Processi di modellizzazione nella scuola di base, ovvero come unificare l'apprendimento di scienze, matematica e lingua

Si descrivono alcuni esempi di attività complessa di modellizzazione nella scuola primaria, allo scopo di mostrare che solo evitando le ipersemplificazioni del tipico approccio alla matematica e alle sue applicazioni, è possibile promuovere un apprendimento significativo e sinergico tra matematica e fisica, con notevoli ricadute anche sul versante della competenza linguistica

Resonance: a key word in mathematics teaching research

In this paper a model of cognitive dynamics is proposed, for interpreting classroom as well as teacher training processes, nowadays supported also by some recent neuroscience results. Core relevance in the model is assigned to a basic resonance dynamics, assumed to work at the root of all the modulations, from perception to abstract thinking, and interferences characterizing knowledge construction. On the basis of this theoretical framework, teachers are seen as "resonance mediators", i. e. experts who favor the resonance process in their students; correspondingly, any teacher training process has to accomplish this result. Finally, we will briefly examine a school episode, showing how a teacher, playing this role, acts effectively both on students' understanding and on their motivation

Re: Ian D. Davis, Wanling Xie, Carmel Pezaro, et al. Efficacy of Second-line Targeted Therapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma According to Change from Baseline in International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium Prognostic Category. Eur Urol 2017;71:970-8: The Change in Baseline IMDC Prognostic Category: From the Past, Implications for the Future

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Use of chitosan for chromium removal from exhausted tanning baths.

A novel approach, based on chitosan heavy-metal sequestrating ability, is proposed for chromium(III) removal from spent tanning liquor. Experimental results, obtained at lab-scale using real wastewater, are presented and discussed. Resulting efficiencies are extremely high, and strongly dependent on chitosan dose and pH value. Comparative analyses with other polysaccharides is also carried out showing that amine groups are more efficient than carboxyl and sulphate ones. Chromium recovery from sorption complexes and chitosan regeneration is finally proposed to optimize the whole process

Overcoming resistance to molecularly targeted anticancer therapies: rational drug combinations based on EGFR and MAPK inhibition for solid tumours and haematologic malignancies

Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer can be envisioned as a "signaling disease", in which alterations in the cellular genome affect the expression and/or function of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. This ultimately disrupts the physiologic transmission of biochemical signals that normally regulate cell growth, differentiation and programmed cell death (apoptosis). From a clinical standpoint, signal transduction inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for human malignancies has recently achieved remarkable success. However, as additional drugs move forward into the clinical arena, intrinsic and acquired resistance to "targeted" agents becomes an issue for their clinical utility. One way to overcome resistance to targeted agents is to identify genetic and epigenetic aberrations underlying sensitivity/resistance, thus enabling the selection of patients that will most likely benefit from a specific therapy. Since resistance often ensues as a result of the concomitant activation of multiple, often overlapping, signaling pathways, another possibility is to interfere with multiple, cross-talking pathways involved in growth and survival control in a rational, mechanism-based, fashion. These concepts may be usefully applied, among others, to agents that target two major signal transduction pathways: the one initiated by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling and the one converging on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. Here we review the molecular mechanisms of sensitivity/resistance to EGFR inhibitors, as well as the rationale for combining them with other targeted agents, in an attempt to overcome resistance. In the second part of the paper, we review MAPK-targeted agents, focusing on their therapeutic potential in hematologic malignancies, and examine the prospects for combinations of MAPK inhibitors with cytotoxic agents or other signal transduction-targeted agents to obtain synergistic anti-tumour effects. Originally published Drug Resistance Updates, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 200

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and distal cholangiocarcinoma: a proposal of preoperative diagnostic score for differential diagnosis

