Association of the Nonalcoholic Hepatic Steatosis and Its Degrees With the Values of Liver Enzymes and Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance Index

The “Kwesukasukela” project, which focuses on African oral tradition storytelling intermingled with the Ubuntu philosophy (Varty, 2013), has as its main aim to stimulate collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity, within primary school settings. In fact, through an experiential communicative approach (Fernández-Corbacho, 2014), South African storytelling can become a gamified experience and integrated into English classroom practices as a means of transformation and stimulation of social cohesion and sustainable development (Battiste, 2005).The aim of this study is to reflect upon Chou’s (2016) Octalysis framework and how it can effectively be applied in Primary English Teaching contexts. The implementation of gamification designs and practices within this type of framework allowed us to understand how we can implement effective approaches towards a transformative classroom. An ethnographic methodological approach, with triangulation of data collection tools (questionnaires, self-assessment worksheets and project work), was resorted. Gamified practices, which deal with South African cultural and linguistic varieties (Nomlomo & Zilungile, 2016) and 21st Century Learning skills, were analized (Cruz & Orange, 2016).The project’s main results show that the gamification approach can foster the development of transformative skills. Keywords: octalysis framework; english for young learners; storytelling; 21st century skills.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and evaluate sonographic findings compatible with changes consistent with hepatic steatosis in patients referred for abdominal ultrasonography at four reference centers in Aracaju, SE, Brazil. Materials and Methods: Prospective, descriptive survey, with analytical and quantitative approach, comprising abdominal ultrasonography scans performed with a convex, dynamic 3.75 MHz transducer. Liver dimensions and parenchymal echotexture were evaluated, classifying hepatic steatosis into grades (1, 2 or 3). The SPSS® 22.0 software was used for statistical analysis, adopting p < 0.05 as significance level. Results: A total of 800 individuals (561 women and 239 men) were evaluated. The prevalence of steatosis was 29.1%, and the male patients were most affected, presenting with more advanced grades of disease (p = 0.021), as follows: 119 grade 1 (51.0%); 94 grade 2 (40.4%); and 20 grade 3 (8.6%). The median age patients' was 46 years. Conclusion: In the present study sample, the prevalence of hepatic steatosis was high, particularly in the male patients. Ultrasonography is suggested as a first choice for the diagnosis of this condition, considering its wide availability, low cost and absence of side effects or risks to the patient.

In this article we will present a study undertaken in the scope of a Content and Language Integrated Learning project, which was implemented at a local private primary school in the Oporto area, Portugal. This project takes into account the promotion of a teaching and learning process based on the fostering of 21st Century skills, the so-called "creactical skills" i.e., critical thinking and creativity into action (Ohler, 2013) and a global and sustainable awareness. By tackling these, each child has got the chance to develop values and behavior for a sustainable future planet and a positive society transformation based on equality, respect towards diversity, and the finding of solutions to glocal problems. By developing an action research project and following a mixed-method research methodology , we analysed the project's implementation, online questionnaires, and other data including lesson plans, supervision reports/notes, pictures, videos and projects in order to find evidence of practices which foster the "creactical skills". The results show that pupils' critical thinking, creativity, collabora-tion, and cultural awareness skills may have been fostered, but there is still some work to be done regarding other skills mainly due to teachers' approaches which have to change.

The importance of reading proficiency in a second language (L2) is growing worldwide. Reading in a L2 involves many questions about the abilities of reading comprehension, including metacomprehension, a core reading ability in native speakers (L1) that allows them to be aware of their reading comprehension level and to regulate their learning. However, its link to L2 has not been sufficiently researched. This study examines the relationship between the reading comprehension scores of diverse texts and metacomprehension, assessed by the ECOMPLEC test and PROLEC-R reading task, in Portuguese students studying Spanish as a L2. Similar to the results found in L1 research, we found a significant relationship between reading comprehension and metacomprehension in expository and discontinuous texts: students with low reading comprehension scores overestimated their metacomprehension while metacomprehension abilities of students with high reading comprehension abilities were more accurate. These results provide a frame of reference for future studies on metacomprehension in L2. El dominio de la lectura en una segunda lengua (L2) tiene cada vez más importancia a nivel global. La lectura en una L2 implica muchas cuestiones sobre las capacidades de comprensión lectora, como la metacomprensión, una habilidad de lectura fundamental en hablantes nativos (L1) que les permite ser conscientes de su nivel de comprensión lectora y les ayuda a regular su aprendizaje. Sin embargo, su papel en una L2 no ha sido lo suficientemente investigado. El presente estudio examina la relación entre las puntuaciones de comprensión lectora de varios tipos de textos y la metacomprensión, evaluada a través de la batería ECOMPLEC y la tarea de lectura de la batería PROLEC-R en estudiantes portugueses que estudian español como L2. De manera similar a los resultados encontrados en investigaciones en L1, hemos descubierto una relación significativa entre la comprensión lectora y la metacomprensión en textos expositivos y discontinuos: los estudiantes con bajas puntuaciones de comprensión lectora sobreestimaron su capacidad de metacomprensión, mientras que las habilidades de metacomprensión de los estudiantes con puntuaciones altas en comprensión lectora fueron más adecuadas. Los resultados proporcionan un marco de referencia para futuros estudios sobre metacomprensión en L2.

A esquistossomose mansoni, endemia encontrada em diferentes áreas do território brasileiro, constitui um grave problema de saúde pública no Brasil e no mundo. Formas ectópicas da doença podem acometer o sistema reprodutor feminino, constituindo um tipo raro de infecção pelo S. mansoni. Paciente com 26 anos queixava-se de corrimento vaginal, dispareunia e dor à palpação do hipogástrio. No exame ginecológico foi observado pólipo endocervical, que foi biopsiado. O exame histológico evidenciou vários granulomas envolvendo ovos degenerados e viáveis de Schistosoma mansoni. Tratada com praziquantel, retornou assintomática após quatro semanas do tratamento. Corrimento vaginal e dispareunia podem ser causas secundárias de cervicite por Schistosoma mansoni. Pesquisa de ovos em esfregaço vaginal de rotina ou exame histológico devem fazer parte da avaliação ginecológica de pacientes de área endêmica, com o objetivo de rastrear forma ectópica da esquistossomose do trato genital feminino.