L’ordenació normativa del model educatiu trilingüe a les Illes Balears

La normativa que regula el model lingüístic del sistema educatiu de les Illes Balears ha sofert, des dels seus orígens a l’actualitat, una evolució que havia configurat un marc jurídic i un desenvolupament normatiu que definien, amb la Llei de normalització lingüística (1986) com a base, un model anomenat de conjunció lingüística o de bilingüisme integral. Es tracta d’un procés llarg en el temps i que, sovint amb dificultats, gradualment havia obtingut uns nivells de consens entre els diversos agents que feien que l’ensenyament en català assolís fites que mai no havia aconseguit, i això sense conflictes i sense cap minva en el coneixement i l’ús del castellà per part de l’alumnat. Aquesta situació s’havia consolidat, però amb la implementació d’un seguit de mesures normatives que, teòricament, es proposaven la conformació d’un model educatiu trilingüe, des de 2012 s’han modificat substancialment les línies bàsiques del model existent, i això ha suposat una sacsejada del sistema educatiu que, en el sector públic principalment, ha entrat en una crisi com no hi havia precedents. L’estudi pretén posar de manifest, des de la perspectiva de la normativa, quins són els elements substancials del canvi.La normativa reguladora del modelo lingüístico del sistema educativo de las Illes Balears ha experimentado, desde sus orígenes a la actualidad, una evolución que configuraba un marco jurídico y un desarrollo normativo que definían, con la Ley de Normalización Lingüística (1986) como base, un modelo denominado de conjunción lingüística o de bilingüismo integral. Se trata de un proceso prolongado en el tiempo y que, a menudo con dificultades, había obtenido gradualmente unos niveles de consenso entre los diversos agentes que propiciaban que la enseñanza en catalán alcanzara hitos que jamás había conseguido, y todo ello sin conflictos y sin menoscabo en el conocimiento y uso del castellano por parte del alumnado. Esta situación se había consolidado, pero con la implementación de un conjunto de medidas normativa que, teóricamente, se proponían establecer un modelo educativo trilingüe, desde 2012 se han modificado substancialmente las líneas básicas del modelo existente y ello ha provocado una sacudida del sistema educativo que, principalmente en el sector público, ha entrado en una crisis sin precedentes. El estudio pretende poner de manifiesto, desde la perspectiva de la normativa, cuáles son los elementos substanciales del cambio

Involvement of A13 dopaminergic neurons in prehensile movements but not reward in the rat.

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-containing neurons of the dopamine (DA) cell group A13 are well positioned to impact known DA-related functions as their descending projections innervate target regions that regulate vigilance, sensory integration, and motor execution. Despite this connectivity, little is known regarding the functionality of A13-DA circuits. Using TH-specific loss-of-function methodology and techniques to monitor population activity in transgenic rats in vivo, we investigated the contribution of A13-DA neurons in reward and movement-related actions. Our work demonstrates a role for A13-DA neurons in grasping and handling of objects but not reward. A13-DA neurons responded strongly when animals grab and manipulate food items, whereas their inactivation or degeneration prevented animals from successfully doing so-a deficit partially attributed to a reduction in grip strength. By contrast, there was no relation between A13-DA activity and food-seeking behavior when animals were tested on a reward-based task that did not include a reaching/grasping response. Motivation for food was unaffected, as goal-directed behavior for food items was in general intact following A13 neuronal inactivation/degeneration. An anatomical investigation confirmed that A13-DA neurons project to the superior colliculus (SC) and also demonstrated a novel A13-DA projection to the reticular formation (RF). These results establish a functional role for A13-DA neurons in prehensile actions that are uncoupled from the motivational factors that contribute to the initiation of forelimb movements and help position A13-DA circuits into the functional framework regarding centrally located DA populations and their ability to coordinate movement

Metal-based gels: Synthesis, properties, and applications

This review covers various aspects of recent developments on the design, the synthesis, the characterization of gels that: (i) are formed in the presence of metal ions (metallogels); (ii) are based on coordination complexes as gelators. Particular attention is devoted to systems that show recognition and sensing properties towards different analytes

Exploring the interdependencies of research funders in the UK

Investment in medical research is vital to the continuing improvement of the UK's health and wealth. It is through research that we expand our understanding of disease and develop new treatments for patients. Medical research charities currently contribute over £1 billion annually to medical research in the UK, of which over £350 million is provided by Cancer Research UK. Many charities, including Cancer Research UK, receive no government funding for their research activity. Cancer Research UK is engaged in a programme of work in order to better understand the medical research funding environment and demonstrate the importance of sustained investment. A key part of that is the Office of Health Economics‟ (OHE) 2011 report “Exploring the interdependency between public and charitable medical research”. This study found that there are substantial benefits, both financial and qualitative, from the existence of a variety of funders and that reductions in the level of government financial support for medical research are likely to have broader negative effects. This contributed to other evidence which found that the activities and funding of the charity, public and private sectors respectively are complementary, i.e. mutually reinforcing, rather than duplicative or merely substituting for one another. “Exploring the interdependencies of research funders in the UK” by the Office of Health Economics (OHE) and SPRU: Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Sussex, represents a continued effort to build the evidence base around the funding of medical research. This report uncovers the extent to which funders of cancer research are interdependent, nationally and internationally. Key figures show that two thirds of publications acknowledging external support have relied on multiple funders, while just under half benefited from overseas funding, and almost a fifth are also supported by industry. In addition the analysis shows that the general public would not want tax funding of cancer research to be reduced, but would not donate enough to charities to compensate for any such reduction