494 research outputs found
Treatment for Schistosoma japonicum, Reduction of Intestinal Parasite Load, and Cognitive Test Score Improvements in School-Aged Children
Parasitic worm infections are associated with cognitive impairment and lower academic achievement for infected relative to uninfected children. However, it is unclear whether curing or reducing worm infection intensity improves child cognitive function. We examined the independent associations between: (i) Schistosoma japonicum infection-free duration, (ii) declines in single helminth species, and (iii) joint declines of âĽ2 soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections and improvements in four cognitive tests during18 months of follow-up. Enrolled were schistosome-infected school-aged children among whom coinfection with STH was common. All children were treated for schistosome infection only at enrolment with praziquantel. Children cured or schistosome-free for >12 months scored higher in memory and verbal fluency tests compared to persistently infected children. Likewise, declines of single and polyparasitic STH infections predicted higher scores in three of four tests. We conclude that reducing the intensity of certain helminth species and the frequency of multi-species STH infections may have long-term benefits for affected children's cognitive performance. The rapidity of schistosome re-infection and the ubiquity of concurrent multi-species infection highlight the importance of sustained deworming for both schistosome and STH infections to enhance the learning and educational attainment of children in helminth-endemic settings
Programa de intervenciĂłn en representaciones de creatividad y motivaciĂłn acadĂŠmica de adolescentes
Creativity and its promotion are widespread concerns in education. However, few efforts have been made to implement
intervention programs designed to promote creativity and other related aspects (e.g., academic motivation). The Future Problem Solving
Program International (FPSPI), aimed for training creativity representations and creative problem solving skills in young people, has
been one of the most implemented programs. This interventionâs materials and activities were adapted for Portuguese students, and
a longitudinal study was conducted. The program was implemented during four months, in weekly sessions, by thirteen teachers.
Teachers received previous training for the program and during the programâs implementation. Intervention participants included
77 Basic and Secondary Education students, and control participants included 78 equivalent students. Pretest-posttest measures of
academic motivation and creativity representations were collected. Results suggest a significant increase, in the intervention group,
in motivation and the appropriate representations of creativity. Practical implications and future research perspectives are presented.A criatividade e sua promoção geram grande preocupação em educação. Contudo, poucos esforços têm existido para
implementar programas destinados a sua promoção e de outros aspetos relacionados (e.g., motivação acadêmica). O Future Problem
Solving Program International (FPSPI), criado para melhorar as representaçþes de criatividade e a resolução criativa de problemas
em jovens, tem sido um dos mais implementados. Os seus materiais e atividades foram adaptados para estudantes portugueses,
efetuando-se um estudo longitudinal. O programa foi implementado durante quatro meses, semanalmente, por treze professores, que
receberam formação antes e durante a implementação. O grupo experimental incluiu 77 estudantes do Ensino Båsico e Secundårio,
apresentando o grupo de controlo 78 estudantes com caracterĂsticas equivalentes. Os dados sobre a motivação e criatividade foram
recolhidos num prÊ e pós-teste. Os resultados sugerem um aumento significativo na motivação e crenças apropriadas de criatividade
no grupo experimental. Implicaçþes pråticas e perspectivas para investigaçþes futuras são apresentadas.La creatividad y su promoción generan gran preocupación en educación. Sin embargo, han sido llevados a cabo pocos
esfuerzos para implementar programas de promociĂłn de la creatividad y otros aspectos (e.g., motivaciĂłn acadĂŠmica). El Future
Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI), creado para mejorar las representaciones de creatividad y la soluciĂłn creativa de
problemas en jĂłvenes, ha sido bastante implementado. Se adaptaron sus materiales y actividades para estudiantes portugueses, y
se desarrollĂł un estudio longitudinal. El programa se implementĂł semanalmente durante cuatro meses por trece profesores, que
recibieron formaciĂłn antes y durante la implementaciĂłn. El grupo experimental incluyĂł 77 estudiantes de EducaciĂłn Primaria y
Secundaria y el grupo de control incluyĂł 78 estudiantes con caracterĂsticas semejantes. Los datos de motivaciĂłn y creatividad fueron
recogidos en un pre y post-test, sugiriendo un aumento significativo de motivaciĂłn y creencias apropiadas sobre la creatividad en el
grupo experimental. Se presentan implicaciones pråcticas y perspectivas para futuras investigaciones.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BPD/80825/201
Chemical warfare between leafcutter ant symbionts and a co-evolved pathogen
