Desenvolvimento de Aplicações e Jogos para Alunos com Necessidades Especiais de Educação, utilizando como plataforma os Dispositivos Móveis.

Este relatório de projeto aplicado descreve como foi o processo de desenvolvimento de uma aplicação para dispositivos móveis (smartphones e tablets), na plataforma Android, destinada para os alunos na educação especial e para as pessoas com alguma deficiência, principalmente aquelas com deficiência intelectual, auditiva e surdez. Observou-se uma oportunidade para a investigação e desenvolvimento de aplicações e jogos, utilizados para a diversão, entretenimento e educação. Direcionados para as crianças com necessidades especiais de educação e para as pessoas com deficiência, perturbações ou doenças crónicas. Uma análise foi realizada para demonstrar o benefício da tecnologia na educação especial, além de mostrar alguns exemplos de produtos direcionados para este público. Foi realizado um estudo para compreender as principais características e necessidades dos alunos na educação especial e das pessoas com deficiências, principalmente as pessoas com deficiência intelectual, auditiva e surdez, no qual este projeto evidenciou no desenvolvimento da aplicação. Apresenta-se o processo de desenvolvimento de uma aplicação, mostrando os conceitos da engenharia de software como a arquitetura, requisitos, design, implementação, testes e resultados. A aplicação desenvolvida neste projeto chama-se “O menino que tinha medo do escuro”, possui uma história infantil inclusiva com diferentes recursos para a comunicação, como a língua gestual portuguesa, pictogramas, textos, ilustrações, áudio com a locução e jogos utilizados para trabalhar a área cognitiva (memória, psicomotricidade, linguagem, imaginação, criatividade e desenho). A aplicação “O menino que tinha medo do escuro” foi publicada nas principais lojas digitais, tendo até à data obtido mais de 9.000 instalações com avaliações e comentários positivos. Mostra-se os planos para o trabalho futuro em relação à aplicação “O menino que tinha medo do escuro”, além de apresentar outras ideias para investigação e desenvolvimento de novas soluções nesta área

The role of melanocyte senescence in skin ageing

PhD ThesisCellular senescence is a stable cell cycle arrest associated with the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors, also known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which can act in a paracrine manner and induce senescence in neighbouring cells. Accumulation of senescent cells has been shown to contribute to age-associated tissue dysfunction. Melanocytes positive for senescence markers have been shown in the skin of middle-aged human donors, however, very little is known about the mechanisms underlying melanocyte senescence, and their contribution to skin ageing. In this study, I aimed to investigate whether telomere dysfunction is a driver of melanocyte senescence, and whether senescent melanocytes contribute to skin ageing phenotypes by affecting surrounding cells in a paracrine manner. I found that melanocytes bearing dysfunctional telomeres accumulate in human skin with age. Importantly, I found that telomere dysfunction occurred independently of telomere length and could be induced in vitro as a result of exposure to different stressors. Furthermore, in human skin in vivo, I observed that telomeric damage was significantly higher in keratinocytes surrounding melanocytes with higher numbers of dysfunctional telomeres, suggesting that senescent melanocytes exert a bystander effect in vivo. Consistent with this, I found that senescent melanocytes secrete soluble factors which induce telomere dysfunction and repress proliferation of dermal fibroblasts in culture. Importantly, I identified that CXCR3, a cell-surface receptor for the cytokine IP-10, is involved in bystander telomere damage induction. Finally, I have shown in three-dimensional human epidermal equivalents that senescent melanocytes can induce paracrine telomere damage and senescence in surrounding keratinocytes, thereby contributing to epidermal thinning, a characteristic of ageing skin. Overall, this study provides evidence that length-independent telomere dysfunction plays a role in melanocyte senescence both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, senescent melanocytes induce paracrine DNA damage and senescence in neighbouring cells, and consequently contribute to age-associated epidermal changes.BBSRC and Unilever for funding my work

Sentimentos de pacientes no pré-operatório de cirurgia cardíaca

This qualitative study aimed to identify the feelings patients presented when confronted with the news about the need to undergo cardiac surgery and, later, during the preoperative period. Twenty male patients were interviewed. The case study methodology was adopted and the analysis process resulted in two theme categories: Feelings of apprehension (fear, worry, anxiety, suspicion and jittery) and Positive and hopeful feelings. We observed that, although both categories were present at the two moments, over time, during the preoperative period, the need for surgical intervention was accepted better and the Feelings of apprehension started to be mentioned less, while the Positive and hopeful feelings were most frequently mentioned by the patients.Fueron entrevistados a 20 pacientes del género masculino con objeto de identificar los sentimientos demostrados tras la noticia a cerca de la necesidad de realizar una cirugía cardíaca y, posteriormente, en el período de internación preoperatoria. La metodología utilizada fue la del estudio de caso y el proceso de análisis resultó en dos categorías temáticas: Sentimientos de aprensión (miedo, preocupación, ansiedad, recelo, desconfianza y nerviosismo) y Sentimientos positivos y de esperanza. Constatamos que, aunque esas dos categorías estuvieron presentes en los dos momentos, a lo largo del tiempo, en el período de internación preoperatoria, los pacientes aceptaron mejor la necesidad de la intervención quirúrgica y los Sentimientos de aprensión pasaron a ser menos citados, mientras los Sentimientos positivos y de esperanza eran los más relatados por los pacientes.Com o objetivo de identificar os sentimentos apresentados frente à notícia da necessidade de realização de uma cirurgia cardíaca e, posteriormente, no período de internação que a antecede (pré-operatório), foram entrevistados 20 pacientes do sexo masculino. A metodologia foi a de estudo de caso, e o processo de análise resultou em duas categorias temáticas: Sentimentos de apreensão (medo, preocupação, ansiedade, receio, cisma, e nervosismo) e Sentimentos positivos e de esperança. Constatamos que, embora essas duas categorias estivessem presentes nos dois momentos, com o passar do tempo, no período de internação pré-operatória, os pacientes aceitaram melhor a necessidade da intervenção cirúrgica e os Sentimentos de apreensão passaram a ser menos citados enquanto os Sentimentos positivos e de esperança eram os mais relatados pelos pacientes

The self-esteem of individual who have been submitted to coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Estudo descritivo e correlacional com objetivos de medir a auto-estima de indivíduos submetidos à cirurgia de revascularização do miocárdio e correlacionar a auto-estima com variáveis sócio-demográficas e clínicas. Uma amostra de 97 pacientes ambulatoriais foi entrevistada. Os dados foram analisados através de estatística descritiva, teste de Correlação de Pearson, testes Mann-Whitney e Kruskal Wallis. A confiabilidade da escala foi verificada (alfa de Cronbach de 0,79) e a média encontrada para auto-estima foi 32,22 (intervalo possível de 10 a 40). Encontramos correlação, estatisticamente significante, apenas para auto-estima e sexo. Concluímos que os participantes apresentavam elevada auto-estima a qual não estava correlacionada com outras variáveis.Estudio descriptivo y correlacional realizado con los objetivos de medir la autoestima de individuos sometidos a cirugía de revascularización del miocardio y de correlacionar la autoestima con variables sociodemográficas y clínicas. Fue entrevistada una muestra de 97 pacientes de consulta externa. Los datos fueron analizados por estadística descriptiva, test de Correlación de Pearson, tests Mann-Whitney y Kruskal Wallis. Se verificó la confiabilidad de la escala alfa de Cronbach de 0,79 y la media encontrada para autoestima fue de 32.22 (intervalo posible de 10 a 40). Encontramos correlación, estadísticamente significativa, apenas para autoestima y sexo. Concluimos que los participantes presentaban elevada autoestima, la cual no estaba correlacionada con otras variables.This is descriptive and correlational study that measured the self-esteem of individuals submitted to coronary artery bypass graft surgery and correlated the self-esteem with socio-demographic and clinical variables. A sample of 97 outpatients was interviewed. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, Pearson's Correlation test, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests. The reliability of the scale was verified (Cronbach alfa was 0.79) and the average for self-esteem was found to be 32.22 (possible range from 10 to 40). Statistically significant correlation was found only between self-esteem and gender. The conclusion is that the participants had a high level of self-esteem, which was not correlated to other variables

Development and Validation of an Educational Comic Book for Guidance on the Safe Use of Fluoride Toothpaste by Children

