The Great Escape: Phosphorylation of Ena/VASP by PKA Promotes Filopodial Formation

The Ena/VASP family of proteins consists of adaptor molecules that localize to subcellular sites of actin polymerization. The role of Ena/VASP proteins in the regulation of cell motility and axon outgrowth has been controversial. Recently, these proteins have been proposed to function as anticapping factors, which may have differential effects on filopodial versus lammelipodial actin-based protrusions. A study by Lebrand et al. in this issue of Neuron supports this model and identifies PKA as a key regulator of Ena/VASP function downstream of the chemoattractant Netrin

Lesson study as a tool for rebuilding teachers' practical thinking: a bridge between espoused theories and theories-in-use

This Lesson Study forms part of the research work carried out by the Spanish team, in order to analyse the potential of this professional teacher development methodology for the reconstruction of teachers' practical thinking. It is a qualitative research process which involves the monitoring of seven infant school teachers during two school cycles. The teachers developed a Lesson Study over this period, with a practical thinking case study being carried out both before and after. This paper focuses on the Lesson Study case study. The Lesson Study was developed independently by the group of teachers, who were advised throughout by the undersigned researchers. At the same time, the researchers carried out a case study focusing on the Lesson Study being developed by the teachers. Findings/Conclusions: - From the start of the Lesson Study, we can find evidence of changes in the practical thinking of the teachers involved, which led to immediate changes in their classroom practice. - The development of the Lesson Study brought about significant reflection with regards to the Infant Education curriculum, in some cases resulting in substantial modification to the way it is implemented in their different classrooms. - The teachers pointed out the value of cooperative work on several different occasions. - They also emphasised the high level of learning they achieved by observing how their colleagues developed the lesson designed by the group using different strategies and data collection instruments, such as documentation inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, when reflecting on their own practice. On the whole, we can state that the cooperative design work of this lesson showed the contrast between the espoused theories of the participants and their theories-in-use, conditioned fundamentally by their work contexts and previous experience. Lesson Study is a way to bring these two poles closer together, enriching teachers with strategies to help detect contradictions in their practice and to resolve them and feel more comfortable with what they do.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Initial Teacher Training, Practical Knowledge and Lesson Study, a perfect trio. Case Study.

This paper focuses in analysing the possibility of reconstructing practical knowledge by incorporating Lesson Study (LS) in the Practicum III and the Final Dissertation in initial training for infant school teachers at Málaga University, Spain. The research has a qualitative approach, which is articulates through a case study. It achieved this by working with a group of five infant education undergraduates as they developed the Practicum III and Final Dissertation subjects. These subjects are studied during different terms, but are merged and articulated through the Lesson Study. Findings/Conclusions: - Introducing students to a complex, unknown learning context such as that posed by the LS brings out their practical knowledge, provoking the constant awakening of practical thinking. -The phases of the LS place María in a reflective dialogue between practice and theory, bringing about two key processes for the reconstruction of practical knowledge: theorisation of practice and experimentation of theory. - Cooperation and academic tutoring was a challenge and a trustworthy platform that allowed her to break away from traditional pedagogical conceptions and bring her espoused theories to life, enjoying the coherence of coordinating her espoused theories and her theories-in-use, and seeing how children communicated and cooperated autonomously.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Filopodial Calcium Transients Regulate Growth Cone Motility and Guidance through Local Activation of Calpain

AbstractSpontaneous intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) transients in growth cone filopodia reduce filopodial motility, slow neurite outgrowth, and promote turning when generated asymmetrically; however, the downstream effectors of these Ca2+-dependent behaviors are unknown. We report that Ca2+ transients in filopodia activate the intracellular protease calpain, which slows neurite outgrowth and promotes repulsive growth cone turning upon local activation. Active calpain alters the balance between tyrosine kinase and phosphatase activities in filopodia, resulting in a net decrease in tyrosine phosphorylation, which mediates both filopodial stabilization and reduced lamellipodial protrusion. Our findings indicate that locally generated Ca2+ signals repel axon outgrowth through calpain-dependent regulation of phosphotyrosine signaling at integrin-mediated adhesion sites

Src-Dependent Tyrosine Phosphorylation at the Tips of Growth Cone Filopodia Promotes Extension

