Improving international attractiveness of higher education institutions based on text mining and sentiment analysis

Purpose: The increasing competition among higher education institutions (HEI) has led students to conduct a more in-depth analysis to choose where to study abroad. Since students are usually unable to visit each HEIs before making their decision, they are strongly influenced by what is written by former international students (IS) on the Internet. HEIs also benefit from such information online. This paper aims to provide an understanding of the drivers of HEIs success online. Design/methodology/approach: Due to the increasing amount of information published online, HEIs have to use automatic techniques to search for patterns instead of analyzing such information manually. The present paper uses text mining and sentiment analysis to study online reviews of IS about their HEIs. The paper studied 1938 reviews from 65 different business schools with AACSB accreditation. Findings: Results show that HEIs may become more attractive online if they financially support students cost of living, provide courses in English, and promote an international environment. Research limitations/implications Despite the use of a major platform with a broad number of reviews from students around the world, other sources focused on other types of HEIs may have been used to reinforce the findings in the current paper. Originality/value: The study pioneers the use of text mining and sentiment analysis to highlight topics and sentiments mentioned in online reviews by students attending HEIs, clarifying how such opinions are correlated with satisfaction. Using such information, HEIs’ managers may focus their efforts on promoting international attractiveness of their institutions.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Serum Zn Levels in Dysphagic Patients Who Underwent Endoscopic Gastrostomy for Long Term Enteral Nutrition

Background and aims: Dysphagic patients who underwent endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) usually present protein-energy malnutrition, but little is known about micronutrient malnutrition. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of serum zinc in patients who underwent endoscopic gastrostomy and its relationship with serum proteins, whole blood zinc, and the nature of underlying disorder. Methods: From patients that underwent gastrostomy a blood sample was obtained minutes before the procedure. Serum and whole blood zinc was evaluated using Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Serum albumin and transferrin were evaluated. Patients were studied as a whole and divided into two groups: head and neck cancer (HNC) and neurological dysphagia (ND). Results: The study involved 32 patients (22 males), aged 43-88 years: HNC = 15, ND = 17. Most (30/32) had low serum zinc, 17/32 presented normal values of whole blood zinc. Only two, with traumatic brain injury, presented normal serum zinc. Serum zinc levels showed no differences between HNC and ND patients. There was no association between serum zinc and serum albumin or transferrin. There was no association between serum and whole blood zinc. Conclusions: Patients had low serum zinc when gastrostomy was performed, similar in HNC and ND, being related with prolonged fasting and unrelated with the underlying disease. Decrease serum zinc was unrelated with low serum proteins. Serum zinc was more sensitive than whole blood zinc for identifying reduced zinc intake. Teams taking care of PEG-patients should include zinc evaluation as part of the nutritional assessment, or include systematic dietary zinc supply

Novel mag variant causes cerebellar ataxia with oculomotor apraxia: Molecular basis and expanded clinical phenotype

Homozygous variants in MAG, encoding myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), have been associated with complicated forms of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). MAG is a glycoprotein member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, expressed by myelination cells. In this study, we identified a novel homozygous missense variant in MAG (c.124T>C; p.Cys42Arg) in a Portuguese family with early-onset autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia with neuropathy and oculomotor apraxia. We used homozygosity mapping and exome sequencing to identify the MAG variant, and cellular studies to confirm its detrimental effect. Our results showed that this variant reduces protein stability and impairs the post-translational processing (N-linked glycosylation) and subcellular localization of MAG, thereby associating a loss of protein function with the phenotype. Therefore, MAG variants should be considered in the diagnosis of hereditary cerebellar ataxia with oculomotor apraxia, in addition to spastic paraplegia.This work was funded by National Funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UIDB/04293/2020. It was also funded by FEDER funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade—COMPETE 2020 and by Nacional funds through the FCT [COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440]. This work was also funded in part by the FCT grant FCT-ANR/BEX-GMG/0008/2013 and the Porto Neurosciences and Neurologic Disease Research Initiative at the i3S (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000008), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, also through FEDER. The authors also acknowledge the support of the i3S Scientific Platform Advanced Light Microscopy, member of the PPBI (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122) and GenomePT (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184). MS was the recipient of a fellowship (SFRH/BPD/116046/2016) from the FCT supported by POPH/MCTES funding

OUT to IN: Efeitos de um programa de intervenção psicomotora na autorregulação de crianças em idade pré-escolar

