Actividades de crianças do pré-escolar e educadores de infância com o computador em portugal

Muito se tem escrito hoje sobre a integração das tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) na escola e diversas pesquisas têm vindo a demonstrar a importância da familiarização da criança desta idade com a tecnologia, quer porque esta faz parte inquestionável do mundo que a rodeia, quer pela relevância educativa das experiências que lhe pode proporcionar. No entanto existem muito poucos estudos que nos descrevam e analisem processos efectivos de integração da tecnologia na Escola em geral, e ao nível da educação Pré-Escolar em particular. Este foi o ponto de partida da nossa investigação, verificar as práticas de crianças e Educadores de Infância com as TIC, mais especificamente o computador, em Portugal. Elaborámos um questionário que foi enviado, via correio electrónico, para Educadores de Infância de todo o país e como forma de triangulação de dados foram realizadas observações em dois jardins-de-infância, mais concretamente nas aulas de informática das crianças do pré-escolar. Terminamos com conclusões baseadas nos dados recolhidos e algumas considerações finais sobre o tema

COLORECTAL CANCER IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM AN ONGOING CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Background and Aim:Understanding the risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC) is crucial to the development of effective strategies for its prevention. meta-analysis and epidemiological studies have already shown that type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with an increased risk of CRC and have provided data to support a positive relationship between these diseases. Material and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 741 consecutive caucasian patients with type 2 DM who underewnt colonoscopic screening cof CRC and followed in our tertiary referrral center in 200-208 for incidence of CRC. Patients were stratified based on gender, age, body mass index (MBI), alchool and NSAIDS assumption, family history for cancer blood glycated hemoglobin levels, hypertension, hypertrigliceridemia, age at diabetes onset and duration, treatment with insulin or other hypoglicemic drugs. A total of 257 consecutive control patients were selected from a cohort of patients followed as outpatients for thyroid diseases. Results: At a median follow-up of 132,5 months (range 33,3-175,7) 56 cases of cancer (prevalence 7,56%) occurred; among these, 14 cases of CRC were reported (prevalence 18,8%) among the diabetic patients, while only one case (prevalence 0,004%) occurred in the control group, although this difference is not statistically significant (chi-square 2,9, P=0,08). Median duration of DM to CRC diagnosis was 156 months (range 1-768). At the univariate analysis older age (p=0,001), and diabetes duration (p=0,001) were related to higher risk of cancer, while metformin seems to be protective towards cancer (p=0,058). in the subset of patients with CRC, older age (p=0,001) and diabetes duration (p=0,001) were related to higher risk of CRC, such as treatment with sulphonylureas (p=0,01). Conclusions: Our preliminbar data show that the prevalence of CRC in the cohort of patients with type 2 DM was higher compared to that from our control group, and to that from the National Tumor Register up 2010 (0,5%). Furthermore we could interestingly hypotize that sulphonylureas may play a role in CRC carcinogenesis altering the physiological insulin secretion

Extracellular vesicle-mediated export of fungal RNA

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an important role in the biology of various organisms, including fungi, in which they are required for the trafficking of molecules across the cell wall. Fungal EVs contain a complex combination of macromolecules, including proteins, lipids and glycans. in this work, we aimed to describe and characterize RNA in EV preparations from the human pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans, Paracoccidiodes brasiliensis and Candida albicans, and from the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. the EV RNA content consisted mostly of molecules less than 250 nt long and the reads obtained aligned with intergenic and intronic regions or specific positions within the mRNA. We identified 114 ncRNAs, among them, six small nucleolar (snoRNA), two small nuclear (snRNA), two ribosomal (rRNA) and one transfer (tRNA) common to all the species considered, together with 20 sequences with features consistent with miRNAs. We also observed some copurified mRNAs, as suggested by reads covering entire transcripts, including those involved in vesicle-mediated transport and metabolic pathways. We characterized for the first time RNA molecules present in EVs produced by fungi. Our results suggest that RNA-containing vesicles may be determinant for various biological processes, including cell communication and pathogenesis.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)Instituto Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia de Inovacao em Doencas Negligenciadas (INCT-IDN)Brazilian agency Fundacao Araucaria - PRONEXBrazilian agency Papes-FiocruzUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilFundacao Oswaldo Cruz, CDTS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Microbiol Prof Paulo de Goes, BR-21941 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilFiocruz PR, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Inst Carlos Chagas, Curitiba, PR, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Identification and characterization of Tc1/mariner-like DNA transposons in genomes of the pathogenic fungi of the Paracoccidioides species complex

