Rastreio Universal da Audição Neonatal um Pequeno Teste para o Audiologista , um Grande Passo para a Humanidade?

O Rastreio Universal da Audição Neonatal tem sido um objectivo que várias gerações de audiologistas, otorrinolaringologistas e pediatras tem tentado ao longo dos anos. Os autores fazem uma revisão dos principais métodos utilizados para a avaliação da audição dos recém-nascidos, bem como das dificuldades encontradas e limitações da sua utilização. Desde o inicio da década de noventa vêm a ser implementados verdadeiros métodos de detecção precoce e universal da surdez infantil, utilizando métodos fisiológicos tais como os potenciais evocados auditivos e as otoemissões acústicas (c1ássicos e automáticos). São descritos os artigos mais importantes que fundamentam a necessidade de diagnóstico e intervenção precoces na surdez sensorioneural, com vista a melhorar a aquisição e desenvolvimento da fala e da competência linguística, o que permite uma melhor integração da criança, independentemente do seu grau de surdez. São também enunciadas as directivas do "European Consensus Development on Neonatal Hearing Screening" e do "Joint Comitee on Infant Hearing"

Application of the SAFT-γ Mie group contribution equation of state to fluids of relevance to the oil and gas industry

Calculated data for all the figures presented in publication

Efficient C-Phase gate for single-spin qubits in quantum dots

Two-qubit interactions are at the heart of quantum information processing. For single-spin qubits in semiconductor quantum dots, the exchange gate has always been considered the natural two-qubit gate. The recent integration of magnetic field or g-factor gradients in coupled quantum dot systems allows for a one-step, robust realization of the controlled phase (C-Phase) gate instead. We analyze the C-Phase gate durations and fidelities that can be obtained under realistic conditions, including the effects of charge and nuclear field fluctuations, and find gate error probabilities of below 10-4, possibly allowing fault-tolerant quantum computation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Thermal inactivation of Byssochlamys nivea in pineapple nectar combined with preliminary high pressure treatments

Byssochlamys nivea is a thermal resistant filamentous fungi and potential micotoxin producer. Recent studies have verified the presence of ascospores of such microorganism in samples of pineapple nectars. Although the majority of filamentous fungi have limited heat resistance and are easily destroyed by heat, Byssochlamys nivea ascospores have shown high thermal resistance. The aim of this work was to evaluate the application of linear and Weibull models on thermal inactivation (70, 80 and 90ºC) of Byssochlamys nivea ascospores in pineapple nectar after pretreatment with high pressure (550MPa or 650MPa during 15min). Following the treatments, survival curves were built up for each processing temperature and adjusted for both models. It was observed that survival curves at 90°C after high pressure pretreatment at 550 MPa/15 min did not fit well to linear and Weibull models. For all the other treatments, the Weibull model presented a better fit. At 90ºC without pressure treatment, the Weibull model also showed a better adjustment, having a larger R2 and a smaller RMSE. Regarding the process effectiveness, a 5-log reduction (t5), as recommended for pasteurization, was only achieved for Byssochlamys nivea ascospores presented in pineapple nectar at 90ºC/10.7 min with previous high pressure treatment of 650 MPa for 15 min. Considering the high intensity and energy demanding process with possibly product damage, other preventive and alternative treatments are being investigated

Mechanical cleaning of graphene

Contamination of graphene due to residues from nanofabrication often introduces background doping and reduces charge carrier mobility. For samples of high electronic quality, post-lithography cleaning treatments are therefore needed. We report that mechanical cleaning based on contact mode AFM removes residues and significantly improves the electronic properties. A mechanically cleaned dual-gated bilayer graphene transistor with hBN dielectrics exhibited a mobility of ~36,000 cm2/Vs at low temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Sustained gene expression in the retina by improved episomal vectors

Gene and cellular therapies are nowadays part of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of diverse pathologies. The drawbacks associated with gene therapy-low levels of transgene expression, vector loss during mitosis, and gene silencing-need to be addressed. The pEPI-1 and pEPito family of vectors was developed to overcome these limitations. It contains a scaffold/matrix attachment region, which anchors its replication to cell division in eukaryotic cells while in an extrachromosomal state and is less prone to silencing, due to a lower number of CpG motifs. Recent success showed that ocular gene therapy is an important tool for the treatment of several diseases, pending the overcome of the aforementioned limitations. To achieve sustained gene delivery in the retina, we evaluated several vectors based on pEPito and pEPI-1 for their ability to sustain transgene expression in retinal cells. These vectors stably transfected and replicated in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Expression levels were promoter dependent with constitutive promoters cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter (CMV) and human CMV enhancer/human elongation factor 1 alpha promoter yielding the highest levels of transgene expression compared with the retina-specific RPE65 promoter. When injected in C57Bl6 mice, transgene expression was sustained for at least 32 days. Furthermore, the retina-specific RPE65 promoter showed higher efficiency in vivo compared to in vitro. In this study, we demonstrate that by combining tissue-specific promoters with a mitotic stable system, less susceptible to epigenetic silencing such as pEPito-based plasmids, we can achieve prolonged gene expression and a sustained therapeutic effect.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal [PEst/OE/EQB-LA 0023/2013, SFRH/BD/76873/2011, SFRH/BD/70318/2010, PTDC/SAU/BEB/098475/2008]; European Union [PIRG-GA-2009-249314

Interictal Spike EEG Source Analysis in Hypothalamic Hamartoma Epilepsy

Objective: The epilepsy associated with the hypothalamic hamartomas constitutes a syndrome with peculiar seizures, usually refractory to medical therapy, mild cognitive delay, behavioural problems and multifocal spike activity in the scalp electroencephalogram (EEG). The cortical origin of spikes has been widely assumed but not specifically demonstrated. Methods: We present results of a source analysis of interictal spikes from 4 patients (age 2–25 years) with epilepsy and hypothalamic hamartoma, using EEG scalp recordings (32 electrodes) and realistic boundary element models constructed from volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs). Multifocal spike activity was the most common finding, distributed mainly over the frontal and temporal lobes. A spike classification based on scalp topography was done and averaging within each class performed to improve the signal to noise ratio. Single moving dipole models were used, as well as the Rap-MUSIC algorithm. Results: All spikes with good signal to noise ratio were best explained by initial deep sources in the neighbourhood of the hamartoma, with late sources located in the cortex. Not a single patient could have his spike activity explained by a combination of cortical sources. Conclusions: Overall, the results demonstrate a consistent origin of spike activity in the subcortical region in the neighbourhood of the hamartoma, with late spread to cortical areas