Research of the optical communications groups at University of Aveiro and Institute of Telecommunications - Aveiro Pole

This paper summarizes the research activities of the optical communications group at University of Aveiro and Institute of Telecommunications – Aveiro pole. Several activities like clock recovery systems, both electrical and all optical, electrical equalizers for very high bit rate DST systems, post-detection filters for multigigabit optical receivers, soliton systems, simulation work on WDM, DST, EDFA and short pulse generation for high bit rate systems are presented

Paclitaxel mitigates structural alterations and cardiac conduction system defects in a mouse model of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is an ultrarare laminopathy caused by expression of progerin, a lamin A variant, also present at low levels in non-HGPS individuals. HGPS patients age and die prematurely, predominantly from cardiovascular complications. Progerin-induced cardiac repolarization defects have been described previously, although the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We conducted studies in heart tissue from progerin-expressing LmnaG609G/G609G (G609G) mice, including microscopy, intracellular calcium dynamics, patch-clamping, in vivo magnetic resonance imaging, and electrocardiography. G609G mouse cardiomyocytes showed tubulin-cytoskeleton disorganization, t-tubular system disruption, sarcomere shortening, altered excitation-contraction coupling, and reductions in ventricular thickening and cardiac index. G609G mice exhibited severe bradycardia, and significant alterations of atrio-ventricular conduction and repolarization. Most importantly, 50% of G609G mice had altered heart rate variability, and sinoatrial block, both significant signs of premature cardiac aging. G609G cardiomyocytes had electrophysiological alterations, which resulted in an elevated action potential plateau and early afterdepolarization bursting, reflecting slower sodium current inactivation and long Ca+2 transient duration, which may also help explain the mild QT prolongation in some HGPS patients. Chronic treatment with low-dose paclitaxel ameliorated structural and functional alterations in G609G hearts. Our results demonstrate that tubulin-cytoskeleton disorganization in progerin-expressing cardiomyocytes causes structural, cardiac conduction, and excitation-contraction coupling defects, all of which can be partially corrected by chronic treatment with low dose paclitaxel.Work in V.A.’s laboratory is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacio´n (MCIN) (SAF2016-79490-R, PID2019-108489RBI00) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (AC17/00067) with cofunding from the European Regional Development Fund/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (ERDF/FEDER, ‘Una manera de hacer Europa’), and the Progeria Research Foundation (Award PRF 2019–77). Work in J.J.’s laboratory is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01 Grant HL122352), a CNIC ‘Severo Ochoa’ intramural competitive grant, and Fondos FEDER, Madrid, Spain. Work in D.F.-R.’s laboratory is supported by the Spanish MCIN (SAF2016-80324-R) and the ISCIII (AC17/00053). The CNIC is supported by the MCIN, the ISCIII, and the Pro CNIC Foundation.S

Targeted Reactivation of FMR1 Transcription in Fragile X Syndrome Embryonic Stem Cells

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism. It results from expansion of a CGG nucleotide repeat in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of FMR1. Large expansions elicit repeat and promoter hyper-methylation, heterochromatin formation, FMR1 transcriptional silencing and loss of the Fragile X protein, FMRP. Efforts aimed at correcting the sequelae resultant from FMRP loss have thus far proven insufficient, perhaps because of FMRP’s pleiotropic functions. As the repeats do not disrupt the FMRP coding sequence, reactivation of endogenous FMR1 gene expression could correct the proximal event in FXS pathogenesis. Here we utilize the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats/deficient CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/dCas9) system to selectively re-activate transcription from the silenced FMR1 locus. Fusion of the transcriptional activator VP192 to dCas9 robustly enhances FMR1 transcription and increases FMRP levels when targeted directly to the CGG repeat in human cells. Using a previously uncharacterized FXS human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line which acquires transcriptional silencing with serial passaging, we achieved locus-specific transcriptional re-activation of FMR1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression despite promoter and repeat methylation. However, these changes at the transcript level were not coupled with a significant elevation in FMRP protein expression in FXS cells. These studies demonstrate that directing a transcriptional activator to CGG repeats is sufficient to selectively reactivate FMR1 mRNA expression in Fragile X patient stem cells

