Exploring the Development and Operation of Inclusive Postsecondary Education Programs

This study examined the operations and development of five inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs to identify the key characteristics of effective IPSE institutions. Researchers chose the five schools because they were in the Top 20 Schools/ Colleges of Education based on US News and World Report and also have successful IPSE programs. A survey was sent out to the directors of the schools via an email link and consisted of questions pertaining to (a) operations, (b) foundations, (c) the role of outside services, and (d) involvement on campus. The study found that nearly all the schools received TPSID funding at some point, other departments on campus provide vital support to the programs, and support staff were needed to ensure that the students had access to all the help they need. The information from this study can be used by developing programs as a blueprint for a successful launch. The ultimate goal is to contribute to a higher number of IPSE programs to increase accessibility to higher education. Keywords: higher education, intellectual disabilities, inclusive postsecondary educationBachelor of Arts in Educatio

How to Organize an OR Workshop: the AIROYoung Experience

AbstractAIROYoung is the Young Researchers Chapter of AIRO (Italian Association of Operations Research). In this work, we focus on the AIROYoung Workshop, an annual event which has been reuniting young researchers constituting this community from 2017. Describing all the editions of the initiative, we highlight the main guidelines we have been following so far to organize it (e.g., no registration fee, grants for free accommodation, no parallel sessions, and a look to sustainability). We analyze surveys filled by participants to present qualitative and quantitative data about our workshops and to show how interest and attendance have increased through the years. We talk about some innovations we have introduced to improve quality (e.g., the PhD school "from young researchers to young researchers" and the pitch talk session). We then share our personal opinion and, last but not least, we invite young researchers to join in the preparation of the next AIROYoung Workshops

Un apostolo per "la piu' grande Italia". Padre Reginaldo Giuliani tra mito e storia.

La tesi ha per oggetto la figura del domenicano torinese Padre Reginaldo Giuliani (1887-1936). Cappellano degli Arditi nel primo conflitto mondiale, egli si distinse nel dopoguerra come oratore patriottico, si unì ai legionari dannunziani nell'impresa di Fiume e sostenne ardentemente il fascismo; volontario della campagna d'Etiopia, cadde nella battaglia di Passo Uarieu e venne mitizzato dal regime quale esemplare "soldato di Cristo e della Patria". Dopo il 1945, la memoria di Giuliani continuò ad essere coltivata soltanto da confratelli e nostalgici che in lui celebravano l'impero, il fascismo ed il rifiuto della democrazia

Xavier Boniface, Louise Dessaivre (dir.), Cathédrales en guerre, xvie-xxie siècle

Le long centenaire de la Grande Guerre a donné lieu à plusieurs travaux et manifestations (études, actes de colloques, textes de vulgarisation scientifique) consacrés au patrimoine artistique menacé, endommagé ou détruit par le conflit : pensons par exemple au volume dirigé par Laurence Baudoux-Rousseau, Michel-Pierre Chélini et Charles Giry-Deloison sur Le patrimoine, un enjeu de la Grande Guerre. Art et archéologie dans les territoires occupés, 1914-1921 (Artois Presses Université, 2018). D..

Advances in the medical management of Cushing's syndrome

Background: Management of Cushing's syndrome, that is, excess cortisol secretion, has undergone considerable advances since the pioneering studies by Harvey Cushing. Surgery is clearly first choice for all etiologies of Cushing's syndrome, and medical therapy is largely administered in the interim between other therapeutic options. The limited use of medical therapy is a consequence of the lack of a truly efficacious compound to restrain adrenocorticotrophic hormone or cortisol secretion, but this will hopefully change in the near future as molecules developed over the past few years are tested. Conclusion: This paper illustrates present and perspective medical treatments for Cushing's syndrome

Effect of retinoic acid on human adrenal corticosteroid synthesis.

