Movimentos na Educação Matemática: tremores perfurantes nas verdades instituídas

Este artigo constrói – enquanto se faz – compreensões das autoras sobre uma Filosofia da Diferença para/na/da/sobre Educação Matemática, a partir de movimentos de pesquisa e de prática – de academia e de vida [de ser, de estar e de haver] – EXpostos nos artigos do Boletim online de Educação Matemática – BOEM que foram publicados na Edição Temática Educação Matemática e Filosofia da Diferença, em novembro de 2020, no número dezessete do volume oito. A provocação sobre tremores perfurantes nas verdades instituídas é nossa! É nossa, mas só despertada graças às dezesseis contribuições de colegas professores com/em formação, cujos textos colocam em evidência experiências, teorias e ideias sobre temas relacionados ao (des)foco da edição. Como resultado, apresentamos um convite à leitura e a reflexões para ampliação de compreensões a respeito da Filosofia da Diferença e de suas relações com a Educação Matemática. &nbsp

Flavonoids as molecules with Anti-Zika virus activity

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-born virus that is mainly transmitted to humans by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes spp. Since its first isolation in 1947, only a few human cases had been described until large outbreaks occurred on Yap Island (2007), French Polynesia (2013), and Brazil (2015). Most ZIKV-infected individuals are asymptomatic or present with a self-limiting disease and nonspecific symptoms such as fever, myalgia, and headache. However, in French Polynesia and Brazil, ZIKV outbreaks led to the diagnosis of congenital malformations and microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in adults. These new clinical presentations raised concern from public health authorities and highlighted the need for anti-Zika treatments and vaccines to control the neurological damage caused by the virus. Despite many efforts in the search for an effective treatment, neither vaccines nor antiviral drugs have become available to control ZIKV infection and/or replication. Flavonoids, a class of natural compounds that are well-known for possessing several biological properties, have shown activity against different viruses. Additionally, the use of flavonoids in some countries as food supplements indicates that these molecules are nontoxic to humans. Thus, here, we summarize knowledge on the use of flavonoids as a source of anti-ZIKV molecules and discuss the gaps and challenges in this area before these compounds can be considered for further preclinical and clinical trials

Dengue virus pathogenesis in mouse central nervous system: studies on host response to dengue virus infection

Dengue virus (DENV) causes a self-limiting fever (DF) or severe hemorrhagic fever/shock-syndrome (DHF/DSS). Recently, clinical profile of DENV infection is changing, and neurological manifestations are becoming frequent. We previously demonstrated that mutations on E and NS3 proteins may account for DENV neurovirulence for mice. To validate the involvement of the observed mutations in the appearance of neurovirulent viral phenotypes, we constructed cDNA infectious clones encompassing the observed mutations. Aiming to determine host response to infection with neurovirulent and parental strains of DENV-1, we used a Mus musculus biochip (Virginia Commonwealth University) encompassing whole mouse genome. Newborn Swiss mice were infected intracerebraly with 8.000ffuC636 of FGA/89 (parental strain), FGA/NA a5c (neurovirulent strain) and mock. Animals infected with FGA/NA a5c show clinical signs of encephalitis around 9 days post-infection (dpi) and succumb to death (13.1 dpi ± 2.2), in contrast with animals infected with FGA/89 and mock. Kinetics of infection showed higher levels of viral RNA and progeny in FGA/NA a5c infected animals at 9 dpi. Microarray analyzes were carried out at 5, 6, 7 and 8 dpi in central nervous system (CNS) of mock, FGA/89 and FGA/NA a5c infected animals. Bioinformatic analysis revealed 149 genes up-regulated in CNS infection by DENV-1, at higher levels in animals infected with FGA/NA a5c. Analysis with the software Ingenuity Pathways Systems(IPA) showed that the main pathways modulated by DENV infection in the mouse CNS are IFN signaling, antigen presentation, complement cascades and protein ubiquitination. Additionally, 15 genes were selected by in silico analyses; of special interest are four genes encoding chemokines with chemoattractant activity, that are up-regulated following infection with the neurovirulent virus compared to parental virus. Nowadays we are performing the biological characterization of the selected genes and pathways

Zika Virus Infection at Different Pregnancy Stages: Anatomopathological Findings, Target Cells and Viral Persistence in Placental Tissues

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in humans has been associated with congenital malformations and other neurological disorders, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome. The mechanism(s) of ZIKV intrauterine transmission, the cell types involved, the most vulnerable period of pregnancy for severe outcomes from infection and other physiopathological aspects are not completely elucidated. In this study, we analyzed placental samples obtained at the time of delivery from a group of 24 women diagnosed with ZIKV infection during the first, second or third trimesters of pregnancy. Villous immaturity was the main histological finding in the placental tissues, although placentas without alterations were also frequently observed. Significant enhancement of the number of syncytial sprouts was observed in the placentas of women infected during the third trimester, indicating the development of placental abnormalities after ZIKV infection. Hyperplasia of Hofbauer cells (HCs) was also observed in these third-trimester placental tissues, and remarkably, HCs were the only ZIKV-positive fetal cells found in the placentas studied that persisted until birth, as revealed by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. Thirty-three percent of women infected during pregnancy delivered infants with congenital abnormalities, although no pattern correlating the gestational stage at infection, the IHC positivity of HCs in placental tissues and the presence of congenital malformations at birth was observed. Placental tissue analysis enabled us to confirm maternal ZIKV infection in cases where serum from the acute infection phase was not available, which reinforces the importance of this technique in identifying possible causal factors of birth defects. The results we observed in the samples from naturally infected pregnant women may contribute to the understanding of some aspects of the pathophysiology of ZIKV

Placental Morphologic Similarities Between ZIKV-Positive and HIV-Positive Pregnant Women

Zika virus (ZIKV) caused global concern due to Brazil's unexpected epidemic, and it was associated with congenital microcephaly and other gestational intercurrences. The study aimed to analyze the placenta morphometric changes of ZIKV-infected pregnant women (ZIKV group; n = 23) compared to placentas of HIV-infected (HIV group; n = 24) and healthy pregnant women (N-control group; n = 22). It also analyzed the relationship between the morphometric results and pathological alterations on conventional microscopy, gestational trimester of infection, and presence of the congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). There was a significant increase in area (p = 0.0172), as well as a higher number of knots (p = 0.0027), sprouts (p < 0.0001), and CD163 +Hofbauer cells (HCs) (p < 0.0001) in the ZIKV group compared to the N-control group, suggesting that villous dysmaturity and HCs hyperplasia could be associated with ZIKV infections. The HIV group had a higher area (p < 0.0001), perimeter (p = 0.0001), sprouts (p < 0.0001), and CD163 + HCs (p < 0.0001) compared to the N-control group, demonstrating that the morphometric abnormalities found in the ZIKV and HIV group are probably similar. However, when ZIKV and HIV groups are compared, it was observed a higher number of sprouts (p = 0.0066) and CD163+ HCs (p < 0.0001) in the first one, suggesting that placental ZIKV congenital changes could be more pronounced

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio