In this paper we report the work that jeKnowledge (Júnior Empresa da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias da Universidade de Coimbra), a student-led initiative, has done in the ‘jeKnowledge academy’ ...courses to actively engage Portuguese high-school students in STEM education through hands-on projects based on the low-cost Arduino platform. F2F activities, based on a peer-assisted learning strategy, were complemented with tutorials and more advanced project suggestions in a blog. Pre and post surveys on students' attitudes towards programming and peer-coaching were administered to pre-university and first year college participants, finding an overall increase in the Likert scale for all the programming-related constructs under study (confidence, interest, gender, usefulness and professional) after the introductory course. As regards the peer-based learning approach, younger students seemed to be more eager to be taught in a less formal way than their older counterparts. The course resulted in high degrees of satisfaction for both the student tutors and their tutees.
•Student-led introductory programming course for high-school students using Arduino.•Project-based approach for acquisition of computational thinking skills via PAL.•Pre and post surveys showed overall increase for all programming-related constructs.•Students totally agreed that women are as capable as men to excel in programming.•Significant age- and gender-related differences in attitude towards PAL were found.
In this paper we report the work that jeKnowledge (Júnior Empresa da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias da Universidade de Coimbra), a student-led initiative, has done in the ‘jeKnowledge academy’ ...courses to actively engage Portuguese high-school students in STEM education through hands-on projects based on the low-cost Arduino platform. F2F activities, based on a peer-assisted learning strategy, were complemented with tutorials and more advanced project suggestions in a blog. Pre and post surveys on students' attitudes towards programming and peer-coaching were administered to pre-university and first year college participants, finding an overall increase in the Likert scale for all the programming-related constructs under study (confidence, interest, gender, usefulness and professional) after the introductory course. As regards the peer-based learning approach, younger students seemed to be more eager to be taught in a less formal way than their older counterparts. The course resulted in high degrees of satisfaction for both the student tutors and their tutees.
•Student-led introductory programming course for high-school students using Arduino.•Project-based approach for acquisition of computational thinking skills via PAL.•Pre and post surveys showed overall increase for all programming-related constructs.•Students totally agreed that women are as capable as men to excel in programming.•Significant age- and gender-related differences in attitude towards PAL were found.
Until there is an effective implementation of COVID-19 vaccination program, a robust testing strategy, along with prevention measures, will continue to be the most viable way to control disease ...spread. Such a strategy should rely on disparate diagnostic tests to prevent a slowdown in testing due to lack of materials and reagents imposed by supply chain problems, which happened at the beginning of the pandemic. In this study, we have established a single-tube test based on RT-LAMP that enables the visual detection of less than 100 viral genome copies of SARS-CoV-2 within 30 min. We benchmarked the assay against the gold standard test for COVID-19 diagnosis, RT-PCR, using 177 nasopharyngeal RNA samples. For viral loads above 100 copies, the RT-LAMP assay had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 96.1%. Additionally, we set up a RNA extraction-free RT-LAMP test capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2 directly from saliva samples, albeit with lower sensitivity. The saliva was self-collected and the collection tube remained closed until inactivation, thereby ensuring the protection of the testing personnel. As expected, RNA extraction from saliva samples increased the sensitivity of the test. To lower the costs associated with RNA extraction, we performed this step using an alternative protocol that uses plasmid DNA extraction columns. We also produced the enzymes needed for the assay and established an in-house-made RT-LAMP test independent of specific distribution channels. Finally, we developed a new colorimetric method that allowed the detection of LAMP products by the visualization of an evident color shift, regardless of the reaction pH.
Microalgae produce and secrete large quantities of polysaccharides into the culture medium that is discarded when biomass is separated. The main objective of this study was to add value to the ...exhausted culture medium (ECM) of Porphyridium cruentum through the recovery of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) by different extracting and purifying methods for the future biotechnological applications. The ECM was submitted to precipitation with cold absolute ethanol, using ultrasound, dialysis, and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) as purification methods. The purification provided a lower yield, with higher carbohydrate content. The TCA purified sample presented up to twice as much total carbohydrates as the non-purified samples, mainly composed of xylose, galactose, and glucose. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showed the smooth structure of P. cruentum EPS, in which TCA post-treatment and dialysis allowed obtaining larger and purest particles, being a good candidate for film making. Microalgal polymeric by-products are a sustainable source to recover valuable compounds, and the purification treatment proved to be an important step to valorize this material.
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•Different methodologies for EPS purification affect the carbohydrate content.•EPS recovered from Porphyridium cuentum presents heterogeneous monosaccharides.•The purification provides a smooth structure with fewer aggregate particles.•Trichloroacetic acid and dialysis provide the highest purity EPS.
Tumor growth is accompanied with dramatic changes in the cellular glycome, such as the aberrant expression of complex branched N-glycans. However, the role of this protumoral N-glycan in immune ...evasion and whether its removal contributes to enhancement of immune recognition and to unleashing an antitumor immune response remain elusive. We demonstrated that branched N-glycans are used by colorectal cancer cells to escape immune recognition, instructing the creation of immunosuppressive networks through inhibition of IFNγ. The removal of this "glycan-mask" exposed immunogenic mannose glycans that potentiated immune recognition by DC-SIGN-expressing immune cells, resulting in an effective antitumor immune response. We revealed a glycoimmune checkpoint in colorectal cancer, highlighting the therapeutic efficacy of its deglycosylation to potentiate immune recognition and, thus, improving cancer immunotherapy.
Inflammatory events during Leishmania braziliensis infection in mice were investigated. Large lesions were directly correlated with the inflammatory reaction but not with parasite burden. Different ...L. braziliensis strains induce different paces of chemokine expression patterns, leading to diverse cell recruitment and differential inflammatory responses.
Several studies assessed the influence of a low birth weight on bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), but not all could find a significant association. Our aim was to assess the association between low ...birth weight and BPD in preterm infants, prospectively recruited at 11 level III Portuguese neonatal centers.
Obstetrical and neonatal data on mothers and preterm infants with gestational ages between 24 and 30 weeks, born during 2015 and 2016 after a surveilled pregnancy, were analyzed. Neonates were considered small for gestational age (SGA) when their birthweight was below the 10th centile of Fenton's growth chats and BPD was defined as the dependency for oxygen therapy until 36 weeks of corrected age. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS® statistics 23 and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Out of 614, a total of 494 preterm infants delivered from 410 women were enrolled in the study; 40 (8.0%) infants with SGA criteria. SGA were more often associated with a single pregnancy, had greater use of antenatal corticosteroids, increased prevalence of gestational hypertensive disorders, C-section, rupture of membranes below 18 hours, rate of intubation in the delivery room, use of surfactant treatment, oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation need, BPD, cystic periventricular leukomalacia, nosocomial sepsis and pneumonia; had lower prevalence of chorioamnionitis, and lower Apgar scores. The multivariate analysis by logistic regression, adjusted for BPD risk factors revealed a significant association between SGA and BPD: OR = 5.2 CI: 1.46-18.58; p = 0.01.
The results of this study increase the scientific evidence that SGA is an independent risk factor for BPD.
O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a percepção da carga interna de treinamento percebida pelas atletas (CIA) com a carga planejada pelo treinador (CET), como também comparar as percepções de ...recuperação. A amostra foi constituída por 10 atletas jovens de uma equipe feminina de basquetebol (idade= 13.20± 1.03 anos, estatura= 162.91± 5.16 cm e massa corporal= 58.20 ± 12,25 Kg) e um treinador com experiência de 08 anos. Foram utilizadas a escala de percepção subjetiva do esforço (CR 10) para estimativa da carga interna de treinamento (CIT) e uma escala de recuperação de esforço percebido (ERP). Todas as análises foram realizadas usando o software Jamovi (versão 1.6), teste de normalidade de Shapiro-Wilk, teste t para uma amostra (normalidade atendida) e Wilcoxon (normalidade não atendida). Foi utilizado o nível de significância de p≤ 0.05 em todos os casos. Das 10 sessões de treino analisadas, seis apresentaram resultados compatíveis entre treinador e atletas em relação a CET e a CIA. Quanto à ERP, houve diferenças significativas em 60% das sessões. Diante dos resultados, a hipótese inicial que apontava diferenças entre as percepções de treinadores e atletas nas variáveis analisadas foi acatada parcialmente.
This book focus in the study of past information systems, current information management and digital preservation. It results from a set of text sources, whose approaches reflect the challenges and ...opportunities in the world of information, treated by specialists dealing with it on a professional and academic level. The objective of this collection of text sources is to be a motto to new contributions to the archival field, potentiating experiences in the work context and new studies in the approached thematics.
Relata-se caso de homem portador da Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida que apresentou quadro agudo e grave de Leucoencefalopatia Multifocal Progressiva (LMP) como primeira manifestação da ...Síndrome. A LMP foi caracterizada macro e microscopicamente e através de estudo imuno-histoquímico utilizando o anticorpo antivírus JC.
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