Results of the GEP-ISFG collaborative study on an X-STR Decaplex

A collaborative work was carried out by the Spanish and Portuguese ISFG Working Group with a PCR multiplex for X chromosome STRs. Markers were selected among those described as polymorphic in humans and that have been used by some laboratories in forensics. Primers and various technical methods were investigated with the aim of optimizing a multiplex for the 10 selected X-STRs. Primer mix stock solutions were sent to the laboratories that were asked to analyse two female bloodstains, taking as reference the genetic profiles from 9947A, 9948 and NA3657 samples. In this work, we report the results obtained by 30 GEP-ISFG laboratories, using this Decaplex, as well as alternative technical conditions that also produced good results. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On-line collaborative learning for in-service teacher education

This article brings some of the results of a study that analyzes a hybrid course for in-service teachers in the Project Teletandem Brazil: foreign languages for all. In this project, Brazilian teachers of Spanish as a foreign language took part in a blended tandem learning course, communicating via videoconferencing with Uruguayan teachers of Portuguese as a foreign language. The aim of the study was to verify Brazilian teachers' concepts and beliefs concerning language and culture and how the teletandem interactions affected them. After the interactions, teachers' views of culture seemed to also incorporate aspects of culture as an interpersonal process, instead of the factual and static view which was previously predominant. Therefore teacher education programs must consider the possibility of conjugating theory and reflective practice through the use of videoconference tools in order to allow teachers to experience culture rather learn facts about it. © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER.

Report of the Joint Meeting of the SIDS Bureau and the Inter-Agency Collaborative Group

Summary An account of the proceedings of the meeting which discussed the following agenda items: report on regional implementation of the SIDS POA; status of regional projects for submission to the meeting of prospective donors and representatives of Small Island Developing States; the regional position on UNDP compendium of project proposals; status of consultations with CARIFORUM and the EU; budget for the regional co-ordinating mechanism and consultation; preparation for the Special Session on the UN General Assembly (UNGASS); to discuss the SIDS plan of action; and a Ministerial meeting on SIDS POA implementation.

Report of the Inter-Agency Collaborative Group Meeting Preparatory to the Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the World Summit for Social Development

El informe da cuenta de las discusiones sostenidas en la reunión, las que se centraron en: a) la revisión y evaluación de la implementación del Programa de Acción de la Cumbre Mundial para el Desarrollo Social, con énfasis en las actividades específicas incluyendo informes por países y estudios temáticos en torno al empleo, la erradicación de la pobreza y la integración social; b) el examen de la situación del envejecimiento y de los ancianos, relevando las necesidades de información para la implementación de políticas, las estrategias y programas, y el logro de un consenso subregional frente a la tercera edad.

Explanations and Representations of Violence by School-age Brazilian Youths

The violence staged by young people has often been subjected to scientific analysis. The way youths speak, in their role as aggressors or as victims, is examined to determine how they experience violence in a number of different spheres. Repeated group interviews are used to analyze how violence is explained and depicted within the family, at school and in the neighbourhood by two groups of young people (14-17 years old) attending the same school on the outskirts of Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. One of the groups involved is identified by the school as violent, and the other, as non-violent. Discourse analysis leads to two conclusions. First, the different contexts of violence infuse a mistrust of institutions, the environment and personal relationships into the subjects' experience, forming a fabric that clouds future prospects. Second, the group of youths identified as violent have a more simplistic, pessimistic view of reality: They see the world in black and white, and they lay no stock in the possibility that violence can be avoided. Consequently, they use violence and understand violence as a defensive strategy that gives one identity. On the other hand, the group identified as nonviolent feels it possible to intervene in situations with nonviolent tools like words. For the young subjects, violence is a context that they assume; it cancels their ability to identify rules and institutions, but it does not generate an effective interaction strategy. Violence causes their social microcontext (in which action prevails over meaning or meaning equals action) to assume overblown dimensions. Any intervention strategy must take into account this indissoluble unity between meaning and action.

EGHEP-ISFG collaborative exercise on mixture profiles of autosomal STRs (GHEP-MIX01, GHEP-MIX02 and GHEP-MIX03): Results and evaluation

One of the main objectives of the Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (GHEP-ISFG) is to promote and contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the area of forensic genetics. Due to this fact, GHEP-ISFG holds different working commissions that are set up to develop activities in scientific aspects of general interest. One of them, the Mixture Commission of GHEP-ISFG, has organized annually, since 2009, a collaborative exercise on analysis and interpretation of autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) mixture profiles. Until now, three exercises have been organized (GHEP-MIX01, GHEP-MIX02 and GHEP-MIX03), with 32, 24 and 17 participant laboratories respectively. The exercise aims to give a general vision by addressing, through the proposal of mock cases, aspects related to the edition of mixture profiles and the statistical treatment. The main conclusions obtained from these exercises may be summarized as follows. Firstly, the data show an increased tendency of the laboratories toward validation of DNA mixture profiles analysis following international recommendations (ISO/IEC 17025: 2005). Secondly, the majority of discrepancies are mainly encountered in stutters positions (53.4%, 96.0% and 74.9%, respectively for the three editions). On the other hand, the results submitted reveal the importance of performing duplicate analysis by using different kits in order to reduce errors as much as possible. Regarding the statistical aspect (GHEP-MIX02 and 03), all participants employed the likelihood ratio (LR) parameter to evaluate the statistical compatibility and the formulas employed were quite similar. When the hypotheses to evaluate the LR value were locked by the coordinators (GHEP-MIX02) the results revealed a minor number of discrepancies that were mainly due to clerical reasons. However, the GHEP-MIX03 exercise allowed the participants to freely come up with their own hypotheses to calculate the LR value. In this situation the laboratories reported several options to explain the mock cases proposed and therefore significant differences between the final LR values were obtained. Complete information concerning the background of the criminal case is a critical aspect in order to select the adequate hypotheses to calculate the LR value. Although this should be a task for the judicial court to decide, it is important for the expert to account for the different possibilities and scenarios, and also offer this expertise to the judge. In addition, continuing education in the analysis and interpretation of mixture DNA profiles may also be a priority for the vast majority of forensic laboratories. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Egocentric speech in the works of Vygotsky and Piaget: educational implications and representations by teachers

This paper presents an applied qualitative and quantitative study and seeks to understand egocentric speech according to Vygotsky and Piaget and, through a literature review, the educational implications of Vygotsky and Piaget’s ideas. Additionally, the representations of these ideas by fifteen teachers of basic education are investigated. It is important to understand egocentric speech in Vygotsky and Piaget. Despite the differences in how they conceive its nature, functions and implications, for both, egocentric speech is intrinsically linked to and facilitates our understanding of child development. Regarding the representation of teachers who criticized children who used egocentric language, when teachers established any negative consequences of such language, they attributed it to the affective and moral aspects as well as to cognition. However, their approach was more practically oriented than those found in the psychological theories addressed. Therefore, this study aids in understanding the limits and scope of teacher-training courses.

Stromal myofibroblasts in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in young patients - a multicenter collaborative study

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of myofibroblasts, frequently associated with a more aggressive neoplastic behavior, in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) of young patients and to compare with the distribution observed in older patients.Study Design. Tumor samples from 29 patients younger than 40 years old affected by TSCC were retrieved and investigated for the presence of stromal myofibroblasts by immunohistochemical reactions against a smooth muscle actin, and the results obtained were compared to TSCC cases affecting older patients.Results. No positive reaction could be found in the stromal areas devoid of neoplastic tissue, whereas myofibroblasts were present in 58.6% of the lesions in young patients and in 75.9% of the older ones. No significant difference was found when comparing the invasive front and the overall stroma of both groups, and no correlation could be obtained with stromal a smooth muscle actin expression, higher tumor grades or clinical stage (P > .05).Conclusion. There was no significant difference between the presence of stromal myofibroblasts of TSCC affecting young and old individuals.

Collaborative language learning in Teletandem: a resource for pre-service teacher education

This article presents some of the results of a qualitative research project about the influences of the pedagogic strategies used by a mediator (graduate student in applied linguistics) in the supervision process of a Teletandem partner (undergraduate student in languages) on her pedagogical practice. It was done within the project Teletandem Brazil: foreign language for all. Based on the reflective teaching paradigm and collaborative language learning, with special emphasis on tandem learning, we analyzed the contributions of the collaborative relationship established between the graduate student and the student-teacher in her first teaching experience. The results bring about implications for the field of language teacher education in a perspective of education within practice, evidencing the experience of collaborative learning in teletandem as an opportunity for reflective teacher education of pre-service teachers.

Visualização da informação colaborativa por meio de um ambiente multiprojetado e dispositivos móveis

Pós-graduação em Ciência da Computação - IBILCE