Electric field effect on the luminescence of KI:Tl

Thermoluminescence of KI:Tl, x- or &#946;-irradiated at T<77°K showed 2 main peaks at 105 and 170°K. They are resp. attributed to the recombination of mobile VK centers with Tl0 centers and to the recombination of thermally released electrons from Tl0 centers with Tl2+ centres. Similar experiments performed under static electric fields (E<40 kV cm-1) show that the intensity of the 2nd glow peak is strongly reduced. The relative intensity variation is anticorrelated with the intensity of glow peaks occurring at >230°K. We suggestthat in the temperature range in which Tl0 centres are thermally ionised, the effect of the electric field favour the retrapping of these electrons on other traps (still unknown). Irradiation doses also play an important role and their effects are studied at 77°K and T=200°K

Studying changes in the practice of two teachers developing assessment for learning

This paper describes changes in the practice of two teachers, observed over an eighteen month period, who were participating in a study intended to support teachers in developing their use of assessment in support of learning. The design of the intervention allowed each teacher to choose for themselves which aspects of their practice to develop. Analysis of lesson observations, journal entries and interviews indicate that both teachers were keen to change their practice, but were concerned about the disruption to their established routines, and in particular about the potential for loss of control of their classes. Both teachers did effect significant changes in their classrooms, but these tended to be developments of existing preferred ways of working, rather than radical innovations. In conclusion, it is suggested that to be most effective, teacher professional development needs to be structured strongly enough to afford teacher growth, but flexible enough to allow different teachers to take their practice in different ways

Cortical fast-spiking parvalbumin interneurons enwrapped in the perineuronal net express the metallopeptidases Adamts8, Adamts15 and Neprilysin.

The in situ hybridization Allen Mouse Brain Atlas was mined for proteases expressed in the somatosensory cerebral cortex. Among the 480 genes coding for protease/peptidases, only four were found enriched in cortical interneurons: Reln coding for reelin; Adamts8 and Adamts15 belonging to the class of metzincin proteases involved in reshaping the perineuronal net (PNN) and Mme encoding for Neprilysin, the enzyme degrading amyloid β-peptides. The pattern of expression of metalloproteases (MPs) was analyzed by single-cell reverse transcriptase multiplex PCR after patch clamp and was compared with the expression of 10 canonical interneurons markers and 12 additional genes from the Allen Atlas. Clustering of these genes by K-means algorithm displays five distinct clusters. Among these five clusters, two fast-spiking interneuron clusters expressing the calcium-binding protein Pvalb were identified, one co-expressing Pvalb with Sst (PV-Sst) and another co-expressing Pvalb with three metallopeptidases Adamts8, Adamts15 and Mme (PV-MP). By using Wisteria floribunda agglutinin, a specific marker for PNN, PV-MP interneurons were found surrounded by PNN, whereas the ones expressing Sst, PV-Sst, were not

Preschool literacy and reading performance in primary school

A literacia pré-escolar tem recebido uma crescente atenção. Neste estudo, participaram 70 crianças que iniciaram o 1.º ano de escolaridade no ano letivo 2009/10 e que, na educação pré-escolar, frequentaram três instituições com abordagens diferenciadas de leitura e de escrita. O estudo inclui quatro medidas repetidas no tempo nas áreas da fonologia, reconhecimento de letras, palavras e velocidade de leitura. Os resultados sugerem que a abordagem específica à leitura na educação pré-escolar condiciona o desempenho da leitura na instrução primária. Contudo, essa influência parece ser atenuada com o tempo. Por outro lado, verificou-se que sujeitos que receberam instrução direta de leitura em idade pré-escolar (mas não treino fonológico) obtêm resultados significativamente superiores em tarefas fonológicas aos de sujeitos que receberam treino fonológico prolongado (mas não de leitura).The debate regarding kindergarten literacy has received increasing attention and social visibility. In this study, participants are 70 children who attended first grade in 2009/2010. Participants attended three kindergartens with unique approaches to reading. A four wave repeated measure design was conducted to investigate the growth of the children in phonological awareness, letter recognition, word recognition, and reading speed. Results suggest that the approach towards reading and writing in kindergarten affects children's performance in grades 1 and 2 of elementary school. This influence, however, seems to fade over time. Moreover, results show that children who received formal reading instruction in kindergarten, perform significantly better in phonological tasks than children who received direct and extended phonological instruction.(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antibodies to TRIM46 are associated with paraneoplastic neurological syndromes.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) are often characterized by the presence of antineuronal antibodies in patient serum or cerebrospinal fluid. The detection of antineuronal antibodies has proven to be a useful tool in PNS diagnosis and the search for an underlying tumor. Here, we describe three patients with autoantibodies to several epitopes of the axon initial segment protein tripartite motif 46 (TRIM46). We show that anti-TRIM46 antibodies are easy to detect in routine immunohistochemistry screening and can be confirmed by western blotting and cell-based assay. Anti-TRIM46 antibodies can occur in patients with diverse neurological syndromes and are associated with small-cell lung carcinoma

The Impact Of Obesity on Childbirth Expectations

Introduction: Positive childbirth expectations are crucial for fostering a positive labor experience and enhancing the health and well-being of both the woman and her newborn. However, the impact of obesity on childbirth expectations remains underexplored. We aim to assess childbirth expectations in women living with obesity to enhance perinatal care tailored to their specific needs. Methods: Using an adapted version of the Childbirth Expectation Questionnaire (CEQ) in a nationwide online survey, we assessed expectations on childbirth of pregnant women living in Switzerland. We performed one-way analysis of variance and independent t tests to analyze associations between childbirth expectations and women’s characteristics such as body mass index (BMI). Binomial logistic regressions estimated the likelihood of positive birth expectations occurring based on individual and contextual factors. Results: In total, 961 pregnant women responded to the CEQ through social media. Increased BMI was associated with lower mean scores in overall birth expectations (P = .008), whereas women accompanied by midwives during pregnancy showed significantly increased mean scores (P < .001). Regression analysis revealed that women living with obesity were less likely to have positive expectations for their upcoming childbirth when compared with others (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.63; 95% CI, 0.42-0.95; P = .027). Conversely, midwifery care and plans for nonclinical births were associated with increased positive childbirth expectations (aOR, 3.65; 95% CI, 2.11-6.32; P < .001 and aOR, 4.77; 95% CI, 3.37-6.74; P < .001, respectively). Discussion: Women living with obesity exhibited significantly lower childbirth expectations compared with other women, impacting birth out- comes and satisfaction. Midwife involvement correlated with more positive expectations, emphasizing their role in improving women’s realistic expectations and fostering well-being. Enhanced accessibility to models of care with midwifery continuity may be a crucial factor in promoting positive expectations among women living with obesity

Neandertal and Denisovan DNA from Pleistocene sediments.

Although a rich record of Pleistocene human-associated archaeological assemblages exists, the scarcity of hominin fossils often impedes the understanding of which hominins occupied a site. Using targeted enrichment of mitochondrial DNA we show that cave sediments represent a rich source of ancient mammalian DNA that often includes traces of hominin DNA, even at sites and in layers where no hominin remains have been discovered. By automation-assisted screening of numerous sediment samples we detect Neandertal DNA in eight archaeological layers from four caves in Eurasia. In Denisova Cave we retrieved Denisovan DNA in a Middle Pleistocene layer near the bottom of the stratigraphy. Our work opens the possibility to detect the presence of hominin groups at sites and in areas where no skeletal remains are found

Homeschooling and the criticism of school: hybridisms and educational (dis)continuities

Desde os anos 1960, o homeschooling apresenta dinâmicas de crescimento atualizadas nos diagnósticos da crise do capitalismo e dos sistemas educativos. Por ser praticado por famílias próximas do progressismo libertário, do cristianismo conservador ou de outras inspirações axiológicas, a abordagem investigativa presente neste texto pressupôs romper com uma visão unívoca e alheia à sua diversidade e aos diferentes graus de (in)formalidade dos quotidianos educativos de crianças e de jovens que caracterizam este fenómeno educativo. Procura-se captar as especificidades do ensino doméstico (ED) em Portugal e a sua crescente expressão social e educacional e reflete-se sobre os sentidos das aprendizagens que ele encerra. Conclui-se que o ED parece ser contrário aos horizontes formativos da criança segundo o interesse da sociedade, sendo omisso sobre o seu papel na emancipação dos sujeitos. Confrontam-se a escola e o seu modo de funcionamento a partir do racional do ED, à procura de novas epistemologias e de novas linhas de pesquisa.Since the 1960s, homeschooling has shown growth dynamics updated by the diagnosis of the crisis of capitalism and of educational systems. Because it is practiced by families close to libertarian progressivism, conservative Christianity, or other axiological inspirations, this paper’s approach sought to break with a univocal conception alien to its diversity and to the different degrees of (in)formality of the children’s and young people’s educational daily lives inherent to this educational practice. Therefore, this paper seeks to understand the specificities of Portuguese homeschooling and its increasing social and educational expression, and to reflect on the meanings of the learning it entails. Being unclear about its role on the emancipation of the subjects, homeschooling seems to be contrary to the educational horizons of the child according to the interests of the whole society. This paper confronts school and its way of functioning with the homeschooling rationale in order to search for new epistemologies and new lines of research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Thalamic Reticular Circuit for Head Direction Cell Tuning and Spatial Navigation.

As we navigate in space, external landmarks and internal information guide our movement. Circuit and synaptic mechanisms that integrate these cues with head-direction (HD) signals remain, however, unclear. We identify an excitatory synaptic projection from the presubiculum (PreS) and the multisensory-associative retrosplenial cortex (RSC) to the anterodorsal thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), so far classically implied in gating sensory information flow. In vitro, projections to TRN involve AMPA/NMDA-type glutamate receptors that initiate TRN cell burst discharge and feedforward inhibition of anterior thalamic nuclei. In vivo, chemogenetic anterodorsal TRN inhibition modulates PreS/RSC-induced anterior thalamic firing dynamics, broadens the tuning of thalamic HD cells, and leads to preferential use of allo- over egocentric search strategies in the Morris water maze. TRN-dependent thalamic inhibition is thus an integral part of limbic navigational circuits wherein it coordinates external sensory and internal HD signals to regulate the choice of search strategies during spatial navigation