Chapter Il Duomo di Ravenna: rilievo e modellazione dei sarcofagi di S. Rinaldo e di S. Barbaziano

The 43rd UID conference, held in Genova, takes up the theme of ‘Dialogues’ as practice and debate on many fundamental topics in our social life, especially in these complex and not yet resolved times. The city of Genova offers the opportunity to ponder on the value of comparison and on the possibilities for the community, naturally focused on the aspects that concern us, as professors, researchers, disseminators of knowledge, or on all the possibile meanings of the discipline of representation and its dialogue with ‘others’, which we have broadly catalogued in three macro areas: History, Semiotics, Science / Technology. Therefore, “dialogue” as a profitable exchange based on a common language, without which it is impossible to comprehend and understand one another; and the graphic sign that connotes the conference is the precise transcription of this concept: the title ‘translated’ into signs, derived from the visual alphabet designed for the visual identity of the UID since 2017. There are many topics which refer to three macro sessions: - Witnessing (signs and history) - Communicating (signs and semiotics) - Experimenting (signs and sciences) Thanks to the different points of view, an exceptional resource of our disciplinary area, we want to try to outline the prevailing theoretical-operational synergies, the collaborative lines of an instrumental nature, the recent updates of the repertoires of images that attest and nourish the relations among representation, history, semiotics, sciences

Identification of ferredoxin II as a major calcium binding protein in the nitrogen-fixing symbiotic bacterium Mesorhizobium loti

BACKGROUND: Legumes establish with rhizobial bacteria a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis which is of the utmost importance for both plant nutrition and a sustainable agriculture. Calcium is known to act as a key intracellular messenger in the perception of symbiotic signals by both the host plant and the microbial partner. Regulation of intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration, which is a fundamental prerequisite for any Ca(2+)-based signalling system, is accomplished by complex mechanisms including Ca(2+) binding proteins acting as Ca(2+) buffers. In this work we investigated the occurrence of Ca(2+) binding proteins in Mesorhizobium loti, the specific symbiotic partner of the model legume Lotus japonicus. RESULTS: A soluble, low molecular weight protein was found to share several biochemical features with the eukaryotic Ca(2+)-binding proteins calsequestrin and calreticulin, such as Stains-all blue staining on SDS-PAGE, an acidic isoelectric point and a Ca(2+)-dependent shift of electrophoretic mobility. The protein was purified to homogeneity by an ammonium sulfate precipitation procedure followed by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Cellulose and electroendosmotic preparative electrophoresis. The Ca(2+) binding ability of the M. loti protein was demonstrated by (45)Ca(2+)-overlay assays. ESI-Q-TOF MS/MS analyses of the peptides generated after digestion with either trypsin or endoproteinase AspN identified the rhizobial protein as ferredoxin II and confirmed the presence of Ca(2+) adducts. CONCLUSIONS: The present data indicate that ferredoxin II is a major Ca(2+) binding protein in M. loti that may participate in Ca(2+) homeostasis and suggest an evolutionarily ancient origin for protein-based Ca(2+) regulatory systems. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-015-0352-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Fluency shaping with surface electromyography: a pilot study

TEMA: utilização de recursos tecnológicos para promoção da fluência. OBJETIVO: verificar a efetividade de um tratamento para gagueira baseado exclusivamente no uso da eletromiografia de superfície (EMGS). MÉTODO: participaram desse estudo quatro adultos gagos de ambos os sexos. A avaliação pré e pós-tratamento consistiu de uma sessão para coleta de amostra de fala, análise da tensão muscular de repouso e do tempo de reação para fala. O tratamento consistiu de 12 sessões de 20 minutos, monitoradas pela EMGS. RESULTADOS: observou-se redução estatisticamente significante das disfluências gagas e comuns. Os demais parâmetros, bem como a variação dos dados eletromiográficos, não apresentaram variação estatisticamente significante. CONCLUSÃO: a EMGS mostrou-se eficaz na redução da gagueira, sem a necessidade de associação com outras técnicas de promoção da fluência.BACKGROUND: the use of a technological resource in fluency promotion. AIM: to verify the effectiveness of a stuttering treatment based on the use of surface electromyography (SEMG) exclusively. METHOD: participants were four stuttering adults of both genders. Assessment, pre and post-treatment, consisted of a speech gathering session and the analyses of the rest tension and of the reaction time for speech. Treatment consisted of twelve twenty minute training sessions monitored by SEMG. RESULTS: there was a statistically significant reduction in the number of stuttering-like disfluencies (p = 0.094) and in the number of other disfluencies (p = 0.014). The other parameters, as well as differences in the electromyographic measurements, did not present significant variation. CONCLUSION: SEMG proved to be effective in the reduction of stuttering, with no need of association to other techniques

DEVELOPMENT OF A WEBGIS FOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS USING AN APPROACH BASED ON USER-CENTRED DESIGN TECHNIQUES

The techniques that seek to attend the user’s needs in a product’s development, like the Requirements Engineering (RE) and the User-Centred Design (UCD) have been increasingly used in different areas. The RE is a computer science area that seeks the development of methods and techniques to software elaboration, while the UCD is an iterative design process, where designers focus on users and place them at the center of the development process. This study approached the application of these techniques to developing a WebGIS oriented to university applications. In this research an interface to the WebGIS was proposed, with an application to assist the navigation in indoor and outdoor environments. The study case was applied in Polytechnic Center campus of Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). The interface was evaluated through tests with users, using tasks that allowed to explore its functionality. The methodology used was elaborated by Brooke (1996) to measure the usability through the System Usability Scale (SUS), and the classification of this scale adopted by Bangor, Kortum and Miller (2009) and Sauro (2011). The results show punctuation indices based on the SUS, what indicated that the use of UCD techniques allow to improve the interface development in a WebGIS

Quality of life of individuals with persistent developmental stuttering

TEMA: qualidade de vida. OBJETIVO: conhecer a influência da habilidade de fala - quanto as reações afetivas, comportamentais e cognitivas - sobre a qualidade de vida de indivíduos fluentes e com gagueira persistente do desenvolvimento (GPD). MÉTODO: 40 indivíduos adultos divididos em dois grupos, pareados por gênero e idade. O grupo de pesquisa (GI) foi composto por 20 indivíduos com PDS, sem qualquer outro déficit associado. O grupo controle (GII) foi composto por 20 indivíduos fluentes. Todos os participantes responderam ao Protocolo de Auto-Avaliação - versão para adultos. O protocolo é composto por três sessões de temáticas, cada uma delas com cinco questões, sendo que cada pergunta pode ser respondida numa escala de 1 (discordo plenamente) a 7 (concordo plenamente). A primeira sessão corresponde aos componentes afetivos, a segunda aos componentes comportamentais e a terceira aos componentes cognitivos. Todos os participantes responderam a todas as 15 questões. RESULTADOS: os achados indicaram que existe diferença na percepção da fala e da fluência entre indivíduos fluentes e com PDS. No grupo de indivíduos com PDS os diferentes graus de gravidade da patologia não identificaram pontos de divergência, ao contrário, mesmo os indivíduos com PDS leve apresentaram o mesmo perfil afetivo, comportamental e cognitivo que os indivíduos com maior comprometimento da fluência da fala. CONCLUSÃO: pelos resultados do estudo foi observado que a experiência com a gagueira diferencia os indivíduos em termos das características observáveis de fala, das dificuldades funcionais de comunicação vivida pelo falante no seu dia a dia gerando impacto negativo na qualidade de vida do indivíduo.BACKGROUND: quality of life. AIM: to verify the influence of the readiness of speech - regarding affective, behavioral and cognitive reactions - over the life quality of fluent individuals and those with persistent developmental stuttering (PDS). METHOD: 40 adults divided in two groups, paired by gender and age. The research group (GI) consisted of 20 individuals with PDS, with no other associated deficit. The research group (GII) consisted of 20 fluent individuals. All of the participants answered a Self-Assessment Protocol - version for adults. This protocol is composed by three thematic sessions, each one presenting five questions. Each question should be answered by choosing a number on a scale that varies from 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (completely agree). The first session corresponds to the affective reactions, the second to the behavioral reactions and the third to the cognitive reactions. All of the participants answered all of the 15 questions. RESULTS: the findings indicate that a difference in the perception of speech and speech fluency exists between fluent individuals and individuals with PDS. For the individuals with PDS, the different stuttering severity levels did not present divergent points; on the contrary, even the individuals with mild PDS presented the same affective, behavioral and cognitive profiles of those with a more severe stuttering. CONCLUSION: the results indicate that the experience with stuttering is different among the individuals in terms of the observable speech characteristics, functional communication difficulties experienced by the individual in everyday situations, having a negative impact in the quality of life

LETRAMENTOS MARGINAIS NA UNIVERSIDADE: O CASO DAS PICHAÇÕES EM BANHEIROS

Fundamentado no conceito de letramento como prática social situada, o trabalho tem como objeto os letramentos marginais em banheiros públicos da Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de registros fotográficos das inscrições encontradas nos banheiros de dez institutos. A análise se focou em três destes (um ambiente misto, uma faculdade de ciências médicas e um instituto de humanas), cujas pichações foram classificadas em quatro critérios: códigos usados, área temática, objetos referenciados e funções comunicativas. Relacionando comparativamente as pichações aos perfis sociais dos institutos, é possível concluir que, embora o ambiente dos banheiros garanta liberdade quanto aos temas considerados tabus, as inscrições apenas reforçam os estereótipos dos alunos

STAT3 mutation impacts biological and clinical features of T-LGL leukemia

STAT3 mutations have been described in 30-40% of T-large granular lymphocyte (T-LGL) leukemia patients, leading to STAT3 pathway activation. Considering the heterogeneity of the disease and the several immunophenotypes that LGL clone may express, the aim of this work was to evaluate whether STAT3 mutations might be associated with a distinctive LGL immunophenotype and/or might be indicative for specific clinical features.Our series of cases included a pilot cohort of 101 T-LGL leukemia patients (68 CD8+/CD4- and 33 CD4+/CD8\ub1) from Padua Hematology Unit (Italy) and a validation cohort of additional 20 patients from Rennes Hematology Unit (France).Our results indicate that i) CD8+ T-LGL leukemia patients with CD16+/CD56- immunophenotype identify a subset of patients characterized by the presence of STAT3 mutations and neutropenia, ii) CD4+/CD8\ub1 T-LGL leukemia are devoid of STAT3 mutations but characterized by STAT5b mutations, and iii) a correlation exists between STAT3 activation and presence of Fas ligand, this molecule resulting highly expressed in CD8+/CD16+/CD56- patients. Experiments with stimulation and inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation confirmed this relationship. In conclusion, our data show that T-LGL leukemia with specific molecular and phenotypic patterns is associated with discrete clinical features contributing to get insights into molecular bases accounting for the development of Fas ligand-mediated neutropenia

Sickle Cell Disease – Current Treatment and New Therapeutical Approaches

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic disorders worldwide. It is caused by a point mutation that changes glutamic acid (Glu6) to valine (Val6) in the β chain of hemoglobin. Vaso-occlusion is the most well-known problem associated with SCD. Despite recent advances in understanding the disease at the molecular level, few therapeutic strategies are available. Hydroxyurea is the only drug currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the disease, and it has serious adverse effects and lack of efficacy in some patients. However, new therapeutic approaches are under investigation in the hope of discovering new drugs to treat SCD. These include agents that: a) increase nitric oxide bioavailability; b) modify the rheological properties of the blood; c) bind covalently to hemoglobin; d) prevent hemoglobin dehydration; e) reduce iron overload; and f) induce the expression of gamma globin and fetal hemoglobin. In this chapter, we discuss the current treatment of SCD and the advances made in medicinal chemistry to find new drugs to treat this neglected hematological disease

ACURÁCIA VERTICAL DE MODELOS DIGITAIS DE ELEVAÇÃO PRODUZIDOS COM DIFERENTES RESOLUÇÕES ESPACIAIS, ÁREAS DE ABRANGÊNCIA E, PROCESSOS DE GERAÇÃO – CASO DE ESTUDO PARA O ESTADO DO PARANÁ - BR

Modelos digitais do terreno (MDTs), de superfície (MDSs) ou elevação (MDEs) objetivam representar as elevações de uma determinada região. São gerados a partir de diferentes métodos, distintas resoluções espaciais e áreas de abrangência e seus dados são utilizados em projetos de engenharia e estudos ambientais. Este trabalho analisa a acurácia vertical absoluta, geral e por classes de uso, de cinco MDS/MDTs de acesso e uso gratuitos disponíveis para o estado do Paraná. A pesquisa emprega as metodologias propostas pela American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS, 2015) e pela Especificação Técnica para o Controle de Qualidade para Dados Geoespaciais (DSG, 2016). A análise consolidada (global) indicou que o MDS ALOS PALSAR é o mais indicado para projetos a serem desenvolvidos no Paraná que empreguem diferentes classes de uso. Já em áreas de vegetação, os modelos ALOS PALSAR e o MDT LAGEO devem ser priorizados. Para projetos a serem desenvolvidos em áreas abertas e não vegetadas, indica-se o uso do MDS ALOS PALSAR e, em áreas urbanas, recomenda-se o uso do MDS AW3D30. A pesquisa mostrou que a escolha de um modelo em detrimento de outro pode implicar em divergências de acurácia da ordem de até 10m e, que as diferentes classes de uso podem apresentar padrões de qualidade significativamente distintos. Ainda, que modelos regionais construídos a partir de processos de interpolação apresentam potencial para obtenção de resultados superiores aos observados nos modelos globais gratuitos. Por fim, a pesquisa revelou que a maior parte dos valores dos conjuntos de discrepância altimétrica observados não apresentaram distribuição normal, indicando que o parâmetro estatístico percentil 95 proposto pela ASPRS se mostrou mais adequado como indicativo de acurácia