A relevância do trabalho em equipe num caso de uma equipe interdisciplinar de docentes de primeiro ano de um curso de engenharia

This paper presents part of a broader research and aims to identify and analyze the perceptions of teachers involved with active methodologies, relating to PBL - Project-Based Learning, and the relevance of teamwork in this context. The research presents an exploratory qualitative approach, with data collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers who applied active methodologies since 2004. The interview results showed that the implementation of interdisciplinary projects has proven an effective method for increasing student motivation and consequently to increase their commitment with the learning process, which results in an effective development of technical transversal competences. Collaborative teaching work was considered fundamental for achieving the learning goals defined in the process, and as an opportunity for students to realize the interaction between teachers, tutors and researchers of education, showing that PBL encompasses multiple areas and persons to interact in the project throughout the semester. The teamwork involved strengthens and enhances the results.Este artigo apresenta um recorte de uma investigação mais ampla e tem o objetivo de identificar e analisar a percepção de professores envolvidos com metodologias ativas quanto a relevância em trabalhar com metodologias de aprendizagem baseada em projetos interdisciplinares (PBL – Project-Based Learning) e a relevância em trabalhar em equipa neste contexto. A pesquisa apresentou uma abordagem qualitativa de caráter exploratório, com coleta de dados através de entrevistas semiestruturadas com professores que desde 2004 aplicavam metodologias ativas. Os resultados das entrevistas evidenciaram que a implementação de projetos interdisciplinares tem-se mostrado uma metodologia eficaz para ampliar a motivação dos alunos e o consequente aumento do compromisso com a aprendizagem, que resulta na eficácia do desenvolvimento de competências técnicas e competências transversais. O trabalho colaborativo docente foi apontado como de fundamental importância para atingir os objetivos e também como uma vivência para os alunos perceberem a interação entre professores, tutores e investigadores da educação, pois PBL abarca várias disciplinas a interatuar no projeto durante todo o semestre letivo. O trabalho em equipe fortalece os envolvidos e potencializa os resultados

Projetos interdisciplinares no ensino superior : análise do ensino e aprendizagem do Cálculo no 1º semestre do 1º ano

This paper objective is to identify and analyze the activities developed by Integrated Master of Industrial Engineering and Management students in a context of Project‐Based Learning (PBL) in the Calculus curricular unit and discusses learning during the interdisciplinary project development thru the first semester of 2012/2013. This research is based on a case study developed in the context of one program of School of Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal. To accomplish this case study were collected and analyzed documents produced by the students such as preliminary and final reports, preliminary and final presentations and feedback reports. The results indicate that Calculus contents were applied a content during the interdisciplinary project. Additionally, it can be said that contents of curricular unit give support to the decisions taken by the students in the production system design (the students’ project objective), showing interest and more contents integration relevance

Intensified chemotherapy and simultaneous treatment with heparin in outpatients with pancreatic cancer - the CONKO 004 pilot trial

BACKGROUND: Advanced pancreatic cancer (APC), beside its high mortality, causes the highest rates of venous thromboembolic events (VTE). Enoxaparin, a low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), is effective in prevention and treatment of VTE. Some small studies indicated that this benefit might extend to patients with cancer and probably prolong survival due to independent mechanisms. We initiated this safety investigation to get feasibility information on intensified chemotherapy combined with LMWH in outpatients with APC treated in 1st line. METHODS: The trial was a prospective, open-label, single center investigation in outpatients with inoperable pancreatic cancer who were treated with intensified first-line chemotherapy along with concomitant application of subcutaneous LMWH. The combined chemotherapy consisted of gemcitabine 1 g/m2 (30 min), 5-FU 750 mg/m2 (24 h), folinic acid 200 mg/m2 (30 min), and Cisplatin 30 mg/m2 (90 min) on day 1 and 8; q3w for the first 12 weeks (GFFC) followed by gemcitabine alone in patients without cancer progression. The simultaneous application of prophylactic enoxaparin started on day 1 of chemotherapy with a fixed dose of 40 mg daily. Statistical analyses were performed using R 3.01 with software package CMPRSK and SPSS software v19.0. RESULTS: The investigation was stopped after recruitment of 19 patients. At this time 15 patients had completed the required 12 weeks of treatment. Based on 71 cycles of GFFC + enoxaparin (median 4/pt [range: 2-4]) and 108 cycles of single-agent gemcitabine + enoxaparin (median 4/pt [range: 0-18]) the cumulative frequency of NCI-CTC toxicities grade 3/4 was below 10%. One case (5%) of a symptomatic non-lethal thromboembolic event was observed while receiving LMWH treatment. No severe bleeding event as defined in the protocol has been observed. The median overall survival was 10.05 [95%CI: 8.67-18.14] months. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of enoxaparin to GFFC chemotherapy is feasible, safe and does not appear to affect the efficacy or the toxicity profile of the chemotherapy regimen in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Based on these findings we have initiated the randomized CONKO-004 trial to examine whether enoxaparin reduces the incidence of thromboembolic events or increases overall outcome. Trial registration: Clinical Trials NCT01945879

Finding the best clearing approach: Towards 3D wide-scale multimodal imaging of aged human brain tissue

The accessibility of new wide-scale multimodal imaging techniques led to numerous clearing techniques emerging over the last decade. However, clearing mesoscopic-sized blocks of aged human brain tissue remains an extremely challenging task. Homogenizing refractive indices and reducing light absorption and scattering are the foundation of tissue clearing. Due to its dense and highly myelinated nature, especially in white matter, the human brain poses particular challenges to clearing techniques. Here, we present a comparative study of seven tissue clearing approaches and their impact on aged human brain tissue blocks (> 5 mm). The goal was to identify the most practical and efficient method in regards to macroscopic transparency, brief clearing time, compatibility with immunohistochemical processing and wide-scale multimodal microscopic imaging. We successfully cleared 26 × 26 × 5 mm3-sized human brain samples with two hydrophilic and two hydrophobic clearing techniques. Optical properties as well as light and antibody penetration depths highly vary between these methods. In addition to finding the best clearing approach, we compared three microscopic imaging setups (the Zeiss Laser Scanning Microscope (LSM) 880 , the Miltenyi Biotec Ultramicroscope ll (UM ll) and the 3i Marianas LightSheet microscope) regarding optimal imaging of large-scale tissue samples. We demonstrate that combining the CLARITY technique (Clear Lipid-exchanged Acrylamide-hybridized Rigid Imaging compatible Tissue hYdrogel) with the Zeiss LSM 880 and combining the iDISCO technique (immunolabeling-enabled three-dimensional imaging of solvent-cleared organs) with the Miltenyi Biotec UM ll are the most practical and efficient approaches to sufficiently clear aged human brain tissue and generate 3D microscopic images. Our results point out challenges that arise from seven clearing and three imaging techniques applied to non-standardized tissue samples such as aged human brain tissue

Intensity-Modulated and Image-Guided Radiotherapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Inoperable Pancreatic Cancer after Preradiation Chemotherapy

Background. Radiotherapy (RT) in patients with pancreatic cancer is still a controversial subject and its benefit in inoperable stages of locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), even after induction chemotherapy, remains unclear. Modern radiation techniques such as image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) may improve effectiveness and reduce radiotherapy-related toxicities. Methods. Patients with LAPC who underwent radiotherapy after chemotherapy between 09/2004 and 05/2013 were retrospectively analyzed with regard to preradiation chemotherapy (PRCT), modalities of radiotherapy, and toxicities. Progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated by Kaplan-Meier curves. Results. 15 (68%) women and 7 men (median age 64 years; range 40–77) were identified. Median duration of PRCT was 11.1 months (range 4.3–33.0). Six patients (27%) underwent conventional RT and 16 patients (73%) advanced IMRT and IGRT; median dosage was 50.4 (range 9–54) Gray. No grade III or IV toxicities occurred. Median PFS (estimated from the beginning of RT) was 5.8 months, 2.6 months in the conventional RT group (conv-RT), and 7.1 months in the IMRT/IGRT group (P=0.029); median OS was 11.0 months, 4.2 months (conv-RT), and 14.0 months (IMRT/IGRT); P=0.141. Median RT-specific PFS for patients with prolonged PRCT > 9 months was 8.5 months compared to 5.6 months for PRCT < 9 months (P=0.293). This effect was translated into a significantly better median RT-specific overall survival of patients in the PRCT > 9 months group, with 19.0 months compared to 8.5 months in the PRCT  <  9 months group (P=0.049). Conclusions. IGRT and IMRT after PRCT are feasible and effective options for patients with LAPC after prolonged preradiation chemotherapy

