A auto-regulação: o papel do educador de infância

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada II apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Educação Pré-EscolarO presente relatório tem como objetivos descrever, analisar e refletir sobre o trabalho desenvolvido ao longo da Prática Profissional Supervisionada II, apresentando uma divisão em vários pontos que clarificam a intervenção em Jardim de Infância. No decorrer deste relatório é apresentada a problemática que foi investigada e que emergiu do contexto da prática, com o título A Autorregulação: O papel do Educador de Infância. A Investigação é um Estudo de Caso de natureza qualitativa. Este estudo, relaciona-se com os processos de autorregulação sofridos pela criança em idade de pré-escolar e a forma como o educador pode ser corregulador nestes mesmos processos, através da definição e desenvolvimento de estratégias após a caracterização da situação. Os dados recolhidos possibilitaram a perceber que as estratégias implementadas foram benéficas para desenvolver os processos autorregulatórios na criança e alterar comportamentos de pouca autorregulação, ainda que estas não devam ser generalizadas para outros casos uma vez que cada criança tem as suas próprias especificidades e características. Por outro lado, foi também possível perceber que este é um processo de avanços e recuos que necessitaria de mais tempo de observação para ver uma regularização de comportamentos.ABSTRACT This report intends to describe, analyse and reflect about the work developed throughout the Supervised Professional Practice II, being divided in several points which clarify the intervention in Kindergarten. Throughout this report, it is presented the problematic that was investigated and that emerged from the context of the practice, with the title The Self-regulation: the Kindergarten Teacher’s role. The investigation is a Case Study of qualitative nature. This study is related with the processes of self-regulation suffered by the children in pre-school age and the way in which the kindergarten teacher can be a co-regulator in these processes, through the definition and the development of strategies after the situation characterisation. On the one hand, the data collected have enabled us to understand that the implemented strategies were beneficial for the development of the child’s self-regulatory processes and to change behaviours of low self-regulation. Nevertheless, this data shouldn’t be generalised to other cases, since each child has its own specificities and characteristics. On the other hand, it was also possible to understand that this is a process of advancements and retreats that would need extra observation time in order to observe a regularization of behaviours.N/

Maternal iNOS genetic polymorphisms and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Increased expression and activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) may contribute to the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia (PE) and gestational hypertension (GH). However, no previous study has examined whether genetic polymorphisms in the iNOS gene are associated with PE or GH. We examined whether two functional, clinically relevant iNOS genetic polymorphisms (the C(-1026)A polymorphism, rs2779249, in the promoter region, and the G2087A polymorphism, rs2297518, in exon 16) are associated with GH or with PE. We studied 565 pregnant women: 212 healthy pregnant (HP), 166 pregnant with GH and 187 pregnant with PE. Genotypes were determined by real-time PCR, using the Taqman allele discrimination assay. The PHASE 2.1 program was used to estimate haplotype distributions in the three study groups. We found no significant association between the C(-1026)A polymorphism and PE or GH (P>0.05). However, we found the GA genotype and the A allele for the G2087A polymorphism at higher frequency in PE, but not in GH, compared with HP (P<0.05). The haplotype analysis showed no significant intergroup differences (P>0.05). These findings suggest that iNOS genetic variants may affect the susceptibility to PE, but not to GH. Journal of Human Hypertension (2012) 26, 547-552; doi:10.1038/jhh.2011.65; published online 30 June 2011Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)Coordenadoria de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 polymorphisms affect plasma MMP-9 levels and antihypertensive therapy responsiveness in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Abnormal matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 levels may have a role in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. We examined whether MMP-9 genetic polymorphisms (g.-1562C>T and g.-90(CA)(13-25)) modify plasma MMP-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 levels and the responses to antihypertensive therapy in 214 patients with preeclampsia (PE), 185 patients with gestational hypertension (GH) and a control group of 214 healthy pregnant (HP). Alleles for the g.-90(CA)(13-25) polymorphism were grouped L (low) (<21 CA repeats) or H (high) (>= 21 CA repeats). Plasma MMP-9 and TIMP-1 concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma MMP-9 concentrations were not affected by genotypes or haplotypes in HP and PE groups, except for the g.-90(CA)(13-25) polymorphism: GH patients with the LH genotype for this polymorphism have higher MMP-9 levels than those with other genotypes. The T allele for the g.-1562C>T polymorphism and the H4 haplotype (combining T and H alleles) are associated with GH and lack of responsiveness to antihypertensive therapy in GH. The H2 haplotype (combining C and H alleles) was associated with lack of responsiveness to antihypertensive therapy in PE, but not in GH. In conclusion, our results show that MMP-9 genetic variants are associated with GH and suggest that MMP-9 haplotypes affect the responsiveness to antihypertensive therapy in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The Pharmacogenomics Journal (2012) 12, 489-498; doi: 10.1038/tpj.2011.31; published online 19 July 2011Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)Coordenadoria de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES

An Updated Meta-Analysis of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene: Three Well-Characterized Polymorphisms with Hypertension

BACKGROUND: Numerous individually underpowered association studies have been conducted on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) genetic variants across different ethnic populations, however, the results are often irreproducible. We therefore aimed to meta-analyze three eNOS widely-evaluated polymorphisms, G894T (rs1799983) in exon 7, 4b/a in intron 4, and T-786C (rs2070744) in promoter region, in association with hypertension from both English and Chinese publications, while addressing between-study heterogeneity and publication bias. METHODS: Data were analyzed using Stata software (version 11.0), and random-effects model was applied irrespective of between-study heterogeneity, which was evaluated by subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Publication bias was weighed using the Egger's test and funnel plot. RESULTS: There were total 19284/26003 cases/controls for G894T, and 6890/6858 for 4b/a, and 5346/6392 for T-786C polymorphism. Overall comparison of allele 894T with 894G in all study populations yielded a 16% increased risk for hypertension (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.07-1.27; P = 0.001), and particularly a 32% increased risk (95% CI: 1.16-1.52; P<0.0005) in Asians and a 40% increased risk (95% CI: 1.19-1.65; P<0.0005) in Chinese. Further subgroup analyses suggested that published languages accounted for the heterogeneity for G894T polymorphism. The overall OR of allele 4a versus 4b was 1.29 (95% CI: 1.13-1.46; P<0.0005) in all study populations, and this estimate was potentiated in Asians (OR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.16-1.72; P<0.0005). For T-786C, ethnicity-stratified analyses suggested a significantly increased risk for -786C allele (OR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.06-1.47; P = 0.007) and -786CC genotype (OR = 1.69; 95% CI: 1.20-2.38; P = 0.003) in Whites. As an aside, the aforementioned risk estimates reached significance after Bonferroni correction. Finally, meta-regression analysis on other study-level covariates failed to provide any significance for all polymorphisms. CONCLUSION: We, via a comprehensive meta-analysis, ascertained the role of eNOS G894T and 4b/a polymorphisms on hypertension in Asians, and T-786C polymorphism in Whites

A novel xylan degrading β-D-xylosidase: purification and biochemical characterization

Aspergillus ochraceus, a thermotolerant fungus isolated in Brazil from decomposing materials, produced an extracellular b-xylosidase that was purified using DEAE-cellulose ion exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-100 and Biogel P-60 gel filtration. b-xylosidase is a glycoprotein (39 % carbohydrate content) and has a molecular mass of 137 kDa by SDS-PAGE, with optimal temperature and pH at 70 C and 3.0–5.5, respectively.b-xylosidase was stable in acidic pH (3.0–6.0) and 70 C for 1 h. The enzyme was activated by 5 mM MnCl2 (28 %)and MgCl2 (20 %) salts. The b-xylosidase produced by A. ochraceus preferentially hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl-b- D-xylopyranoside, exhibiting apparent Km and Vmax values of 0.66 mM and 39 U (mg protein)-1 respectively, and to a lesser extent p-nitrophenyl-b-D-glucopyranoside. The enzyme was able to hydrolyze xylan from different sources,suggesting a novel b-D-xylosidase that degrades xylan. HPLC analysis revealed xylans of different compositions which allowed explaining the differences in specificity observed by b-xylosidase. TLC confirmed the capacity.This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), and the Conselho de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). J. A. J. and M. L. T. M. P are Research Fellows of CNPq. M. M. was a recipient of a FAPESP fellowship and this work is part of her Doctoral Thesis. It is also part of the project SISBIOTA CNPq: 563260/2010-6 and FAPESP: 2010/52322-3

An update on the pharmacogenetics of treating hypertension

Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality, but only one third of patients achieve blood pressure goals despite antihypertensive therapy. Genetic polymorphisms may partially account for the interindividual variability and abnormal response to antihypertensive drugs. Candidate gene and genome-wide approaches have identified common genetic variants associated with response to antihypertensive drugs. However, there is no currently available pharmacogenetic test to guide hypertension treatment in clinical practice. In this review, we aimed to summarize the recent findings on pharmacogenetics of the most commonly used antihypertensive drugs in clinical practice, including diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers. Notably, only a small percentage of the genetic variability on response to antihypertensive drugs has been explained, and the vast majority of the genetic variants associated with antihypertensives efficacy and toxicity remains to be identified. Despite some genetic variants with evidence of association with the variable response related to these most commonly used antihypertensive drug classes, further replication is needed to confirm these associations in different populations. Further studies on epigenetics and regulatory pathways involved in the responsiveness to antihypertensive drugs might provide a deeper understanding of the physiology of hypertension, which may favor the identification of new targets for hypertension treatment and genetic predictors of antihypertensive response.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Reduced circulating miR-196b levels is associated with preeclampsia

MicroRNAs (miRs) are small noncoding RNAs, highly stable in plasma, that regulate gene expression by base-pairing to the 3'-untranslated region of target mRNAs. We compared the expression of 3 circulating miRs (miR-125b, miR-146a, and miR-196b), which is related to the control of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis in preeclamptic (n=19) and healthy pregnant women (n=14). We found that women with preeclampsia (PE) presented lower expression of miR-196b (-2.9-fold change). The other miRs were at similar levels. This study is the first to demonstrate this difference, and highlights new opportunities for investigation into the role of miRs in PE.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Influence of temperature on the properties of the xylanolytic enzymes of the thermotolerant fungus Aspergillus phoenicis

This study reports on the effects of growth temperature on the secretion and some properties of the xylanase and beta-xylosidase activities produced by a thermotolerant Aspergillus phoenicis. Marked differences were observed when the organism was grown on xylan-supplemented medium at 25 degreesC or 42 degreesC. Production of xylanolytic enzymes reached maximum levels after 72 h of growth at 42 degreesC; and levels were three- to five-fold higher than at 25 degreesC. Secretion of xylanase and beta-xylosidase was also strongly stimulated at the higher temperature. The optimal temperature was 85 degreesC for extracellular and 90 degreesC for intracellular beta-xylosidase activity, independent of the growth temperature. The optimum temperature for extracellular xylanase increased from 50 degreesC to 55 degreesC when the fungus was cultivated at 42 degreesC. At the higher temperature, the xylanolytic enzymes produced by A. phoenicis showed increased thermo stability, with changes in the profiles of pH optima. The chromatographic profiles were distinct when samples obtained from cultures grown at different temperatures were eluted from DEAE-cellulose and Biogel P-60 columns