Project-based learning as a bridge to the industrial practice

It is expected that engineering students develop both technical and transversal competences for the professional practice during their initial training period. The development of such competences can benefit from the interaction with real industrial contexts. Since project-based learning is an educational approach in which teams of students can tackle a given problem related to their future professional practice, this will be an outstanding opportunity to bring them together with industrial engineering professionals throughout the whole degree period and not only at its end. In this way, teachers will facilitate the development of the expected professional competences. This work aims to analyse a project-based learning approach that has involved six teams of students dealing with real industrial problems and challenges, and to evaluate the results based on the proposed technical solutions, as well as on the perception of five companies' representatives. Most of the proposed solutions were centred on Lean applications and ergonomic improvements of the analysed workplaces. Companies were very pleased with the developed projects and are willing to continue the interaction with the university in this context.This work was funded by COMPETE-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT-UID-CEC-00319-2013

Risk of second primary malignancies in women with breast cancer: results from the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC)

Women with a diagnosis of breast cancer are at increased risk of second primary cancers, and the identification of risk factors for the latter may have clinical implications. We have followed-up for 11 years 10,045 women with invasive breast cancer from a European cohort, and identified 492 second primary cancers, including 140 contralateral breast cancers. Expected and observed cases and Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIR) were estimated using Aalen-Johansen Markovian methods. Information on various risk factors was obtained from detailed questionnaires and anthropometric measurements. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the role of risk factors. Women with breast cancer had a 30% excess risk for second malignancies (95% confidence interval—CI 18–42) after excluding contralateral breast cancers. Risk was particularly elevated for colorectal cancer (SIR, 1.71, 95% CI 1.43–2.00), lymphoma (SIR 1.80, 95% CI 1.31–2.40), melanoma (2.12; 1.63–2.70), endometrium (2.18; 1.75–2.70) and kidney cancers (2.40; 1.57–3.52). Risk of second malignancies was positively associated with age at first cancer, body mass index and smoking status, while it was inversely associated with education, post-menopausal status and a history of full-term pregnancy. We describe in a large cohort of women with breast cancer a 30% excess of second primaries. Among risk factors for breast cancer, a history of full-term pregnancy was inversely associated with the risk of second primary cancer

Using a gene expression signature when controversy exists regarding the indication for adjuvant systemic treatment reduces the proportion of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy : a nationwide study

PURPOSE: The Dutch national guideline advises use of gene-expression signatures, such as the 70-gene signature (70-GS), in case of ambivalence regarding the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy (CT). In this nationwide study, the impact of 70-GS use on the administration of CT in early breast cancer patients with a dubious indication for CT is assessed. METHODS: Patients within a national guideline directed indication area for 70-GS use who were surgically treated between November 2011 and April 2013 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry database. The effect of 70-GS use on the administration of CT was evaluated in guideline- and age-delineated subgroups addressing potential effect of bias by linear mixed-effect modeling and instrumental variable (IV) analyses. RESULTS: A total of 2,043 patients within the indicated area for 70-GS use were included, of whom 298 received a 70-GS. Without use of the 70-GS, 45% of patients received CT. The 70-GS use was associated with a 9.5% decrease in CT administration (95% confidence interval (CI): -15.7 to -3.3%) in linear mixed-effect model analyses and IV analyses showed similar results (-9.9%; 95% CI: -19.3 to -0.4). CONCLUSION: In patients in whom the Dutch national guidelines suggest the use of a gene-expression profile, 70-GS use is associated with a 10% decrease in the administration of adjuvant CT.Genet Med 18 7, 720-726.Genetics in Medicine (2016); 18 7, 720-726. doi:10.1038/gim.2015.152