AbstractAimsRetinoic acid has recently yielded promising results in the treatment of Cushing's disease, i.e., excess cortisol secretion due to a pituitary corticotropin (ACTH)-secreting adenoma. In addition to its effect on the tumoral corticotrope cell, clinical results suggest an additional adrenal site of action. Aim of this study was to evaluate whether retinoic acid modulates cortisol synthesis and secretion by human adrenals in vitro.Main methodsPrimary cultures from 10 human adrenals specimens were incubated with 10nM, 100nM and 1μM retinoic acid with and without 10nM ACTH for 24h. Cortisol levels were measured by radioimmunoassay and CYP11A1, STAR and MC2R gene expression analyzed by real-time PCR.Key findingsRetinoic acid increased cortisol secretion (149.5±33.01%, 151.3±49.45% and 129.3±8.32% control secretion for 10nM, 100nM and 1μM respectively, p<0.05) and potentiated STAR expression (1.51±0.22, 1.56±0.15 and 1.59±0.14 fold change over baseline, for 10nM, 100nM and 1μM respectively, p<0.05). Concurrently, retinoic acid markedly blunted constitutional and ACTH-induced MC2R expression (0.66±0.11, 0.62±0.08 and 0.53±0.07 fold change over baseline, for 10nM, 100nM and 1μM respectively, p<0.05; 0.71±0.10, 0.51±0.07 and 0.51±0.08 fold change over ACTH alone, for 10nM, 100nM and 1μM respectively, p<0.05). No effect on CYP11A1 was observed.SignificanceRetinoic acid stimulates cortisol synthesis and secretion in human adrenals and at the same time markedly blunts ACTH receptor transcription. These results reveal a novel, adrenal effect of retinoic acid which may contribute to its efficacy in patients with Cushing's disease

Growth hormone in obesity

Growth hormone (GH) secretion, either spontaneous or evoked by provocative stimuli, is markedly blunted in obesity. In fact obese patients display, compared to normal weight subjects, a reduced half-life, frequency of secretory episodes and daily production rate of the hormone. Furthermore, in these patients GH secretion is impaired in response to all traditional pharmacological stimuli acting at the hypothalamus (insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, arginine, galanin, L-dopa, clonidine, acute glucocorticoid administration) and to direct somatotrope stimulation by exogenous growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH). Compounds thought to inhibit hypothalamic somatostatin (SRIH) release (pyridostigmine, arginine, galanin, atenolol) consistently improve, though do not normalize, the somatotropin response to GHRH in obesity. The synthetic growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRPs) GHRP-6 and hexarelin elicit in obese patients GH responses greater than those evoked by GHRH, but still lower than those observed in lean subjects. The combined administration of GHRH and GHRP-6 represents the most powerful GH releasing stimulus known in obesity, but once again it is less effective in these patients than in lean subjects. As for the peripheral limb of the GH-insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) axis, high free IGF-I, low IGF-binding proteins 1 (IGFBP-1) and 2 (IGFBP-2), normal or high IGFBP-3 and increased GH binding protein (GHBP) circulating levels have been described in obesity. Recent evidence suggests that leptin, the product of adipocyte specific ob gene, exerts a stimulating effect on GH release in rodents; should the same hold true in man, the coexistence of high leptin and low GH serum levels in human obesity would fit in well with the concept of a leptin resistance in this condition. Concerning the influence of metabolic and nutritional factors, an impaired somatotropin response to hypoglycaemia and a failure of glucose load to inhibit spontaneous and stimulated GH release are well documented in obese patients; furthermore, drugs able to block lipolysis and thus to lower serum free fatty acids (NEFA) significantly improve somatotropin secretion in obesity. Caloric restriction and weight loss are followed by the restoration of a normal spontaneous and stimulated GH release. On the whole, hypothalamic, pituitary and peripheral factors appear to be involved in the GH hyposecretion of obesity. A SRIH hypertone, a GHRH deficiency or a functional failure of the somatotrope have been proposed as contributing factors. A lack of the putative endogenous ligand for GHRP receptors is another challenging hypothesis. On the peripheral side, the elevated plasma levels of NEFA and free IGF-I may play a major role. Whatever the cause, the defect of GH secretion in obesity appears to be of secondary, probably adaptive, nature since it is completely reversed by the normalization of body weight. In spite of this, treatment with biosynthetic GH has been shown to improve the body composition and the metabolic efficacy of lean body mass in obese patients undergoing therapeutic severe caloric restriction. GH and conceivably GHRPs might therefore have a place in the therapy of obesity

No Untoward Effect of Long-Term Ketoconazole Administration on Electrocardiographic QT Interval in Patients with Cushing's Disease.

Ketoconazole is listed among drugs that prolong QT interval and may increase the risk of torsade de pointes, a severe ventricular arrhythmia. This compound has recently been approved for treatment of Cushing's syndrome, a severe endocrine disorder. These patients harbour several risk factors for prolonged QT interval, for example hypokalaemia and left ventricular hypertrophy, but no study has evaluated whether administration of ketoconazole affects their QT interval. The aim of this study was to assess the QT interval in patients with Cushing's disease during long-term administration of ketoconazole. Electrocardiograms from 15 patients with Cushing's disease (12 women, 3 men, age: 37.8 ± 2.66 years) on ketoconazole treatment (100 mg-800 mg qd) for 1 month to 12 years were reviewed retrospectively. QT interval was measured and corrected for heart rate (QTc). Measurements before and during ketoconazole treatment were compared and any abnormal QTc value recorded. Concurrent medical therapies were also documented. On average, QTc was superimposable before and during ketoconazole treatment (393.2 ± 7.17 versus 403.3 ± 6.05 msec. in women; 424.3 ± 23.54 versus 398.0 ± 14.93 msec. in men, N.S.). QTc normalized on ketoconazole in one man with prolonged QTc prior to treatment; no abnormal QTc was observed in any other patient during the entire observation period, even during concurrent treatment with other QT-prolonging drugs. In conclusion, long-term ketoconazole administration does not appear to be associated with significant prolongation of QT interval in patients with Cushing's disease. ECG monitoring can follow recommendations drawn for other low-risk QT-prolonging drugs with attention to specific risk factors, for example hypokalaemia and drug interactions

Increased prevalence of prolonged QT interval in males with primary or secondary hypogonadism : a pilot study

P&gt;Symptoms and signs of male hypogonadism span all organ systems, including the cardiovascular apparatus. The electrocardiographic QT interval reflects cardiac ventricular repolarization and, if prolonged, increases the risk of malignant arrhythmias. QT interval duration is similar in boys and girls during childhood, but shortens in males after puberty and experimental studies suggest that testosterone is a major contributor to shortening of QT interval in men. The aim of the present pilot study was to assess the duration of ventricular repolarization in adult males with primary or secondary hypogonadism. Standard ECG recordings were performed in 26 men (mean age 39.2 +/- 2.17 years) with pituitary or testicular hypogonadism and repeated in 15 patients during testosterone replacement. Twenty-six age-matched control men were also analysed. Measured QT intervals were corrected for heart rate according to Bazzett's formula (QTc = QT/root RR interval). The prevalence of prolonged QTc was considerably higher in hypogonadal patients (four of 26 men) than in control men (none, p &lt; 0.05) and in the general, healthy population (&lt; 2.5%). QTc interval normalized on hormone replacement therapy in the four patients presenting prolonged QTc in the hypogonadal state. Heart rate and left ventricular mass did not differ among the two groups and no known QT-prolonging factor was apparent in patients with abnormal QTc interval. In conclusion, a high number prolonged QT interval measurements was observed in hypogonadal men who may therefore be at increased risk for cardiac arrhythmias. This observation reveals an additional feature of male hypogonadism, which may benefit from testosterone replacement therapy

Seguimiento a egresados del tercer ciclo de la Educación General Básica rural

This Research Project focused on the characteristics of students who had completed their third course of studies in rural. BGE and had continued studying in urban Polimodal Education institutions. The samples were institutions belonging to the Supervision of the IV Region in Chubut, both in rural and urban areas. Public policies have decided what, what for, how and when children from rural areas should learn. These policies have ignored cultural differences, social status, way of life, motivation and special interests. Pedagogical practice is still structured according to past socio-cultural categories and institutions have modernity features. It is necessary to give solutions to the educational needs in rural areas, taking into account the special social context of each community so as to foster and enrich their culture and generate anapproximation to BGE. BGE and had continued studying in urban Polimodal Education institutions. The samples were institutions belonging to the Supervision of the IV Region in Chubut, both in rural and urban areas. Public policies have decided what, what for, how and when children from rural areas should learn. These policies have ignored cultural differences, social status, way of life, motivation and special interests. Pedagogical practice is still structured according to past socio-cultural categories and institutions have modernity features. It is necessary to give solutions to the educational needs in rural areas, taking into account the special social context of each community so as to foster and enrich their culture and generate anapproximation to BGE. Este Proyecto de Investigación, indagó el perfil del egresado del tercer ciclo de la EGB rural y su inserción en las instituciones de Educación Polimodal urbana. La muestra fueron instituciones correspondientes a la Supervisión de la Región IV de Chubut, del ámbito rural y urbano. Las políticas públicas han determinado qué, para qué, cómo y cuando debe aprender el conjunto de niños agrupados en el ámbito rural. Se han ignorado las diferencias de capital cultural, las trayectorias de vida relacionadas con el lugar que se ocupa en la estructura social, historias vitales particulares, motivaciones, intereses. Las prácticas pedagógicas prosiguen estructuradas bajo las categorías del orden sociocultural pasado y las instituciones con matriz propia de la modernidad. Es necesario dar respuesta a las necesidades educativas de poblaciones rurales, considerando el contexto social particular de cada comunidad para promover el enriquecimiento de su capital cultural y generar espacios de aproximación a la escuela media.