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Computer game-based and traditional learning method: a comparison regarding students’ knowledge retention
No full textAbstract
Background
Educational computer games are examples of computer-assisted learning objects, representing an educational strategy of growing interest. Given the changes in the digital world over the last decades, students of the current generation expect technology to be used in advancing their learning requiring a need to change traditional passive learning methodologies to an active multisensory experimental learning methodology. The objective of this study was to compare a computer game-based learning method with a traditional learning method, regarding learning gains and knowledge retention, as means of teaching head and neck Anatomy and Physiology to Speech-Language and Hearing pathology undergraduate students.
Methods
Students were randomized to participate to one of the learning methods and the data analyst was blinded to which method of learning the students had received. Students’ prior knowledge (i.e. before undergoing the learning method), short-term knowledge retention and long-term knowledge retention (i.e. six months after undergoing the learning method) were assessed with a multiple choice questionnaire. Students’ performance was compared considering the three moments of assessment for both for the mean total score and for separated mean scores for Anatomy questions and for Physiology questions.
Results
Students that received the game-based method performed better in the pos-test assessment only when considering the Anatomy questions section. Students that received the traditional lecture performed better in both post-test and long-term post-test when considering the Anatomy and Physiology questions.
Conclusions
The game-based learning method is comparable to the traditional learning method in general and in short-term gains, while the traditional lecture still seems to be more effective to improve students’ short and long-term knowledge retention
FOMP: a novel preprocessing technique to speed-up the outlier removal from matched points
No full textImage matching plays a major role in many applications, including pattern recognition and biomedical imaging. It encompasses three steps: 1) interest point selection; 2) feature extraction from each interest point; 3) features point matching. For steps 1 and 2, traditional interest point detectors/extractors have worked well. However, for step 3 even a few points incorrectly matched (outliers), might lead to an undesirable result. State-of-the-art consensus algorithms present a high time cost as the number of outlier increases. Aimed at overcoming this problem, we present FOMP, a novel preprocessing approach, that reduces the amount of outliers in the initial set of matched points by filtering out the vertices that present a higher difference among their edges in a complete graph representation of the points. The precision of traditional methods is kept, while the time is speed up in 50%. The approach removes, in average, more than 65% of outliers, while keeping over 98% of the inliers.CNPqCAPESFAPES
Evaluation of a pharmacogenetic-based warfarin dosing algorithm in patients with low time in therapeutic range – study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
No full textAbstract
Background
Time in therapeutic range (TTR) is a measurement of quality of warfarin therapy and lower TTR values (<50%) are associated with greater risk of thromboembolic and bleeding events. Recently, we developed a pharmacogenetic-based warfarin dosing algorithm specifically calibrated for a Brazilian patient sample. The aims of this study are: to evaluate the impact of a genetic-based algorithm, compared to traditional anticoagulation, in the time to achieve the therapeutic target and in TTR percentage; and to assess the cost-effectiveness of genotype-guided warfarin dosing in a specific cohort of patients with low TTR (<50%) from a tertiary cardiovascular hospital.
Methods/design
This study is a randomized controlled trial in patients (n = 300) with atrial fibrillation with TTR < 50%, based on the last three INR values. At the first consultation, patients will be randomized into two groups: TA group (traditional anticoagulation) and PA group (pharmacogenetic anticoagulation). For the first group, the physician will adjust the dose according to current INR value and, for the second group, a pharmacogenetic algorithm will be used. At the second, third, fourth and fifth consultations (with an interval of 7 days each) INR will be measured and, if necessary, the dose will be adjusted based on guidelines. Afterwards, patients who are INR stable will begin measuring their INR in 30 day intervals; if the patient’s INR is not stable, the patient will return in 7 days for a new measurement of the INR. Outcomes measures will include the time to achieve the therapeutic target and the percentage of TTR at 4 and 12 weeks. In addition, as a secondary end-point, pharmacoeconomic analysis will be carried out. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee for Medical Research on Human Beings of the Clinical Hospital of the University of São Paulo Medical School.