A autorregulação na idade pré-escolar é preditora do bem-estar e do sucesso pessoal e social na vida adulta. O programa OUT to IN propõe uma abordagem de mediação corporal implementada no espaço exterior do jardim de infância com o objetivo de melhorar as competências sócio-emocionais. Este estudo tem como objetivo examinar o impacto do OUT to IN, na autorregulação de crianças em idade pré-escolar. Participaram no estudo 32 crianças com idades entre os 3 e os 5 anos, 15 alocadas ao Grupo de Controlo, que não participou na intervenção e 17 ao Grupo Experimental (GE), que participou durante 10 semanas em sessões bissemanais, envolvendo atividades semi-dirigidas de jogo de exercício, relaxação e simbolização. A autorregulação das crianças foi avaliada através de duas provas, antes e após a intervenção. No final do programa, o GE evidenciou uma melhoria significativa da autorregulação, avaliada por ambas as provas, comparativamente ao grupo de controlo. Os resultados sugerem que o OUT to IN contribui para o desenvolvimento da autorregulação de crianças de idade pré-escolar

Mixed medullary-papillary thyroid carcinoma with mixed lymph node metastases: A case report

Mixed medullary-follicular-derived carcinoma is a very rare event. It is extremely important to make the correct diagnosis, due to prognostic and treatment implications. A genetic study of these patients is advisable to exclude the presence of MEN 2.We would like to acknowledge all the endocrinologists, surgeons, geneticists, radiologists, and pathologists of IPO-Porto

Translational control of UIS4 protein of the host-parasite interface is mediated by the RNA binding protein Puf2 in Plasmodium berghei sporozoites

Copyright: © 2016 Silva et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.UIS4 is a key protein component of the host-parasite interface in the liver stage of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei and required for parasite survival after invasion. In the infectious sporozoite, UIS4 protein has variably been shown to be translated but also been reported to be translationally repressed. Here we show that uis4 mRNA translation is regulated by the P. berghei RNA binding protein Pumilio-2 (PbPuf2 or Puf2 from here on forward) in infectious salivary gland sporozoites in the mosquito vector. Using RNA immunoprecipitation we show that uis4 mRNA is bound by Puf2 in salivary gland sporozoites. In the absence of Puf2, uis4 mRNA translation is de-regulated and UIS4 protein expression upregulated in salivary gland sporozoites. Here, using RNA immunoprecipitation, we reveal the first Puf2-regulated mRNA in this parasite.This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) grants PTDC/SAU-MIC/122082/2010 and PTDC/BIA-BCM/105610/2008 to GRM, and SFRH/BPD/72619/2010 to PAGCS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of an FTLD-PDB family with the coexistence of SQSTM1 mutation and hexanucleotide (G4C2) repeat expansion in C9orf72 gene

The C9orf72 expansion is considered a major genetic cause of familial frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in several patients' cohorts. Interestingly, C9orf72 expansion carriers, present also abundant neuronal p62-positive inclusions. Although p62/SQSTM1 mutations were initially associated with Paget disease of bone (PDB), they have been also identified in FTD. We describe an FTD-PDB family in which the proband presented with behavioral FTD phenotype and concomitant Paget disease. The molecular genetic analysis revealed the co-occurrence of 2 mutations; the pathogenic C9orf72 expansion and p.P392L heterozygous missense mutation in SQSTM1 gene. Amongst the 6 family members analyzed, the p.P392L SQSTM1 mutation segregated as expected with PDB, whereas the C9orf72 expansion segregated with frontal cognitive impairment or dementia in all but one carrier. The coexistence of these conditions could be underestimated since neither patients with FTD nor patients with PDB undergo bone scintigraphy or cognitive assessment, respectively. The number of cases with double mutations could also be over looked as the molecular strategy adopted in most laboratories ends with the identification of one pathogenic mutation in one of the known causative genes. Therefore, we advocate for further clinical and molecular evaluation in suspect cases

Cardiac Intensive Care in Portugal: the Time for Change

In recent years, the number of patients requiring acute cardiac care has increased, with progressively more complex cardiovascular conditions, often complicated by acute or chronic non-cardiovascular comorbidities, which affects the management and prognosis of these patients. Coronary care units have evolved into cardiac intensive care units, which provide highly specialized health care for the critical heart patient. In view of the limited human and technical resources in this area, we consider that there is an urgent need for an in-depth analysis of the organizational model for acute cardiac care, including the definition of the level of care, the composition and training of the team, and the creation of referral networks. It is also crucial to establish protocols and to adopt safe clinical practices to improve levels of quality and safety in the treatment of patients. Considering that acute cardiac care involves conditions with very different severity and prognosis, it is essential to define the level of care to be provided for each type of acute cardiovascular condition in terms of the team, available techniques and infrastructure. This will lead to improvements in the quality of care and patient prognosis, and will also enable more efficient allocation of resources.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio