Ensemble theatre and citizenship education : how ensemble theatre contributes to citizenship education

This study examines the ways in which ensemble theatre making can contribute to citizenship education. A range of political theories construct the framework for democratic politics and active citizenship which, in turn, become the pedagogical basis for the ensemble model of theatre learning. Outstanding political theories, such as Castoriadis’ theory of the imaginary institution of society and Habermas’ model for communicative action, structure a theoretical basis which constitutes an ideal definition for democratic politics and active citizenship. This framework becomes the pedagogic ground of ensemble theatre that constitutes a collective process of theatre making and, therefore, aims to function as a democratic learning experience in the art of theatre. In this context, a research praxis that combines methodological elements from action research and case study is conducted in two high-schools of Athens and examines students’ perceptions of politics, while at the same time explores their responses to an artistic, learning experience that interacts with their own initiatives, group decisions, and socio-artistic actions. Following this methodological route that integrates both an interventionist and an interpretive interest, the fieldwork is developed as a dialogic action between the ideal conception of ensemble theatre making and the real conditions that are encountered in the educational contexts. In this context, the analysis and the interpretation of the data provides information about the ways in young people perceive arts and politics, the ways in which they experience and develop collectiveness and active participation as well as the ways in which these perceptions determine their citizenship skills. Finally, the impact of ensemble theatre process is examined in relation to the above mentioned perceptions and conditions of political socialisation

Η διδασκαλία του κυκλοφορικού συστήματος του ανθρώπου αξιοποιώντας έννοιες της Φυσικής και της Βιολογίας σε μαθητές της Α' Λυκείου

Η παρούσα ερεύνα εξέτασε τα αποτελέσματα μίας εναλλακτικής διδακτικής προσέγγισης του Κυκλοφορικού Συστήματος του ανθρώπου σε σχέση με την παραδοσιακή διδακτική προσέγγιση, όπως αυτή προτείνεται από το αναλυτικό πρόγραμμα και αφορά μαθητές της Α’ Λυκείου του Γενικού Λυκείου. Η εναλλακτική διδακτική προσέγγιση αξιοποίησε την επιστήμη της Φυσικής για την ερμηνεία των λειτουργιών που πραγματοποιούνται στο κυκλοφορικό σύστημα και είχε ως στόχο να καταγράψει το κατά πόσο αυτό είναι αποτελεσματικό ως προς τους μαθητές. Για το σκοπό αυτό κατασκευάστηκαν τέσσερα (4) καινοτόμα και διαφορετικά φύλλα εργασίας, βασισμένα στο μοντέλο της καθοδηγούμενης ανακάλυψης, καθένα από τα οποία μελετούσε μία συγκεκριμένη διαδικασία και προσανατόλιζε τους μαθητές στον επιθυμητό διδακτικό στόχο και πραγματοποιήθηκαν στην τάξη. Για την ανάλυση των αποτελεσμάτων χρησιμοποιήθηκαν Excel Microsoft Office 2007, στατιστικοί δείκτες περιγραφικής στατιστικής και η στατιστική μέθοδος t-test για ανεξάρτητα δείγματα. Ο περιορισμός της έρευνας είναι ότι το γνωσιακό υπόβαθρο των μαθητών όσον αφορά τη Φυσική είναι άγνωστο, καθώς πριν τη διεξαγωγή της εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας δεν είχε γίνει αξιολόγηση των γνώσεών τους. Από την ανάλυση των φύλλων εργασίας εξήχθησαν εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέροντα αποτελέσματα. Το 90% των μαθητών ανταποκρίθηκε με επιτυχία στην εναλλακτική διδακτική προσέγγιση, καταφέρνοντας να ερμηνεύσει τη λειτουργία του κυκλοφορικού συστήματος του ανθρώπου μέσω καθαρά φυσικών φαινομένων. Επιπλέον, οι μαθητές έλυσαν απορίες που τυχόν είχαν από τη Φυσική, ενώ ,παράλληλα, εντοπίστηκαν τα αδύναμα σημεία της παρούσας έρευνας και προτάθηκαν διορθώσεις. Τέλος, έγινε σύγκριση της παρούσας έρευνας με άλλες προϋπάρχουσες δείχνοντας ότι είναι μία ενδιαφέρουσα και χρήσιμη εναλλακτική προσέγγιση με εξαιρετικά αποτελέσματα από τους μαθητές.The study investigated the results of an alternative teaching approach for the circulatory system of human in comparison with the traditional teaching approach that is described in the first class of high school textbook. The alternative teaching approach made good use of Physics Science for the interpretation of the functions performed in the human circulatory system and had aimed to record how effective this is for students. For this purpose, four (4) innovative and different workbooks were developed, based on the guided discovery model, each of which was studying a specific process and guiding students to the desired teaching objective and taking place in the classroom. The results were analyzed using Microsoft Office 2007 Excel, descriptive statistics and t-test for independent samples. The limitation of the research is that the students’ cognitive background in physics is unknown, as their knowledge had not been evaluated prior to the educational process. Extremely interesting results were extracted from the worksheet analysis. 90% of students successfully responded to the alternative teaching approach, failing to interpret the functioning of the human circulatory system through purely natural phenomena. On addition, students solved questions that may have had from Physics. Also, the weak points of the research have been identified and are suggested corrections. Finally, the present study was compared with pre-existing studies showing that it is an interesting and useful alternative teaching approach with excellent results at the students

