This dissertation examines how age affects the ability to produce intelligibility- enhancing speaking style adaptations in response to environment-related difficulties (noise-adapted speech) and in response to listeners’ perceptual difficulties (clear speech). Materials consisted of conversational and clear speech sentences produced in quiet and in response to noise by children (11-13 years), young adults (18-29 years), and older adults (60-84 years). Acoustic measures of global, segmental, and voice characteristics were obtained. Young adult listeners participated in word-recognition-in-noise and perceived age tasks. The study also examined relative talker intelligibility as well as the relationship between the acoustic measurements and intelligibility results. Several age-related differences in speaking style adaptation strategies were found. Children increased mean F0 and F1 more than adults in response to noise, and exhibited greater changes to voice quality when producing clear speech (increased HNR, decreased shimmer). Older adults lengthened pause duration more in clear speech compared to younger talkers. Word recognition in noise results revealed no age-related differences in the intelligibility of conversational speech. Noise-adapted and clear speech modifications increased intelligibility for all talker groups. However, the acoustic changes implemented by children when producing noise-adapted and clear speech were less efficient in enhancing intelligibility compared to the young adult talkers. Children were also less intelligible than older adults for speech produced in quiet. Results confirmed that the talkers formed 3 perceptually-distinct age groups. Correlation analyses revealed that relative talker intelligibility was consistent for conversational and clear speech in quiet. However, relative talker intelligibility was found to be more variable with the inclusion of additional speaking style adaptations. 1-3 kHz energy, speaking rate, vowel and pause durations all emerged as significant acoustic-phonetic predictors of intelligibility. This is the first study to investigate how clear speech and noise-adapted speech benefits interact with each other across multiple talker groups. The findings enhance our understanding of intelligibility variation across the lifespan and have implications for a number of applied realms, from audiologic rehabilitation to speech synthesis. / text

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligate intracellular bacterium that infects neutrophils to cause the emerging tick-transmitted disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). Following entry, the pathogen replicates within a host cell-derived vacuole that fails to mature along the endocytic pathway, does not acidify, and does not fuse with lysosomes. Selective fusogenicity is prototypical of many vacuole-adapted pathogens and has been attributed, at least in part, to pathogen modification of the vacuolar inclusion membrane and/or to selective recruitment or exclusion of host trafficking regulators. As a result, the A. phagocytophilum-occupied vacuolar membrane (AVM) provides a unique interface to study the host-pathogen interactions critical to A. phagocytophilum intracellular survival. Diverse vacuole-adapted pathogens; including Chlamydia, Legionella, and Salmonella; selectively recruit host Rab GTPases to their vacuolar membranes to establish replicative permissive niches within their host cells. Rab GTPases coordinate many aspects of endocytic and exocytic cargo delivery. We determined that the A. phagocytophilum-occupied vacuole (ApV) selectively recruits a subset of fluorescently-tagged Rabs that are predominantly associated with recycling endosomes. Another emerging theme among vacuole-adapted pathogens is the ability to hijack ubiquitin machinery to modulate host cellular processes. Mono- and polyubiquitination differentially dictate the subcellular localization, activity, and fate of protein substrates. Monoubiquitination directs membrane traffic from the plasma membrane to the endosome and has been shown to promote autophagy. We show that monoubiquitinated proteins decorate the AVM during infection of promyelocytic HL-60 cells, endothelial RF/6A cells, and to a lesser extent, embryonic tick ISE6 cells. Importantly, tetracycline treatment concomitantly promotes loss of the recycling endosome-associated GFP-Rabs and ubiquitinated proteins and acquisition of the late endosomal marker, Rab7, and lysosomal marker, LAMP-1, implicating bacterial-derived proteins in the ApV's altered fusogenicity. Therefore, we rationalized that A. phagocytophilum-encoded proteins that associate with the AVM may establish interactions with the host cell that are important for intracellular survival. By focusing on A. phagocytophilum proteins that are induced during host infection, we identified the first two bacterial-encoded proteins -- APH_1387 and APH_0032 -- that modify the AVM. Although functional studies are hindered by the lack of a system to genetically manipulate Anaplasma, the pathobiological roles of APH_1387 and APH_0032 are likely unique, as both proteins exhibit very little or no homology with any previously described protein. APH_1387 and APH_0032 are present at the cytoplasmic face of the AVM, therefore they likely interact with host proteins. We demonstrate that ectopic expression of APH_1387 and APH_0032 inhibits the ApV development in A. phagocytophilum infected cells. The results presented in this dissertation contribute to our understanding of how A. phagocytophilum modifies the vacuolar membrane in which it resides to establish a safe haven and evade lysosomal degradation.

