QIIP- questionário de interesses para a prática intergeracional

This article presents the validation study of the Questionnaire of interests for intergenerational practice (QIIP), which aims to contribute to the study of interests on a population level as well as supporting the development and implementation of intergenerational activities and programs through its identification. The design of the study is correlational and cross-generational. The QIIP was applied to 385 residents of Oporto, divided into three age groups. The instrument showed to be valid and revealed good internal consistency concerning the identification of the interests of the sample studied and can be analyzed either by dimension of interest, or by activity item of interest, depending on the goals of intergenerational practices that need to be developed. Upon analysis by dimension and age group, it was found that the Dimension Caring/Protecting and the Dimension Culture refer to common interests, shared among the three age groups. On the other hand, it was observed that the younger group differs from the other age groups in the Dimension Art and in the Dimension “Handiwork”, but no significant differences were found in both dimensions between middle-aged adults and older adults. In the Dimension Use of New Technologies, significant differences were registered among all age groups, decreasing in interest as the age increases.Este artículo presenta la validación del instrumento Cuestionario de Intereses para la Práctica Intergeneracional (QIIP), que tiene como objetivo de contribuir al estudio de los intereses la población para el desarrollo e implementación de actividades y programas intergeneracionales. El presente estudio analiza los intereses de las diferentes generaciones siendo QIIP aplicado a 385 personas residentes de la ciudad de Oporto, divididas por tres grupos de edad. El instrumento muestra ser válido y revela tener una buena consistencia interna para la identificación de los intereses de la muestra estudiada y puede ser analizado tanto por dimensión de interés como por ítem de actividad de interés, dependiendo de los objetivos de las prácticas intergeneracionales que se pretendan desarrollar. Después del análisis por dimensión y grupo de edad se verificó que la Dimensión Cuidar / Proteger y la Dimensión Cultura, son dimensiones de interés común y compartidas entre todos los grupos de edad. Por otro lado, se observó que los jóvenes y los adultos jóvenes difieren de los otros grupos de edad, en la Dimensión Arte y en la Dimensión “Trabajos manuales”, pero que no se observan diferencias significativas en ambas dimensiones entre los adultos de mediana edad y los adultos mayores. En la Dimensión Uso de las Nuevas Tecnologías hay diferencias significativas entre todos los grupos de edad, verificándose que a medida que la edad aumenta este interés disminuye

A one health approach

This work was funded by the R&D Project CAREBIO2 - Comparative assessment of antimicrobial resistance in environmental biofilms through proteomics - towards innovative theranostic biomarkers, with reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-030101 and PTDC/SAU-INF/30101/2017, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Northern Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020) and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry - LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UID/QUI/50006/2019). Vanessa Silva is supported by national funds through FCT/MCTES and by the European Social Fund through POCH/FSE under the PhD grant SFRH/BD/137947/2018.publishersversionpublishe

Cutinase activity in supercritical and organic media: water activity, solvation and acid–base effects

We performed a comparative study on the activity of Fusarium solani pisi cutinase immobilized on zeolites NaA and NaY, in n-hexane, acetonitrile, supercritical ethane (sc-ethane) and sc-CO2, at two different water activity (aW) values set by salt hydrate pairs in situ and at acid–base conditions fixed with solid-state buffers of aqueous pKa between 4.3 and 10.6. The reaction studied was the transesterification of vinyl butyrate by (R,S)-2-phenyl-1-propanol. The transesterification activity of cutinase was highest and similar in sc-ethane and in n-hexane,about one order of magnitude lower in acetonitrile and even lower in sc-CO2. Activity coefficients (γ) generated for the two substrates indicated that they were better solvated in acetonitrile and thus less available for binding at the active site than in the other three solvents. γ data also suggested higher reaction rates in sc-ethane than in n-hexane, as observed, and provided evidence for a direct negative effect of sc-CO2 on enzyme activity. Manipulation of the acid–base conditions of the media did not afford any improvement of the initial rates of transesterification relative to the blanks (no added acid–base buffer, only salt hydrate pair), except in the case of cutinase immobilized on zeolite NaA in sc-ethane at aW = 0.7. The poor performance of the blank in this case and the great improvement observed in the presence of a basic buffer suggest a deleterious acidic effect in the medium which, an experiment without additives confirmed, was not due to the known acidic character of the salt hydrate pair used to set aW = 0.7. In acetonitrile, increasing aW was accompanied by a decrease in initial rates of transesterification, unlike in the other solvents. There was considerable hydrolysis in acetonitrile, where initial rates of hydrolysis increased about 20-fold from aW = 0.2 to 0.7. Hydrolysis was less pronounced in sc-ethane and in n-hexane, and only at aW = 0.7, and in sc-CO2 butyric acid was detected only at very long reaction times, in agreement with a generally low catalytic activity. Cutinase enantio-selectivity towards the alcohol substrate was low and unaffected by any manipulation of medium conditions.This work has been supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through the contracts PRAXIS/PBIO/14314/1998 and POCTI/35429/QUI/2000 and the grant PRAXIS XXI/BD/21615/99 (S. Garcia), and by FEDER.We thank Ricardo Baptista for help in the production of cutinase

Sutton Naevi as melanoma simulators: Can confocal microscopy help in the diagnosis?

