The impact of educational technologies in higher education

The formation of human capital is key to countries’ social, cultural, and economic development. The current literature review pays considerable attention to the ever-increasing proliferation of technology in the careers of college and school graduates. While the presence of educational technology in higher education offers multiple benefits, its implementation also presents challenges. In that sense, the literature has considered multiple tools for improving learning processes. However, the results of such tools vary and are difficult to measure in terms of quality. In this literature review, we analyze the issues surrounding educational technology in higher education.La formación de capital humano es clave para el desarrollo social, cultural y económico de los países. Esta revisión de literatura presta una atención considerable a la introducción cada vez mayor de la tecnología en las carreras universitarias y en las escuelas de posgrados. Si bien la presencia de tecnología educativa en la educación superior ofrece múltiples beneficios, su implementación también presenta desafíos. En ese sentido, la literatura ha considerado múltiples herramientas para mejorar los procesos de aprendizaje. Ahora bien, los resultados de estas herramientas varían y son difíciles de medir en términos de calidad. En esta revisión de la literatura, analizamos los problemas que rodean la tecnología educativa en la educación superiorA formação de capital humano é fundamental para o desenvolvimento social, cultural e econômico dos países. Esta revisão de literatura presta uma atenção considerável à introdução cada vez maior da tecnologia nas carreiras universitárias e nas escolas de pós-graduações. Embora a presença de tecnologia educativa na educação superior ofereça múltiplos benefícios, sua implementação também apresenta desafios. Nesse sentido, a literatura tem considerado múltiplas ferramentas para melhorar os processos de aprendizagem. Agora bem, os resultados destas ferramentas variam e são difíceis de medir em termos de qualidade. Nesta revisão da literatura, analisamos os problemas que rodeiam a tecnologia educativa na educação superio

Cytosine methylation dynamics during post-testicular sperm maturation in mammals [preprint]

Beyond the haploid genome, mammalian sperm contribute a payload of epigenetic information which can modulate offspring phenotypes. Recent studies have shown that the small RNA payload of sperm undergoes extensive remodeling during post-testicular maturation in the epididymis. Intriguingly, epididymal maturation has also been linked to changes in the sperm methylome, suggesting that the epididymis might play a broader role in remodeling the sperm epigenome. Here, we build on prior studies of the maturing sperm methylation landscape, further characterizing the genome-wide methylation landscape in seven germ cell populations collected from throughout the male reproductive tract. Overall, we find very few changes in the cytosine methylation landscape between testicular germ cell populations and cauda epididymal sperm, demonstrating that the sperm methylome is largely stable throughout post-testicular maturation. Intriguingly, although our sequencing data suggested that caput epididymal sperm exhibit a highly unusual methylome, follow-up studies revealed that this resulted from contamination of caput sperm by extracellular DNA. Extracellular DNA formed web-like structures that ensnared sperm, was present only in the caput epididymis of virgin males, where it was associated with citrullinated histone H3 and presumably resulted from a PAD-driven genome decondensation process. Taken together, our data emphasize the stability of the cytosine methylation landscape in mammalian sperm, and identify a surprising but transient period during which immature sperm are associated with extracellular DNA

Seasonal cycle of precipitation variability in South America on intraseasonal timescales

The seasonal cycle of the intraseasonal (IS) variability of precipitation in South America is described through the analysis of bandpass filtered outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) anomalies. The analysis is discriminated between short (10--30 days) and long (30--90 days) intraseasonal timescales. The seasonal cycle of the 30--90-day IS variability can be well described by the activity of first leading pattern (EOF1) computed separately for the wet season (October--April) and the dry season (May--September). In agreement with previous works, the EOF1 spatial distribution during the wet season is that of a dipole with centers of actions in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) and southeastern South America (SESA), while during the dry season, only the last center is discernible. In both seasons, the pattern is highly influenced by the activity of the Madden--Julian Oscillation (MJO). Moreover, EOF1 is related with a tropical zonal-wavenumber-1 structure superposed with coherent wave trains extended along the South Pacific during the wet season, while during the dry season the wavenumber-1 structure is not observed. The 10--30-day IS variability of OLR in South America can be well represented by the activity of the EOF1 computed through considering all seasons together, a dipole but with the stronger center located over SESA. While the convection activity at the tropical band does not seem to influence its activity, there are evidences that the atmospheric variability at subtropical-extratropical regions might have a role. Subpolar wavetrains are observed in the Pacific throughout the year and less intense during DJF, while a path of wave energy dispersion along a subtropical wavetrain also characterizes the other seasons. Further work is needed to identify the sources of the 10--30-day-IS variability in South America

Peptidylprolyl isomerase C (Ppic) regulates invariant Natural Killer T cell (iNKT) differentiation in mice

© 2021 The Authors. European Journal of Immunology published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase C (Ppic) is expressed in several bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic progenitors and in T-cell precursors. Since the expression profile of Ppic in the hematoimmune system was suggestive that it could play a role in hematopoiesis and/or T lymphocyte differentiation, we sought to test that hypothesis in vivo. Specifically, we generated a Ppic-deficient mouse model by targeting the endogenous locus by CRISPR/Cas9 and tested the requirement of Ppic in hematopoiesis. Several immune cell lineages covering BM progenitors, lymphocyte precursors, as well as mature cells at the periphery were analyzed. While most lineages were unaffected, invariant NKT (iNKT) cells were reduced in percentage and absolute cell numbers in the Ppic-deficient thymus. This affected the most mature stages in the thymus, S2 and S3, and the phenotype was maintained at the periphery. Additionally, immature transitional T1 and T2 B lymphocytes were increased in the Ppic-deficient spleen, but the phenotype was lost in mature B lymphocytes. In sum, our data show that Ppic is dispensable for myeloid cells, platelets, erythrocytes, αβ, and γδ T lymphocytes in vivo in the steady state, while being involved in B- and iNKT cell differentiation.This work was supported by the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and the Portuguese National Research Council (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia [FCT]) Grant PTDC/BIA-BID/30925/2017 to VCM, that also supports the salary of RSP. VCM is supported by an individual contract awarded by FCT (CEECIND/03106/2018). CVR is a PhD student of the IGC Integrative Biology and Biomedicine (IBB) PhD Program and supported by an individual FCT PhD Fellowship ref. PD/BD/139190/2018. This work had the support of the research infrastructures Congento LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022170 and PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122, both cofinanced by FCT and Lisboa2020, under PORTUGAL2020 agreement (European Regional Development Fund).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dopamine up-regulates Th17 phenotype from individuals with generalized anxiety disorder

AbstractOur objective was to evaluate the effect of stress-related dose of dopamine (DA) on the in vitro proliferation and cytokine production in polyclonally-activated T cells from healthy individuals or individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Our results demonstrated that cell cultures from GAD group proliferated less following T cell activation, as compared with control group. The addition of DA reduced the proliferative response in cell cultures from healthy but not from GAD individuals. The cytokine profile in GAD individuals revealed Th1 and Th2 deficiencies associated with a dominant Th17 phenotype, which was enhanced by DA. A similar DA-induced immunomodulation was also observed in PPD-activated cell cultures from GAD individuals. Unlike the control, DA-enhanced Th17 cytokine production in GAD individuals was not affected by glucocorticoid. In conclusion, our results show that the T cell functional dysregulation in GAD individuals is significantly amplified by DA. These immune abnormalities can have impact in increasing the susceptibility of individuals with anxiety disorders to infectious diseases and inflammatory/autoimmune disorders

Morphology, morphometry and ultrastructure of the Amazonian manatee (Sirenia: Trichechidae) spermatozoa

This study describes the morphological, morphometric and ultrastructural characteristics of the Amazonian manatee Trichechus inunguis (Natterer, 1883) spermatozoon. The spermatozoa were obtained from a urine sample of an adult T. inunguis kept in captivity. The spermatozoa were analyzed by light and transmission electron microscopy. The head of Amazonian manatee spermatozoa had a flat oval shape and a well distinguishable midpiece. The mean dimensions of the spermatozoa were: head length, 7.49 ± 0.24 µm; head width, 3.53 ± 0.19 µm; head thickness, 1.61 ± 0.13 µm; midpiece length, 11.36 ± 0.34 µm; flagellum length, 40.91 ± 1.94 µm; total tail length, 52.16 ± 1.06 µm; total spermatozoon length, 60.08 ± 1.40 µm. The Amazonian manatee spermatozoa were similar in shape to other sirenian spermatozoa; however, presenting a different size. This study describes, for the first time, the morphometric and ultrastructural characteristics of the Amazonian manatee spermatozoa, and also demonstrates the possible use of spermatozoa retrieved from urine samples for biological studies

Performance of cryptococcal antigen lateral flow assay in serum, cerebrospinal fluid, whole blood, and urine in HIV-infected patients with culture-proven cryptococcal meningitis admitted at a Brazilian referral center

Cryptococcal meningitis is the most common cause of opportunistic meningitis in HIV-infected patients in Brazil and causes unacceptable high mortality rates. In this study, HIV-infected patients with a first episode of culture-proven cryptococcal meningitis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were prospectively included in order to evaluate sensitivity of cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) lateral flow assay (LFA) in serum, CSF, whole blood (fingerstick), and fresh urine. In addition, HIV-infected patients with other neurological confirmed diseases were included in order to evaluate the specificity of CrAg LFA in serum. Twenty patients with cryptococcal meningitis were included and in 19 of them, CrAg LFA in CSF, serum, and whole blood were positive (95% sensitivity). In 18 patients, India ink test was positive in CSF (90% sensitivity), and in 16 cases, CrAg LFA was positive in urine (80% sensitivity). Thirty-six HIV-infected patients with other neurological diseases had negative results of CrAg LFA in serum (100% specificity). In conclusion, CrAg LFA in serum, CSF, and whole blood showed high sensitivity and specificity. Whole blood CrAg LFA seems to be a good and reliable strategy to improve AIDS-related cryptococcal meningitis diagnosis in Brazil

Mejoramiento del perfil de ácidos grasos de huevos. Efectos de los aceites de lino y maíz

Durante los últimos años se ha extendido notoriamente el desarrollo de alimentos funcionales, dentro de los cuales se enmarcan los huevos enriquecidos con ácidos grasos poli-insaturados (AGPI)

A hypoperfusion context may aid to interpret hyperlactatemia in sepsis-3 septic shock patients: a proof-of-concept study

__Background:__ Persistent hyperlactatemia is particularly difficult to interpret in septic shock. Besides hypoperfusion, adrenergic-driven lactate production and impaired lactate clearance are important contributors. However, clinical recognition of different sources of hyperlactatemia is unfortunately not a common practice and patients are treated with the same strategy despite the risk of over-resuscitation in some. Indeed, pursuing additional resuscitation in non-hypoperfusion-related cases might lead to the toxicity of fluid overload and vasoactive drugs. We hypothesized that two different clinical patterns can be recognized in septic shock patients through a multimodal perfusion monitoring. Hyperlactatemic patients with a hypoperfusion context probably represent a more severe acute circulatory dysfunction, and the absence of a hypoperfusion context is eventually associated with a good outcome. We performed a retrospective analysis of a database of septic shock patients with persistent hyperlactatemia after initial resuscitation. __Results:__ We defined hypoperfusion context by the presence of a ScvO2 < 70%, or a P(cv-a)CO2 ≥6 mmHg, or a CRT ≥4 s together with hyperlactatemia. Ninety patients were included, of whom seventy exhibited a hypoperfusion-related pattern and 20 did not. Although lactate values were comparable at baseline (4.8 ± 2.8 vs. 4.7 ± 3.7 mmol/L), patients with a hypoperfusion context exhibited a more severe circulatory dysfunction with higher vasopressor requirements, and a trend to longer mechanical ventilation days, ICU stay, and more rescue therapies. Only one of the 20 hyperlactatemic patients without a hypoperfusion context died (5%) compared to 11 of the 70 with hypoperfusion-related hyperlactatemia (16%). __Conclusions:__ Two different clinical patterns among hyperlactatemic septic shock patients may be identified according to hypoperfusion context. Patients with hyperlactatemia plus low ScvO2, or high P(cv-a)CO2, or high CRT values exhibited a more severe circulatory dysfunction. This provides a starting point to launch further prospective studies to confirm if this approach can lead to a more selective resuscitation strategy