A Middle School Newcomer Program: Teachers' Experiences

ABSTRACTTeachers’ Perceptions of a Newcomer ProgrambyMaria Cristina Saucedo The United States is a nation of immigrants and it continues to receive an influx of families, including school age children. Many school districts have developed programs to meet the language, academic, and social needs of these students and capitalize on students' rich and cultural resources. Research is accumulating on school practices that facilitate opportunities to learn and/or receive English language acquisition, literacy, content mastery, cultural adjustments and social emotional support (Hersi & Watkins, 2012). This study utilized a qualitative case study approach to explore teachers' views of (a) their experiences in a newcomer program and (b) supports and professional development they have received in one southern California urban district with a sizable influx of immigrant families. An effort was made to understand teachers' experiences of the Program particularly in relation to programmatic change. Following a 2017 pilot study, four teachers who were active in the Newcomer Program were interviewed in 2018. In addition, the researcher served as participant observer in the Program for several years. Case studies were developed for each teacher, and themes were highlighted across cases. Similarities were revealed among the teachers with regards to background, perceptions of program facilitators, perceptions of school's response to diversity, and professional development. Implications are discussed

O DIÁRIO DE BORDO NA FORMAÇÃO DE PROFESSORES: EXPERIÊNCIA NO PIBID DE PEDAGOGIA

Este artigo tem a intenção de apresentar as atividades desenvolvidas no Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciação à Docência de Pedagogia (PIBID), iniciado no ano de 2010, e que, atualmente, conta com a participação de 12 bolsistas do curso de graduação de Pedagogia da Unioeste/Campus Cascavel. Entre os resultados da pesquisa podemos destacar: (i)o papel do PIBID para o fortalecimento da formação inicial do professor de pedagogia em aspectos acadêmicos e sociais, decorrentes da relação direta com diretores, coordenadores, professores e alunos das escolas municipais integradas no subprojeto; (ii) assim como para problematização e intervenção dos acadêmicos com a produção de materiais didáticos, divulgação de artigos, criação de propostas, planos de trabalho, entre outros

Distribución de humedales en la República Argentina

Los humedales, que representan aproximadamente el 7% de la superficie de la tierra (Ramsar, 2018) se encuentran entre los ecosistemas más valiosos no sólo en términos socioeconómico-productivos, sino también ambientales, dada su importancia en la provisión de servicios ecosistémicos y biodiversidad. La extensión de humedales naturales viene disminuyendo en todo el mundo y cada vez con mayor celeridad. El crecimiento poblacional previsto para las próximas décadas generará un incremento en la demanda de servicios ecosistémicos provenientes de esto socio-agroecosistemas, con lo cual el maximizar oportunidades productivas y al mismo tiempo minimizar potenciales impactos ambientales y sociales negativos, constituye el gran desafío para los tomadores de decisión. Esto requiere del análisis, aplicación y evaluación de herramientas y tecnologías que contribuyan a la gestión sostenible de los humedales. En los últimos años, el incremento de flujos de datos satelitales de libre acceso, el surgimiento de la computación en la nube y el creciente uso de algoritmos de aprendizaje automatizado han facilitado la integración y procesamiento de grandes volúmenes de datos permitiendo acortar tiempos y mejorar productos cartográficos. En Argentina son escasos los trabajos de abordaje a nivel nacional en relación a la ubicación de los humedales en el territorio nacional. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue, por un lado, generar un mapa actualizado de la probabilidad de ocurrencia y distribución de humedales en todo el país a partir de un análisis multitemporal de 20 años de imágenes satelitales, así como desarrollar un marco metodológico que permita establecer dicha ocurrencia en todo el territorio nacional, a través de una plataforma de fácil acceso y de fuente abierta. Para esto, se procesó 26.000 sitios de entrenamiento, 54720 imágenes satelitales de los sensores Landsat 5 y 8 y el Modelo Digital de Elevaciones de Argentina (MDE_Ar), a partir de los cuales se derivaron 43 variables predictoras, se aplicó el algoritmo Random Forest (RF) dentro del Google Earth Engine (GEE). El mapa resultante presenta una muy buena precisión en términos de análisis de campo, visual y estadístico, teniendo en cuenta la gran superficie del país (2,78 millones km2). La exactitud global de la determinación fue del 89%, mientras que la exactitud del productor y usuario (especificidad y precisión, respectivamente) para la clase humedal fue, en ambos casos, del 94%. Basándonos en el mapa final de determinación, estimamos que el 9,5% (265.200 km2) de Argentina está cubierto por humedales.Fil: Navarro, Marí­a Fabiana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Navarro, Carlos S. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Reconquista. ArgentinaFil: Barrios, Raúl. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Corrientes, ArgentinaFil: Dieta, Victorio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Delta del Paraná. Agencia De Extensión Rural Delta Frontal; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Martinez, Guillermo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Esquel; ArgentinaFil: Iturralde, Rosario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Olavarría; Argentina.Fil: Iturralde Ortegui, María del Rosario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Olavarría; Argentina.Fil: Kurtz, Ditmar Bernardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Corrientes; Argentina.Fil: Michard, Nicole Jacqueline. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Paredes, Paula Natalia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.Fil: Saucedo, Griselda Isabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Corrientes; ArgentinaFil: Alday, Silvina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina.Fil: Cianfagna, Francisco. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas, Departamento de Hidrología; ArgentinaFil: Curcio, Matías Hernán. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel; ArgentinaFil: Enriquez, Andrea Soledad. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área Recursos Naturales. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Astor Emilio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Sáenz Peña; ArgentinaFil: Miranda, Federico Waldemar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria El Colorado. Agencia de Extensión Rural Formosa; ArgentinaFil: Pezzola, Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Umaña, Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Laboratorio de Teledetección; ArgentinaFil: Vidal, Claudia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Reconquista; Argentina.Fil: Winschel, Cristina Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Calamari, Noelia Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; Argentin

Results of the COVID-19 mental health international for the general population (COMET-G) study.

INTRODUCTION: There are few published empirical data on the effects of COVID-19 on mental health, and until now, there is no large international study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an online questionnaire gathered data from 55,589 participants from 40 countries (64.85% females aged 35.80 ± 13.61; 34.05% males aged 34.90±13.29 and 1.10% other aged 31.64±13.15). Distress and probable depression were identified with the use of a previously developed cut-off and algorithm respectively. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests, multiple forward stepwise linear regression analyses and Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tested relations among variables. RESULTS: Probable depression was detected in 17.80% and distress in 16.71%. A significant percentage reported a deterioration in mental state, family dynamics and everyday lifestyle. Persons with a history of mental disorders had higher rates of current depression (31.82% vs. 13.07%). At least half of participants were accepting (at least to a moderate degree) a non-bizarre conspiracy. The highest Relative Risk (RR) to develop depression was associated with history of Bipolar disorder and self-harm/attempts (RR = 5.88). Suicidality was not increased in persons without a history of any mental disorder. Based on these results a model was developed. CONCLUSIONS: The final model revealed multiple vulnerabilities and an interplay leading from simple anxiety to probable depression and suicidality through distress. This could be of practical utility since many of these factors are modifiable. Future research and interventions should specifically focus on them

Familial hypercholesterolaemia in children and adolescents from 48 countries: a cross-sectional study

Background: Approximately 450 000 children are born with familial hypercholesterolaemia worldwide every year, yet only 2·1% of adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia were diagnosed before age 18 years via current diagnostic approaches, which are derived from observations in adults. We aimed to characterise children and adolescents with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and understand current approaches to the identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia to inform future public health strategies. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we assessed children and adolescents younger than 18 years with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of HeFH at the time of entry into the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) registry between Oct 1, 2015, and Jan 31, 2021. Data in the registry were collected from 55 regional or national registries in 48 countries. Diagnoses relying on self-reported history of familial hypercholesterolaemia and suspected secondary hypercholesterolaemia were excluded from the registry; people with untreated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) of at least 13·0 mmol/L were excluded from this study. Data were assessed overall and by WHO region, World Bank country income status, age, diagnostic criteria, and index-case status. The main outcome of this study was to assess current identification and management of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Findings: Of 63 093 individuals in the FHSC registry, 11 848 (18·8%) were children or adolescents younger than 18 years with HeFH and were included in this study; 5756 (50·2%) of 11 476 included individuals were female and 5720 (49·8%) were male. Sex data were missing for 372 (3·1%) of 11 848 individuals. Median age at registry entry was 9·6 years (IQR 5·8-13·2). 10 099 (89·9%) of 11 235 included individuals had a final genetically confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia and 1136 (10·1%) had a clinical diagnosis. Genetically confirmed diagnosis data or clinical diagnosis data were missing for 613 (5·2%) of 11 848 individuals. Genetic diagnosis was more common in children and adolescents from high-income countries (9427 [92·4%] of 10 202) than in children and adolescents from non-high-income countries (199 [48·0%] of 415). 3414 (31·6%) of 10 804 children or adolescents were index cases. Familial-hypercholesterolaemia-related physical signs, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular disease were uncommon, but were more common in non-high-income countries. 7557 (72·4%) of 10 428 included children or adolescents were not taking lipid-lowering medication (LLM) and had a median LDL-C of 5·00 mmol/L (IQR 4·05-6·08). Compared with genetic diagnosis, the use of unadapted clinical criteria intended for use in adults and reliant on more extreme phenotypes could result in 50-75% of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia not being identified. Interpretation: Clinical characteristics observed in adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia are uncommon in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia, hence detection in this age group relies on measurement of LDL-C and genetic confirmation. Where genetic testing is unavailable, increased availability and use of LDL-C measurements in the first few years of life could help reduce the current gap between prevalence and detection, enabling increased use of combination LLM to reach recommended LDL-C targets early in life

Facial Angiofibroma Severity Index (FASI): reliability assessment of a new tool developed to measure severity and responsiveness to therapy in tuberous sclerosis-associated facial angiofibroma

Background. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous disorder characterized by the development of multisystem hamartomatous tumours. Topical sirolimus has recently been suggested as a potential treatment for TSC-associated facial angiofibroma (FA). Aim. To validate a reproducible scale created for the assessment of clinical severity and treatment response in these patients. Methods. We developed a new tool, the Facial Angiofibroma Severity Index (FASI) to evaluate the grade of erythema and the size and extent of FAs. In total, 30 different photographs of patients with TSC were shown to 56 dermatologists at each evaluation. Three evaluations using the same photographs but in a different random order were performed 1 week apart. Test and retest reliability and interobserver reproducibility were determined. Results. There was good agreement between the investigators. Inter-rater reliability showed strong correlations (> 0.98; range 0.97–0.99) with inter-rater correlation coefficients (ICCs) for the FASI. The global estimated kappa coefficient for the degree of intra-rater agreement (test–retest) was 0.94 (range 0.91–0.97). Conclusions. The FASI is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the clinical severity of TSC-associated FAs, which can be applied in clinical practice to evaluate the response to treatment in these patients