Curves on Heisenberg invariant quartic surfaces in projective 3-space

This paper is about the family of smooth quartic surfaces $X \subset \mathbb{P}^3$ that are invariant under the Heisenberg group $H_{2,2}$. For a very general such surface $X$, we show that the Picard number of $X$ is 16 and determine its Picard group. It turns out that the general Heisenberg invariant quartic contains 320 smooth conics and that in the very general case, this collection of conics generates the Picard group.Comment: Updated references, corrected typo

Efficacy, Immunogenicity and Safety of an Investigational Subunit Adjuvanted Herpes Zoster Vaccine in Adults Aged 60 Years and Older: Results From the ZOE-50 and ZOE-70 Efficacy Studies

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As atitudes dos professores do 1º, 2º e 3º ciclos do ensino básico face à inclusão de alunos com a síndrome de Asperger no ensino regular

A incessante procura de conhecer e perceber o Ser Humano, leva os cientistas a descobrir os processos psicológicos do Homem. A Síndrome de Asperger é uma categoria recente da investigação científica e ainda existe pouca informação relativamente a este assunto. As crianças/jovens com a Síndrome de Asperger não apresentam qualquer atraso no desenvolvimento da fala ou cognitivo porém é importante que esta receba uma educação especializada o mais cedo possível. (Teixeira, s.d.) Actualmente, uma das metas da escola, é levar aos alunos a aprender as normas da cultura onde encontram-se inseridos (solidariedade, respeito, cooperação…) mas também deve dar condições para que construam e interiorizem tais valores. O direito a uma igualdade de oportunidades exige da escola as melhores condições possíveis e profissionais cada vez mais qualificados para a formação de alunos que necessitam de uma educação especial. Assim é necessário conhecer as estratégias de ensino individual e transmitir aos alunos certas ferramentas para que estes recebam um ensino adequado à sua patologia. Os professores têm um papel importante neste processo, pois são os responsáveis na formação do indivíduo, são estes que fornecem-lhe as ferramentas/conhecimentos necessários para o convívio em sociedade. (Guimarães, s.d.) O presente estudo propõe-se descrever as atitudes dos professores do 1º, 2º e 3º ciclos do ensino básico face à inclusão de alunos com a Síndrome de Asperger no ensino regular. O objectivo do trabalho consiste em saber quais as variáveis que influenciam as atitudes dos professores face à inclusão de alunos com a Síndrome de Asperger, tentando relacionar o nível de ensino (1º, 2º e 3º ciclos) com as atitudes mais ou menos favoráveis apresentadas pelos docentes

Efficacy of the herpes zoster subunit vaccine in adults 70 years of age or older

Background: A trial involving adults 50 years of age or older (ZOE-50) showed that the herpes zoster subunit vaccine (HZ/su) containing recombinant varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein E and the AS01B adjuvant system was associated with a risk of herpes zoster that was 97.2% lower than that associated with placebo. A second trial was performed concurrently at the same sites and examined the safety and efficacy of HZ/su in adults 70 years of age or older (ZOE-70). Methods: This randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial was conducted in 18 countries and involved adults 70 years of age or older. Participants received two doses of HZ/su or placebo (assigned in a 1:1 ratio) administered intramuscularly 2 months apart. Vaccine efficacy against herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia was assessed in participants from ZOE-70 and in participants pooled from ZOE-70 and ZOE-50. Results: In ZOE-70, 13,900 participants who could be evaluated (mean age, 75.6 years) received either HZ/su (6950 participants) or placebo (6950 participants). During a mean follow-up period of 3.7 years, herpes zoster occurred in 23 HZ/su recipients and in 223 placebo recipients (0.9 vs. 9.2 per 1000 person-years). Vaccine efficacy against herpes zoster was 89.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 84.2 to 93.7; P&lt;0.001) and was similar in participants 70 to 79 years of age (90.0%) and participants 80 years of age or older (89.1%). In pooled analyses of data from participants 70 years of age or older in ZOE-50 and ZOE-70 (16,596 participants), vaccine efficacy against herpes zoster was 91.3% (95% CI, 86.8 to 94.5; P&lt;0.001), and vaccine efficacy against postherpetic neuralgia was 88.8% (95% CI, 68.7 to 97.1; P&lt;0.001). Solicited reports of injection-site and systemic reactions within 7 days after injection were more frequent among HZ/su recipients than among placebo recipients (79.0% vs. 29.5%). Serious adverse events, potential immune-mediated diseases, and deaths occurred with similar frequencies in the two study groups. Conclusions: In our trial, HZ/su was found to reduce the risks of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia among adults 70 years of age or older. <br /

STAGES IN THE ORIGIN OF VERTEBRATES: ANALYSIS BY MEANS OF SCENARIOS

Vertebrates lack an epidermal nerve plexus. This feature is common to many invertebrates from which vertebrates differ by an extensive set of shared-derived characters (synapomorphies) derived from the neural crest and epidermal neurogenic placodes. Hence, the hypothesis that the developmental precursor of the epidermal nerve plexus may be homologous to the neural crest and epidermal neurogenic placodes. This account attempts to generate a nested set of scenarios for the prevertebrate-vertebrate transition, associating a presumed sequence of behavioural and environmental changes with the observed phenotypic ones. Toward this end, it integrates morphological, developmental, functional (physiological/behavioural) and some ecological data, as many phenotypic shifts apparently involved associated transitions in several aspects of the animals. The scenarios deal with the origin of embryonic and adult tissues and such major organs as the notochord, the CNS, gills and kidneys and propose a sequence of associated changes. Alternative scenarios are stated as the evidence often remains insufficient for decision. The analysis points to gaps in comprehension of the biology of the animals and therefore suggests further research.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72629/1/j.1469-185X.1989.tb00471.x.pd