Alumni in fabula. Rappresentazione e promozione di valori inclusivi mediante l’uso di arti performative nella formazione dei futuri docenti

2022

Academic literature provides us with evidence supporting the demand to device teacher training programs able to aim awareness and reflection about inclusive education themes, moving beyond the only theorical and technical knowledge. The present paper proposes to show a pedagogical experience aimed at Primary Education students of Palermo University, which intends to promote a process of critical thinking on the representation and conceptualization of disability and in‐ clusion, through a training methodology based on the use of performing arts for improving traditional Problem‐based Learning approaches.

METHODICAL APPROACH TO THE DETERMINATION OF THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF THE ECHINACEA PURPUREA AND MONARDA FISTULOSA TINCTURES AS A QUALITY CRITERION…

2022

Aim. The aim of the study was to develop the methodical approach to determine the antioxidant activity of the tinctures of Monarda fistulosa herb and flowers and roots of Echinacea purpurea, as well as to develop their technology in  laboratory conditions.
 Materials and Methods. The following methods were used: analysis, synthesis, systematization, and comparison for processing of published scientific data on antioxidant activity; method for measuring the particle size of raw herbal materials; maceration and remaceration methods for obtaining the tested tinctures; DPPH test for the valuation of the antioxidant activity of the developed tinctures.
 Results and Discussion.
 Th…

La insopprimibile necessità di certezza e di una giurisdizione sul bilancio

2022

Nel contributo in questione - editoriale del numero 1 del 2022 della rivista - l'autore si sofferma sulle questioni relative alla natura giurisdizionale della funzione di controllo svolta dalla Corte dei Conti in ragione di quanto discusso in dottrina e giurisprudenza

How the Learning Environment Influences Bullying: The Case of Two Universities in Ghana

2022

In response to a growing concern about bullying and victimisation at universities, this study examined students’ perceptions of the university learning environment (LE) concerning their experience of various negative behaviours and victimisation at the University of Ghana (Legon Campus) and the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. The study was a cross-sectional survey of 751 respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and regression analysis indicated how students’ perceptions of the universities’ LE related to students’ bullying experiences. The results revealed an inverse relationship between students’ perceptions of the LE and their experiences of negative behaviours and victimisation…

Mathematical thinking and understanding in learning of mathematics

2022

The concept “mathematical thinking” can be found in several studies of mathematics education, in national curricula or in media during the decades all over the world. We searched words “mathematical thinking” from the database of international scientific articles, and we found 456 707 mentions at first time. These are the main reasons why we have chosen “mathematical thinking” as the central concept of the Special Issue. The other interesting question from our point of view is how a student can express his/her mathematical thinking? By answering this question, we have made simple model for the teacher education purposes, and we call it “languaging” (of mathematical thinking). The articles o…

Seeds vitality and fungal contamination in Abies nebrodensis

2022

Seeds of Abies nebrodensis were subjected to laboratory tests aimed to detect fungal contaminants and to obtain xenobiotic-free seedlings, by the use of different surface sterilising agents. Moreover, hot water at 60°C was used to suppress any fungal microorganisms colonizing the inner tissues. Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus and Stemphylium vesicarium were the most frequent fungal contaminants. Non-contaminated seeds showed germination values ranging from 0 to 36.4% depending on the applied sterilization protocol. Further analyses will be carried out to establish the influence of these fungi on the seed germination process and their relationship with seedlings of A. nebrodensis.

High-sensitivity narrow-band CSRR-based Microwave Sensor for Monitoring Glucose Level

2022

In this paper, a high-sensitivity narrow-band microwave sensor based on a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) to detect glucose concentrations in an aqueous solution is presented. The sensor consists of three CSRR cells engraved on the bottom level of a 59 mm x 20 mm x 0.8 mm FR4 (εr=4.3) dielectric substrate with a sensing area of 36 x 20 mm2. The cells operate over the 2.3 - 2.4 GHz band and are powered by a 50 Ω microstrip waveguide at the bottom of the substrate. A sensitivity analysis, starting from an optimization of the thickness of the glass layer added to the cells to avoid short circuits between the sample solution and the CSRRs rings, is performed. The sensitivity analysis …

Swallowing Outcomes in Open Partial Horizontal Laryngectomy Type I and Endoscopic Supraglottic Laryngectomy: A Comparative Study

2022

Background: Effective swallowing represents the main challenge in supraglottic laryngectomy. This study aimed to assess swallowing outcome comparing endoscopic supraglottic laryngectomy (ESL) and open partial horizontal laryngectomy type I (OPHL I). Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on 20 patients that underwent supraglottic laryngectomy from 2015 to 2021: 10 underwent ESL (group A) and 10 underwent OPHL I (Group B). Patients underwent fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) 3 months and 12 months after surgery and videofluoroscopy swallowing studies (VFSS) 12 months after surgery. A Swallowing Outcome After Laryngectomy (SOAL) questionnaire was administered to pa…

Responsiveness of Electromyographically Assessed Skeletal Muscle Inactivity – methodological exploration and implications for health benefits

2022

Abstract Prolonged sedentary behaviour is detrimental to health due to low contractile activity in large lower extremity muscle groups. This muscle inactivity can be measured with electromyography (EMG), but it is unknown how methodological factors affect responsiveness longitudinally. This study aimed to rank 16 different EMG inactivity thresholds based on their responsiveness (absolute and standardized effect size, responsiveness) using data from a randomized controlled trial targeted at reducing and breaking up sedentary time (InPact, ISRCTN28668090). EMG inactivity duration and usual EMG inactivity bout duration (weighted median of bout lengths) were measured from large lower extremity …

Conscience musicale du français langue parlée : éléments pour son conditionnement didactique

2022

Musical awareness of languages in general and that of the French language in particular in the field of teaching French as a foreign language remains weak today, not generalized and far inferior to linguistic and cultural awareness. By placing oneself within the framework of the didactology-didactics of the music of the French language-culture, it appears that modes of conditioning of this spontaneous, intuitive and reflected musical consciousness can logically take their place in accordance with the fundamental existence of the music of the French language produced in the spoken mode and of the need for the learner to master it.

Influence of dissipative tunneling on the photodielectric effect associated with the excitation of impurity complexes A+ + e in a quasi-zero-dimensio…

2022

Effect of tunneling decay for the quasi-stationary A+-state, in an impurity complex A+ + e (a hole, localized on a neutral acceptor, interacting with an electron, localized in the ground state of a quantum dot) on the photodielectric effect, associated with the excitation of impurity complexes A+ + e in a quasi-zero-dimensional structure, has been studied in the zero-radius potential model in the one-instanton approximation. Calculation of the binding energy of a hole in an impurity complex A+ + e was performed in the zero radius potential model in the adiabatic approximation. It is shown that as the probability of dissipative tunneling increases, the binding energy of a hole in a complex A…

On the Stability of the Soft Pendulum With Affine Curvature: Open-Loop, Collocated Closed-Loop, and Switching Control

2022

This letter investigates the stability properties of the soft inverted pendulum with affine curvature - a template model for nonlinear control of underactuated soft robots. We look at how changes in physical parameters affect stability and equilibrium. We give conditions under which zero dynamics corresponding to a collocated choice of the output is (locally or globally) stable or unstable. We leverage these results to design a switching controller that stabilizes a class of nonlinear equilibria of the pendulum, which can drive the system from one equilibrium to another.

Can we increase children’s rights endorsement and knowledge?: A pilot study based on the reference framework of competences for democratic culture

2022

This pilot study is the first to examine whether a novel curriculum based on the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) could increase children’s endorsement and knowledge of children’s rights. We conducted a pre-test-post-test design with an intervention and a comparison school. Pupils (n = 172) from Bulgaria, Italy, Norway, Romania, and Spain attended schools in which the curriculum was taught, whereas pupils in the comparison group (n = 120) attended schools in the same city where the curriculum was not taught. Both groups were tested on their endorsement and knowledge of rights before and at the end of the intervention. Children in the intervention group incre…

Brief remote intervention to manage food cravings and emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic: a pilot study

2022

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic people have endured potentially stressful challenges which have influenced behaviors such as eating. This pilot study examined the effectiveness of two brief interventions aimed to help individuals deal with food cravings and associated emotional experiences. Participants were 165 individuals residing in United Kingdom, Finland, Philippines, Spain, Italy, Brazil, North America, South Korea, and China. The study was implemented remotely, thus without any contact with researchers, and involved two groups. Group one participants were requested to use daily diaries for seven consecutive days to assess the frequency of experience of their food cravings, frequ…

ASSESSING USERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF FOUR TYPES OF ROAD SAFETY MEASURES

2022

Road crashes remain an important public health issue. This study aimed to assess the perceived importance of four types of measures for reducing traffic crash rates. For this cross-sectional study, data were obtained from a national sample of 1,200 Spanish drivers responding to a telephone-assisted survey. The most valued types of road safety measures were those related to users’ training/education and infrastructural improvements. Further, individual perceptions were influenced by both demographic and trip-related factors. The results of this study support the idea that user features remain a relevant issue to consider when developing and implementing road safety measures.

