Development of an Ex Vivo Three Dimensional (3-D) Model of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML)

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is a cancer of hematopoietic stem cells that develops in the three-dimensional (3-D) niches provided by the bone marrow microenvironment in vivo. The study of AML has been hampered by the lack of appropriate ex vivo models, which can mimic this microenvironment. It was hypothesised that the fabrication of scaffolds for the biomimetic growth of leukemic cells ex vivo could facilitate the study of the disease in its native 3-D niche. The growth of different leukemic cell lines was first evaluated, namely K- 562, HL-60 and Kasumi-6 on highly porous scaffolds fabricated from biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymeric materials: poly (L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), polyurethane (PU), poly (methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA), poly (D, L-lactade) (PDLLA), poly (caprolactone) (PCL), and polystyrene (PS). These results were compared with two commercially available scaffolds from BD™ Biosciences. Overall, out of all the scaffolds, PLGA and PU displayed the best seeding efficiency and leukemic cellular growth, assessed by MTS assay, scanning electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. In order to improve the ex vivo 3-D leukemic cell culture, PLGA and PU scaffolds were coated with bone marrow extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, collagen (62.5 or 125 μg/ml) and fibronectin (25 or 50 μg/ml) and a combination of both proteins: collagen + fibronectin (62.5 + 25 μg/ml) respectively. Once the abnormal hematopoietic 3-D model was established, a new model to culture normal hematopoietic cord blood mononuclear cells was studied and compared. All 3 leukemic cell lines and cord blood cells grew better in PU scaffolds coated with collagen type I using the low concentration and sustained growth in the absence of exogenous cytokines. As a result, it was concluded that PU-collagen scaffold could provide a practical model with which to study the biology and treatment of primary AML in an ex vivo mimicry without the use of animal models

Curriculum reform based on the development of scientific competences: controversies in teachers’ opinions

This paper examines certain controversies among a group of secondary education science teachers with regard to the teacher’s role and his/her professional environment, their views being gathered following a training programme aimed at introducing a key competences approach into the Spanish science curriculum. During the programme they were required to design, implement, and assess their own teaching unit for developing students’ scientific competences by means of context-based learning. At the end of the programme a representative group of teachers were selected to take part in a focus group in which they discussed the training received and its transferability to the classroom. Their statements were then analysed and categorised in order to identify factors associated with their professional environment (at the level of both school and the wider education system) and the implications they had for classroom practice. The present study focuses on those aspects which generated controversy among the teachers, specifically as regards whether they were seen as facilitating or as an obstacle to the teaching of science via a competence-based approach. The issues of controversy related to the following topics: the approach to teaching, the content to be taught, the views of and coordination with colleagues, the utility of contexts and the need for reflection on one’s own practice. The paper concludes by considering potential reasons for these issues of controversy and the implications they have for a competence-based approach to teaching.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.I+D Excelencia project EDU2013-41952-

Personalidad jurídico-canónica y derecho español. Comentario a una sentencia del Tribunal Supremo.

Material incluido en el volumen especial de la revista del Instituto Martín de Azpilcueta, Universidad de Navarra : Ius Canonicum (1999), en honor de Javier Hervada

Structural safety analysis of the aqueducts 'Coll de foix' and 'Capdevila' of the Canal of Aragon and Catalonia

The Canal of Aragon and Catalonia (CAC) is 134 km long and irrigates 105,000 ha (131 irrigation user communities) and it is owned by the River Ebro’s Water Agency. The aqueducts are located between km 67 and 71 of the canal and were designed by the civil engineer Félix de los Ríos Martín in 1907. The cross-section of both aqueducts, Coll de Foix and Capdevila, was extended within the framework of the project by Fernando Hué Herrero in 1962 in order to reach design flows of 26.1 m3/s and 25.7 m3/s, respectively. The structural performance of the aqueducts has been satisfactory; nevertheless, the hydraulic capacity has reduced over the years. As a result, the irrigation user communities have expressed the need to extend the cross-section of the aqueducts to meet the irrigation demands. Given the age of the structure and the different design considerations at the time, it is paramount to verify the structural reliability of the aqueducts in the new load configuration. Therefore, the objective of this contribution is to present the structural safety analysis conducted and to describe the new extended cross-section for both aqueducts (maintaining the original structural typology).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Steven Holl: del espacio articulado al espacio cromático