Sutton naevi can sometimes present a challenging appearance with atypical presentation, also by dermoscopy. Reflectance confocal microscopy could help in making a diagnosis. This study prospectively collected two groups of Sutton nevi: the first one was composed by typical white halo naevi monitored for one year (13, 23%) and the second one was made up of atypical lesions excised in order to rule out melanoma, which were histologically diagnosed as Sutton naevi (21, 37%). These two groups of Sutton naevi were compared to a retrospectively collected cohort of thin melanomas with histologic regression features (23, 40%). On dermoscopy, atypical Sutton naevi and melanomas were indistinguishable. Reflectance confocal microscopy demonstrated significant differences at the dermo-epidermal junction: marked dermo-epidermal junction thickening and non-edged papilla were associated with melanoma, while the presence of nests was associated with Sutton naevi. However, reflectance confocal microscopy also detected marked intraepidermal pagetoid cells in Sutton naevi that were a combination of MelanA+ and CD1a+ cells. Sutton naevi can simulate melanoma, under both dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy. Nevertheless, relevant confocal dermo-epidermal junction features and the clinical scenario can be helpful to make a final diagnosis, especially in those situations where melanoma must be ruled out

Interference Pattern Representation on the Complex s-Plane

In this work, the normalized interference pattern produced by a coherence interferometer system was represented as a complex function. The Laplace transform was applied for the transformation. Poles and zeros were determined from this complex function, and then, its pole-zero map and its Bode diagram were proposed. Both graphical representations were implemented numerically. From our numerical results, pole location and zero location depend on the optical path difference (OPD), while the Bode diagram gives us information about the OPD parameter. Based on the results obtained from the graphical representations, the coherence interferometer systems, the low-coherence interferometer systems, the interferometric sensing systems, and the fiber optic sensors can be analyze on the complex s-plane

Physiotherapy treatment of the postural changes and oral reflexes in the children cerebral palsy and other neurological changes: aids to feeding

[Resumen] En este trabajo se pretende describir las alteraciones posturales más frecuentes en la parálisis cerebral infantil (PCI), traumatismo craneoencefálico (TCE), y en la hemiplejia; y analizar cómo influyen éstas en las alteraciones orofaciales, presentes en la mayoría de estos pacientes. Se presenta una valoración de fisioterapia analítica de la disfunción orofacial, y se muestra un posible tratamiento de fisioterapia,adaptable a las diferentes alteraciones presentes en estos pacientes.[Abstract] The aim of this article is to describe the postural changes in the children cerebral palsy, brain traumatic injury and stroke. Another one is also to analyze the relationchips between the postural changes and the oral and facial disturbances, which are very common in those kinds of patients. Once these changes were analyzed, we show a physiotherapist assesment, evaluating the oral and facial disturbances in an analytic way, and showing at the same time, a possible physiotherapist treatment for these disturbances in those patients

New Biocomposites for Innovative Construction Facades and Interior Partitions

Osirys is a European Research Project where a holistic solution for façades and interior partitions ready to be applied in building retrofitting and new construction has been developed. The project uses biocomposites as the base material to define different products: a multilayer façade, a curtain wall, a window, and an interior partition. The biocomposites developed have different functionalities able to meet the strictest requisites of the European Building Codes in relation to fire and structural performance, improve indoor air quality through the elimination of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and microorganisms, increase thermal insulation, and increase the durability of construction elements. The new systems are lighter than traditional ones, leading to reductions in overall weight, thereby reducing implementation costs during both manufacturing and assembly processes, thanks to an industrialised concept that utilises modular elements. The project was developed with the collaboration of 18 European partners (5 research centres, 9 SMEs, 2 large industries, and 2 public bodies). The main activities were devoted to the establishment of requirements, the development of materials, the design of products, the integration of materials into products, the verification of properties by simulation and testing according to EU standards, the integration of products into real buildings, and economic and environmental assessment. The scope of this paper is to provide a general overview of the entire project work and results to demonstrate the feasibility of using biocomposites in envelope solutions with the aim of solving some of the main problems that exist in façade traditional solutions. The project finishes with the implementation of the developments in real buildings as prototypes; further research is required before industrial scale manufacturing of the systems can be launched into the market.This work was supported by the EU under the 7th Framework programme of research, technological development, and demonstration project titled: “Forest based composites for façades and interior partitions to improve indoor air quality in new builds and restoration” under grant agreement nº 609067. The development of this article and of this project would not have been possible without the collaboration of all consortium partners: Fundación Tecnalia, Acciona Infraestructuras, Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus VTT, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung EV, Research Association of Plastic and Related Materials (AIMPLAS), IVL Svenska Miljoeinstitutet AB, Tartu Stad, Tecnaro Gesellschaft zur Industriellen Anwendung Nachwachsender Rohstoffe MBH, Netcomposites Limited, Omikron-Dokk Muanyagiparo kft, Conenor Oy, Van Berkel & Bos UN STUDIO B.V., Amorim Cork Composites SA, ENAR Envolventes arquitectónicas, Bergamo Tecnologie Spzoo, VISESA, SICC GMBH and Collanti Concorde SRL

Microenvironmental hCAP-18/LL-37 promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by activating its cancer stem cell compartment

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Microenvironmental hCAP-18/LL-37 promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by activating its cancer stem cell compartment. Gut 64.12 (2015): 1921-1935 and which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2014-308935OBJECTIVES: The tumour stroma/microenvironment not only provides structural support for tumour development, but more importantly it provides cues to cancer stem cells (CSCs) that regulate their self-renewal and metastatic potential. This is certainly true for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC), where tumour-associated fibroblasts, pancreatic stellate cells and immune cells create an abundant paracrine niche for CSCs via microenvironment-secreted factors. Thus understanding the role that tumour stroma cells play in PDAC development and CSC biology is of utmost importance. DESIGN: Microarray analyses, tumour microarray immunohistochemical assays, in vitro co-culture experiments, recombinant protein treatment approaches and in vivo intervention studies were performed to understand the role that the immunomodulatory cationic antimicrobial peptide 18/LL-37 (hCAP-18/LL-37) plays in PDAC biology. RESULTS: We found that hCAP-18/LL-37 was strongly expressed in the stroma of advanced primary and secondary PDAC tumours and is secreted by immune cells of the stroma (eg, tumour-associated macrophages) in response to tumour growth factor-β1 and particularly CSC-secreted Nodal/ActivinA. Treatment of pancreatic CSCs with recombinant LL-37 increased pluripotency-associated gene expression, self-renewal, invasion and tumourigenicity via formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2)- and P2X purinoceptor 7 receptor (P2X7R)-dependent mechanisms, which could be reversed by inhibiting these receptors. Importantly, in a genetically engineered mouse model of K-Ras-driven pancreatic tumourigenesis, we also showed that tumour formation was inhibited by either reconstituting these mice with bone marrow from cathelicidin-related antimicrobial peptide (ie, murine homologue of hCAP-18/LL-37) knockout mice or by pharmacologically inhibiting FPR2 and P2X7R. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, hCAP-18/LL-37 represents a previously unrecognised PDAC microenvironment factor that plays a critical role in pancreatic CSC-mediated tumourigenesis.CH: ERC Advanced Investigator Grant (Pa-CSC 233460), European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 256974 (EPC-TM-NET) and n° 602783 (CAM-PaC), the Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación, Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PS09/02129 & PI12/02643) and the Programa Nacional de Internacionalización de la I+D, Subprogramma: FCCI 2009 (PLE2009-0105; both Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (es), Spain), BSJr: Rámon y Cajal Merit Award from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain and Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program (CLIP) grant from the Cancer Research Institute, NY, NY. MC: La Caixa Predoctoral Fellowshi

Using a 3-tier Training Model for Effective Exchange of Good Practices in as ERASMUS+ Project

VISIR+ is an Erasmus+ project that aims to develop educational modules for electric and electronic circuits theory and practice following an enquiry-based teaching and learning methodology. The project has installed five new VISIR remote labs in Higher Education Institutions located in Argentina and Brazil, to allow students doing more experiments and hence acquire better experimental skills, through a combination of traditional (hands-on), remote and virtual laboratories. A key aspect for the success of this project was to motivate and train teachers in the underpinning educational methodology. As such, VISIR+ adopted a 3-tier training process to effectively support the use of VISIR in the Institutions that received it. This process is based on the “train the trainer” approach, which required the participating partner institutions to identify and engage a number of associated partners, interested in using their newly installed remote lab. To measure the quality of the training process, the same satisfaction questionnaire was used in all training actions. This paper presents a detailed description of the training actions along with the analysis of the satisfaction questionnaire results. Major conclusions are that the quality level of the training process remained practically the same across all training actions and that trainees sometimes considered the practical use of the VISIR remote lab as difficult, irrespectively of where and when the training action took place.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio