Resumo -O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver valores normativos para a aptidão funcional e o índice de aptidão funcional geral (IAFG) para homens de 60 a 69 anos. Foram avaliados 112 idosos residentes em Florianópolis/SC ou Rio Claro/SP, por meio da bateria de testes da AAHPERD, que realizavam atividade física sistematizada, supervisionada e regularmente, há pelo menos 6 meses. A bateria é composta por cinco testes que avaliam a flexibilidade, coordenação, agilidade/equilíbrio dinâmico, força e capacidade aeróbia. Para a análise dos dados e construção dos valores normativos das aptidões funcionais e do IAFG, utilizou-se o cálculo de percentis. Foram utilizados como pontos de corte os percentis 20, 40, 60 e 80 para gerar as classificações: muito fraco, fraco, regular, bom e muito bom, respectivamente. O desenvolvimento de valores normativos pode servir como referência aos profissionais, para que possam melhor avaliar, orientar e prescrever atividade física para homens idosos.

Trisomy 21-driven transcriptional alterations in human thymus were characterized through gene coexpression network (GCN) and miRNA-target analyses. We used whole thymic tissue - obtained at heart surgery from Down syndrome (DS) and karyotipically normal subjects (CT) - and a network-based approach for GCN analysis that allows the identification of modular transcriptional repertoires (communities) and the interactions between all the system's constituents through community detection. Changes in the degree of connections observed for hierarchically important hubs/genes in CT and DS networks corresponded to community changes. Distinct communities of highly interconnected genes were topologically identified in these networks. The role of miRNAs in modulating the expression of highly connected genes in CT and DS was revealed through miRNA-target analysis. Trisomy 21 gene dysregulation in thymus may be depicted as the breakdown and altered reorganization of transcriptional modules. Leading networks acting in normal or disease states were identified. CT networks would depict the “canonical” way of thymus functioning. Conversely, DS networks represent a “non-canonical” way, i.e., thymic tissue adaptation under trisomy 21 genomic dysregulation. This adaptation is probably driven by epigenetic mechanisms acting at chromatin level and through the miRNA control of transcriptional programs involving the networks' high-hierarchy genes.

AIRE expression in thymus is downregulated by estrogen after puberty, what probably renders women more susceptible to autoimmune disorders. Here we investigated the effects of minipuberty on male and female infant human thymic tissue in order to verify if this initial transient increase in sex hormones - along the first six months of life - could affect thymic transcriptional network regulation and AIRE expression. Gene co-expression network analysis for differentially expressed genes and miRNA-target analysis revealed sex differences in thymic tissue during minipuberty, but such differences were not detected in the thymic tissue of infants aged 7–18 months, i.e. the non-puberty group. AIRE expression was essentially the same in both sexes in minipuberty and in non-puberty groups, as assessed by genomic and immunohistochemical assays. However, AIRE-interactors networks showed several differences in all groups regarding gene-gene expression correlation. Therefore, minipuberty and genomic mechanisms interact in shaping thymic sexual dimorphism along the first six months of life.

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Shiga toxin-producing (Stx) Escherichia coli (STEC) O113:H21 strains are associated with human diarrhea and some of these strains may cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The molecular mechanism underlying this capacity and the differential host cell response to HUS-causing strains are not yet completely understood. In Brazil O113:H21 strains are commonly found in cattle but, so far, were not isolated from HUS patients. Here we conducted comparative gene co-expression network (GCN) analyses of two O113:H21 STEC strains: EH41, reference strain, isolated from HUS patient in Australia, and Ec472/01, isolated from cattle feces in Brazil. These strains were cultured in fresh or in Caco-2 cell conditioned media. GCN analyses were also accomplished for cultured Caco-2 cells exposed to EH41 or Ec472/01. Differential transcriptome profiles for EH41 and Ec472/01 were not significantly changed by exposure to fresh or Caco-2 conditioned media. Conversely, global gene expression comparison of both strains cultured in conditioned medium revealed a gene set exclusively expressed in EH41, which includes the dicA putative virulence factor regulator. Network analysis showed that this set of genes constitutes an EH41 specific transcriptional module. PCR analysis in Ec472/01 and in other 10 Brazilian cattle-isolated STEC strains revealed absence of dicA in all these strains. The GCNs of Caco-2 cells exposed to EH41 or to Ec472/01 presented a major transcriptional module containing many hubs related to inflammatory response that was not found in the GCN of control cells. Moreover, EH41 seems to cause gene network dysregulation in Caco-2 as evidenced by the large number of genes with high positive and negative covariance interactions. EH41 grows slowly than Ec472/01 when cultured in Caco-2 conditioned medium and fitness-related genes are hypoexpressed in that strain. Therefore, EH41 virulence may be derived from its capacity for dysregulating enterocyte genome functioning and its enhanced enteric survival due to slow growth.

Learning styles (LS) refer to preferences regarding ways and forms that the student prefers to learn. The knowledge of these styles allows propositions for teaching rearranging instructional methods and teaching strategies to enable more adapted to individual student learning needs. In this context, this paper presents an adaptive presentation model of learning object (LO) based on LS to provide adjustment in the presentation of LO according to the LS of the student.Resumo. Os estilos de aprendizagem (EA) referem-se a preferências em relação aos modos e formas que o aluno prefere aprender. O conhecimento desses estilos permite fazer proposições para o ensino rearranjando os métodos instrucionais e as estratégias de ensino para possibilitar uma aprendizagem mais adaptada as necessidades individuais do aluno. Neste contexto, este artigo apresenta um modelo de apresentação adaptativa do objeto de aprendizagem (OA) baseado em EA para proporcionar adaptação na apresentação do OA de acordo com o EA do aluno.

RESUMOO objetivo deste estudo foi comparar o desempenho de capacidade funcional entre mulheres jovens e idosas brasileiras. A amostra foi composta por 80 mulheres divididas em dois grupos: Grupo Jovem (GJ; 23,2 ± 2,83 anos) e Grupo Idoso (GI; 62,45 ± 8,16 anos). Os componentes de capacidade funcional foram avaliados por meio da bateria de testes da AAHPERD: flexibilidade (FLEX), coordenação motora (COOR), agilidade e equilíbrio dinâmico (AGIL), resistência de força dos membros superiores (RESISFOR) e resistência aeróbia geral (RAG). Para todos os componentes de capacidade funcional o GJ apresentou resultados superiores e diferentes significativamente (p<0,05) em relação ao GI. Contudo, para cada componente, a magnitude de diferença entre os grupos foi distinta. O desempenho do GI foi inferior ao GJ em 22,83% para FLEX; 48,90% para COOR; 57,72% para AGIL; 11,51% para RESISFOR e; 22,62% para RAG. Conclui-se que o processo de envelhecimento e/ou fatores a ele associados parecem influenciar de maneira distinta cada componente de capacidade funcional em mulheres.Palavras-chave: Envelhecimento. Idosos. Capacidade funcional