By 1983, Steven Holl had begun experimenting with so-called 'hinged space' in a series of apartments in Manhattan based on a planar and linear vision of architecture. Therefore, a parallel could be drawn with the De Stijl group and their neoplastic paintings. Projects like housing in Fukuoka and Storefront gallery are evolved examples of the same ideas. The creation of 'chromatic space' -another term coined by Holl- is analysed through D.E. Shaw and Sarphatistraat offices renovation, where the phenomena of spatial colour reflection are explored, thereby establishing new points in common with the chromatic architecture of the Dutch group.Postprint (published version

Reflexão sobre a prática na formação em matemática para contexto pré-escolar

Entendemos que o desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional docente pode e deve ser estimulado por hábitos de reflexão e questionamento acerca da sua prática pedagógica, essenciais a uma apropriação crítica dos saberes científicos, pedagógico-didáticos e contextuais que enformam qualquer ato educativo com significado. Neste texto, descrevemos a metodologia formativa adotada na unidade curricular de Didática da Matemática em Contexto Pré-Escolar, do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar de uma instituição privada de ensino superior. A partir das situações reais dos contextos em que as estudantes desenvolviam a Prática de Ensino Supervisionada e como resultado da sistematização das experiências de aprendizagem aí desenvolvidas, esta experiência privilegiou processos reflexivos de natureza académica e profissional e possibilitou uma (re)definição de estratégias e práticas pedagógicas para intervenção posterior. A análise das práticas implementadas e das narrativas produzidas pelas estudantes aponta esta metodologia como facilitadora do desenvolvimento de capacidades crítico-reflexivas, tanto ao nível de (re)construção de conhecimento lógico-matemático como de (re)configuração da praxis, e, portanto, de desenvolvimento profissional destas (futuras) docentes.We believe that teachers’ personal and professional development can and should be encouraged by reflection and questioning routines about their own pedagogical practice. This is essential to a critical appropriation of scientific, pedagogical-didactic and contextual knowledge that outline any meaningful educational act. In this paper, we describe the formative methodology adopted in the subject Didactics of Mathematics for Preschool Context in the Master Degree in Preschool Education of a private higher education institution. The description starts from the real contexts in which the students developed the Supervised Teaching Practice and as a result of the systematization of the learning experiences developed during that time, this experience privileged reflexive processes of academic and professional nature and enabled a (re)definition of strategies and practices for further educational intervention. The analysis of the implemented practices and narratives produced by these students points to this methodology as facilitating critical-reflective capacities development, both in terms of (re)construction of logical-mathematical knowledge as of praxis (re)configuration, and therefore, of professional development of these future teachers

Las técnicas emergentes en comunicación comercial y sus efectos percibidos. Un análisis descriptivo

In this empirical research, perceived effects of a relevant group of new communication tools, with an increasing importance across all kind of organizations, are analyzed. Communication 360, viral communication, mobile communication, engagement marketing or experiential communication are among them, although a broader range of communication techniques have been included in this work. In order to identify the most relevant characteristics of communications effects, a qualitative stage was developed. In a second stage, a structured questionnaire was applied to 237 marketing and communication managers from a variety of industries. According to our empirical findings, there are three different dimensions. First, one of the main classification criteria is strategic oriented versus tactical oriented communication. Secondly, it appears an interesting dichotomy between awareness-oriented communication tools versus those ones focused on creating relations and behavior modification. The third dimension shows a subset of communication tools related to persuasion effects, versus other tools that could cause disorientation and confusion in the target audience.En este trabajo empírico se analizan las percepciones asociadas a los efectos que se pueden atribuir a un conjunto relevante de nuevas técnicas de comunicación, que están adquiriendo una importancia cada vez mayor dentro de las estrategias de todo tipo de organizaciones. Entre ellas se encuentran la comunicación 360º, la comunicación viral, la comunicación móvil, el “engagement marketing” o la comunicación experiencial, aunque el abanico de técnicas estudiadas es mucho mayor. Para poder determinar los efectos asociados al conjunto de técnicas descrito, se realizó una investigación cualitativa que ayudó a definir los ítems más relevantes, y después se realizó una encuesta estructurada a una muestra de 237 directivos y mandos intermedios de marketing y comunicación, de diferentes sectores de actividad. Según los análisis efectuados, se pone de manifiesto que existen tres ejes claros de clasificación. En primer lugar, aparece un primer criterio de diferenciación, basado en la orientación estratégica o táctica en la comunicación. En segundo lugar, también se evidencia una diferenciación evidente entre técnicas con una orientación puramente dirigidas al recuerdo o notoriedad, frente a aquellas cuyos efectos atribuidos tienen más relación con la potenciación de relaciones y la modificación de comportamientos. En tercer lugar, aparece una diferenciación interesante entre las técnicas más orientadas a la producir efectos relacionados con la persuasión, frente a otras que pueden producir confusión en el receptor y que, en principio, deberían ser evitadas.

