PROCEDIMENTO DE AVALIAÇÃO DE INSTRUMENTOS POR COMITÊ DE JUÍZES ESPECIALISTAS PARA APRIMORAMENTO DE COLETA DE DADOS

A avaliação por comitê de juízes especialistas é um recurso metodológico empregado para o aprimoramento de instrumentos construídos para determinada pesquisa. O objetivo deste artigo é relatar o processo de análise por juízes dos instrumentos desenvolvidos pelas autoras para uma pesquisa de mestrado sobre o perfil de medalhistas de Olimpíadas científicas. O comitê de juízes avaliou um questionário socioeconômico-demográfico e quatro roteiros semiestruturados de entrevistas. A metodologia de avaliação considerou aspectos semânticos e técnicos, sob os critérios de simplicidade, clareza e relevância de cada item. Os resultados da avaliação por juízes levaram ao aperfeiçoamento dos instrumentos e de suas instruções de aplicação junto à amostra

Avaliação dos métodos e instrumentos de pesquisa qualiquantitativa por meio de análise multidimensional da aplicação-piloto

Piloto é um recurso metodológico que possibilita avaliar e aprimorar uma pesquisa antes de sua execução. O objetivo deste artigo é descrever a aplicação piloto de uma pesquisa cujo objetivo geral foi conhecer o perfil de universitários medalhistas de olimpíadas científicas. O piloto testou a aplicabilidade de instrumentos padronizados e a eficácia de instrumentos criados para obter dados da amostra e para conduzir as entrevistas. O método de análise do piloto considerou as dimensões ética, metodológica, operacional, teórica, analítica e representacional do projeto. Os resultados levaram a modificações nos instrumentos autorais e nos procedimentos. Para pesquisas futuras, recomenda-se delinear pilotos com mais participantes, mais de uma aplicação-piloto consecutiva e incluir as percepções do pesquisador

Reflexões sobre homofobia e educação em escolas do interior paulista

This is a survey conducted in 2009 with 2,282 students of both sexes enrolled in the three grades of high school in three cities of the west of Sao Paulo state (Assis, Presidente Prudente and Ourinhos). The data collection instrument was a self-administered and anonymous questionnaire with 131 questions. In this article, we reflect on how in schools the research participants reproduce and reinforce the hegemonic discourses of control of sexualities guided by the attempt to promote heterosexuality as the only form of sexual intelligibility, to the detriment of other forms of expression of sexuality. We discuss how homophobia and the devices of social control of sexuality (re) produce prejudices and stereotypies, resulting in vulnerabilities that non-heterosexual teenagers have, such as homophobic victimization, social and affective isolation, ideations and suicide attempts. The study shows that the invariant were discrimination, homophobic violence and the insults that are perpetrated in the values and discourses of adolescents at school and in their family, demonstrating the institutionalization of homophobia as a regulatory practice of the psychological and social construction of gender and sexual identities. We highlight how important it is for the school to appropriate the means of deconstruction of heterocentric normativity to preserve the rights and citizenship of the people who do not identify with the prevailing models of heterosexuality.Trata-se de um estudo do tipo survey realizado em 2009 junto a 2.282 estudantes de ambos os sexos cursando as três séries do ensino médio em três cidades do interior do Oeste Paulista (Assis, Presidente Prudente e Ourinhos). O instrumento de coleta de dados foi um questionário autoaplicável e anônimo com 131 questões. Neste artigo, reflete-se sobre o quanto @s participantes da pesquisa reproduzem e reforçam, no espaço escolar, os discursos hegemônicos de controle das sexualidades pautados na tentativa de fazer prevalecer a heterossexualidade como a única forma de inteligibilidade sexual, em detrimento de outras formas de manifestação da sexualidade. Discute-se como a homofobia e os dispositivos de controle social das sexualidades (re)produzem preconceitos e estereotipias, resultantes em vulnerabilidades que os adolescentes não-heterossexuais apresentam, tais como: vitimização homofóbica, isolamentos sociais e afetivos, e ideações e tentativas de suicídio. O estudo mostra que o invariante foram as discriminações, as violências homofóbicas e as injúrias que são perpetradas nos valores e discursos dos adolescentes em situação escolar e familiar, demonstrando a institucionalização da homofobia como prática regulatória da construção social e psicológica de gêneros e identidades sexuais. Destaca-se quão importante é, para a escola, apropriar-se de meios de desconstrução das normativas heterocentradas, visando preservar os direitos e a cidadania de pessoas que não se identificam aos modelos vigentes da heterossexualidade

Sesame, Pistachio, and Macadamia Nut: Development and Validation of New Allergenic Systems for Fast Real-Time PCR Application

Food allergy is a worldwide health problem that concerns infants to adults. The main health risk for sensitised individuals is due to the presence of traces of allergens as the result of an accidental contamination during food processing. The labelling of allergens such as sesame, pistachio, and macadamia nut on food products is mandatory according to Regulation (EU) N. 1169/2011; therefore, the development of suitable and specific analytical methodologies is advisable. The aim of this study was to perform a multi-allergen real-time PCR system that works well in fast mode at the same annealing temperature and with the same thermal profile. The real-time PCR was developed designing new, specific, and efficient primer and probe systems for the 2S albumingene for sesame and pistachio and for the vicilin precursorgene for macadamia nut. These systems were subjected to a robust intra-laboratory qualitative validation process prior to their application, by DNA extraction and fast real-time PCR, on some real market samples to reproduce a potential allergen contamination along the food chain. The developed system results were specific and robust, with a sensible limit of detection (0.005% for sesame; 0.004% for pistachio; 0.006% for macadamia nut). The performance and the reliability of the target systems were confirmed on commercial food samples. This molecular approach could be used as a screening or as a support tool, in association with the other widespread monitoring techniques (such as ELISA)

Detection of follicular fluid and serum antibodies by protein microarrays in women undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment.

A protein microarray serological assay was used to assess the antibody profile of 102women subjected to in vitro fertilization treatment. The studies were conducted on pairs of serum and follicular fluid samples, collected from each woman on the same day at the time of oocyte recovery. The samples, stored as frozen aliquotes, were assessed by both microarray and ELISA. Follicular fluids and sera were screened to detect the presence of specific IgG and IgM antibodies against seven vertically transmitted pathogens. The IgG reactivityof follicular fluids closely mirrored that of serum in all the patients and for all the antigens, with an agreement of more than 85%. IgM antibodies were undetectable in follicular fluids. The antibody patterns were subsequently related to the biological and clinical outcomesof in vitro fertilization cycles. The results showed that varicella zoster virus (VZV) IgG positive women and cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG negative women had on average a higher number of inseminated, good quality oocytes compared to VZV IgG negative and CMV IgG positive women. In addition, the rate of successful embryo transfers was significantly higher in Toxoplasma gondii IgG negative women than in their positive counterparts. Overall, the microarray was proven to be a suitable tool for detecting analytes in follicular fluids, therefore supporting its application in a wide spectrum of investigations

Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Radioligand Therapy in Non-Prostate Cancers: Where Do We Stand?

Introduction: The term theragnostic refers to the combination of a predictive imaging biomarker with a therapeutic agent. The promising application of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based radiopharmaceuticals in the imaging and treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) patients opens the way to investigate a possible role of PSMA-based radiopharmaceuticals in cancers beyond the prostate. Therefore, the aim of this review was to evaluate the role of 177Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy (RLT) in malignancies other than prostate cancer by evaluating preclinical, clinical studies, and ongoing clinical trials. Methods: An extensive literature search was performed in three different databases using different combinations of the following terms: “Lu-PSMA”, “177Lu-PSMA”, “preclinical”, “mouse”, “salivary gland cancer”, “breast cancer”, “glioblastoma”, “solid tumour”, “renal cell carcinoma”, “HCC”, “thyroid”, “salivary”, “radioligand therapy”, and “lutetium-177”. The search had no beginning date limit and was updated to April 2024. Only articles written in English were included in this review. Results: A total of four preclinical studies were selected (breast cancer model n = 3/4). PSMA-RLT significantly reduced cell viability and had anti-angiogenic effects, especially under hypoxic conditions, which increase PSMA binding and uptake. Considering the clinical studies (n = 8), the complexity of evaluating PSMA-RLT in cancers other than prostate cancer was clearly revealed, since in most of the presented cases a sufficient tumour radiation dose was not achieved. However, encouraging results can be found in some types of diseases, such as thyroid cancer. Some clinical trials are still ongoing, and results from prospective larger cohorts of patients are awaited. Conclusions: The need for larger patient cohorts and more RLT cycles administered underscores the need for further comprehensive studies. Given the very preliminary results of both preclinical and clinical studies, ongoing clinical trials in the near future may provide stronger evidence of both the safety and therapeutic efficacy of PSMA-RLT in malignancies other than prostate cancer

AM: un periodico per noi speciale

L'articolo illustra, attraverso le voci di alcuni membri della sua redazione, storia e valore di "AM-Antropologia medica", rivista della Società Italiana di Antropologia Medica fondata da Tullio Seppilli