Efeito da adição de Zr no endurecimento de ligas Al-Sc

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia de Materiais

Alfabetização de jovens e adultos no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: o significado de um desafio para a inclusão social

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências da Educação

Biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces patterned with wettable spots as implantable chips for in vivo high-content 3D biomaterials response assessment

"Tissue engineering: part A", vol. 21, suppl. 1 (2015)

Female hippocampus vulnerability to environmental stress, a precipitating factor in tau aggregation pathology

Tau-mediated neurodegeneration is a central event in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Consistent with suggestions that lifetime stress may be a clinically-relevant precipitant of AD pathology, we previously showed that stress triggers tau hyperphosphorylation and accumulation; however, little is known about the etiopathogenic interaction of chronic stress with other AD risk factors, such as sex and aging. This study focused on how these various factors converge on the cellular mechanisms underlying tau aggregation in the hippocampus of chronically stressed male and female (middle-aged and old) mice expressing the most commonly found disease-associated Tau mutation in humans, P301L-Tau. We report that environmental stress triggers memory impairments in female, but not male, P301L-Tau transgenic mice. Furthermore, stress elevates levels of caspase-3-truncated tau and insoluble tau aggregates exclusively in the female hippocampus while it also alters the expression of the molecular chaperones Hsp90, Hsp70, and Hsp105, thus favoring accumulation of tau aggregates. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms through which clinically-relevant precipitating factors contribute to the pathophysiology of AD. Our data point to the exquisite sensitivity of the female hippocampus to stress-triggered tau pathology.

Development of multifunctional coatings deposited on polymers based sensors for biomedical applications

Tese de Doutoramento (Programa Doutoral em Engenharia de Materiais)

Sistema de apoio à aprendizagem na área da discalculia em menores

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Informática Médica)

O papel e a participação do terapeuta da fala nas equipas locais de intervenção precoce

Dissertação de mestrado em Educação Especial (área de especialização em Intervenção Precoce)

As Inteligências Múltiplas no processo de ensino-aprendizagem de ELE

Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Ensino de Inglês e Espanhol no 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico e no Ensino Secundário

Formação de professores: uma prática pedagógica frente aos desafios das necessidades educativas especiais: um estudo de caso numa IES Particular em Manaus-Am

Dissertação de mestrado em Educação Especial (área de especialização em Dificuldades de Aprendizagem Específicas)

Imagem de destinos turísticos: um estudo sobre as publicações brasileiras

Os estudos referentes ao turismo dedicam-se à compreensão de diferentes temas, sendo que um bastante analisado à escala internacional é a questão da imagem de um destino turístico. O interesse por este tema é percebido em diversas áreas do conhecimento, como a sociologia e o marketing. No Brasil, há diversos pesquisadores dedicando-se à imagem dos destinos turísticos. Assim, buscando compreender de que forma este tema tem sido trabalhado no Brasil, este estudo de caráter bibliográfico teve como objetivo analisar e compreender as publicações sobre imagem de destinos turísticos em periódicos brasileiros, nos últimos seis anos (2008-2014). A partir de um levantamento dos artigos publicados neste período, usando como ferramenta de busca o site “Publicações de Turismo”, foram identificados vinte e oito artigos. A análise permitiu verificar que os estudos estão concentrados na compreensão da imagem de um determinado destino. Os artigos analisados são predominantemente estudos empíricos e há um equilíbrio entre os de caráter quantitativo e qualitativo. No que diz respeito à bibliografia, foi possível identificar que os autores brasileiros que têm trabalhado com o tema de imagem de destinos, já buscam bibliografias internacionais para fundamentar os seus estudos. Também nos trabalhos sobre este tema, identificou-se uma maior maturidade dos autores no que diz respeito à utilização das ferramentas estatísticas. Alguns estudos fazem uma análise aprofundada dos estudos internacionais e aplicam estas teorias no Brasil. Conclui-se que este tema tem sido estudado com maior profundidade no país, se comparado com os temas como o da percepção de residentes.

Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, dietary content, and risk factors that cause a predisposition towards cardiovascular disease

OBJECTIVE: To analyze associations between levels of physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, dietary content, and risk factors that cause a predisposition towards cardiovascular disease. METHODS: Sixty-two individuals aged between 20 and 45 years were evaluated. Levels of physical activity were established by estimates of energy demand corresponding to everyday activity; indices for cardiorespiratory fitness were obtained from estimates of maximal oxygen consumption; information about dietary content was obtained from dietary records kept on seven consecutive days. To indicate risk factors that cause a predisposition towards cardiovascular disease, use was made of body mass indexes, waist-hip circumference relationships, levels of arterial pressure and of plasma lipid-lipoprotein concentration. To establish associations between the variables studied, multiple regression analysis was used. RESULTS: Physical activity levels and cardiorespiratory fitness levels were inversely correlated with the amount and distribution of body fat and arterial pressure. Taken together, the two variables were responsible for between 16% and 19% of the variation in arterial pressure. Total and saturated fat ingestion was associated with higher serum lipid levels. Both dietary components were responsible for between 49% and 61% of the variation in LDL-cholesterol. CONCLUSION: High ingestion of food rich in total and saturated fat and decreased levels of physical activity and of cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which supports previous data.

Antibacterial properties of multifunctional coatings Ag-ZrCN for biomedical devices: a novel approach

PhD in Sciences Specialty in Physics

Correlations Between the Collagen Content of the Human Left Ventricular Myocardium, Measured by Biochemical and Morphometric Methods

OBJECTIVE: To assess, in myocardium specimens obtained from necropsies, the correlation between the concentration of hydroxyproline, measured with the photocolorimetric method, and the intensity of fibrosis, determined with the morphometric method. METHODS: Left ventricle myocardium samples were obtained from 45 patients who had undergone necropsy, some of them with a variety of cardiopathies and others without any heart disease. The concentrations of hydroxyproline were determined with the photocolorimetric method. In the histologic sections from each heart, the myocardial fibrosis was quantified by using a light microscope with an integrating ocular lens. RESULTS: A median of, respectively, 4.5 and 4.3 mug of hydroxyproline/mg of dry weight was found in fixed and nonfixed left ventricle myocardium fragments. A positive correlation occurred between the hydroxyproline concentrations and the intensity of fibrosis, both in the fixed (Sr=+0.25; p=0.099) and in the nonfixed (Sr=+0.32; p=0.03) specimens. CONCLUSION: The biochemical methodology was proven to be adequate, and manual morphometry was shown to have limitations that may interfere with the statistical significance of correlations for the estimate of fibrosis intensity in the human myocardium.

Late Results of Endoventricular Patch Plasty Repair in Akinetic and Dyskinetic Areas After Acute Myocardial Infarction

OBJECTIVE - To assess the surgical results of endoventricular patch plasty repair in akinetic and dyskinetic left ventricular areas. METHODS - We studied 52 patients who had undergone endoventricular patch plasty repair associated with myocardial revascularization. The preoperative functional class distribution was as follows: class I in 1 (1.9%) patient; class II in 2 (3.8%) patients; class III in 23 (44.2%) patients; and class IV in 26 (50%) patients. RESULTS - The immediate mortality rate was 7.6% (4 patients). The clinical outcome of 44 patients followed up within a mean postoperative time of 29±25 months was as follows: class I in 33 (75%) patients; class II in 7 (15.9%) patients; class III in 2 (4.5%) patients; and class IV in 2 (4.5%) patients. Comparison between pre- and postoperative catheterization in 21 patients showed that the ejection fraction increased from 46.3% to 51.3% (p=0. 17); the left ventricular systolic volume decreased from 76.4 mL to 57.5 mL, (p=0.078); and the left ventricular diastolic volume decreased from 141.2 mL to 105.8 mL (p=0.0 73). These findings showed the tendency toward improvement, but with nonsignificant results. CONCLUSION - The technique proved to be effective, to have a low mortality rate, to cause significant clinical improvement, an increase in ejection fraction, and a reduction in left ventricular volumes.

Dos ciclos e sistemas aos interstícios de Creixomil: entre o seu conhecimento e transformação potencial

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Arquitectura (área de especialização em Território)