Regular crianças com PEA durante a sua participação nas AVD`s

Introdução: Crianças com PEA são caracterizadas por apresentarem respostas atípicas aos estímulos sensoriais, tendo impacto no envolvimento e na participação funcional. Objetivo: O presente estudo descreve o processo de desenvolvimento de uma app com o intuito de ajudar as famílias a regular as crianças com PEA, entre os 3-6 anos, através da aplicação de estratégias sensoriais, para melhorar a participação da criança nas rotinas diárias, em contexto de casa. Material e Métodos: Para o estudo foi selecionado um focus group composto por quatro terapeutas ocupacionais com vários anos de experiência em trabalhar com crianças com PEA e com formação especializada na área da Integração Sensorial, de forma a desenvolver e a analisar o conteúdo da app. Estabeleceu-se uma colaboração com o Departamento de Engenharia Informática, e através de reuniões quinzenais conjuntas, foi possível desenvolver toda a configuração e programação da app de forma articulada. Resultados: “Regul-A” foi o nome atribuído à app, uma vez que apresenta como principal finalidade ajudar na regulação de crianças com PEA. Os resultados abrangem as diversas estratégias sensoriais selecionadas pelo focus group, assim como, a estrutura da app, desenvolvida em colaboração com o Departamento de Engenharia Informática. Conclusões: Acredita-se que a app “Regul-A” venha a constituir-se uma potencial ferramenta para reunir, analisar e gerir dados da criança relativos ao seu desempenho ocupacional, facilitando a implementação de estratégias e a partilha de informação entre os pais e os terapeutas ocupacionais.Introduction: Children with ASD are characterized by atypical responses to sensory stimuli, which have an impact on involvement and functional participation. Goals: This study describes the several steps of an app development that intends to help families to regulate children with ASD aged 3-6 years old through the application of sensory strategies to improve participation in daily routines in home setting. Material and Methods: To develop and analyze the content of the app, a study was performed by a focus group formed by four occupational therapists with several years of experience in working with children with ASD and with specialized training in Sensory Integration Therapy. A collaboration was established with the Department of Computer Engineering of Polytechnic of Leiria, and through biweekly meetings it was possible to develop the entire configuration and programming of the app. Results: “Regul-A” is the name assigned to the app, since it has the main purpose to help parents regulate children with ASD. The results cover the various sensory strategies selected by the focus group, as well as the structure of the app. Conclusions: It is believed that the “Regul-A” app will become a potential tool to gather, analyze and manage children's data related to their occupational performance facilitating the implementation of strategies and the sharing of information between parents and occupational therapists.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Overexpression of tumour-associated carbohydrate antigen sialyl-Tn in advanced bladder tumours

Little is known on the expression of the tumour-associated carbohydrate antigen sialyl-Tn (STn), in bladder cancer. We report here that 75% of the high-grade bladder tumours, presenting elevated proliferation rates and high risk of recurrence/progression expressed STn. However, it was mainly found in non-proliferative areas of the tumour, namely in cells invading the basal and muscle layers. STn was also found in tumour-adjacent mucosa, which suggests its dependence on a field effect of the tumour. Furthermore, it was not expressed by the normal urothelium, demonstrating the cancer-specific nature of this antigen. STn expression correlated with that of sialyltransferase ST6GalNAc.I, its major biosynthetic enzyme. The stable expression of ST6GalNAc.I in the bladder cancer cell line MCR induced STn expression and a concomitant increase of cell motility and invasive capability. Altogether, these results indicate for the first time a link between STn expression and malignancy in bladder cancer. Hence, therapies targeting STn may constitute new treatment approaches for these tumours

EVALUATION OF SORGHUM SILAGE WITH ADDITIVES – ALTERATIONS IN DRY MATTER, FIBROUS FRACTIONS AND “IN VITRO” DRY MATTER DIGESTIBILITY

This work evaluated the fermentation pattern of sorghum silage hybrid BR 601 with and without additives. At ensiling time, silages were enriched with the additives, adopting the following treatments: silages without additive (control), with 0.5% urea, 0.5% limestone, 0.5% urea plus limestone and bacterial inoculant. The materials were stored into PVC silos, opened after 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days of ensiling. Alterations were determined in dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), hemicellulose, cellulose, acid detergent fiber (ADF) and lignin contents and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). A completely randomized experimental design was used, in a 5 x 7 factorial scheme, and the means were compared by the SNK test at 5% probability. The silage enriched with urea plus limestone showed highest loss of DM. No difference was observed between silage with additives and control regarding NDF, hemicellulose, cellulose and DMIVD. The additives promoted changes in the ADF and lignin contents

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV

Search for supersymmetry in events with one lepton and multiple jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurement of the top quark mass using charged particles in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for anomalous couplings in boosted WW/WZ -> l nu q(q)over-bar production in proton-proton collisions at root s=8TeV

