Presentación

Este número recoge una serie de trabajos de académicos e investigadores de nuestra Universidad y en particular de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Como se advertirá, es el resultado de proyectos de investigación o derivados de los mismos, que tienen por objeto vincular las disciplinas con problemas concretos de nuestra sociedad. Expresa claramente el campo de preocupaciones de una buena parte de nuestros académicos y de su interés en aportar referencias para los debates en curso.

O autismo e o atraso global de desenvolvimento : um estudo de caso

Projeto de investigação no âmbito da Pós-Graduação em Educação Especial - Domínio Cognitivo e Motor, da Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti.

Participación comunitaria, a través del voluntariado de salud en la comunidad de Cachipamba-1996

El objetivo del estudio fue la implementación de la participación comunitaria, a través del voluntariado de salud, para que contribuya al mejoramiento de las condiciones de salud, de la comunidad de Cachipamba, a partir del año de 1996, que tiene una población de 1258 habitantes. El estudio se realiza con la metodología participativa, como también el proceso educativo, a través de un microproyecto de intervención, las variables son la participación comunitaria y el cambio de conceptos, actitudes y prácticas de salud, el análisis de los datos se inicia desde los primeros momentos de la investigación y continúa hasta el final. Se logra la participación de la comunidad en salud, el cambio de conceptos actitudes y prácticas en salud, como también la demanda de actividades preventivas y educativas. La participación de la comunidad se consigue con la integración del equipo de salud a la comunidad, el cambio de conceptos, actitudes y prácticas de salud con la metodología participativa.

Microfluidic platforms for the characterization of in meso membrane protein crystallization

