EDUCAÇÃO EM DIABETES COM DEFICIENTES VISUAIS: UMA EXPÊRIÊNCIA UNIVERSITÁRIA

Experience developed with visually impaired people in the Association for the Blind in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará (Brazil). A conference for 40 people was held about the concept, risk factors and treatment of diabetes followed by selection, interview, and verification of anthropometrics measures and capillary glycemia. In this phase 26 people participated. The values obtained related to capillary glycemia by strip varied from 74 to 193 mg/dl. Age index was from 11 to 57 years with 17 females and 9 males. The time of the most recent meal varied between 2 and 6 hours. Among risk factors faced: 20 people reported being sedentary, 10 with a history of diabetes in the family; 4 being overweight y 2 with hypertension. The conclusion we arrive at is that it is of fundamental importance to inform and prevent diabetes in this type of patients.  Relato sobre la experiencia desarrollada con deficientes visuales en la Asociación de Ciegos del Estado de Ceará, en Fortaleza. Se realizó una conferencia para 40 personas, en la que se debatió sobre el concepto, los factores de riesgo y el tratamiento de diabetes, seguida de selección junto con entrevista, verificación de medidas antropométricas y glicemia capilar. En esta fase participaron 26 personas. Los valores que se obtuvieron con relación a glicemia capilar por la cinta variaron de 74 a 193 mg/dl. El índice de edad abarcó el intervalo entre los 11 a 57 años, 17 del sexo femenino y 9 del masculino. El horario de la última comida varió entre 2 y 6 horas. Entre los factores de riesgo que se abordaron, 20 personas  se declararon  sedentarias; 10 con historia de diabetes en la familia; 4 presentaron peso superior a lo normal y 2 hipertensos. La conclusión a que se llega es que es de fundamental importancia  promover y prevenir  la diabetes con este tipo de pacientes.Relato de experiência desenvolvida com deficientes visuais na Associação dos Cegos do Estado do Ceará, em Fortaleza. Realizou-se uma palestra para 40 pessoas na qual se abordou conceito, fatores de risco e tratamento do diabetes, seguida de triagem, com entrevista, verificação de medidas antropométricas e glicemia capilar. Desta fase, participaram 26 pessoas. Os valores obtidos de glicemia capilar pela fita variaram de 74 a 193 mg/dl. A faixa etária abrangeu o intervalo de 11 a 57 anos, 17 do sexo feminino e 9 do masculino. O horário da última refeição variou de 2 a 6 horas. Sobre fatores de riscos abordados, 20 indivíduos alegaram ser sedentários; 10 com história de diabetes na família; quatro com peso acima da normalidade e dois hipertensos. Pode-se concluir que a promoção e prevenção do diabetes são de fundamental importância para essa clientela. &nbsp

An Integrative -omics Approach to Identify Functional Sub-Networks in Human Colorectal Cancer

Emerging evidence indicates that gene products implicated in human cancers often cluster together in “hot spots” in protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Additionally, small sub-networks within PPI networks that demonstrate synergistic differential expression with respect to tumorigenic phenotypes were recently shown to be more accurate classifiers of disease progression when compared to single targets identified by traditional approaches. However, many of these studies rely exclusively on mRNA expression data, a useful but limited measure of cellular activity. Proteomic profiling experiments provide information at the post-translational level, yet they generally screen only a limited fraction of the proteome. Here, we demonstrate that integration of these complementary data sources with a “proteomics-first” approach can enhance the discovery of candidate sub-networks in cancer that are well-suited for mechanistic validation in disease. We propose that small changes in the mRNA expression of multiple genes in the neighborhood of a protein-hub can be synergistically associated with significant changes in the activity of that protein and its network neighbors. Further, we hypothesize that proteomic targets with significant fold change between phenotype and control may be used to “seed” a search for small PPI sub-networks that are functionally associated with these targets. To test this hypothesis, we select proteomic targets having significant expression changes in human colorectal cancer (CRC) from two independent 2-D gel-based screens. Then, we use random walk based models of network crosstalk and develop novel reference models to identify sub-networks that are statistically significant in terms of their functional association with these proteomic targets. Subsequently, using an information-theoretic measure, we evaluate synergistic changes in the activity of identified sub-networks based on genome-wide screens of mRNA expression in CRC. Cross-classification experiments to predict disease class show excellent performance using only a few sub-networks, underwriting the strength of the proposed approach in discovering relevant and reproducible sub-networks

Cooperation among cancer cells: applying game theory to cancer

Cell cooperation promotes many of the hallmarks of cancer via the secretion of diffusible factors that can affect cancer cells or stromal cells in the tumour microenvironment. This cooperation cannot be explained simply as the collective action of cells for the benefit of the tumour because non-cooperative subclones can constantly invade and free-ride on the diffusible factors produced by the cooperative cells. A full understanding of cooperation among the cells of a tumour requires methods and concepts from evolutionary game theory, which has been used successfully in other areas of biology to understand similar problems but has been underutilized in cancer research. Game theory can provide insights into the stability of cooperation among cells in a tumour and into the design of potentially evolution-proof therapies that disrupt this cooperation