Purpose:The differential diagnosis between primary adenocarcinoma of the pancreas head and distalcholangiocarcinoma remains a clinical challenge. Recent studies have shown important differences in terms ofsurvival between these tumors. Therefore, different treatments should be considered, but the preoperativehistological diagnosis is still difficult. Aim of this study is to create a preoperative diagnostic score for differentialdiagnosis between primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma and primary distal cholangiocarcinoma.Methods:One hundred eighty consecutive patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy at SapienzaUniversity of Rome from January 2010 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Inclusion criteria werepancreatic or biliary histologic origin obtained by definitive postoperative histological examination. Exclusion criteriawere diagnosis of ampullary carcinoma, non-ampullary duodenal adenocarcinoma, pancreatic metastasis, andbenign disease. One hundred one patients were considered eligible for the retrospective study. Preoperativebiological, clinical, and radiological parameters were considered.Results:CRP > 10 mg/dL (p= 0.001), modified Glasgow Prognostic Score 2 (p= 0.002), albumin < 35 g/L (p= 0.05),CA 19-9 > 230 U/mL (p= 0.001), and Wirsung diameter > 3 mm (p< 0.001) were significant at univariate logisticanalysis. Multivariate logistic analysis has shown that parameters independently associated with primary pancreaticadenocarcinoma were CRP > 10 mg/dL (p= 0.012), CA 19-9 > 230 U/mL (p= 0.043), and diameter of the Wirsung> 3 mm (p= 0.005). Through these parameters, a diagnostic score has been developed to predict a primarypancreatic adenocarcinoma when > 1 and a primary distal cholangiocarcinoma when < 1.Conclusion:This feasible and low-cost diagnostic score could have a potential impact to differentiate pancreaticcancer histologic origin and to improve target therapeutic strategy

A prognostic score for predicting survival in patients with pancreatic head adenocarcinoma and distal cholangiocarcinoma

Background/aim: Survival of patients with pancreatic cancer remains poor despite improvements in therapeutic strategies. This study aims to create a novel preoperative score to predict prognosis in patients with tumors of the pancreaticobiliary head. Patients and methods: Data on 190 patients who underwent to pancreaticoduodenectomy at Sapienza University of Rome from January 2010 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. After exclusion criteria, 101 patients were considered eligible for retrospective study. Preoperative biological, clinical and radiological parameters were considered. Results: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [hazard ratio (HR)=1.995, 95% confidence intervaI (CI)=1.1-3.3; p=0.01], carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA 19.9) >230 U/ml (HR=2.414, 95% CI=2.4-1.5, p<0.0001) and Wirsung duct diameter >3 mm (HR=1.592, 95% CI=1.5-0.9; p=0.08) were the only parameters associated with poor prognosis. Through these parameters, a prognostic score (PHT score) was developed which predicted worst survival when exceeding 2 and better survival when ≤2. Conclusion: The PHT score may have a potential impact on predicting overall survival and consequently modulate the timing and type of treatment (up-front surgery vs. neoadjuvant therapy) patients are offered

The Role of Fast and Deep PSA Response in Castration-sensitive Prostate Cancer

Background: Outcomes of castration-sensitive prostate cancer (CSPC) have improved owing to new therapies and early treatment, previously reserved for castration-resistant disease (CRPC). Prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) remains the most used marker to follow-up patients under treatment, but only limited data are available about the prognostic role of its changes over time and the impact of response to subsequent therapies. This analysis aims to assess the prognostic role of the magnitude and velocity of PSA response in CSPC and describe how this may affect the outcome to subsequent treatment outcomes in CRPC. Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on patients with de novo CSPC referring to six oncology centers in Italy. Clinical and pathological features were recorded. PSA response (PSA50), defined as a decrease > 50% compared to baseline, PSA velocity (PSAv), defined as any decrease in PSA levels over time and the deep and fast PSA response (4mPSA50), defined as the PSA response reached within the threshold of 4 months from the beginning of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) have been evaluated for their impact on survival. Survivals were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared across groups using the log-rank test. Cox proportional-hazard models, stratified according to baseline characteristics, were used to estimate hazard ratios for overall survival (OS). Results: A totals of 94.4% of patients had PSA50, which was correlated to longer OS compared to patients without PSA50 (56.0 vs. 14.8 months; p<0.001). The median PSAv was 6.9 (ng/dl)/month, which was predictive for longer OS: Each decrease of 1 (ng/dl)/month was able to improve OS by 0.2% (HR=0.998, 95%CI=0.997-1.000; p=0.008). A total of 47.9% of patients reached 4mPSA50, with a median OS and progression-free survival (PFS) to ADT-based therapy of 101.0 and 23.4 months compared to 41.9 and 11.0 months for those who did not (p<0.001), respectively. The independent prognostic role of 4mPSA50 was retained even when evaluated in multivariable analysis adjusted for other baseline characteristics and early docetaxel for CSPC. In CRPC, 4mPSA50 evaluated during CSPC retains its prognostic role even if it does not predict a different outcome between patients treated with abiraterone/enzalutamide or taxanes. Conclusion: Achieving a deep and fast PSA response correlates with a better outcome in patients with de novo mCSPC, also positively influencing the prognosis of the subsequent first-line therapy for CRPC disease