Mobile five senses augmented reality system: technology acceptance study

The application of the most recent technologies is fundamental to add value to tourism experiences, as well as in other economic sectors. Mobile Five Senses Augmented Reality (M5SAR) system is a mobile guide instrument for cultural, historical, and museum events. In order to realize the proclaimed five senses, the system has two main modules: a (i) mobile application which deals mainly with the senses of sight and hearing, using for that the mobile device camera to recognize and track on-the-fly (museum's) objects and give related information about them; and a (ii) portable device capable of enhancing the augmented reality (AR) experience to the full five senses through the stimulus of touch, taste, and smell, by associating itself to the users' smartphone or tablet. This paper briefly presents the system's architecture but, the main focus is on the analysis of the users' acceptance for this technology, namely the AR (software) application, and its integration with the (hardware) device to achieve the five senses AR. Results show that social influence, effort expectancy, and facilitating conditions are the key constructs that drive the users to accept and M5SAR's technology.Funding Agency Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Project: Laboratory of Robotics and Engineering Systems, LARSyS UID/EEA/50009/2019 Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Project: Arts and Communication Research Center, CIAC UID/Multi/04019/2019 Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Project: Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being, CinTurs UID/SOC/04020/2019 Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Project: Center for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics, CEFAGE UID/ECO/04007/2019 Project M5SAR I&DT - CRESC ALGARVE2020 3322 PORTUGAL2020 European Union (EU) Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dynamics and Development of Extensively Drug-resistant Tuberculosis, Portugal

Abstrat publicado em: http://www.pasteur.fr/infosci/conf/sb/tuberculosis2012/images/TB2012-Program-Abstract-book-LD.pdfThe development of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensive drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis(TB) combined with subsequent transmission constitutes a serious threat to the effective control of tuberculosis in several countries. Lisbon Health Region, despite great progresses in TB management still presents a high number of MDR/XDR-TB cases. The development of this type of resistance is the result of adaptative selection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that acquire and accumulate specific mutations at specific genes. The presently known mechanisms of drug resistance include the modification or overexpression of drug targets, inactivation of drug- activator enzymes and overexpression of drug-modifying enzymes. Although the molecular basis of resistance of MDR/XDR-TB strains circulating in Lisbon has already been addressed in different studies, the dynamics or mode of resistance acquisition that have lead to the different circulating strains is still partially unclear. In the present study we have genotyped and screened a set of 44 MDR/XDR-TB isolates for mutations in tlyA, gyrA, rrs and eis genes. We have determined the most prevalent mutations found in each gene to be Ins755GT in tlyA, A1401G in rrs, G-10A in eis and S91P in gyrA. Two genetic clusters previously known to be associated with XDR-TB were detected, Lisboa3 and Q1, containing 27 and 17 isolates, respectively. Lisboa3 strains isolated in the 90’s with the same mutational profile of recent XDR-TB Lisboa3 strains were found, emphasizing the ancient XDR-TB problem in the region. Also investigated was the resistance level conferred by eis G-10A mutations, revealing that eis G-10A mutations may result in an undetectable AMK resistance. We concluded by analyzing the mutational distribution found by genetic cluster that in Q1 cluster two mutations, gyrA D94A and rrs A1401G, were enough to ensure development of XDR-TB from a multidrug resistant strain. Moreover, in Lisboa3 cluster it was possible to determine that the development of kanamycin low-level resistance mediated by eis promoter mutations was at the origin of independent emergence of several XDRTB strains that can be discriminated within Lisboa3 genetic cluster by tlyA mutations

Quinoxaline, its derivatives and applications: a state of the art review

Quinoxaline derivatives are an important class of heterocycle compounds, where N replaces some carbon atoms in the ring of naphthalene. Its molecular formula is C8H6N2, formed by the fusion of two aromatic rings, benzene and pyrazine. It is rare in natural state, but their synthesis is easy to perform. In this review the State of the Art will be presented, which includes a summary of the progress made over the past years in the knowledge of the structure and mechanism of the quinoxaline and quinoxaline derivatives, associated medical and biomedical value as well as industrial value. Modifying quinoxaline structure it is possible to obtain a wide variety of biomedical applications, namely antimicrobial activities and chronic and metabolic diseases treatment

