Morphometric analysis of the phrenic nerve in male and female Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)

Ventilatory differences between rat strains and genders have been described but the morphology of the phrenic nerve has not been investigated in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. A descriptive and morphometric study of the phrenic nerves of male (N = 8) and female (N = 9) SHR, and male (N = 5) and female (N = 6) WKY is presented. After arterial pressure and heart rate recordings, the phrenic nerves of 20-week-old animals were prepared for epoxy resin embedding and light microscopy. Morphometric analysis performed with the aid of computer software that took into consideration the fascicle area and diameter, as well as myelinated fiber profile and Schwann cell nucleus number per area. Phrenic nerves were generally larger in males than in females on both strains but larger in WKY compared to SHR for both genders. Myelinated fiber numbers (male SHR = 228 ± 13; female SHR = 258 ± 4; male WKY = 382 ± 23; female WKY = 442 ± 11 for proximal right segments) and density (N/mm²; male SHR = 7048 ± 537; female SHR = 10355 ± 359; male WKY = 9457 ± 1437; female WKY = 14351 ± 1448) for proximal right segments) were significantly larger in females of both groups and remarkably larger in WKY than SHR for both genders. Strain and gender differences in phrenic nerve myelinated fiber number are described for the first time in this experimental model of hypertension, indicating the need for thorough functional studies of this nerve in male and female SHR

Strategic management accounting: definitions and dimensions

The purposes of this paper are twofold: firstly it aims to discuss prior definitions of strategic management accounting (SMA) in order to understand the main purposes and the scope of SMA; secondly the management accountant’s participation in the strategic decision-making and SMA practices are discussed. The SMA literature review shows us that there is no consensus in the SMA definition. However, there is some common elements in the SMA definitions, such as: i) a development of management accounting with a strategic orientation; ii) an external orientation (outward-looking orientation); and, iii) an orientation for future (forward-looking orientation). In addition, SMA adopts both financial and non-financial measurement typologies and an orientation to internal resources and organizational capabilities (intellectual capital). There is also some consensus on the main purpose. SMA must cooperate and provide strategic information for the strategic management, marketing, and other managerial functions. The purpose is to create and achieve competitive advantages and enhance organizational performance. To accomplish this goal SMA considers two dimensions related with the management accountant’s participation in the strategic decisionmaking process and a set of SMA practices. Therefore, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the concept and scope of SMA and its two dimensions. In this sense, it assists practitioners and researchers to understand, adopt, use, and research the SMA.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of taste sensitivity in diet choices and obesity among children.

Introduction: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Portugal is about 35% (Rito et al., 2012). Lifestyle and dietary habits are important risk factors for weight gain. Food choice and acceptance greatly relies on food perception. The evaluation of taste sensitivity in children and its relation to dietary choices and Body Mass Index (BMI) will be important in a context of obesity prevention. Nonetheless, methodologies for accessing taste sensitivity in children needs to be optimized and adjusted and in Portugal there is not an established protocol. Objectives: To test and optimize a protocol for sweet and bitter taste sensitivity, in Portuguese children, adapted from a protocol already used in German children (Knof et al., 2011). Methods: 20 children, 12 boys and 8 girls, with ages between 8 and 10 years old, were presented with 5 concentrations of sweet (3 – 16 g/L sucrose) and 5 concentrations of bitter taste solutions (0,05 – 0,25 g/L caffeine) and asked for selected the ones perceived as different from water. Results: Test conditions, both the type of presentation and time of tests, resulted for children with the ages tested. For sweet taste, the number and range of concentrations from test solutions appeared to be adequate in the age group between 8 and 10 years. For bitter taste in 80% of children the answers were not consensual with the range of concentrations. Conclusions: The results from the present work suggest that the concentrations used for access bitter taste sensitivity in children from other countries are not sensed by Portuguese children, showing the importance of adjusting adequate concentrations according to sociocultural habits. This may be possible being due to the complex pathway for bitter taste transduction

Natural Hazards Challenges to Civil Engineering

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Motor coordination, physical activity and fitness as predictors of longitudinal change in adiposity during childhood