Orientador: Alexandre Janotta Drigo / Banca: Marli Nabeiro / Banca: Glauco Nunes Souto Ramos / Resumo: Este trabalho teve como objetivo averiguar como a disciplina curricular Educação Física Adaptada ou similar tem se apresentado nos cursos de licenciatura e graduação/bacharelado em Educação Física e Esporte nas três Universidades públicas estaduais do estado de São Paulo, e se faz interação com as outras disciplinas do currículo. A pesquisa é de cunho qualitativo e utilizou como técnicas de coleta de dados o levantamento de fonte documental via internet através de consulta ao portal do Ministério da Educação (MEC): no link: http://emec.mec.gov.br/ e a entrevista do tipo semi estruturada. Os documentos coletados foram: grades curriculares e conteúdos programáticos da disciplina. Nas análises dos documentos disponibilizados tanto das Instituições públicas como das privadas constatamos que, quanto à nomenclatura, a disciplina tem se apresentado com nomenclaturas semelhantes em algumas IES privadas, e de forma distinta em IES privadas e públicas dentro da proposta licenciatura e graduação/bacharelado em Educação Física e esporte. Em relação às análises das entrevistas com os professores, foi possível analisar a caracterização da disciplina com uma nomenclatura que a identifica e uma falta de consenso quanto aos conteúdos ministrados e relatos mais consensuais quanto às estratégias de ensino, com ênfase na extensão universitária. Na questão do currículo se verificou que há uma ausência de interação entre a disciplina e as demais. Quanto à formação, intervenção e preparação para o mercado de trabalho os participantes apresentaram uma preocupação com a necessidade de se preparar o aluno com perfis diversificados. Dentro deste contexto, consideramos que há a necessidade de pensar na absorção do conteúdo prático nos estágios supervisionados, em cursos de formação de pós graduação e cursos semelhantes à residência médica ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This study aimed to find out how the Adapted Physical Education curriculum subject or similar has appeared in undergraduate and graduate / undergraduate degree in Physical Education and Sport in the three public state universities of São Paulo, and makes interaction with other disciplines the curriculum. The research is of qualitative character and used as techniques to collect the survey data source document via the Internet by consulting the website of the Ministry of Education (MEC): the link: http://emec.mec.gov.br/ and semi structured interview. The documents were collected: curricula and syllabus of the course. In the analysis of documents provided much of the public and private institutions found that, as the nomenclature, the discipline has performed with similar classifications in some private institutions, and differently in public and private institutions within the proposed undergraduate and graduate / undergraduate degree in Physical Education and Sport. Regarding the analysis of interviews with teachers, we could analyze the characterization of the discipline with a nomenclature that identifies and a lack of consensus on the content taught and the mainstream reports about the strategies of education, with emphasis on the university extension. In the matter of the curriculum was found that there is a lack of interaction between the discipline and others. As for training, intervention and preparation for the labor market participants had a concern with the need to prepare students with diverse profiles. Within this context, we consider that there is a need to think of practical content in the absorption of supervised training, training courses and graduate courses similar to medical residency. We found that the discipline does not interact with other disciplines because of the settings in the existing curriculum of physical education courses in Brazil mosaic-like, and what ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In this study I have, from a phenomenographic research approach, investigated how teachers perceive they adapt the teaching for students with reading difficulties and teachers' perceptions about how their students are affected by their teachers. The study's empirical evidence consists of previous research and six recorded qualitative interviews with six different teachers that share their experiences and perceptions of how they percieve their role as teachers. In the phenomenographic qualitative analysis a compilation of the social phenomena of how the teachers' perceptions about how they adapt the teaching for students with reading difficulties is presented, and how they perceive the importance of their role as teachers has. The result in this study shows that teachers adapt the teaching for students with reading difficulties based on the student's needs and prerequisites. / I den här studien har jag, utifrån en fenomenografisk forskningsansats, undersökt hur lärare uppfattar att de anpassar undervisningen för elever med lässvårigheter samt lärares uppfatt-ningar om hur deras elever påverkas av sina lärare. Studiens empiriska underlag består av tidigare forskning och sex inspelade kvalitativa intervjuer med sex olika lärarna som berättar om sina erfarenheter och uppfattningar som de upplever i sin roll som lärare.  I den fenomenografiska kvalitativa analysen presenteras en sammanställning av de sociala fenomen om lärarnas uppfattningar om hur de anpassar undervisningen för elever med lässvå-righeter samt hur de uppfattar vilken betydelse deras roll som lärare har. Resultatet i denna studie visar att lärare anpassar undervisningen för elever med lässvårigheter utifrån elevens behov och förutsättningar.

