This diploma thesis with resolution of technical and partially economical project of combustion exchanger of cogeneration unit for application of absorbing cooling. Considered types of exchangers are: combustions/water and combustions/steam. The other capitols include the description of cogeneration, trigeneration and other possible resolutions of intersections among mentioned systems; general overview of plant oils used as a fuel in energetics, particularly in compression engines in technology of combined production of electricity and heat.

Background: Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective preventive measures against infectious diseases. A proper administration of the vaccine is critical. Therefore, only authorized and trained health care personnel including pharmacists can administrate vaccines safely and effectively. However, in Sweden, several laws and regulations prevent pharmacists to perform vaccinations. Aim: The aim was to elucidate the conditions and regulations of influenza vaccination administration by pharmacists at pharmacies in other countries compared to Sweden. Methods: A literature review were performed. Two different databases, PubMed and Web of Science were used. In addition, reports of governmental and various organizations were used. Interviews have been used as a complement. Results: Involving pharmacists in vaccination administration improves the vaccine coverage. This result was confirmed by pharmacist performing vaccine administration in other countries such as the USA, Canada, UK and Norway. However, these benefits are limited in Sweden due to the regulation HSLF-FS 2017:37, which hampers vaccines administration by pharmacists. Nevertheless, the regulation SOSFS 1997:14 could be interpreted as allowing clinical doctors to delegate vaccination to pharmacists. However, this needs to be further investigated. All Swedish representatives interviewed in this report, supported the idea that pharmacists should be able to perform vaccines at Swedish pharmacies. Conclusions: Modification of the regulation HSLF-FS 2017: 37 as well as proper education and training are required to allow pharmacists to perform vaccinations in Swedish pharmacies.

This study is an examination of the effects of the first two waves of the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 on the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Europe during the final months of the First World War. Using a case-study approach, the study analyzes the experiences of the 15th Canadian Reserve Battalion (Saskatchewan) in England and the 46th Canadian Infantry Battalion (South Saskatchewan) in France from April to 11 November 1918. While the comparison of these two battalions’ experiences is useful to see the how the Canadian Army Medical Corps reacted and responded to the outbreak of pandemic influenza in both locations, it also highlights the impact that the pandemic had on the reinforcement stream in 1918, and demonstrates the greater cost of conscription during the final months of the war. This thesis argues that that the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 affected the Canadian Expeditionary Force’s Hundred Days Campaign in a way that, until now, has not been recognized. Additionally, it argues that the 15th Reserve Battalion was not to blame for bringing pandemic influenza to Bramshott Camp in the fall of 1918, and that the Canadian Army Medical Corps reacted to the outbreak as effectively as possible. Finally, it highlights the experiences of men from Saskatchewan and recounts the stories of soldiers who died of pandemic influenza.

abstract: Influenza is a deadly disease that poses a major threat to global health. The surface proteins of influenza A, the type most often associated with epidemics and pandemics, mutate at a very high frequency from season to season, reducing the efficacy of seasonal influenza vaccines. However, certain regions of these proteins are conserved between strains of influenza A, making them attractive targets for the development of a ‘universal’ influenza vaccine. One of these highly conserved regions is the ectodomain of the influenza matrix 2 protein (M2e). Studies have shown that M2e is poorly immunogenic on its own, but when properly adjuvanted it can be used to induce protective immune responses against many strains of influenza A. In this thesis, M2e was fused to a pair experimental ‘vaccine platforms’: an antibody fusion protein designed to assemble into a recombinant immune complex (RIC) and the hepatitis B core antigen (HBc) that can assemble into virus-like particles (VLP). The two antigens were produced in Nicotiana benthamiana plants through the use of geminiviral vectors and were subsequently evaluated in mouse trials. Mice were administered three doses of either the VLP alone or a 1:1 combination of the VLP and the RIC, and recipients of both the VLP and RIC exhibited endpoint anti-M2e antibody titers that were 2 to 3 times higher than mice that received the VLP alone. While IgG2a:IgG1 ratios, which can suggest the type of immune response (TH1 vs TH2) an antigen will elicit, were higher in mice vaccinated solely with the VLP, the higher overall titers are encouraging and demonstrate a degree of interaction between the RIC and VLP vaccines. Further research is necessary to determine the optimal balance of VLP and RIC to maximize IgG2a:IGg1 ratios as well as whether such interaction would be observed through the use of a variety of diverse antigens, though the results of other studies conducted in this lab suggests that this is indeed the case. The results of this study demonstrate not only the successful development of a promising new universal influenza A vaccine, but also that co-delivering different types of recombinant vaccines could reduce the total number of vaccine doses needed to achieve a protective immune response. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Molecular and Cellular Biology 2019

A compreensão dos caminhos de desativação não radiativa em polímeros conjugados é fundamental para o uso desses materiais em dispositivos luminescentes, células fotovoltaicas e sensores. Nesta tese, os processos não radiativos em filmes automontados de polímero luminescente foram investigados via análise da supressão de intensidade de fotoluminescência, utilizando a técnica de fluorescência estacionária, e através da medida do tempo de vida do estado excitado com fluorescência resolvida no tempo em arranjo de contagem de fótons. A camada emissiva constituída por poli(p-fenileno vinileno) (PPV) obtido da conversão térmica do precursor poli(cloreto de xilideno tetraidrotiofeno) (PTHT) apresentou tempos de vida entre 150 e 250 ps, e fraca dependência com o comprimento de onda de detecção da emissão. Na presença de uma monocamada contendo azocorante Vermelho do Congo (CR) ou ftalocianina tetrassulfonada de níquel (NiTsPc) atuando como receptor de energia foi observada supressão da fluorescência e encurtamento do tempo de vida (50-100ps). À medida que se aumenta a distância entre as camadas de doador e receptor via interposição de bicamadas de espaçador, a dinâmica do sistema tende à dinâmica de decaimento do estado excitado do PPV na ausência de receptor. A dependência da eficiência com a distância 1/r2 ou 1/r3 apontam para transferência de energia ressonante (RET) típica da interação plano-plano ou plano-camada. Os processos não radiativos foram também estudados em função da diluição de segmentos PPV dispersos em matriz de polieletrólito poli(cloreto de dodecildimetilamônio) PDAC. A diluição dos segmentos conjugados aumenta a eficiência quântica de emissão, torna o mecanismo de desativação mais lento (500 ps) e diminui a dependência do tempo de vida com o comprimento de onda de detecção, devido à menor eficiência dos mecanismos de desativação não radiativa. Na presença de uma camada receptora, a eficiência de transferência de energia é maior para amostras com segmentos mais diluídos indicando que esse mecanismo compete com os processos internos à própria camada emissiva. O tempo de vida aumenta em filmes com mais baixo grau de conjugação e a dependência com o comprimento de onda de emissão é mais forte. Em resumo, a técnica de automontagem se mostrou adequada para obter filmes com propriedades fotofísicas controláveis no nível molecular, que puderam ser estudadas com espectroscopias de fluorescência. / Understanding the pathway of excitation in conjugated polymers is important for using these materials as active layer in devices, photovoltaic cells and sensors. In this thesis, non-radiative processes in layer-by-layer (LbL) films were investigated with measurements of fluorescence quenching in steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and of the singlet excited state lifetime using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in a single photon counting (SPC) apparatus. The emissive layer of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) obtained via thermal conversion of the soluble precursor poly(xylylidene tetrahydrothiophenium) chloride (PTHT) showed lifetime 150-250 ps and weak dependence on the emission wavelength. In the presence of an acceptor layer of either Congo Red (CR) or nickel tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine (NiTsPc) the PL intensity was quenched and the lifetime was shorter (50 -100 ps). Upon increasing the distance between the energy donor (PPV) and acceptor layers by interposing bilayers of inert polyelectrolytes the dynamics tended to the PPV dynamics. The distance-dependence of the energy transfer efficiency (1/r2 or 1/r3) points to a resonant process (RET) with a plane-to-plane or plane-to-slab interaction. The non-radiative processes were also studied for varying dilutions of the PPV segments in a matrix of the polyelectrolyte poly(dodecyl methylamonium chloride) (PDAC). This dilution increased the quantum efficiency and led to longer lifetimes (500 ps) owing to a less effective non-radiative energy transfer. When an energy acceptor layer is present, energy transfer is more efficient for the most diluted systems, indicating that such transfer competes with internal processes in the emissive layer. The lifetime increased in films with low degree of conjugation, for which there was a stronger dependence on the emission wavelength. It is concluded that the LbL methodology was suitable to obtain photophysical film properties that could be controlled at the molecular level, and investigated with varied fluorescence spectroscopies.

Influenza A besitzt ein segmentiertes, achtsträngiges Genom in negativer Orientierung. Die einzelnen Segmente sind in virale Ribonukleoproteinkomplexe (vRNPs) verpackt. Genomische Segmentierung erlaubt es Influenza, zwischen verschiedenen Stämmen Reassortierung zu betreiben, was zur Entstehung von hochgradig virulenten und potentiell pandemischen neuen Stämmen führen kann. Die Existenz eines Packungsmechanismus wird vermutet, der sicherstellt dass exakt ein Segment jeden Typs in neu knospende Viren verpackt wird. Es gibt Indizien dafür, dass die vRNPs während ihres Wegs vom Nukleus zur Plasmamembran, wo die Knospung stattfindet, Multi-Segment-Komplexe ausbilden, die durch RNA-RNA-Interaktionen, sog. Packungssignale vermittelt werden. Dieser Prozess ist allerdings noch nicht hinreichend verstanden. In dieser Arbeit wurde eine neue RNA-FISH-Methode namens MuSeq-FISH entwickelt und angewendet, um die spektralen Limitierungen bisheriger Multiplexing-Ansätze zu überwinden und alle vRNA- und mRNA-Spezies vom humanen Stamm A/Panama des Influenza A Virus zu visualisieren. Außerdem wurde ein automatisierter Arbeitsablauf zur Registrierung/Ausrichtung, Punktdetektion, computergestützter Kolokalisationsanalyse und kombinatorischer Analyse der Mikroskopiebilder entwickelt, der auch große Datenmengen verarbeiten kann. Erstmalig wurde damit eine vollständige Kartographierung der Lokalisation und Häufigkeiten alle viralen RNAs in einzelnen Zellen vorgenommen. Aus diesen Daten konnten wir Erkenntnisse zu den Mechanismen und möglichen Hierarchien innerhalb des Packungsprozesses gewinnen. Dazu wurden Reaktionspfade und statistische Analysen von über 60 einzelnen Zellen und mehr als 105 einzelner vRNPs herangezogen. Es wurden auch Informationen über die vRNP-Häufigkeiten und deren Unterschiede zwischen Einzelzellen gewonnen, die zeigen dass sich Infektionsumgebungen auch in großer räumlicher Nähe stark unterscheiden und dadurch den Verpackungsmechanismus beeinflussen können. Weiterhin wurde eine Modellierung basierend auf bedingten Wahrscheinlichkeiten genutzt, um Reaktionskonstanten aus statischen FISH-Daten zu erhalten. Wir haben unsere Analysen zusätzlich auf den aviären Stamm A/Mallard und die reassortanten Stämme A/Pan-M, A/Pan-NS und A/Pan-NSM erweitert, die ein gemischtes Genom aus A/Panama und A/Mallard enthalten. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich die Packungsdynamiken und -netzwerke auch zwischen nah verwandten Stämmen erheblich unterscheiden. Heterogene Verpackungsprozesse wurden für diese Stämme observiert, anhand welcher A/Pan-M und A/Pan-NS eher A/Mallard zugeordnet werden konnten. Ebenfalls wurden erste Schritte unternommen, um die Methode in verschiedener Hinsicht zu erweitern: es zeigte sich, dass MuSeq-FISH und STED-Mikroskopie im Prinzip kombinierbar sind, was auch durch gleichzeitige Detektion von drei vRNA-Segmenten gezeigt werden konnte. MuSeq-FISH wurde auch genutzt, um einzelne Virionen direkt nach deren Eintritt in die Zelle zu färben und auf deren genomischen Inhalt hin zu untersuchen. Dabei fiel auf, dass die Segmente 7 und 8 besonders häufig fehlten, wenn unvollständige Genome detektiert wurden. Außerdem wurde ein Plasmidsystem auf Basis des pHW2000-Vektors für fast alle Segmente von A/Panama umkloniert, welches nun die Expression von mRNA ohne die gleichzeitige Expression von vRNA ermöglicht. In einem ersten Experiment konnte die Funktionalität des Systems gezeigt werden, so dass es potentiell in Transfektionsexperimenten die Untersuchung vom Packungsmechanismus ermöglichen kann, und zwar unter infektionsähnlichen Bedingungen mit beliebig kombinierbaren vRNA-Sets. Wir erwarten, dass MuSeq-FISH zusammen mit dem automatisierten Arbeitsablauf auch eine nützliche Methode für andere biologische Fragestellungen darstellen wird, besonders wenn es um hochgradig kolokalisierte Untersuchungsobjekte geht. Fundiertes Wissen über den Packungsmechanismus von Influenzaviren kann helfen, die Entstehung von pandemischen Stämmen besser zu verstehen und kann Möglichkeiten aufzeigen, neue antivirale Medikamente zu entwickeln. / Influenza A has a segmented genome of eight single-stranded, negative-sense RNAs packed into ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs). This segmentation allows reassortment between different strains with the potential to create highly virulent, pandemic new strains. A packaging mechanism is supposed, ensuring the incorporation of one copy of each segment species into budding virions. En route from the nucleus to budding at the plasma membrane, the vRNPs are thought to form multisegment complexes via RNA-RNA and RNP-RNP interactions called packaging signals. This process is not yet completely understood. Here, a new RNA-FISH method (MuSeq-FISH) was introduced to overcome the spectral limits of multiplexing in order to visualize all IAV vRNA and mRNA targets of the human strain A/Panama. An image processing pipeline including image registration, spot detection, automated colocalization analysis and combinatorial analysis was developed, capable of high data throughput. For the first time, a complete map of the localization and abundance of all viral RNAs in individual cells has been generated. This data enabled detailed investigations about the mechanisms and potential hierarchies within the packaging process, which were inferred from pathways and statistical analysis of over 60 individual cells with more than 105 vRNP occurrences. We also gained information about the abundance and cell-to-cell heterogeneity of vRNPs among large sets of infected cells, unravelling that infection environments even in neighboring cells differ strongly in segment composition with an impact on packaging. In addition, conditional probability modelling was conducted to infer reaction constants from inherently static FISH data. We have extended this analysis to the avian strain A/Mallard and the reassortant strains A/Pan-M, A/Pan-NS and A/Pan-NSM, which contain reassorted genomes of A/Panama and A/Mallard. Here we have shown that packaging dynamics and networks differ widely, even among closely related strains. Packaging processes in these strains seemed to be very diverse, however we found A/Pan-M and A/Pan-NS to more closely resemble A/Mallard in terms of packaging. First steps have been taken to extend the method into different directions: combi- nation of MuSeq-FISH with STED imaging is in principle possible and has been applied for simultaneous detection of three vRNA species. MuSeq-FISH was also applied to single IAV virions directly after cell entry in order to study their genome content, where we found segments 7 and 8 to be lacking most frequently. In addition, a system of pHW2000-based plasmids expressing only mRNA has been created for almost all A/Panama segments. The functionality of this system was shown in a proof of concept, so that its use in transfection experiments can serve as a potential instrument to investigate vRNP packaging in artificial infection-like conditions with reduced vRNAs sets of choice. MuSeq-FISH together with its image analysis pipeline will be a useful tool also for other biological questions, especially concerning high-grade colocalization. Further understanding of the vRNP packaging in influenza can help us to understand the emergence of pandemic strains and open up paths to new antiviral medication.

Submitted by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2017-05-23T17:06:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_BRUNA_TESSARO_COMPLETO.pdf: 2324970 bytes, checksum: e436d9dc2e7d4836b9be4f4e228cb763 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-23T17:06:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DIS_BRUNA_TESSARO_COMPLETO.pdf: 2324970 bytes, checksum: e436d9dc2e7d4836b9be4f4e228cb763 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-01-17 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Communicating is one of the first ability that suffer losses in neurodegenerative events associated to aging, such as Alzheimer?s Disease (AD). Since the number of elderly people has grown significantly, given the increase of life expectancy in the last decades, the study of aging, and the cognitive states that follow it, is extremely urgent and relevant. The concern with an accurate and early diagnosis is mounting, in order to differentiate an expected age-associated decline from deficits that point to Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a clinical condition bewtween normal aging and dementia. Semantic memory deficits have increasingly been associated to AD, and, in some cases, to MCI. The discussion on which types of semantic categories are the most affected is quite productive in the literature, however, it is still inconclusive. Even more, low schooling appears to be related to cognitive aspects, including semantic deterioration. Thus, this work investigated semantic processing in MCI and AD as compared to age and socioeconomic paired controls, in a low schooling population. The thesis is organized in two studies, both include individuals aged between 60 and 80 years old, monolinguals and with 2 to 8 years of schooling. The first study included 36 individuals divided in an aging control group (ACG), a AD group (ADG), and a MCI group (MCIG), in which they were administered naming and semantic association assessments. Analyses considered total score, naming error types, and stimuli animacy in both tasks. Study two included a verbal fluency task (VFT) with semantic (animals and clothing), and phonologic (/p/) criteria, administered in 25 controls, 24 MCI and 18 AD participants. Analyses were conducted considering the formation of clusters, intersections and returns in verbal fluency productions. Findings of the first study confirm semantic memory deterioration in ADG, while MCIG did not show any differences from ACG and ADG, revealing inconclusive data. Living items seem to be the most deteriorated due to degeneration caused by AD and MCI. Most frequent error types in the naming task were coordinated, omission, and superordinated, and the ADG presented significantly more errors of these types as compared to ACG. Results from the second study show that the VFT was sensitive in differentiating the ACG from the clinical groups, and the semantic criteria differentiated MCIG from ADG, while the phonologic criteria differentiated ACG from ADG. Whilst the combination of cluster analysis and total score of both VFT showed efficacy in differentiating groups, the semantic category alone was very effective in differentiating the three groups. Reading habits have positively influenced the performance of participants in both studies, they were even more predictive of the performance of participants than scholling was. This study intends to broaden the understanding of the relationship between low schooling, cognitive decline, semantic memory, and animacy, as well as discuss models and theories based on our findings. / A habilidade de comunicar-se ? uma das primeiras habilidades que sofrem perdas em eventos neurodegenerativos associados ao envelhecimento, como a Doen?a de Alzheimer (DA). Uma vez que o n?mero de idosos tem crescido significativamente, dado que a expectativa de vida aumentou nas ?ltimas d?cadas, o estudo do envelhecimento e os estados cognitivos que o acompanham torna-se de extrema urg?ncia e relev?ncia. A preocupa??o com um diagn?stico acurado e precoce ? crescente, a fim de diferenciar um decl?nio esperado devido ? idade, de desempenhos indicativos de Comprometimento Cognitivo Leve (CCL), est?gio possivelmente anterior ao quadro demencial. D?ficits de mem?ria sem?ntica t?m sido cada vez mais associados ? DA e, em alguns casos, ao CCL. A discuss?o acerca de que tipos de categorias sem?nticas seriam mais afetadas ? bastante frut?fera na literatura, por?m, ainda inconclusiva em rela??o aos mecanismos subjacentes dessa dificuldade sem?ntica. Al?m disso, a baixa escolaridade demonstra relacionar-se com aspectos cognitivos, dentre eles a deteriora??o sem?ntica. Desta forma, o presente trabalho investigou o processamento sem?ntico no CCL e na DA, comparado ao processamento por controles emparelhados por idade e perfil socioecon?mico, em popula??es de baixa escolaridade. A disserta??o organiza-se em dois estudos, ambos incluindo indiv?duos com idade entre 60 e 80 anos, monol?ngues e com 2 a 8 anos de escolaridade. Participaram do primeiro estudo 36 indiv?duos divididos igualmente em grupo de idosos controle (GIC), grupo com DA (GDA) e grupo com CCL (GCCL), no qual desempenharam uma tarefa de nomea??o e uma de associa??o sem?ntica. As an?lises consideraram o escore total, os tipos de erros da nomea??o e a animacidade dos est?mulos das duas tarefas. J? o estudo dois contemplou uma tarefa de flu?ncia verbal (TFV) de crit?rio sem?ntico (animais e roupas) e fonol?gico (/p/), desempenhada por 25 participantes controles, 24 CCL e 18 DA. As an?lises reca?ram sobre a forma??o de clusters, intersections e returns na produ??o das flu?ncias. Os resultados do primeiro estudo confirmam uma deteriora??o da mem?ria sem?ntica no GDA enquanto que o GCCL n?o apresenta diferen?as em rela??o ao GIC e ao GDA, revelando dados inconclusivos. Os itens animados parecem ser os mais prejudicados pela degenera??o decorrente da DA e do CCL. Os tipos de erros mais frequentes de todos o grupos na tarefa de nomea??o foram dos tipos coordenado, omiss?o e superordenado, sendo que o GDA apresentou um n?mero significativamente maior de erros destes tipos em rela??o ao GIC. Os resultados do segundo estudo apontam que a TFV foi sens?vel na diferencia??o do GIC dos grupos cl?nicos, sendo que a flu?ncia verbal com crit?rio sem?ntico diferenciou o GCCL do GDA, enquanto que a flu?ncia verbal fonol?gica diferenciou o GIC do GCCL. Enquanto a combina??o da an?lise de clusters e do escore total das duas TFVs demonstrou efic?cia na diferencia??o dos grupos, a categoria sem?ntica animais, sozinha, demonstrou ser sens?vel na diferencia??o dos tr?s grupos. A frequ?ncia dos h?bitos de leitura influenciaram positivamente o desempenho dos participantes nos dois estudos, sendo at? mesmo mais preditivos que os anos de escolaridade para o desempenho dos participantes. O estudo pretende ampliar o entendimento da rela??o entre baixa escolaridade, decl?nio cognitivo, mem?ria sem?ntica e animacidade, bem como discutir modelos e teorias ? luz dos dados apresentados.

Submitted by PPG Letras (letraspg@pucrs.br) on 2018-04-26T17:05:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Sabrine Cristine Hubner.pdf: 2098756 bytes, checksum: 9b73c0fb004e2143274124c300170dee (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sheila Dias (sheila.dias@pucrs.br) on 2018-05-09T12:48:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Sabrine Cristine Hubner.pdf: 2098756 bytes, checksum: 9b73c0fb004e2143274124c300170dee (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-09T13:29:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Sabrine Cristine Hubner.pdf: 2098756 bytes, checksum: 9b73c0fb004e2143274124c300170dee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-28 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Written and oral text comprehension abilities are indispensable for human experiences. Strokes causing left hemisphere (LH) damage may impact comprehension and textual production. However, little is known about this influence at the textual/discursive level, including the comparison between oral and written modalities in this kind of lesion. This research aimed at investigating text comprehension in two modalities of presentation (read and heard) by left brain damaged individuals (LBD) and healthy controls, comparing their performance in the micro- and macro-structural levels of text comprehension to neuropsychological data and to density of the brain areas involved. In order to do that, we performed two researches, Study 1, with 18 LBD and 10 controls, and Study 2, with 10 LBD and 10 controls, with matched age and education. In both studies, neuropsychological tests assessed working memory, verbal fluency and naming abilities. Comprehension of macro- and microstructural levels was verified by means of six short narratives, presented in oral or written modality. The participants were asked to retell the stories and answer to five interpretation questions. In Study 2, the same method was used, but it included structural magnetic resonance imaging indicating the density of brain regions by voxel-based morphometry (VBM). The results of Study 1 indicated significant differences in narrative comprehension between LBD and controls. The lower performance observed at the macrostructural level of LBD compared to the micro- suggest individuals who had a stroke may face difficulties in the application of macrorules of deletion, construction and generalization, which underlie overall comprehension of a text. The data from Study 2, with a lower number of participants, indicated a tendency to confirm results found in Study 1, with statistical significant differences in benefit of controls at the macrostructural level of oral narratives. We found significant differences between groups regarding the modality of text presentation. In both Study 1 and Study 2, differences were observed between the groups in auditory word span and in naming, with an advantage to controls. The morphometry data of brain regions, related to the participants of Study 2, indicated an integration of areas from left and right hemispheres to process text comprehension in oral and written modalities. In the left hemisphere, precuneus, cerebellum white matter, superior frontal region and medial orbitofrontal region and from the right hemisphere, accumbens and superior temporal sulcus were observed. The right superior temporal sulcus, left precuneus, left cerebellar white matter and superior frontal region are positively correlated among the participants, presenting better performance as the density increases. The left medial orbitofrontal region shows a negative correlation with comprehension. The right accumbens seems to compensate LH demands, showing increased density in the LBD and reduced volume in the controls. The present study intends to contribute to deepen our understanding of the comprehension of texts presented in the oral compared to written modality in the LH lesion, related to neuropsychological and brain data. / Compreender um texto, seja ele ouvido ou lido, ? indispens?vel para as experi?ncias humanas. Acidentes vasculares cerebrais (AVCs) ocorridos em especial no hemisf?rio esquerdo (HE) podem impactar na compreens?o e na produ??o textual. No entanto, pouco ainda se sabe sobre essa influ?ncia no n?vel textual/discursivo, incluindo, por exemplo, a compara??o entre a modalidade oral e escrita na compreens?o textual/discursiva nesse tipo de les?o. Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar a compreens?o de narrativas em duas modalidades de apresenta??o (lidas e ouvidas) por indiv?duos com les?o no hemisf?rio esquerdo (LHE) e controles saud?veis, comparando-se seu desempenho nos n?veis micro- e macroestruturais da compreens?o de narrativas a dados neuropsicol?gicos e ? densidade das ?reas cerebrais implicadas. Para tal, realizamos dois estudos, o Estudo 1, com 18 LHE e 10 controles, e o Estudo 2, que contemplou exames de neuroimagem, com 10 LHE e 10 controles (os mesmos do Estudo 1), com idade e escolaridade equiparadas. Em ambos os estudos, testes neuropsicol?gicos avaliaram a mem?ria de trabalho, a flu?ncia verbal e a nomea??o. A compreens?o dos n?veis macro- e microestrutural foi verificada por meio de seis narrativas curtas, divididas na modalidade oral ou escrita. Os participantes realizavam um reconto e respondiam a cinco perguntas de interpreta??o. No Estudo 2 empregou-se o mesmo m?todo, por?m com inclus?o de exame de resson?ncia magn?tica estrutural indicando a densidade das regi?es cerebrais pela morfometria baseada em voxels (VBM). Os resultados do Estudo 1 apontaram diferen?as significativas na compreens?o de narrativas entre LHE e controles. Os preju?zos observados no n?vel macroestrutural dos LHE em detrimento do micro- sugerem falhas na aplica??o das macrorregras de dele??o, constru??o e generaliza??o, subjacentes ? compreens?o global de um texto. Os dados do Estudo 2, com menor n?mero de participantes, indicaram uma tend?ncia a corroborar os resultados encontrados no Estudo 1, observando-se diferen?a significativa em benef?cio dos controles no n?vel macroestrutural das narrativas apresentadas oralmente. Foram encontradas diferen?as entre os grupos quanto ? modalidade de apresenta??o dos textos. Tanto no Estudo 1 quanto no Estudo 2 observou-se diferen?as no span auditivo de palavras e na nomea??o, com vantagem para os controles. Os dados da morfometria das regi?es cerebrais, atinentes aos participantes do segundo estudo, apontam uma integra??o de regi?es do hemisf?rio esquerdo e do direito. Do esquerdo, prec?neus, subst?ncia branca do cerebelo, regi?o frontal superior e regi?o orbitofrontal medial e do direito, accumbens e sulco temporal superior foram observadas. O sulco temporal superior direito, o prec?neus esquerdo, a subst?ncia branca cerebelar esquerda e a regi?o frontal superior correlacionam-se positivamente entre os participantes, apresentando desempenho superior ? medida que a densidade aumenta. A regi?o orbitofrontal medial esquerda apresenta correla??o negativa com a compreens?o. A regi?o do accumbens direito parece compensar as demandas do HE, apresentando sua densidade aumentada nos LHE e reduzida nos controles. O presente estudo pretende contribuir para aprofundarmos nossa compreens?o sobre a compreens?o de narrativas apresentadas na modalidade oral versus escrita na les?o de HE, relacionados a dados neuropsicol?gicos e cerebrais.

This thesis reports on the use of Twitter during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic to explore its use as an “infoveillance” approach complementary to traditional surveys and content analysis.  This study aimed to: 1) report on the use of “H1N1” versus “swine flu”, 2) conduct a qualitative analysis of tweet content, and 3) assess the feasibility of Twitter as a real-time content, sentiment, and public attention trend tracking tool. A manual content analysis of tweets revealed that H1N1 resources were the most commonly shared.  Few tweets provided inaccurate information.  News websites were the most popular resources while official agencies were rarely referenced directly.  Our automated analysis correlated well with manual results and showed that Twitter activity was influenced by external events. This study describes the character and quality of Twitter communications during the H1N1 pandemic, and illustrates the potential of using social media to conduct real-time “infodemiology” studies for public health.

This thesis reports on the use of Twitter during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic to explore its use as an “infoveillance” approach complementary to traditional surveys and content analysis.  This study aimed to: 1) report on the use of “H1N1” versus “swine flu”, 2) conduct a qualitative analysis of tweet content, and 3) assess the feasibility of Twitter as a real-time content, sentiment, and public attention trend tracking tool. A manual content analysis of tweets revealed that H1N1 resources were the most commonly shared.  Few tweets provided inaccurate information.  News websites were the most popular resources while official agencies were rarely referenced directly.  Our automated analysis correlated well with manual results and showed that Twitter activity was influenced by external events. This study describes the character and quality of Twitter communications during the H1N1 pandemic, and illustrates the potential of using social media to conduct real-time “infodemiology” studies for public health.