The cross-sectional and prospective associations between sleep characteristics and adiposity in toddlers: Results from the GET UP! Study

Background: The associations between sleep characteristics and adiposity in children under three years are not fully understood yet. Objective: The objective of the study is to examine the cross-sectional and prospective associations between sleep characteristics and adiposity in toddlers over a 12-month period. Methods: Participants were 202 toddlers from the GET-UP! Study. Sleep duration, sleep timing, and sleep variability were assessed using 24-hour accelerometry for seven consecutive days. Height and weight were measured, and BMI z scores were calculated. Linear mixed models were performed to examine the cross-sectional and prospective associations between sleep characteristics and adiposity, with adjustments for clustering effects and demographic factors. Results: Total sleep duration was negatively associated with higher adiposity cross-sectionally (B = −0.12; 95% CI: −0.23, −0.01;.033) but not prospectively (B = 0.01; 95% CI: −0.13, 0.10;.843). Nap duration was prospectively associated with higher levels of adiposity (B = 0.41; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.68;.003). Sleep variability and sleep timing were not associated with concurrent or subsequent adiposity. Conclusion: Although sleep duration is an important factor associated with obesity in toddlerhood, the potential effects of different types of sleep duration may vary. While longer total sleep duration may protect children from increasing adiposity, longer nap duration seems to be risk factor. As evidence in this age group is scarce, more research is needed to confirm this finding

Under-reporting bicycle accidents to police in the COST TU1101 international survey: Cross-country comparisons and associated factors

Police crash reports are often the main source for official data in many countries. However, with the exception of fatal crashes, crashes are often underreported in a biased manner. Consequently, the countermeasures adopted according to them may be inefficient. In the case of bicycle crashes, this bias is most acute and it probably varies across countries, with some of them being more prone to reporting accidents to police than others. Assessing if this bias occurs and the size of it can be of great importance for evaluating the risks associated with bicycling. This study utilized data collected in the COST TU1101 action “Towards safer bicycling through optimization of bicycle helmets and usage”. The data came from an online survey that included questions related to bicyclists' attitudes, behaviour, cycling habits, accidents, and patterns of use of helmets. The survey was filled by 8655 bicyclists from 30 different countries. After applying various exclusion factors, 7015 questionnaires filled by adult cyclists from 17 countries, each with at least 100 valid responses, remained in our sample. The results showed that across all countries, an average of only 10% of all crashes were reported to the police, with a wide range among countries: from a minimum of 0.0% (Israel) and 2.6% (Croatia) to a maximum of a 35.0% (Germany). Some factors associated with the reporting levels were type of crash, type of vehicle involved, and injury severity. No relation was found between the likelihood of reporting and the cyclist's gender, age, educational level, marital status, being a parent, use of helmet, and type of bicycle. The significant under-reporting – including injury crashes that do not lead to hospitalization – justifies the use of self-report survey data for assessment of bicycling crash patterns as they relate to (1) crash risk issues such as location, infrastructure, cyclists' characteristics, and use of helmet and (2) strategic approaches to bicycle crash prevention and injury reduction.Fil: Shinar, D.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Valero Mora, Pedro. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: van Strijp Houtenbos, M.. Institute For Road Safety Research; Países BajosFil: Haworth, N.. Queensland University of Technology; AustraliaFil: Schramm, A.. Queensland University of Technology; AustraliaFil: de Bruyne, G.. Universiteit Antwerp; BélgicaFil: Cavallo, V.. No especifíca;Fil: Chliaoutakis, J.. No especifíca;Fil: Pereira Dias, Joao. Instituto Superior Tecnico; PortugalFil: Ferraro, Ottavia Eleonora. Universita Degli Studi Di Pavia; ItaliaFil: Fyhri, Aslak. No especifíca;Fil: Sajatovic, Anika Hursa. No especifíca;Fil: Kuklane, Kalev. Lund University; SueciaFil: Ledesma, Ruben Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología.; ArgentinaFil: Calvé Mascarell, Oscar. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Morandi, A.. Universita Degli Studi Di Pavia; ItaliaFil: Muser, Markus. No especifíca;Fil: Otte, Diettmar. No especifíca;Fil: Papadakaki, M.. No especifíca;Fil: Sanmartín, J.. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Dulf, D.. No especifíca;Fil: Saplioglu, M.. No especifíca;Fil: Tzamalouka, Georgia. No especifíca

Deep analysis of neuroblastoma core regulatory circuitries using online databases and integrated bioinformatics shows their pan-cancer roles as prognostic predictors.

AIM: Neuroblastoma is a heterogeneous childhood cancer derived from the neural crest. The dual cell identities of neuroblastoma include Mesenchymal (MES) and Adrenergic (ADRN). These identities are conferred by a small set of tightly-regulated transcription factors (TFs) binding super enhancers, collectively forming core regulatory circuitries (CRCs). The purpose of this study was to gain a deep understanding of the role of MES and ADRN TFs in neuroblastoma and other cancers as potential indicators of disease prognosis, progression, and relapse. METHODS: To that end, we first investigated the expression and mutational profile of MES and ADRN TFs in neuroblastoma. Moreover, we established their correlation with neuroblastoma risk groups and overall survival while establishing their extended networks with long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Furthermore, we analysed the pan-cancer expression and mutational profile of these TFs and their correlation with patient survival and finally their network connectivity, using a panel of bioinformatic tools including GEPIA2, human pathology atlas, TIMER2, Omicsnet, and Cytoscape. RESULTS: We show the association of multiple MES and ADRN TFs with neuroblastoma risk groups and overall survival and find significantly higher expression of various MES and ADRN TFs compared to normal tissues and their association with overall survival and disease-free survival in multiple cancers. Moreover, we report the strong correlation of the expression of these TFs with the infiltration of stromal and immune cells in the tumour microenvironment and with stemness and metastasis-related genes. Furthermore, we reveal extended pan-cancer networks comprising these TFs that influence the tumour microenvironment and metastasis and may be useful indicators of cancer prognosis and patient survival. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis shows the significance of MES and ADRN TFs as indicators of patient prognosis and the putative utility of these TFs as potential novel biomarkers

Influenza A virus infection in pigs from Mozambique

Swine  influenza  (SI)  is  an  acute  and  highly  contagious  disease  of  the  respiratory tract of pigs caused by swine influenza A virus (SIA). The disease causes economic losses in swine production and is of great public importance for its zoonotic potential. The aims of the present  study  were  to  report SIA infection  in  pigs  from  Mozambique  and  characterize  the anatomopathological  and  immunohistochemical  features  of  associated  lung  lesions.  Lungs from  457  slaughtered  pigs  were  subjected  to  gross  evaluation  and 38  (8.3%)  lungs  with cranioventral  consolidation  were  collected  from  a slaughterhouse  in  Matola  City,  Southern Mozambique. Consolidation areas in each lung lobe  were classified in 4 grades according to the lesion extension. Samples with consolidated lung tissue were examined for histopathology and  immunohistochemistry  for  the  presence  of  SIA,  Porcine  circovirus  type  2  (PCV2)  and Mycoplasma  hyopneumoniae  antigens.  The  lungs  had  multifocal  to  coalescing  areas  of consolidation observed most frequently in the craniallobes. The lesions involved mainly one or three  pulmonary  lobes  and  grade  1  and  2  lesions  were  the  most  frequent.  The  main histopathological  findings  were  necrotizing  bronchiolitis  (23/38),  alveolar  neutrophil infiltration (24/38), type II pneumocytes hyperplasia (26/38), peribronchiolar lymphoid tissue hyperplasia  (28/38)  and  interstitial  mononuclear  cells  infiltrate  (29/38). SIA  antigen  was detected by immunohistochemistryin 84.3% (32/38) of lung samples and all lung samples were negative  for  PCV2  and Mycoplasma  hyopneumoniaantigense. Pigs  that  presented  a  positive result on IHQ were from Matutuine district (5/32), Moamba district (2/32), Namaacha district (21/32), Boane district (3/32) and Matola city (1/32). These results demonstrate that SIA is a cause of pneumonia in pigs in Mozambique

