Progettazione di un percorso di formazione professionale basato su Open Badge

Nell’era digitale, le istituzioni di istruzione e formazione professionale (IFP) sono emerse come ambienti di sviluppo trasformativi e flessibili; di conseguenza, è importante sviluppare opportunità di apprendimento professionale digitale che devono soddisfare i requisiti del mercato del lavoro europeo. Sono state condotte ricerche in merito a tali opportunità al fine di trovare nuovi strumenti per pianificare e condurre studi sul continuo sviluppo professionale e per raggiungere e mantenere le competenze versatili richieste nelle carriere di questi tempi. Questo studio mira a colmare un vuoto di ricerca riguardante lo sviluppo professionale avanzato basato sulle competenze, indagando il processo di apprendimento digitale aperto basato su badge nel contesto della formazione professionale. La domanda di ricerca considera come i badge digitali aperti strutturano il processo di apprendimento nel continuo sviluppo professionale delle nuove professioni pre e in servizio. La ricerca si è posta con l’obiettivo di esplorare le diverse idee, opinioni ed esperienze circa l’utilizzo di un sistema di badging all’interno di percorsi formativi professionali. Attraverso questo percorso si è sviluppata una comprensione profonda dei concetti e delle opportunità per il design di nuove pratiche educative. La domanda di ricerca ha esplorato il design di un percorso digitale di formazione professionale basato sull’applicazione delle logiche del gioco e di un sistema di micro-credentials. Ciò che è stato portato in evidenza è l’introduzione di cambiamenti necessari sia ai sistemi di erogazione, le piattaforme di e-learning, sia a quelli di gestione e pianificazione delle attività formative on line (gli LMS, Learning Management System) sia, infine al modo con cui vengono progettati e realizzati i corsi. La semplice sovrapposizione, come plug in, dei badge nelle piattaforme di e-learning, senza un adeguato progetto di cambiamento radicale del modo di fare formazione digitale, non produrrà i risultati sperati. La domanda generale di ricerca dello studio è la seguente: quali sono le best practice per il design di un percorso di formazione professionale basato open badge? L’entità dell’apprendimento digitale aperto basato su badge comprende materiali di apprendimento, criteri di badge, badge didattici, impalcature e supporto a tutti i corsisti. Questo studio offre approfondimenti sulla struttura del processo e la progettazione a più livelli per l’applicazione dell’approccio basato sulla Design based Research e badge digitali aperti e nello sviluppo professionale.In the digital age, vocational education and training (VET) institutions emerged as transformative and flexible development environments; consequently, it is important to develop digital professional learning opportunities which must meet the requirements of the European labor market. The research has been conducted into these opportunities, in order to find new tools for planning and conducting continuing professional development studies and for achieving and maintaining the versatile skills required in careers these days. This study aims to fill a research gap regarding advanced skills-based professional development by investigating the open badge-based digital learning process in the context of vocational training. The research question considers how open digital badges structure the learning process in the continuous professional development of new pre and in-service professions. The research was aimed to explore different ideas, opinions and experiences regarding the use of a badging system within professional training courses. Through this route we have developed an understanding wave of concepts and opportunities for the design of new educational practices. The research question explored the design of a digital vocational training course based on the application of the logic of the game and a system of micro-credentials. What has been highlighted is the introduction of necessary changes both to the delivery systems, the e-learning platforms, and to those for the management and planning of online training activities (the LMS, Learning Management System) and, finally, to the way in which the courses are designed and implemented. The simple overlapping, as a plug-in, of badges in e-learning platforms, without an adequate project of radical change in the way of doing digital training, will not produce the desired results. The firm's general research question is: “What are the best practices for designing an open badge- based career path” ? The entity of digital learning based on open badge includes learning materials, badge criteria, educational badge, scaffolding and support to all the participants . This study provides insights into the structure of the process and planning at various levels for the 'application of ' approach based on Design Research based and digital badge open and professional development

Macular Microcysts in Mitochondrial Optic Neuropathies: Prevalence and Retinal Layer Thickness Measurements.

PurposeTo investigate the thickness of the retinal layers and to assess the prevalence of macular microcysts (MM) in the inner nuclear layer (INL) of patients with mitochondrial optic neuropathies (MON).MethodsAll patients with molecularly confirmed MON, i.e. Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) and Dominant Optic Atrophy (DOA), referred between 2010 and 2012 were enrolled. Eight patients with MM were compared with two control groups: MON patients without MM matched by age, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and visual acuity, as well as age-matched controls. Retinal segmentation was performed using specific Optical coherence tomography (OCT) software (Carl Zeiss Meditec). Macular segmentation thickness values of the three groups were compared by one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc corrections.ResultsMM were identified in 5/90 (5.6%) patients with LHON and 3/58 (5.2%) with DOA. The INL was thicker in patients with MON compared to controls regardless of the presence of MM [133.1±7μm vs 122.3±9μm in MM patients (p<0.01) and 128.5±8μm vs. 122.3±9μm in no-MM patients (p<0.05)], however the outer nuclear layer (ONL) was thicker in patients with MM (101.4±1mμ) compared to patients without MM [77.5±8mμ (p<0.001)] and controls [78.4±7mμ (p<0.001)]. ONL thickness did not significantly differ between patients without MM and controls.ConclusionThe prevalence of MM in MON is low (5-6%), but associated with ONL thickening. We speculate that in MON patients with MM, vitreo-retinal traction contributes to the thickening of ONL as well as to the production of cystic spaces

Inter-society consensus for the use of inhaled corticosteroids in infants, children and adolescents with airway diseases

Background: In 2019, a multidisciplinary panel of experts from eight Italian scientific paediatric societies developed a consensus document for the use of inhaled corticosteroids in the management and prevention of the most common paediatric airways disorders. The aim is to provide healthcare providers with a multidisciplinary document including indications useful in the clinical practice. The consensus document was intended to be addressed to paediatricians who work in the Paediatric Divisions, the Primary Care Services and the Emergency Departments, as well as to Residents or PhD students, paediatric nurses and specialists or consultants in paediatric pulmonology, allergy, infectious diseases, and ear, nose, and throat medicine. Methods: Clinical questions identifying Population, Intervention(s), Comparison and Outcome(s) were addressed by methodologists and a general agreement on the topics and the strength of the recommendations (according to the GRADE system) was obtained following the Delphi method. The literature selection included secondary sources such as evidence-based guidelines and systematic reviews and was integrated with primary studies subsequently published. Results: The expert panel provided a number of recommendations on the use of inhaled corticosteroids in preschool wheezing, bronchial asthma, allergic and non-allergic rhinitis, acute and chronic rhinosinusitis, adenoid hypertrophy, laryngitis and laryngospasm. Conclusions: We provided a multidisciplinary update on the current recommendations for the management and prevention of the most common paediatric airways disorders requiring inhaled corticosteroids, in order to share useful indications, identify gaps in knowledge and drive future research

Maternal outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 severity among pregnant women.

Pregnant women may be at higher risk of severe complications associated with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which may lead to obstetrical complications. We performed a case control study comparing pregnant women with severe coronavirus disease 19 (cases) to pregnant women with a milder form (controls) enrolled in the COVI-Preg international registry cohort between March 24 and July 26, 2020. Risk factors for severity, obstetrical and immediate neonatal outcomes were assessed. A total of 926 pregnant women with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 were included, among which 92 (9.9%) presented with severe COVID-19 disease. Risk factors for severe maternal outcomes were pulmonary comorbidities [aOR 4.3, 95% CI 1.9-9.5], hypertensive disorders [aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.0-7.0] and diabetes [aOR2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.5]. Pregnant women with severe maternal outcomes were at higher risk of caesarean section [70.7% (n = 53/75)], preterm delivery [62.7% (n = 32/51)] and newborns requiring admission to the neonatal intensive care unit [41.3% (n = 31/75)]. In this study, several risk factors for developing severe complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant women were identified including pulmonary comorbidities, hypertensive disorders and diabetes. Obstetrical and neonatal outcomes appear to be influenced by the severity of maternal disease

The effects of follicle-stimulating hormone treatment on early meiotic oocytes of Podarcis sicula (Lacertilia).

The effects of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) on early meiotic oocytes were studied by cytological, autoradiographic, and photometric techniques. In addition to regulating oogonial proliferation, oogenesis, and folliculogenesis, the hormone influenced germ cell number and the time course of early meiosis. FSH did not affect the timing of DNA replication and amplification and did not change the amount of rDNA accumulated in the nucleus by amplification. A genetic control mechanism for these processes is suggested

Antimicrobial Peptides as Anticancer Agents: Functional Properties and Biological Activities

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), or host defense peptides, are small cationic or amphipathic molecules produced by prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms that play a key role in the innate immune defense against viruses, bacteria and fungi. AMPs have either antimicrobial or anticancer activities. Indeed, cationic AMPs are able to disrupt microbial cell membranes by interacting with negatively charged phospholipids. Moreover, several peptides are capable to trigger cytotoxicity of human cancer cells by binding to negatively charged phosphatidylserine moieties which are selectively exposed on the outer surface of cancer cell plasma membranes. In addition, some AMPs, such as LTX-315, have shown to induce release of tumor antigens and potent damage associated molecular patterns by causing alterations in the intracellular organelles of cancer cells. Given the recognized medical need of novel anticancer drugs, AMPs could represent a potential source of effective therapeutic agents, either alone or in combination with other small molecules, in oncology. In this review we summarize and describe the properties and the mode of action of AMPs as well as the strategies to increase their selectivity toward specific cancer cells

Cell Penetrating Peptides as Molecular Carriers for Anti-Cancer Agents

Cell membranes with their selective permeability play important functions in the tight control of molecular exchanges between the cytosol and the extracellular environment as the intracellular membranes do within the internal compartments. For this reason the plasma membranes often represent a challenging obstacle to the intracellular delivery of many anti-cancer molecules. The active transport of drugs through such barrier often requires specific carriers able to cross the lipid bilayer. Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are generally 5–30 amino acids long which, for their ability to cross cell membranes, are widely used to deliver proteins, plasmid DNA, RNA, oligonucleotides, liposomes and anti-cancer drugs inside the cells. In this review, we describe the several types of CPPs, the chemical modifications to improve their cellular uptake, the different mechanisms to cross cell membranes and their biological properties upon conjugation with specific molecules. Special emphasis has been given to those with promising application in cancer therapy