Foramina of the anterior mandible in dentate and edentulous mandibles

The study provides a morphometric analysis of the foramina located at the anterior mandible according to dental status. The inner surface from the midline to the distal border of the second premolars of 70 dentate and 27 edentulous Greek adult dry mandibles was investigated. The lingual foramina were divided into medial and lateral foramina. Foramina located at the alveolar process and the midline were subdivided according to their location to genial tubercles. Moreover, the height of the mandible in the genial symphysis and the distances from the foramina to the alveolar crest and the lower border of the mandible were measured. Medial and lateral lingual foramina were presented in 97.9% and 78.4% of the mandibles, respectively. The alveolar medial and lateral lingual foramina were detected in 19.6% and 27.3%, respectively. The mean height of the genial symphysis was 32.06 ± ± 4.88 mm for the dentate and 23.87± 5.37 mm for the edentulous mandibles. The meticulous knowledge of the topography of the lingual foramina and their content is of paramount importance for dentists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons during dental implants placement. Middle and lateral lingual foramina are constant structures, while the alveolar foramina presented only in dentate mandibles. The foramina location is directly affected by dental status. The morphology of edentulous mandibles increases the risk of intraoperative complications at the anterior mandible.

The size of the foramen ovale regarding to the presence and absence of the emissary sphenoidal foramen: is there any relationship between them?

Background: The study investigates the size of the foramen ovale (FO) in relation to the presence and absence of the emissary sphenoidal foramen (ESF). Any possible alteration of the FO size in relation to the ESF (unilateral or bilateral) presence and absence was also examined. Materials and methods: One-hundred and ninety-five (117 male and 78 female) Greek adult dry skulls were investigated. Results: The ESF was present in 40% of the skulls (21.5% bilaterally and 18.5% unilaterally). No statistical significant difference was detected between ESF presence or absence and its unilateral or bilateral occurrence. The ESF existence had no relation to the FO size. Conclusions: The ESF absence or presence has no effect on FO size. The emissary sphenoidal vein is an additional venous pathway connecting cavernous sinus with the pterygoid venous plexus. These findings enhance that the venous plexus of the FO is a constant trait. The meticulous knowledge of the middle cranial fossa anatomy is of paramount importance during transovale procedures, as the outcome of cannulation may be affected by the existence of ESF, the confluence FO-ESF, the existence of osseous spurs and bridging into the FO. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 1: 90–98)

Molecular and Clinical Prognostic Biomarkers of COVID-19 Severity and Persistence

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), poses several challenges to clinicians, due to its unpredictable clinical course. The identification of laboratory biomarkers, specific cellular, and molecular mediators of immune response could contribute to the prognosis and management of COVID-19 patients. Of utmost importance is also the detection of differentially expressed genes, which can serve as transcriptomic signatures, providing information valuable to stratify patients into groups, based on the severity of the disease. The role of biomarkers such as IL-6, procalcitonin, neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio, white blood cell counts, etc. has already been highlighted in recently published studies; however, there is a notable amount of new evidence that has not been summarized yet, especially regarding transcriptomic signatures. Hence, in this review, we assess the latest cellular and molecular data and determine the significance of abnormalities in potential biomarkers for COVID-19 severity and persistence. Furthermore, we applied Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis using the genes reported as differentially expressed in the literature in order to investigate which biological pathways are significantly enriched. The analysis revealed a number of processes, such as inflammatory response, and monocyte and neutrophil chemotaxis, which occur as part of the complex immune response to SARS-CoV-2