A denúncia de situações de Violência na população portuguesa com 60 ou mais anos

Atualmente a violência contra as pessoas idosas é uma problemática reconhecida em Portugal. Têm sido desenvolvidos estudos (ABUEL e AVOW), nos últimos anos, sobre a sua extensão e natureza, mas permanecem lacunas na literatura, nomeadamente ao nível da procura de ajuda e denúncia por parte das vítimas. É, contudo, consensual que a maior parte das pessoas idosas não denuncia ou procura ajuda quando vivencia uma situação de violência em contexto familiar. No âmbito do estudo de prevalência a nível nacional de violência contra as pessoas idosas em contexto familiar - “Envelhecimento e violência” – apresentam-se alguns dados relativos à denúncia por parte de pessoas com 60+ anos vítimas de violência. O estudo recolheu, através de um inquérito telefónico, dados sobre experiências de violência em contexto familiar a partir de uma amostra aleatória de 1123 indivíduos com 60+ anos a residir em Portugal. Apenas um terço (35%) das vítimas de violência em Portugal denunciou ou apresentou queixa sobre a situação de violência que viveu. Das vítimas que procuraram uma instituição ou serviço, a maioria dirigiu-se a uma força de segurança, como a GNR e a PSP (20%), seguindo-se a rede informal (7%). Dos motivos evocados, pelas pessoas com 60+ anos vítimas de violência, para não denunciarem ou procurarem ajuda, considerar o incidente como irrelevante (38.1%) foi um dos principais, seguindo-se a importância da família e os laços afetivos com o agressor (10.5%). Com menor frequência as vítimas indicaram o medo (de represálias ou de agravar a situação), bem como o medo que ninguém acreditasse (5.9%) e a falta de informação relativa a quem recorrer (5.1%). Estes resultados sugerem que esta problemática permanece ainda como um tabu, com a maior parte das vítimas a vivenciarem em silêncio a violência. As barreiras internas, que se referem ao sistema de crenças da vítima e à dinâmica relacional da vítima com o perpetrador, aparentam ser mais determinantes que as barreiras externas, como serão as dificuldades no acesso e utilização de serviços e respostas sociais.

Experimental Infection of Culex Annulirostris, Culex Gelidus, and Aedes Vigilax With a Yellow Fever/Japanese Encephalitis Virus Vaccine Chimera (Chimerivax TM-JE)

Australian mosquitoes from which Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) has been recovered (Culex annulirostris, Culex gelidus, and Aedes vigilax) were assessed for their ability to be infected with the ChimeriVax-JE vaccine, with yellow fever vaccine virus 17D (YF 17D) from which the backbone of ChimeriVax-JE vaccine is derived and with JEV-Nakayama. None of the mosquitoes became infected after being fed orally with 6.1 log(10) plaque-forming units (PFU)/mL of ChimeriVax-JE vaccine, which is greater than the peak viremia in vaccinees (mean peak viremia = 4.8 PFU/mL, range = 0-30 PFU/mL of 0.9 days mean duration, range = 0-11 days). Some members of all three species of mosquito became infected when fed on JEV-Nakayama, but only Ae. vigilax was infected when fed on YF 17D. The results suggest that none of these three species of mosquito are likely to set up secondary cycles of transmission of ChimeriVax-JE in Australia after feeding on a viremic vaccinee.

Influence of internal fixator stiffness on murine fracture healing : two types of fracture healing lead to two distinct cellular events and FGF-2 expressions

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the mechanical environment at the fracture site and endogenous fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2). We compared two types of fracture healing with different callus formations and cellular events using MouseFix(TM) plate fixation systems for murine fracture models. Left femoral fractures were induced in 72 ten-week-old mice and then fixed with a flexible (Group F) or rigid (Group R) Mouse Fix(TM) plate. Mice were sacrificed on days 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 21. The callus volumes were measured by 3D micro-CT and tissues were histologically stained with hematoxylin & eosin or safranin-O. Sections from days 3, 5, and 7 were immunostained for FGF-2 and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA). The callus in Group F was significantly larger than that in Group R. The rigid plate allowed bone union without a marked external callus or chondrogenesis. The flexible plate formed a large external callus as a result of endochondral ossification. Fibroblastic cells in the granulation tissue on days 5 and 7 in Group F showed marked FGF-2 expression compared with Group R. Fibroblastic cells showed ongoing proliferation in granulation tissue in group F, as indicated by PCNA expression, which explained the relative granulation tissue increase in group F. There were major differences in early phase endogenous FGF-2 expression between these two fracture healing processes, due to different mechanical environments.

