Graditev partnerskega sodelovanja med ucitelji in starsi

This paper presents the goals of teacher-parent cooperation, various potential models for establishing mutual cooperation, and the conditions required to achieve quality interactive cooperation. The partnership model is highlighted as an optimal model of interactive cooperation between teachers and parents, as it includes the distribution of expertise and control with the purpose of ensuring optimal education for children. It enables the creation of an interactive working relationship in which all of those involved are respected and recognised in their efforts to achieve common goals. The second part presents the findings of an empirical study carried out on a representative sample of Slovene primary schools. Teachers (N = 467) and parents (N = 1,690) were asked to express their opinions about the need for mutual cooperation, their view of each other when fulfilling their respective roles, and where they perceive the main obstacles to mutual cooperation. It became evident that teachers and parents have doubts about each other’s competence. This does not form a solid base on which to establish and build the necessary partner relationship, and along with it mutual cooperation. Yet both groups to a large extent agree that teacher-parent cooperation is both necessary and useful. This gives rise to the question as to how to ensure that schools adopt policies pro¬moting opportunities for better understanding, for building quality mu¬tual relations and for parents to become more actively involved. (DIPF/Orig.

Vitamin D status and risk of anemia in patients with cardiovascular disease

Vitamin D deficiency and anemia are prevalent in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), and both are independent risk factors for increased morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological studies suggest an inverse association between vitamin D status and anemia risk in several populations. Earlier non-randomized intervention studies reported an increase in hemoglobin (Hb) values by administration of vitamin D metabolites. However, adequately powered, randomized controlled trials (RCT) with vitamin D are still warranted to assess whether vitamin D has beneficial effects on anemia. If confirmed, vitamin D supplementation could be a promising preventive or therapeutic option to decrease the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and anemia. Thus, the overall aim of this thesis was 1) to determine the associations between vitamin D metabolites and anemia in patients with CVD and 2) to determine if daily vitamin D supplementation can improve Hb levels and therefore anemia risk in CVD patients. Two cross-sectional studies (CHAPTER ONE and CHAPTER TWO) showed significant independent inverse associations between the vitamin D metabolites 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH]2D) and anemia risk in cardiac surgical patients and patients referred for coronary angiography. In both studies, the association of anemia was stronger with low circulating 1,25(OH)2D levels ( In conclusion, despite the promising results of the cross-sectional studies, this thesis argues against Hb-improving effects of vitamin D3 supplements that are of clinical relevance in patients with CVD. However, since 1,25(OH)2D concentrations show a stronger independent association with anemia risk than 25OHD levels and first interventional studies using 1,25(OH)2D administration showed promising results, future studies should explore the administration of active vitamin D metabolites in anemic and vitamin D deficient patients in more detail

Comprehending negation: A study with adults diagnosed with high functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.We investigated whether readers with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome (HA/AS) differ from normal controls with respect to pragmatic aspects of negation processing. We presented short stories to two groups of readers, a group of individuals diagnosed with HA/AS and a group of normal controls. The final sentence of each story either affirmed or negated a particular proposition, which in the pragmatically felicitous context corresponded to a highly plausible assumption for the situation at hand, but in the pragmatically infelicitous context to an implausible assumption. In line with our predictions, the group of healthy controls read the negative but not the affirmative target sentences more slowly in the pragmatically infelicitous than in the pragmatically felicitous contexts. In the pragmatically felicitous context, reading times for negative sentences were as fast as those for affirmative sentences. In contrast, for the clinical group, the context had no effect: Reading times for the negative target sentences were longer than those of the affirmative target sentences in both context versions. These results indicate that individuals with HA/AS indeed differ from normal controls with respect to negation processing. Moreover, these results are in line with the more general hypothesis that the differences between normal individuals and those with HA/AS concern pragmatic aspects of language processing

Expression of steroidogenic enzymes in porcine polycystic ovaries.