La evaluación inter pares y el uso del vídeo como herramienta de enseñanza-aprendizaje en la didáctica de francés

2022

[EN] In this project, we intend to explore video as an evaluation tool with great potential in the foreign language classroom. The main objective is for the students, future teachers of French in secondary education, to use two different forms of evaluation to compare them with each other. Starting from the oral presentations of a didactic sequence for French, which are recorded on video, our students had to evaluate them using a rubric designed specifically for it. Subsequently, once the videos had been viewed, the class had to review their evaluations, and if necessary, modify them. In this qualitative study, we analyzed the different evaluations, as well as an online questionnaire that t…

Recombinant mussel protein Pvfp5β enhances cell adhesion of poly(vinyl alcohol)/k-carrageenan hydrogel scaffolds

2022

Polymeric hydrogels are increasingly considered as scaffolds for tissue engineering due to their extraordinary resemblance with the extracellular matrix (ECM) of many tissues. As cell adhesion is a key factor in regulating important cell functions, hydrogel scaffolds are often functionalized or loaded with a variety of bioactive molecules that can promote adhesion. Interesting biomimetic approaches exploit the properties of mussel-inspired recombinant adhesive proteins. In this work, we prepared hydrogel scaffolds with a 50%w mixture of k-carrageenan (kC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), by a two-step physical gelation process, and we coated them with Perna viridis foot protein-5 beta (Pvfp5 be…

Typical and Atypical Development of Visual Expertise for Print as Indexed by the Visual Word N1 (N170w) : A Systematic Review

2022

The visual word N1 (N170w) is an early brain ERP component that has been found to be a neurophysiological marker for print expertise, which is a prelexical requirement associated with reading development. To date, no other review has assimilated existing research on reading difficulties and atypical development of processes reflected in the N170w response. Hence, this systematic review synthesized results and evaluated neurophysiological and experimental procedures across different studies about visual print expertise in reading development. Literature databases were examined for relevant studies from 1995 to 2020 investigating the N170w response in individuals with or without reading disor…

Person-Centred Care approach by professional caregivers in the population with mental illness: systematic review

2022

The model of Person-Centred Care has as fundamental principles the emphasis on the person within its context, individualized attention and empowerment. However, studies about this approach on mental illness are scarce. The aim of this work is to carry out a systematic review of articles studying the approach of Person-Centered Care provided by professional caregivers in people with mental illness. To this end, a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines was carried out of articles found in the Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, ScienceDirect and Dialnet databases. Following the analysis of the 19 articles, the results show that both users and professionals perceive that Person-Centered Ca…

A Polygenic Risk Score for Hand Grip Strength Predicts Muscle Strength and Proximal and Distal Functional Outcomes among Older Women

2022

Purpose Hand grip strength (HGS) is a widely used indicator of overall muscle strength and general health. We computed a polygenic risk score (PRS) for HGS, and examined, whether it predicted muscle strength, functional capacity and disability outcomes. Methods Genome-wide association study summary statistics for HGS from the Pan-UK Biobank was utilized. PRSs were calculated in the Finnish Twin Study on Aging (N = 429 women, 63–76 years). Strength tests included HGS, isometric knee extension, and ankle plantar flexion strength. Functional capacity was examined with the Timed Up and Go, six-minute and 10-meter walk tests, and dual-task tests. Disabilities in the basic (ADL) and instrumental …

First fossil record (Middle Miocene) of the viper shark Trigonognathus Mochizuki and Ohe, 1990, in the Mediterranean realm

2022

The genus Trigonognathus Mochizuki and Ohe, 1990, is a monospecific taxon of `lantern sharks¿ (i.e., family Etmopteridae), a group of small-sized bioluminescent deep-sea chondrichthyans, ranging in mature male specimens between 42¿47 cm total length, and at least 52 cm for females (Ebert et al., 2021). This shark inhabits the upper continental slopes as well as the uppermost slope of seamounts, often at the bottom, at depths ranging between 250¿1000 m, but has been caught at 150 m and 270 m in deep open waters (Mochizuki and Ohe, 1990; Compagno et al., 2005; Ebert et al., 2021). Only two species have been described thus far, the extant species Trigonognathus kabeyai Mochizuki and Ohe, 1990,…