Membrane proteins, which reside in the membranes of cells, play a critical role in many important biological processes including cellular signaling, immune response, and material and energy transduction. Because of their key role in maintaining the environment within cells and facilitating intercellular interactions, understanding the function of these proteins is of tremendous medical and biochemical significance. Indeed, the malfunction of membrane proteins has been linked to numerous diseases including diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, cystic fibrosis, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, hypertension, epilepsy, cataracts, tubulopathy, leukodystrophy, Leigh syndrome, anemia, sensorineural deafness, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.1-3 However, the structure of many of these proteins and the changes in their structure that lead to disease-related malfunctions are not well understood. Additionally, at least 60% of the pharmaceuticals currently available are thought to target membrane proteins, despite the fact that their exact mode of operation is not known.4-6 Developing a detailed understanding of the function of a protein is achieved by coupling biochemical experiments with knowledge of the structure of the protein. Currently the most common method for obtaining three-dimensional structure information is X-ray crystallography. However, no a priori methods are currently available to predict crystallization conditions for a given protein.7-14 This limitation is currently overcome by screening a large number of possible combinations of precipitants, buffer, salt, and pH conditions to identify conditions that are conducive to crystal nucleation and growth.7,9,11,15-24 Unfortunately, these screening efforts are often limited by difficulties associated with quantity and purity of available protein samples. While the two most significant bottlenecks for protein structure determination in general are the (i) obtaining sufficient quantities of high quality protein samples and (ii) growing high quality protein crystals that are suitable for X-ray structure determination,7,20,21,23,25-47 membrane proteins present additional challenges. For crystallization it is necessary to extract the membrane proteins from the cellular membrane. However, this process often leads to denaturation. In fact, membrane proteins have proven to be so difficult to crystallize that of the more than 66,000 structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank,48 less than 1% are for membrane proteins, with even fewer present at high resolution (< 2Å)4,6,49 and only a handful are human membrane proteins.49 A variety of strategies including detergent solubilization50-53 and the use of artificial membrane-like environments have been developed to circumvent this challenge.43,53-55 In recent years, the use of a lipidic mesophase as a medium for crystallizing membrane proteins has been demonstrated to increase success for a wide range of membrane proteins, including human receptor proteins.54,56-62 This in meso method for membrane protein crystallization, however, is still by no means routine due to challenges related to sample preparation at sub-microliter volumes and to crystal harvesting and X-ray data collection. This dissertation presents various aspects of the development of a microfluidic platform to enable high throughput in meso membrane protein crystallization at a level beyond the capabilities of current technologies. Microfluidic platforms for protein crystallization and other lab-on-a-chip applications have been well demonstrated.9,63-66 These integrated chips provide fine control over transport phenomena and the ability to perform high throughput analyses via highly integrated fluid networks. However, the development of microfluidic platforms for in meso protein crystallization required the development of strategies to cope with extremely viscous and non-Newtonian fluids. A theoretical treatment of highly viscous fluids in microfluidic devices is presented in Chapter 3, followed by the application of these strategies for the development of a microfluidic mixer capable of preparing a mesophase sample for in meso crystallization at a scale of less than 20 nL in Chapter 4. This approach was validated with the successful on chip in meso crystallization of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin. In summary, this is the first report of a microfluidic platform capable of performing in meso crystallization on-chip, representing a 1000x reduction in the scale at which mesophase trials can be prepared. Once protein crystals have formed, they are typically harvested from the droplet they were grown in and mounted for crystallographic analysis. Despite the high throughput automation present in nearly all other aspects of protein structure determination, the harvesting and mounting of crystals is still largely a manual process. Furthermore, during mounting the fragile protein crystals can potentially be damaged, both from physical and environmental shock. To circumvent these challenges an X-ray transparent microfluidic device architecture was developed to couple the benefits of scale, integration, and precise fluid control with the ability to perform in situ X-ray analysis (Chapter 5). This approach was validated successfully by crystallization and subsequent on-chip analysis of the soluble proteins lysozyme, thaumatin, and ribonuclease A and will be extended to microfluidic platforms for in meso membrane protein crystallization. The ability to perform in situ X-ray analysis was shown to provide extremely high quality diffraction data, in part as a result of not being affected by damage due to physical handling of the crystals. As part of the work described in this thesis, a variety of data collection strategies for in situ data analysis were also tested, including merging of small slices of data from a large number of crystals grown on a single chip, to allow for diffraction analysis at biologically relevant temperatures. While such strategies have been applied previously,57,59,61,67 they are potentially challenging when applied via traditional methods due to the need to grow and then mount a large number of crystals with minimal crystal-to-crystal variability. The integrated nature of microfluidic platforms easily enables the generation of a large number of reproducible crystallization trials. This, coupled with in situ analysis capabilities has the potential of being able to acquire high resolution structural data of proteins at biologically relevant conditions for which only small crystals, or crystals which are adversely affected by standard cryocooling techniques, could be obtained (Chapters 5 and 6). While the main focus of protein crystallography is to obtain three-dimensional protein structures, the results of typical experiments provide only a static picture of the protein. The use of polychromatic or Laue X-ray diffraction methods enables the collection of time resolved structural information. These experiments are very sensitive to crystal quality, however, and often suffer from severe radiation damage due to the intense polychromatic X-ray beams. Here, as before, the ability to perform in situ X-ray analysis on many small protein crystals within a microfluidic crystallization platform has the potential to overcome these challenges. An automated method for collecting a "single-shot" of data from a large number of crystals was developed in collaboration with the BioCARS team at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory (Chapter 6). The work described in this thesis shows that, even more so than for traditional structure determination efforts, the ability to grow and analyze a large number of high quality crystals is critical to enable time resolved structural studies of novel proteins. In addition to enabling X-ray crystallography experiments, the development of X-ray transparent microfluidic platforms also has tremendous potential to answer other scientific questions, such as unraveling the mechanism of in meso crystallization. For instance, the lipidic mesophases utilized during in meso membrane protein crystallization can be characterized by small angle X-ray diffraction analysis. Coupling in situ analysis with microfluidic platforms capable of preparing these difficult mesophase samples at very small volumes has tremendous potential to enable the high throughput analysis of these systems on a scale that is not reasonably achievable using conventional sample preparation strategies (Chapter 7). In collaboration with the LS-CAT team at the Advanced Photon Source, an experimental station for small angle X-ray analysis coupled with the high quality visualization capabilities needed to target specific microfluidic samples on a highly integrated chip is under development. Characterizing the phase behavior of these mesophase systems and the effects of various additives present in crystallization trials is key for developing an understanding of how in meso crystallization occurs. A long term goal of these studies is to enable the rational design of in meso crystallization experiments so as to avoid or limit the need for high throughput screening efforts. In summary, this thesis describes the development of microfluidic platforms for protein crystallization with in situ analysis capabilities. Coupling the ability to perform in situ analysis with the small scale, fine control, and the high throughput nature of microfluidic platforms has tremendous potential to enable a new generation of crystallographic studies and facilitate the structure determination of important biological targets. The development of platforms for in meso membrane protein crystallization is particularly significant because they enable the preparation of highly viscous mixtures at a previously unachievable scale. Work in these areas is ongoing and has tremendous potential to improve not only current the methods of protein crystallization and crystallography, but also to enhance our knowledge of the structure and function of proteins which could have a significant scientific and medical impact on society as a whole. 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A geografia diocesana (1147-1505)

Em meados do século XII, o bispado de Viseu era constituído por um território de extensão considerável situado a pouca distância da então fronteira Sul do Reino de Portugal. Nesta centúria, porém, as fronteiras diocesanas ainda não se tinham conformado. Com efeito, só em 1258 o poder episcopal, após contenda judicial com o bispo de Idanha, obteve jurisdição sobre Castelo Mendo, em detrimento das igrejas da Guarda e Jarmelo. Dois anos volvidos, em 1260, foram regulamentados os direitos episcopais das nove igrejas de Pinhel. Anos antes, em 1230, o bispo D. Gil estabeleceu um acordo com a Ordem do Templo sobre os proventos eclesiásticos da igreja de Santiago de Trancoso.

