Implication des utilisateurs dans le développement des innovations médicales : une analyse sociotechnique de la collaboration et de ses enjeux pour l’organisation des soins

Les changements technologiques ont des effets structurants sur l’organisation des soins dans notre système de santé. Les professionnels de la santé et les patients – les principaux utilisateurs des innovations médicales – sont des acteurs clés dans les trajectoires suivies par les nouvelles technologies en santé. Pour développer des technologies médicales plus efficaces, sécuritaires et conviviales, plusieurs proposent d’intensifier la collaboration entre les utilisateurs et les développeurs. Cette recherche s’intéresse à cette prémisse sur la participation des utilisateurs dans les processus d’innovation médicale. L'objectif général de cette recherche est de mieux comprendre la collaboration entre les utilisateurs et les développeurs impliqués dans la transformation des innovations médicales. Adoptant un cadre d’analyse sociotechnique, cette thèse par articles s’articule autour de trois objectifs : 1) décrire comment la littérature scientifique définit les objectifs, les méthodes et les enjeux de l’engagement des utilisateurs dans le développement des innovations médicales; 2) analyser les perspectives d’utilisateurs et de développeurs de technologies médicales quant à leur collaboration dans le processus d’innovation; et 3) analyser comment sont mobilisés, en pratique, des utilisateurs dans le développement d’une innovation médicale. Le premier objectif s’appuie sur une synthèse structurée des écrits scientifiques (n=101) portant sur le phénomène de la participation des utilisateurs dans les processus d’innovation médicale. Cette synthèse a dégagé les méthodes appliquées ou proposées pour faire participer les utilisateurs, les arguments normatifs véhiculés ainsi que les principaux enjeux soulevés. Le deuxième objectif repose sur l’analyse de trois groupes de discussion délibératifs et d'une plénière impliquant des utilisateurs et des développeurs (n=19) de technologies médicales. L’analyse a permis d’examiner leurs perspectives à l'égard de diverses approches de collaboration dans les processus d'innovation. Le troisième objectif implique l’étude d’une innovation en électrophysiologie lors de la phase de recherche clinique. Cette étude de cas unique s'appuie sur une analyse qualitative d'études cliniques (n=57) et des éditoriaux et synthèses de connaissances dans des revues médicales spécialisées (n=15) couvrant une période de dix ans (1999 à 2008) ainsi que des entrevues semi-dirigées avec des acteurs clés impliqués dans le processus d’innovation (n=3). Cette étude a permis de mieux comprendre comment des utilisateurs donne un sens, s’approprient et légitiment une innovation médicale en contexte de recherche clinique. La contribution générale de cette thèse consiste en une meilleure compréhension de l’apport des utilisateurs dans les processus d’innovation médicale et de sa capacité à aligner plus efficacement le développement technologique avec les objectifs du système de santé.

La question du consensus en situation de collaboration interorganisationnelle : le cas de la Table québécoise de la sécurité routière

Ce mémoire propose de décrire et comprendre les pratiques communicationnelles menant à la prise de décision consensuelle d’une collaboration interorganisationnelle (CI) spécifique, la Table québécoise de la sécurité routière (TQSR). Nous adoptons la perspective de la communication constitutive des organisations (CCO) développée par « l’École de Montréal » pour appréhender les dimensions constitutives de ces pratiques de communication et de ce mode privilégié de décision en CI. Après un aperçu de la littérature disponible en matière de CI et concernant la notion de consensus, nous proposons de nous concentrer sur les pratiques communicationnelles du consensus en adoptant la perspective du consensus par absence d’opposition d’Urfalino (2014). L’analyse de conversation et les principes d’une approche rhétorique sont ensuite mobilisés pour rendre compte des pratiques de communication qui permettent l’accomplissement du consensus lors d’une séance plénière du troisième cycle de travail de la TQSR, spécifiquement consacrée à la rédaction de son rapport final. Nous verrons que 1) les pratiques communicationnelles mobilisées facilitent l’arrêt de la décision et que 2) celles-ci sont constitutives du consensus qui favorise l’unité du collectif de collaboration.

