Cognitive-academic language proficiency and language acquisition in bilingual instruction : with an outlook on a university project in Albania

Based on the concepts of bilingual education of Cummins, this paper explores the contribution of cognitive-academic language proficiency to the acquisition of a second language in instructional contexts. Cummins' threshold hypothesis is interpreted not as referring to an unspecified level of language competence presupposed for positive development in bilingual instructional contexts but as referring to an adequate level of cognitive-academic proficiency that allows sufficient orientation in the proceedings a/the classroom. The analysis of a sample text taken from a textbook for fourth grade illustrates this paint and leads to a discussion of consequences for the language classroom. In the last part of the paper educational practices in Albania are considered in this context." A review of a joint project undertaken by the University of Graz in Austria and the University of Shkoder in Albania, shows that cognitive academic proficiency is along with situational and motivational factors a key element determining success in educational contexts, where a foreign language - in this case German - is used as a language of instruction.peer-reviewe

Migration Museum, poisson pilote d’un Londres multiculturel

Par la magie des récits de tout un chacun, « all our stories », ce musée installé dans un centre commercial veut faire redécouvrir à tous les habitants de Londres leur diversité ethnoculturelle

« Το χειρόγραφο A.S.V. MISC. ATTI M.S. B.138 II. Βότανα, ύλη ιατρική, ζώα, πετρώματα και προσωπικότητες της Κρήτης» Εισαγωγή, απόδοση περιεχομένου και διπλωματική έκδοση.

Σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι να παρουσιάσουμε στο ερευνητικό κοινό τον χειρόγραφο κώδικα του Archivio di Stato di Venezia με την ονομασία Μisc. Atti M.S. B.138 II. O κώδικας αυτός κατά κύριο περιλαμβάνει την περιγραφή, τις χρήσεις και τις θεραπευτικές ιδιότητες αρκετών βοτάνων της Κρήτης. Εκτός όμως από βότανα περιλαμβάνει και ευρύτερη ιατρική ύλη, την περιγραφή ζώων, πετρωμάτων, μιας παραδοξογραφίας καθώς και σημαντικών προσωπικοτήτων της Κρήτης. Η πρωτοτυπία της εργασίας αυτής έγκειται στο ότι το χειρόγραφο αυτό είναι μια σχεδόν άγνωστη και ανέκδοτη ως τώρα πηγή, η οποία πιστεύουμε ότι θα συμβάλει στην έρευνα για το ενδιαφέρον που υπήρχε (κατά κύριο λόγο κατά τον 16ο και 17ο αιώνα) για τα βότανα και την ιατρική ύλη της Κρήτης. Στο χειρόγραφο υπάρχουν επίσης αυθεντικές, προσωπικές μαρτυρίες σχετικά με την χλωρίδα, την πανίδα, τα πετρώματα, την αρχιτεκτονική, την τοπογραφία, τα τοπωνύμια, την ξυλουργική, το εμπόριο αλλά και ορισμένων προσωπικοτήτων της Κρήτης. Αποτελεί ακόμη έμμεση πηγή για την παρουσία έντυπου βιβλίου και βιβλιοθηκών στην Κρήτη.The purpose of this work is to present to the research public the manuscript codex of the Archivio di Stato di Venezia Misc. Atti M.S. B.138 II. This code mainly includes the description, uses and therapeutic properties of several herbs of Crete. However, in addition to herbs, it also includes wider medical material, the description of animals, rocks, a paradoxography as well as important personalities of Crete. In the manuscript there are also authentic, personal testimonies about the flora, fauna, rocks, architecture, topography, toponyms, carpentry, commerce and also some personalities of Crete. It is also an indirect testimony about the presence of printed books and libraries in Crete

Imaging-guided interventions modulating portal venous flow: Evidence and controversies

Portal hypertension is defined by an increase in the portosystemic venous gradient. In most cases, increased resistance to portal blood flow is the initial cause of elevated portal pressure. More than 90% of cases of portal hypertension are estimated to be due to advanced chronic liver disease or cirrhosis. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts, a non-pharmacological treatment for portal hypertension, involve the placement of a stent between the portal vein and the hepatic vein or inferior vena cava which helps bypass hepatic resistance. Portal hypertension may also be a result of extrahepatic portal vein thrombosis or compression. In these cases, percutaneous portal vein recanalisation restores portal trunk patency, thus preventing portal hypertension-related complications. Any portal blood flow impairment leads to progressive parenchymal atrophy and triggers hepatic regeneration in preserved areas. This provides the rationale for using portal vein embolisation to modulate hepatic volume in preparation for extended hepatic resection. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive evidence-based review of the rationale for, and outcomes associated with, the main imaging-guided interventions targeting the portal vein, as well as to discuss the main controversies around such approaches. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thermal ablation in the management of oligometastatic colorectal cancer

PURPOSE To review available evidence on thermal ablation of oligometastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS Technical and cancer specific considerations for percutaneous image-guided thermal ablation of oligometastatic colorectal metastases in the liver and lung were reviewed. Ablation outcomes are compared to surgical and radiation therapy literature. RESULTS The application of thermal ablation varies widely based on tumor burden, technical expertise, and local cancer triage algorithms. Ablation can be performed in combination or in lieu of other cancer treatments. For surgically non-resectable liver metastases, a randomized trial has demonstrated the superiority of thermal ablation combined with chemotherapy compared to systemic chemotherapy alone in term of progression-free survival and overall survival (OS), with 5-, and 8-year OS of 43.1% and 35.9% in the combined arm vs. 30.3% and 8.9% in the chemotherapy alone arm. As ablation techniques and technology improve, the role of percutaneous thermal ablation may expand even into surgically resectable disease. Many of the prognostic factors for better OS after local treatment of lung metastases are the same for surgery and thermal ablation, including size and number of metastases, disease-free interval, complete resection/ablation, negative carcinoembryonic antigen, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and controlled extra-pulmonary metastases. When matched for these factors, thermal ablation for lung and liver metastases appears to provide equivalent overall survival as surgery, in the range of 50% at 5 years. Thermal ablation has limitations that should be respected to optimize patient outcomes and minimize complications including targets that are well-visualized by image guidance, measure <3cm in diameter, and be located at least 3mm distance from prominent vasculature or major bronchi. CONCLUSIONS The routine incorporation of image-guided thermal ablation into the therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of oligometastatic colorectal cancer can provide long survival and even cure

Heterotopic pancreatitis causing confusion in small bowel tumor.

A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for acute epigastric pain with nausea and vomiting. Physical examination was suggestive for acute abdomen without peritoneal irritation findings. Blood tests results were as follow: alanine aminotransferase (ALT): 87 U/L, aspartate aminotransferase (AST): 55 U/L, amylase: 135 U/L, lipase: 69 U/L, total bilirubin: 11,6 mg/l, creatinine: 9 mg/l, C-reactive protein (CRP): 108,4 mg/L, and white blood cells (WBC): 14640/mm

Biodegradable Pickering emulsions of Lipiodol for liver trans-arterial chemo-embolization

International audienceWater-in-oil (W/O) Lipiodol emulsions remain the preferable choice for local delivery of chemotherapy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, their low stability severely hampers their efficiency. Here, remarkably stable W/O Lipiodol emulsion stabilized by biodegradable particles was developed thanks to Pickering technology. The addition of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles (NPs) into the aqueous-phase of the formulation led to W/O Pickering emulsion by a simple emulsification process through two connected syringes. Influence of nanoparticles concentration and water/oil ratio on emulsion stability and droplet size were studied. All formulated Pickering emulsions were W/O type, stable for at least one month and water droplets size could be tuned by controlling nanoparticle concentration from 24 mm at 25 mg/mL to 69 mm at 5 mg/mL. The potential of these emulsions to efficiently encapsulate chemotherapy was studied through the internalization of doxorubicin (DOX) into the aqueous phase with a water/oil ratio of 1/3 as recommended by the medical community. Loaded-doxorubicin was released from conventional emulsion within a few hours whereas doxorubicin from stable Pickering emulsion took up to 10 days to be completely released. In addition, in vitro cell viability evaluations performed on the components of the emulsion and the Pickering emulsion have shown no significant toxicity up to relatively high concentrations of NPs (3 mg/mL) on two different cell lines: HUVEC and HepG2. Statement of Significance We present an original experimental research in the field of nanotechnology for biomedical applications. In particular, we have formulated, thanks to Pickering technology, a new therapeutic emulsion stabilized with biodegradable PLGA nanoparticles. As far as we know, this is the first therapeutic Pickering emulsion reported in the literature for hepatocellular carcinoma. Such a new emulsion allows to easily prepare a predictable and stable lipiodolized emulsion having all the required characteristics for optimum tumor uptake. As demonstrated throughout our manuscript, emulsions stabilized with these nanoparticles have the advantage of being biodegradable, biocompatible and less toxic compared to usual emulsions stabilized with synthetic surfactants. These findings demonstrate the plausibility of the use of Pickering emulsions for chemoembolization as a therapeutic agent in extended release formulations

Electrochemotherapy in radiotherapy-resistant epidural spinal cord compression in metastatic cancer patients

Objective: To report efficacy and safety of percutaneous electrochemotherapy (ECT) in patients with radiotherapy-resistant metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC). Material/ methods: This retrospective study analyzed all consecutive patients treated with bleomycin-based ECT between February-2020 and September-2022 in a single tertiary referral cancer center. Changes in pain were evaluated with the Numerical Rating Score (NRS), in neurological deficit with the Neurological Deficit Scale, and changes in epidural spinal cord compression were evaluated with the epidural spinal cord compression scale (ESCCS) using an MRI. Results: Forty consecutive solid tumour patients with previously radiated MESCC and no effective systemic treatment options were eligible. With a median follow-up of 5.1 months [1-19.1], toxicities were temporary acute radicular pain (25%), prolonged radicular hypoesthesia (10%), and paraplegia (7.5%). At 1 month, pain was significantly improved over baseline (median NRS: 1.0 [0-8] versus 7.0 [1.0-10], P < .001) and neurological benefits were considered as marked (28%), moderate (28%), stable (38%), or worse (8%). Three-month follow-up (21 patients) confirmed improved over baseline (median NRS: 2.0 [0-8] versus 6.0 [1.0-10], P < .001) and neurological benefits were considered as marked (38%), moderate (19%), stable (33.5%), and worse (9.5%). One-month post-treatment MRI (35 patients) demonstrated complete response in 46% of patients by ESCCS, partial response in 31%, stable disease in 23%, and no patients with progressive disease. Three-month post-treatment MRI (21 patients) demonstrated complete response in 28.5%, partial response in 38%, stable disease in 24%, and progressive disease in 9.5%. Conclusions: This study provides the first evidence that ECT can rescue radiotherapy-resistant MESCC