Bridging the Gap

School districts across the country are increasingly seeking out digital tools to support the work of educators, in the hopes of improving students' academic achievement. With the rapid emergence of this new market, many districts have been challenged by the task of identifying and procuring educational technology (ed-tech) products that match the needs of their educators and students.The NYC Department of Education's "Innovate NYC Schools" division, supported by a U.S. DOE Investing in Innovation (i3) grant, aims to address this problem, in part by promoting "user-centered design," an approach that puts the needs and preferences of products' intended users (in this case, teachers, students, and parents) front and center in the development and procurement of new technology.Bridging the Gap describes the design and implementation of three Innovate NYC Schools initiatives grounded in user-centered design theory:School Choice Design Challenge (SCDC),an effort to develop apps that would help students explore and narrow down their choices of high school.#SharkTankEDU events, during which ed-tech developers present a product to a panel of educators who provide feedback on the tool.Short-Cycle Evaluation Challenges (SCEC), a classroom-based, semester-long pilot of ed-tech tools intended to inform product development, as well as the ultimate procurement decisions of school staff.The report focuses on four phases of work involved in bringing ed-tech companies and the users of their products together: defining a problem; selecting users and ed-tech companies; implementing pilot-based initiatives; and evaluating products. It describes strategies used and challenges faced, and offers practical lessons gleaned from the experiences of the individuals who designed and participated in these efforts.

Acidentes com material biológico: uma análise com profissionais de enfermagem

Objective: to analyze the accidents involving biological material that occurred with Nursing professionals in Paraná in 2016. Method: a cross-sectional study carried out in October 2018 with data provided by the State Center for Workers' Health of Paraná. Descriptive analyses were used and, for the associations, the chi-square test (p<0.05) was employed. Results: a total of 2,436 cases of accidents in the Nursing team were analyzed, of which 1,974 were recorded among technicians and assistants. There was predominance of accidents in women, aged between 30 and 49 years old. The most frequent kind of exposure was percutaneous, the most reported circumstances were related to the puncture or administration of intravenous medication, and a significant reduction in the use of personal protective equipment was observed with increasing age among mid-level professionals. Conclusion: the need to develop strategies aimed at the permanent education of these professionals was evidenced to ensure prevention of accidents and/or occupational diseases.Objetivo: analisar os acidentes com material biológico ocorridos com profissionais de enfermagem no Estado do Paraná em 2016. Método: estudo transversal realizado em outubro de 2018 com dados disponibilizados pelo Centro Estadual de Saúde do Trabalhador do Paraná. Utilizaram-se análises descritivas e, para as associações, o teste de qui-quadrado (p<0,05). Resultados: foram analisados 2.436 casos de acidentes na equipe de enfermagem, dos quais 1.974 registrados entre técnicos e auxiliares. Houve predomínio dos acidentes em mulheres, na faixa etária de 30 a 49 anos. A forma de exposição mais frequente foi a percutânea, as circunstâncias mais referidas foram relacionadas à punção ou administração de medicação endovenosa e observou-se redução significativa do uso de equipamento de proteção individual conforme o aumento da idade, entre profissionais do nível médio. Conclusão: evidenciou-se a necessidade de elaboração de estratégias voltadas à educação permanente desses profissionais para garantir a prevenção de acidentes e/ou doenças ocupacionais

