Relações existentes entre o desempenho motor das habilidades locomotoras e o seu envolvimento no bullying escolar em crianças de 10 a 12 anos

Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Ensino de Educação Física nos Ensinos Básico e Secundário

O domínio motor dos alunos na Ginástica à entrada no Ensino Profissional: estudo exploratório com uma turma do 10º ano

Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Ensino de Educação Física nos Ensinos Básico e Secundário

Implementation and comparison of different switching techniques for shunt active power filters

This paper presents a comparison between three switching techniques that can be used in three-phase four-wire Shunt Active Power Filters (SAPFs). The implemented switching techniques are: Periodic-Sampling (PS), Triangular Carrier Pulse-Width Modulation (TC-PWM) and Space Vector PWM (SVPWM). The comparison between them is made in terms of the compensated currents THD%, implementation complexity, necessary CPU time and SAPF efficiency. To perform this comparison are presented and analyzed several experimental results, obtained with a 20 kVA Shunt Active Power Filter prototype, specially developed for this purpose. The control system of the developed SAPF is based in the p-q Theory with a grid synchronization algorithm p-PLL.

Ashbya gossypii beyond industrial riboflavin production: a historical perspective and emerging biotechnological applications

The filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii has been safely and successfully used for more than two decades in the commercial production of riboflavin (vitamin B2). Its industrial relevance combined with its high genetic similarity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae together promoted the accumulation of fundamental knowledge that has been efficiently converted into a significant molecular and in silico toolbox for its genetic engineering. This synergy has enabled a directed and sustained exploitation of A. gossypii as an industrial riboflavin producer. Although there is still room for optimizing riboflavin production, the recent years have seen an abundant advance in the exploration of A. gossypii for other biotechnological applications, such as the production of recombinant proteins, single cell oil and flavour compounds. Here, we will address the biotechnological potential of A. gossypii beyond riboflavin production by presenting (a) a physiological and metabolic perspective over this fungus; (b) the molecular toolbox available for its manipulation; and (c) commercial and emerging biotechnological applications for this industrially important fungus, together with the approaches adopted for its engineering.

Rényi entropy and the thermodynamic stability of black holes

Thermodynamic stability of black holes, described by the Rényi formula as equilibrium compatible entropy function, is investigated. It is shown that within this approach, asymptotically flat, Schwarzschild black holes can be in stable equilibrium with thermal radiation at a fixed temperature. This implies that the canonical ensemble exists just like in anti-de Sitter space, and nonextensive effects can stabilize the black holes in a very similar way as it is done by the gravitational potential of an anti-de Sitter space. Furthermore, it is also shown that a Hawking–Page-like black hole phase transition occurs at a critical temperature which depends on the q-parameter of the Rényi formula.

Search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data collected in 2012 at s√=8 TeV from pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1 are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionisation, consistent with long-lived massive particles with electric charges from |q|=2e to |q|=6e are searched for. No signal candidate events are observed, and 95% confidence level cross-section upper limits are interpreted as lower mass limits for a Drell--Yan production model. The mass limits range between 660 and 785 GeV.

Search for resonant diboson production in the ℓℓqq¯ final state in pp collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports on a search for narrow resonances in diboson production in the ℓℓqq¯ final state using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20fb−1 collected at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of data events over the Standard Model expectation is observed. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section times branching ratio for Kaluza--Klein gravitons predicted by the Randall--Sundrum model and for Extended Gauge Model W' bosons. These results lead to the exclusion of mass values below 740 GeV and 1590 GeV for the graviton and W' boson respectively.

Influence of climate on clinical diagnostic dry eye tests: pilot study

Purpose. To analyze dry eye disease (DED) tests and their consistency in similar nonsymptomatic population samples living in two geographic locations with different climates (Continental vs. Atlantic). Methods. This is a pilot study including 14 nonsymptomatic residents from Valladolid (Continental climate, Spain) and 14 sex-matched and similarly aged residents from Braga (Atlantic climate, Portugal); they were assessed during the same season (spring) of two consecutive years. Phenol red thread test, conjunctival hyperemia, fluorescein tear breakup time, corneal and conjunctival staining, and Schirmer test were evaluated on three different consecutive visits. Reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and weighted kappa (J) coefficient for quantitative and ordinal variables, respectively. Results. Fourteen subjects were recruited in each city with a mean (TSD) age of 63.0 (T1.7) and 59.1 (T0.9) years (p = 0.08) in Valladolid and Braga, respectively. Intraclass correlation coefficient and J values of the tests performed were below 0.69 and 0.61, respectively, for both samples, thus showing moderate to poor reliability. Subsequently, comparisons were made between the results corresponding to the middle and higher outdoor relative humidity (RH) visit in each location as there were no differences in mean temperature (p Q 0.75) despite RH values significantly differing (p e 0.005). Significant (p e 0.05) differences were observed between Valladolid and Braga samples on tear breakup time (middle RH visit, 2.76 T 0.60 vs. 5.26 T 0.64 seconds; higher RH visit, 2.61 T 0.32 vs. 5.78 T 0.88 seconds) and corneal (middle RH, 0.64 T 0.17 vs. 0.14 T 0.10; higher RH, 0.60 T 0.22 vs. 0.0 T 0.0) and conjunctival staining (middle RH, 0.61 T 0.17 vs. 0.14 T 0.08; higher RH, 0.57 T 0.15 vs. 0.18 T 0.09). Conclusions. This pilot study provides initial evidence to support that DED test outcomes assessing the ocular surface integrity and tear stability are climate dependent. Future large-sample studies should support these outcomes also in DED patients. This knowledge is fundamental for multicenter clinical trials. Lack of consistency in diagnostic clinical tests for DED was also corroborated. (Optom Vis Sci 2015;92:e284Ye289)

Search for flavour-changing neutral current top quark decays t → Hq in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for flavour-changing neutral current decays of a top quark to an uptype quark (q = u, c) and the Standard Model Higgs boson, where the Higgs boson decays to bb¯¯, is presented. The analysis searches for top quark pair events in which one top quark decays to Wb, with the W boson decaying leptonically, and the other top quark decays to Hq. The search is based on pp collisions at s√=8 TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and uses an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon and at least four jets. The search exploits the high multiplicity of b-quark jets characteristic of signal events, and employs a likelihood discriminant that uses the kinematic differences between the signal and the background, which is dominated by tt¯→WbWb decays. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found, and observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits of 0.56% (0.42%) and 0.61% (0.64%) are derived for the t → Hc and t → Hu branching ratios respectively. The combination of this search with other ATLAS searches in the H → γγ and H → WW *, ττ decay modes significantly improves the sensitivity, yielding observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on the t → Hc and t → Hu branching ratios of 0.46% (0.25%) and 0.45% (0.29%) respectively. The corresponding combined observed (expected) upper limits on the |λ tcH | and |λ tuH | couplings are 0.13 (0.10) and 0.13 (0.10) respectively. These are the most restrictive direct bounds on tqH interactions measured so far.

New self-assembled supramolecular hydrogels based on dehydropeptides

Supramolecular hydrogels rely on small molecules that self-assemble in water as a result of the cooperative effect of several relatively weak intermolecular interactions. Peptide-based low molecular weight hydrogelators have attracted enormous interest owing to the simplicity of small molecules combined with the versatility and biocompatibility of peptides. In this work, naproxen, a well known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was N-conjugated with various dehydrodipeptides to give aromatic peptide amphiphiles that resist proteolysis. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to obtain insight into the underlying molecular mechanism of self-assembly and to rationalize the design of this type of hydrogelators. The results obtained were in excellent agreement with the experimental observations. Only dehydrodipeptides having at least one aromatic amino acid gave hydrogels. The characterization of the hydrogels was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence spectroscopy and also rheological assays.

Silicon nanowire arrays coupled with cobalt phosphide spheres as low-cost photocathodes for efficient solar hydrogen evolution

We demonstrate the first example of silicon nanowire array photocathodes coupled with hollow spheres of the emerging earth-abundant cobalt phosphide catalysts. Compared to bare silicon nanowire arrays, the hybrid electrodes exhibit significantly improved photoelectrochemical performance toward the solar-driven H2 evolution reaction.

SMYD3 contributes to a more aggressive phenotype of prostate cancer and targets Cyclin D2 through H4K20me3

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most incident cancers worldwide but clinical and pathological parameters have limited ability to discriminate between clinically significant and indolent PCa. Altered expression of histone methyltransferases and histone methylation patterns are involved in prostate carcinogenesis. SMYD3 transcript levels have prognostic value and discriminate among PCa with different clinical aggressiveness, so we decided to investigate its putative oncogenic role on PCa.We silenced SMYD3 and assess its impact through in vitro (cell viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration, invasion assays) and in vivo (tumor formation, angiogenesis). We evaluated SET domain's impact in PCa cells' phenotype. Histone marks deposition on SMYD3 putative target genes was assessed by ChIP analysis.Knockdown of SMYD3 attenuated malignant phenotype of LNCaP and PC3 cell lines. Deletions affecting the SET domain showed phenotypic impact similar to SMYD3 silencing, suggesting that tumorigenic effect is mediated through its histone methyltransferase activity. Moreover, CCND2 was identified as a putative target gene for SMYD3 transcriptional regulation, through trimethylation of H4K20.Our results support a proto-oncogenic role for SMYD3 in prostate carcinogenesis, mainly due to its methyltransferase enzymatic activity. Thus, SMYD3 overexpression is a potential biomarker for clinically aggressive disease and an attractive therapeutic target in PCa.

Green's relations, regularity and abundancy for semigroups of quasi-onto transformations

Let V be an infinite-dimensional vector space and for every infinite cardinal n such that n≤dimV, let AE(V,n) denote the semigroup of all linear transformations of V whose defect is less than n. In 2009, Mendes-Gonçalves and Sullivan studied the ideal structure of AE(V,n). Here, we consider a similarly-defined semigroup AE(X,q) of transformations defined on an infinite set X. Quite surprisingly, the results obtained for sets differ substantially from the results obtained in the linear setting.

Expression of histone methyltransferases as novel biomarkers for renal cell tumor diagnosis and prognostication

Renal cell tumors (RCTs) are the most lethal of the common urological cancers. The widespread use of imaging entailed an increased detection of small renal masses, emphasizing the need for accurate distinction between benign and malignant RCTs, which is critical for adequate therapeutic management. Histone methylation has been implicated in renal tumorigenesis, but its potential clinical value as RCT biomarker remains mostly unexplored. Hence, the main goal of this study was to identify differentially expressed histone methyltransferases (HMTs) and histone demethylases (HDMs) that might prove useful for RCT diagnosis and prognostication, emphasizing the discrimination between oncocytoma (a benign tumor) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC), especially the chromophobe subtype (chRCC). We found that the expression levels of three genes-SMYD2, SETD3, and NO66-was significantly altered in a set of RCTs, which was further validated in a large independent cohort. Higher expression levels were found in RCTs compared to normal renal tissues (RNTs) and in chRCCs comparatively to oncocytomas. SMYD2 and SETD3 mRNA levels correlated with protein expression assessed by immunohistochemistry. SMYD2 transcript levels discriminated RCTs from RNT, with 82.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity (AUC=0.959), and distinguished chRCCs from oncocytomas, with 71.0% sensitivity and 73.3% specificity (AUC: 0.784). Low expression levels of SMYD2, SETD3, and NO66 were significantly associated with shorter disease-specific and disease-free survival, especially in patients with non-organ confined tumors. We conclude that expression of selected HMTs and HDMs might constitute novel biomarkers to assist in RCT diagnosis and assessment of tumor aggressiveness.

Growth of sulfate reducing bacteria on the methanogenic inhibitor BES

The metabolism of methanogenic archaea is inhibited by 2-bromoethanesulfonate (BES). Methane production is blocked because BES is an analog of methyl-coenzyme M and competes with this key molecule in the last step of methanogenesis. For this reason, BES is commonly used in several studies to avoid growth of acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens [1]. Despite its effectiveness as methanogenic inhibitor, BES was found to alter microbial communities’ structure, to inhibit the metabolism of non-methanogenic microorganisms and to stimulate homoacetogenic metabolism [2,3]. Even though sulfonates have been reported as electron acceptors for sulfate- and sulfite-reducing bacteria (SRB), only one study described the reduction of BES by complex microbial communities [4]. In this work, a sulfate-reducing bacterium belonging to Desulfovibrio genus (98 % identity at the 16S rRNA gene level with Desulfovibrio aminophilus) was isolated from anaerobic sludge after several successive transfers in anaerobic medium containing BES as sole substrate. Sulfate was not supplemented to the anaerobic growth medium. This microorganism was able to grow under the following conditions: on BES plus H2/CO2 in bicarbonate buffered medium; on BES without H2/CO2 in bicarbonate buffered medium; and on BES in phosphate buffered medium. The main products of BES utilization were sulfide and acetate, the former was produced by the reduction of sulfur from the sulfonate moiety of BES and the latter likely originated from the carbon backbone of the BES molecule. BES was found, in this study, to represent not only an alternative electron acceptor but also to serve as electron donor, and sole carbon and energy source, supporting growth of a Desulfovibrio sp. obtained in pure culture. This is the first study that reports growth of SRB with BES as electron donor and electron acceptor, showing that the methanogenic inhibitor is a substrate for anaerobic growth.