The NetWorkPlace(TM) Phenomenon: any time and any place - reality or a seductive myth?

A new spatial logic encompassing redefined concepts of time and place, space and distance, requires a comprehensive shift in the approach to designing workplace environments for today’s adaptive, collaborative organizations operating in a dynamic business world. Together with substantial economic and cultural shifts and an increased emphasis on lifestyle considerations, the advances in information technology have prompted a radical re-ordering of organizational relationships and the associated structures, processes, and places of doing business. Within the duality of space and an augmentation of the traditional notions of place, organizational and institutional structures pose new challenges for the design professions. The literature reveals that there has always been a mono-organizational focus in relation to workplace design strategies and the burgeoning trend towards inter-organizational collaboration, enabled the identification of a gap in the knowledge relative to workplace design. The NetWorkPlaceTM© constitutes a multi-dimensional concept having the capacity to deal with the fluidity and ambiguity characteristic of the network context, as both a topic of research and the way of going about it.

Revision total hip replacement using the cement-in-cement technique for the acetabular component : technique and results for 60 hips

The technique of femoral cement-in-cement revision is well established, but there are no previous series reporting its use on the acetabular side at the time of revision total hip arthroplasty. We describe the surgical technique and report the outcome of 60 consecutive cement-in-cement revisions of the acetabular component at a mean follow-up of 8.5 years (range 5-12 years). All had a radiologically and clinically well fixed acetabular cement mantle at the time of revision. 29 patients died. No case was lost to follow-up. The 2 most common indications for acetabular revision were recurrent dislocation (77%) and to compliment a femoral revision (20%). There were 2 cases of aseptic cup loosening (3.3%) requiring re-revision. No other hip was clinically or radiologically loose (96.7%) at latest follow-up. One case was re-revised for infection, 4 for recurrent dislocation and 1 for disarticulation of a constrained component. At 5 years, the Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 100% for aseptic loosening and 92.2% (95% CI; 84.8-99.6%) with revision for all causes as the endpoint. These results support the use of the cement-in-cement revision technique in appropriate cases on the acetabular side. Theoretical advantages include preservation of bone stock, reduced operating time, reduced risk of complications and durable fixation.

Preparing high achieving English teachers to work in disadvantaged schools : 'I'll teach Shakespeare when I'm 60'

The recent release of the Gonski Review recognises the decline in Australia’s schooling performances over the last decade, noting in particular a distressing increase in the ‘achievement gap’ affecting students from low SES backgrounds (Gonski, 2012). The report details the need for more quality in teachers throughout the schooling system, particularly within the schools with the greatest academic needs. This paper specifically focuses on a group of high-achieving pre-service English teachers. In their last two years of university study, they participated in a program called Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools (ETDS), designed to prepare them to work in disadvantaged or low SES schools. We wanted to capture their experiences of teaching in challenging settings during their practicum, and as they prepared to graduate, we wondered what they now felt about teaching English in low SES schools. Using narrative inquiry, we analysed a range of reflective data to gain insight into such things as their initial motivations for entering the teaching profession and how their preconceived expectations may or may not have shifted after practicum experiences in low SES schools. We encouraged open reflection about how they perceived themselves as English teachers.