Peer reviewe

REGUL-A: UMA APLICAÇÃO TECNOLÓGICA PARA REGULAÇÃO DA CRIANÇA COM PEA EM CONTEXTO DE CASA

Introdução: A Desordem do Processamento Sensorial é agora reconhecida como uma característica central da Perturbação do Espectro do Autismo (PEA) que influencia os comportamentos adaptativos das crianças, que, por sua vez, interferem na sua participação e envolvimento nas atividades da vida diária. Objetivo: Este estudo descreve o processo de desenvolvimento de uma plataforma tecnológica, em forma de app, para ajudar as famílias de crianças com PEA, entre os 3 e os 6 anos, na sua regulação, através da aplicação de estratégias sensoriais para melhorar a participação da criança nas rotinas diárias do contexto de casa. Método: um grupo focal formado por quatro terapeutas ocupacionais especializados na área da integração sensorial, que atuam com crianças com PEA, foi selecionado para discutir e desenvolver os conteúdos que deveriam ser incluídos na aplicação. As entrevistas semiestruturadas foram preparadas para guiar as linhas orientadoras que deveriam estar contidas na app de forma a incluir e integrar as perspetivas dos especialistas em relação à mesma. Por forma a obter as estratégias sensoriais por parte do focus grupo para as diversas ocupações das crianças no contexto de casa, foram enumeradas as ocupações diárias apresentadas na 4ª Edição do Enquadramento da Terapia Ocupacional. A recolha das estratégias e discussão da app com o focus grupo, foi desenvolvida online pelas restrições impostas pela COVID-19. Numa fase posterior, um grupo de três engenheiros informáticos foi envolvido para garantir a qualidade e veracidade na elaboração da plataforma tecnológica. Resultados: O objetivo do aplicativo desenvolvido, denominado Regul-A, parece ser uma ferramenta distinta e inovadora uma vez que pretende ajudar os pais a regular as crianças com PEA em relação à sua participação nas rotinas de casa. As estratégias sensoriais fornecidas pelo grupo focal nas três principais ocupações da criança foram os primeiros resultados obtidos, seguidos do desenvolvimento da estrutura da app. Conclusões: A próxima fase do estudo será a utilização da plataforma por famílias de crianças com PEA e terapeutas ocupacionais. Acredita-se que, futuramente, a Regul-A será utilizada como ferramenta para recolher, analisar e gerir dados sobre o desempenho ocupacional de crianças com PEA no contexto domiciliário, principalmente para atividades de vida diária, sono, descanso e brincar, facilitando a implementação de estratégias e o compartilhamento de informações entre pais e terapeutas ocupacionais. Pesquisas futuras são necessárias para expansão da app noutros contextos onde a criança se encontra inserida, nomeadamente no contexto educativo e contexto comunitário, que apresentam outras características sensoriais específicas

Sialyl Tn-expressing bladder cancer cells induce a tolerogenic phenotype in innate and adaptive immune cells

This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) - PTDC/SAU-MII/67561/2006 and Premio Santander Totta - UNL (Paula A. Videira), LPCC/Pfizer2011 (Mylene A. Carrascal), SFRH/BPD/21619/2005 (M. Guadalupe Cabral), SFRH/BD/81860/2011 (Mariana Silva), SFRH/BD/45120/2008 (Paulo F. Severino) and SFRH/BPD/ 66288/2009 (Jose Alexandre Ferreira). FCT is co-financed by European Social Fund (ESF) under Human Potential Operation Programme (POPH) from National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF).) and European Union, QREN, FEDER, COMPETE, for funding the Organic Chemistry Research Unit (QOPNA) (project PEst-C/QUI/UI0062/2013; FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037296).Despite the wide acceptance that glycans are centrally implicated in immunity, exactly how they contribute to the tilt immune response remains poorly defined. In this study, we sought to evaluate the impact of the malignant phenotype-associated glycan, sialyl-Tn (STn) in the function of the key orchestrators of the immune response, the dendritic cells (DCs). In high grade bladder cancer tissue, the STn antigen is significantly overexpressed and correlated with the increased expression of ST6GALNAC1 sialyltransferase. Bladder cancer tissue presenting elevated expression of ST6GALNAC1 showed a correlation with increased expression of CD1a, a marker for bladder immature DCs and showed concomitant low levels of Th1-inducing cytokines IL-12 and TNF-α. Invitro, human DCs co-incubated with STn+ bladder cancer cells, had an immature phenotype (MHC-IIlow, CD80low and CD86low) and were unresponsive to further maturation stimuli. When contacting with STn+ cancer cells, DCs expressed significantly less IL-12 and TNF-α. Consistent with a tolerogenic DC profile, T cells that were primed by DCs pulsed with antigens derived from STn+ cancer cells were not activated and showed a FoxP3high IFN-γlow phenotype. Blockade of STn antigens and of STn+ glycoprotein, CD44 and MUC1, in STn+ cancer cells was able to lower the induction of tolerance and DCs become more mature.Overall, our data suggest that STn-expressing cancer cells impair DC maturation and endow DCs with a tolerogenic function, limiting their capacity to trigger protective anti-tumour T cell responses. STn antigens and, in particular, STn+ glycoproteins are potential targets for circumventing tumour-induced tolerogenic mechanisms.publishersversionpublishe