Orientador: Angelina Zanesco / Banca: Cláudio Alexandre Gobatto / Banca: Camila de Moraes / Resumo: As mulheres possuem maior longevidade do que os homens, e após a menopausa a incidência de doenças cardiovasculares em mulheres é equivalente a dos homens, e assim os gastos com saúde na população feminina aumentam significativamente após a menopausa. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a presença de variações polimórficas no gene da eNOS na posição G894T em mulheres no climatério, e se o exercício físico aeróbio por 6 meses teria efeitos benéficos sobre a pressão arterial destas voluntárias. Nossos resultados mostram que o exercício físico não foi capaz de alterar o IMC das voluntárias. Por outro lado, o treinamento físico por 24 semanas foi efetivo em reduzir os valores de pressão arterial das voluntárias normotensas e hipertensas com genótipo GG, mas o genótipo GT+TT provoca alterações significativas nas respostas cardiovasculares que limita a magnitude de redução da pressão arterial na população estudada. Portanto, nossos dados claramente mostram que a presença do polimorfismo para o gene da eNOS na posição G894T afeta as respostas hipotensora, principalmente em hipertensas, ao exercício e pode estar associado a gênese da hipertensão arterial. / Abstract: Epidemiological studies show that the incidence of cardiovascular disease in women increases dramatically in the postmenopausal years. Lately, women have more longevity as compared to men and consequently the menopausal time is longer in comparison with the last decades. A number of factors can contribute to increased incidence of cardiovascular disease among postmenopausal women, including alterations in lipid profile, weight gain, and decreases in physical activity during the menopause. Therefore, the aim of this study is to verify whether long-term of exercise on the arterial blood pressure in postmenopausal women with eNOS gene G894T polymorphism could affect the response to aerobix exercise training. Our findings show that exercise training failed to modify Body mass index. On the other hand, women with eNOS gen with genotype GG were more responsive to aerobic training than those with GT+TT to lowering arterial blood pressure. In conclusion, our findings clearly show that the presence of polymorphism in the eNOS gen G894T is deleterious to blood pressure control in response to exercise training. / Mestre

The objective of this research is to develop a design process for origami-adapted products and demonstrate it using aerospace mechanism examples. Origami-adapted design is a type of origami-based design. Origami-based design ranges from abstract to concrete applications of origami to design and includes: origami-inspired design, origami-adapted design, and origami-applied design. Origami-adapted design adapts origami fold patterns into products while preserving functionality. Some of the desirable attributes of origami that are sought after in design include: 1) reduced number of parts, 2) stowability, 3) deployability, 4) transportability, 5) manufacturability from a flat sheet of material, 6) ease of miniaturization, 7) a single manufacturing technique (folding) and 8) low material volume and mass. The proposed origami-adapted design process has four steps: define the problem, identify an origami solution, modify the fold pattern, and integrate. Intermediate steps apply tools to analyze and modify the origami fold pattern according to the design requirements. The first step defines whether origami is a viable solution by evaluating a set of starting criteria. Once it has been determined that origami is a viable solution, the design process guides the designer through a series of steps that modify the origami crease pattern until the final design is reached. The origami-adapted design process is applied to the design of three aerospace mechanism examples: an origami bellows, an expandable habitat, and a deployable parabolic antenna. The design process is followed throughout the design of these aerospace mechanisms. The origami bellows is designed and tested as a highly compressible origami bellows for harsh environments. It can be designed to endure 100,000+ cycles in fatigue and underwent testing for thermal cycling, abrasion, and radiation. The second example is a proof-of-concept expandable habitat for implementation as a module on the International Space Station. The design process aides in selecting an origami crease pattern and modifying it for thick, rigid materials. The last example is a deployable parabolic antenna. It is based on the flasher fold pattern with a wedge of the pattern removed to create curvature. It is experimentally verified to be approximately parabolic. The examples are shown to follow the origami-adapted design process and that the design process is flexible to accommodate a design's needs.

Participants are encouraged to bring their computers to create a digital storybook with interactive elements. Attendees will participate in the creation of an adapted and squishy book to share in their classrooms, teacher preparation instruction or family workshops.

Purpose: This was a pilot study assessing the impact of a sensory adapted dental environment (SADE) on children with developmental disabilities (DD) receiving routine dental care. Methods: A crossover study of 22 children with DD, aged 6 through 21, was conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University Pediatric Dental clinic. Each participant was randomized to a sequence of two dental cleanings, one regular dental environment (RDE) and one SADE with a 3-4-month recall. Outcomes included physiological measures (heart rate and oxygen saturation) and cooperation (Frankl scores). Results: Study subjects completed a total of 36 visits. None of the physiological measures differed at either time point between the two treatment settings. The Frankl scores were significantly higher with SADE setting than RDE (p =0.0368). Forty-six percent of parents strongly agreed that they would prefer the SADE for their child’s next visit. Conclusion: SADE may be associated with improved behavior in children with DD.

