Schrijven en schrijfonderwijs : inleiding op het themanummer

Dit themanummer bestaat uit 6 artikelen en een discussiebijdrage over schrijven en schrijfonderwijs in Nederland en Vlaanderen. Dit themanummer komt voort uit een groep van Vlaamse en Nederlandse schrijfonderzoekers die regelmatig samenkomen om zowel nationale als internationale trends binnen het schrijfonderzoek te bespreken en te bediscussiëren. Door dit werk te bundelen in een themanummer van Pedagogische Studiën ontstaat een goed beeld van de meest recente theoretische en empirische inzichten in het schrijfonderzoek van Vlaanderen en Neder- land. In dit inleidende hoofdstuk beschrijven we de belangrijkste thema’s op het gebied van schrijven en schrijfonderwijs en laten we zien hoe de verschillende bijdragen in dit themanummer hierop aansluiten

Forecast combination for discrete choice models: predicting FOMC monetary policy decisions

This paper provides a methodology for combining forecasts based on several discrete choice models. This is achieved primarily by combining one-step-ahead probability forecast associated with each model. The paper applies well-established scoring rules for qualitative response models in the context of forecast combination. Log-scores and quadratic-scores are both used to evaluate the forecasting accuracy of each model and to combine the probability forecasts. In addition to producing point forecasts, the effect of sampling variation is also assessed. This methodology is applied to forecast the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decisions in changing the federal funds target rate. Several of the economic fundamentals influencing the FOMC decisions are nonstationary over time and are modelled in a similar fashion to Hu and Phillips (2004a, JoE). The empirical results show that combining forecasted probabilities using scores mostly outperforms both equal weight combination and forecasts based on multivariate models

Approximate COSMIC functional size - guideline for approximate COSMIC functional size measurement

The COSMIC method provides a standardized way of measuring the functional size of software from the functional domains commonly referred to as 'business application' or 'Management Information Systems' (MIS) and 'real-time' software, and hybrids of these. In practice it is often sufficient to measure a functional size approximately. Typical situations where such a need arises are early in the life of a project, before the functional user requirements ('FUR') have been specified down to the level of detail where the precise size measurement is possible or when a measurement is needed, but there is insufficient time or no need to measure the required size using the standard method. The guideline describes the current state of the art with regard to approximate COSMIC functional size measurement. All proposed COSMIC approximation methods rely on determining some average of the size(s) and/or number(s) of functional processes. The fact that the size of a single functional process has no upper finite limit is probably the reason why multiple COSMIC approximation methods have been developed for different types of software. Therefore the guideline describes a number of approximation methods with their pros and cons, their recommended area of application and their validity, rather than document a single COSMIC approximation method

Programmed Death Ligand 2 in Cancer-Induced Immune Suppression

Inhibitory molecules of the B7/CD28 family play a key role in the induction of immune tolerance in the tumor microenvironment. The programmed death-1 receptor (PD-1), with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2, constitutes an important member of these inhibitory pathways. The relevance of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in cancer has been extensively studied and therapeutic approaches targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 have been developed and are undergoing human clinical testing. However, PD-L2 has not received as much attention and its role in modulating tumor immunity is less clear. Here, we review the literature on the immunobiology of PD-L2, particularly on its possible roles in cancer-induced immune suppression and we discuss the results of recent studies targeting PD-L2 in cancer

Characteristics of TCR repertoire associated with successful immune checkpoint therapy responses

Immunotherapies have revolutionized cancer treatment. In particular, immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) leads to durable responses in some patients with some cancers. However, the majority of treated patients do not respond. Understanding immune mechanisms that underlie responsiveness to ICT will help identify predictive biomarkers of response and develop treatments to convert non-responding patients to responding ones. ICT primarily acts at the level of adaptive immunity. The specificity of adaptive immune cells, such as T and B cells, is determined by antigen-specific receptors. T cell repertoires can be comprehensively profiled by high-throughput sequencing at the bulk and single-cell level. T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing allows for sensitive tracking of dynamic changes in antigen-specific T cells at the clonal level, giving unprecedented insight into the mechanisms by which ICT alters T cell responses. Here, we review how the repertoire influences response to ICT and conversely how ICT affects repertoire diversity. We will also explore how changes to the repertoire in different anatomical locations can better correlate and perhaps predict treatment outcome. We discuss the advantages and limitations of current metrics used to characterize and represent TCR repertoire diversity. Discovery of predictive biomarkers could lie in novel analysis approaches, such as network analysis of amino acids similarities between TCR sequences. Single-cell sequencing is a breakthrough technology that can link phenotype with specificity, identifying T cell clones that are crucial for successful ICT. The field of immuno-sequencing is rapidly developing and cross-disciplinary efforts are required to maximize the analysis, application, and validation of sequencing data. Unravelling the dynamic behavior of the TCR repertoire during ICT will be highly valuable for tracking and understanding anti-tumor immunity, biomarker discovery, and ultimately for the development of novel strategies to improve patient outcomes

Protocolo para el monitoreo de las aves de los Parques Nacionales del Chaco Seco

El objetivo principal del proyecto es entender la importancia de los parques nacionales del Chaco seco para la avifauna chaqueña, y en particular para las aves endémicas y de preocupación para la conservación. Sin embargo, también las aves comunes y más abundantes pueden ser un referente en cuanto la calidad de un sitio. Por ende, el protocolo que se define aquí se enfoca en la avifauna en general, pretendiendo anotar y registrar no solo datos de las especies focales sino de todas las aves observadas durante las salidas del monitoreo.CONACYT – Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPROCIENCI