Designing of a TEACCH-based Software Prototype for Assisting in Literacy of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Literacy is a crucial element for the conscious practice of sociability and development of a country. However, some individuals have difficulties in learning with conventional learning and need a methodology adapted to their reality in order to develop the ability for abstract thinking and thus assimilate the knowledge imparted. Autistic Children are examples of individuals with learning disabilities, presenting impairment of social and communicative skills such as hyperactivity, lack of concentration and cognitive deficits. An approach that has been used worldwide to facilitate the literacy of children with autism is the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children (TEACCH), which consists in structuring a visual environment, materials and activities for these children. The purpose of this work is to present the creation process of the first modules of a software for literacy of autistic children, based on the principles of TEACCH. The software requirements were collected in collaboration with Friends of Autistic People Association of Alagoas (AMA-AL)

Tracking the antibody immunome in sporadic colorectal cancer by using antigen self-assembled protein arrays

© 2021 by the authors.Sporadic Colorectal Cancer (sCRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in the Western world, and the sCRC patients presenting with synchronic metastasis have the poorest prognosis. Genetic alterations accumulated in sCRC tumor cells translate into mutated proteins and/or abnormal protein expression levels, which contribute to the development of sCRC. Then, the tumor-associated proteins (TAAs) might induce the production of auto-antibodies (aAb) via humoral immune response. Here, Nucleic Acid Programmable Protein Arrays (NAPPArray) are employed to identify aAb in plasma samples from a set of 50 sCRC patients compared to seven healthy donors. Our goal was to establish a systematic workflow based on NAPPArray to define differential aAb profiles between healthy individuals and sCRC patients as well as between non-metastatic (n = 38) and metastatic (n = 12) sCRC, in order to gain insight into the role of the humoral immune system in controlling the development and progression of sCRC. Our results showed aAb profile based on 141 TAA including TAAs associated with biological cellular processes altered in genesis and progress of sCRC (e.g., FSCN1, VTI2 and RPS28) that discriminated healthy donors vs. sCRC patients. In addition, the potential capacity of discrimination (between non-metastatic vs. metastatic sCRC) of 7 TAAs (USP5, ML4, MARCKSL1, CKMT1B, HMOX2, VTI2, TP53) have been analyzed individually in an independent cohort of sCRC patients, where two of them (VTI2 and TP53) were validated (AUC ~75%). In turn, these findings provided novel insights into the immunome of sCRC, in combination with transcriptomics profiles and protein antigenicity characterizations, wich might lead to the identification of novel sCRC biomarkers that might be of clinical utility for early diagnosis of the tumor. These results explore the immunomic analysis as potent source for biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic value in CRC. Additional prospective studies in larger series of patients are required to confirm the clinical utility of these novel sCRC immunomic biomarkers.We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII) for the grants: FIS PI14/01538, FIS PI17/01930 and CB16/12/00400. We also acknowledge Fondos FEDER (EU) “Una manera de hacer Europa” and Junta Castilla-León (COVID19 grant COV20EDU/00187). Fundación Solórzano FS/38-2017. The Proteomics Unit belongs to ProteoRed, PRB3-ISCIII, supported by grant PT17/0019/0023, of the PE I + D + I 2017-2020, funded by ISCIII and FEDER. CNPq-National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Brazil) (306258/2019-6) and FAPERJ-Foundation for Research Support of Rio de Janeiro State for the financial support (E-26/201.670/2017 and 210.379/2018). M. González-González is supported by MINECOPTA2019-017870-I.A. Landeira-Viñuela is supported by VIII Centenario-USAL PhD Program. P.J.-V. is supported by JCYL PhD Program and scholarship JCYL-EDU/601/2020. P.D. and E.B. are supported by a JCYL-EDU/346/2013 Ph.D. scholarship

Covid-19 e suas redes de conectividades no território maranhense: Compreendendo sua espacialização

This article is the result of a discussion that begins with the statement by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) about the Covid-19 pandemic, a disease caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, from March 11th, the study group began to follow the news about the Brazilian cases in the Northeast and North regions, more specifically, in Maranhão state, through the information contained in the information sheets, technical notes and decrees made available by the Secretary of State for Health. Thus, the monitoring to understand the specialization of the disease had started. For such follow-up, discussions were promoted about the Technical Scientific Informational Environment, Flows, and Connection Networks between the capital and the other municipalities located on the Island, as well as with the municipalities on the continent. Subsequently, software from the Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to make daily thematic maps on confirmed cases and deaths, considering the period from 04/05/2020 to 06/15/2020 and, with the bibliographic references, they provided relevant reflections to us for understanding the diffusion and spatialization of cases in Maranhão’s municipalities. It was verified that the road flow was the main midst of Covid-19 dissemination, with 1499 deaths and 60592 confirmed cases which reached 665 and 98%, respectively, of the Maranhão’s municipalities.Este artículo es el resultado de una discusión que parte de la declaración de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS, 2020) sobre la pandemia de Covid-19, una enfermedad causada por el nuevo coronavirus 2 del síndrome respiratorio agudo severo (SARS-CoV-2). Por lo tanto, a partir del 11 de marzo, el grupo de estudio comenzó a seguir las noticias sobre los casos en Brasil y en las regiones noreste y norte, más específicamente en el estado de Maranhão, a través de la información contenida en los boletines, notas técnicas y El Secretario de Estado de Salud puso a disposición los decretos gubernamentales, por lo que el monitoreo comenzó a comprender la espacialización de la enfermedad. Para dicho seguimiento, se promovieron discusiones sobre el entorno de información técnica científica, flujos y redes de conexión entre la capital y los otros municipios ubicados en la isla, así como con los municipios del continente. Posteriormente, se utilizó el software del Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG) para hacer mapas temáticos diarios sobre casos y muertes confirmados, teniendo en cuenta el período del 05/04/2020 al 15/06/2020 y, junto con las referencias bibliográficas , nos proporcionó reflexiones relevantes para comprender la difusión y la espacialización de los casos en los municipios de Maranhão. Se descubrió que el flujo de la carretera era el principal medio de diseminación de Covid-19 con 1499 muertes y 60592 casos confirmados, llegando a 655 y 98%, respectivamente, de los municipios de Maranhão.Este artigo é fruto de uma discussão que se inicia partir da declaração da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS, 2020) sobre a pandemia da Covid-19, doença causada pela nova severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Dessa forma, a partir do dia 11 de março, o grupo de estudos começou a acompanhar as notícias sobre os casos no Brasil e nas Regiões Nordeste e Norte, mais especificamente no estado do Maranhão, por meio das informações contidas nos boletins, notas técnicas e decretos governamentais disponibilizados pela Secretaria de Estado da Saúde. Assim, iniciou-se o monitoramento para a compreensão da espacialização da doença. Para tal acompanhamento, promoveram-se discussões sobre o Meio Técnico Científico Informacional, Fluxos e Redes de Conexão entre a capital e os demais municípios localizados na Ilha, bem como com os municípios do continente. Posteriormente, foram utilizados softwares do Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG) para confecção de mapas temáticos diários sobre casos confirmados e óbitos, levando em consideração o período de 05/04/2020 a 15/06/2020 e, em conjunto com os referenciais bibliográficos, nos proporcionaram reflexões relevantes para o entendimento da difusão e espacialização dos casos nos municípios maranhenses. Verificou-se que o fluxo rodoviário foi o principal meio da difusão da Covid-19 com 1499 óbitos e 60592 casos confirmados, alcançando 655 e 98% respectivamente dos municípios maranhenses

Ciprofloxacin-Loaded Zein/Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles for Ocular Mucosa Delivery

Bacterial conjunctivitis is a worldwide problem that, if untreated, can lead to severe complications, such as visual impairment and blindness. Topical administration of ciprofloxacin is one of the most common treatments for this infection; however, topical therapeutic delivery to the eye is quite challenging. To tackle this, nanomedicine presents several advantages compared to conventional ophthalmic dosage forms. Herein, the flash nanoprecipitation technique was applied to produce zein and hyaluronic acid nanoparticles loaded with ciprofloxacin (ZeinCPX_HA NPs). ZeinCPX_HA NPs exhibited a hydrodynamic diameter of <200 nm and polydispersity index of <0.3, suitable for ocular drug delivery. In addition, the freeze-drying of the nanoparticles was achieved by using mannitol as a cryoprotectant, allowing their resuspension in water without modifying the physicochemical properties. Moreover, the biocompatibility of nanoparticles was confirmed by in vitro assays. Furthermore, a high encapsulation efficiency was achieved, and a release profile with an initial burst was followed by a prolonged release of ciprofloxacin up to 24 h. Overall, the obtained results suggest ZeinCPX_HA NPs as an alternative to the common topical dosage forms available on the market to treat conjunctivitis