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Paracoccidioides brasiliensis </it>(Eukaryota, Fungi, Ascomycota) is a thermodimorphic fungus, the etiological agent of paracoccidioidomycosis, the most important systemic mycoses in Latin America. Three isolates corresponding to distinct phylogenetic lineages of the <it>Paracoccidioides </it>species complex had their genomes sequenced. In this study the identification and characterization of class II transposable elements in the genomes of these fungi was carried out.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A genomic survey for DNA transposons in the sequence assemblies of <it>Paracoccidioides</it>, a genus recently proposed to encompass species <it>P. brasiliensis </it>(harboring phylogenetic lineages S1, PS2, PS3) and <it>P. lutzii </it>(<it>Pb01-like </it>isolates), has been completed. Eight new <it>Tc1/mariner </it>families, referred to as Trem (<b>Tr</b>ansposable <b>e</b>lement <b>m</b>ariner), labeled A through H were identified. Elements from each family have 65-80% sequence similarity with other <it>Tc1/mariner </it>elements. They are flanked by 2-bp TA target site duplications and different termini. Encoded DDD-transposases, some of which have complete ORFs, indicated that they could be functionally active. The distribution of Trem elements varied between the genomic sequences characterized as belonging to <it>P. brasiliensis </it>(S1 and PS2) and <it>P. lutzii</it>. TremC and H elements would have been present in a hypothetical ancestor common to <it>P. brasiliensis </it>and <it>P. lutzii</it>, while TremA, B and F elements were either acquired by <it>P. brasiliensis </it>or lost by <it>P. lutzii </it>after speciation. Although TremD and TremE share about 70% similarity, they are specific to <it>P. brasiliensis </it>and <it>P. lutzii</it>, respectively. This suggests that these elements could either have been present in a hypothetical common ancestor and have evolved divergently after the split between <it>P. brasiliensis </it>and <it>P. Lutzii</it>, or have been independently acquired by horizontal transfer.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>New families of <it>Tc1/mariner </it>DNA transposons in the genomic assemblies of the <it>Paracoccidioides </it>species complex are described. Families were distinguished based on significant BLAST identities between transposases and/or TIRs. The expansion of Trem in a putative ancestor common to the species <it>P. brasiliensis </it>and <it>P. lutzii </it>would have given origin to TremC and TremH, while other elements could have been acquired or lost after speciation had occurred. The results may contribute to our understanding of the organization and architecture of genomes in the genus <it>Paracoccidioides</it>.</p

Expressed sequence tag analysis of the human pathogen Paracoccidioides brasiliensis yeast phase: Identification of putative homologues of Candida albicans virulence and pathogenicity genes

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, a thermodimorphic fungus, is the causative agent of the prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America, paracoccidioidomycosis. We present here a survey of expressed genes in the yeast pathogenic phase of P. brasiliensis. We obtained 13,490 expressed sequence tags from both 5' and 3' ends. Clustering analysis yielded the partial sequences of 4,692 expressed genes that were functionally classified by similarity to known genes. We have identified several Candida albicans virulence and pathogenicity homologues in P. brasiliensis. Furthermore, we have analyzed the expression of some of these genes during the dimorphic yeast-mycelium-yeast transition by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Clustering analysis of the mycelium-yeast transition revealed three groups: (i) RBT, hydrophobin, and isocitrate lyase; (ii) malate dehydrogenase, contigs Pb1067 and Pb1145, GPI, and alternative oxidase; and (iii) ubiquitin, delta-9-desaturase, HSP70, HSP82, and HSP104. the first two groups displayed high mRNA expression in the mycelial phase, whereas the third group showed higher mRNA expression in the yeast phase. Our results suggest the possible conservation of pathogenicity and virulence mechanisms among fungi, expand considerably gene identification in P. brasiliensis, and provide a broader basis for further progress in understanding its biological peculiarities.Univ São Paulo, Dept Ciencias Farmaceut, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut Ribeirao Preto, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Pret, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilInst Pasteur, Unite Genet Mol Levures, Paris, FranceUniv Vale do Paraiba, UNIVAP, Vale Do Paraiba, BrazilUniv Mogi das Cruzes, Nucleo Integrado Biotecnol, Mogi Das Cruzes, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Highlights of the São Paulo ISEV workshop on extracellular vesicles in cross-kingdom communication

In the past years, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have become an important field of research since EVs have been found to play a central role in biological processes. In pathogens, EVs are involved in several events during the host–pathogen interaction, including invasion, immunomodulation, and pathology as well as parasite–parasite communication. In this report, we summarised the role of EVs in infections caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminths based on the talks and discussions carried out during the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) workshop held in São Paulo (November, 2016), Brazil, entitled Cross-organism Communication by Extracellular Vesicles: Hosts, Microbes and Parasites. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.11Ysciescopu

Serological detection of antibodies against Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in dogs with leishmaniasis

The aim of this study was to detect antibodies against Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in dogs seropositive and seronegative for leishmaniasis. Sera from 836 dogs (449 positive and 387 negative to leishmaniasis) were analysed by ELISA and the immunodiffusion test using gp43 and exoantigen, respectively. The analysis of the 836 serum samples by ELISA and the immunodiffusion test showed a positivity of 67.8 % and 7.3%, respectively, for P. brasiliensis infection. The dogs positive to leishmaniasis showed a higher reactivity to gp43 (79.9%) and exoantigen (12.7%) than the negative ones (54.0% and 1.0%, respectively). The higher reactivity to P. brasiliensis antigens may be due to cross-reactivity or a co-infection of dogs by Leishmania and P. brasiliensis. The lower correlation (0.187) observed between reactivity to gp43 and Leishmania antigen reinforces the latter hypothesis