Visual Strategies: Learning Objects to Teach Written Text Cohesion to the Deaf Using Sign Language as Scaffo

Language is a special activity, and it’s through/via/with language that we develop intelligence, knowledge, and culture. Language is what makes us human beings. Language and its meanings allow for interactions among members of the society to partake in the same culture. People are more than legal citizens: the sense of belonging creates identity, in a process mediated by language. Deaf people have little to no access to the oral language; thus, they have difficulties to share in the national literature, media, popular culture, traditions, myths, folklore, among others. In order to build this identity, the Deaf1 need to learn the written modality of the Oral language from the culture in which they are immersed. Unfortunately, very few research and resources are dedicated to such task. This research proposes a Learning Object that uses Sign Language (the natural language of the Deaf) to teach text cohesion

Gas and Dust Emission from the Nuclear Region of the Circinus Galaxy

Simultaneous modeling of the line and continuum emission from the nuclear region of the Circinus galaxy is presented. Composite models which include the combined effect of shocks and photoionization from the active center and from the circumnuclear star forming region are considered. The effects of dust reradiation, bremsstrahlung from the gas and synchrotron radiation are treated consistently. The proposed model accounts for two important observational features. First, the high obscuration of Circinus central source is produced by high velocity and dense clouds with characteristic high dust-to-gas ratios. Their large velocities, up to 1500 km\s, place them very close to the active center. Second, the derived size of the line emitting region is well in agreement with the observed limits for the coronal and narrow line region of Circinus.Comment: 36 pages, LaTex (including 4 Tables and 9 figures), $$ removed from Abstract To appear in "The Astrophysical Journal

Imagined frontiers: educational experiences and the construction of plans for the future by a group of lower- and middle-class youngsters

This article is about the results of a study focusing on processes through which adolescents from different social groups build their plans for the future in terms of schools and jobs. From interviews with 14 youngsters and their families, it was possible to make it clear that these plans for the future are closely related to their families' (ascending or descending) social history, on the one hand, and on the other hand, to the structure of assets these families have, and that all this results in a clear adjustment between the plans and the chances to make them come true. This convergence is only threatened by schools' verdicts, which may impose different perceptions about the future than the ones built in family relations. The implications of these results will be discussed at the end of the text.O artigo discute os resultados de uma pesquisa que procurou focalizar os processos pelos quais adolescentes de diferentes grupos sociais constroem disposições quanto ao futuro em relação à escola e ao trabalho. A partir de entrevistas com 14 jovens e suas famílias foi possível mostrar que as disposições quanto ao futuro são tributárias, por um lado, do sentido da trajetória social do grupo familiar (ascendente ou descendente) e, por outro, da estrutura dos patrimônios, material e simbólico, de que dispõem essas famílias, gerando, ao final, um ajustamento claro entre disposições e chances de torná-las realidade. Essa congruência só é ameaçada pelo veredito escolar que pode impor percepções diferentes de futuro daquelas construídas na relação com a família. As implicações desses resultados são discutidas ao final.40142

CONSTRUINDO IDENTIDADES E PRÁTICAS DE MIGRAÇÃO: CONSOLIDANDO A “TERRA PROMETIDA”

This article aims to clarify the values and identities constructed in discursive plan on migrants and the migration practice on text genre report about migration. For analysis, it was chosen a report of the local newspaper Diário do Rio Doce, from Governador Valadares City, point ofdeparture of the first brazilian emigrants to the United States in the 1960s. The theoretical-methodological approach is the Critical Analysis of AngloAmerican Discourse, characterized as interdisciplinary aspect. In this article sociological studies are considered about international migrationand the studies of speeches, because these speeches guide and constitute in socially characteristics ratified into genres, as a way of dealing withexperiments and countersign values and cultural practices. The analysis concluded that, in addition to vocabulary, the negation is a constructionmicro textual determinant of a set of practices that describe the “being there” of the migrant. The migrant is represented as one that is in bothplaces and must adapt, as he is represented in this case of the report. The denial, to compose the wording, oppose contents of a previous statement, and refutes the corresponding affirmative. Through the denied content, the affirmation of the practice of migrate, is said to be a positive content and a naturalized value in the report.O presente artigo tem como objetivo explicitar valores e identidades construídos no plano discursivo sobre o migrante e a prática de migração em texto do gênero reportagem sobre migração. Para análise, escolheu-se reportagem do jornal local Diário do Rio Doce, da cidade de Governador Valadares, ponto de partida dos primeiros emigrantes brasileiros para os Estados Unidos na década de 1960. A abordagem teórico-metodológica utilizada é a Análise de Discurso Crítica anglo-americana, caracterizada como vertente interdisciplinar de estudos do discurso e o modo como esse se consolida diante das condições conjunturais, no caso, a migração. Nesse artigo são considerados aspectos sociológicos sobre a migração internacional e os estudos discursivos, pois esses discursos se norteiam e se constituem e características socialmente ratifcadas nos gêneros, como forma de abordar experiências e referendar valores e práticas culturais migratórias. Com a análise, concluiu-se que, além do vocabulário, a negação é um modo de construção representacional signifcativo de um conjunto de práticas que descrevem o "estar lá" do migrante. O migrante é representado como aquele que está no "entrelugares" e deve se adaptar, conforme é representado no presente caso de reportagem. A negação, ao compor os dizeres, opõe conteúdos de uma afirmação anterior, e refuta a afirmativa correspondente Pelo conteúdo negado, pressupõe-se a afirmação da prática do migrar como conteúdo positivo e valor naturalizado na reportagem

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of irradiated fluoxetine aqueous samples

