O Porto sentido pelo graffiti: as representações sociais de peças de graffiti pelos habitantes da cidade do Porto

Pretende-se refletir sobre as representações que diferentes peças de graffiti localizadas na cidade do Porto, Portugal, têm para os urbanitas alheios à cultura do graffiti. Tendo sido o graffiti abordado dos mais variados pontos de vista disciplinares e frequentemente focalizando as práticas e as vivências dos seus protagonistas, considera-se que é necessário pensar sobre o modo como os outros, os que desconhecem os códigos estilísticos e simbólicos de produção do graffiti, pensam e perspetivam o graffiti no espaço urbano e como pensam a cidade através dele. Utilizou-se a técnica da photovoice para recolher testemunhos de pessoas pertencentes a uma faixa etária abrangente, descortinando-se uma pluralidade de visões sobre as imagens em jogo.We try to analyze the representations of different graffiti pieces located in the city of Porto, Portugal, focusing the city dwellers perspective. Graffiti has been approached from diverse disciplinary points of view and frequently from the lenses of its protagonists. For that reason, it is considered that it is required to analyze the way by which others, the ones that ignore the style and symbolic codes of graffiti production, think and envision graffiti in the urban space and how they think the city through it. We used the photovoice technique to collect testimonies and the result was a plurality of visions on the images at stake

Desempeño directivo y acompañamiento pedagógico en la institución educativa N° 1179 Tomas Alva Edison Ugel 05 San Juan de Lurigancho-2017.

La investigación Desempeño directivo y acompañamiento pedagógico en la institución educativa N° 1179 Tomas Alva Edison Ugel 05 San Juan de Lurigancho-2017, tiene por objetivo determinar la relación que existe entre desempeño directivo y acompañamiento pedagógico en la institución educativa N° 1179 Tomas Alva Edison Ugel 05 San Juan de Lurigancho. Estudio no experimental, que utiliza el método cuantitativo e hipotético deductivo. El diseño es descriptivo correlacional. La muestra está constituida por 38 profesores de una institución educativa pública, a quienes se aplica dos instrumentos de tipo Likert, una primera escala de medición: desempeño directivo cuya confiabilidad con el alfa de Cronbach es .882; y la segunda escala de medición de acompañamiento pedagógico cuya confiablidad es de .865. Estos resultados las valoran como aplicables para el estudio. La prueba de hipótesis se realiza con el coeficiente de correlación Rho de Spearman = 950, cuyo p-valor = .000, es menor al = .05. Por lo tanto; se tiene una correlación positiva y directa alta entre las variables del estudio y se aprueba la hipótesis alternativa que dice: Existe relación entre desempeño directivo y acompañamiento pedagógico en la institución educativa N° 1179 Tomas Alva Edison Ugel 05 San Juan de Lurigancho

Rice Straw: A Waste with a Remarkable Green Energy Potential

With reference to the province of Novara in northwest Italy, this study aims to raise awareness about the environmental benefits that can derive from the use of alternative rice straw management practices to those currently in use, also highlighting how the use of these straws for energy purposes can be a valid alternative to the use of non-renewable resources. Using the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) method, the two rice straw management practices currently in place (open field combustion and straw incorporation) were compared with an alternative strategy consisting in their collection and removal. The results show that removal of straw allows reducing the emissions of pollutants significantly: about one-hundredth of the PM (Particulate Matter) formation compared to the open-field burning and about one-tenth of the ozone depletion (CFCs, HCFCs, halons, etc.) compared to both the other two practices. Moreover, the LCA results show how the use of rice straw to produce energy as an alternative to conventional fuels helps to reduce the global warming potential of rice cultivatio

A Mass Balance-Based Method for the Anaerobic Digestion of Rice Straw

Current rice straw disposal practices have serious repercussions on the environment and, in addition, do not consider its energy potential. On the contrary, the anaerobic digestion of rice straw makes it possible to produce renewable energy and to reintroduce into the soil the nutrients present in the digestate, at the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from paddies. For rice straw of different geographical origin, by applying a mass balance method to the digester, the minimum requirements in terms of conditioners (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and water, which allow obtaining the maximum production of methane, were calculated. The results obtained show that after the first 30 days (hydraulic retention time) for each ton of rice straw digested, the daily water consumption varies considerably from one country to another, from a minimum value of 1.5 m3/d to a maximum of 4.3 m3/d. After the same time, the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus is only required for the optimal anaerobic digestion of Indian rice straw. The low presence of these elements in Indian straw requires an addition of 3 kg/d of urea and 1.5 kg/d of superphosphate to compensate for the lack of nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. In all the examined cases, the concentration of potassium, even if higher than the optimal value, does not reach levels that can significantly affect the methane production