Cell specific quantitative iron mapping on brain slices by immuno-µPIXE in healthy elderly and Parkinson’s disease

Iron is essential for neurons and glial cells, playing key roles in neurotransmitter synthesis, energy production and myelination. In contrast, high concentrations of free iron can be detrimental and contribute to neurodegeneration, through promotion of oxidative stress. Particularly in Parkinson's disease (PD) changes in iron concentrations in the substantia nigra (SN) was suggested to play a key role in degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in nigrosome 1. However, the cellular iron pathways and the mechanisms of the pathogenic role of iron in PD are not well understood, mainly due to the lack of quantitative analytical techniques for iron quantification with subcellular resolution. Here, we quantified cellular iron concentrations and subcellular iron distributions in dopaminergic neurons and different types of glial cells in the SN both in brains of PD patients and in non-neurodegenerative control brains (Co). To this end, we combined spatially resolved quantitative element mapping using micro particle induced X-ray emission (mu PIXE) with nickel-enhanced immunocytochemical detection of cell type-specific antigens allowing to allocate element-related signals to specific cell types. Distinct patterns of iron accumulation were observed across different cell populations. In the control (Co) SNc, oligodendroglial and astroglial cells hold the highest cellular iron concentration whereas in PD, the iron concentration was increased in most cell types in the substantia nigra except for astroglial cells and ferritin-positive oligodendroglial cells. While iron levels in astroglial cells remain unchanged, ferritin in oligodendroglial cells seems to be depleted by almost half in PD. The highest cellular iron levels in neurons were located in the cytoplasm, which might increase the source of non-chelated Fe3+, implicating a critical increase in the labile iron pool. Indeed, neuromelanin is characterised by a significantly higher loading of iron including most probable the occupancy of low-affinity iron binding sites. Quantitative trace element analysis is essential to characterise iron in oxidative processes in PD. The quantification of iron provides deeper insights into changes of cellular iron levels in PD and may contribute to the research in iron-chelating disease-modifying drugs

Cell specific quantitative iron mapping on brain slices by immuno-μPIXE in healthy elderly and Parkinson’s disease

Iron is essential for neurons and glial cells, playing key roles in neurotransmitter synthesis, energy production and myelination. In contrast, high concentrations of free iron can be detrimental and contribute to neurodegeneration, through promotion of oxidative stress. Particularly in Parkinson’s disease (PD) changes in iron concentrations in the substantia nigra (SN) was suggested to play a key role in degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in nigrosome 1. However, the cellular iron pathways and the mechanisms of the pathogenic role of iron in PD are not well understood, mainly due to the lack of quantitative analytical techniques for iron quantification with subcellular resolution. Here, we quantified cellular iron concentrations and subcellular iron distribution in dopaminergic neurons and different types of glial cells in the SN both in brains of PD patients and in non-neurodegenerative control brains (Co). To this end, we combined spatially resolved quantitative element mapping using micro particle induced X-ray emission (μPIXE) with nickel-enhanced immunocytochemical detection of cell type-specific antigens allowing to allocate element-related signals to specific cell types. Distinct patterns of iron accumulation were observed across different cell populations. In the control (Co) SNc, oligodendroglial and astroglial cells hold the highest cellular iron concentration whereas in PD, the iron concentration was increased in most cell types in the substantia nigra except for astroglial cells and ferritin-positive oligodendroglial cells. While iron levels in astroglial cells remain unchanged, ferritin in oligodendroglial cells seems to be depleted by almost half in PD. The highest cellular iron levels in neurons were located in the cytoplasm, which might increase the source of non-chelated Fe3+, implicating a critical increase in the labile iron pool. Indeed, neuromelanin is characterised by a significantly higher loading of iron including most probable the occupancy of low-affinity iron binding sites. Quantitative trace element analysis is essential to characterise iron in oxidative processes in PD. The quantification of iron provides deeper insights into changes of cellular iron levels in PD and may contribute to the research in iron-chelating disease-modifying drugs

