325 research outputs found
Valutare e promuovere la professionalitĂ docente. Esperienze internazionali e opportunitĂ per l'Italia
La valutazione dei docenti occupa un ruolo centrale nelle agende politiche dei governi; lâItalia ha avviato una riflessione in questa direzione ma ad oggi gli insegnanti non sono valutati.
La ricerca analizza la relazione tra lâintroduzione di un sistema di valutazione degli insegnanti e la promozione di comunitĂ professionali nelle scuole; la valutazione dei docenti Ăš considerata strumento utile allo sviluppo di una scuola come comunitĂ professionale.
Lo studio dei sistemi di valutazione degli insegnanti, pur non prescindendo da unâanalisi economica, deve essere accompagnato da una visione pedagogica sulla scuola e sulla funzione docente, intendendosi sugli elementi che le fondano; la prospettiva di lavoro reputa la professionalitĂ un prisma complesso costituito da dimensioni personali, organizzative e comunitarie.
Ă stata indagata una realtĂ statunitense innovativa e sistematica per il modello impiegato per valutare gli insegnanti: Denver Professional Compensation System for Teachers, cosĂŹ da offrire spunti di riflessione anche per lâItalia. Dallâanalisi sono emersi gli snodi e le opportunitĂ della valutazione della professionalitĂ docente: i vantaggi di una valutazione a servizio della pratica professionale, che prevede interventi alla carriera, alle retribuzioni, che integra forme e modalitĂ differenti di valutare la professionalitĂ e che Ăš collegata al decision making.The assessment of teachers plays a central role in the political agendas of governments; in Italy there is a discussion on this direction but at the moment teachers are not evaluated.
The research examines the relationship between the introduction of a teachersâ evaluation system and the promotion of professional communities in schools; teachersâ evaluation is considered useful for the development of a school as a professional community.
The study of teachersâ evaluation systems, while not disregarding economic analysis, must be associated by a pedagogical vision on the school and the teaching function, considering their founding elements; the prospect of the work accounts teaching professionalism as a complex prism of personal, organizational and community dimensions.
It is investigated an innovative and systematic model used to evaluate teachers in the USA: Denver Professional Compensation System for Teachers, in order to offer food for thought even for Italy. The analysis highlighted the opportunities of the teachersâ evaluation system: the benefits of an evaluation in the service of professional practice, which provides assistance to career and to salary, which integrates different ways to assess the professionalism, and which is connected to decision making
Valutare serve? Lâesperienza della valutazione trentina
Il contributo presenta il dispositivo metodologico progettato ed implementato nellâĂ mbito del progetto âValutazione esterna delle istituzioni scolastiche e formativeâ affidato dallâIPRASE-Trentino allâUniversitĂ Cattolica del Sacro Cuore nellâanno scolastico2007/2008. Movendo da tale esperienza, sono sviluppate alcune riflessioni circa lâutilitĂ della valutazione per le scuole e per i diversi stakeholders e i criteri che ne rendono possibile la sostenibilitĂ e lâimpiego strategico dei dati. Nellâarticolo non si intende presentare lâintero progetto di valutazione esterna nĂ© render conto dei risultati ma focalizzare lâattenzione sulla descrizione del dispositivo metodologico ed in particolare sullo strumento di rilevazione elaborato in rapporto alle esigenze che ne hanno motivato ed orientato la strutturazione.LâattivitĂ di ricerca, in questo specifico caso declinata in termini di ricerca-intervento, ha nella costruzione di un dispositivo metodologico valido, situato e sostenibile nel tempo una condizione necessaria per poter leggere i dati in maniera corretta ed avvalorare a pieno i risultati facilitandone la ricaduta sul contesto
SDS-PAGE-Based Quantitative Assay of Hemolymph Proteins in Honeybees: Progress and Prospects for Field Application
In human and veterinary medicine, serum proteins are considered to be useful biomarkers for assessing the health and nutritional status of the organism. Honeybee hemolymph has a unique proteome that could represent a source of valuable biomarkers. Therefore, the aims of this study were to separate and identify the most abundant proteins in the hemolymph of worker honeybees to suggest a panel of these proteins that could represent useful biomarkers for assessing the nutritional and health status of the colonies and, finally, to analyze them in different periods of the year. Four apiaries were selected in the province of Bologna, and the bees were analyzed in April, May, July, and November. Thirty specimens from three hives of each apiary were sampled and their hemolymph was collected. The most represented bands obtained after 1D sodium-dodecyl-sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) were cut from the gel, and the proteins were identified using an LC-ESI-Q-MS/MS System. A total of twelve proteins were unmistakably identified; the two most abundant proteins were apolipophorin and vitellogenin, which are known biomarkers of bee trophic and health status. The two other proteins identified were transferrin and hexamerin 70a, the first being involved in iron homeostasis and the second being a storage protein. Most of these proteins showed an increase from April to November, mirroring the physiological changes of honeybees during the productive season. The current study suggests a panel of biomarkers from honeybee hemolymph worth testing under different physiological and pathological field conditions
Parasitological Survey of Schoolchildren from a High-Altitude Community from TucumĂĄn Province, Argentina. Remarkable Low Detection of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Comparison with Coastal Communities
The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among schoolchildren in Colalao del Valle, a high-altitude community in TucumĂĄn province, Argentina, was investigated. The data revealed a high prevalence of parasitism (79.7%) with no significant differences in distribution by sex or age. Protozoa infections were the most common with Blastocystis hominis being the most prevalent (62.5%), followed by Giardia lamblia (29.7%), Endolimax nana (15.6%), Entamoeba coli (12.5%) and Iodamoeba bustchili (3.1%). Interestingly, there was an absence of soil-transmitted helminths among the studied population which could be related to climate (variable temperatures, moderate rainfall) and soil type (clay).Fil: Dib, Julian Rafael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - TucumĂĄn. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales MicrobiolĂłgicos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de TucumĂĄn. Facultad de BioquĂmica, QuĂmica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Zenoff, Maria Veronica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - TucumĂĄn. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales MicrobiolĂłgicos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de TucumĂĄn. Facultad de BioquĂmica, QuĂmica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Oquilla, Juana del Valle. Universidad Nacional de TucumĂĄn. Facultad de BioquĂmica, QuĂmica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Rudelli, M.. Ministerio de Salud de la NaciĂłn; ArgentinaFil: Lazarte, S.. Universidad Nacional de TucumĂĄn. Facultad de BioquĂmica, QuĂmica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Silvia Nelina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - TucumĂĄn. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de TucumĂĄn. Facultad de BioquĂmica, QuĂmica y Farmacia; Argentin
