ABSTRACT Background: Guillian Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute autoimmune polyradiculoneuropathy often associated with previous exposure to infectious agents. Methods: A clinical cohort of 41 patients with GBS admitted to the Base Hospital Institute of the Federal District between May 2017 and April 2019 was followed up for 1 year. Serological tests for arbovirus detection and amplification of nucleic acids using polymerase chain reaction for zika virus (ZIKV), dengue virus (DENV), and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) were performed. Results: The cohort consisted of 61% men with a median age of 40 years, and 83% had GBS-triggering events. A total of 54% had Grade 4 disability, 17% had Grade 3, 12% had Grade 2, 10% had Grade 5, and 7% had Grade 1. The classic form occurred in 83% of patients. Nerve conduction evaluations revealed acute demyelinating inflammatory polyneuropathy (51%), acute motor axonal neuropathy (17%), acute sensory-motor neuropathy (15%), and indeterminate forms (17%). Four patients were seropositive for DENV. There was no laboratory detection of ZIKV or CHIKV infection. Ninety percent of patients received human immunoglobulin. Intensive care unit admission occurred in 17.1% of the patients, and mechanical ventilation was used in 14.6%. One patient died of Bickerstaff’s encephalitis. Most patients showed an improvement in disability at 10 weeks of follow-up. Conclusions: GBS in the Federal District showed a variable clinical spectrum, and it was possible to detect recent exposure to DENV.

Abstract Background: Variability in snake venoms is a well-studied phenomenon. However, sex-based variation of Bothrops atrox snake venom using siblings is poorly investigated. Bothrops atrox is responsible for the majority of snakebite accidents in the Brazilian Amazon region. Differences in the venom composition of Bothrops genus have been linked to several factors such as ontogeny, geographical distribution, prey preferences and sex. Thus, in the current study, venom samples of Bothrops atrox male and female siblings were analyzed in order to compare their biochemical and biological characteristics. Methods: Venoms were collected from five females and four males born from a snake captured from the wild in São Bento (Maranhão, Brazil), and kept in the Laboratory of Herpetology of Butantan Intitute. The venoms were analyzed individually and as a pool of each gender. The assays consisted in protein quantification, 1-DE, mass spectrometry, proteolytic, phospholipase A2, L-amino acid oxidase activities, minimum coagulant dose upon plasma, minimum hemorrhagic dose and lethal dose 50%. Results: Electrophoretic profiles of male’s and female’s venom pools were quite similar, with minor sex-based variation. Male venom showed higher LAAO, PLA2 and hemorrhagic activities, while female venom showed higher coagulant activity. On the other hand, the proteolytic activities did not show statistical differences between pools, although some individual variations were observed. Meanwhile, proteomic profile revealed 112 different protein compounds; of which 105 were common proteins of female’s and male’s venom pools and seven were unique to females. Despite individual variations, lethality of both pools showed similar values. Conclusion: Although differences between female and male venoms were observed, our results show that individual variations are significant even between siblings, highlighting that biological activities of venoms and its composition are influenced by other factors beyond gender.

Educational research has highlighted the need for further research into the knowledge base of university teaching faculty, which needs to go beyond a mere familiarity with mathematical content. What is termed University Teaching Faculty Professional Knowledge would include aspects related to the current teaching of the discipline, such as the perspectives of teachers, the history and difficulties encountered by students, etc. This work addresses the following research topics: professional knowledge of Probability of the teaching staff; Epistemology and History of Probability Theory; and Didactics of Probability Theory. The focus of this study is, firstly, to address the problem of identifying the constituents of this Professional Knowledge, which will be useful to the university teaching faculty delivering lessons of Probability Theory in order to design teaching-learning sequences; and secondly, we look into what extent these constituents are taken into account in university teaching. We conduct a phenomenological analysis of Probability Theory, including historical phenomenology, and we study teaching proposals of a group of university teaching faculty of engineering studies by means of a written questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. Our analysis identifies the following aspects which should be part of the Professional Expertise: setting out scenarios to introduce concepts; discussing various conceptual formulations of Probability and its historical problems; the implications for Science, Technology and Society for raising the interest level of students; and taking into account students' alternative conceptualizations. The study of the teaching proposals reveals that these constituents are lacking in the Professional Knowledge of the teaching faculty studied, which shows the need for training programs that take on account theresearch-based evidence on the Mathematics Education.

La investigación Educativa ha señalado la necesidad de una mayor investigación acerca de los componentes del conocimiento del profesorado, que deben ir más allá del mero conocimiento del contenido matemático. El denominado Conocimiento Profesional del Profesorado incorporaría aspectos relacionados con la propia enseñanza de la disciplina, las perspectivas de los profesores, la historia, las dificultades de los estudiantes etc. Este trabajo aborda los siguientes temas de investigación: Conocimiento Profesional del profesorado sobre Probabilidad, Epistemología e Historia de la Teoría de la Probabilidad y Didáctica de la Teoría de la Probabilidad. Se aborda en primer lugar el problema de identificar los componentes de este Conocimiento Profesional que serán de utilidad al profesorado universitario de Teoría de la Probabilidad para el diseño de secuencias de enseñanza-aprendizaje; y, en segundo lugar, se estudia en qué medida tales componentes son tenidos en cuenta en la enseñanza universitaria. Se ha realizado un análisis fenomenológico de la Teoría de la Probabilidad, incluyendo la fenomenología histórica, y se han estudiado, mediante un cuestionario escrito y entrevistas personales, las propuestas de enseñanza de un grupo de profesores universitarios de estudios de Ingeniería. El análisis ha identificado los siguientes aspectos que deben formar parte del Conocimiento Profesional: el planteamiento de situaciones problemáticas para la introducción de los conceptos; la discusión de las diferentes formulaciones conceptuales de la Probabilidad y sus problemáticas históricas; las implicaciones entre la Ciencia, la Técnica y la Sociedad destinadas a mejorar el interés de los estudiantes; y la toma en consideración de las concepciones alternativas de los estudiantes. El estudio de las propuestas de enseñanza revela una ausencia de estos componentes en el Conocimiento Profesional de los profesores investigados, lo cual evidencia la necesidad de programas de formación que presten atención a los resultados de la investigación en Educación Matemática.

A caranha (Piaractus mesopotamicus) é uma espécie que se apresenta como uma importante fonte de proteína animal; possui grande aceitação entre os consumidores, em virtude de seu sabor agradável e da facilidade para a obtenção de filés. O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar a caracterização química e avaliar o rendimento em filés de caranha. Foram realizadas determinações de umidade, lipídios, proteínas e cinzas, segundo as metodologias recomendadas pelo Instituto Adolfo Lutz. A partir de peixe inteiro, foi avaliado o rendimento em peixe eviscerado, cabeça, costela, vísceras, escamas, filé com e sem pele/espinha e carcaça inteira. Concluiu-se que a caranha apresentou teores elevados de proteínas (17%) e moderados teores de lipídios (5%), apresentando um rendimento elevado para peixe eviscerado (84,46%) e para filé com pele e espinha, (30,17%), representando uma boa alternativa para o aproveitamento industrial. A carcaça inteira pode ser utilizada para a elaboração de polpa de peixe e produtos derivados.

The caranha (Piaractus mesopotamicus) is a specie that presents itself as an important source of animal protein, and has wide acceptance among consumers due to its pleasant taste and ease for obtaining fillets. The aim of this study was to chemical characterization and evaluate the yield of caranha fillets. Were subjected to moisture, lipid, protein and ash according to methods recommended by the Instituto Adolfo Lutz. From whole fish, we measured the yield of gutted fish, head, ribs, viscera, scales, and fillet with and without skin/spine and whole carcass. It was concluded that the caranha showed high levels of protein (17%) and moderate levels of lipids (5%), with a high yield for gutted fish (84.46%) and fillet with skin and spine (30.17%) representing a good alternative for industrial use. The whole carcass can be used to produce minced fish and derived products.