Acromyrmex leafcutter ants form a mutually beneficial symbiosis with the fungus Leucoagaricus gongylophorus and with Pseudonocardia bacteria. Both are vertically transmitted and actively maintained by the ants. The fungus garden is manured with freshly cut leaves and provides the sole food for the ant larvae, while Pseudonocardia cultures are reared on the ant-cuticle and make antifungal metabolites to help protect the cultivar against disease. If left unchecked, specialized parasitic Escovopsis fungi can overrun the fungus-garden and lead to colony collapse. We report that Escovopsis upregulates the production of two specialized metabolites when it infects the cultivar. These compounds inhibit Pseudonocardia and one, shearinine D, also reduces worker behavioral defences and is ultimately lethal when it accumulates in ant tissues. Our results are consistent with an active evolutionary arms race between Pseudonocardia and Escovopsis, which modifies both bacterial and behavioral defences such that colony collapse is unavoidable once Escovopsis infections escalate
Influence of GB virus C on IFN-Îł and IL-2 production and CD38 expression in T lymphocytes from chronically HIV-infected and HIV-HCV-co-infected patients
This study was designed to assess the effect of GB virus (GBV)-C on the immune response to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in chronically HIV-infected and HIV- hepatitis C virus (HCV)-co-infected patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy. A cohort of 159 HIV-seropositive patients, of whom 52 were HCV-co-infected, was included. Epidemiological data were collected and virological and immunological markers, including the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin (IL)-2 by CD4, CD8 and Tγδ cells and the expression of the activation marker, CD38, were assessed. A total of 65 patients (40.8%) presented markers of GBV-C infection. The presence of GBV-C did not influence HIV and HCV replication or TCD4 and TCD8 cell counts. Immune responses, defined by IFN-γ and IL-2 production and CD38 expression did not differ among the groups. Our results suggest that neither GBV-C viremia nor the presence of E2 antibodies influence HIV and HCV viral replication or CD4 T cell counts in chronically infected patients. Furthermore, GBV-C did not influence cytokine production or CD38-driven immune activation among these patients. Although our results do not exclude a protective effect of GBV-C in early HIV disease, they demonstrate that this effect may not be present in chronically infected patients, who represent the majority of patients in outpatient clinics.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Laboratório de Virologia e Imunologia Disciplina de InfectologiaFleury Medicina DiagnósticaUNIFESP, Laboratório de Virologia e Imunologia Disciplina de InfectologiaSciEL
Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments
In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one
Azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles at high transverse momenta in PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV
The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles in PbPb collisions at
nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV is measured with the CMS
detector at the LHC over an extended transverse momentum (pt) range up to
approximately 60 GeV. The data cover both the low-pt region associated with
hydrodynamic flow phenomena and the high-pt region where the anisotropies may
reflect the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the created medium.
The anisotropy parameter (v2) of the particles is extracted by correlating
charged tracks with respect to the event-plane reconstructed by using the
energy deposited in forward-angle calorimeters. For the six bins of collision
centrality studied, spanning the range of 0-60% most-central events, the
observed v2 values are found to first increase with pt, reaching a maximum
around pt = 3 GeV, and then to gradually decrease to almost zero, with the
decline persisting up to at least pt = 40 GeV over the full centrality range
measured.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Measurement of jet fragmentation into charged particles in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV
Jet fragmentation in pp and PbPb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of
2.76 TeV per nucleon pair was studied using data collected with the CMS
detector at the LHC. Fragmentation functions are constructed using
charged-particle tracks with transverse momenta pt > 4 GeV for dijet events
with a leading jet of pt > 100 GeV. The fragmentation functions in PbPb events
are compared to those in pp data as a function of collision centrality, as well
as dijet-pt imbalance. Special emphasis is placed on the most central PbPb
events including dijets with unbalanced momentum, indicative of energy loss of
the hard scattered parent partons. The fragmentation patterns for both the
leading and subleading jets in PbPb collisions agree with those seen in pp data
at 2.76 TeV. The results provide evidence that, despite the large parton energy
loss observed in PbPb collisions, the partition of the remaining momentum
within the jet cone into high-pt particles is not strongly modified in
comparison to that observed for jets in vacuum.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physic
- âŚ