Measure school learning through Rasch Analysis: the interpretation of results

AbstractFrom the beginning of the docimology (1922), the assessing of the learning has become increasingly important in the interpretation of study and, in general, in evaluation of the quality in education. Several measurement instruments have been offered such as: distribution pentenaria, t scores, item analysis. Recently, in the context of item response theory (IRT) it is emerging a new measurement technique based on Rasch Analysis in order to obtain an objective measure that does not dependent on either the characteristics of the measuring instrument and does not depend on the skills of individuals. Although Rasch Analysis allows of offering some interesting research, it remains open issues for the effective implementation of the instrument. The main problems are: the construction of a test and the interpretation of results. In this paper we address the second issue: the interpretation of results. At this regard it is proposed a conversion of logit scores into an evaluation scale more comprehensible and more closed to the measurements of assessing adopted by teachers typically expressed on the scale from 0 (very bad) to 10 (very good). In detail, after having briefly presented the technique of Rasch Analysis, it will be presented an application of the method on 34 students with the purpose to analyze the ability in learning of mathematics. A conversion of the logit output in to a new measurement scale from 0 to 10 has been proposed to make more easy the interpretation of the scor

Feasibility of a photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator: performance analysis and simulation results

This paper describes a theoretical approach to evaluate the performance of a hybrid solar system made with photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric (TE) modules. After a brief treatment of the integrated system, energy conversion and performance parameters are evaluated through numerical simulations depending on the global radiation and temperature distribution obtained by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission and of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The contribution of TE module to total energy seems significant in southern European towns and less substantial when the locations considered are very distant from the equator and show the possibility of using TE devices for energy production

Pragmatics through argumentative press articles. From theory to practice

The paper reports on a thirty-hour teaching module of English at the University of Udine in the second year of the degree course in Lingue e Letterature Straniere. The main goal was to raise the students’ awareness of how discourse and pragmatics provide tools useful to the discovery in an argumentative press article of the writer’s strategies to persuade the addressee and the role of the addressee in shaping language and content choices. The paper illustrates the methodology that was followed. It is divided into two sections. The first one contains a presentation of academic research related to the main themes covered in the course, from the layout of argumentation (Toulmin 2003, p. 87) to the arguer’s “strategic maneuvering” (van Eemeren 2010, p. 41) to persuade the “audience” (Perelman, Olbrechts-Tyteca 1969, pp. 5-8, 19). The second section describes the syllabus of the module to facilitate the comprehension of concepts from discourse and pragmatics. An overview of five workshops from the ten that characterized the module is included. A synthesis of a mini-lecture, aimed at connecting the students’ analysis of the articles to the academic research, concludes the presentation of each workshop.

Reply to more on: the role of thrombin in gliomas

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72163/1/j.1538-7836.2005.01729.x.pd

"All the éclat of a new era about to take off": Angela Carter's Neo-Victorian Decadence in Nights at the Circus (1984)

This paper considers Angela Carter’s engagement with the late nineteenth century in her 1984 novel Nights at the Circus through the lens of neo-Victorian Decadence and in parallel with the writer’s ongoing reflection on femininity and gender roles as she articulated it in her non-fiction throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The main focus is on fin de siècle imagery and its subsequent revisions in feminist art and thought, in the light the concept of crossmapping, which looks beyond intertextuality, and can thus account for Carter’s complex interweaving of images and texts across two different epochs that she both constructed as decadent. Questo contributo propone una lettura di Nights at the Circus (1984) di Angela Carter dal punto di vista della decadenza neo-vittoriana, esaminando il  rapporto fra passato e presente nel romanzo alla luce dei contributi che Carter pubblica su diverse riviste tra gli anni Settanta e l’inizio degli anni Ottanta. L’analisi si sviluppa attorno all’immaginario fin de siècle evocato nel romanzo, considerando le successive revisioni nell’arte e nel pensiero femministi, alla luce del concetto di crossmapping che, guardando oltre l’intertestualità, fa emergere il complesso intreccio di immagini e testi tracciato dalla scrittrice attraverso due epoche – la fine del diciannovesimo secolo e gli anni Settanta del successivo –  entrambe definite come decadenti.

The role of histone lysine methylation in the response of mammalian cells to Ionizing radiation

Eukaryotic genomes are wrapped around nucleosomes and organized into different levels of chromatin structure. Chromatin organization has a crucial role in regulating all cellular processes involving DNA-protein interactions, such as DNA transcription, replication, recombination and repair. Histone post-translational modifications (HPTMs) have a prominent role in chromatin regulation, acting as a sophisticated molecular code, which is interpreted by HPTM-specific effectors. Here, we review the role of histone lysine methylation changes in regulating the response to radiation-induced genotoxic damage in mammalian cells. We also discuss the role of histone methyltransferases (HMTs) and histone demethylases (HDMs) and the effects of the modulation of their expression and/or the pharmacological inhibition of their activity on the radio-sensitivity of different cell lines. Finally, we provide a bioinformatic analysis of published datasets showing how the mRNA levels of known HMTs and HDMs are modulated in different cell lines by exposure to different irradiation conditions

Increased transforming growth factor-beta1circulating levels and production in human monocytes after 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme a reductase inhibition with pravastatin

AbstractObjectivesWe sought to determine whether inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase with pravastatin affects transforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-beta1) circulating levels and its production in the monocytes of hypercholesterolemic patients.BackgroundTransforming growth factor-beta1is a multifunctional growth factor/cytokine involved in many physiologic and pathologic processes, such as vascular remodeling and atherogenesis. Statins have been reported to have a modulatory role in cytokine expression in the monocytes of hyperlipidemic patients.MethodsWe evaluated, in a cross-over study design, plasma TGF-beta1levels and ex vivo TGF-beta1production in the monocytes of hypercholesterolemic patients before and after four to six weeks of lipid-lowering treatment with diet or diet plus 40 mg/day of pravastatin. In addition, isolated blood monocytes were subjected to pravastatin treatment and evaluated for TGF-beta1messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression and TGF-beta1in vitro production.ResultsLipid-lowering treatment significantly decreased total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol plasma levels. Pravastatin, but not a low lipid diet, induced a significant increase in TGF-beta1plasma levels (from 1.7 ± 0.5 ng/ml to 3.1 ± 1.1 ng/ml, p < 0.001) and in ex vivo monocyte production (from 1.8 ± 0.8 ng/ml to 3.9 ± 1.0 ng/ml, p < 0.001). The increase in TGF-beta1levels was not related to the changes in the lipid profile observed with pravastatin. An increase of approximately twofold in TGF-beta1production and in mRNA expression was also observed after in vitro treatment of human monocytes with pravastatin (5 μM). Co-incubation with mevalonate reversed the in vitro effect of pravastatin.Conclusions3-Hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibition with pravastatin increases TGF-beta1plasma levels, as well as monocyte production, in hypercholesterolemic patients. The mevalonate pathway plays a role in the regulation of TGF-beta1expression in human monocytes. A possible implication in the biologic and clinical effects of statins can be suggested

Size/Age Models for Monitoring of the Pink Sea Fan Eunicella verrucosa (Cnidaria: Alcyonacea) and a Case Study Application

The pink sea fan Eunicella verrucosa is a habitat-forming octocoral living in the East Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea where, under proper circumstances, it can form large populations known as coral forests. Although these coral forests represent vulnerable marine ecosystems of great importance, these habitats are still poorly known, and their monitoring is almost non-existent to date. For this reason, we compared two dierent models to infer the age of E. verrucosa based on nondestructive measurements of the colonies’ size, in order to highlight strengths and weaknesses of the existing tools for a potential application in long-term monitoring. We also applied the two models on a case-study population recently found in the northwest Mediterranean Sea. Our results showed which model was more reliable from a biological point of view, considering both its structure and the results obtained on the case study. However, this model uses solely the height of the colonies as proxy to infer the age, while the total branch fan surface area could represent a more appropriate biometric parameter to monitor the size and the growth of E. verrucosa

"All the éclat of a new era about to take off": Angela Carter's Neo-Victorian Decadence in Nights at the Circus (1984)

This paper considers Angela Carter’s engagement with the late nineteenth century in her 1984 novel Nights at the Circus through the lens of neo-Victorian Decadence and in parallel with the writer’s ongoing reflection on femininity and gender roles as she articulated it in her non-fiction throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The main focus is on fin de siècle imagery and its subsequent revisions in feminist art and thought, in the light the concept of crossmapping, which looks beyond intertextuality, and can thus account for Carter’s complex interweaving of images and texts across two different epochs that she both constructed as decadent. Questo contributo propone una lettura di Nights at the Circus (1984) di Angela Carter dal punto di vista della decadenza neo-vittoriana, esaminando il  rapporto fra passato e presente nel romanzo alla luce dei contributi che Carter pubblica su diverse riviste tra gli anni Settanta e l’inizio degli anni Ottanta. L’analisi si sviluppa attorno all’immaginario fin de siècle evocato nel romanzo, considerando le successive revisioni nell’arte e nel pensiero femministi, alla luce del concetto di crossmapping che, guardando oltre l’intertestualità, fa emergere il complesso intreccio di immagini e testi tracciato dalla scrittrice attraverso due epoche – la fine del diciannovesimo secolo e gli anni Settanta del successivo –  entrambe definite come decadenti.