Strategie ecosistemiche e infrastrutture verdi in simbiosi con il costruito

2022

Il numero 11 di AGATHÓN raccoglie saggi, studi, ricerche e progetti sul tema Vegetazione | La sua Simbiosi con il Costruito richiamando il ruolo che la Natura in generale e la Vegetazione in particolare possono svolgere nel breve periodo per affrontare l’attuale sfida del surriscaldamento globale e dei cambiamenti climatici causati da deforestazioni e incendi boschivi, urbanizzazioni selvagge, uso indiscriminato di materie prime non rinnovabili e incremento delle emissioni di anidride carbonica, tutti fattori che determinano un impatto devastante sul nostro ormai fragile ecosistema, sulla società e sull’economia. Se Simon aveva intuito già nel 1969 il potenziale di una ‘nuova ecologia’ in c…

Flernivåstaten og krisehåndtering: En kommentar

2022

Artikkelen diskuterer muligheter og utfordringer knyttet til koordinering på tvers av styringsnivåer. Utfordringen er minst tredelt: Dels knyttet til balansen mellom kontinuitet og endring, nærmere bestemt evnen offentlig forvaltning har til å balansere en stabil kjerne samtidig som den justerer, oppdaterer og reformerer; dels balansen mellom effektivitet og legitimitet, nærmere bestemt evnen til kortsiktig problemløsningen i møtet med kriser og langsiktige utfordringer knyttet til legitime løsninger generelt og parlamentarisk forankring konkret; dels dilemmaet mellom politisk-administrativ orden i turbulente tider, nærmere bestemt hvordan offentlige institusjoner håndterer kriser og vanske…

Interest rate gaps in an uncertain global context: why "too" low (high) for "so" long?

2022

We study the behaviour of real interest rate gaps-i.e. periods of real interest rates above (below) the natural interest rate-and link their length with a set of key observable determinants. Using quarterly data for 13 OECD countries over (close to) the last 60 years, we find that global risk-taking, CPI inflation, (un)conventional monetary policy, and income redistribution crucially shape the duration of both events. However, while labour-related supply-side factors appear to affect the length of positive interest rate gaps, the adoption of an inflation targeting regime and the current account balance seem to explain the duration of negative interest rate gaps. Our results suggest that the…

DISTRIBUTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MELANISM IN GRASS SNAKES FROM ITALY

2022

In snakes, melanism can improve thermoregulation efficiency, reproductive success and provide additional protection to internal organs from solar radiation. For these reasons, such conditions could be beneficial for animals living in both cold and warm environments. For widely distributed species of grass snake (genus Natrix), several single encounters of melanic individuals are reported in the literature. In the period 2015-2021 a significant number of unpublished observations of melanic Natrix helvetica and N. natrix were collected on the Italian territory and integrated with bibliographic data. The present work illustrates the chromatic variation within melanic individuals and investigat…

Evaluating the effect of organization and context on technical efficiency: a second-stage DEA analysis of Italian hospitals

2022

Objective: the purpose of this study was to compare the technical efficiency of Italian hospitals at a regional level and to examine if differences could be explained by organisational and contextual factors. Technical efficiency was defined as the ability of the operating units evaluated to use optimal resource levels for their level of output.Methods: the effect of external factors was explored through a second stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Efficiency scores were calculated for each hospital using the DEA method (Stage I). Through Tobit regression analysis, the estimated efficiency scores were regressed against a set of organisational and contextual characteristics beyond manager…

The Moderating Effect of Attachment Styles on the Relationship between Child Maltreatment and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

2022

The Ka’ulayawaa festivals among the Wayùu. Exploring continuities and variations in forms, meanings and contexts through ethnographic sources

2022

In this paper I review and compare the main sources of information about the ka’ulayawaa festivals among the Wayùu, an Amerindian people inhabiting in the semiarid Guajira peninsula (Northern Colombia and Venezuela). For their peculiar mix of songs, dances, imitative plays and competitive games, inserted into a same festive framework, these festivals are particularly interesting to be studied as expressive metacommentaries (in the sense of Turner) of Wayùu social structures, cultural values and worldview. Nevertheless, they have not so far been the subject of a specific anthropological analysis, also because they ceased to be celebrated around the middle of the twentieth century, that is, b…

List of cave‐dwelling (hypogeal) species and subspecies considered as troglobites and stygobias of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands

2022

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Comparative Study of PM10 Concentrations and Their Elemental Composition Using Two Different Techniques during Winter–Spring Field Observation …

2022

The aims of this study were to determine the concentrations and elemental composition of PM10 in the village of Kotórz Mały (Poland), to analyse their seasonal variability, to determine the sources of pollutant emissions and to compare the consistency of the results obtained using different methods. Sampling and weather condition measurements were carried out in the winter (January–February) and spring (April) of 2019. Two combinations of different techniques were used to examine PM10 concentrations and their chemical composition: gravimetric method + atomic absorption spectrometry (GM+AAS) and continuous particle monitor + energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (CPM+EDXRF).…

Portable central baffle flume

2022

This paper investigated the hydraulic characteristics of the triangular central baffle (TCB) flume. Laboratory tests were carried out to determine the flume dimensions. The field applicability of the proposed portable device was examined by on-farm installation. According to the laboratory tests, when the contraction ratio, r, was less than 0.39, the flow capacity was not affected by the ratio between the flume’s floor height and the throat width. The laboratory analysis also showed that there was no significant effect of installing an entrance ramp on the stage-discharge relationship for r<0.39, while the entrance ramp increased the discharge capacity for r>0.39. The stage-discharge …

Bioarosol

2022

Cultural heritage constitutive materials can provide excellent substrates for microbial colonisation, highly influenced by thermo-hygrometric parameters. In cultural heritage-related environments, a detrimental microbial load may be present both on artworks surface and in the aerosol. Confined environments (museums, archives, deposits, caves, hypogea) are characterised by peculiar structures and different thermo-hygrometric conditions, influencing the development of a wide range of microbial species, able to induce artefact biodeterioration and to release biological particles in the aerosol (spores, cellular debrides, toxins, allergens) potentially dangerous for the human health (visitors/u…

COVID-19 and its linguistic variants from Miss Rona to Boomer Remover

2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on everyday language and has led to unprecedented linguistic innovation and lexical explosion, ranging from the medicalisation of everyday language to the creation of new word formations that have defined new situations and overcome the fear of an unknown disease. In this paper, after briefly introducing the main linguistic features of English neologisms created to define changes in life style during the pandemic, a survey of the main English monikers coined to rename COVID-19 will be given taking into account the most recent studies on the subject.

Migration Discourse and the New Socially Constructed Meanings of the English Lingua Franca

2022

After the 1990s, the mass arrival of immigrants in Europe transformed the phenomenon of migration from a benefit into a problem and opened the debate to issues of first aid, security, expulsion and rejection. Even today, migrants are no longer seen as a socio-economic resource to be protected and regulated, but as a potential social problem affecting areas such as the economy, health and national security. The paper deals with the linguistically relevant literature about migration discourse (MD) and the role of English as lingua franca in public discourse related to the migration phenomenon. The latter part examines some traditional English key terms used to represent migrants since their m…

A Configuration of 3-phase Traction Inverter Employing {SiC} Devices

2022

In the scenario of a more and more sustainable society, an increasing electrification in different fields, such as mobility and industrial applications, is foreseen in the next decades. As far as power electronics is concerned, a challenging perspective is represented by achieving higher and higher switching frequencies while maintaining high voltage and low power losses. To do that, emerging semiconductor technologies are supposed to be increasingly employed, as well as innovative topologies of connections among switching devices. Among them, the cascode configuration can notably contribute to achieve high levels of dV/dt without losing efficiency. In this paper, a 3-phase Pulse Width Modu…

Antitumor Effect of Glandora rosmarinifolia (Boraginaceae) Essential Oil through Inhibition of the Activity of the Topo II Enzyme in Acute Myeloid Le…

2022

It was previously shown that the antitumor and cytotoxic activity of the essential oil (EO) extracted from the aerial parts of Glandora rosmarinifolia appears to involve a pro-oxidant mechanism in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines. Its most abundant compound is a hydroxy-methyl-naphthoquinone isomer. Important pharmacological activities, such as antitumor, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiparasitic activities, are attributed to naphthoquinones, probably due to their pro-oxidant or electrophilic potential; for some naphthoquinones, a mechanism of action of topoisomerase inhibition has been reported, in which they appear to act b…