Identification of a 0.4 Kb deletion region in 10q26 associated with endometrial carcinoma

We have identified an allelic deletion common region in the q26 region of chromosome 10 in endometrial carcinomas, which has been reported previously as a potential target of genetic alterations related to this neoplasia. An allelotyping analysis of 19 pairs of tumoral and non-tumoral samples was accomplished using seven microsatellite polymorphic markers mapping in the 10q26 chromosomal region. Loss of heterozygosity for one or more loci was detected in 29% of the endometrial carcinoma samples. The observed pattern of loss enabled the identification of a 3.5 Mb common deleted region located between the D10S587 and D10S186 markers. An additional result from an endometrial sample with evidence of a RER phenotype may suggest a more centromeric region of loss within the above-mentioned interval. This 401.84 Kb interval flanked by the D10S587 and D10S216 markers may be a plausible location for a putative suppressor gene involved in early stage endometrial carcinogenesis.

Solution enthalpies of 1,4-dioxane: Study of solvent effects through quantitative structure-property relationships

Solution enthalpies of 1,4-dioxane have been obtained in 15 protic and aprotic solvents at 298.15 K. Breaking the overall process through the use of Solomonov's methodology the cavity term was calculated and interaction enthalpies (Delta H-int) were determined. Main factors involved in the interaction enthalpy have been identified and quantified using a QSPR approach based on the TAKA model equation. The relevant descriptors were found to be pi* and beta, which showed, respectively, exothermic and endothermic contributions. The magnitude of pi* coefficient points toward non-specific solute-solvent interactions playing a major role in the solution process. The positive value of the beta coefficient reflects the endothermic character of the solvents' hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) basicity contribution, indicating that solvent molecules engaged in hydrogen bonding preferentially interact with each other rather than with 1,4-dioxane. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Implementação de WDM com 4 canais no espetro do visível

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia de Electrónica e Telecomunicações

Novos receptores moleculares baseados em calix[4]arenos: aplicação à química sensorial

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Química

Application of wetland systems in the treatment of acid rock mine drainage

The presented work was conducted within the Dissertation / Internship, branch of Environmental Protection Technology, associated to the Master thesis in Chemical Engineering by the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto and it was developed in the Aquatest a.s, headquartered in Prague, in Czech Republic. The ore mining exploitation in the Czech Republic began in the thirteenth century, and has been extended until the twentieth century, being now evident the consequences of the intensive extraction which includes contamination of soil and sub-soil by high concentrations of heavy metals. The mountain region of Zlaté Hory was chosen for the implementation of the remediation project, which consisted in the construction of three cells (tanks), the first to raise the pH, the second for the sedimentation of the formed precipitates and a third to increase the process efficiency in order to reduce high concentrations of metals, with special emphasis on iron, manganese and sulfates. This project was initiated in 2005, being pioneer in this country and is still ongoing due to the complex chemical and biological phenomenon’s inherent to the system. At the site where the project was implemented, there is a natural lagoon, thereby enabling a comparative study of the two systems (natural and artificial) regarding the efficiency of both in the reduction/ removal of the referred pollutants. The study aimed to assist and cooperate in the ongoing investigation at the company Aquatest, in terms of field work conducted in Zlaté Hory and in terms of research methodologies used in it. Thereby, it was carried out a survey and analysis of available data from 2005 to 2008, being complemented by the treatment of new data from 2009 to 2010. Moreover, a theoretical study of the chemical and biological processes that occurs in both systems was performed. Regarding the field work, an active participation in the collection and in situ sample analyzing of water and soil from the natural pond has been attained, with the supervision of Engineer, Irena Šupiková. Laboratory analysis of water and soil were carried out by laboratory technicians. It was found that the natural lagoon is more efficient in reducing iron and manganese, being obtained removal percentages of 100%. The artificial lagoon had a removal percentage of 90% and 33% for iron and manganese respectively. Despite the minor efficiency of the constructed wetland, it must be pointed out that this system was designed for the treatment and consequent reduction of iron. In this context, it can conclude that the main goal has been achieved. In the case of sulphates, the removal optimization is yet a goal to be achieved not only in the Czech Republic but also in other places where this type of contamination persists. In fact, in the natural lagoon and in the constructed wetland, removal efficiencies of 45% and 7% were obtained respectively. It has been speculated that the water at the entrance of both systems has different sources. The analysis of the collected data shows at the entrance of the natural pond, a concentration of 4.6 mg/L of total iron, 14.6 mg/L of manganese and 951 mg/L of sulphates. In the artificial pond, the concentrations are 27.7 mg/L, 8.1 mg/L and 382 mg/L respectively for iron, manganese and sulphates. During 2010 the investigation has been expanded. The study of soil samples has started in order to observe and evaluate the contribution of bacteria in the removal of heavy metals being in its early phase. Summarizing, this technology has revealed to be an interesting solution, since in addition to substantially reduce the mentioned contaminants, mostly iron, it combines the low cost of implementation with an reduced maintenance, and it can also be installed in recreation parks, providing habitats for plants and birds.

A emergência do pensamento algébrico num grupo de crianças de 4 anos

Este artigo apresenta parte de um estudo que se encontra a decorrer e que, entre outras questões, procura perceber quais são os processos de raciocínio e as estratégias que são utilizados pelas crianças de um grupo de 4 anos para criar, analisar e generalizar padrões de repetição e de que forma identificam a unidade de repetição de um padrão. Após a implementação das tarefas, podemos concluir que as crianças dominam o conceito de padrão e conseguem criar e analisar padrões de repetição, evoluindo de formas mais simples para formas mais complexas.

Utilização de medicamentos e fatores associados entre crianças residentes em áreas pobres

OBJETIVO: Descrever o perfil de uso de medicamentos entre crianças residentes em áreas pobres e fatores associados. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal de base populacional que incluiu 1.382 crianças entre quatro e 11 anos de idade, selecionadas por amostragem aleatória de 24 micro-áreas representativas das zonas mais pobres da população residente no município de Salvador, BA, em 2006. A variável dependente foi o consumo de medicamentos nos 15 dias anteriores à realização dos inquéritos. Foram considerados três grupos de variáveis explanatórias: socioeconômicas, estado de saúde da criança e utilização dos serviços de saúde. A análise ajustada utilizou regressão de Poisson seguindo um modelo conceitual hierarquizado. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de consumo de medicamentos em crianças foi de 48%. As crianças do sexo feminino apresentaram prevalência de utilização de medicamentos superior ao sexo masculino, 50,9% e 45,4%, respectivamente (p=0,004). A prevalência de uso de medicamentos diminuiu significativamente com a idade (p<0,001) em ambos os sexos. Os grupos farmacológicos mais utilizados foram os analgésicos/antitérmicos (25,5%), antibacterianos sistêmicos (6,5%) e antitussígenos/expectorantes (6,2%). Na análise multivariada os fatores determinantes de maior utilização de medicamentos foram: idade (quatro a cinco, seis, sete a oito anos), sexo feminino, mães de cor da pele branca, pior percepção de saúde, interrupção de atividades por problemas de saúde e atendimento de saúde independentemente de estar doente nos últimos 15 dias, gasto com medicamentos no último mês e realização de consultas ao médico nos últimos três meses. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de uso de medicamentos entre crianças pobres estudadas foi inferior à verificada em outros estudos populacionais no Brasil, mas semelhante à de adultos. A identificação de grupos mais sujeitos ao uso excessivo de medicamentos pode embasar estratégias para promoção de seu uso racional.

A motivação nas aulas de Dança Clássica: a música como estímulo promotor de motivação em alunas do 4º ano do Curso de Dança da Academia de Música de Vilar do Paraíso

Relatório Final de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Dança, com vista à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino de Dança.

A new A(4) model for lepton mixing

We present a new model of the lepton sector that uses a family symmetry A(4) to make predictions for lepton mixing which are invariant under any permutation of the three flavours. We show that those predictions broadly agree with the experimental data, leading to a largish sin(2)theta(12) greater than or similar to 0.34, to vertical bar cos delta vertical bar greater than or similar to 0.7, and to vertical bar 0.5 - sin(2)theta(23)vertical bar greater than or similar to 0.08; cos delta and 0.5 - sin(2)theta(23) are predicted to have identical signs. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new fluorescent double-cavity calix[4]arene: synthesis and complexation studies toward nitroanilines

Agência Financiadora: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/MCTES (Portugal) - PEst-OE/EQB/UI0702/2012

Determination of free formaldehyde in foundry resins as its 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone by liquid chromatography

Formaldehyde is a toxic component that is present in foundry resins. Its quantification is important to the characterisation of the resin (kind and degradation) as well as for the evaluation of free contaminants present in wastes generated by the foundry industry. The complexity of the matrices considered suggests the need for separative techniques. The method developed for the identification and quantification of formaldehyde in foundry resins is based on the determination of free carbonyl compounds by derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH), being adapted to the considered matrices using liquid chromatography (LC) with UV detection. Formaldehyde determinations in several foundry resins gave precise results. Mean recovery and R.S.D. were, respectively, >95 and 5%. Analyses by the hydroxylamine reference method gave comparable results. Results showed that hydroxylamine reference method is applicable just for a specific kind of resin, while the developed method has good performance for all studied resins.

Determination of polyphenols in wines by reaction with 4-aminoantipyrine and photometric flow-injection analysis

A new flow-injection analytical procedure is proposed for the determination of the total amount of polyphenols in wines; the method is based on the formation of a colored complex between 4-aminoantipyrine and phenols, in the presence of an oxidizing reagent. The oxidizing agents hexacyanoferrate(III), peroxodisulfate, and tetroxoiodate(VII) were tested. Batch trials were first performed to select appropriate oxidizing agents, pH, and concentration ratios of reagents, on the basis of their effect on the stability of the colored complex. Conditions selected as a result of these trials were implemented in a flow-injection analytical system in which the influence of injection volume, flow rate, and reaction- coil length, was evaluated. Under the optimum conditions the total amount of polyphenols, expressed as gallic acid, could be determined within a concentration range of 36 to 544 mg L–1, and with a sensitivity of 344 L mol–1 cm–1 and an RSD <1.1%. The reproducibility of analytical readings was indicative of standard deviations <2%. Interference from sugars, tartaric acid, ascorbic acid, methanol, ammonium sulfate, and potassium chloride was negligible. The proposed system was applied to the determination of total polyphenols in red wines, and enabled analysis of approximately 55 samples h–1. Results were usually precise and accurate; the RSD was <3.9% and relative errors, by the Folin–Ciocalteu method, <5.1%.

A capacidade de subitizing em crianças de 4 anos

Dissertação apresentada à escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Educação Matemática na Educação Pré-Escolar e nos 1º e 2º Ciclos do Ensino Básico

Lendo e explorando histórias: a emergência do pensamento algébrico em crianças de 4 anos

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de mestre em Educação Matemática na Educação Pré-escolar e nos 1º e 2º Ciclos do Ensino Básico