Communicative interaction in natural sciences lessons. A didactic analysis based on discursive circuits

En este trabajo se discute el rol de la comunicación en el aula de ciencias y se delimita una forma de análisis relacionada con circuitos de interacción discursiva. Se comparan tres tipos de circuitos para clases de ciencias experimentales: exposición abierta, diálogo guiado e indagación dialógica problematizadora. Los datos resumen los registros de un grupo de investigaciones interpretativas desarrolladas por el equipo en los últimos diez años, las cuales analizan el diálogo asociado a temas de ciencias y ciclos de actividad. Se presenta la escala de análisis resultante y los tipos de secuencia de intervenciones de docentes y alumnos. Desde las mismas se modelizan circuitos de comunicación que van desde la clase tradicional a una constructivista.Se concluye respecto a la necesidad de incluir la problemática de la comunicación en el aula a lo largo de la práctica educativa y de los procesos de formación docente, haciéndola formar parte tanto del diseño, como del desarrollo y evaluación de la tarea docente.This work argues the role of communication in natural sciences classrooms and delimits a way of analysis in relation to interactive discursive circuits. Three types of circuits for experimental sciences lessons are compared: open exposition, guided dialog and problematic dialogic inquiry. The data summary the records of a group of interpretative research developed by the team in the last years ten years, which analyses the dialogue associated with science topics and cycles of activity. The resulting scale of analysis and types of intervention sequences held by teachers and students are presented. Based on them, communication circuits are modeled ranging from the traditional classroom to a constructivist one. It is concluded in relation to the need of including the problem of communication in the classroom throughout the educational practice and the processes of teacher training, making it part of the design, development and evaluation of the teaching task

Peripheral Inflammatory Parameters in Late-Life Depression: A Systematic Review

Depressive disorders appear relatively frequently in older patients, and therefore represent an important disease burden worldwide. Given the high levels of inflammatory parameters found in depressed elderly patients, the "inflammaging" hypothesis is gaining strength. In this systematic review, we summarize current evidence regarding the relationship between inflammatory parameters and late-life depression, with a unique focus on longitudinal studies to guarantee temporality. According to the data summarized in this review, the levels of some proinflammatory parameters-especially interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-could serve as biomarkers for the future development of depressive symptoms in elderly patients. Proinflammatory cytokines seem to be associated with the future development of clinically significant depression, irrespective of baseline scores, thus indicating that inflammation temporally precedes and increases depression risk. As insufficient research has been conducted in this field, further prospective studies are clearly warranted.This study was funded by grants from Research Network Center of Mental Health-CIBERSAM (2010-P-02); the Government of Spain “Health Research Fund” FEDER (PI08-1213, PI11-01977, PI14-01900, PI08-0873; PI10-01746; PS09/02002; PI12/02077; PI15-00789; PI13/00451); Ministry of Health and Social Equality (20111064) Policy; Local funding from the Department of Education, Language Policy and Culture of the Basque Government (200911147, 2013111162, 2010111170, SAIO10-PC10BF01); European Comission funds (UE/2012/FI-STAR). We appreciate the support of the University of the Basque Country (GIC10/80, GIC12/84) and the Basque Foundation for Health Innovation and Research-BIOEF. The Psychiatry Research Unit of the University Hospital of Álava-Santiago is supported by the “Stanley Research Foundation” (03-RC-003). John O’Brien is supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre awarded to the University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust

Sex differences in the aging pattern of renin–angiotensin system serum peptidases

Background: Serum peptidases, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), neutral endopeptidase (NEP), aminopeptidase N (APN), and aminopeptidase A (APA), are important elements of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Dysregulation of these enzymes has been associated with hypertension and cardiovascular risk. In the present study, serum activities of RAS peptidases were analyzed to evaluate the existence of sexual differences, with a possible different pattern in pre- and post-andropausal/post-menopausal participants. Methods: One hundred and eighteen healthy men and women between 41 and 70 years of age (58 women and 60 men) were recruited to participate in the study. Serum RAS-regulating enzymes were measured by spectrofluorimetry. Enzymatic activity was recorded as units of enzyme per milliliter of serum (U/mL). Results: Significantly lower serum APA activity was observed in men with respect to women; no sex differences were detected for ACE, ACE2, NEP, or APN. Significantly lower APA and ACE serum activity were observed in older men compared to older women. In contrast, younger (<55 years) men had significantly higher values of NEP serum activity than younger women. Significantly lower ACE serum activity was detected in older men compared to younger men. In women, significantly higher ACE2 serum activity was observed in older women compared to younger women. Conclusions: These results suggest a differential effect of aging on the activity of RAS enzymes in men and women, especially with respect to the breakpoint of andropausia/menopausia, on the critical serum enzymatic activities of the RAS, which could correlate with sexual differences in cardiovascular risk.This work was supported by a grant from the Basque Government (IT8-11/13), the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (UFI 11/44), and the Gangoiti-Barrera Foundation

The Atapuerca sites and the Ibeas hominids

The Atapuerca railway Trench and Ibeas sites near Burgos, Spain, are cave fillings that include a series of deposits ranging from below the Matuyama/Bruhnes reversal up to the end of Middle Pleistocene. The lowest fossil-bearing bed in the Trench contains an assemblage of large and small Mammals including Mimomys savini, Pitymys gregaloides, Pliomys episcopalis, Crocuta crocuta, Dama sp. and Megacerini; the uppermost assemblage includes Canis lupus, Lynx spelaea, Panthera (Leo) fossilis, Felis sylvestris, Equus caballus steinheimensis, E.c. germanicus, Pitymys subtenaneus, Microtus arvalis agrestis, Pliomys lenki, and also Panthera toscana, Dicerorhinus bemitoechus, Bison schoetensacki, which are equally present in the lowest level. The biostratigraphic correlation and dates of the sites are briefly discussed, as are the paleoclimatic interpretation of the Trench sequences. Stone artifacts are found in several layers; the earliest occurrences correspond to the upper beds containing Mimomys savini. A set of preserved human occupation floors has been excavated in the top fossil-bearing beds. The stone-tool assemblages of the upper levels are of upper-medial Acheulean to Charentian tradition. The rich bone breccia SH, in the Cueva Mayor-Cueva del Silo, Ibeas de Juarros, is a derived deposit, due to a mud flow that dispersed and carried the skeletons of many carnivores and humans. The taxa represented are: Vrsus deningeri (largely dominant), Panthera (Leo) fossilis, Vulpes vulpes, Homo sapiens var. Several traits of both mandibular and cranial remains are summarized. Preliminary attempts at dating suggest that the Ibeas fossil man is older than the Last Interglacial, or oxygen-isotope stage 5