A Comparison of the Academic Achievement at the End of the Medicine Undergraduate Degree Program Between Students Who Only Used the University Admission Test and Those Who Used the University Admission Test Plus Marks from the High School National Exam (ENEM) at a Single Brazilian Center.

Purpose: The role of marks in the University Admission Test (UAT) plus the marks from pre-university academic records in predicting academic achievement at the end of the Medicine undergraduate degree program is not completely known. This study was undertaken to compare the performance of marks in the UAT alone with those of the UAT plus marks from the National High School Exam (ENEM in Brazil) regarding students' outcomes at the end of the Medicine undergraduate degree program.

Methods: Fifty-one (51) students from the last semester (12th) of our Medicine undergraduate degree program were included in the study.

Plasma Levels of Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 in Patients with Chronic Chagas Heart Disease and Systemic Arterial Hypertension: Correlation with TGF-Beta Plasma Levels.

Background: Chronic Chagas heart disease (CCHD) and systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) frequently coexists in areas where Chagas disease is endemic. The effects of the association of both conditions (CCHD-SAH) on the extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling are unknown. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 are involved in ECM remodeling.

University Admission Test Associates with Academic Performance at the End of Medical Course in a PBL Medical Hybrid Curriculum.

Purpose: Most studies assessing the value of the university admissions test (UAT) to predict academic performance at the end of a medical course were carried out on lecture-based medical courses. However, the association between performance in the UAT with academic achievement at the end of medical course in a problem-based learning (PBL) medical hybrid curriculum remains controversial. The aim of this study was to correlate marks in the UAT with those obtained in the Organized Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), in the progress testing (PT), and in the final marks of the clerkship (FMC).

Students' perception of animal or virtual laboratory in physiology practical classes in PBL medical hybrid curriculum.

Over the years, much criticism against animal use for physiology teaching has been made. Hence, replacement by suitable alternatives has increased in several pedagogical approaches. This study examined students' perceptions of animal versus virtual (video/computer) laboratory classes in physiological sciences associated with the effectiveness of the problem-based learning (PBL) hybrid curriculum.

Formative assessment scores in tutorial sessions correlates with OSCE and progress testing scores in a PBL medical curriculum.

Background: Effective assessments programs are a challenge in problem-based learning (PBL). One of the main principles of this educational setting is the Formative Assessment (FA). We hypothesized that students' performance assessed by FA in tutorial sessions in a PBL curriculum is related to other summative assessments.

Determination of the Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cytokine profile in patients with chronic Chagas heart disease and systemic arterial hypertension.

Chronic Chagas heart disease (CCHD affects about 30% of patients with chronic Chagas disease (CCD). Systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) afflicts about 25% of patients with CCD. The association of CCHD with SAH (CCHD-SAH) predisposes patients to develop chronic heart failure.

Assessment test before the reporting phase of tutorial session in problem-based learning.

Purpose: In our context, problem-based learning is not used in the preuniversity environment. Consequently, students have a great deal of difficulty adapting to this method, particularly regarding self-study before the reporting phase of a tutorial session. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to assess if the application of an assessment test (multiple choice questions) before the reporting phase of a tutorial session would improve the academic achievement of students at the preclinical stage of our medical course.

Brazilian medical students' perceptions of expert versus non-expert facilitators in a (non) problem-based learning environment.

Background: In problem-based learning (PBL), the facilitator plays an important role in guiding the student learning process. However, although content expertise is generally regarded as a useful but non-essential prerequisite for effective PBL facilitation, the perceived importance of content knowledge may be subject to cultural, contextual, and/or experiential influences.

Aim: We sought to examine medical students' perceptions of subject-matter expertise among PBL facilitators in a region of the world (Brazil) where such active learning pedagogies are not widely used in university or pre-university settings.

An algorithm to classify amino acid sequences into protein groups of Bothrops jararacussu venomous gland.

An algorithm for automatic clustering of database protein sequences from Bothrops jararacussu venomous gland, according to sequence similarities of their domains, is described. The program was written in C and Perl languages. This algorithm compares a domain with each ORF protein sequence in the database.

Identification and complete sequencing of novel human transcripts through the use of mouse orthologs and testis cDNA sequences.

The correct identification of all human genes, and their derived transcripts, has not yet been achieved, and it remains one of the major aims of the worldwide genomics community. Computational programs suggest the existence of 30,000 to 40,000 human genes. However, definitive gene identification can only be achieved by experimental approaches.

A transcript finishing initiative for closing gaps in the human transcriptome.

We report the results of a transcript finishing initiative, undertaken for the purpose of identifying and characterizing novel human transcripts, in which RT-PCR was used to bridge gaps between paired EST clusters, mapped against the genomic sequence. Each pair of EST clusters selected for experimental validation was designated a transcript finishing unit (TFU). A total of 489 TFUs were selected for validation, and an overall efficiency of 43.

Analysis of Bothrops jararacussu venomous gland transcriptome focusing on structural and functional aspects: I--gene expression profile of highly expressed phospholipases A2.

Snake venom glands are a rich source of bioactive molecules such as peptides, proteins and enzymes that show important pharmacological activity leading to in local and systemic effects as pain, edema, bleeding and muscle necrosis. Most studies on pharmacologically active peptides and proteins from snake venoms have been concerned with isolation and structure elucidation through methods of classical biochemistry. As an attempt to examine the transcripts expressed in the venom gland of Bothrops jararacussu and to unveil the toxicological and pharmacological potential of its products at the molecular level, we generated 549 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from a directional cDNA library.

The generation and utilization of a cancer-oriented representation of the human transcriptome by using expressed sequence tags.

Whereas genome sequencing defines the genetic potential of an organism, transcript sequencing defines the utilization of this potential and links the genome with most areas of biology. To exploit the information within the human genome in the fight against cancer, we have deposited some two million expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from human tumors and their corresponding normal tissues in the public databases. The data currently define approximately 23,500 genes, of which only approximately 1,250 are still represented only by ESTs.