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of motor coordination (MC), physical fitness (PF) and physical activity (PA) on the development of subcutaneous adiposity in a sample of children followed longitudinally from 6 to 10 years of age. Participants were 142 girls and 143 boys. Height, weight, and the triceps and subscapular skinfolds were measured annually between the ages of 6 and 10 years. PA was estimated with the Godin–Shephard questionnaire. MC was evaluated with the Körperkoordination Test für Kinder (KTK) test battery, and PF was assessed with four Fitnessgram tests: curl-ups (CU), push-ups (PU), trunk-lifts (TL) and one mile run/walk (MRW). Hierarchical linear modelling with MC, PF items and PA as predictors of the sum of two skinfolds (SKF) was used. The results showed that boys and girls differed significantly in SKF at baseline (girls: 19.7 mm; boys: 16.6 mm). Three PF items (CU, PU and MRW) and MC had a positive influence on SKF. For each unit improvement in CU, PU, MRW and MC, SKF was reduced by 0.06, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.12 mm, respectively. In conclusion, motor coordination, muscular strength and endurance, and aerobic endurance attenuated the accumulation of subcutaneous adipose tissue during childhood

Carbon and water footprints in Brazilian coffee plantations - the spatial and temporal distribution

The future of many coffee growing regions, such as Brazil, depends on strategies to allow the minimization of the negative impacts of climate change. Still the own contribution of coffee cultivation for global warming is largely unknown. Water and carbon footprints are concepts that indicate the potential negative impact of a specific product, underlining which part of the process is the major responsible for it. In this context, the objective of this study was to quantify and spatialize the water and carbon footprints from coffee crop in different regions of Brazil, and to find the proportional weight of coffee production in the total emission of CO2 and water consumption in the context of Brazilian agriculture. For this end, water and carbon footprints were estimated and spatialized for Brazilian regions along 10 productive seasons (from 2004/2005 to 2014/2015), based on data of plantation area (ha) and coffee production (tons of beans). It is concluded that the estimates of annual carbon and water footprints were 19.791 million t CO2-equivalent and 49,284 million m3 of water, with higher values from the Southeast region. This corresponded to a moderate (ca. 5%) value for the emissions of greenhouse gases, but a relevant water footprint in the context of Brazilian agricultureinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Correlation between BMI and motor coordination in children

Objectives: To analyze the association between motor coordination (MC) and body mass index (BMI) across childhood and early adolescence. Design: This study is cross-sectional. Methods: Data were collected in 7175 children (boys n = 3616, girls n = 3559), ages 6–14 years. BMI was calculated from measured height and weight [body mass (kg)/height (m2)]. Motor coordination was evaluated using Kiphard-Schilling’s body coordination test (KTK). Spearman’s rank correlation was used to study the association between BMI and MC. A Kruskal–Wallis test was used to analyze the differences in MC between children of normal weight, overweight and obese children. Results: Correlations between MC and BMI were negative and varied between 0.05 and 0.49. The highest negative correlations for both boys and girls was at 11 years of age. There was a general pattern of increasing negative correlations in both genders from 6 to 11 years of age and then a decrease in correlation strengths through 14 years of age. In both boys (χ2 (2) = 324.01; p < 0.001) and girls (χ2 (2) = 291.20; p < 0.001) there were significant differences in MC between the three groups’ weight status. Normal weight children of both sexes demonstrated significantly higher MC scores than overweight. Obese children in both sexes had the lowest MC scores among all three groups. Conclusion: Motor coordination demonstrated an inverse relationship with BMI across childhood and into early adolescence. The strength of the inverse relation increased during childhood, but decreased through early adolescence. Overweight and obese children of both sexes demonstrated significantly lower MC than normal weight children

A coordenação motora é preditora dos níveis de actividade física habitual?

