Fumonisins are a family of toxic and carcinogenic mycotoxins produced by Fusarium verticillioides (formerly Fusarium moniliforme), a common fungal contaminant of maize. Fumonisins inhibit ceramide synthase, causing accumulation of bioactive intermediates of sphingolipid metabolism (sphinganine and other sphingoid bases and derivatives) as well as depletion of complex sphingolipids, which interferes with the function of some membrane proteins, including the folate-binding protein (human folate receptor alpha). Fumonisin causes neural tube and craniofacial defects in mouse embryos in culture. Many of these effects are prevented by supplemental folic acid. Recent studies in LMBc mice found that fumonisin exposure in utero increases the frequency of developmental defects and administration of folate or a complex sphingolipid is preventive. High incidences of neural tube defects (NTD) occur in some regions of the world where substantial consumption of fumonisins has been documented or plausibly suggested (Guatemala, South Africa, and China); furthermore, a recent study of NTD in border counties of Texas found a significant association between NTD and consumption of tortillas during the first trimester. Hence, we propose that fumonisins are potential risk factors for NTD, craniofacial anomalies, and other birth defects arising from neural crest cells because of their apparent interference with folate utilization.

Since its 1947 founding, ETS has conducted and disseminated scientific research to support its products and services, and to advance the measurement and education fields. In keeping with these goals, ETS is committed to making its research freely available to the professional community and to the general public. Published accounts of ETS research, including papers in the ETS Research Report series, undergo a formal peer-review process by ETS staff to ensure that they meet established scientific and professional standards. All such ETS-conducted peer reviews are in addition to any reviews that outside organizations may provide as part of their own publication processes. Peer review notwithstanding, the positions expressed in the ETS Research Report series and other published accounts of ETS research are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Officers and Trustees of Educational Testing Service.The Daniel Eignor Editorship is named in honor of Dr. Daniel R. Eignor, who from 2001 until 2011 served the Research and Development division as Editor for the ETS Research Report series. The Eignor Editorship has been created to recognize the pivotal leadership role that Dr. Eignor played in the research publication process at ETS. ETS Research Report Series ISSN 2330-8516 R E S E A R C H R E P O R T Improving Content Assessment for English Language Learners: Studies of the Linguistic Modification of Test ItemsJohn W. Young, Teresa C. King, Maurice Cogan Hauck, Mitchell Ginsburgh, Lauren Kotloff, Julio Cabrera, & Carlos CavalieEducational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ This article describes two research studies conducted on the linguistic modification of test items from K-12 content assessments. In the first study, 120 linguistically modified test items in mathematics and science taken by fourth and sixth graders were found to have a wide range of outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs, with regard to performance on the original and modified versions of the same items. The original items were disclosed items from two states and were used in their standards-based assessments. The modified versions of these items were developed by a team of Educational Testing Service (ETS) assessment developers and researchers. The ETS research team identified several kinds of modifications that appeared promising and applied the modifications systematically. Ideally, modifying items leads to improved performance by ELLs while having little to no impact on the performance of non-ELLs. However, both groups of students performed better on some items, about the same on some other items, and worse on yet some other items. Cognitive interviews were conducted as a follow-up study to investigate which features of the linguistically modified items produced the observed outcomes for ELLs and non-ELLs. The results from this study added little clarity with regards to which of the linguistic modifications were effective and how they improved the understanding and performance of ELLs on these content items.Keywords En...

<p>Dentro del actual panorama de crisis global, se intenta poner en discusión la propuesta del filósofo Martin Heidegger, que puede modificar la formulación de una buena parte de las cuestiones bioéticas. El filósofo presenta una nueva noción de lo humano, no solo como “persona” o “agente racional”. Según el concepto del Dasein, la modernidad fue construida en torno a tres ideas: el sujeto como centro y fundamento, la ciencia como criterio único de verdad en el progreso y su consecuente tecnificación del mundo; habría que liberar un espacio para otro tipo de creación que no excluya la técnica, pero que tampoco la exalte hasta el punto de que lo demás desaparezca. Heidegger puede ser extremadamente instigante en cuanto a la distinción salud-enfermedad y problemas como la medicalización, en el intento de obtener una noción existencial de estos conceptos, superando su visión metafísica tradicional. La salud entonces deja de ser un acontecimiento objetivo para transformarse en un proyecto existencial.</p>