SISTEMAS ALIMENTARES SUSTENTÁVEIS E OS MERCADOS DIGITAIS: O CASO DA KITANDA DELIVERY

This study aims to understand and analyze the case of Kitanda Delivery, its history, business structure, challenges, perspectives and its contribution to the study of digital markets for products from sustainable food systems. Therefore, a qualitative approach research was carried out, which is classified as descriptive-exploratory according to its objectives. Data collection took place through semi-structured interviews and data analysis conducted through the method of content analysis. The results show that the demand for food is growing and that it is necessary to restrict the uncontrolled use of environmental resources, thus, the world needs more sustainable food systems. Family farmers are the protagonists in this production system, in addition to being inserted in new food marketing channels via digital markets. From this perspective, Kitanda Delivery is operationalized in the city of São Miguel do Oeste/SC, aiming to build local short chains, via mobile devices and digital marketing tools, offering the population fresh food, of differentiated quality, without chemicals and without pesticides in comfort from home. Social networks are the main dissemination and marketing channels used by Kitanda, especially Instagram and WhatsApp. The study shows that digital markets foster consumption and demand for healthier products in an increasingly virtualized society, but it requires constant evolution in the production and posting of content, since the perception of food quality is based on visual form via digital marketing platforms.O presente estudo tem por objetivo conhecer e analisar o caso da Kitanda Delivery, sua história, estruturação do negócio, desafios, perspectivas e sua contribuição para o estudo dos mercados digitais de produtos oriundos de sistemas alimentares sustentáveis. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa, a qual classifica-se quanto a seus objetivos, como descritiva-exploratória. A coleta de dados se deu por meio de entrevista semiestruturada e análise dos dados conduzida mediante o método da análise de conteúdo. Os resultados evidenciam que a demanda por alimentos é cada vez maior e que se faz necessária a restrição ao uso descontrolado dos recursos ambientais, sendo assim, o mundo necessita de sistemas alimentares mais sustentáveis. Os agricultores familiares são os protagonistas neste sistema de produção, além de estarem inseridos nos novos canais de comercialização de alimentos via mercados digitais. Sob essa perspectiva se operacionaliza a Kitanda Delivery no município de São Miguel do Oeste/SC, visando construir cadeias curtas locais, via dispositivos móveis e ferramentas digitais de comercialização, ofertando a população alimentos frescos, de qualidade diferenciada, sem químicos e sem agrotóxicos no conforto do lar. As redes sociais são os principais canais de divulgação e comercialização utilizados pela Kitanda, com destaque para o Instagram e WhatsApp. O estudo evidencia que os mercados digitais fomentam o consumo e a demanda por produtos mais saudáveis em uma sociedade cada vez mais virtualizada, mas exige a constante evolução na produção e postagem de conteúdo, uma vez que a percepção quanto a qualidade dos alimentos se dá de forma visual via plataformas digitais de comercialização

Neural distinctiveness of fatigue and low sleep quality in multiple sclerosis

Background and purpose Fatigue and low sleep quality in multiple sclerosis (MS) are closely related symptoms. Here, the associations between the brain's functional connectivity (FC) and fatigue and low sleep quality were investigated to determine the degree of neural distinctiveness of these symptoms. Method A hundred and four patients with relapsing–remitting MS (age 38.9 ± 10.2 years, 66 females) completed the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. FC was analyzed using independent-component analysis in sensorimotor, default-mode, fronto-parietal and basal-ganglia networks. Multiple linear regression models allowed us to test the association between FC and fatigue and sleep quality whilst controlling for one another as well as for demographic, disease-related and imaging variables. Results Higher fatigue correlated with lower sleep quality (r = 0.54, p < 0.0001). Higher fatigue was associated with lower FC of the precentral gyrus in the sensorimotor network, the precuneus in the posterior default-mode network and the superior frontal gyrus in the left fronto-parietal network, independently of sleep quality. Lower sleep quality was associated with lower FC of the left intraparietal sulcus in the left fronto-parietal network, independently of fatigue. Specific associations were found between fatigue and the sensorimotor network's global FC and between low sleep quality and the left fronto-parietal network's global FC. Conclusion Despite the high correlation between fatigue and low sleep quality in the clinical picture, our findings clearly indicate that, on the neural level, fatigue and low sleep quality in MS are associated with decreased FC in distinct functional brain networks

Genome-based reclassification of azospirillum brasilense SP245 as the type strain of azospirillum baldaniorum sp. nov

Azospirillum sp. strain Sp245T, originally identified as belonging to Azospirillum brasilense, is recognized as a plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium due to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and to produce plant-beneficial compounds. Azospirillum sp. Sp245T and other related strains were isolated from the root surfaces of different plants in Brazil. Cells are Gram-negative, curved or slightly curved rods, and motile with polar and lateral flagella. Their growth temperature varies between 20 to 38 °C and their carbon source utilization is similar to other Azospirillum species. A preliminary 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that the new species is closely related to A. brasilense Sp7T and A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T. Housekeeping genes revealed that Azospirillum sp. Sp245T, BR 12001 and Vi22 form a separate cluster from strain A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T, and a group of strains closely related to A. brasilense Sp7T. Overall genome relatedness index (OGRI) analyses estimated based on average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) between Azospirillum sp. Sp245T and its close relatives to other Azospirillum species type strains, such as A. brasilense Sp7T and A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T, revealed values lower than the limit of species circumscription. Moreover, core-proteome phylogeny including 1079 common shared proteins showed the independent clusterization of A. brasilense Sp7T, A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T and Azospirillum sp. Sp245T, a finding that was corroborated by the genome clustering of OGRI values and housekeeping phylogenies. The DNA G+C content of the cluster of Sp245T was 68.4–68.6%. Based on the phylogenetic, genomic, phenotypical and physiological analysis, we propose that strain Sp245T together with the strains Vi22 and BR12001 represent a novel species of the genus Azospirillum, for which the name Azospirillum baldaniorum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Sp245T (=BR 11005T=IBPPM 219T) (GCF_007827915.1, GCF_000237365.1, and GCF_003119195.2).Fil: Ferreira, Natalia Dos Santos. Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Sant´Anna, Fernando Hayashi. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Reis, Veronica Massena. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Ambrosini, Adriana. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Volpiano, Camila Gazolla. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Rothballer, Michael. Helmholtz Center Munich German Research Center For Environmental Health; AlemaniaFil: Schwab, Stefan. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Baura, Valter Antonio. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Balsanelli, Eduardo. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Pedrosa, Fabio de Oliveira. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Passaglia, Luciane Maria Pereira. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: de Souza, Emanuel Maltempi. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Hartmann, Anton. Ludwig Maximilians Universitat; AlemaniaFil: Cassan, Fabricio Dario. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Zilli, Jerri Edson. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; Brasi

Cytological diagnostic features of late breast implant seromas. From reactive to anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Late breast implant seroma may be the presentation of a breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BI-ALCL), which claims for a prompt recognition. However, BI-ALCL diagnosis on fine-needle aspiration (FNA) might be challenging for pathologists lacking experience with peri-implant breast effusions. Sixty-seven late breast implant seromas collected by FNA from 50 patients were evaluated by Papanicolaou smear stain and immunocytochemistry on cell blocks. A diagnostic algorithm based on the cellular composition, cell morphology and percentage of CD30+ cells was developed. Histological evaluation of the corresponding peri-prosthetic capsules was also performed. Most of the effusions (91% of the samples) were classified as reactive and 9% as BI-ALCL. In the BI-ALCL cases, medium-to-large atypical cells expressing CD30 represented more than 70% of the cellularity, whereas in in the reactive effusions CD30+ elements were extremely rare (<5%) and consisted of non-atypical elements. The reactive effusions were categorized into three patterns: i) acute infiltrate with prominent neutrophilic component (33% of the samples); ii) mixed infiltrate characterized by a variable number of neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages (30% of the samples); iii) chronic infiltrate composed predominantly of T lymphocytes or macrophages with only sporadic granulocytes (37% of the samples). The inflammatory cytological patterns were consistent with the histology of the corresponding capsules. Our results indicate that cytological analysis of late breast implant effusions, supported by the knowledge of the heterogeneous cytomorphological spectrum of late seromas, is a valuable approach for the early recognition of BI-ALCL

Observational study on efficacy of negative expiratory pressure test proposed as screening for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome among commercial interstate bus drivers - protocol study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a respiratory disease characterized by the collapse of the extrathoracic airway and has important social implications related to accidents and cardiovascular risk. The main objective of the present study was to investigate whether the drop in expiratory flow and the volume expired in 0.2 s during the application of negative expiratory pressure (NEP) are associated with the presence and severity of OSA in a population of professional interstate bus drivers who travel medium and long distances.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>An observational, analytic study will be carried out involving adult male subjects of an interstate bus company. Those who agree to participate will undergo a detailed patient history, physical examination involving determination of blood pressure, anthropometric data, circumference measurements (hips, waist and neck), tonsils and Mallampati index. Moreover, specific questionnaires addressing sleep apnea and excessive daytime sleepiness will be administered. Data acquisition will be completely anonymous. Following the medical examination, the participants will perform a spirometry, NEP test and standard overnight polysomnography. The NEP test is performed through the administration of negative pressure at the mouth during expiration. This is a practical test performed while awake and requires little cooperation from the subject. In the absence of expiratory flow limitation, the increase in the pressure gradient between the alveoli and open upper airway caused by NEP results in an increase in expiratory flow.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Despite the abundance of scientific evidence, OSA is still underdiagnosed in the general population. In addition, diagnostic procedures are expensive, and predictive criteria are still unsatisfactory. Because increased upper airway collapsibility is one of the main determinants of OSA, the response to the application of NEP could be a predictor of this disorder. With the enrollment of this study protocol, the expectation is to encounter predictive NEP values for different degrees of OSA in order to contribute toward an early diagnosis of this condition and reduce its impact and complications among commercial interstate bus drivers.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><it>Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clinicos </it>(local acronym RBEC) [Internet]: Rio de Janeiro (RJ): <it>Instituto de Informaçao Cientifica e Tecnologica em Saude </it>(Brazil); 2010 - Identifier RBR-7dq5xx. Cross-sectional study on efficacy of negative expiratory pressure test proposed as screening for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome among commercial interstate bus drivers; 2011 May 31 [7 pages]. Available from <url>http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-7dq5xx/</url>.</p