The Use of Videos in the Training of Math Teachers: Formative Assessment in Math Teaching and Learning

open5noThe chapter has been designed and shared in all its parts by all the five authors. In particular, "FRAMEWORK ON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN MATHEMATICS TEACHING AND LEARNING" and "Assessing Maths learning: a didactic and a social problem" are by Giorgio Bolondi, .§ Formative assessment: a support to promote the processes of teaching-learning and § THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CLASSROOM OBSERVATION OF TEACHERS' FA PRACTICES TO IMPROVE THEIR PROFESSIONALISM by Ira Vannini, § THE FAMT&L PROJECT AND ITS PHASES by Federica Ferretti, § A TOOL FOR OBSERVATION OF TEACHERS' ASSESSMENT PRACTICES AND VIDEO ANALYSIS, VIDEOS FOR TEACHER TRAINING ON ASSESSMENT: WEB REPOSITORY AND E-LEARNING PLATFORM and CONCLUSION: THE VIDEOS IN THE TEACHER TRAINING, BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE by Stefania Lovece.The purpose of this chapter is to present a systematic observational research on the math teachers’ assessment practices in the classroom. This research is a specific phase of an international project (FAMT&L - Comenius Multilateral Project) and it is aimed to promote the use of formative assessment in teaching mathematics to students aged from 11 to 16. The observational study is carried out by a plan of systematic observations of teachers’ behaviour in the classroom with the help of video recording. Thanks to a specific tool of video analysis (a structured grid), developed using indications from international literature and experiences of teacher training in the five Partner countries involved (Italy, France, Holland, Switzerland and Cyprus), we managed to gather many different indicators on good and bad practices for the formative assessment of mathematics teachers. Furthermore, the analysed video will be used in in-service teacher training courses in order to promote a correct use of formative assessment and to improve achievements in learning mathematics.openBolondi, Giorgio; Ferretti, Federica; Gimigliano, Alessandro; Lovece, Stefania; Vannini, IraBolondi, Giorgio; Ferretti, Federica; Gimigliano, Alessandro; Lovece, Stefania; Vannini, Ir

Habitat use and home range traits of resident and relocated hares (Lepus europaeus, Pallas)

The aim of the study was to know the habitat preferences and home range of resident and relocated brown hares during the no hunting period. The trial was carried out in a protected area (PA) and in a free hunting territory (FHT), both located in Florence province. During captures 21 hares were equipped with a necklace radio tag: 7 hares, resident group, were released in the same area of capture and 14 hares, relocated group, were relocated in six different locations within the FHT. The effect of place of release was analyzed by ANOVA and/or non parametric methods. Results showed that the home ranges of the resident group were characterised by a greater presence of fallow land and shrub land than relocated group (P< 0.05). Home range sizes and Max distances from the releasing sites differed between the two groups. Resident hares preferred landscape characterized by a higher density of patches than the relocated hares (152 vs. 70 n/100ha, 43 vs. 12 n/100ha, 4703 vs. 8142 sq.m respectively; P<0.01). The landscape structure indexes, the home range sizes and the maximum distance from the releasing sites suggest that the relocated hares even if released in suited habitats, will move from their releasing point to look for better habitats. Landscape with most complexity are preferred from the resident hare, and this result should be consider when a project to reintroduction of this lagomorph in a territory is programmed, or when it is necessary to improve the dynamic of a natural population

Living Lab for Testing Digital Energy Solutions at JRC Ispra

The Living Lab for Testing Digital Energy Solutions (DES-Lab) aims at involving the JRC staff and stakeholders in testing the Living Lab method, with the objective to transform the JRC Ispra site into an Energy Living Lab. The project will serve as a tool to support site modernisation, as well as to reach ambitious energy performance objectives. The ongoing pilot phase of the project, expected to be concluded by December 2020, will most likely be postponed due to the force-majeure situation linked to the COVID-19 outbreak. The organisation of workshops to engage JRC Ispra staff is essential for the success of the project. To this purpose, a co-design workshop was organised on 30 January 2020 by unit C.3 jointly with Unit H.1, in collaboration with Units R.I.4, C.2 and C.4, and co-developed by Prof. Jöelle Mastelic and Dr. Francesco Cimmino, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland. The co-design workshop aimed at: - engaging the main stakeholders, and setting a common vision and objectives for the implementation of pilot use cases. - empowering the participants – JRC staff, in fostering a “practice what we preach” approach; - understanding the different individual perspectives, needs and barriers to enable the co-design of solutions closer to these needs, and to increase their adoption and uptake. The co-design workshop focused on three key subject matters, i.e.: - Smart charging systems for electric mobility, concentrating on staff needs and concerns, and commuting habits; - Energy efficiency and savings, particularly in terms of buildings’ energy monitoring and management systems; - Open data and visualisation, with the goal of opening and sharing energy-related data with the staff, as a first step. Commitment from senior management is crucial to ensure that the subsequent experimentation and piloting phases benefit from the necessary human, technical, and financial resources. The event was attended by over 50 participants, mostly JRC Ispra staff belonging to various Directorates and Units. Representatives from the Municipality of Milan in charge of the H2020 Sharing Cities project, and from the Italian start-up Cartender were also among the participants.JRC.C.3-Energy Security, Distribution and Market

Home range e utilizzo del territorio in pernici rose (Alectoris rufa rufa L.) nate in allevamento e allo stato selvatico

RIASSUNTO In Italia sono state ricostituite numerose piccole popolazioni di pernici rosse (Alectoris rufa L.) in areali dove la specie era estinta. Allo stato attuale, poiché la dimensione delle popolazioni ricostituite non raggiunge la dimensione minima necessaria per preservare la specie da una nuova estinzione, devono essere programmati interventi di sostentamento con rilascio di animali di altra provenienza. Al fine di utilizzare pernici nate in allevamento è quindi indispensabile effettuare una ricerca per valutare la capacità di integrazione, la sopravvivenza, l’uso dell’habitat e gli home-range di tali animali liberati in aree occupate da neopopolazioni selvatiche. All’interno di una Zona di Ripopolamento e Cattura (Petroio-Vinci-Firenze) dove è presente una popolazione stimata di 60 pernici selvatiche sono state immesse 350 pernici allevate nel mese di agosto. In gennaio sono state quindi catturate 6 pernici allevate e 21 pernici selvatiche. 6 soggetti per tesi (allevate o selvatiche) sono stati quindi radiocollarati e localizzati bisettimanalmente fino a luglio 2006. La mortalità osservata degli animali radiocollarati è risultata identica (50% =3 soggetti per ciascuna tesi) fra i soggetti selvatici ed i pochi soggetti allevati ricatturati che avevano superato l’inverno (mortalità stimata post-rilascio = 95,1%). I soggetti allevati sopravvissuti all’inverno sono stati in grado di integrarsi in brigate miste con quelli selvatici ed anche gli animali allevati sono stati in grado di riprodursi: delle 3 nidiate osservate, 1 apparteneva alla tesi selvatiche e 2 a quella allevate. L’habitat più frequentato dalle pernici è risultato il vigneto non lavorato, mentre l’aumento significativo della distanza dai punti di alimentazione artificiale sussidiari durante la cova ha fornito l’indicazione gestionale di aumentare e disperdere maggiormente le mangiatoie in primavera per compensare la dispersione delle coppie legata alla territorialità naturale. La distanza dalle abitazioni e gli home-range non sono risultati infine differire fra pernici selvatiche e allevate. SUMMARY In Italy several small populations of red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa L.) has been reconstituted in areas where the species was extinguished. In these areas release of different animals must be programmed, since the dimension of the reconstituted populations does not catch up the minimal dimension required to guard the species from a new extinction. We have thought therefore indispensable to carry out a research in order to estimate the integration ability of the released raised-partridges with the wild population, the survival rates, the use of the habitat and the home-ranges of both populations. In a protected area of Central Italy (Petroio-Vinci-Florence), where an estimated population of 60 wild partridges is estimated, 350 raised partridges were released during the August month. In January 6 raised partridges and 21 wild partridges has been captured by traps. 6 subjects for each thesis (raised or wild) have been therefore equipped with radio necklaces and localised biweekly until July 2006. No difference in mortality rates (50% = 3 birds each) was observed between wild or raised partridges that had survived to the winter (estimated mortality after release = 95.1%). Raised partridges, that survive after their release in the wild, were able to integrate themselves in mixed brigades with the wild partridges. Also the raised partridges were able to breed (of the 3 observed broods of the radiotagged birds 2 belonged to the raised and 1 to the wild). Vineyards with interlined grass were the habitat most frequented (more than 25% of the localizations). The distance from the subsidiary artificial feeding points significantly increased during broods showing the necessity to increase the number and dispersion of the supplementary feeders in spring, to help the animals from an alimentary point of view. The distance from the houses and home ranges surfaces did not differ between wild and raised partridges

Anomalous vascularization in a Wnt medulloblastoma: A case report

BACKGROUND: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. To date only few cases of medulloblastoma with hemorrhages have been reported in the literature. Although some studies speculate on the pathogenesis of this anomalous increased vascularization in medulloblastoma, the specific mechanism is still far from clearly understood. A correlation between molecular medulloblastoma subgroups and hemorrhagic features has not been reported, although recent preliminary studies described that WNT-subtype tumors display increased vascularization and hemorrhaging. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we describe a child with a Wnt-medulloblastoma presenting as cerebellar-vermian hemorrhagic lesion. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed the presence of a midline posterior fossa mass with a cystic hemorrhagic component. The differential diagnosis based on imaging included cavernous hemangioma, arteriovenous malformation and traumatic lesion. At surgery, the tumor appeared richly vascularized as documented by the preoperative angiography. CONCLUSIONS: The case we present showed that Wnt medulloblastoma may be associated with anomalous vascularization. Further studies are needed to elucidate if there is a link between the hypervascularization and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling activation and if this abnormal vasculature might influence drug penetration contributing to good prognosis of this medulloblastoma subgroup

The Role of PPAR Ligands in Controlling Growth-Related Gene Expression and their Interaction with Lipoperoxidation Products

Peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors that belong to the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily. The three PPAR isoforms (α, γ and β/δ) have been found to play a pleiotropic role in cell fat metabolism. Furthermore, in recent years, evidence has been found regarding the antiproliferative, proapoptotic, and differentiation-promoting activities displayed by PPAR ligands, particularly by PPARγ ligands. PPAR ligands affect the expression of different growth-related genes through both PPAR-dependent and PPAR-independent mechanisms. Moreover, an interaction between PPAR ligands and other molecules which strengthen the effects of PPAR ligands has been described. Here we review the action of PPAR on the control of gene expression with particular regard to the effect of PPAR ligands on the expression of genes involved in the regulation of cell-cycle, differentiation, and apoptosis. Moreover, the interaction between PPAR ligands and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), the major product of the lipid peroxidation, has been reviewed

Hyperechoic amniotic membranes in patients with preterm premature rupture of membranes (p-PROM) and pregnancy outcome

Objectives The early identification of women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (p-PROM) who are at higher risk of imminent delivery remains challenging. The aim of our study was to evaluate if an increased echogenicity of the amniotic membranes may represent a sonographic marker of impending delivery in women with p-PROM. Methods This was a prospective study including women with singleton pregnancies and diagnosis of p-PROM between 22 and 37 gestational weeks. A sonographic examination was performed within 24h from the hospital admission and the appearance of the amniotic membranes close to the internal os was specifically evaluated. The membranes were defined as hyperechoic when their echogenicity was similar to that of the fetal bones or normoechoic in the other cases. The primary aim of the study was to compare the admission to spontaneous onset of labor interval and the pregnancy outcome between the cases of p-PROM with and without hyperechoic membranes. Results Overall, 45 women fulfilled the inclusion criteria with similar characteristics at admission. In women with hyperechoic membranes, the admission to spontaneous onset of labor interval was significantly shorter (11.5 [5.3-25.0] vs. 3.0 [1.5-9.0] p=0.04) compared to women with normo-echoic membranes. At binomial logistic regression after adjustment for GA at hospital admission, the presence of hyperechoic membranes was found as the only independent predictor of spontaneous onset of labor≤72h (aOR: 6.1; 95% CI: 1.0-36.9) Conclusions The presence of hyperechoic membranes is associated with a 6-fold higher incidence of spontaneous onset of labor within 72h independently from the gestational age at p-PROM

Ultrafast spectroscopy on water-processable PCBM: rod-coil block copolymer nanoparticles.

Using ultrafast spectroscopy, we investigate the photophysics of water-processable nanoparticles composed of a block copolymer electron donor and a fullerene derivative electron acceptor

Preliminary observations on scleral ossicles in performing functionalized 3D vascularized scaffolds for “critical-size” bone defect healing

The problem of “critical-size” bone defects occurs when a severe lesion is difficult to be self-recovered. Many strategies of regenerative medicine were used in the last decade, with translational approaches, to mimic both structure and function of the native bone tissue, making use of synthetic materials, nanotechnologies, bio/synthetic constructs or some of their combination. The main obstacle to engineering strategies is mostly due to the lack of a proper vascularization of the construct used. In this feasibility study, our attention is directed towards the main tissue engineering items: scaffolds, cells and conditioning factors. We propose the use of scleral ossicles of lower vertebrates (1), as natural scaffolds which will be functionalized to allow the best adhesion of endothelial cells along a geometrically controlled pattern on the bony surface of the construct; successively, on the functionalized scaffold, osteogenic cell lines will be cultured. In the preliminary phases of the study, the ossicles were scratched to remove soft tissue residues, variously flattened with different methods to reach a regular morphology on both sides, and finally autoclaved to eliminate cellular remnants and to annul antigenic properties. Ossicles were observed under SEM and subjected to micro-assay, to establish the best scaffold preparation and to characterize morphological properties more suitable for engineering phases. Functionalization will be made by immobilizing on the engineered ossicles specific growth factors for endothelial cells; later, mouse primary lung endothelial cells (ECs) and immortalized osteogenic cells (IDG-SW3) will be used. As expected results ECs should adhere to the ossicle surface and organize to form lumenized microvascular-like structures; later, supported by the vascular-like network, the osteogenic lineage should produce bone matrix on the construct. The production of newly-formed bone around vascular-like buds will be verify. 3D tissue constructs generated in vitro will be used in successive in vivo study for the healing of “critical-size” bone defects experimentally induced in mice

MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN ECONOMICS AND FINANCE

Mathematical Methods in Economics and Finance is a journal published by the Ca' Foscari Department of Economics since 2012, and formerly published by the Department of Applied Mathematics of the same University from 2006 to 2011. This journal replaces the former Rendiconti, a series in Italian issued annually from 1969 to 2005. The main features of the journal are: 1. Publication of original and unpublished papers that present theoretical results, methodological contributions, and applications in the areas of actuarial mathematics, financial mathematics, management science, mathematical economics, quantitative finance, and operational research. 2. Peer review process based on double-blind refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. 3. Inclusion in the MathSciNet list of journals. 4. Published papers online are free to access and download