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Porre al centro della riflessione didattico-educativa il bisogno significa voler andare alla ricerca di ciò che caratterizza l’umano. Nell’accezione di mancanza e parzialità, il sostantivo rimanda ad una condizione antropologica di incompiutezza che accomuna indistintamente ogni uomo: la persona non viene al mondo con una forma definita aprioristicamente, ma con un potenziale latente da scoprire nella quotidianità. La consapevolezza di essere insufficienti, invita l’uomo ad assumere su di sé la responsabilità di individuare un fine che possa attribuire un senso ed una missione all’esistenza. L’originalità che identifica la persona è strettamente correlabile alle opportunità esperienziali che gli vengono offerte: in questa prospettiva, l’educazione, intesa come prossimità e cura, incoraggia l’uomo a riconoscersi come soggetto tendente verso una pienezza raggiungibile entro un legame di reciprocità. La scuola, assumendo su di sé il paradigma del bisogno come principio costituente ogni soggetto, deve offrire a tutti gli alunni eguali possibilità e risorse affinché in ciascuno si rendano evidenti capacità e competenze: tali peculiarità manifestano il valore della persona e permettono di costruire un orizzonte di significato entro il quale orientare la vita. È sulla predisposizione di percorsi formativi volti a trasformare i doni individuali in abilità che si misura il grado effettivo dell’inclusione scolastica: una sfida alla quale la scuola è chiamata a rispondere con professionalità e competenza.

Il rapporto tra fede e ragione è la questione meta-teologica per eccellenza. L’autore si propone dunque d’indagare se il modello oggi prevalente di “ragione umile” – basato su fallibilismo e umiltà epistemica – sia il più adeguato per esprimere le verità teologiche, anche alla luce del dibattito interno al teismo contemporaneo (teologia razionale). Per rispondere a questa domanda è necessario esaminare lo statuto epistemologico della verità umana e della verità di fede, per poter elaborare un metodo comune alle discipline scientifiche, filosofiche e teologiche, capace di trovare un equilibrio tra fideismo e positivismo teologico. Dopo una breve panoramica storica dei rapporti tra fede e ragione nel pensiero occidentale (con particolare attenzione alla dottrina dei praeambula fidei), l’articolo cercherà di mostrare come, nel paradigma della verità relazionale e del fallibilismo sia necessario integrare il problema delle fonti, dell’autorità, del concetto di ispirazione e della nozione di “rivelazione”, giacché contraddistinguono la teologia rispetto alla filosofia. Si mostrerà infine come la dimensione comunitaria e della scelta (appello alla libertà) siano connaturate alla teologia intesa come fede critica, la cui peculiarità è di collocarsi senza nostalgie nel mezzo tra fideismo, razionalismo e un certo relativismo. Dal percorso emergerà infine la proposta di una nuova cristeologia.

Weaning is a crucial event in the life of young ruminants. At weaning ruminal and digestive activity are still incomplete, so weaning may coincide with a period of growth stasis. Since insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) can play a fundamental role in post-natal development, the aim of the present study was to evaluate plasma variations of insulin and IGF-1 levels and their relationships with the hepatic activity, around weaning.For this purpose, eleven 3-days-old Saanen goat kids were randomly divided into MILK (6 animals) and WMIX (5 animals) groups. All kids were fed goat milk to age 29 days. After that, MILK kids continued to receive milk, while WMIX ones underwent weaning, based on the progressive replacement of milk with solid feed. WMIX kids were completely weaned on day 48. Blood samples were weekly analyzed for metabolic traits, insulin and IGF-1 levels, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities. On day 50, all animals were slaughtered, liver weight was recorded and liver samples were analyzed for DNA, RNA, phospholipids, glicogen and soluble protein content, ALT and AST activity.On day 50, plasma insulin and IGF-1 were lower in WMIX group, as possible consequence of the lower plasma glucose and amino acids levels. Liver weight was not different between groups, but liver weight expressed as percentage of body weight was lower in WMIX kids and highly correlated to plasma IGF-1. Liver glycogen was also lower in WMIX kids, as possible consequence of the lower plasma glucose.Hepatic ALT and AST activities were not different between groups and both were strongly correlated to plasma insulin. Moreover, insulin was positively correlated to the proteosynthetic capability per cell (RNA/DNA) of the liver.Our results indicate that the adopted livestock practice permitted the normal development of the animal used, avoiding growth stasis. Anyway, weaning altered plasma insulin and IGF-1, without affecting neither hepatic activity of aminotransferases, nor hepatic DNA and RNA content. Interestingly, plasma insulin was positively correlated to hepatic ALT and AST activity and proteosynthetic capability per cell, suggesting a role for insulin as indicator of hepatic aminotransferase and proteosynthetic activity.