Experimental study of histological changes in vascular loops according to the duration of the postoperative period: Application in reconstructive microsurgery
OBJECTIVES: To analyze the histological changes observed in venous grafts subjected to arterial blood flow as a function of the duration of the postoperative period to optimize their use in free flap reconstructions. METHOD: Twenty-five rats (7 females and 18 males) underwent surgery. Surgeries were performed on one animal per week. Five weeks after the first surgery, the same five animals were subjected to an additional surgery to assess the presence or absence of blood flow through the vascular loop, and samples were collected for histological analysis. This cycle was performed five times. RESULTS: Of the rats euthanized four to five weeks after the first surgery, no blood flow was observed through the graft in 80% of the cases. In the group euthanized three weeks after the first surgery, no blood flow was observed in 20% of the cases. In the groups euthanized one to two weeks after the first surgery, blood flow through the vascular loop was observed in all animals. Moreover, intimal proliferation tended to increase with the duration of the postoperative period. Two weeks after surgery, intimal proliferation increased slightly, whereas strong intimal proliferation was observed in all rats evaluated five weeks after surgery. CONCLUSION: Intimal proliferation was the most significant change noted in venous grafts as a function of the duration of the postoperative period and was directly correlated with graft occlusion. In cases in which vascular loops are required during free flap reconstruction, both procedures should preferably be performed during the same surgery
Transient shivering during Wada test provides insight into human thermoregulation
Some patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy undergoing the Wada test experience transient shivering. The purpose of this study was to investigate various clinical and radiographic characteristics of these individuals to delineate underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon.A systematic review of prospectively collected information on patients undergoing the Wada test was performed. All demographic, clinical, and radiographic information was obtained and reviewed by the appropriate expert in the field; statistical analysis was performed to determine the predictors of transient shivering.A total of 120 consecutive carotid artery injections in 59 patients were included in the study. Shivering was observed in 46% of the patients, and it was not significantly affected by gender, age, location of epileptogenic zone, brain lesion on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), side of the first injection, duration of the hemiparesis, or excess slow wave activity on electroencephalography (EEG). However, shivering was more likely to follow sodium amobarbital injection if there was no filling of the posterior circulation on cerebral angiogram.Transient shivering during the Wada test is common. A transient but selective functional lesion of the anterior hypothalamus produced by the effects of sodium amobarbital may result in disinhibition of the posterior hypothalamus and other brainstem thermoregulatory centers, thereby inducing transient shivering.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78595/1/j.1528-1167.2009.02398.x.pd
FMRP Mediates mGluR(5)-Dependent Translation of Amyloid Precursor Protein
Amyloid precursor protein (APP) facilitates synapse formation in the developing brain, while beta-amyloid (AÎČ) accumulation, which is associated with Alzheimer disease, results in synaptic loss and impaired neurotransmission. Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) is a cytoplasmic mRNA binding protein whose expression is lost in fragile X syndrome. Here we show that FMRP binds to the coding region of APP mRNA at a guanine-rich, G-quartetâlike sequence. Stimulation of cortical synaptoneurosomes or primary neuronal cells with the metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist DHPG increased APP translation in wild-type but not fmr-1 knockout samples. APP mRNA coimmunoprecipitated with FMRP in resting synaptoneurosomes, but the interaction was lost shortly after DHPG treatment. Soluble AÎČ(40) or AÎČ(42) levels were significantly higher in multiple strains of fmr-1 knockout mice compared to wild-type controls. Our data indicate that postsynaptic FMRP binds to and regulates the translation of APP mRNA through metabotropic glutamate receptor activation and suggests a possible link between Alzheimer disease and fragile X syndrome
Pharmacogenetic inhibition of eIF4E-dependent <i>Mmp9</i> mRNA translation reverses fragile X syndrome-like phenotypes
SummaryFragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading genetic cause of autism. Mutations in Fmr1 (fragile X mental retardation 1 gene) engender exaggerated translation resulting in dendritic spine dysmorphogenesis, synaptic plasticity alterations, and behavioral deficits in mice, which are reminiscent of FXS phenotypes. Using postmortem brains from FXS patients and Fmr1 knockout mice (Fmr1â/y), we show that phosphorylation of the mRNA 5âČ cap binding protein, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), is elevated concomitant with increased expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) protein. Genetic or pharmacological reduction of eIF4E phosphorylation rescued core behavioral deficits, synaptic plasticity alterations, and dendritic spine morphology defects via reducing exaggerated translation of Mmp9 mRNA in Fmr1â/y mice, whereas MMP-9 overexpression produced several FXS-like phenotypes. These results uncover a mechanism of regulation of synaptic function by translational control of Mmp-9 in FXS, which opens the possibility of new treatment avenues for the diverse neurological and psychiatric aspects of FXS
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