The last decade witnessed the drastic increase in the use of antidepressant drugs, being fluoxetine the most prescribed worldwide. Conventional wastewater treatment is inefficient in removing fluoxetine and its accumulation in water bodies and water living organism is inevitable. Among several methods for contaminant removal from wastewater, electron beam irradiation is an efficient and green technology. This work presents the characterization of aqueous fluoxetine samples before and after irradiation. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was used to identify the original compound and its irradiation products. Results indicate a drastic reduction in fluoxetine presence after the irradiation process. Radiolysis pathways were proposed based on mass fragments identification

Comparative genomics allowed the identification of drug targets against human fungal pathogens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) has increased steadily worldwide in the last few decades. Particularly, there has been a global rise in the number of infections among immunosuppressed people. These patients present severe clinical forms of the infections, which are commonly fatal, and they are more susceptible to opportunistic fungal infections than non-immunocompromised people. IFIs have historically been associated with high morbidity and mortality, partly because of the limitations of available antifungal therapies, including side effects, toxicities, drug interactions and antifungal resistance. Thus, the search for alternative therapies and/or the development of more specific drugs is a challenge that needs to be met. Genomics has created new ways of examining genes, which open new strategies for drug development and control of human diseases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>In silico </it>analyses and manual mining selected initially 57 potential drug targets, based on 55 genes experimentally confirmed as essential for <it>Candida albicans </it>or <it>Aspergillus fumigatus </it>and other 2 genes (<it>kre2 </it>and <it>erg6</it>) relevant for fungal survival within the host. Orthologs for those 57 potential targets were also identified in eight human fungal pathogens (<it>C. albicans</it>, <it>A. fumigatus</it>, <it>Blastomyces dermatitidis</it>, <it>Paracoccidioides brasiliensis</it>, <it>Paracoccidioides lutzii, Coccidioides immitis</it>, <it>Cryptococcus neoformans </it>and <it>Histoplasma capsulatum</it>). Of those, 10 genes were present in all pathogenic fungi analyzed and absent in the human genome. We focused on four candidates: <it>trr1 </it>that encodes for thioredoxin reductase, <it>rim8 </it>that encodes for a protein involved in the proteolytic activation of a transcriptional factor in response to alkaline pH, <it>kre2 </it>that encodes for α-1,2-mannosyltransferase and <it>erg6 </it>that encodes for Δ(24)-sterol C-methyltransferase.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data show that the comparative genomics analysis of eight fungal pathogens enabled the identification of four new potential drug targets. The preferred profile for fungal targets includes proteins conserved among fungi, but absent in the human genome. These characteristics potentially minimize toxic side effects exerted by pharmacological inhibition of the cellular targets. From this first step of post-genomic analysis, we obtained information relevant to future new drug development.</p

On Communication for Distributed Babai Point Computation

We present a communication-efficient distributed protocol for computing the Babai point, an approximate nearest point for a random vector X∈Rn in a given lattice. We show that the protocol is optimal in the sense that it minimizes the sum rate when the components of X are mutually independent. We then investigate the error probability, i.e. the probability that the Babai point does not coincide with the nearest lattice point, motivated by the fact that for some cases, a distributed algorithm for finding the Babai point is sufficient for finding the nearest lattice point itself. Two different probability models for X are considered—uniform and Gaussian. For the uniform model, in dimensions two and three, the error probability is seen to grow with the packing density, and we demonstrate that the densest lattice in dimension two presents the worst error probability. For higher dimensions, we develop probabilistic concentration bounds as well as bounds based on geometric arguments for the error probability. The probabilistic bounds lead to the conclusion that for lattices which generate suitably thin coverings of Rn (which includes lattices that meet Rogers’ bound on the covering radius), the error probability goes to unity as n grows. Probabilistic and geometric bounds are also used to estimate the error probability under the uniform model for various lattices including the An family and the Leech lattice, Λ24 . On the other hand, for the Gaussian model, the error probability goes to zero as the lattice dimension tends to infinity, provided the noise variance is sufficiently small

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: an update on epidemiological and molecular aspects

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary cause of chronic kidney disease stage 5 and represents 3% to 10.3% among patients undergoing dialysis in Brazil. The ADPKD is caused by mutations in one of two genes, PKD1 or PKD2 encoding hence the polycystins 1 and 2 involved in cyst formation. The disease is characterized by progressive growth and development of multiple bilateral renal cysts which lead to loss of kidney function. The ADPKD presents several renal and extrarenal clinical manifestations, and comorbidities. Some diagnostic strategies are regarded as first choice for clinical and molecular investigation of the ADPKD. The knowledge of molecular aspects in association with the clinical manifestations presented by the epidemiology of the disease provides better understanding of the mechanisms of cystogenesis and greater diagnostic accuracyDoença renal policística autossômica dominante (DRPAD) é a causa hereditária mais comum da doença renal crônica estágio 5 e representa de 3% a 10,3% entre os doentes em diálise no Brasil. A DRPAD é causada por mutações em um de dois genes, PKD1 ou PKD2, que codificam, consequentemente, as policistinas 1 e 2 envolvidas na formação dos cistos. A doença é caracterizada pelo progressivo crescimento e desenvolvimento de múltiplos cistos renais bilaterais que levam à perda da função dos rins. A DRPAD apresenta diversas manifestações clínicas renais e extrarrenais, além de comorbidades. Algumas estratégias diagnósticas são consideradas de primeira escolha para a investigação clínica e molecular da DRPAD. O conhecimento de aspectos moleculares em associação com as manifestações clínicas apresentadas pela epidemiologia da doença proporciona melhor compreensão dos mecanismos de cistogênese e maior acurácia diagnóstic