In the present study the expression pattern of the cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome (P450(scc)), 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) and aromatase (P450(arom)) was analyzed in the health and polycystic ovaries of gilts by means of the Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The polycystic status of ovaries was induced by i.m. dexamethasone (DXM) injections on days 7-21 of the estrous cycle. Macroscopic observation of ovaries of DXM-treated gilts revealed the presence of cysts (1-2 cm in diameter, with a mean number of 7.0+/-1.2 per ovary), a decrease (

Jasmonic acid induces changes in growth and polypeptide composition of fern gametophytes

We studied morphology of gametophytes of the fern Platycerium bifurcation 20 to 45 days after spore sowing. In addition, we examined the effects of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 or 100 μM jasmonic acid (JA) on their growth and polypeptide composition. Gametophytes cultured for 20 days on modified Knop’s medium were oblong to round in outline. 3-5 rhizoids appeared mainly on the basal cell and 2-3 unicellular hairs formed on the margins. After 30 days in culture, slightly heart-shaped gametophytes produced numerous rhizoids and hairs. Gametophytes cultured for 45 days were cordate and the first antheridia were observed on the ventral side. Hairs, frequently branched, appeared on gametophyte surface. The effect of JA on the growth of gametophytes was age-dependent. After 20 and 30 days in culture, JA had no pronounced effect in comparison to the control (medium without JA), while after 40 days at concentrations exceeding 0.1 μM JA growth of gametophytes was inhibited. Analysis of soluble proteins from 2 month old JA-treated gametophytes revealed some alterations in polypeptide patterns when compared to the control. The most marked was an increase in a 92-93 kDa polypeptide band at 10 and 100 μM JA in the medium

Effect of unilateral, intraovarian infusions of bacteria on ovarian morphology in gilts

The aim of this study was to investigate whether unilateral, intraovarian infusions of bacteria might have induced morphological changes in the contralateral ovary. Eleven sexually matured gilts with controlled estrous cycle were used. The animals were randomly divided into two groups: I (Gr. I, treated; n = 4), and II (Gr. II, control; n = 7). In Gr. I, 1 ml of bacterial suspension (103 colony forming units/ml of saline of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Corynebacterium pyogenes, in proportion 1:1:1) was infused into the hilus of one ovary from the 15th to the 19th day of the estrous cycle. At the same time, 1 ml of saline was infused into the hilus of the contralateral ovary and into both ovaries of the control gilts. On the 7th day of the next cycle, the ovaries were dissected out. There were no significant differences in the number of follicles and corpora lutea (CL) as well as in weight and size between the bacteria-infused, contralateral and control ovaries. The microscopic observations of the bacteria-infused ovaries revealed the presence of focal infiltrations of neutrophils in the softened stroma, especially around dilated blood vessels filled with erythrocytes. In the contralateral ovaries, the number of regularly distributed neutrophils in the softened stroma was greater than that found in the bacteria-treated ovaries. CL of the bacteria-infused ovaries had more numerous, dilated blood vessels than CL observed in the contralateral gonads. More neutrophils were found in CL of both ovaries in Gr. I as compared to those observed in Gr. II. In Gr. II, single neutrophils were found also in the stroma where the tip of the cannula was inserted. This study revealed that in gilts, unilateral, intraovarian administration of bacteria did not change the number of ovarian structures, the weight and size of the bacteria-infused and contralateral ovary, but induced inflammatory changes in both ovaries

Premature Mortality in Slovenia in Relation to Selected Biological, Socioeconomic, and Geographical Determinants

Aim: To determine biological (sex and age), socioeconomic (marital status, education, and mother tongue) and geographical (region) factors connected with causes of death and lifespan (age at death, years-of-potential-life-lost, and mortality rate) in Slovenia in the 1990s. Methods: In this population-based cross-sectional study, we analyzed all deaths in the 25-64 age group (N = 14 816) in Slovenia in 1992, 1995, and 1998. Causes of death, classified into groups according to the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, were linked to the data on the deceased from the 1991 Census. Stratified contingency-table analyses were performed. Years-of-potential-life-lost (YPLL) were calculated on the basis of population life-tables stratified by region and linearly modeled by the characteristics of the deceased. Poisson regression was applied to test the differences in mortality rate. Results: Across all socioeconomic strata, men died at younger age than women (index of excess mortality in men exceeded 200 for all studied years) and from different prevailing causes (injuries in men aged 35 years). For men, higher education was associated with fewer deaths from digestive and respiratory system diseases. The least educated women died relatively often from circulatory diseases, but rarely from neoplasms. Single people died from neoplasms less often. Marriage in comparison with divorce reduced the mortality rate by 1.9-fold in both men and women (P<0.001). Mortality rate in both men and women decreased with increasing education level (P<0.001). Mortality rate of ethnic Slovenians was half the mortality rate of ethnic minority members and immigrants (P<0.001). Analysis of YPLL revealed limited and nonlinear impact of education level on premature mortality. The share of neoplasms was the highest in the cluster of socioeconomically prosperous regions, whereas the share of circulatory diseases was increased in poorer regions. Significant differences were found between individual regions in age at death and mortality rate, and the differences decreased over the studied period. Conclusion: These data may aid in understanding the nature, prevalence and consequences of mortality as related to socioeconomic inequalities, and thus serve as a basis for setting health and social policy goals and planning health measures

Chapter Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles: Correlation of Structure and Magnetism

Filter bank multi‐carrier (FBMC) modulation, as a potential candidate for physical data communication in the fifth generation (5G) wireless networks, has been widely investigated. This chapter focuses on the spectral efficiency analysis of FBMC‐based cognitive radio (CR) systems, and spectral efficiency comparison is conducted with another three types of multi‐carrier modulations: orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), and universal‐filtered multi‐carrier (UFMC). In order to well evaluate and compare the spectral efficiency, we propose two resource allocation (RA) algorithms for single‐cell and two‐cell CR systems, respectively. In the single‐cell system, the RA algorithm is divided into two sequential steps, which incorporate subcarrier assignment and power allocation. In the two‐cell system, a noncooperative game is formulated and the multiple access channel (MAC) technique assists to solve the RA problem. The channel state information (CSI) between CR users and licensed users cannot be precisely known in practice, and thus, an estimated CSI is considered by defining a prescribed outage probability of licensed systems. Numerical results show that FBMC can achieve the highest channel capacity compared with another three waveforms

Sucrose Acceptance and Different Forms of Associative Learning of the Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L.) in the Field and Laboratory

The experiments analyze different forms of learning and 24-h retention in the field and in the laboratory in bees that accept sucrose with either low (≤3%) or high (≥30% or ≥50%) concentrations. In the field we studied color learning at a food site and at the hive entrance. In the laboratory olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response (PER) was examined. In the color learning protocol at a feeder, bees with low sucrose acceptance thresholds (≤3%) show significantly faster and better acquisition than bees with high thresholds (≥50%). Retention after 24 h is significantly different between the two groups of bees and the choice reactions converge. Bees with low and high acceptance thresholds in the field show no differences in the sucrose sensitivity PER tests in the laboratory. Acceptance thresholds in the field are thus a more sensitive behavioral measure than PER responsiveness in the laboratory. Bees with low acceptance thresholds show significantly better acquisition and 24-h retention in olfactory learning in the laboratory compared to bees with high thresholds. In the learning protocol at the hive entrance bees learn without sucrose reward that a color cue signals an open entrance. In this experiment, bees with high sucrose acceptance thresholds showed significantly better learning and reversal learning than bees with low thresholds. These results demonstrate that sucrose acceptance thresholds affect only those forms of learning in which sucrose serves as the reward. The results also show that foraging behavior in the field is a good predictor for learning behavior in the field and in the laboratory

Localization of substance P, calcitonin gene related peptide and galanin in the nerve fibers of porcine cystic ovaries

In a previous study, we showed that both the noradrenergic and cholinergic component of ovarian innervation is markedly changed in porcine cystic ovaries. The present study is aimed at elucidating the distribution pattern of substance P- (SP), calcitonin gene related peptide CGRP- and/or galanin (GAL)-containing nerve fibers within porcine cystic ovaries. The status polycysticus was induced by dexamethasone phosphate disodium salt i.m. injections performed from the 7th until the 21st day of the first studied estrous cycle. During the same period of time, gilts of the control group received saline. All animals were slaughtered on the expected 11th day of the second studied estrous cycle, and their ovaries were collected. When compared to control gonad, a distinct difference in the distribution pattern and the density of SP-, CGRP- and/or GAL-immunoreactive (GAL-IR) nerve fibers was observed. Thus, unlike in the control gonad, SP- and/or CGRP-IR perivascular nerve fibers were found to supply medullar blood vessels of polycystic ovary. Furthermore, the number of GAL-IR nerve fibers contributing to the ground plexus in polycystic ovaries was higher than that observed in the control gonads. Thus, as may be judged from the profound changes in the distribution pattern of differently chemically coded afferent terminals within polycystic gonads, it appears possible that neuropeptides released from these terminals may take part in the etiopathogenesis of this disorder. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica 2011; Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 622&#8211;630