18F-GE-180: a novel TSPO radiotracer compared to 11C-R-PK11195 in a preclinical model of stroke

PURPOSE: Neuroinflammation plays a critical role in various neuropathological conditions, and hence there is renewed interest in the translocator protein (TSPO) as a biomarker of microglial activation and macrophage infiltration in the brain. This is reflected in the large amount of research conducted seeking to replace the prototypical PET radiotracer 11C-R-PK11195 with a TSPO ligand with higher performance. Here we report the in vivo preclinical investigation of the novel TSPO tracer 18F-GE-180 in a rat model of stroke. METHODS: Focal cerebral ischaemia was induced in Wistar rats by 60-min occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO). Brain damage was assessed 24 h after MCAO by T2 MRI. Rats were scanned with 11C-R-PK11195 and 18F-GE-180 5 or 6 days after MCAO. Specificity of binding was confirmed by injection of unlabelled R-PK11195 or GE-180 20 min after injection of 18F-GE-180. In vivo data were confirmed by ex vivo immunohistochemistry for microglial (CD11b) and astrocytic biomarkers (GFAP). RESULTS: 18F-GE-180 uptake was 24 % higher in the core of the ischaemic lesion and 18 % lower in the contralateral healthy tissue than that of 11C-R-PK11195 uptake (1.5 ± 0.2-fold higher signal to noise ratio). We confirmed this finding using the simplified reference tissue model (BPND = 3.5 ± 0.4 and 2.4 ± 0.5 for 18F-GE-180 and 11C-R-PK11195, respectively, with R 1 = 1). Injection of unlabelled R-PK11195 or GE-180 20 min after injection of 18F-GE-180 significantly displaced 18F-GE-180 (69 ± 5 % and 63 ± 4 %, respectively). Specificity of the binding was also confirmed by in vitro autoradiography, and the location and presence of activated microglia and infiltrated macrophages were confirmed by immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSION: The in vivo binding characteristics of 18F-GE-180 demonstrate a better signal to noise ratio than 11C-R-PK11195 due to both a better signal in the lesion and lower nonspecific binding in healthy tissue. These results provide evidence that 18F-GE-180 is a strong candidate to replace 11C-R-PK11195

The restructuring of schooling in England: the responses of well-positioned Headteachers

Research to date about the English government’s policy to make schools independent of local authorities (LAs) has looked at the ‘macro’ level of national policy and at the ‘micro’ level of the institution. The study of which this article is a part, explores changes at the ‘meso’ level – the locality. The article analyses interviews in three LAs with 15 headteachers whose schools were well positioned locally. We sought to understand how and why they responded to the changing policy environment. We applied Bourdieu’s concepts of forms of capital to model the relationships between schools and to ground explanations of their responses as positioning themselves in the local field. The article develops this general approach by identifying the varieties of capital available and actually possessed. The most important was categorization as a result of the inspection process. Many of the headteachers felt impelled to lead their schools into various associations with other schools. Some individuals were becoming notably more powerful in their competition arenas. The power of these elite schools to further accumulate advantage and the withdrawal of the LA role as an arbiter of conflict between schools in the interests of the whole community are discussed

The positions of primary and secondary schools in the English school field: a case of durable inequality

In interviews as part of a research study of structural reform in England, some tension between primary head teachers and their secondary peers was evident. This was symptomatic of a long-standing difference in status between the two phases. At a time when relations between stakeholders in local systems are subject to change, we seek to understand anew why that might be the case and how the tension we found was evidence of a current difference of power within interactions between representatives of the phases. We analyse differences of size, resources, workforce, pedagogy and history, and how they have resulted in different, and differently valued, practices and professional identities. We explore how attributes of the two phases have been counterposed and how, in complex interaction with wider discourses of politics, gender and age, this process has invested the differences with meanings and values that tend to relegate attributes associated with primary school. By focusing on the activation of cumulative inequality in interactions, we contribute a complementary perspective to studies of perceived relative status and highlight the implications for understanding school positioning in local arenas as the role of local authorities is reduced

Governança e governamentalidade: relação e relevância de dois conceitos científico-sociais proeminentes na educação comparada

Contrapondo-se ao retrospecto da existência de uma relação volátil entre o Estado e "seu" sistema educacional, este trabalho enfoca dois conceitos que podem ser empregados como ferramentas de análise para estudar as transformações em curso. O termo "governança" está mais relacionado a aspectos técnicos: tratam-se de instrumentos e modos, procedimentos e atores, além de suas constelações e formas de cooperação. Ele concentra a pesquisa em questões como: quem oferece serviços educacionais, qual é a relação entre ensino público e privado etc. Ele também é extremamente útil na investigação da relação entre os diversos níveis de análise e provou-se particularmente importante para a compreensão teórica adequada do papel das organizações internacionais na formulação de políticas educacionais. A sociologia e a ciência política são duas disciplinas cuja associação se mostra mais notável na elaboração do conceito sob diversas perspectivas. "Governamentalidade", por sua vez, apesar de compartilhar muitas características com governança, é um termo foucautiano dedicado à geração de subjetividades distintas por meio de técnicas e modos de regulação e conduta em sentido lato. Assim, governamentalidade inclui investigações do nexo tipicamente foucautiano conhecimento/poder. Consideramos ambas as perspectivas em conjunto para discutir suas implicações para a educação comparada.Against the background of a changing relation between the state and "its" education system, the present contribution focuses on two concepts that can be used as analytical tools in order to analyze the current transformations. "Governance" is more concerned with technical issues: with instruments and modes, procedures and actors, with their constellations and forms of cooperation. It focuses research on questions such as: who provides educational services, what is the relation between public and private education etc. It is also very useful in investigating the relation between the various levels of analysis and has proven particularly useful for an adequate theoretical understanding of the role of international organizations in shaping educational policies. Sociology and political science are the two disciplines most prominently associated with elaborating the concept under various perspectives. Governmentality, on the other hand, although sharing many characteristics with governance, is a Foucauldian term concerned with the generation of different subjectivities through techniques and modes of ruling and guiding in an encompassing sense. Governmentality thus includes investigations of the typical Foucauldian knowledge/power nexus. Both perspectives are brought together to discuss the implications for comparative education

Pathways to teacher education for intercultural communicative competence: teachers’ perceptions

Intercultural and plurilingual encounters have become increasingly frequent due to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) developments, mobility (real/ virtual) and migration. To face the challenges inherent in such encounters, the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is crucial. ICC development may start in the home but should also be a commitment in school curricula, in particular in language classrooms. To facilitate this, language teachers require training in order to integrate the intercultural dimension into their professional practice. In such a context, we implemented a training programme entitled The Intercultural Teacher with an experimental group of language teachers from secondary schools in the Aveiro district (Portugal). In this article, we describe teachers’ social perceptions of ICC and explore the following questions: (a) what does ICC mean for language teachers?; and (b) what are teachers’ views on the development of ICC? The findings of this analysis enabled us, firstly, to design a heuristic model of ICC, based on teachers’ views and perceptions. We were then able to identify some pathways for developing ICC through teacher education, which were validated by teachers themselves