Reflection on practice in mathematics training for preschool context

Entendemos que o desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional docente pode e deve ser estimulado por hábitos de reflexão e questionamento acerca da sua prática pedagógica, essenciais a uma apropriação crítica dos saberes científicos, pedagógico-didáticos e contextuais que enformam qualquer ato educativo com significado. Neste texto, descrevemos a metodologia formativa adotada na unidade curricular de Didática da Matemática em Contexto Pré-Escolar, do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar de uma instituição privada de ensino superior. A partir das situações reais dos contextos em que as estudantes desenvolviam a Prática de Ensino Supervisionada e como resultado da sistematização das experiências de aprendizagem aí desenvolvidas, esta experiência privilegiou processos reflexivos de natureza académica e profissional e possibilitou uma (re)definição de estratégias e práticas pedagógicas para intervenção posterior. A análise das práticas implementadas e das narrativas produzidas pelas estudantes aponta esta metodologia como facilitadora do desenvolvimento de capacidades crítico-reflexivas, tanto ao nível de (re)construção de conhecimento lógico-matemático como de (re)configuração da praxis, e, portanto, de desenvolvimento profissional destas (futuras) docentes.We believe that teachers’ personal and professional development can and should be encouraged by reflection and questioning routines about their own pedagogical practice. This is essential to a critical appropriation of scientific, pedagogical-didactic and contextual knowledge that outline any meaningful educational act. In this paper, we describe the formative methodology adopted in the subject Didactics of Mathematics for Preschool Context in the Master Degree in Preschool Education of a private higher education institution. The description starts from the real contexts in which the students developed the Supervised Teaching Practice and as a result of the systematization of the learning experiences developed during that time, this experience privileged reflexive processes of academic and professional nature and enabled a (re)definition of strategies and practices for further educational intervention. The analysis of the implemented practices and narratives produced by these students points to this methodology as facilitating critical-reflective capacities development, both in terms of (re)construction of logical-mathematical knowledge as of praxis (re)configuration, and therefore, of professional development of these future teachers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Componentes e indicadores de idoneidade didática para processos de estudo sobre grandezas e sua medida e sua aplicação no Ensino Básico

Estabelecemos como objetivo principal para este trabalho a identificação de componentes e indicadores de idoneidade didática de processos de instrução sobre a exploração das grandezas e sua medida, em sintonia com o enfoque Ontossemiótico da Didática da Matemática. A partir da sistematização do conhecimento matemático e didático relativo a cada uma das facetas associada a qualquer processo de ensino/aprendizagem, apresenta-se um guia geral de indicadores que permitem valorar a idoneidade didática de processos instrucionais sobre este tema curricular assim como uma exemplificação da sua utilização, visível na aplicação a um episódio de aula implementado numa instituição de ensino portuguesa sobre a exploração da massa no 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico. Palavras-chave: Enfoque Ontossemiótico, idoneidade didática grandezas e medida, ensino básico.Abstract The main objective for this work was to identify components and indicators for the didactic suitability of the exploitation of magnitudes and measurement educational processes, following the Onto-semiotic approach of Mathematics Education. From the systematization of mathematical and didactical knowledge related to each of the facets associated to teaching/learning process on Magnitudes and its Measurement, we present a general guide of indicators that allows to assess the didactic suitability of instructional processes on this curricular theme- We also exemplify its use, visible in the application to a class episode implemented in a Portuguese institution about the exploitation of mass in the 1st Cycle of Primary Education. Keywords: Onto-semiotic approach, didactical suitability, magnitudes and measurement, primary education