Madeira wine vinification process: analysis and control

The present study was done in collaboration with J. Faria e Filhos company, a Madeira wine producer, and its main goal was to fully characterize three wines produced during 2014 harvest and identify possible improving points in the winemaking process. The winemaking process was followed during 4 weeks, being registered the amounts of grapes received, the fermentation temperatures, the time at which fermentation was stopped and evolution of must densities until the fortification time. The characterization of musts and wines was done in terms of density, total and volatile acidity, alcohol content, pH, total of polyphenol, organic acids composition, sugars concentration and the volatile profile. Also, it was developed and validated an analytical methodology to quantify the volatile fatty acids, namely using SPME-GC-MS. Briefly, the following key features were obtained for the latter methodology: linearity (R2=0.999) e high sensitivity (LOD =0.026-0.068 mg/L), suitable precision (repeatability and reproducibility lower than 8,5%) and good recoveries (103,11-119,46%). The results reveal that fermentation temperatures should be controlled in a more strictly manner, in order to ensure a better balance in proportion of some volatile compounds, namely the esters and higher alcohols and to minimize the concentration of some volatiles, namely hexanoic, octanoic and decanoic acids, that when above their odours threshold are not positive for the wine aroma. Also, regarding the moment to stop the fermentation, it was verified that it can be introduced changes which can also be benefit to guarantee the tipicity of Madeira wine bouquet.

Superparamagnetic Liposomes for MRI Monitoring and External Magnetic Field-Induced Selective Targeting of Malignant Brain Tumors

International audience

Urachal carcinoma: imaging findings

Urachal carcinoma is a rare neoplasm, which accounts for only 0.5–2% of bladder malignancies, and arises from a remnant of the fetal genitourinary tract. A 46-year-old woman presented with a history of pelvic pain and frequent daytime urination. Ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR) demonstrated a supravesical heterogeneous mass with calcifications. The patient underwent a partial cystectomy with en-bloc resection of the mass and histopathological examination revealed the diagnosis of urachal adenocarcinoma. Urachal carcinomas are usually associated with poor prognosis and early diagnosis is fundamental. CT and MR are useful to correctly diagnose and preoperatively staging.

Large Rayleigh number thermal convection: heat flux predictions and strongly nonlinear solutions

We investigate the structure of strongly nonlinear Rayleigh–Bénard convection cells in the asymptotic limit of large Rayleigh number and fixed, moderate Prandtl number. Unlike the flows analyzed in prior theoretical studies of infinite Prandtl number convection, our cellular solutions exhibit dynamically inviscid constant-vorticity cores. By solving an integral equation for the cell-edge temperature distribution, we are able to predict, as a function of cell aspect ratio, the value of the core vorticity, details of the flow within the thin boundary layers and rising/falling plumes adjacent to the edges of the convection cell, and, in particular, the bulk heat flux through the layer. The results of our asymptotic analysis are corroborated using full pseudospectral numerical simulations and confirm that the heat flux is maximized for convection cells that are roughly square in cross section.

Resolución N° 49490 de 2014 SIC ¿Es requisito para inscribir las actas de asamblea o junta de socios la indicación del número de acciones representadas en la reunión?

La Cámara de Comercio se abstuvo de registrar el acta de asamblea general de accionistas de la sociedad GOLDEN MEDICAL GROUP COLOMBIA SAS, por medio de la cual se nombraba el revisor fiscal y se aceptaba la renuncia del suplente del gerente. Esta decisión se fundamentó en 2 motivos: (1) No se indicó de manera clara el número de acciones representadas en la reunión. (con fundamento en los artículos 22 de la Ley 1258/08 y la ley 222/95) y (2) A título de recomendación: que por prohibición expresa del código, no es viable dejar un cargo de representación legal vacante, en consecuencia, debe o eliminarse el cargo, lo que acarrea una reforma estatutaria, o nombrar a alguien en dicho cargo.

Derecho de petición 15117976 ¿Un extranjero puede hacer empresa en Colombia, si no ha vivido en Colombia ni tiene la nacionalidad colombiana y es la primera vez que llega al país? ¿Necesita de un socio colombiano para el efecto?

Solicitud de información. Extranjero puede hacer empresa en Colombia, si no ha vivido en Colombia ni tiene la nacionalidad colombiana y es la primera vez que llega al país necesita de un socio colombiano para el efecto

ACADEMIC WRITING: REFLECTIVE PROCESS OF SAY

In this article, we aim to analyse reflexive forms of say in writing the speech about the concepts of variation and change in four dissertations selected portal public domain – CAPES and defended in the years of 1979, 1989, 2000 and 2011. We focus in the theoretical presuppositions of Authier-Revuz (1998, 2004) as regards the enunciative heterogeneity, more specifically in the reflexive forms of say  that it refer to the field of not coincidences of say, and that it refers the notion of Interdiscourse, proposed by Pêcheux (2010). The results point to two processes of reflexive writing: one that represents speech of transparent form or opacity and other one who presents a speech fountain of say.