Inclusive didactics and assistive technologies: the experience of a group of special needs teachers

This paper describes the results of an exploratory survey aimed to examine the experience and perceptions of a group of special needs teachers on the use of ICT in teaching to students with autism spectrum disorder. It is focused on the effectiveness of video modeling as a tool through which to learn (self-learning and imitation) specific skills in the field of personal autonomy. By sharing the thought of Rossi (2012) : ‹‹digital technologies provide to schools an extraordinary opportunity to put on the agenda the issue of learning and, together with it, the professionalism of teachers››. The authors handed out a questionnaire to a group of special needs teachers of a Comprehensive School in Palermo with the purpose to investigate the perceived effectiveness experienced in the use of ICT for the achievement of different learning objectives. This work offers a detailed analysis of the investigated areas and the results from the survey, proposing a critical reflection on information technology in teaching

N-3 fatty acids in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors

BACKGROUND: Trials have shown a beneficial effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with a previous myocardial infarction or heart failure. We evaluated the potential benefit of such therapy in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors or atherosclerotic vascular disease who had not had a myocardial infarction. METHODS: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we enrolled a cohort of patients who were followed by a network of 860 general practitioners in Italy. Eligible patients were men and women with multiple cardiovascular risk factors or atherosclerotic vascular disease but not myocardial infarction. Patients were randomly assigned to n-3 fatty acids (1 g daily) or placebo (olive oil). The initially specified primary end point was the cumulative rate of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal stroke. At 1 year, after the event rate was found to be lower than anticipated, the primary end point was revised as time to death from cardiovascular causes or admission to the hospital for cardiovascular causes. RESULTS: Of the 12,513 patients enrolled, 6244 were randomly assigned to n-3 fatty acids and 6269 to placebo. With a median of 5 years of follow-up, the primary end point occurred in 1478 of 12,505 patients included in the analysis (11.8%), of whom 733 of 6239 (11.7%) had received n-3 fatty acids and 745 of 6266 (11.9%) had received placebo (adjusted hazard ratio with n-3 fatty acids, 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.08; P=0.58). The same null results were observed for all the secondary end points. CONCLUSIONS: In a large general-practice cohort of patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors, daily treatment with n-3 fatty acids did not reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Copyright © 2013 Massachusetts Medical Society