The Role of the County Professional Council in Advanced Training and Professional Development of Class Teachers

Stručno usvršavanje je obvezan dio učiteljskog posla koji se provodi na četiri osnovne razine: individualnoj, školskoj, županijskoj i državnoj. Brojne su prednosti i nedostaci svakog oblika usavršavanja, a svi su oni na putu profesionalnog razvoja učitelja jednako važni i korisni. U radu je prikazan model stručnog usvršavanja učitelja na županijskoj razini (Županijsko stručno vijeće učitelja razredne nastave – Grad Sisak) pri čemu veliku ulogu imaju upravo županijski voditelji koji su poveznica između školske i državne razine stručnog usavršavanja učitelja.Advanced training is a mandatory part of teacher’s job and it is being carried out at four basic levels: individual, school, county and state level. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of any form of training, and they are all equally important and useful in the course of professional development of teachers. This study presents the model of advanced training of class teachers at county level (County professional council of class teachers – the Town of Sisak), where the very county leaders, who are the link between the school and state level of advanced training of teachers, have a great role

PCR amplification and DNA sequence analysis of the DNA fragment encoding the <i>B</i>. <i>pseudomallei</i> phage tail tubular protein B.

<p>DNA from soil-isolated and MMC-induced temperate phages were used as a template to PCR amplify the fragment of a gene encoding the phage tail tubular protein B. The 325-bp DNA fragment was detected in each case. A negative PCR control (N) and 100-bp DNA marker were included (A). Nucleotide sequences comparison of the phage tail tubular protein B DNA amplified from ΦBp-RE1 and ΦBp-AMP1 is shown (B).</p

The growth of mitomycin C (MMC)-treated <i>B</i>. <i>pseudomallei</i> cultures and Transmission Electron Microscopy assessment of the induced phages.

<p>Growth of different strains following MMC induction. The MMC-treated cultures show a decline in optical density (OD_600nm) after addition of MMC that is not observed in the untreated culture (A). Soil-isolated (B) and MMC-induced temperate (C) phages have similar icosahedral heads with short, non-contractile tails, which are characteristic of phages in the <i>Podoviridae</i> family.</p

Distributions of <i>B</i>. <i>pseudomallei</i> and their phages in soil samples.

<p>The 86 (A) and 15 (B) soil samplings were collected from Roi-Et province in northeastern Thailand during rainy season. Each square represents a 2.5 m x 2.5 m area of the field, in which soil sample was taken at a depth of 30 cm. The presence of <i>B</i>. <i>pseudomallei</i> and phages was assessed in each sample and the results are shown in this Figure.</p

Restriction enzyme analyses of <i>B</i>. <i>pseudomallei</i> phages.

<p>Genomic DNA extracted from soil isolated (ΦBp-RE4-5) and MMC-induced (ΦBp-RE1-3) <i>B</i>. <i>pseudomallei</i> phages were digested with restriction enzyme <i>Bst</i>BI (A) or <i>Mlu</i>I (B) and analyzed using agarose gel electrophoresis. Different DNA patterns were observed when digested with the <i>Mlu</i>I restriction enzyme. A 1-kb DNA ladder was included as a DNA marker.</p

Designing Probes for Immunodiagnostics: Structural Insights into an Epitope Targeting <i>Burkholderia</i> Infections

Structure-based epitope prediction drives the design of diagnostic peptidic probes to reveal specific antibodies elicited in response to infections. We previously identified a highly immunoreactive epitope from the peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (Pal) antigen from <i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i>, which could also diagnose <i>Burkholderia cepacia</i> infections. Here, considering the high phylogenetic conservation within <i>Burkholderia</i> species, we ask whether cross-reactivity can be reciprocally displayed by the synthetic epitope from <i>B. cenocepacia</i>. We perform comparative analyses of the conformational preferences and diagnostic performances of the corresponding epitopes from the two <i>Burkholderia</i> species when presented in the context of the full-length proteins or as isolated peptides. The effects of conformation on the diagnostic potential and cross-reactivity of Pal peptide epitopes are rationalized on the basis of the 1.8 Å crystal structure of <i>B. cenocepacia</i> Pal and through computational analyses. Our results are discussed in the context of designing new diagnostic molecules for the early detection of infectious diseases

Outline of the algorithm.

<p>We aim to describe the immunogenicity of a peptide:HLA combination as a number between 0 and 1. For each subject, the outcome of the ELISpot assay is known, together with a list of their HLA alleles. The user can add prior knowledge in the form of a prior distribution. In the example, the prior knowledge describes the belief that HLA class II allele <i>A</i> is not immunogenetic in combination with the peptide, while HLA class-II allele <i>B</i> is. The output of the algorithm consists of posterior marginal distributions of the values <i>E</i>_<i>j</i>. In the example, it is found that allele <i>A</i> is more immunogenic that allele <i>B</i> in combination with the peptide.</p

Simulated data based on the <i>Burkholderia</i> dataset.

<p>(A) Evolution of the AUC with sample size, for different cut-offs on what is considered to be an immunogenic response. (B) ROC curves for different population sizes, based on a cut-off for immunogenicity of 0.4.</p

Application of the algorithm to the <i>Burkholderia</i> data set, with (dashed lines) and without (solid lines) inclusion of prior information.

<p>(A) Marginal posteriors of the peptide:HLA immunogenicities for BPSL2096 1–20 (Allele count in the cohort in brackets). (B) ROC curves were generated by comparing the mode of the posterior distributions against the transgenic mouse data set. For these curves, we have removed all posterior distributions whose Kullback-Leibler divergence with respect to the uniform distribution on the unit interval was smaller than that of the Beta(1,2) distribution.</p

Structure-Based Design of a B Cell Antigen from <i>B. pseudomallei</i>

<i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i> is the etiological agent of melioidosis, a severe endemic disease in South-East Asia, causing septicemia and organ failure with high mortality rates. Current treatments and diagnostic approaches are largely ineffective. The development of new diagnostic tools and vaccines toward effective therapeutic opportunities against <i>B. pseudomallei</i> is therefore an urgent priority. In the framework of a multidisciplinary project tackling melioidosis through reverse and structural vaccinology, BPSL1050 was identified as a candidate for immunodiagnostic and vaccine development based on its reactivity against the sera of melioidosis patients. We determined its NMR solution structure and dynamics, and by novel computational methods we predicted immunogenic epitopes that once synthesized were able to elicit the production of antibodies inducing the agglutination of the bacterium and recognizing both BPSL1050 and <i>B. pseudomallei</i> crude extracts. Overall, these results hold promise for novel chemical biology approaches in the discovery of new diagnostic and prophylactic tools against melioidosis