Automated VMAT planning for postoperative adjuvant treatment of advanced gastric cancer

Background: Postoperative/adjuvant radiotherapy of advanced gastric cancer involves a large planning target volume (PTV) with multi-concave shapes which presents a challenge for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning. This study investigates the advantages of automated VMAT planning for this site compared to manual VMAT planning by expert planners. Methods: For 20 gastric cancer patients in the postoperative/adjuvant setting, dual-arc VMAT plans were generated using fully automated multi-criterial treatment planning (autoVMAT), and compared to manually generated VMAT plans (manVMAT). Both automated and manual plans were created to deliver a median dose of 45 Gy to the PTV using identical planning and segmentation parameters. Plans were evaluated by two expert radiation oncologists for clinical acceptability. AutoVMAT and manVMAT plans were also compared based on dose-volume histogram (DVH) and predicted normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) analysis. Results: Both manVMAT and autoVMAT plans were considered clinically acceptable. Target coverage was similar (manVMAT: 96.6 ± 1.6%, autoVMAT: 97.4 ± 1.0%, p = 0.085). With autoVMAT, median kidney dose was reduced on average by &gt; 25%; (for left kidney from 11.3 ± 2.1 Gy to 8.9 ± 3.5 Gy (p = 0.002); for right kidney from 9.2 ± 2.2 Gy to 6.1 ± 1.3 Gy (p &lt;  0.001)). Median dose to the liver was lower as well (18.8 ± 2.3 Gy vs. 17.1 ± 3.6 Gy, p = 0.048). In addition, Dmax of the spinal cord was significantly reduced (38.3 ± 3.7 Gy vs. 31.6 ± 2.6 Gy, p &lt;  0.001). Substantial improvements in dose conformity and integral dose were achieved with autoVMAT plans (4.2% and 9.1%, respectively; p &lt;  0.001). Due to the better OAR sparing in the autoVMAT plans compared to manVMAT plans, the predicted NTCPs for the left and right kidney and the liver-PTV were significantly reduced by 11.3%, 12.8%, 7%, respectively (p ≤ 0.001). Delivery time and total number of monitor units were increased in autoVMAT plans (from 168 ± 19 s to 207 ± 26 s, p = 0.006) and (from 781 ± 168 MU to 1001 ± 134 MU, p = 0.003), respectively. Conclusions: For postoperative/adjuvant radiotherapy of advanced gastric cancer, involving a complex target shape, automated VMAT planning is feasible and can substantially reduce the dose to the kidneys and the liver, without compromising the target dose delivery

Advances in prevention and therapy of neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea : a systematical review with emphasis on colostrum management and fluid therapy

Neonatal calf diarrhoea remains the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in preweaned dairy calves worldwide. This complex disease can be triggered by both infectious and non-infectious causes. The four most important enteropathogens leading to neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea are Escherichia coli, rota-and coronavirus, and Cryptosporidium parvum. Besides treating diarrhoeic neonatal dairy calves, the veterinarian is the most obvious person to advise the dairy farmer on prevention and treatment of this disease. This review deals with prevention and treatment of neonatal dairy calf diarrhoea focusing on the importance of a good colostrum management and a correct fluid therapy