Core regulatory circuitries in defining cancer cell identity across the malignant spectrum

Gene expression programmes driving cell identity are established by tightly regulated transcription factors that auto- and cross-regulate in a feed-forward manner, forming core regulatory circuitries (CRCs). CRC transcription factors create and engage super-enhancers by recruiting acetylation writers depositing permissive H3K27ac chromatin marks. These super- enhancers are largely associated with BET proteins, including BRD4 that influence higher- order chromatin structure. The orchestration of these events trigger accessibility of RNA polymerase machinery and the imposition of lineage-specific gene expression. In cancers, CRCs drive cell identity by superimposing developmental programmes on a background of genetic alterations. Further, the establishment and maintenance of oncogenic states are reliant on CRCs that drive factors involved in tumour development. Hence, the molecular dissection of CRC components driving cell identity and cancer state can contribute to elucidating mechanisms of diversion from pre-determined developmental programmes and highlight cancer dependencies. These insights can provide valuable opportunities for identifying and repurposing drug targets. In this article, we review the current understanding of CRCs across solid and liquid malignancies and avenues of investigation for drug development efforts. We also review techniques used to understand CRCs and elaborate the indication of discussed CRC transcription factors in the wider context of cancer CRC models

Regulation of TRAIL expression by PRAME and EZH2 as potential therapeutic target against solid tumors

We thank the Department of Pathologic Anatomy and the International Center for Research, from AC Camargo Hospital for the tissue microarray assays and for the donation of cancer cell lines, respectively. We thank Dr. René Bernards (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) for the gift of PRAME and EZH2 short hairpin RNA vectors

Antileishmanial activity of meroditerpenoids from the macroalgae Cystoseira baccata

The development of novel drugs for the treatment of leishmaniases continues to be crucial to overcome the severe impacts of these diseases on human and animal health. Several bioactivities have been described in extracts from macroalgae belonging to the Cystoseira genus. However, none of the studies has reported the chemical compounds responsible for the antileishmanial activity observed upon incubation of the parasite with the aforementioned extracts. Thus, this work aimed to isolate and characterize the molecules present in a hexane extract of Cystoseira baccata that was found to be bioactive against Leishmania infantum in a previous screening effort. A bioactivity-guided fractionation of the C. baccata extract was carried out and the inhibitory potential of the isolated compounds was evaluated via the MIT assay against promastigotes and murine macrophages as well as direct counting against intracellular amastigotes. Moreover, the promastigote ultrastructure, DNA fragmentation and changes in the mitochondrial potential were assessed to unravel their mechanism of action. In this process, two antileishmanial meroditerpenoids, (3R)- and (3S)-tetraprenyltoluquinol (1a/1b) and (3R)- and (3S)-tetraprenyltoluquinone (2a/2b), were isolated. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibited the growth of the L. infantum promastigotes (IC50 = 44.9 +/- 4.3 and 94.4 +/- 10.1 mu M, respectively), inducing cytoplasmic vacuolization and the presence of coiled multilamellar structures in mitochondria as well as an intense disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential. Compound 1 decreased the intracellular infection index (IC50 = 25.0 +/- 4.1 mu M), while compound 2 eliminated 50% of the intracellular amastigotes at a concentration > 88.0 mu M. This work identified compound 2 as a novel metabolite and compound 1 as a biochemical isolated from Cystoseira algae displaying antileishmanial activity. Compound 1 can thus be an interesting scaffold for the development of novel chemotherapeutic molecules for canine and human visceral leishmaniases studies. This work reinforces the evidence of the marine environment as source of novel molecules. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Portuguese FCT CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013FAPESP [2013/16297-2, 2015/11936-2]CNPq [470853/2012-3]FCT doctoral grants [ SFRH/BD/105541/2014 ]FCT Investigator Programme [IF/00049/2012]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio