Unusually difficult clinical presentation of an infant suffering from congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection combined with alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency     

Ines Poto?njak  Goran Te?ovi?  Andrea Te?ija Kuna  Mario ?tefanovi?  Orjena ?aja 《Biochemia medica : ?asopis Hrvatskoga dru?tva medicinskih biokemi?ara / HDMB》2014,24(3):396-402

Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency are separately well described entities, but their simultaneous occurrence can pose a special challenge to a clinician, especially dealing with optimal diagnostic as well as therapeutic approach. Congenital CMV infection is the most common vertically transmitted infection in developed countries. In 85–95% of newborns it runs asymptomatic, while in others it is presented with jaundice, petechias, hepatosplenomegaly and central nervous system damage. A1AT deficiency is on the other hand, the most common genetic liver disease in children, and the clinical spectrum varies from the accidentally detected increased levels of transaminases through to the severe infant cholestasis that can progress to cirrhosis. The following case report describes a two-month old male with severe clinical presentation of congenital CMV infection probably exacerbated due to A1AT deficiency comorbidity. The clinical manifestations and unusually difficult clinical signs this infant presented lead to assumption that the additional liver damage exists. Extensive laboratory analyses were performed, including PCR for CMV DNA, A1AT serum concentration, A1AT genotyping, followed and confirmed with phenotyping. Patient was treated parenteral with ganciclovir, what continued with oral valganciclovir and supportive therapy. Intensive and thorough supportive treatment of the infant resulted in satisfactory progress and excellent outcome. Patient was followed-up till the age of 18 months. The presented case provides excellent example about successful overcoming obstacles in differential diagnosis of A1AT in neonates and infants. Medical charts analysis was the methodology used in making this report.  相似文献   

Conceptual change and anomalous data: A case study in the domain of natural sciences     

Margarita Limón  Mario Carretero 《European Journal of Psychology of Education - EJPE》1997,12(2):213-230

Cognitive conflict has been proposed as a strategy to promote conceptual change. The history and philosophy of science have shown the importance of anomalous data to change scientific theories and to the progress of science. Often, scientists use anomalous data to develop new interpretations that lead to new conceptualizations and finally, to a deep conceptual change. To be aware of contradiction seems to be a first step in the process of conceptual change. A study to explore novice students responses to anomalous data has been carried out. Sixty nine ninth graders, fifty seven eleventh graders and sixty three twelfth graders participated in the study. A paper and pencil task about the origin of life on the Earth was designed. Subjects were divided into two conditions. In condition “A” only anomalous data were presented to the subjects. In condition “A+B”, both anomalous and confirmatory data were presented. Results indicated that younger students were less aware of contradiction than older students when both anomalous and confirmatory data were presented. However, no differences have been found among them when just anomalous data were presented (condition A). Twelfth graders were aware of contradiction in both conditions. Some students’ epistemological beliefs influenced their response to anomalous data. Although no conceptual change (weak or strong restructuring) was achieved, as it could be predicted by the low domain-specific knowledge of the subjects and the complexity of the topic, presenting anomalous data facilitated the achievement of the first steps of the conceptual change process.  相似文献   

The incompatibility of science and religion sustained: A reply to our critics     

Martin Mahner  Mario Bunge 《Science & Education》1996,5(2):189-199

This article replies to a number of criticisms levelled at us by Tom Settle, Hugh Lacey, Michael Poole, Brian Woolnough, John Wren-Lewis, and Harold Turner in a series of comments on our paper entitled ‘Is religious education compatible with science education?’ By offering counter-arguments and by clarifying certain misunderstandings, we show that these criticisms fail to affect our position.  相似文献   

Students' preconceptions of the nature of gases     

Darryl L. Benson  Merlin C. Wittrock  Mario E. Baur 《科学教学研究杂志》1993,30(6):587-597

A total of 1098 students, from second graders to university chemistry students, drew representations of highly magnified views of air at 1.0 atmosphere of pressure and at 0.5 atmosphere of pressure. The drawings were classified and the authors inferred from them a relatively limited number of preconceptions of the nature of gases. Several major trends occurred in the frequencies of these inferred preconceptions held at different grade levels. The majority of the drawings that were not in fairly close agreement with atomic theory seemed to reflect one or more of the following misconceptions: (a) air is a continuous (nonparticulate) substance, (b) gas behavior is similar to liquid behavior, and (c) there is relatively little space between gas particles. The number of drawings that gave evidence of particulate views ranged from 8% for Grades 2–4 to 85% for university chemistry students. However, 33% of the university students' drawings showed highly packed particles, and only 37% showed particles in an approximately correct geometrical distribution. The authors suggest a technique for promoting conceptual change among students who possess alternative views of the nature of gases.  相似文献   

Outcomes of the Bologna Process in LIS higher education: Comparing two programs in Europe     

Mario Pérez-Montoro  Anna Maria Tammaro 《International Information and Library Review》2012,44(4):233-242

PurposeThe Bologna Process (BP) approach is distinguished by its emphasis on outcomes, moving the criteria for quality from input (what faculty teaches) to learning outcomes (what students will be able to do).MethodologyThe authors want to look at the issues and opportunities involved in applying the learning outcomes approach in two southern European countries with similar traditions and no previous experience of this approach. Data were collected from a documentary review based on official documents and open statistics and a survey of selected stakeholders connected to the LIS schools of Parma and Barcelona.FindingsWithin the BP framework, the LIS schools of Parma and Barcelona have distinctive missions and goals but differ in their approach to defining the attributes they expect of their graduates. Although LIS as an academic and educational undertaking has common historical roots in Spain and Italy, research and education since BP has developed in different directions.LimitationsFindings are based on the context of higher education in Italy and Spain, although the focus is on the two LIS schools of Parma and Barcelona.Originality/value of the paperThere are definite barriers to using learning outcomes as a measure of quality enhancement for LIS educational programs. Not least is the challenge of developing a list of learning outcomes that stakeholders at both national and international level can agree on. Nevertheless, this study concludes that LIS learning outcomes in Europe should be investigated as a means of benchmarking and determining the feasibility of guidelines regarding the equivalency and reciprocity of professional LIS qualifications.  相似文献   

What is the future of electrical impedance spectroscopy in flow cytometry?     

Furkan Gke  Paolo S. Ravaynia  Mario M. Modena  Andreas Hierlemann 《Biomicrofluidics》2021,15(6)

More than 20 years ago, electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was proposed as a potential characterization method for flow cytometry. As the setup is comparably simple and the method is label-free, EIS has attracted considerable interest from the research community as a potential alternative to standard optical methods, such as fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). However, until today, FACS remains by and large the laboratory standard with highly developed capabilities and broad use in research and clinical settings. Nevertheless, can EIS still provide a complement or alternative to FACS in specific applications? In this Perspective, we will give an overview of the current state of the art of EIS in terms of technologies and capabilities. We will then describe recent advances in EIS-based flow cytometry, compare the performance to that of FACS methods, and discuss potential prospects of EIS in flow cytometry.  相似文献   

Electrical power free, low dead volume, pressure-driven pumping for microfluidic applications     

Moscovici M  Chien WY  Abdelgawad M  Sun Y 《Biomicrofluidics》2010,4(4):46501

This paper presents a simple-to-construct, low dead volume pump capable of generating a wide range of positive and negative pressures for microfluidic applications. The pump generates pressure or vacuum by changing the volume of air confined inside a syringe and is able to generate pressures between -95 and +300 kPa with a resolution as high as 1 Pa. Different from syringe pumps and electrokinetic pumping, which are capable of controlling flow rates only, our pump can be used to generate constant flow rates or constant pressures, which are required for certain applications such as the aspiration of biological cells for biophysical characterization. Compared to syringe pumps, the new pump has almost zero dead volume and does not exhibit pulsatile flows. Additionally, the system does not require electrical power and is cost effective (～$100). To demonstrate the capabilities of the pump, we used it to aspirate osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1 cells) and to determine Young's modulus of the cells, to generate a concentration gradient, and to produce variable-sized droplets in microchannels using hydrodynamic focusing.  相似文献