El liderazgo organizacional: una aproximación desde la perspectiva etológica

La presente investigación plantea la necesidad fundamental de generar un proceso de análisis, tendiente a proponer dinámicas organizativas humanas, desde un enfoque etológico. La etología aparece entonces como un estudio sistemático del comportamiento animal, sus formas de asociación, su disparidad, pero sobre todo, su accionar orgánico en la búsqueda de un comportamiento colectivo que propenda por el bien común. En esta medida el liderazgo surge como una posibilidad clara de fomentar relaciones humanas centradas en las diferentes vertientes relacionales; cultura, comunicación, comunidad, axiología, y finalmente etología. Así mismo, se examinan las diferentes estrategias que el liderazgo como posibilidad de cambio dentro de las organizaciones, puede ser fundamentado mediante procesos de comparación etológica, y así generar propuestas que configuren un quehacer organizacional desde la solidaridad, el liderazgo, y el desenvolvimiento interno y externo de las organizaciones.

Análisis del Espacio Schengen en materia de seguridad como base para la implementación del Protocolo sobre la Facilitación del Movimiento de Personas de la Comunidad para el Desarrollo de África Austral (SADC)

El fin de la Guerra Fría supuso no sólo el triunfo del capitalismo y de la democracia liberal, sino un cambio significativo en el Sistema Internacional; siendo menos centralizado y más regionalizado, como consecuencia de la proximidad y relaciones de interdependencia entre sus actores (no sólo Estados) y permitiendo la formación de Complejos Regionales de Seguridad (CRS). Los CRS son una forma efectiva de relacionarse y aproximarse a la arena internacional pues a través de sus procesos de securitización y desecuritización consiguen lograr objetivos específicos. Partiendo de ello, tanto la Unión Europea (UE) como la Comunidad para el Desarrollo de África Austral (SADC) iniciaron varios procesos de securitización relacionados con la integración regional; siendo un ejemplo de ello la eliminación de los controles en sus fronteras interiores o libre circulación de personas; pues consideraron que de no hacerse realidad, ello generaría amenazas políticas (su influencia y capacidad de actuación estaban amenazadas), económicas (en cuanto a su competitividad y niveles básicos de bienestar) y societales (en cuanto a la identidad de la comunidad como indispensable para la integración) que pondrían en riesgo la existencia misma de sus CRS. En esta medida, la UE creó el Espacio Schengen, que fue producto de un proceso de securitización desde inicios de la década de los 80 hasta mediados de la década de los 90; y la SADC se encuentra inmersa en tal proceso de securitización desde 1992 hasta la actualidad y espera la ratificación del Protocolo para la Facilitación del Movimiento de personas como primer paso para lograr la eliminación de controles en sus fronteras interiores. Si bien tanto la UE como la SADC consideraron que de no permitir la libre circulación de personas, su integración y por lo tanto, sus CRS estaban en riesgo; la SADC no lo ha logrado. Ello hace indispensable hacer un análisis más profundo de sus procesos de securitización para así encontrar sus falencias con respecto al éxito de la UE. El análisis está basado en la Teoría de los Complejos de Seguridad de Barry Buzan, plasmada en la obra Security a New Framework for Analysis (1998) de Barry Buzan, Ole Waever y Jaap de Wilde y será dividido en cada una de las etapas del proceso de securitización: la identificación de una amenaza existencial a un objeto referente a través de un acto discursivo, la aceptación de una amenaza por parte de una audiencia relevante y las acciones de emergencia para hacer frente a las amenazas existenciales; reconociendo las diferencias y similitudes de un proceso de securitización exitoso frente a otro que aún no lo ha sido.

Innovación y mejora del proceso de evaluación del aprendizaje. Una investigación-acción colaborativa en la asignatura Matemática I de los estudios de ingeniería de la UNEXPO, Vicerrectorado Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela

Esta investigación es un trabajo de intervención que se ha enmarcado dentro de la metodología cualitativa, bajo una perspectiva interpretativa, asumiendo como fundamento el desarrollo de un proceso de análisis participativo, en la que se han unido docentes y estudiantes en un proceso de reconocimiento y comprensión de la dinámica que gira alrededor del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje de Matemática I, en la Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica "Antonio José de Sucre" (UNEXPO), Vicerrectorado Puerto Ordaz, Estado Bolívar, Venezuela. Es por ello que la investigación se ha situado, particularmente, en la perspectiva de la investigación-acción colaborativa, en la que han participado los profesores colaboradores de manera activa en una serie de acciones promotoras de cambios en sus ámbitos de actuación y de acuerdo con sus necesidades, para interpretar las implicaciones de esos cambios en su desarrollo y valorar las transformaciones que se iban dando dentro del proceso.

Impact Assessment in the EU: a tool for better regulation, less regulation or less bad regulation?

Impact Assessments (IAs) were introduced at the EU level under the rhetorical facade of ‘better regulation’. The actual aim was to improve not only the quality but also the reputation of EU regulation before stakeholders. However, evidence brought forward by a number of evaluations pointed out that IAs are yet to achieve acceptable quality standards. The paper offers an overview of different disciplinary approaches for looking at IAs. It suggests that risk regulation encompasses the theoretical foundations to help understand the role of IAs in the EU decisionmaking process. The analysis of 60 early days preliminary IAs provides empirical evidence regarding policy alternatives, methodology of consultation and use of quantitative techniques. Findings suggest that dawn period IAs were used mainly to provide some empirical evidence for regulatory intervention in front of stakeholders. The paper concludes with assumptions about the future role of IAs at EU level.

En analys av testprocesser med TMap som testmetod

Today there are many system development projects that break both budget and time plan. Often this depends on defects in the information systems that could have been prevented. The cost of test can in some cases be as high as 50 % of the projects total cost and it's at the same time an important part of development. Test as such has moved its focus from the software it self and its faults to a wider perspective on whole infrastructures of information systems where assure a good quality is important. Sogeti in the Netherlands have developed a test method called TMap (Test Management approach) that can be used for structured testing of information systems. TMap haven't been used as much as desired in the office in Borlänge. Because Microsoft is releasing a new version of their platform Visual Studio Team System (VSTS 2010) some colleges at Sogeti in the Netherlands are about to develop a template that can support the use of TMap in VSTS 2010. When we write this the template is still in development. The goal for Sogeti was to find out the differences between the test functionality in VSTS 2008 and 2010. By using the purpose with this essay, which was to analyze the test process in VSTS 2008 with TMap against the test process in VSTS 2010 together with the template we got much help to achieve the goal. The analysis was done with four different aspects: The TPI and TMMi models, problem and strength analyses and a few question formulations. The TPI and TMMi models where used to analyses and evaluate the test process. The analysis showed that there were differences between the both test processes. VSTS 2010 together with the template gave a better support to use TMap and perform test. In VSTS 2010 the test tool Camano is connected to TFS and the tool is also to make the execution and logging of tests easier. This leads to a test process that is easier to handle and has a better support for TMap.

Elevers möjlighet till reflektion i matematikundervisningen : En studie i grunskolans årskurs 9

Studiens huvudsakliga syfte är att få kunskap kring om och hur elever i skolår 9 stimuleras till reflektion i matematikundervisningen. Den tidigare forskning som presenteras i litteraturgenomgången visar på reflektionens betydelse i lärprocessen och ger riktlinjer för vilka aktiviteter som uppmanar till respektive hämmar elevers reflektion. Genom en kvalitativ fallstudie, med i huvudsak lektionsobservationer som utgångspunkt och med efterföljande lärarintervjuer som stöd, har syftet uppnåtts genom att kartlägga den aktivitet som förekommer i praktiken. Undervisningsaktiviteter som kan uppvisa en positiv respektive negativ effekt på elevers möjlighet till reflektion har vid bearbetning och analys av materialet kunnat urskiljas. Resultatet visar att trots att lärare är positivt inställda till metakognition och ett reflekterande arbetssätt förekommer endast i vissa fall tillfällen då eleven stimuleras till reflektion och denna får ske. Vanligt förekommande i lärares undervisning är situationer som skulle kunna fungera som reflektionsstimulerande om de ges utrymme och reflektionen följs upp. Studiens resultat kan bidra till att påminna och göra lärare medvetna om vilka aktiviteter som stödjer reflektion samt förmedla vikten av att eleverna redan i grundskolans tidigare år undervisas om och utsättas för en undervisningspraktik som kontinuerligt kräver förekomsten av reflektion.

Att bli, att vara och att ha varit - om ingångar i och utgångar ur Jehovas vittnen i Sverige

Summary To become, to be and to have been: about the  Jehovah’s Witnesses The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, in the following text referred to as the Jehovah’s Witnesses or “the organisation”, is a worldwide Christian organisation with about 6.7 million members. The organisation has many times, without any success so far, proclaimed Armageddon when they expect Jehovah to return to Earth. They interpret the Bible in their own, often very literal way, and require their members to live according to these interpretations. Among the consequences of this, members are forbidden to vote, to do military service or to receive blood transfusions. Apart from attending the three weekly meetings, members are expected to be active in missionary work, known as “publishing”. If a member fails to do a certain number of hours’ publishing, he or she risks being deprived of active membership status Sweden in general is considered to be a society where the population is not very religious. The formerly state-governed Lutheran church has lost its influence and the vast majority of ordinary Swedes do not visit church on other occasions than weddings, funerals or christenings. Expressing one’s own religious values has become somewhat of a private matter where publicity is seldom appreciated, which is contrary to the practice of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is one of the reasons why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are commonly perceived by average Swedes as a “suspicious” religious organisation. The aim and methods of the study This dissertation seeks to describe and investigate the entering and leaving of a highly structured and hierarchical religious community, exemplified in this case by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. What are the thoughts and aspirations of someone who is considering becoming a Jehovah’s Witness? What are the priorities and what experiences seem important when a person is going through such a process? And when this person has finally reached his or her goal of becoming a member, is it the same motivation that makes him or her stay in the organisation for longer periods of time, possibly for the rest of their lives, or does it change during the process of entering, or does this motivation change its character during the transition from entering to being a regular member? Why do some of the members change their attitude to the Jehovah’s Witnesses from rejoicing to bitterness? And how does this process of exit manifest itself? In what way is it different from the process of entry? The respondents in this study were chosen from both active members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sweden and those who have left the organisation for personal reasons. Repeated interviews with ten active members of the organisation have been conducted in the course of the study and compared to equal numbers of former members. The interviews have been semi-structured to deal with questions of how a person has come into contact with the organisation; how they retrospectively experienced the process of entry; the reasons for becoming a member. Questions have also been asked about life in the organisation. The group of “exiters” have also been asked about the experience of leaving, why they wanted to leave, and how this process was started and carried out. In addition to this I have analysed a four-year diary describing the time inside and the process of leaving the organisation. This has given me an extra psychological insight into the inner experience of someone who has gone through the whole process. The analysis has been done by categorising the content of the transcribed interviews. An attempt to outline a model of an entry and exit process has been made, based on ideas and interpretations presented in the interviews. The analysis of the diary has involved thorough reading, resulting in a division of it into four different parts, where each part has been given a certain key-word, signifying the author’s emotional state when writing it. A great deal of the information about the Jehovah’s Witnesses has been collected through discussion boards on the Internet, informal talks with members and ex-members, interviews with representatives of the organisations during visits to its different offices (Bethels), such as St. Petersburg, Russia, and Brooklyn, New York, USA. The context Each organisation evolves in its own context with its own norms, roles and stories that would not survive outside it. With this as a starting point, there is a chapter dedicated to the description of the organisation’s history, structure and activities. It has been stated that the organisation’s treatment of its critical members and the strategies for recruiting new members have evolved over the years of its history. At the beginning there was an openness allowing members to be critical. As the structure of the organisation has become more rigid and formalised, the treatment of internal critics has become much less tolerated and exclusion has become a frequent option. As a rule many new members have been attracted to the organisation when (1) the day of Armageddon has been pronounced to be approaching; (2) the members of the organisation have been persecuted or threatened with persecution; and (3) the organisation has discovered a “new market”. The processes for entering and exiting How the entering processes manifest themselves depends on whether the person has been brought up in the organisation or not. A person converting as an adult has to pass six phases before being considered a Jehovah’s Witness by the organisation. These are:  Contact with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Studying the bible with members of the organisation, Questioning, Accepting, Being active as publisher (spreading the belief), Being baptised.  For a person brought up in the organisation, the process to full membership is much shorter:   Upbringing in the organisation, Taking a stand on the belief, Being baptised. The exit process contains of seven phases:   Different levels of doubts, Testing of doubts, Turning points, Different kinds of decisions, Different steps in executing the decisions, Floating, a period of emotional and cognitive consideration of membership and its experiences, Realtive neutrality.   The process in and the process out are both slow and are accompanied with anguish and doubts. When a person is going through the process in or out of the organisation he or she experiences criticism. This is when people around the adept question the decision to continue in the process. The result of the criticism depends on where in the process the person is. If he or she is at the beginning of the process, the criticism will probably make the person insecure and the process will slow down or stop. If the criticism is pronounced in a later phase, the process will probably speed up. The norms of the organisation affect the behaviour of the members. There are techniques for inclusion that both bind members to the organisation and shield them off from the surrounding society. Examples of techniques for inclusion are the “work situation” and “closed doors”. The work situation signifies that members who do as the organisation recommends – doing simple work – often end up in the same branch of industry as many other Jehovah’s Witnesses. This often means that the person has other witnesses as workmates. If the person is unemployed or moves to another town it is easy to find a new job through connections in the organisation. Doubts and exclusions can lead to problems since they entail a risk of losing one’s job. This can also result in problems getting a new job. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not supposed to talk to excluded members, which of course mean difficulties working together. “Closed doors” means that members who do as the organisation recommends – not pursuing higher education, not engaging in civil society, working with a manual or in other way simple job, putting much time into the organisation – will, after a long life in the organisation, have problems starting a new life outside the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The language used in the organisation shows the community among the members, thus the language is one of the most important symbols. A special way of thinking is created through the language. It binds members to the organisation and sometimes it can work as a way to get back into the normative world of the organisation. Randall Collins’s (1990, 2004) thoughts about “emotional energy” have enabled an understanding of the solidarity and unity in the organisation. This also gives an understanding of the way the members treat doubting and critical members. The members who want to exit have to open up the binding/screening off. A possible way to do that is through language, to become aware of the effect the language might have. Another way is to search for emotional energy in another situation. During the exit process, shame might be of some importance. When members become aware of the shame they feel, because they perceive they are “acting a belief”, the exit process might accelerate.

Characterization of AFN1, a Gene Associated with Cereal Grain Germination

The AFN1 gene is transiently expressed in germinating oat grains. As AFN1 is not expressed in dormant oat grains during imbibition, we hypothesize that AFN1 may be involved in stimulating the germination process. Sequence analysis of an AFN1 cDNA clone indicates that the AFN1 polypeptide is similar to a previously identified abscisic acid (ABA) glucosyl transferase. This suggests that AFN1 may be acting to glucosylate ABA, thereby inactivating it. As the hormone ABA is known to inhibit germination, ABA glucosylation/inactivation could lead to germination in grains expressing AFN1. To test this hypothesis, we have constructed an expression plasmid that encodes an MBP::AFN1 (maltose binding protein) fusion protein. E. coli cells carrying the expression plasmid were found to produce the MBP::AFN1 fusion protein as a substantial fraction of total protein. We are currently in the process of purifying the MBP::AFN1 fusion protein by affinity chromatography, so that it can be assayed for ABA glucosyl transferase activity. We also wish to test the effect of AFN1 gene expression during grain imbibition on the germination behavior of the grains. To this end, we have constructed plasmids for the overexpression and RNAi-based suppression of AFN1 in transgenic plants. These plasmids have been introduced into oat cells by particle bombardment and we are in the process of regenerating transgenic plants for study.

Reconceptualising the objectives of a pilot study for clinical research

This is a methodological study in which a case report is used to retrospectively analyse the link between a successful pilot study and stalled main study to identify potential methodological weaknesses in the planning process. The analysis identified unanticipated influences related to hospital processes and discipline boundaries that adversely influenced participant recruitment and retention for a clinical trial. The findings of the study demonstrate that, whilst the pilot is an important step in research planning to confirm the design and operational processes for a study, a thorough analysis of the relevant health service environment is an important additional objective for the pilot study.

Women primary principals : leadership between the flags

The purpose of this paper is to outline my research project and share some of the perspectives that have emerged during the process of analysis and reflexivity. This is a case study of twelve female primary school principals in the independent sector in Victoria. Independent schools are generally referred to as the private sector or non-government schools to distinguish them from the government sector. Also the reference to primary principals’ is generally used to refer to a ‘Junior School Head’ position within a K – 12 School. Many schools often combine the role of the Junior Head’s position and / or the Deputy Principal or Assistant Principal’s position.

This paper introduces the work narratives of successful professional women in senior leadership positions in independent schools. The analysis of the narrative process itself and how these women shape and are shaped by their cultural discourses about leadership provides the focus for this study. In particular how the context and discursive strategies they use to tell their stories are instrumental in their construction of professional identity and its relationship to subjectivity. Thus professional work narratives offer insights into subjectivity and identity as the women tell their leadership stories. Initially Clandinin and Connelly’s (1994) ‘narrative inquiry’ approach provided a useful conceptual basis from which to gather the written responses to a questionnaire collected during 2004, interviews (taperecorded and transcribed) and my reflexive journal maintained during and after the interview process.

Building information modelling project decision support framework

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an information technology [IT] enabled approach to managing design data in the AEC/FM (Architecture, Engineering and Construction/ Facilities Management) industry. BIM enables improved interdisciplinary collaboration across distributed teams, intelligent documentation and information retrieval, greater consistency in building data, better conflict detection and enhanced facilities management. Despite the apparent benefits the adoption of BIM in practice has been slow. Workshops with industry focus groups were conducted to identify the industry needs, concerns and expectations from participants who had implemented BIM or were BIM “ready”. Factors inhibiting BIM adoption include lack of training, low business incentives, perception of lack of rewards, technological concerns, industry fragmentation related to uneven ICT adoption practices, contractual matters and resistance to changing current work practice. Successful BIM usage depends on collective adoption of BIM across the different disciplines and support by the client. The relationship of current work practices to future BIM scenarios was identified as an important strategy as the participants believed that BIM cannot be efficiently used with traditional practices and methods. The key to successful implementation is to explore the extent to which current work practices must change. Currently there is a perception that all work practices and processes must adopt and change for effective usage of BIM. It is acknowledged that new roles and responsibilities are emerging and that different parties will lead BIM on different projects. A contingency based approach to the problem of implementation was taken which relies upon integration of BIM project champion, procurement strategy, team capability analysis, commercial software availability/applicability and phase decision making and event analysis. Organizations need to understand: (a) their own work processes and requirements; (b) the range of BIM applications available in the market and their capabilities (c) the potential benefits of different BIM applications and their roles in different phases of the project lifecycle, and (d) collective supply chain adoption capabilities. A framework is proposed to support organizations selection of BIM usage strategies that meet their project requirements. Case studies are being conducted to develop the framework. The results of the preliminary design management case study is presented for contractor led BIM specific to the design and construct procurement strategy.

Identification and characterisation of novel genes involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy

There is mounting evidence in support of the view that skeletal muscle hypertrophy results from the complex and coordinated interaction of numerous signalling pathways. Well characterised components integral to skeletal muscle adaptation include the transcriptional activity of the members of the myogenic regulatory factors, numerous secreted peptide growth factors, and the regenerative potential of satellite cells. Whilst studies investigating isolated components or pathways have enhanced our current understanding of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, our knowledge of how all of these components react in concert to a common stimulus remains limited. The broad aim of this thesis was to identify and characterise novel genes involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy. We have created a customised human skeletal muscle specific microarray which contains ∼11,000 cDNA clones derived from a normalised human skeletal muscle cDNA library as well as 270 genes with known functional roles in human skeletal muscle. The first aspect of this thesis describes the production of the microarray and evaluates the robustness and reproducibility of this analytical technique. Study one aimed to use this microarray in the identification of genes that are differentially expressed during the forced differentiation of human rhabdomyosarcoma cells, an in vitro model of skeletal muscle development. Firstly using this unique model of aberrant myogenic differentiation we aimed to identify genes with previously unidentified roles in myogenesis. Secondly, the data from this study permitted the examination of the performance of the microarray in detecting differential gene expression in a biological system. We identified several new genes with potential roles in the myogenic arrest of rhabdomyosarcoma and further characterised the expression of muscle specific genes in rhabdomyosarcoma differentiation. In study two, the molecular responses of cell cycle regulators, muscle regulatory factors, and atrophy related genes were mapped in response to a single bout of resistance exercise in human skeletal muscle. We demonstrated an increased expression of MyoD, myogenin and p21, whilst the expression of myostatin was decreased. The results of this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the molecular regulation skeletal muscle to a hypertrophic stimulus. In study three, the muscle samples collected in study two were analysed using the human skeletal muscle specific microarray for the identification of novel genes with potential roles in the hypertrophic process. The analysis uncovered four interesting genes (TXNIP, MLP, ASB5, FLJ 38973) that have not previously been examined in human skeletal muscle in response to resistance exercise. The functions of these genes and their potential roles in skeletal muscle are discussed. In study four, the four genes identified in study three were examined in human primary skeletal muscle cell cultures during myogenic differentiation. Human primary skeletal muscle cells were derived from the vastus lateralis muscle of 8 healthy volunteers (6 males and 2 females). Cell cultures were differentiated using serum withdrawal and serum withdrawal combined with IGF-1 supplementation. Markers of the cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest and myogenic differentiation were examined to assess the effectiveness of the differentiation stimulus. Additionally, the expressions of TXNIP, MLP, ASB5 and FLJ 38973 measured in an attempt to characterise further their roles in skeletal muscle. The expression of TXNIP changed markedly in response to both differentiation stimuli, whilst the expression of the remaining genes were not altered. Therefore it was suggested that expression of these genes might be responsive to the mechanical strain or contraction induced by the resistance exercise. In order to examine whether these novel genes responded specifically to resistance type exercise, their expression was examined following a single bout of endurance exercise. The expression of TXNIP, MLP, and FLJ 38973 remained unchanged whilst ASB5 increased 30 min following the cessation of the exercise.

Sistemas de informações geográficas no estudo da lógica locacional de assentamentos irregulares : o caso de Gravataí – RS

This study investigates the spatial logic of squatter settlements location by using a Geographic Information System – GIS. The process of analysis established, preliminary, the selection and standardization of a set of factors witch we considered influential to the locational issue: (a) slope; (b) distance from water resources; (c) distance from roads; (d) distance from urbanization; (e) distance from industrial zones; (f) distance from preservation areas; (g) average income; and (h) population density. Subsequently, these factors have been integrated into a “Potential Map” through a multi-criteria evaluation method. Finally, potential map have been compared to real location of squatter settlements in Gravataí, RS. The approach developed here has provide information for a better understanding of the topic, which can be used for urban planning purposes.