Objective: To describe the elaboration and content validation of a comic book for guidance on the safe use of fluoride toothpaste by children. Material and Methods: Study on the development of educational technology carried out in four phases: 1 – literature review and script; 2 – elaboration of the material (illustrations, layout and design), 3 – validation (Content Validity Index = CVI and Flesch Readability Index = FI), 4 – pilot test to legitimize the material with the target population. Thirty-one individuals participated in the validation, being 07 expert judges and 24 representatives of the lay population, responsible for the daily care of preschool and school-age children. Results: In the validation, CVI= 0.97 (97%), indicating high agreement of the judges\u27 answers; and FI = 92%, which corresponds to “very easy to understand” reading. In the pilot test carried out with the lay population, the 3 assessment blocks had CVI=1.0 (100%). Conclusion: The comic book proved to be valid regarding appearance and content and can be used for health education activities for adults on the use of fluoride toothpaste for oral hygiene in children

Toll-like receptor orchestrates a tumor suppressor response in non-small cell lung cancer

Targeting early-stage lung cancer is vital to improve survival. However, the mechanisms and components of the early tumor suppressor response in lung cancer are not well understood. In this report, we study the role of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), a regulator of oncogene-induced senescence, which is a key tumor suppressor response in premalignancy. Using human lung cancer samples and genetically engineered mouse models, we show that TLR2 is active early in lung tumorigenesis, where it correlates with improved survival and clinical regression. Mechanistically, TLR2 impairs early lung cancer progression via activation of cell intrinsic cell cycle arrest pathways and the proinflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The SASP regulates non-cell autonomous anti-tumor responses, such as immune surveillance of premalignant cells, and we observe impaired myeloid cell recruitment to lung tumors after Tlr2 loss. Last, we show that administration of a TLR2 agonist reduces lung tumor growth, highlighting TLR2 as a possible therapeutic target.F.R.M. is funded by a Wellcome Trust clinical research fellowship through the Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track (ECAT) program (203913/Z/16/Z), a Wellcome Trust-ISSF3 award (IS3-R1.07 20/21), and a Wellcome Trust iTPA award (209710/Z/17/Z). J.C.A. core lab funding was received from Cancer Research UK (C47559/A16243, Training and Career Development Board – Career Development Fellowship), the University of Edinburgh (Chancellor’s Fellowship), and the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain (Proyecto PID2020-117860GB-100 financiado por MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). S.W. is supported by a Cancer Research UK senior fellowship (A29576). J.C. is supported by a Wellcome Trust clinical lectureship through the ECAT program (203913/Z/16/Z). M.M. is supported by a CRUK Edinburgh Centre Award (C157/A25140). S.V. and J.F.P. are funded by National Institute on Aging (NIA) grants (R01AG 68048-1 and UG3CA 268103-1)

Neutrophils induce paracrine telomere dysfunction and senescence in ROS‐dependent manner

Cellular senescence is characterized by an irreversible cell cycle arrest as well as a pro-inflammatory phenotype, thought to contribute to aging and age-related diseases. Neutrophils have essential roles in inflammatory responses; however, in certain contexts their abundance is associated with a number of age-related diseases, including liver disease. The relationship between neutrophils and cellular senescence is not well understood. Here, we show that telomeres in non-immune cells are highly susceptible to oxidative damage caused by neighboring neutrophils. Neutrophils cause telomere dysfunction both in vitro and ex vivo in a ROS-dependent manner. In a mouse model of acute liver injury, depletion of neutrophils reduces telomere dysfunction and senescence. Finally, we show that senescent cells mediate the recruitment of neutrophils to the aged liver and propose that this may be a mechanism by which senescence spreads to surrounding cells. Our results suggest that interventions that counteract neutrophil-induced senescence may be beneficial during aging and age-related disease

Move Your Body: Engaging Museum Visitors with Human-Data Interaction

Museums have embraced embodied interaction: its novelty generates buzz and excitement among their patrons, and it has enormous educational potential. Human-Data Interaction (HDI) is a class of embodied interactions that enables people to explore large sets of data using interactive visualizations that users control with gestures and body movements. In museums, however, HDI installations have no utility if visitors do not engage with them. In this paper, we present a quasi-experimental study that investigates how different ways of representing the user ("mode type") next-to a data visualization alters the way in which people engage with a HDI system. We consider four mode types: avatar, skeleton, camera overlay, and control. Our findings indicate that the mode type impacts the number of visitors that interact with the installation, the gestures that people do, and the amount of time that visitors spend observing the data on display and interacting with the system

Tissue-enhanced plasma proteomic analysis for disease stratification in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Motor Neurone Disease Association (Malaspina/Apr13/817–791). Wellcome Trust support to a parallel study (Pathfinder Award, grant number 103208)