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Previous research has shown that teachers’ knowledge of a functional metalanguage plays a central role in supporting students’ writing development. However, only a few of these studies have focused on primary school teachers and their use of metalanguage in various text types. The aim of this study was to investigate how primary school teachers talk about young students’ (ages 7–9) narrative and informational texts before and after taking part in professional development workshops presenting different language resources and accompanying metalanguage. These resources represent a broader view of language than the more formal tradition offered to primary school teachers in Sweden. The results showed that after participating in the workshops, the teachers had broadened their repertoires concerning what aspects they talk about and how they talk about them; that is, their talks became more text-specific and extensive, and they used a formal metalanguage to a greater extent. These results are discussed in relation to the tradition of writing instruction used in primary grades in Sweden and the teachers’ pathways to broadening their repertoire of metalanguage. Also discussed is the potential a broader language view in early grades may have in supporting students’ writing development throughout their school years.

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome is caused by narrowing of cerebral arteries. The cardinal symptom is relapsing acute-onset headache also known as thunderclap headache, which may be accompanied by neurologic deficits. This is a case report of a 61-year-old woman with CT angiography-verified reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. We discuss the diagnostic work-up, i.e. lumbar puncture including test for xanthochromia and important brain imaging, differential diagnoses and treatment of the most important causes of thunderclap headache.

Det finns an i dag inte mycket forskat kring hur larare for de tidiga skolaren samtalar om barns skrivande av berattande texter. Darfor vill vi med den har studien bidra till okade insikter genom a ...

How coordination of metal ions modulates protein structures is not only important for elucidating biological function but has also emerged as a key determinant in protein turnover and protein-misfolding diseases. In this study, we show that the coordination of Zn(2+) to the ALS-associated enzyme Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is directly controlled by the protein's folding pathway. Zn(2+) first catalyzes the folding reaction by coordinating transiently to the Cu ligands of SOD1, which are all contained within the folding nucleus. Then, after the global folding transition has commenced, the Zn(2+) ion transfers to the higher affinity Zn site, which structures only very late in the folding process. Here it remains dynamically coordinated with an off rate of ∼10(-5) s(-1). This relatively rapid equilibration of metals in and out of the SOD1 structure provides a simple explanation for how the exceptionally long lifetime,100 years, of holoSOD1 is still compatible with cellular turnover: if a dissociated Zn(2+) ion is prevented from rebinding to the SOD1 structure then the lifetime of the protein is reduced to a just a few hours.

We provide bioinformatical evidence that protein charge plays a key role in the disease mechanism of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Analysis of 100 ALS-associated mutations in copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) shows that these are site-selective with a preference to decrease the proteins' net repulsive charge. For each SOD1 monomer this charge is normally -6. Because biomolecules as a rule maintain net negative charge to assure solubility in the cellular interior, the result lends support to the hypothesis of protein aggregation as an initiating event in the ALS pathogenesis. The strength of the preferential reduction of repulsive charge is higher in SOD1-associated ALS than in other inherited protein disorders.