3,090 research outputs found
Dermatophytes’ identification by Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. (MALDI-TOF MS) - the experience of a clinical laboratory
Objectives:
Dermatophytes are a challenging group of fungi that infect the keratinized tissues. The taxonomy of these
fungi has changed recently with the reclassification of some species and description of new ones. However,
many clinical laboratories still base the identification of dermatophytes on their phenotype. Since
dermatophytes are very pleomorphic, macro and micromorphology are often insufficient to reach a correct
classification and may lead to misidentifications. The identification based on MALDI-TOF relies on the protein
profile of the microorganism. Thus, this study aims to summarize our current laboratorial experience of
dermatophyte identification using MALDI-TOF MS.
Methods:
From january to april 2018, 95 dermatophytes isolates, collected from human keratinized samples and also
from quality control programs were characterized by phenotypic analysis, and by VITEK MS V3.2 bioMerieux.
Before identification procedure, isolates were inoculated on Sabouraud Dextrose agar plates and incubated at
27°C during 5 to 10 days. Species were identified taking into account clinical features, as well as cultural,
microscopic and physiological characteristics. Prior to MALDI-TOF MS analysis, the samples were pre-treated
according to the manufacturer’s protocol for filamentous fungi. Molecular identification by sequencing of the
internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) was performed in 34 of those isolates
Results:
Through phenotypic analysis eight different species were identified (54 Trichophyton rubrum; 4 T.soudanense;
22 T.interdigitale; 1 T.mentagrophytes; 3 T.tonsurans; 7 Microsporum canis; 3 M.audouinii; 1 Microsporum
spp.- (non canis or audouinii). MALDI-TOF analysis showed an identification agreement in 80 cases (84,2%)
with a confidence level of 99,9%. Eight isolates showed divergent identification results: three T.rubrum were
identified as T.violaceum, three T.soudanense were identified as T.rubrum, one T.mentagrophytes was
identified as T.interdigitale and one T.tonsurans was identified as T.rubrum. In four cases MALDI-TOF analysis
did not get a profile. The ITS sequencing analysis of discrepant results corroborated the MALDI-TOF
identification in five of them. On the other hand, T.soudanense was only identified by phenotypic analysis since
MALDI-TOF and ITS sequencing result was T.rubrum. MALDITOF identification of T.violaceum was not
confirmed by ITS sequencing that identified T. rubrum instead, in accordance with the phenotypic
identification.
Conclusion:
Correct identification of dermatophytes to species level requires sequencing of the ITS, LSU, and/or betatubulin
regions. The implementation of this methodology in a clinical laboratory is expensive and time
consuming. MALDI-TOF identification is a good option for dermatophytes’ identification performed in
laboratory routine, since costs of consumables as well as time of sample preparation are lower than for PCR
analysis and doesn’t require long training period as phenotypic identification does. In this study, however, both
methods failed to identify some species variants like Trichophyton soudanense or T. violaceum. The combined
use of both MALDI-TOF and phenotypic methods seems to be the better approach for dermatophytes’
identification since some species show significant phenotypic and clinical differences.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
O mercado de luxo e o marketing holístico: o caso dos hotéis de luxo
No atual contexto económico de crise, o mercado de
luxo conseguiu cresceu, porque muitos dos clientes
de luxo mantêm o poder financeiro e conservam a
sua ambição por luxo. No entanto, num mercado
caracterizado por intensa concorrência não é
suficiente ter uma marca forte, é imprescindível
acrescentar valor e o marketing holístico pode
contribuir fortemente para esse resultado.
Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste artigo é analisar as
especificidades do mercado de luxo
comparativamente com o mercado de bens comuns, e
avaliar o nível de valorização e aplicação pelas marcas
de luxo de cada uma das quatro dimensões do
marketing holístico (marketing relacional, marketing
interno, marketing performance e marketing
integrado). Para o efeito foi escolhido o setor de
turismo de luxo português, mais concretamente, os
hotéis de luxo.
Os dados foram recolhidos por via da realização de
entrevistas aos diretores hoteleiros ou gestores de
marketing de seis hotéis de luxo localizados em
Portugal e foram tratados seguindo uma metodologia
qualitativa de análise temática de conteúdo por
recurso ao software MAXqda®.
Os resultados denotam que o mercado de luxo é mais
complexo de gerir do que o mercado de bens comuns
e realçam que os hotéis de luxo privilegiam cada uma
das dimensões inerentes à filosofia de marketing
holístico.
Este artigo faculta informações importantes que
podem contribuir para as recentes teorias e práticas
de marketing no mercado de luxo
Language identification: a neural network approach
Series : OASIcs - Open access series in informatics, ISSN 2190-6807, vol. 38One of the first tasks when building a Natural Language application is the detection of the used language in order to adapt the system to that language. This task has been addressed several times. Nevertheless most of these attempts were performed a long time ago when the amount of computer data and the computational power were limited. In this article we analyze and explain the use of a neural network for language identification, where features can be extracted automatically, and therefore, easy to adapt to new languages. In our experiments we got some surprises, namely with the two Chinese variants, whose forced us for some language-dependent tweaking of the neural network. At the end, the network had a precision of 95%, only failing for the Portuguese language.(undefined
Scrutinising the exceptionalism of young rural NEETs: A bibliometric review
The situation of rural NEETs aged 15 to 24 remains understudied. However, transitions from adolescence to emerging adulthood are very demanding for those in the countryside. Our paper discusses this gap by characterising the scholarship focusing on rural NEETs. We undertook a bibliometric review based on 325 entries on Web of Science (WoS) using the Bibliometrix analysis package. Our approach included descriptive bibliometric analysis, co-citation networks assessment, and thematic analysis. Our findings show that the investigation efforts depicting younger rural NEET are recent and marginal in the larger context of international NEETs scholarship. The field is dominated by economy- and sociology-led networks. Concerns regarding health and employment issues are central in international publishing trends, showing a dominant youth-at-risk approach to this group. Still, themes associated with adolescent NEETs and relevant programs’ assessment are gaining traction. Our findings show a need for funding research initiatives to reduce the invisibility of young rural NEETs.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Indicadores para a avaliação da disponibilidade hídrica para o desenvolvimento sustentável da atividade canavieira irrigada.
Para a racionalização do uso dos recursos hídricos e promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável da atividade canavieira na região Centro-Oeste torna-se importante o desenvolvimento de procedimentos metodológicos que possam fornecer subsídios técnicos para o planejamento e gestão setorial - agricultura e recursos hídricos. O presente trabalho apresenta dois indicadores concebidos para a avaliação do potencial da disponibilidade hídrica para atender a demanda projetada de água para o desenvolvimento da atividade canavieira
Sistema de indicadores para a avaliação da sustentabilidade hídrica da atividade canaviera.
O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar um estudo de caso realizado na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Verde (BHRV) para demonstrar a aplicabilidade do Sistema de Indicadores - SISHidro-Cana - para a avaliação da sustentabilidade hídrica da cultura canavieira, proposta por Ferraz (2012), como uma metodologia para avaliar a disponibilidade de água de bacias hidrográficas para subsidiar a proposição de políticas setoriais, ordenação territorial, planejamento agrícola e gestão dos recursos hídricos
Microscopy studies in support of dating of mortars of historical buildings
Fundação das Universidades PortuguesasMinisterio de Ciencia e InnovaciónFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Algumas considerações sobre o estudo estatístico de medições de dose em grãos de argamassas por luminescência estimulada opticamente
Fundação das Universidades PortuguesasMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (Espanha)Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)Ação Integrada E-141”(Fundação das Universidades Portuguesas)/“Acción Integrada PT2009-0077” (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación)/PEst-OE/CTE/UI0697/201
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