Stability of endoglucanases from mesophilic fungus and thermophilic bacterium in acidified polyols

Recent developments in chemical pretreatments of lignocellulosic biomass using polyols as co-solvents (e.g., glycerol and ethylene glycol) at temperatures less than 100 °C may allow the effective use of thermostable and non-thermostable cellulases in situ during the saccharification process. The potential of biomass saccharifying enzymes, endoglucanases (EG) from a thermophilic bacterium (Thermotoga maritima) and a mesophilic fungus (Trichoderma longibrachiatum), to retain their activity in aqueous buffer, acidified glycerol, and acidified ethylene glycol used as co-solvents at pretreatment temperatures at or below 100 °C were examined. The results show that despite its origin, T. longibrachiatum EG (Tl-EG) retained 75% of its activity after exposure to 100 °C for 5 min in aqueous buffer while T. maritima EG (Tm-EG) retained only 5% activity. However, at 90 °C both enzymes retained over 87% of their activity. In acidified (0.1% (w/w) H2SO4) glycerol, Tl-EG retained similar activity (80%) to that obtained in glycerol alone, while Tm-EG retained only 35%. With acidified ethylene glycol under these conditions, both Tl-EG and Tm-EG retained 36% of their activity. The results therefore show that Tl-EG is more stable in both acidified glycerol and ethylene glycol than Tm-EG. A preliminary kinetic study showed that pure glycerol improved the thermal stability of Tl-EG but destabilized Tm-EG, relative to the buffer solution. The half-lives of both Tl-EG and Tm-EG are 4.5 min in acidified glycerol, indicating that the effectiveness of these enzymes under typical pretreatment times of greater than 15 min will be considerably diminished. Attempts have been made to explain the differences in the results obtained between the two enzymes.

Experimental study on creep and shrinkage of high-performance ultra-lightweight cement composite of 60 MPa

Creep and shrinkage behaviour of an ultra lightweight cement composite (ULCC) up to 450 days was evaluated in comparison with those of a normal weight aggregate concrete (NWAC) and a lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) with similar 28-day compressive strength. The ULCC is characterized by low density < 1500 kg/m3 and high compressive strength about 60 MPa. Autogenous shrinkage increased rapidly in the ULCC at early-age and almost 95% occurred prior to the start of creep test at 28 days. Hence, majority of shrinkage of the ULCC during creep test was drying shrinkage. Total shrinkage of the ULCC during the 450-day creep test was the lowest compared to the NWAC and LWAC. However, corresponding total creep in the ULCC was the highest with high proportion attributed to basic creep (≥ ~90%) and limited drying creep. The high creep of the ULCC is likely due to its low elastic modulus. Specific creep of the ULCC was similar to that of the NWAC, but more than 80% higher than the LWAC. Creep coefficient of the ULCC was about 47% lower than that of the NWAC but about 18% higher than that of the LWAC. Among five creep models evaluated which tend to over-estimate the creep coefficient of the ULCC, EC2 model gives acceptable prediction within +25% deviations. The EC2 model may be used as a first approximate for the creep of ULCC in the designs of steel-concrete composites or sandwich structures in the absence of other relevant creep data.

Playing Monopoly(TM) with 1st year property economics students

Game playing contributes to the acquisition of required skills and competencies whilst supporting collaboration, communication and problem solving. This project introduced the board game Monopoly CityTM to tie theoretical class room learning with collaborative, play based problem solving.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and age: analysis of pooled human blood serum from birth to over 60 years

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are considered to be a cost effective and efficient way to reduce flammability therefore reducing harm caused by fires. PBDEs are incorporated into a variety of manufactured products and are found worldwide in biological and environmental samples (e.g. Hites et al. 2004). Unlike other persistent organic pollutants there is limited data on PBDE concentrations by age and/or other population specific factors. Some studies have shown no variation in adult serum PBDE concentrations with age (e.g. Mazdai et al., 2003, Meironyte Guvenius et al., 2003) while Petreas et al. (2003) and Schecter et al. (2005) found results to be suggestive of an age trend in adult data but no statistically significant correlation was found. In addition to the data on adult concentrations there is limited data which investigates the levels of PBDEs in infants and young children. Fangström et al. (2005) showed that in seven year olds there was no difference in PBDE concentration when compared to adult concentrations. While Thomsen et al. (2002, 2005) found the concentration of PBDEs in pooled samples of blood serum from a 0-4 years age group to be higher than other age groups (4 to > 60 years). In addition, a family of four was studied in the U.S. and the concentrations were found to be greatest in the 18-month-old infant followed by the 5 year old child, then the mother and father (Fischer et al., 2006). The objectives of this study were to assess age, gender and regional trends of PBDE concentrations in a representative sample of the Australian population.