Discussion
This randomized study will include patients with low TTR and it will evaluate whether a population-specific genetic algorithm might be more effective than traditional anticoagulation for a selected group of poorly anticoagulated patients.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov,
NCT02592980
. Registered on 29 October 2015
Sequential analysis of global gene expression profiles in immature and in vitro matured bovine oocytes: potential molecular markers of oocyte maturation
No full textAbstract
Background
Without intensive selection, the majority of bovine oocytes submitted to in vitro embryo production (IVP) fail to develop to the blastocyst stage. This is attributed partly to their maturation status and competences. Using the Affymetrix GeneChip Bovine Genome Array, global mRNA expression analysis of immature (GV) and in vitro matured (IVM) bovine oocytes was carried out to characterize the transcriptome of bovine oocytes and then use a variety of approaches to determine whether the observed transcriptional changes during IVM was real or an artifact of the techniques used during analysis.
Results
8489 transcripts were detected across the two oocyte groups, of which ~25.0% (2117 transcripts) were differentially expressed (p < 0.001); corresponding to 589 over-expressed and 1528 under-expressed transcripts in the IVM oocytes compared to their immature counterparts. Over expression of transcripts by IVM oocytes is particularly interesting, therefore, a variety of approaches were employed to determine whether the observed transcriptional changes during IVM were real or an artifact of the techniques used during analysis, including the analysis of transcript abundance in oocytes in vitro matured in the presence of α-amanitin. Subsets of the differentially expressed genes were also validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and the gene expression data was classified according to gene ontology and pathway enrichment. Numerous cell cycle linked (CDC2, CDK5, CDK8, HSPA2, MAPK14, TXNL4B), molecular transport (STX5, STX17, SEC22A, SEC22B), and differentiation (NACA) related genes were found to be among the several over-expressed transcripts in GV oocytes compared to the matured counterparts, while ANXA1, PLAU, STC1and LUM were among the over-expressed genes after oocyte maturation.
Conclusion
Using sequential experiments, we have shown and confirmed transcriptional changes during oocyte maturation. This dataset provides a unique reference resource for studies concerned with the molecular mechanisms controlling oocyte meiotic maturation in cattle, addresses the existing conflicting issue of transcription during meiotic maturation and contributes to the global goal of improving assisted reproductive technology
Medicine expenses and obesity in Brazil: an analysis based on the household budget survey
No full textAbstract\ud
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Background\ud
Obesity can be considered a global public health problem that affects virtually all countries worldwide and results in greater use of healthcare services and higher healthcare costs. We aimed to describe average monthly household medicine expenses according to source of funding, public or private, and to estimate the influence of the presence of obese residents in households on total medicine expenses.\ud
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Methods\ud
This study was based on data from the 2008–2009 Brazilian Household Budget Survey, with a representative population sample of 55,970 households as study units. Information on nutritional status and medicines acquired and their cost in the past 30 days were analyzed. A two-part model was employed to assess the influence of obesity on medicine expenses, with monthly household medicine expenses per capita as outcome, presence of obese in the household as explanatory variable, and adjustment for confounding variables.\ud
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Results\ud
Out-of-pocket expenses on medicines were always higher than the cost of medicines obtained through the public sector, and 32 % of households had at least one obese as resident. Monthly household expenses on medicines per capita in households with obese was US$ 20.40, 16 % higher than in households with no obese. An adjusted model confirmed that the presence of obese in the households increased medicine expenses.\ud
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Conclusion\ud
Obesity is associated with additional medicine expenses, increasing the negative impact on household budgets and public expenditure.We are grateful to the the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de\ud
São Paulo (FAPESP) for the research grant (process number 2012/17977-4)\ud
and to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior\ud
(CAPES) for the doctoral scholarship to DSC
Aurora kinase targeting in lung cancer reduces KRAS-induced transformation
No full textAbstract\ud
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Background\ud
Activating mutations in KRAS are prevalent in lung cancer and have been causally linked to the oncogenic process. However, therapies targeted to oncogenic RAS have been ineffective to date and identification of KRAS targets that impinge on the oncogenic phenotype is warranted. Based on published studies showing that mitotic kinases Aurora A (AURKA) and B (AURKB) cooperate with oncogenic RAS to promote malignant transformation and that AURKA phosphorylates RAS effector pathway components, the aim of this study was to investigate whether AURKA and AURKB are KRAS targets in lung cancer and whether targeting these kinases might be therapeutically beneficial.\ud
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Methods\ud
In order to determine whether oncogenic KRAS induces Aurora kinase expression, we used qPCR and western blotting in three different lung cell-based models of gain- or loss-of-function of KRAS. In order to determine the functional role of these kinases in KRAS-induced transformation, we generated KRAS-positive A549 and H358 cells with stable and inducible shRNA-mediated knockdown of AURKA or AURKB and evaluated transformation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. In order to validate AURKA and/or AURKB as therapeutically relevant KRAS targets in lung cancer, we treated A549 and H358 cells, as well as two different lung cell based models of gain-of-function of KRAS with a dual Aurora kinase inhibitor and performed functional in vitro assays.\ud
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Results\ud
We determined that KRAS positively regulates AURKA and AURKB expression. Furthermore, in KRAS-positive H358 and A549 cell lines, inducible knockdown of AURKA or AURKB, as well as treatment with a dual AURKA/AURKB inhibitor, decreased growth, viability, proliferation, transformation, and induced apoptosis in vitro. In addition, inducible shRNA-mediated knockdown of AURKA in A549 cells decreased tumor growth in vivo. More importantly, dual pharmacological inhibiton of AURKA and AURKB reduced growth, viability, transformation, and induced apoptosis in vitro in an oncogenic KRAS-dependent manner, indicating that Aurora kinase inhibition therapy can specifically target KRAS-transformed cells.\ud
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Conclusions\ud
Our results support our hypothesis that Aurora kinases are important KRAS targets in lung cancer and suggest Aurora kinase inhibition as a novel approach for KRAS-induced lung cancer therapy.This work was supported by a Young Investigator Grant (2010/52685-9) from the Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and a Young Clinical Scientist Award (YCSA 072165) from the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) to D.S.B., a FAMRI YCSA award (YCSA 052409) and Clinical Investigator Award (CIA 103063) to E.L., by a FAPESP masters fellowship to E.O.S., a FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship to T.C.C-L, a FAPESP Ph.D. fellowship to M.N.A. and by a Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Ph.D. fellowship to E.O.S. This work was also supported by the graduate program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of São Paulo, which is sponsored by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
An insight into the sialotranscriptome of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus
No full textAbstract
Background
Rhipicephalus sanguineus, known as the brown dog tick, is a common ectoparasite of domestic dogs and can be found worldwide. R.sanguineus is recognized as the primary vector of the etiological agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis and canine babesiosis. Here we present the first description of a R. sanguineus salivary gland transcriptome by the production and analysis of 2,034 expressed sequence tags (EST) from two cDNA libraries, one consctructed using mRNA from dissected salivary glands from female ticks fed for 3-5 days (early to mid library, RsSGL1) and the another from ticks fed for 5 days (mid library, RsSGL2), identifying 1,024 clusters of related sequences.
Results
Based on sequence similarities to nine different databases, we identified transcripts of genes that were further categorized according to function. The category of putative housekeeping genes contained ~56% of the sequences and had on average 2.49 ESTs per cluster, the secreted protein category contained 26.6% of the ESTs and had 2.47 EST's/clusters, while 15.3% of the ESTs, mostly singletons, were not classifiable, and were annotated as "unknown function". The secreted category included genes that coded for lipocalins, proteases inhibitors, disintegrins, metalloproteases, immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory proteins, as Evasins and Da-p36, as well as basic-tail and 18.3 kDa proteins, cement proteins, mucins, defensins and antimicrobial peptides. Comparison of the abundance of ESTs from similar contigs of the two salivary gland cDNA libraries allowed the identification of differentially expressed genes, such as genes coding for Evasins and a thrombin inhibitor, which were over expressed in the RsSGL1 (early to mid library) versus RsSGL2 (mid library), indicating their role in inhibition of inflammation at the tick feeding site from the very beginning of the blood meal. Conversely, sequences related to cement (64P), which function has been correlated with tick attachment, was largely expressed in the mid library.
Conclusions
Our survey provided an insight into the R. sanguineus sialotranscriptome, which can assist the discovery of new targets for anti-tick vaccines, as well as help to identify pharmacologically active proteins
Molecular epidemiological tracing of a cattle rabies outbreak lasting less than a month in Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil
No full textAbstract\ud
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Background\ud
Vampire bat-transmitted cattle rabies cases are typically encountered in areas where the disease is endemic. However, over the period of a month in 2009, an outbreak of cattle rabies occurred and then ended spontaneously in a small area of the Rio Grande do Sul State in southern Brazil. To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of this rabies outbreak in Rio Grande do Sul, 26 nucleotide sequences of rabies virus (RABV) genomes that were collected in this area were analyzed phylogenetically.\ud
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Results\ud
Nucleotide sequence identities of the nucleoprotein gene and G–L intergenic region of the 26 RABVs were greater than 99.6 %. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all RABVs clustered with the vampire bat-related cattle RABV strains and that the RABVs were mainly distributed in southern Brazil.\ud
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Conclusions\ud
The findings of the present study suggested that a small population of rabid vampire bats carrying a single RABV strain produced a spatiotemporally restricted outbreak of cattle rabies in southern Brazil.This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research\ud
(24580453) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the\ud
Strategic Research Base Development Program, “International joint research\ud
and training of young researchers for zoonosis control in a globalized world”,\ud
and a matching fund subsidy from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,\ud
Science and Technology of Japan (S0991023 and S1491007)
Unveiling smoke in social images with the SmokeBlock approach
No full textCan we use information from social media and crowdsourced images to detect smoke and assist rescue forces? While there are computer vision methods for detecting smoke, they require movement information extracted from video data. In this paper we propose SmokeBlock: a method that is able to segment and detect smoke in still images. SmokeBlock uses superpixel segmentation and extracts local color and texture features from images to spot smoke. We used real data from Flickr and compared SmokeBlock against state-of-theart methods for feature extraction. Our method achieved performance superior than the competitors, for the task of smoke detection. Our findings shall support further investigations in the field of image analysis, in particular, concerning images captured with mobile devices.FAPESPCAPESRESCUER Project (grants EU 614154 and CNPq/MCTI 490084/2013-3
Usefulness of circulating E-selectin to early detection of the atherosclerotic process in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)
No full textAbstract\ud
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Background\ud
This cross-sectional analysis evaluated whether determination of E-selectin concentrations could identify deterioration of cardiometabolic risk profile or subclinical atherosclerosis in individuals at low-to-moderate risk included in The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health—ELSA-Brasil.\ud
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Methods\ud
A sample of 984 individuals from ELSA-Brasil (35–54 years) without cardiovascular disease or diabetes was stratified according to E-selectin tertiles. Traditional risk factors, inflammatory markers and categories of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores were evaluated across the tertiles by ANOVA or Chi-squared test. In linear regression models, associations of E-selectin levels with insulin resistance index, adjusted for age, sex and adiposity were tested.\ud
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Results\ud
The mean age of the participants was 45.8 (SD 4.9) years and 55 % were women. Mean values of age, anthropometric data, biochemical variables and inflammatory status increased across E-selectin tertiles. Also, a gradual deterioration of the cardiometabolic profile was reflected by increments in frequencies (95 % CI) of BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 [53.7 % (48.5–58.8), 61.0 % (56.1–66.5) and 64.2 % (59.0–69.4), p = 0.019], hypertension [18.0 % (14.1–22.8), 19.8 % (15.4–24.6) and 24.8 % (20.4–29.9), p = 0.048], pre-diabetes [62.5 % (57.4–68.3), 63.1 % (58.4–69.6) and 73.8 % (68.8–78.3), p = 0.003] and hypertriglyceridemia [22.4 % (17.9–27.2), 27.3 % (22.5–32.8) and 33.4 % (28.3–38.5), p = 0.013]. Insulinemia and HOMA-IR were independently associated with E-selectin concentration. A greater proportion of individuals with CAC scores different from zero was found in the third tertile when compared with the first and second tertiles (16.1 versus 11 %, p = 0.04, respectively).\ud
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Conclusions\ud
Direct associations of E-selectin with traditional risk factors slightly above their normal ranges, components of the metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and presence of CAC suggest that this biomarker may indicate an initial atherogenic process.The ELSA-Brasil baseline study was supported by the Brazilian Ministry of\ud
Health (Science and Technology Department) and the Brazilian Ministry of\ud
Science and Technology and CNPq—National Research Council) (Grants # 01\ud
06 0010.00 RS, 01 06 0212.00 BA, 01 06 0300.00 ES, 01 06 0278.00 MG, 01 06\ud
0115.00 SP, 01 06 0071.00 RJ). The current work was supported by grant from\ud
the São Paulo State Foundation for Research Support (Fundação de Amparo\ud
à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo—FAPESP—Protocol 2010/00074-6), São\ud
Paulo, SP, Brazil