ResumoEste texto dedica-se a defender a tese da impossibilidade da moral. Para isso, discute diferentes posições sobre a moralidade, como a naturalista de Adriano Naves de Brito e a existencialista de Zelijko Loparic, estudando seus aspectos de diferenciação, mas igualando-as entre si e com perspectivas metafísicas tradicionais por defenderem uma posição afi rmativa da moral, cada uma a partir de suas próprias coordenadas. O propósito do artigo será defender a posição negativa. A partir dela, não faz sentido falar em existência da moral, pois os seres humanos estão moralmente inabilitados. Ela defende que, uma vez que a questão da moralidade implica que o dever moral deva ser observado em todas as situações pelas pessoas, não há possibilidade de os seres humanos cumprirem deveres morais. O que determina a impossibilidade de comportamentos genuinamente morais é a desvalia da condição humana, pois ela está sujeita originalmente ao sofrimento e a inúmeros fatores desfavoráveis para que a moral seja possível.Palavras-chave: ética negativa, naturalismo, existencialismo. AbstractThis text is dedicated to defend the thesis of the impossibility of morals. For this, it discusses different positions concerning morality, like the naturalistic position of Adriano Naves de Brito and the existentialist position of Zelijko Loparic, concerning to identifying each other from the point of view of the defense of an affi rmative position on morals. The purpose of the text is to defend the negative position. From it, doesn't make any sense defending the possibility of morals, because human beings are morally disqualifi ed. It says that, once moral is an issue that ought to be observed by people in all situations, there is no possibility for the human beings to observe moral obligations. What determines the impossibility of genuine moral behavior is the moral and sensitive worthlessness of the human condition, originally

Resumo A bioética recorre à filosofia ao examinar conceitos e valores, problemas e ferramentas metodológicas e ao tratar de problemas específicos da vida humana no mundo moderno. Contudo, tanto na bioética quanto na filosofia, a compreensão existencial do que significa nascer é poucas vezes articulada, enquanto a dimensão existencial da morte e do morrer tem recebido mais atenção. Neste artigo, propomos reconsiderar a condição humana como pano de fundo de uma ética para a vida em seus múltiplos extratos e modulações, e a partir da qual se pode elaborar perspectiva filosófica que pense o nascimento como horizonte mais amplo para tratar problemas bioéticos específicos. Destacamos, neste artigo, algumas contribuições de Hannah Arendt e María Zambrano, duas pensadoras que se ocuparam da condição humana, entre o nascimento e a morte.

ResumenEn este trabajo se analiza la producción de prácticas docentes en escuela media, a partir del marco teórico del Modelo Cognitivo de Ciencia Escolar.La indagación formó parte de la tesis final de la formación de profesores del primer autor, quien analizó sus propias prácticas de clase y las de otros docentes. El trabajo permitió establecer el grado de coherencia entre las formulaciones teóricas y las prácticas que construyen los alumnos del profesorado y también determinar la capacidad de análisis y reflexión que desarrollan durante su formación profesional.El análisis de la propia práctica, que resultó coherente con el marco teórico, es al mismo tiempo una evaluación de la coherencia interna en la formación de profesores, experiencia que sirvió para retroalimentar los procesos reflexivos de los formadores de formadores. Palabras claveFormación docente, modelo cognitivo de ciencia escolar, reflexión sobre la propia práctica (metarreflexión). AbstractIn this paper, the production of educational practices in secondary school is analysed using as theoretical framework the Cognitive Model of School Science. The investigation was part of one of the authors' (Cabrera's) final thesis for the degree of science teaching; it was centred on the analysis of the researcher's and some other teachers' classroom practices. The work permitted establishing the degree of coherence between the theoretical formulations and the practices that student teachers construct; at the same time, it permitted determining the analysis and reflection skills developed during their professional induction.Teachers' analysis of their own practice, which was coherent with the theoretical framework, is at the same time an evaluation of the internal coherence in teachers' education; the experience was useful as feedback for the teacher educators' reflexive processes. KeywordsTeacher education, cognitive model of school science, reflection on one's own practice (meta reflexive processes).

O autor toma a famosa frase de Heidegger para analis&aacute;-la dentro da concep&ccedil;&atilde;o heideggeriana de linguagem e confront&aacute;-la com alguns representantes da filosofia anal&iacute;tica.O autor quer provar que h&aacute; em Heidegger um registro marcado pelo arca&iacute;smo e que &eacute; a partir dele que se deve entender sua proposta de linguagem

No abstract