Communicative mediation in the classroom: A tool for its assessment

In 2014, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of the Government of Spain officially recognized the title of Superior Technician in Communicative Mediation. Faced with this new scenario and after graduating from different promotions of this degree, an exploratory study is carried out to find out the possibilities and limitations of this discipline in the development of inclusive educational contexts that comply with the principle of equity, focusing on students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), schooled in Early Childhood and Primary Education centers, that presents communication and/or language needs,. This article exposes the design and validation process of a quantitative information collection tool, MeCo-LSE, which allows assessing the relevance of incorporating this new professional figure into educational centers. The results obtained will help define the basis of Communicative Mediation in the school context, and propose an innovative methodology based on the Advanced Socio-educational Intervention Model -Vinjoy Model-, which considers Spanish Sign Language as an inclusive communication tool to use by students with ASD. Remaining available to professionals, students, families and institutions, in order to improve the quality of Education in the post-coronavirus era. © 2021 Fundacion para la Investigacion Social Avanzada. All rights reserved.

Antibodies: Friends, Foes, or Both? Lessons From COVID-19 for the Rheumatologist.

ABSTRACT: Antibodies are a fundamental tool to fight infections but are intrinsically built as a double-edged sword. One side recognizes the microbial antigen, and the other gives a call to arms to fight infection by recruiting immune cells and triggering inflammation. A balanced immune response must combine a potent neutralizing antibody and a swift disposal of the invading agent by innate immune cells with the least tissue damage possible. The longer the immune system takes to control the infection, the higher the possibility for a self-sustaining inflammatory process with potentially fatal consequences for the host. In addition to quantity, the quality of antibodies also matters, because posttranslational modifications altering the N-glycan composition in Fc fractions may help tilt the balance to the effector side, by modifying their affinity for Fc receptors in immune cells. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a wealth of data bolstering our understanding of the rules governing the production of protective and nonprotective antibodies. Also, it has broadened our understanding of the role of viruses in triggering autoimmunity and inflammation, and widened our knowledge of the different mechanisms that can be activated by viral infection and lead to autoantibody production, inflammation, and progressive tissue damage. In addition, the COVID-19 infection has contributed a great deal to our comprehension of the role of antibodies in the causation of cytokine storms and systemic inflammatory response syndrome, also seen in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases.