Genetic variability of influenza virus and vaccine effectiveness

Euroeva is the portuguese component of the multicentric study I-MOVE (influenza monitoring vaccine effectiveness in Europe) that aims to estimate influenza vaccine effectiveness in Europe. As an higher vaccine effectiveness is expected when circulating viruses are similar to the vaccine strains, this study aims to describe circulating strains and amino acid substitutions in antigenic sites in order to better understand VE changes along seasons

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION BASED ON CHAIN-NETWORK LOGIC TO PROMOTE THE EXPLORATION OF NATIVE AÇAÍ IN WESTERN BRAZILIAN AMAZON.

The present paper has the objective to expose a proposition of organization within a chain and network logic, aiming to potentiate the extraction of the Native Açaí Berry at the Western Brazilian Amazon rainforest. This exploratory study involves the municipalities of Porto Velho, Guajará-Mirim and Machadinho D’Oeste, at the Brazilian state of Rondônia, with primary data originating mostly from conservation areas at the lower Madeira River region. As a result, it was possible to infer that from the native Açai Berry, derives food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, for both local consumption and international markets. It was found that beyond Açai Berry plantations availability, the lower Madeira River provides better transport logistic, consumer market and greater possibility of interaction with middleman than most Açai production areas. As a conclusion, it is made a proposition of an organizational arrangement to strengthen the extrativist productive chain of the Native Açaí Berry, based on the network and chain logic, oriented towards an organization based upon social organizations, manufacturing regularization and marketing

Facultative secondary lecithotrophy in the megalopa of the shrimp Lysmata seticaudata (Risso, 1816) (Decapoda : Hippolytidae) under laboratory conditions

Certain decapod crustaceans can catabolize internal reserves to undergo partial or full larval development. This feature is termed secondary lecithotrophy, if energy used results from plankton derived organic matter accumulated Ig earlier larval stages. The present work reports the ability of Lysmata seticaudata megalopa to moll to the first juvenile stage in the absence of food. Unlike previous records of secondary lecithotrophy displayed by nonfeeding last larval stages of hermit crabs and spiny lobsters, the megalopa of L. seticaudata retains its feeding capacity. This is the first time such a feature has been reported in decapods, and the term facultative secondary lecithotrophy is proposed. The build up of energy reserves continues during the last zoeal stage of L. seticaudata, with starved zoea IX failing to molt to megalopa. Energy reserves that enable starved megalopa to molt to juvenile seem to be partially depleted, with starved juveniles produced either from, starved or fed megalopae being unable to molt to the next juvenile stage. The longer resistance of starved juveniles produced from fed megalopae (nine days), compared to that of starved juveniles produced from starved megalopae (five days), indicates that some energy reserves may pass to juvenile, not being totally depleted at metamorphosis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chemical Composition, Nutritional Value, and Safety of Cooked Female Chaceon Maritae from Namibe (Angola)

The authors acknowledge SICOPAL-Namibe for donating Chaceon maritae specimens.Despite being highly appreciated and consumed, the nutritional value of Chaceon maritae from Namibe (Angola) had never been studied. In the present work, edible tissues (muscle, ovaries, and hepatopancreas) of boiled female C. maritae caught o Namibe coast in two distinct seasons were analyzed in terms of proximate chemical composition (fat, ash, protein, and moisture), fatty acid and amino acid profiles, cholesterol, essential minerals (macro and trace) and toxic elements. Results showed that, in both seasons, C. maritae muscle was a valuable source of protein, essential amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and essential elements, especially zinc, selenium, iodine, and copper. Ovaries and hepatopancreas are also good sources of protein, but were richer in fat, particularly when caught in October. Ovarian fat is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and that of hepatopancreas has higher values of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids. Hepatopancreas and ovaries are also good sources of copper and, especially ovaries, of zinc. Moreover, in both seasons, all the edible tissues of C. maritae analyzed presented very low contents of heavy metals (mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic).This work was funded by FCT/MCTES as the funding entity of the MEtRiCs unit under the project UID/EMS/04077/2019, and by the post-doctoral grant: Ref.: SFRH/BPD/91498/2012 (FCT/MCTES) for the author J.R.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Um sistema computacional para apoio à neonatologia utilizando o método footscan

Orientadora: Olga R. P. BellonDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paran

Derrubando paredes e construindo pontes: formação de professores de língua inglesa na atualidade

Em uma sociedade marcada por desigualdades, as paredes que separam os que têm acesso a uma educação de qualidade e os que não têm precisam ser derrubadas. Em seu lugar, construções voltadas para propiciar oportunidades de superação desse quadro devem ser edificadas. Um dos pilares dessas novas construções são os cursos de formação de professores, pelo impacto que podem proporcionar no quadro educacional brasileiro. Na atualidade, essa preparação traz novos desafios, a serem enfrentados nas reformulações curriculares dos cursos de graduação. São foco deste trabalho os cursos de Letras, especialmente os de dupla habilitação em línguas inglesa e portuguesa. Serão discutidos aspectos relativos à identidade profissional, relacionando objetivos e definição de conteúdos, à prática de ensino e suas articulações, à inserção de futuros professores em comunidades de prática e ao desenvolvimento de atitude investigativa. O texto apresenta questões a serem consideradas em um processo de reformulação curricular desses cursos a partir da experiência das autoras.In a society riddled with inequalities, the walls that separate those with access to quality education and those without it need to be knocked down. In their place, constructions aiming at providing opportunities to overcome this condition must be built. One of the pillars of such constructions is represented by teacher education courses and the impact they may have on the Brazilian educational scene. Nowadays, this preparation brings new challenges to be faced through curriculum reforms. The focus of this paper is the 'Letras' courses, especially the ones with dual qualification _ English and Portuguese Languages. This paper presents a discussion of aspects concerning professional identity, relating objectives and content definition, teaching practice and its articulations, inclusion of prospective teachers in communities of practice and the development of an investigative attitude. The text presents issues to be raised during discussions of curriculum reform based on the authors' own experience

Identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria by partial gene sequence and public databases

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are a heterogeneous group of microorganisms with distinct clinical relevance. The treatment of NTM infections depends significantly upon the crucial identification of species at this level. The steady increase of mycobacteria species, the use of time-consuming techniques and the lack of standardized identification methods makes the achievement of this goal a demanding challenge. Additionally, inaccurate diagnosis can lead to therapeutic approaches consistent with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection that are useless. In the present study, the performance of public databases in the accurate identification of NTM by sequence analysis of 16S rRNA and hsp65 genes were evaluated and compared. An algorithm is proposed to achieve an accurate classification of NTM in the geographic region of Portugal (Western Europe). Methods: Partial sequencing of 16S rRNA and hsp65 genes of 22 reference strains and 54 clinical isolates was performed. The resulting sequences were analysed by public web databases since their performance is evaluated statistically. The phenotypic characteristics of the isolates were also evaluated. Results: The use of commercial kits allowed the accurate identification of 57.4% of the clinical isolates. This result was improved either by the use of 16S rRNA (75.9%) and hsp65 (88.9%) genes analysis alone or combined (96.3%. Conclusions: Analysis of 16S rRNA gene alone is insufficient for the accurate identification of NTM. A stepwise algorithm combining 16S rRNA and hsp65 gene analysis by multiple public databases is proposed to identify NTM at the species’ level.This work received financial support from INSA, and LJ is a recipient of a Portuguese Science Foundation Grant No. C2008-C2008_P2

Trajectory and outcomes of speech language therapy in the Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS): case report

The aim of this study was to describe the trajectory and the outcomes of speech-language therapy in Prader-Willi syndrome through a longitudinal study of the case of an 8 year-old boy, along four years of speech-language therapy follow-up. The therapy sessions were filmed and documental analysis of information from the child's records regarding anamnesis, evaluation and speech-language therapy reports and multidisciplinary evaluations were carried out. The child presented typical characteristics of Prader-Willi syndrome, such as obesity, hyperfagia, anxiety, behavioral problems and self aggression episodes. Speech-language pathology evaluation showed orofacial hypotony, sialorrhea, hypernasal voice, cognitive deficits, oral comprehension difficulties, communication using gestures and unintelligible isolated words. Initially, speech-language therapy had the aim to promote the language development emphasizing social interaction through recreational activities. With the evolution of the case, the main focus became the development of conversation and narrative abilities. It were observed improvements in attention, symbolic play, social contact and behavior. Moreover, there was an increase in vocabulary, and evolution in oral comprehension and the development of narrative abilities. Hence, speech-language pathology intervention in the case described was effective in different linguistic levels, regarding phonological, syntactic, lexical and pragmatic abilities