Origami has been investigated and demonstrated for engineering applications in recent years. Many techniques for accommodating the thickness of most engineering materials have been developed. In this work, tables comparing performance and manufacturing characteristics are presented. These tables can serve as useful design tools for engineers when selecting an appropriate thickness-accommodation technique for their application. The use of bent sheet metal for panels in thick-origami mechanisms shows promise as a panel design approach that mitigates several trade-offs between performance and manufacturing characteristics. A process is described and demonstrated that can be employed to use sheet metal in designs of origami-adapted mechanisms that utilize specific thickness-accommodation techniques. Data structures based on origami can be useful in the automation of thick-origami mechanism design. The use of such data structures is explained and shown in the context of a program that will automatically create the 3D CAD models and assembly of a thick-origami mechanism using the tapered panels technique based on the input origami crease pattern. Manufacturability in the design of origami-adapted mechanisms is discussed through presenting and examining three examples of origami-adapted mechanisms. As the manufacturability of origami-adapted products is addressed and improved, their robustness will also improve, thereby enabling greater use of origami-adapted design.

Through the development and implementation of modified learning contexts, the current study encouraged undergraduate teacher education students to modify their approaches to learning by reducing their reliance on surface approaches and progressively adopting deeper approaches. This outcome was considered desirable because students who employed deep approaches would exit the course having achieved higher quality learning than those who relied primarily on surface approaches. It was expected that higher quality learning in a preservice teacher education program would also translate into greater self-confidence in the management of teaching tasks, leading to improvements in students� teaching self-efficacy beliefs. Altered learning contexts were developed through the application of action research methodology involving core members of the teaching team. Learning activities were designed with a focus on co-operative small-group problem-based learning, which included multiple subtasks requiring variable outcome presentation modes. Linked individual reflection was encouraged by personal learning journals and learning portfolios. Students also provided critical analyses of their own learning during the completion of tasks, from both individual and group perspectives. Assessment methods included lecturer, peer and self-assessment, depending on the nature of the learning task. Often these were integrated, so that subtasks within larger ones were assessed using combinations of methods. Learning approach theorists (Biggs, 1993a, 1999; Entwistle, 1986, 1998; Prosser & Trigwell, 1999; Ramsden, 1992, 1997) contend that learning outcomes are directly related to the learning approaches used in their development. They further contend that the approach adopted is largely a result of students� intent, which in turn, is influenced by their perception of the learning context. The present study therefore aimed to develop an integrated and pervasive course-based learning context, constructively aligned (after: Biggs, 1993a, 1996), achievable within the normal constraints of a university program, that would influence students� adoption of deep learning approaches. The cognitive processes students used in response to the altered contexts were interpreted in accordance with self-regulatory internal logic (after: Bandura, 1986, 1991b; Zimmerman, 1989, 1998b). Longitudinal quasi-experimental methods with repeated measures on non-equivalent dependent variables were applied to three cohorts of students. Cohort 1 represented the contrast group who followed a traditional program. Cohort 2 was the main treatment group to whom the modified program was presented. Cohort 3 represented a comparison group that was also presented with the modified program over a shorter period. Student data on learning approach, teaching efficacy and academic attributions were gathered from repeated administrations of the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987b), Teacher Efficacy Scale (Gibson & Dembo, 1984) and Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale (Lefcourt, 1991). In addition, reflective journals, field observations and transcripts of interviews undertaken at the beginning and conclusion of the course, were used to clarify students� approaches to learning and their responses to program modifications. Analyses of learning approaches adopted by Cohorts 1 and 2 revealed that they both began their course predominantly using surface approaches. While students in Cohort 1 completed the course with approximately equal reliance on deep and surface approaches, students in Cohort 2 reported a predominant use of deep approaches on course completion. The relative impact of the modified learning context on students with differing approaches to learning in this cohort were further explained through qualitative data and cluster analyses. The partial replication of the study with Cohort 3, across the first three semesters of their program, produced similar effects to those obtained with Cohort 2. The analyses conducted with teaching efficacy data indicated a similar pattern of development for all cohorts. Little change in either personal or general dimensions was noted in the first half of the program, followed by strong growth in both, in the latter half. While a relationship between learning approach usage and teaching efficacy was not apparent in Cohort 1, developmental path and mediation analyses indicated that the use of deep learning approaches considerably influenced the development of personal teaching efficacy in Cohort 2. The current research suggests that value lies in the construction of learning environments, in teacher education, that enhance students� adoption of deep learning approaches. The nature of the task is complex, multifaceted and context specific, most likely requiring the development of unique solutions in each environment. Nevertheless, this research demonstrates that such solutions can be developed and applied within the prevailing constraints of pre-existing course structures.