A UTILIZA??O DOS SISTEMAS DE INFORMA??O AO LONGO DO TEMPO: UMA AN?LISE DAS GERA??ES BABY BOOMERS, X, Y E Z

A presente pesquisa objetiva analisar a evolu??o do uso dos sistemas de informa??o pelas gera??es: Baby Boomers, X, Y e Z, tendo como especifica??es verificando a evolu??o dos sistemas de informa??o dispon?veis em cada gera??o, analisando o desenvolvimento da Tecnologia de Informa??o e identificando as contribui??es e uso da Tecnologia da Informa??o pelas diferentes gera??es ao longo do tempo. Este estudo ? classificado como quantitativo, as informa??es coletadas foram mensuradas por meio de question?rios, nos quais foi observado a que forma as diferentes caracter?sticas das gera??es e entre as mesmas, bem como suas posturas diante das evolu??es das tecnologias e sistemas de informa??o, no que tange a sua resist?ncia a mudan?a, o seu uso e suas adapta??es. Os resultados obtidos expressam que a maioria das gera??es utilizam os sistemas de informa??o, por causa da sua praticidade do cotidiano no trabalho ou na vida pessoal e que os Boomers s?o mais resistentes as mudan?as tecnol?gicas, a Gera??o X s?o mais esfor?ados em aprender as tecnologias e a Gera??o Y e Z demonstraram que s?o mais habituados e n?o possuem medo de nova experi?ncias tecnol?gicas

Structural Analysis of Pathogenic Missense Mutations in GABRA2 and Identification of a Novel de Novo Variant in the Desensitization Gate

Background: Cys-loop receptors control neuronal excitability in the brain and their dysfunction results in numerous neurological disorders. Recently, six missense variants in GABRA2, a member of this family, have been associated with early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE). We identified a novel de novo missense variant in GABRA2 in a patient with EIEE and performed protein structural analysis of the seven variants. Methods: The novel variant was identified by trio whole-genome sequencing. We performed protein structural analysis of the seven variants, and compared them to previously reported pathogenic mutations at equivalent positions in other Cys-loop receptors. Additionally, we studied the distribution of disease-associated variants in the transmembrane helices of these proteins. Results: The seven variants are in the transmembrane domain, either close to the desensitization gate, the activation gate, or in inter-subunit interfaces. Six of them have pathogenic mutations at equivalent positions in other Cys-loop receptors, emphasizing the importance of these residues. Also, pathogenic mutations are more common in the pore-lining helix, consistent with this region being highly constrained for variation in control populations. Conclusion: Our study reports a novel pathogenic variant in GABRA2, characterizes the regions where pathogenic mutations are in the transmembrane helices, and underscores the value of considering sequence, evolutionary, and structural information as a strategy for variant interpretation of novel missense mutations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Glycomimetics; A Novel Class of Drugs to Protect Against Free Fatty Acid-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction

Background Endothelial dysfunction is a key player in cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications and novel drugs are required to treat this pathological process. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are key molecules that regulate signalling in many biological processes and drugs that mimic their structure could be a novel source of therapeutics to target specific CVD pathways. Purpose We have synthesised a set of four glycomimetic compounds and our objective was to determine whether they could activate protective pathways in endothelial cells subjected to fatty acid-induced endothelial dysfunction. Methods Glycomimetics, C1-C4, were synthesised by the stepwise transformation of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid to a range of 2,5-substituted benzoic acid derivatives, incorporating the key sulphate groups to mimic heparan sulphate. Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) were treated with glycomimetics (1µM) in the presence or absence of the free fatty acid, palmitate. DAF-2 and H2DCF-DA assays were used to determine NO and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, respectively. Lipid peroxidation colorimetric and antioxidant enzyme activity ssays were also carried out. RT-PCR and western blotting were utilised to measure Akt, eNOS, Nrf-2, NQO-1 and HO-1 expression. Endothelial function was determined ex vivo using acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation in mouse thoracic aortic rings by wire myography. Results All four glycomimetics protected against palmitate-induced oxidative stress and enhanced NO production in vitro via upregulation of Akt/eNOS signalling, activation of the Nrf2/ARE pathway and down-regulation of ROS-induced lipid peroxidation. Under palmitate-induced oxidative stress, ex vivo endothelium-dependent relaxation was significantly enhanced by all four glycomimetics. Furthermore, the glycomimetics did not induce HUVEC activation, as determined by lack of ICAM-1 protein. Conclusion We have developed a new set of small molecule glycomimetics that do not activate ECs and protect against free fatty acid-induced endothelial dysfunction both in vitro and ex vivo. Future work will focus on developing the glycomimetics into drug-like therapies that target endothelial damage

