L’e-tandem in tempi di DAD pandemica. Sperimentazione, teoria e feedback degli studenti

Due to the pandemic context, the sudden arrival of teaching online in the university setting has profoundly changed pedagogical habits, especially in the case of foreign language teaching. With the aim of responding to the deficit of speaking interaction generated by these changes, several initiatives have been launched. Among these, within the teaching of Spanish and French as foreign languages at the University for Foreigners of Siena and of Italian as a Second Language at the University of Poitiers, in the summer of 2021 e-tandem systems were proposed, oriented towards voluntary students from seven universities in Latin America and Europe. This paper will present, after having recollected the principles of autonomy and of collaborative learning based on linguistic tandems and having searched through the literature on the role of the teacher in question, an online questionnaire given out to around 350 participants in the initiative. The data collected will then be presented and discussed, to reflect finally on the type of tutoring to propose to the participating students in order to maximise their learning of a second language

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

The relationship between regional microstructural abnormalities of the corpus callosum and physical and cognitive disability in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis

Significant corpus callosum (CC) involvement has been found in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), even if conventional magnetic resonance imaging measures have shown poor correlation with clinical disability measures. In this work, we tested the potential of multimodal imaging of the entire CC to explain physical and cognitive disability in 47 patients with RRMS. Values of thickness, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were extracted from 50 regions of interest (ROIs) sampled along the bundle. The relationships between clinical, neuropsychological and imaging variables were assessed by using Spearman's correlation. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed in order to identify the relative importance of imaging metrics in modeling different clinical variables. Regional fiber composition of the CC differentially explained the response variables (Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS], cognitive impairment). Increases in EDSS were explained by reductions in CC thickness and MD. Cognitive impairment was mainly explained by FA reductions in the genu and splenium. Regional CC imaging properties differentially explained disability within RRMS patients revealing strong, distinct patterns of correlation with clinical and cognitive status of patients affected by this specific clinical phenotype