Extracellular cues guide axon outgrowth by activating intracellular signaling cascades that control the growth cone cytoskeleton. However, the spatial and temporal coordination of signaling intermediates remains essentially unknown. Live imaging of tyrosine phosphorylation in growth cones revealed dynamic phospho-tyrosine (PY) signals in filopodia that directly correlate with filopodial behavior. Local PY signals are generated at distal tips of filopodia during extension and are lost during retraction. Active Src family kinases localize to the tips of filopodia, and Src activity regulates both filopodial dynamics and local PY signaling. Positive guidance cues stimulate filopodial motility by locally increasing tyrosine phosphorylation in a cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42)-dependent manner. Locally reduced Src activity on one side of the growth cone generates an asymmetry in filopodial motility and PY signaling that promotes repulsive turning, suggesting that local changes in filopodial PY levels may underlie growth cone pathfinding decisions. p21-activated kinase (PAK), a Cdc42 effector whose activity is regulated by Src phosphorylation, also localizes to the tips of extending filopodia and controls filopodial motility. Coordinated activation of cytoskeletal effector proteins by GTPase binding and Src-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation may function to produce specific growth cone behaviors in response to guidance cues

La enseñanza del español para fines específicos (EFE) y su direccionamiento a la Diplomacia y las Relaciones Internacionales

Learning/ teaching of Spanish is on the rise, from an economic and methodological perspective.The advancement and development of new language teaching methodologies generally improve the quality of language teaching, giving positive results in teaching-learning. The applicants for these courses are usually professionals or university students from a specific area who need to communicate effectively with native Spanish speakers in a specific area. In the case of Spanish in the field of business, commerce, tourism or health, it is easy to find materials; however, the situation is a bit more complex in the teaching of Spanish for Specific Purposes for Diplomacy and International Relations, an area in which courtesy and pragmatics play an important role.La enseñanza aprendizaje del español está al alza, tanto desde la perspectiva económica como metodológica. El aumento de estudiantes y la mejora en las técnicas didácticas ha provocado un aumento de las solicitudes de cursos de español general y, progresivamente, el incremento de solicitudes en cursos de español para fines específicos (EFE). Los demandantes de estos últimos suelen ser profesionales o estudiantes universitarios de un área determinada que necesitan comunicarse eficazmente con hablantes de la lengua española de un ámbito concreto. En el caso de la enseñanza de EFE en el campo de los negocios, comercio, turismo o salud es fácil encontrar materiales; sin embargo, la situación es un poco más compleja en la enseñanza de EFE dirigido a la Diplomacia y Relaciones Internacionales, área en la que cuestiones de cortesía y pragmatica juegan un papel importante.  O ensino-aprendizagem do espanhol está aumentando, tanto desde a perspectiva econômica como metodológica. O crescimento do número de estudantes e a melhora nas técnicas didáticas tem provocado um aumento das solicitações de cursos de espanhol em geral e, progressivamente, o incremento de solicitações em cursos de espanhol para fins específicos (EFE). Os demandantes destes últimos costumam ser profissionais ou estudantes universitários de uma determinada área que necessitam se comunicar eficazmente com falantes da língua espanhola de um âmbito concreto. No caso do ensino do  EFE no campo dos negócios, comércio, turismo ou saúde é fácil encontrar materiais; no entanto, a situação é um pouco mais complexa no ensino de EFE dirigido à Diplomacia e Relações Internacionais, área na qual questões de cortesia e pragmática têm um papel importante

The heritability of chimpanzee and human brain asymmetry

Human brains are markedly asymmetric in structure and lateralized in function, which suggests a relationship between these two properties. The brains of other closely related primates, such as chimpanzees, show similar patterns of asymmetry, but to a lesser degree, indicating an increase in anatomical and functional asymmetry during hominin evolution. We analysed the heritability of cerebral asymmetry in chimpanzees and humans using classic morphometrics, geometric morphometrics, and quantitative genetic techniques. In our analyses, we separated directional asymmetry and fluctuating asymmetry (FA), which is indicative of environmental influences during development. We show that directional patterns of asymmetry, those that are consistently present in most individuals in a population, do not have significant heritability when measured through simple linear metrics, but they have marginally significant heritability in humans when assessed through three-dimensional configurations of landmarks that reflect variation in the size, position, and orientation of different cortical regions with respect to each other. Furthermore, genetic correlations between left and right hemispheres are substantially lower in humans than in chimpanzees, which points to a relatively stronger environmental influence on left–right differences in humans. We also show that the level of FA has significant heritability in both species in some regions of the cerebral cortex. This suggests that brain responsiveness to environmental influences, which may reflect neural plasticity, has genetic bases in both species. These results have implications for the evolvability of brain asymmetry and plasticity among humans and our close relatives