Introduction: The sly start of type 2 diabetes (DM2) very often complicates the patient before diagnosis. An early diagnosis of diabetes is strongly stressed nowadays so as to avoid or retard the progression of chronic complications. But the same emphasis is not put on the urgency of the diagnosis of these complications, at the same time as diabetes is diagnosed. If we consider that around 50% of type 2 diabetics are not aware of their condition, the problem of chronic complications of varied severity in them needs special consideration., Objective: The present study was designed in order to evaluate the presence of chronic complications and their evolutive stage in our population., Patients and Method: Three hundred and two newly diagnosed diabetic patients (NDD) underwent full clinical examination and laboratory evaluation within 30 days of diagnosis. Diagnostic procedures and tests were standardized for each complication., Results: The mean age of the sample was 53±10 years (range, 24-77), with no difference between sexes. Complications were present in 156 patients (51.7%); 70 (44.9%) had one complication and 86 (55.1%) had 2 or more. Hypertension (HTA) was present in 192 (63.6%) NDD, 38.6% had coronary heart disease (by Minnesota Code). Among lipid alterations, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was the most frequent (34.6%). Microvascular complications were prevalent both in women and men, in decreasing order: neuropathy (27.5%), nephropathy (20.2%), retinopathy (17.9%). Taking into account the severity of complications, retinopathy showed preponderance in evolutive stage. The silent myocardial infraction seems to be a more frequent pathology than expected (17.7%)., Conclusions: It must be stressed the need for identification of chronic complications immediately after the diagnosis of DM2., (Copyright © 2008 Sociedad Española de Endocrinología y Nutrición. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Bacterial agents causing diarrea in patients attended in a hospital of Rosario, Argentina. The frequency of bacterial agents causing diarrhea can vary in patients of different areas, and through the time. In an epidemiological surveillance we studied 304 patients with diarrheal diseases looking for Salmonella enterica, Shigella spp, Campylobacter spp, Aeromonas spp, Yersinia enterocolitica, and diarrheogenic Escherichia coli. C. jejuni was isolated in 30 patients (9,9 %), Salmonella in 18 (5,9 %), and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) in 7 (2,3 %). Most cases due ton C. jejuni had mucus and/or blood in their feces. Unexpectedly we didn't fine any cases due to Shigella spp. There was much less cases due to EPEC than in our previous studies, and occurred only in children of less than 5 years old. It is necesary to take in consideration that C. jejuni cause nearly all the cases of diarrhea in patients with mucus and blood in their feces actually in our region.

An interview system was used to survey 56,199 students in Avellaneda between the ages of 3 and 20 years, representing 60.6% of the population of that age group in the census. The study covered 178 of the 201 pre-schools, grade schools, high schools and special schools in the area. Thirty three diabetic children were identified (18 girls, 15 boys), with a mean of 12.5 years of age. This represents a prevalence of diabetes in the school age population of 0.45/1000 in the 3-12 year old group, 1.25/1000 in the 13-20 year old group, with 0.59/1000 for the total of children surveyed. (93.82 of ascertainement, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.42/1000). Similar figures have resulted from studies in developed countries. The most frequent initial symptoms were the typical ones, with only 15% showing acidosis or diabetic coma as the initiation of the illness. Viral infections and stress appeared to be related to the onset of the disease. Diabetes was in the family history of 48.5% of the diabetic children, and 24.5% of the non-diabetics. The most common diabetic relative was the paternal grandfather. The maternal side showed a higher number of diabetic relatives with preponderance of males. No socio-economic differences were found between diabetics and non-diabetics.

To study the cost-effectiveness of fecal culture in the detection of enteropathogenic or enteroinvasive bacteria, a review and analysis was done of fecal cultures from ambulatory or hospitalized patients treated for acute diarrhea at a Buenos Aires sanatorium during 1985. Of 1,295 fecal cultures performed, pathogens were isolated in 369 cases (28.5%), of which 79 corresponded to Shigella sp. (S. flexnerii, 49; S. sonnei, 29; S. dysenteriae, 2), 25 to Salmonella sp., and 270 to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) of the infant. There was no statistically significant difference between the ambulatory patients and the hospitalized patients in the proportion of positive fecal cultures. The cost of each positive fecal culture was US$ 60.36, while the cost of diagnosing invasion of the mucous membrane (isolation of Shigella sp. or detection of leukocytes in feces) was US$ 109.74. These costs are excessive and could be greatly reduced if the test were applied in only selected cases. Many of the strains of Shigella sp., Salmonella sp., and EPEC that were found were resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and cotrimoxazole. These cases of resistance suggest that fosfomycin may be one of the antibiotics of choice for the treatment of diarrhea caused by invasive organisms.