Production of electrospun fast-dissolving drug delivery systems with therapeutic eutectic systems encapsulated in gelatin

Fast-dissolving delivery systems (FDDS) have received increasing attention in the last years. Oral drug delivery is still the preferred route for the administration of pharmaceutical ingredients. Nevertheless, some patients, e.g. children or elderly people, have difficulties in swallowing solid tablets. In this work, gelatin membranes were produced by electrospinning, containing an encapsulated therapeutic deep-eutectic solvent (THEDES) composed by choline chloride/mandelic acid, in a 1:2 molar ratio. A gelatin solution (30% w/ v) with 2% (v/v) of THEDES was used to produce electrospun fibers and the experimental parameters were optimized. Due to the high surface area of polymer fibers, this type of construct has wide applicability. With no cytotoxicity effect, and showing a fast-dissolving release profile in PBS, the gelatin fibers with encapsulated THEDES seem to have promising applications in the development of new drug delivery systems.The research leading to these results has received funding from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the projects ENIGMA - PTDC/EQU-EPR/ 121491/2010 and UID/CTM/50025/2013, LAQVREQUIMTE: UID/QUI/50006/2013, UCIBIO-REQUIMTE: UID/Multi/04378/2013 (co-financed by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement [POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 007728]) and by FEDER through the COMPETE 2020 Programme. Marta Martins is grateful for financial support from FCT through the grant BIM/PTDC/EQUEPR/121491/ 2010/ENIGMA. This research has also received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/ 2007-2013) under grant agreement number REGPOTCT2012-316331-POLARIS and from the project BNovel smart and biomimetic materials for innovative regenerative medicine approaches^ RL1 - ABMR - NORTE-01-0124- FEDER-000016) co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Metabolic investigation of host/pathogen interaction using MS2-infected Escherichia coli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RNA viruses are responsible for a variety of illnesses among people, including but not limited to the common cold, the flu, HIV, and ebola. Developing new drugs and new strategies for treating diseases caused by these viruses can be an expensive and time-consuming process. Mathematical modeling may be used to elucidate host-pathogen interactions and highlight potential targets for drug development, as well providing the basis for optimizing patient treatment strategies. The purpose of this work was to determine whether a genome-scale modeling approach could be used to understand how metabolism is impacted by the host-pathogen interaction during a viral infection. <it>Escherichia coli</it>/MS2 was used as the host-pathogen model system as MS2 is easy to work with, harmless to humans, but shares many features with eukaryotic viruses. In addition, the genome-scale metabolic model of <it>E. coli </it>is the most comprehensive model at this time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Employing a metabolic modeling strategy known as "flux balance analysis" coupled with experimental studies, we were able to predict how viral infection would alter bacterial metabolism. Based on our simulations, we predicted that cell growth and biosynthesis of the cell wall would be halted. Furthermore, we predicted a substantial increase in metabolic activity of the pentose phosphate pathway as a means to enhance viral biosynthesis, while a break down in the citric acid cycle was predicted. Also, no changes were predicted in the glycolytic pathway.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Through our approach, we have developed a technique of modeling virus-infected host metabolism and have investigated the metabolic effects of viral infection. These studies may provide insight into how to design better drugs. They also illustrate the potential of extending such metabolic analysis to higher order organisms, including humans.</p

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO