Tecnologia e o ensino de Inglês: o uso de ferramentas digitais em sala de aula

Focusing on English teaching and the use of digital technology in this process during elementary school II, this course conclusion paper presents five didactic sequences developed during the Specialization Course in Digital Technologies and Education 3.0. The didactic sequences, each one using a different digital tool for English teaching, also brings alternatives in case the use of the indicated digital tool is not possible. The didactic sequences were produced in accordance to the guidelines of the Common National Base Curriculum (2018), which aims the understanding and the use of digital technologies in a critical and ethical way, and also in accordance to the specialization course proposal, which is the presentation of new education concepts and the development of solutions to the challenges faced in the classrooms, all considering that digital technology increasingly assumes an important role in our society.Com foco no ensino de Inglês e no uso da tecnologia digital neste processo durante o ensino fundamental II, o presente trabalho de conclusão de curso apresenta cinco sequências didáticas desenvolvidas durante o Curso de Especialização em Tecnologias Digitais e Educação 3.0. Cada sequência didática, além de uma diferente ferramenta digital para o ensino do Inglês, traz também alternativas caso o uso do recurso digital indicado não seja possível. As sequências didáticas foram produzidas de acordo com as orientações da Base Nacional Comum Curricular (2018), que visa a compreensão e utilização de tecnologias digitais de forma crítica e ética, e também de acordo com a proposta do curso de especialização, que é a apresentação de novos conceitos da educação e o desenvolvimento de soluções para os desafios enfrentados nas salas de aula, tudo isso considerando que a tecnologia digital assume cada vez mais um importante papel em nossa sociedade

Convalescent plasma for COVID-19 in hospitalised patients : an open-label, randomised clinical trial

Background: The effects of convalescent plasma (CP) therapy in hospitalised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain uncertain. This study investigates the effect of CP on clinical improvement in these patients. Methods: This is an investigator-initiated, randomised, parallel arm, open-label, superiority clinical trial. Patients were randomly (1:1) assigned to two infusions of CP plus standard of care (SOC) or SOC alone. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with clinical improvement 28 days after enrolment. Results: A total of 160 (80 in each arm) patients (66.3% critically ill, 33.7% severely ill) completed the trial. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) age was 60.5 (48–68) years; 58.1% were male and the median (IQR) time from symptom onset to randomisation was 10 (8–12) days. Neutralising antibody titres >1:80 were present in 133 (83.1%) patients at baseline. The proportion of patients with clinical improvement on day 28 was 61.3% in the CP+SOC group and 65.0% in the SOC group (difference −3.7%, 95% CI −18.8–11.3%). The results were similar in the severe and critically ill subgroups. There was no significant difference between CP+SOC and SOC groups in pre-specified secondary outcomes, including 28-day mortality, days alive and free of respiratory support and duration of invasive ventilatory support. Inflammatory and other laboratory marker values on days 3, 7 and 14 were similar between groups. Conclusions: CP+SOC did not result in a higher proportion of clinical improvement on day 28 in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 compared to SOC alone

Recrystallization of Caffeine Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide as Antisolvent

The supercritical antisolvent (SAS) process has been widely used to obtain many types of crystalline and amorphous particles of polymers and drugs. In this process, solute particles precipitate from an organic solution when it is sprayed into a compressed antisolvent continuum. The antisolvent is miscible with the organic solvent, but immiscible with the solute. The objective of this work was to investigate the application of supercritical carbon dioxide as antisolvent for the recrystallization of caffeine; a compound largely employed in pharmaceutical and food industries. The carbon dioxide was pressurized at 100bar and the solution was injected into a precipitation chamber, thereby inducing its supersaturation and particle precipitation. The effect of process parameters such as initial concentration of caffeine in the organic solution (3, 5 and 10mg/mL), organic solution flow rate (3mL/min), concentration of CO2 (96 and 98mol%), drying flow rate (990mL/min) and pressure gradient between the precipitation chamber and the exit of the sprayer tube (110 and 220bar) on the solid state properties of caffeine was investigated. The pressure (100bar) and temperature (60oC) of the precipitation chamber were kept constant. The results showed a great difference between the processed and unprocessed samples. In all experimental conditions a reduction in caffeine mean particle size was observed, with length ranging from 0.6 to 168.3?m and width from 0.1 to 12.7?m, compared to the mean size of unprocessed caffeine particles (16.6 to 214.4?m in length and 7.1 to 131.2?m in width). This fact was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), where the precipitated particles presented lower fusion enthalpy than the unprocessed ones. Smaller crystal needles (0.3?m to 0.4?m) were obtained with crystallization at the lowest caffeine concentration in the presence of 98mol% CO2.</jats:p

Spectroscopic and in silico characterization of the interaction between synthetic 2-substituted-naphtho-1,4-quinones and human serum albumin

The intermolecular interaction between 2-(N-phenyl-N-methyl)aminonaphtho-1,4-quinone (1) and 2-(4-N-methylaminophenyl)naphtho-1,4-quinone (2) and human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated using spectroscopic techniques combined with in silico calculations via molecular docking. Steady-state titration of HSA fluorescence by 1 and 2 (λexc 295 nm) in PBS at 305, 310, and 315 K, as well as studies employing time-resolved fluorescence emission, demonstrated that the HSA:1 and HSA:2 interaction occurs through a static quenching mechanism. The Stern-Volmer constant (Ksv) values, (1.56 ± 0.08) and (3.05 ± 0.10) × 104 L/mol at 310 K for HSA:1 and HSA:2, respectively, indicate a moderate binding affinity. Van't Hoff plots showed that HSA:1 and HSA:2 interactions are spontaneous (negative ΔGo) with a hydrophobic character (ΔSo value of 0.00707 ± 0.00106 and 0.0392 ± 0.0062 kJ/mol K for HSA:1 and HSA:2, respectively) and specific electrostatic interactions (ΔHo value of –22.7 ± 3.3 and −14.4 ± 1.9 kJ/mol for HSA:1 and HSA:2, respectively). Synchronous fluorescence results showed significant perturbation in the microenvironment of the tryptophan residue (Trp-214). Circular dichroism indicated that after interaction with naphthoquinones 1 and 2, the HSA structure remains predominantly in the α-helix form. Finally, molecular docking revealed the formation of hydrophobic, electrostatic, and hydrogen bond interactions with the surrounding amino acid residues in subdomain IIA of HSA, which contains the Trp-214 residue, validated with the experimental drug-displacement assays. Overall, spectroscopic and in silico characterization of HSA:1 and HSA:2 might reflect in a low half-life in the human bloodstream, indicating the necessity of methods to improve the bioavailability, e.g., studies on the type of administration (oral versus intravenous)

Perfil clínico e epidemiológico de pessoas com diagnóstico de tuberculose em um município do interior paulista

Objetivo: Descrever o perfil clínico e epidemiológico de pessoas com diagnóstico de tuberculose atendidas na rede pública e notificadas em um município do interior paulista. Métodos: Estudo descritivo, quantitativo, cujos dados foram coletados no Sistema TBWEB e em planilhas do serviço de vigilância epidemiológica em um município do interior de São Paulo. Foram incluídos todos os casos de tuberculose notificados entre 2013 e 2018. Utilizou-se variáveis sociodemográficas, clínicas, informações de diagnóstico e tratamento; analisadas pelo programa Statistic 12.0 por meio de medidas de frequência absoluta e relativa para as variáveis categóricas. Resultados: Foram notificados 375 casos com idade média de 43,1 anos, sendo a maioria do sexo masculino (72,8%), cor branca (53,6%) e escolaridade de 4 a 11 anos (67,7%). Identificou-se que 84,8% apresentaram a forma clínica pulmonar e 82,9% dos casos realizaram baciloscopia de escarro. Em relação a suspeita de tuberculose, 71,7% dos indivíduos realizaram raio-X. Quanto à sorologia para HIV, foram realizados testes em 95,1% dos casos, dos quais 10% obtiveram resultado positivo. Conclusão: A investigação possibilitou compreender as características clínicas e epidemiológicas da tuberculose, além de reflexões acerca da organização da rede de atenção em saúde diante dos casos de tuberculose.</jats:p

Convalescent plasma for COVID-19 in hospitalised patients: an open-label, randomised clinical trial

BackgroundThe effects of convalescent plasma (CP) therapy in hospitalised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain uncertain. This study investigates the effect of CP on clinical improvement in these patients.MethodsThis is an investigator-initiated, randomised, parallel arm, open-label, superiority clinical trial. Patients were randomly (1:1) assigned to two infusions of CP plus standard of care (SOC) or SOC alone. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with clinical improvement 28 days after enrolment.ResultsA total of 160 (80 in each arm) patients (66.3% critically ill, 33.7% severely ill) completed the trial. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) age was 60.5 (48–68) years; 58.1% were male and the median (IQR) time from symptom onset to randomisation was 10 (8–12) days. Neutralising antibody titres &gt;1:80 were present in 133 (83.1%) patients at baseline. The proportion of patients with clinical improvement on day 28 was 61.3% in the CP+SOC group and 65.0% in the SOC group (difference −3.7%, 95% CI −18.8–11.3%). The results were similar in the severe and critically ill subgroups. There was no significant difference between CP+SOC and SOC groups in pre-specified secondary outcomes, including 28-day mortality, days alive and free of respiratory support and duration of invasive ventilatory support. Inflammatory and other laboratory marker values on days 3, 7 and 14 were similar between groups.ConclusionsCP+SOC did not result in a higher proportion of clinical improvement on day 28 in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 compared to SOC alone.</jats:sec