Identification of a putative cellulase gene in the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879)

Nutrition plays an important role in the development of all organisms and in particular that of farmed aquatic species where costs associated with feed can often exceed 60% of total production costs. Crustacean species in addition, have the added metabolic requirement for regular moulting to allow normal growth and this requires large amounts of energy in the form of sugars (glucose). The current study explored the capacity of the giant freshwater prawn to produce endogenous cellulose-degrading enzymes capable of extracting nutrients (simple sugars) from plant sources in formulated feeds used in the prawn aquaculture industry. We identified a putative cellulase cDNA fragment in the target organism of 1576 base pairs in length of non-microbial origin that after protein modelling exhibited a TM-score of 0.916 with a described cellulase reported from another crustacean species. The functional role of cellulase enzymes is to hydrolyse cellulose to glucose and the fragment identified in GFP was highly expressed in the hepatopancreas, the site of primary food digestion and absorption in crustaceans. Hepatopancreatic tissue from Macrobrachium rosenbergii also showed active digestion of cellulose to glucose following an endoglucanase assay. Cellulase gene(s) are present in the genomes of many invertebrate taxa and play an active role in the conversion of cellulose to available energy. Identification and characterization of endogenous cellulase gene(s) in giant freshwater prawn can assist development of the culture industry because the findings confirm that potentially greater levels of low-cost plant-material could be included in artificial formulated diets in the future without necessarily compromising individual growth performance. Ultimately, this development may contribute to more efficient, cost-effective production systems for freshwater prawn culture stocks that meet the animal's basic nutritional requirements and that also support good individual growth rates.

Antibody reactivity to the transmembrane protein of the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus correlates with severity of arthritis: No evidence for the involvement of epitope mimicry

Serum and synovial antibody reactivities of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) infected goats were assessed by Western blotting against purified CAEV antigen and the greatest intensity of reactivity in the serum of arthritic goats was to the gp45 transmembrane protein (TM). The extracytoplasmic domain of the TM gene was cloned into a pGEX vector and expressed in Escherichia coil as a glutathione S transferase fusion protein (GST-TM). This clone was found to be 90.5 and 89.2% homologous to published sequences of CAEV TM gene. Serum of 16 goats naturally infected with CAEV were examined by Western blotting for reactivity to the fusion protein. Antibody reactivity to the GST-TM correlated with clinically detectable arthritis (R = 0.642, P ≤ 0.007). The hypothesis that the immune response to the envelope proteins of the CAEV contributes to the severity of arthritis in goats naturally infected with CAEV via epitope mimicry was tested. Antibodies from 5 CAEV infected goats were affinity purified against the GST-TM fusion protein and tested for cross-reactivity with a series of goat synovial extracts and proteogylcans. No serum antibody response or cross-reactivity of affinity purified antibodies could be detected. Peptides of the CAEV SU that were predicted to be linear epitopes and a similar heat shock protein 83 (HSP) peptide identified by database searching, were synthesized and tested for reactivity in CAEV goats using ELISA, in vitro lymphocyte proliferation and delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) assays. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from 10 of 17 goats with long term natural CAEV infections proliferated in vitro in response to CAEV and in vivo 3 of 7 CAEV infected goats had a DTH reaction to CAEV antigen. However, none of the peptides elicited significant cell mediated immune responses from CAEV infected goats. No antibody reactivity to the SU peptides or HSP peptide was found. We observed that the antibody reactivity to the CAEV TM protein associated with severity of arthritis however epitope mimicry by the envelope proteins of CAEV is unlikely to be involved.