Os níveis de actividade física habitual (AF) são um factor importante na prevenção de uma série de doenças crónicas. Supõe-se que os hábitos de AF que se instalam durante a infância poderão perdurar até à idade adulta, contudo não estão esclarecidos quais os factores associados à adesão à prática de AF. O objectivo deste trabalho é estudar a associação dos níveis de AF com a coordenação motora (CM), as habilidades motoras (HM) e a aptidão física (ApF) em crianças. A amostra foi constituída por 144 crianças (meninas n = 68, meninos n = 78) com idades compreendidas entre os 4 e os 9 anos. Foi utilizada bateria Fitnessgram para avaliar a ApF nos seguintes itens (apenas nas crianças com idade superior a 5 anos: push-up, curl-up, trunk-lift e corrida/marcha da milha. A coordenação motora foi avaliação através da bateria KTK. As habilidades motoras foram avaliadas com a bateria TGMD2. A AF habitual foi avaliada através de pedometria, tendo sido colocado em cada criança um pedómetro que recolheu os passos ao longo de uma semana completa. Para análise foi considerada a média diária de passos. Foi realizada uma regressão múltipla passo-a-passo, tendo a AF como variável dependente. De todas as variáveis apenas a avaliação locomotora da bateria de habilidades motoras TGMD2 foi retida como preditor dos níveis de AF. A variância explicada é baixa (1%)

Indication Of Unusual Pentagonal Structures In Atomic-size Cu Namwires

A study of the structural and quantum conductance properties of atomic-size copper nanowires generated by mechanical stretching was presented. The time-resolved electron microscopy observations and molecular dynamics simulations were used to derive the atomistic evolution. The quantum transport behavior was analyzed by means of conductance measurements and theoretical calculations. The formation of an unusual and highly pentagonal Cu nanowires with a diameter of ∼0.45 nm and ∼4.5 conductance quanta was also shown.93121261031-126103-4Agraït, N., Yeyati, A.L., Van Ruitenbeek, J.M., (2003) Phys. Rep., 377, p. 81Gulseren, O., Ercolessi, F., Tosatti, E., (1998) Phys. Rev. Lett., 80, p. 3775Kondo, Y., Takayanagi, K., (2000) Science, 289, p. 606Oshima, Y., Onga, A., Takayanagi, K., (2003) Phys. Rev. Lett., 91, p. 205503Ohnishi, H., Kondo, Y., Takayanagi, K., (1998) Nature (London), 395, p. 780Yanson, A.I., (1998) Nature (London), 395, p. 783Rodrigues, V., Fuhrer, T., Ugarte, D., (2000) Phys. Rev. Lett., 85, p. 4124Rego, L.G.C., Rocha, A.R., Rodrigues, V., Ugarte, D., (2003) Phys. Rev. B, 67, p. 045412Rodrigues, V., (2002) Phys. Rev. B, 65, p. 153402Krans, J.M., (1995) Nature (London), 375, p. 767Kondo, Y., Takayanagi, K., (1997) Phys. Rev. Lett., 79, p. 3455Rodrigues, V., Ugarte, D., (2003) Nanowires and Nanobelts, 1, p. 177. , edited by Z. L. Wang Kluwer, DordrechtRodrigues, V., Bettini, J., Silva, P.C., Ugarte, D., (2003) Phys. Rev. Lett., 91, p. 096801Marks, L.D., (1994) Rep. Prog. Phys., 57, p. 603Urban, J., (1998) Cryst. Res. Technol., 33, p. 1009Lisiecki, I., (2000) Phys. Rev. B, 61, p. 4968Emberly, E.G., Kirczenow, G., (1998) Phys. Rev. B, 58, p. 10911(1999) Phys. Rev. B, 60, p. 6028Reinhard, D., (1997) Phys. Rev. Lett., 79, p. 1459Sen, P., (2002) Phys. Rev. B, 65, p. 235433Cleri, F., Rosato, V., (1993) Phys. Rev. B, 48, p. 22Tomànek, D., Aligia, A.A., Balseiro, C.A., (1985) Phys. Rev. B, 32, p. 5051Coura, P.Z., (2004) Nano Lett., 4, p. 1187EPAPS Document No. E-PRLTAO-93-010436, E-PRLTAO-93-010436. , http://www.aip.org/pubservs/epaps.html)orfromftp.aip.orginthedirectory/ epaps, Figure 4 snapshot of a Cu nanowire being elongated along the [110] axis. A direct link to this document may be found in the online article's HTML reference section. The document may also be reached via the EPAPS homepage See the EPAPS homepage for more informatio