Bacterial outer membrane vesicles and vaccine applications

Vaccines based on outer membrane vesicles (OMV) were developed more than 20 years ago against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B. These nano-sized structures exhibit remarkable potential for immunomodulation of immune responses and delivery of “self” meningococcal antigens or unrelated antigens incorporated into the vesicle structure. This paper reviews different applications in OMV Research and Development (R&D) and provides examples of OMV developed and evaluated at the Finlay Institute in Cuba. A Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) process was developed at the Finlay Institute to produce OMV from N. meningitidis serogroup B (dOMVB) using detergent extraction. Subsequently, OMV from N. meningitidis, serogroup A (dOMVA), serogroup W (dOMVW) and serogroup X (dOMVX) were obtained using this process. More recently, the extraction process has also been applied effectively for obtaining OMV on a research scale from Vibrio cholerae (dOMVC), Bordetella pertussis (dOMVBP), Mycobacterium smegmatis (dOMVSM) and BCG (dOMVBCG). The immunogenicity of the OMV have been evaluated for specific antibody induction, and together with functional bactericidal and challenge assays in mice have shown their protective potential. dOMVB has been evaluated with non-self neisserial antigens, including with a herpes virus type 2 glycoprotein, ovalbumin and allergens. In conclusion, OMV are proving to be more versatile than first conceived and remain an important technology for development of vaccine candidates. - See more at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fimmu.2014.00121/abstract#sthash.MwqUyZQ1.dpu

The Ancient Varieties of Mountain Maize: The Inheritance of the Pointed Character and Its Effect on the Natural Drying Process

The introduction of mechanized agricultural practices after the Second World War and the use of productive hybrids led to a gradual disappearance of local maize varieties. However, 13 landraces are still cultivated in North-Western Italy, in the Lombardy region; those that are cultivated in mountainous areas (roughly up to 1200 m in altitude) are often characterized by the pointed shape of their seeds (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”, “Spinato di Gandino” and “Scagliolo di Carenno”) and the presence of pigments (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”). The pointed shape of the seeds is an ancient characteristic of maize-ancestors, which negatively affects the yield by not allowing optimal “filling” of the ear. This study reports work on four different Italian varieties of pointed maize in order to assess the genetic bases of the “pointed character” and to try to explain the reasons for this adaptation to the mountain environment. The data obtained by genetic analysis, seed air-drying modeling and thermographic camera observations demonstrated that the “pointed trait” is controlled by the same genes across the different varieties studied and suggested that this peculiar shape has been selected in mountainous areas because it promotes faster drying of the seed, with the presence of pigments implementing this effect

Seat belt use among rear passengers: validity of self-reported versus observational measures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The effects of seat belt laws and public education campaigns on seat belt use are assessed on the basis of observational or self-reported data on seat belt use.</p> <p>Previous studies focusing on front seat occupants have shown that self-reports indicate a greater seat belt usage than observational findings.</p> <p>Whether this over-reporting in self reports applies to rear seat belt usage, and to what extent, have yet to be investigated.</p> <p>We aimed to evaluate the over-reporting factor for rear seat passengers and whether this varies by gender and under different compulsory seat belt use conditions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted in the Veneto Region, an area in the North-East of Italy with a population of 4.7 million.</p> <p>The prevalence of seat belt use among rear seat passengers was determined by means of a cross-sectional self-report survey and an observational study.</p> <p>Both investigations were performed in two time periods: in 2003, when rear seat belt use was not enforced by primary legislation, and in 2005, after rear seat belt use had become compulsory (June 2003).</p> <p>Overall, 8138 observations and 7902 interviews were recorded.</p> <p>Gender differences in the prevalence of rear seat belt use were examined using the chi-square test. The over-reporting factor, defined as the ratio of the self-reported to the observed prevalence of rear seat belt use, was calculated by gender before and after the rear seat belt legislation came into effect.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among rear seat passengers, self-reported rates were always higher than the observational findings, with an overall over-reporting factor of 1.4.</p> <p>We registered no statistically significant changes over time in the over-reporting factor, nor any major differences between genders.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Self-reported seat belt usage by rear passengers represents an efficient alternative to observational studies for tracking changes in actual behavior, although the reported figures need to be adjusted using an appropriate over-reporting factor in order to gain an idea of genuine seat belt use.</p

Optimising soft tissue in-growth in vivo in additive layer manufactured osseointegrated transcutaneous implants

Osseointegrated transcutaneous implants could provide an alternative and improved means of attaching artificial limbs for amputees, however epithelial down growth, inflammation, and infections are common failure modalities associated with their use. To overcome these problems, a tight seal associated with the epidermal and dermal adhesion to the implant is crucial. This could be achieved with specific biomaterials (that mimic the surrounding tissue), or a tissue–specific design to enhance the proliferation and attachment of dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthesis is a new device with a pylon and a flange, which is specifically designed for optimising soft tissue attachment. Previously the flange has been fabricated using traditional machining techniques, however, the advent of additive layer manufacturing (ALM) has enabled 3–dimensional porous flanges with specific pore sizes to be used to optimise soft tissue integration and reduce failure of osseointegrated transcutaneous implants. The study aimed to investigate the effect of ALM–manufactured porous flanges on soft tissue ingrowth and attachment in an in vivo ovine model that replicates an osseointegrated percutaneous implant. At 12 and 24 weeks, epithelial downgrowth, dermal attachment and revascularisation into ALM–manufactured flanges with three different pore sizes were compared with machined controls where the pores were made using conventional drilling. The pore sizes of the ALM flanges were 700, 1000 and 1250 μm. We hypothesised that ALM porous flanges would reduce downgrowth, improve soft tissue integration and revascularisation compared with machined controls. The results supported our hypothesis with significantly greater soft tissue integration and revascularisation in ALM porous flanges compared with machined controls

Reproductive outcomes after hysteroscopic metroplasty for women with dysmorphic uterus and recurrent implantation failure

The aim of this study was to assess the reproductive outcomes of women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) after hysteroscopic metroplasty for dysmorphic uteri. Methods: This retrospective observational study included 190 women with a diagnosis of RIF. These patients were eligible for hysteroscopic metroplasty for dysmorphic uteri, including T-shaped uteri, between January 2008 and September 2015 at the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad (IVI) in Valencia, Spain. Results: The total clinical pregnancy rate, the live birth rate, and the abortion rate were 80.0% (152/190), 77.9% (147/190) and 8.9%, respectively. At 12 months, the clinical pregnancy rate was 76.3% (145/190) and at 6 months 50.5% (96/190). After the metroplasty, approximately 76% of all gravidities, were achieved during the first 12 months of follow-up. Within the first IVF cycle, pregnancy and live birth rates were 77.8% and 86.1%, respectively. The mean time to pregnancy was 6.5 months. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that hysteroscopic metroplasty improves pregnancy and live birth rates for women with a history of recurrent implantation failure and dysmorphic uterus. However, conclusions must be taken carefully as this is an observational study. A prospective, randomized and controlled study is necessary to support these results

Salivary Proteomics Markers for Preclinical Sjögren’s Syndrome: A Pilot Study

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a complex autoimmune disorder that particularly affects the salivary and lachrymal glands, generally causing a typical dryness of the eyes and of the mouth. The disease encompasses diverse clinical representations and is characterized by B-cell polyclonal activation and autoantibodies production, including anti-Ro/SSA. Recently, it has been suggested that autoantibody profiling may enable researchers to identify susceptible asymptomatic individuals in a pre-disease state. In this pilot study, we used mass spectrometry to analyze and compare the salivary proteomics of patients with established pSS and patients with pre-clinical SS, identifying a common protein signature in their salivary fluid. We found that several inflammatory, immunity-related, and typical acinar proteins (such as MUC5B, PIP, CST4, and lipocalin 1) were differently expressed in pSS and in pre-clinical SSA+ carriers, compared to healthy controls. This suggests that saliva may closely reflect exocrine gland inflammation from the early phases of the disease. This study confirms the value of salivary proteomics for the identification of reliable biomarkers for SS that could be identified, even in a preclinical phase of the disease