycin-treated mice. No significant differences were highlighted between the protocols either for lung aeration degrees by micro-CT or histologic analyses in both the controls and bleomycin-treated groups. Our results support Alfaxalone and Dexmedetomidine mixture as a suitable and safe alternative compared to isoflurane for lung imaging. We also concluded that this injectable mixture may be applied for several imaging technologies and on different mice models

Land use change and agriculture role in managing green spaces: a methodology for land use change analyses

Land consumption is currently one of the major problems affecting green spaces, natural or agricultural. This issue is very important both for agricultural system functionality and, consequently, for its permanence. This paper proposes an analyzing tool of land use changes to support planning policies, in order to highlight the major determinants of land use that affect the permanence of agricultural activity. The case studies are Lodi, Milan and Monza Brianza Provinces, in Lombardy Region. One of the most important results are that exogenous variables, like population density or real estate value of residential buildings, are the most influencing agricultural land loss.Land consumption is currently one of the major problems affecting green spaces, natural or agricultural. This issue is very important both for agricultural system functionality and, consequently, for its permanence. This paper proposes an analyzing tool of land use changes to support planning policies, in order to highlight the major determinants of land use that affect the permanence of agricultural activity. The case studies are Lodi, Milan and Monza Brianza Provinces, in Lombardy Region. One of the most important results are that exogenous variables, like population density or real estate value of residential buildings, are the most influencing agricultural land loss

A wireless telecommunications network for real-time monitoring of greenhouse microclimate

An innovative wireless monitoring system for measuring greenhouse climatic parameters was developed to overcome the problems related to wires cabling such as presence of a dense net of wires hampering the cultivation practices, wires subjected to high temperature and relative humidity, rodents that can damage wires. The system exploits battery-powered environmental sensors, such as air temperature and relative humidity sensors, wind speed and direction, and solar radiation sensors, integrated in the contest of an 802.15.4-based wireless sensors network. Besides, a fruit diameter measurement sensor was integrated into the system. This approach guarantees flexibility, ease of deployment and low power consumption. Data collected from the greenhouse are then sent to a remote server via a general packet radio service link. The proposed solution has been implemented in a real environment. The test of the communication system showed that 0.3% of the sent data packed were lost; the climatic parameters measured with the wireless system were compared with data collected by the wired system showing a mean value of the absolute difference equal to 0.6°C for the value of the greenhouse air temperature. The wireless climate monitoring system showed a good reliability, while the sensor node batteries showed a lifetime of 530 days

Recensioni

1. RecensioneAnnalisa Morganti, Intelligenza emotiva e integrazione scolastica, Carocci, Roma, 2012, pp. 163 di Gianluca Amatori;2. RecensioneBruna Mazzoncini, Lucilla Musatti, I disturbi dello sviluppo. Bambini, genitori e insegnanti, Raffaello Cortina, Milano, 2012, pp. 251di Fabio Bocci e Ilaria Quaglieri;3. RecensioneDaniele Fedeli, Il disturbo da deficit d’attenzione e iperattività, Carocci, Roma, 2012, pp. 207 di Francesca Maria Corsi;4. RecensioneFrancesco Susi, Educare senza escludere. Studi e ricerche sulla formazione, Armando, Roma, 2012, pp. 176 di Fabio Bocc

What Is the Role of Nanotechnology in Diagnosis and Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer? Promising Scenarios for the Near Future

Metastatic breast cancer represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to tumor heterogeneity and to various physiological barriers that hinder drug delivery to the metastatic sites. To overcome these limitations, nanoformulated drugs have been developed and tested in preclinical studies, and few of them have been successfully translated into clinical practice. In particular, liposomal anthracyclines and nanoformulated albumin-bound paclitaxel have revealed an improved therapeutic index when compared to conventional chemotherapy, with significant reduction of drugs toxicity. Several strategies for nanoparticles engineering have more recently been explored to increase selectivity for tumor cells and to reach poorly accessible metastatic districts. Targeted nanoparticles, directed toward tumor markers and tissue-specific metastases, may provide effective devices in case of low-vascularized and small-sized metastases, thus paving the way for a real change in the natural history of metastatic disease. A number of targets have been identified and exploited for surface functionalization of different types of nanoparticles, which are currently undergoing preclinical studies. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of current nanotechnology applied to metastatic breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Promising results encourage an upcoming translation of this research into clinical practice for an effective management of the disease in the near future

Targeting the Spike: Repurposing Mithramycin and Dihydroergotamine to Block SARS-CoV-2 Infection

: The urgency to find complementary therapies to current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, whose effectiveness is preserved over time and not compromised by the emergence of new and emerging variants, has become a critical health challenge. We investigate the possibility of jamming the opening of the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 with small compounds. Through in silico screening, we identified two potential candidates that would lock the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) in a closed configuration, preventing the virus from infecting the host cells. We show that two drugs already approved by the FDA, mithramycin and dihydroergotamine, can block infection using concentrations in the μM range in cell-based assays. Further STD-NMR experiments support dihydroergotamine's direct interaction with the spike protein. Overall, our results indicate that repurposing of these compounds might lead to potential clinical drug candidates for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Development of collaborative editing applications through semantic publish-subscribe platforms

Cloud computing revolutionized the way resources (i.e. services and data) are accessed and used. Among the many changes in data processing and service provision paradigms, Software as a Service (SaaS) and collaborative editing are two of the most significant. This paper presents an approach based on semantic publish/subscribe paradigm to the development of collaborative editing applications. The main aim of this research work consists in exploiting emerging technologies (i.e. semantic web data representation formalisms, publish-subscribe platforms) in order to (1) overcome limitations coming from the traditional paradigm of single-author workflows, (2) enhance the editing capabilities of the users, (3) ease the development and maintainment of applications and (4) provide a shared high- level abstraction of the documents that fosters information-level interoperability and reusability. The proposed approach is then validated through an ad-hoc vector graphics application, SCEd (Semantic Collaborative Editor) built upon a SPARQL Event Processing Architecture derived from the Smart-M3 semantic publish-subscribe platform