Ações integradas para desenvolvimento econômico e social

Trabalho apresentado no II Congresso Nacional do PROJETO RONDON, realizado em Florianópolis, SC, no período de 23 a 25 de setembro de 2015 - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.Atualmente o Projeto Rondon é descrito pelo Ministério da Defesa como uma ferramenta de transformação social que visa o desenvolvimento de ações duradouras. Ao mesmo tempo, há uma visão se disseminando de que ações desenvolvidas em redes tem maior possibilidade de continuidade, por não estarem centralizadas e não dependerem de apenas um indivíduo ou instituição. Na Operação Itacaiúnas foi desenvolvido um conjunto integrado de ações partindo de demandas locais em cadeia do poder público e de produtores, mas que tem outros resultados na saúde da população. O objetivo central era incentivar a produção local e fortalecer pequenos produtores de alimentos pela ampliação da demanda por estes produtos. Este objetivo se alinhou ao desejo da gestão pública em adquirir estes itens de produtores locais. A partir disso, foi verificada a necessidade de existência de um Serviço de Inspeção Municipal (SIM) para inspeção sanitária e certificação de produtos. Para isto, os rondonistas auxiliaram a prefeitura na articulação com a Empresa de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (EMATER) local e o Agência de Defesa Agropecuária do Pará para elaboração de projeto de lei encaminhado à Câmara de Vereadores. Assim, foram desenvolvidas oficinas de boas práticas de ordenha e manuseio, e de fabricação de derivados do leite para que os produtores tenham condições de atender às exigências do SIM. Outra forma de fortalecer os produtores locais e de facilitar a certificação de produtos é por meio de associações e cooperativas, que foi objeto de oficina voltada a produtores, especialmente de gado leiteiro e psicultores. Outro eixo de atuação foi com relação a hortaliças para merenda escolar. Como os orgânicos tem preferência de compra pelo Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar, foram oferecidas oficinas de técnicas de manejo orgânico na produção de hortaliças. Outra ação que integrou diversos objetivos locais foi a proposta da Festa do Peixe. O município tem psicultores familiares já organizados em associação, mas que vendem seus produtos principalmente para fora do município, e a população não tem o hábito de se alimentar do pescado. Contando com o apoio da EMATER e da associação de psicultores, foi feito um protótipo da Festa do Peixe, com degustação de pratos a base de pescado e divulgação de formas de preparação e de seus benefícios para a saúde. Com esta rede de ações que envolveu diversos atores locais, espera-se ter contribuído para incentivar e fortalecer a produção local de forma sustentada, com vários benefícios adjacentes

The Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery : defining a model for antimicrobial stewardship-results from an international cross-sectional survey

Background: Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) have been promoted to optimize antimicrobial usage and patient outcomes, and to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. However, the best strategies for an ASP are not definitively established and are likely to vary based on local culture, policy, and routine clinical practice, and probably limited resources in middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate structures and resources of antimicrobial stewardship teams (ASTs) in surgical departments from different regions of the world. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted in 2016 on 173 physicians who participated in the AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections) project and on 658 international experts in the fields of ASPs, infection control, and infections in surgery. Results: The response rate was 19.4%. One hundred fifty-six (98.7%) participants stated their hospital had a multidisciplinary AST. The median number of physicians working inside the team was five [interquartile range 4-6]. An infectious disease specialist, a microbiologist and an infection control specialist were, respectively, present in 80.1, 76.3, and 67.9% of the ASTs. A surgeon was a component in 59.0% of cases and was significantly more likely to be present in university hospitals (89.5%, p <0.05) compared to community teaching (83.3%) and community hospitals (66.7%). Protocols for pre-operative prophylaxis and for antimicrobial treatment of surgical infections were respectively implemented in 96.2 and 82.3% of the hospitals. The majority of the surgical departments implemented both persuasive and restrictive interventions (72.8%). The most common types of interventions in surgical departments were dissemination of educational materials (62.5%), expert approval (61.0%), audit and feedback (55.1%), educational outreach (53.7%), and compulsory order forms (51.5%). Conclusion: The survey showed a heterogeneous organization of ASPs worldwide, demonstrating the necessity of a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach in the battle against antimicrobial resistance in surgical infections, and the importance of educational efforts towards this goal.Peer reviewe

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p&lt;0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p&lt;0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

A Preliminary Study on the Applied Machine Learning for Detection of the Predominant Factor of Big Five Personality Test

ABSTRACTNowadays, the importance of mental health has become an increasinglyrelevant theme. Psychological assessments are part of thedaily life of clinical psychologists in order to identify possible issuesto be explored. Therefore, this work presents a preliminarystudy which aims to evaluate the accuracy of machine learningalgorithms for the detection of the predominant factor of big fivepersonality test. Real answers from a dataset were considered in thecomputational experiments, and two machine learning algorithmswere evaluated: the K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) and the K-means.Results show that both algorithms could accurately detect the pedominantfactor of the big five test, and KNN obtained better resultsthan the other algorithm

Gorlin-Goltz Syndrome and Neoplasms: A Case Study

Gorlin syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder exhibiting high penetrance and variable expressivity. It is characterized by facial dysmorphism, skeletal anomalies, multiple basal cell carcinomas, odontogenic keratocysts (OKC), palmar and plantar pits, bifid ribs, vertebral anomalies and a variety of other malformations. Various neoplasms', such as medulloblastomas, meningiomas, ovarian and cardiac fibromas are also found in this syndrome. Objective: To describe a twelve-year-old patient with Gorlin-Goltz syndrome, with basal cell carcinomas and promyelocytic leukemia developed after receiving craniospinal radiation for a medulloblastoma. Mild ribs as well as mandibular and maxillar OKC were also diagnosed. Conclusion: The patient with Gorlin-Goltz syndrome should receive close follow-up for early detection of malformations and malignant neoplasias.Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Med Sch Sao Paulo, Pediat Oncol Inst, GRAACC, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilSao Paulo State Univ, Hosp Clin, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Med Sch Sao Paulo, Pediat Oncol Inst, GRAACC, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc