Academic achievement on first-year Portuguese college students : the role of academic preparation and learning strategies

This paper analyses the impact of learning strategies, gender, academic field attended and students’ entrance classification to the university on academic achievement at the end of the first academic year. The study, developed with 445 first-year college students (68.5% female), ages between 17 and 57 years old (M = 18.3; SD = 2.17), from the University of Minho (Portugal), implicated answering a questionnaire on learning strategies, which concerned five dimensions (comprehensive approach, surface approach, personal competency perceptions, intrinsc motivation and organization of study activities). Regression analyses showed that academic achievement was more related to students’ entrance classifications to the university than to their learning strategies, independently of the academic field attended. Despite the significance of the other variables, these results seem to highlight the relationship between students’ academic preparation and their achievement at the end of the first-year.Cet article analyse le rôle de la préparation académique et des stratégies d’apprentissage dans la prediction des resultats académiques des étudiants collegiens portugais de premiere année, considerant le sexe des étudiants et le champ d’etudes poursuivies. Un échantillon de 445 etudiants collegiens de première annee (68,5% féminin) de l’Universite de Minho (25,8% inscrits en economie, 35,3% en sciences et technologies et 38,9% en sciences humaines) a participe à cette étude. Les étudiants ont répondu à un questionnaire sur les stratégies d’apprentissage, dans la classe à la fin du premier semestre, lequel consistait à 44 items organisés en cinq dimensions : approche comprehensive, approche de surface, perceptions des competences personnelles, motivation intrinse que et organisation des activites d’étude. Les resultats académiques (moyenne des notes à la fin de la premiere année) et la préparation acadeémique (score combinant les résultats academiques à l’école secondaire et les résultats aux examens d’entree à l’universite) furent obtenus en consultant les dossiers académiques conservés à l’université Les résultats ont montré que la préparation académique était le plus fort prédicteur des résultats académiques lors de la première année. Seulement une variance marginale additionnelle était expliquee par les stratégies d’apprentissage tel qu’évaluées par le questionnaire auto-rapporté. En dépit des différences relatives au sexe des étudiants et au champ d’études, ces variables ne semblent pas assez puissantes pour affecter les résultats. Malgré tout, les differents pourcentages de variance expliquée par chaque modèle et les differents poids associes à la preparation academique stimulent l’utilisation de ces variables ou d’autres variables personnelles et contextuelles lors de l’analyse du phenomene.E l presente trabajo analiza el papel de la preparación académica y las estrategias de aprendizaje en la predicción del rendimiento de los estudiantes del primer curso de la universidad, teniendo en cuenta el sexo de los estudiantes y el campo académico al que pertenecen. La muestra consistio´ en 445 estudiantes del primer curso (68,5% mujeres) de la Universidad de Minho (25,8% matriculados en economı´a, 35,3% en ciencia/tecnología, y 38,9% en humanidades). Los estudiantes contestaron a un cuestionario sobre las estrategias de aprendizaje al final del primer cuatrimestre, el cual consistió en 44 ítems organizados en cinco dimensiones: enfoque comprensivo, enfoque superficial, percepción de la competencia personal, motivación intrínseca y organización de las actividades de estudio. El rendimiento académico (la media de las notas al final del primer curso) y la preparación académica (la nota de acceso a los estudios superiores) fueron obtenidos de los registros de la universidad. Los resultados demostraron que la preparación académica fue el predictor más importante del rendimiento acadeémico en el primer curso y solo la varianza marginal adicional fue explicada por las estrategias de aprendizaje recogidas en el cuestionario de auto-informe. A pesar de las diferencias de género y campo académico, estas variables no parecen suficientemente fuertes como para afectar a los resultados. Aún así, los diferentes porcentajes de varianza capturados por cada modelo y los diferentes pesos asociados a las notas de acceso a los estudios estimulan el uso de estas y/u otras variables personales y contextuales al analizar este fenómeno

The effect of high-fat diet on rat’s mood, feeding behavior and response to stress

An association between obesity and depression has been indicated in studies addressing common physical (metabolic) and psychological (anxiety, low self-esteem) outcomes. Of consideration in both obesity and depression are chronic mild stressors to which individuals are exposed to on a daily basis. However, the response to stress is remarkably variable depending on numerous factors, such as the physical health and the mental state at the time of exposure. Here a chronic mild stress (CMS) protocol was used to assess the effect of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity on response to stress in a rat model. In addition to the development of metabolic complications, such as glucose intolerance, diet-induced obesity caused behavioral alterations. Specifically, animals fed on HFD displayed depressive- and anxious-like behaviors that were only present in the normal diet (ND) group upon exposure to CMS. Of notice, these mood impairments were not further aggravated when the HFD animals were exposed to CMS, which suggest a ceiling effect. Moreover, although there was a sudden drop of food consumption in the first 3 weeks of the CMS protocol in both ND and HFD groups, only the CMS-HFD displayed an overall noticeable decrease in total food intake during the 6 weeks of the CMS protocol. Altogether, the study suggests that HFD impacts on the response to CMS, which should be considered when addressing the consequences of obesity in behavior.EU Marie Curie Initial Training Fellowships from the NINA Project. FM (IF/00231/2013) is an assistant researcher and NV (SFRH/BPD/91250/2012) is a post-doctoral fellow supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal)/FEDER. This work was funded by the Portuguese North Regional Operational Program (ON.2 - O Novo Norte) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN), through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)

Mulher e masculinidades em músicas sertanejas cantadas por artistas femininas

Nos últimos anos, vimos ganhar o cenário musical, as músicas sertanejas cantadas por mulheres, protagonizando uma subclasse musical do gênero sertanejo denominado feminejo. Investigamos as representações sociais de mulher e masculinidades em músicas sertanejas cantadas por artistas femininas. Analisamos as 10 músicas mais tocadas entre os anos de 2015 a 2019, a partir das 100 mais tocadas de cada ano. Utilizamos a análise de conteúdo temático-categorial para tratamento dos dados. Os resultados apontam para o tensionamento entre as imagens que simbolizam uma mulher de antes e uma mulher de agora, caracterizada pelo trânsito entre submissão, passividade, romantismo e independência, autonomia, liberdade sexual. As masculinidades são apresentadas dentro das características que atribuem posição a estas artistas dentro do cenário de disputa do mercado musical brasileiro, tradicionalmente dominado por homens

Agregado leve: uma alternativa sustentável para o reaproveitamento de resíduo de serragem no processo industrial

 A serragem gerada no processamento da madeira tanto em lojas moveleiras como na extração de árvores é um resíduo que possui diversas aplicações para reutilização, mas que, em muitos casos, ainda é descartado de forma irregular no meio ambiente, contaminando o solo, o ar e a água. A produção de agregado leve pode ser uma opção para o reaproveitamento dessa serragem. O agregado leve (AL) é uma opção de brita usada em construção civil com o objetivo de reduzir o peso da estrutura, melhorar o conforme térmico e acústico ou, ainda, como opção para locais onde a brita não está disponível. No Brasil e em quase todo o mundo existem argilas comuns disponíveis e que poderiam ser utilizadas na produção de agregado leve. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi produzir um AL para diferentes aplicações, entre elas como agregado para construção civil, tijolos e como elemento de adorno. Foram testadas formulações para a produção de agregado leve contendo argila ilita e serragem. Também, para efeito de comparação, foi adquirido um agregado leve comercial, e formulações feitas com argila e carvão mineral, argila e óleo combustível. Os corpos de prova foram produzidos por prensagem à pressão de 30 MPa, em formato cilíndrico com diâmetro de 19 mm e altura de 15 mm. Após a queima, os corpos de prova foram caracterizados por ensaios tecnológicos de absorção de água, densidade aparente, resistência à compressão, difração de raios X e análise química por fluorescência de raios X. Os resultados mostraram que a incorporação de serragem nas formulações pode ser uma alternativa para a produção de agregado leve, uma vez que se obtiveram alta resistência e baixa densidade em comparação com o agregado leve comercial e os produzidos com materiais não sustentáveis. Além disso, o uso da serragem contribuiu para a redução do impacto ambiental causado pelo descarte desnecessário de serragem e pela extração de recursos naturais, necessários para a produção de materiais de construção.Sawdust generated by wood processing, both in industries processing and in tree felling, is a waste that has several applications for reuse, but, in many cases, it is still discarded irregularly in the environment, contaminating the soil, air, and water. The production of lightweight aggregate (LWA) can be an option for the reuse of this sawdust. The LWA is a gravel solution used in civil construction with the objective of reducing the weight of the structure, improving thermal and acoustic compliance, or as an option for locations where gravel is not available. In Brazil, and in most parts of the world, there are common clays available that can be used in the LWA production. The aim of this research was to produce an LWA for different applications, among them, as aggregate for civil construction, bricks, and as an adornment element. Formulations were tested to produce LWA containing illitic clay and sawdust. In the same way, for comparison, a commercial LWA was purchased, and formulations were made with clay and coal, and clay and fuel oil. The specimens were produced by pressing at 30 MPa in a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 19 mm and a height of 15 mm. After firing, the specimens were characterized by technological tests of water absorption, bulk density, compressive strength, X-ray diffraction analysis, and chemistry by X-ray fluorescence. The results indicated that the incorporation of sawdust in the formulations can be an alternative to produce LWA, once it obtained high strength and low density, compared to commercial LWA and to that produced with unattractive materials. Furthermore, it may contribute to the reduction of environmental impact, resulting from the disposal of sawdust and the generation of natural resources, necessary to produce construction materials

A Comparative Study of Different Columns Sizes for Ultrafine Apatite Flotation

The Brazilian phosphate industry has a long-term tradition in beneficiation of weathering igneous phosphate ores. The typical flowsheet applied involves grinding; classification in coarse and fines fractions; magnetic separation (low and high intensity); desliming to remove particles \u3c 10 µm; barite flotation and apatite flotation. Desliming operation to discharge the ultrafine particles less than 20 µm prior to concentration by flotation is a common practice on the phosphate ores beneficiations plants, including those that treats sedimentary and igneous ores. Guimarães and Peres (2002, 2003) resume the Brazilian industrial experience in beneficiation of the material with particle size \u3c 44 µm. The first industrial application was in Araxá concentrator in the beginning of 80´s in a circuit consisting of desliming in 40 mm hydrocyclones and apatite flotation in column machines. Corn starch and fatty acids being utilized as reagents. The concept of this process was expanded to other Brazilian plants located in Catalão (Goias state), Tapira (Minas Gerais state) and Cajati (São Paulo state) are still in the 90´s. It is estimated that the apatite concentrate from slimes represents 11% to 13% of the overall production. Matiolo et al (2017) showed results of a flowsheet developed to apatite concentration from a slime sample provided by the industrial phosphate ore plant of the Copebras (China Molybdenum – CMOC International), located at Catalão (Goias state, Brazil). The flowsheet involves desliming in hydrocyclones (40 mm) in two stages, followed by apatite flotation in columns.The authors compare the flotation results obtained in a rougher flotation in a 3” diameter column flotation (2.0 m in height) in comparison with the results obtained in a circuit with rougher/cleaner configuration applying a 4” diameter column flotation (6.0 m in height) to rougher and a 2” diameter column flotation (6.0 in height) to cleaner. This work shows flotation results considering a circuit with rougher/cleaner configuration with different sizes column flotation, as follow: Circuit 1 (rougher – 4” diameter column flotation; cleaner – 2” diameter column flotation), and circuit 2 (rougher – 6” diameter column flotation; cleaner 4” column flotation). The solids feed rate in each circuit was 35 kg/h and 46 kg/h dry basis respectively. The rougher flotation results show that 6” diameter column flotation achieved higher apatite recovery when compare with the results obtained in the 4” diameter column flotation, for similar P2O5 grades. By the other hand, the results obtained in cleaner flotation are very similar in both columns (4” and 2” diameter column flotation). The best results obtained in the 6” diameter column flotation can be explained by the fact that in this column, the bubble generation system is a cavitation tube and the system applied in the 4” diameter column flotation is a porous tube. The bubble size distribution obtained on the cavitation tube is in general smaller than the obtained on the porous tubes. Fine bubbles improved the collision efficiency between bubbles and particles which leads to higher recoveries, in special for ultrafine particles flotation. Guimarães, R.C., Peres, A.E.C. Production of phosphate concentrates from slimes: Brazilian experience. In: Proceedings XXII International Mineral Processing Congress, Cape-Town, South Africa, pp 606-612, 2003. Matiolo, E., Couto, H.J.B., Teixeira, M.F.L., Freitas, A.S., Almeida, R.N. Recovery of apatite from slimes of a Brazilian phosphate ore. Journal of Wuhan Institute of Technology. Vol 39. Nº 6. pp 39-48. 2017

Prevalência de doenças musculoesqueléticas entre trabalhadores portuários avulsos

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar a prevalência de doenças musculoesqueléticas relacionadas ao trabalho, entre trabalhadores portuários avulsos. É estudo quantitativo, retrospectivo. A fonte de dados constituiu-se de fichas de atendimento médico dos trabalhadores portuários avulsos, no período de 2000 a 2009. A coleta de dados foi realizada em um serviço de medicina do trabalho portuário, a partir de formulário pré-determinado. Procedeu-se à análise quantitativa descritiva. Aspectos éticos foram respeitados. Identificaram-se 15,8% de diagnósticos de doenças osteomusculares, entre trabalhadores do sexo masculino. Predominaram indivíduos com mais de 52 anos de idade e com tempo de atuação laboral superior a 21 anos. As doenças osteomusculares prevalentes foram lombalgias (38,8%), tendinites (19,7%) e cervicalgias (12,5%), que podem ser prevenidas por meio de ações interventoras em saúde, ratificando a importante construção de subsídios clínicos em enfermagem para a qualidade do trabalho portuário.Este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar la prevalecía de enfermedades osteomusculares relacionadas al trabajo entre trabajadores portuarios sin registro. Estudio cuantitativo, retrospectivo. La fuente de datos las tablas de atención medica de los trabajadores portuarios sin registro en el período de 2000 a 2009. La colecta de datos fue realizada en un Servicio de Medicina del Trabajo Portuario a partir de un formulario predeterminado. Se procedió en el análisis cuantitativo descriptivo de los datos. Los aspectos éticos fueran respetados. Se identificó 15,8% diagnósticos de enfermedades osteomusculares, entre trabajadores del sexo masculino. Predominaran individuos con más de 52 años de edad y con tiempo de actuación laboral superior a 21 años. Las principales enfermedades fueran de lumbalgia (38,8%), tendinitis (19,7%) y cervicalgía (12,5%). Las enfermedades osteomusculares mas prevalentes fueran las lumbalgías, tendinitis y cervicalgías, las cuales pueden prevenirse por medio de acciones interventoras y evaluativas en salud, ratificando la importancia de construir subsidios clínicos en enfermería que colaboren para la cualidad de vida del trabajador portuario.This study identified the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among casual dockworkers. This is a retrospective and quantitative study, the data sources of which included the medical files of dockworkers from 2000 to 2009. Data were collected in a medical service for dockworkers using a previously developed form; descriptive quantitative analysis was performed. Ethical aspects were complied with. A total of 15.8% of the diagnoses identified among male workers referred to musculoskeletal disorders. Individuals older than 52 years of age and with more than 21 years working in the field predominated. The most frequent musculoskeletal diseases included low back pain (38.8%), tendinitis (19.7%), and neck pain (12.5%). These diseases can be prevented through health interventions, confirming the importance of developing clinical support in nursing in order to improve the quality of life of dockworkers

Stress-induced changes in human decision-making are reversible

Appropriate decision-making relies on the ability to shift between different behavioral strategies according to the context in which decisions are made. A cohort of subjects exposed to prolonged stress, and respective gender- and age-matched controls, performed an instrumental behavioral task to assess their decision-making strategies. The stressed cohort was reevaluated after a 6-week stress-free period. The behavioral analysis was complemented by a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to detect the patterns of activation in corticostriatal networks ruling goal-directed and habitual actions. Using structural MRI, the volumes of the main cortical and subcortical regions implicated in instrumental behavior were determined. Here we show that chronic stress biases decision-making strategies in humans toward habits, as choices of stressed subjects become insensitive to changes in outcome value. Using functional imaging techniques, we demonstrate that prolonged exposure to stress in humans causes an imbalanced activation of the networks that govern decision processes, shifting activation from the associative to the sensorimotor circuits. These functional changes are paralleled by atrophy of the medial prefrontal cortex and the caudate, and by an increase in the volume of the putamina. Importantly, a longitudinal assessment of the stressed individuals showed that both the structural and functional changes triggered by stress are reversible and that decisions become again goal-directed.We acknowledge the discussions with Eduardo Ferreira, Rui Costa and Osborne Almeida. We also thank Jaime Rocha for discussions on neuroimaging assessment. We are thankful to all the study participants. JMS and NCS are supported by a fellowship of the project SwitchBoxFP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2 and FM by the fellowship SFRH/BPD/33379/2008 funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). The work was supported by FCT - PTDC/SAU-NSC/111814/2009 and SwitchBox-FP7HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2

The versatility of membrane-water partitioning in pharmacokinetic modelling

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stress impact on resting state brain networks

Resting state brain networks (RSNs) are spatially distributed large-scale networks, evidenced by resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Importantly, RSNs are implicated in several relevant brain functions and present abnormal functional patterns in many neuropsychiatric disorders, for which stress exposure is an established risk factor. Yet, so far, little is known about the effect of stress in the architecture of RSNs, both in resting state conditions or during shift to task performance. Herein we assessed the architecture of the RSNs using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a cohort of participants exposed to prolonged stress (participants that had just finished their long period of preparation for the medical residence selection exam), and respective gender- and age-matched controls (medical students under normal academic activities). Analysis focused on the pattern of activity in resting state conditions and after deactivation. A volumetric estimation of the RSNs was also performed. Data shows that stressed participants displayed greater activation of the default mode (DMN), dorsal attention (DAN), ventral attention (VAN), sensorimotor (SMN), and primary visual (VN) networks than controls. Importantly, stressed participants also evidenced impairments in the deactivation of resting state-networks when compared to controls. These functional changes are paralleled by a constriction of the DMN that is in line with the pattern of brain atrophy observed after stress exposure. These results reveal that stress impacts on activation-deactivation pattern of RSNs, a finding that may underlie stress-induced changes in several dimensions of brain activity.JMS, NCS and PM are supported by fellowships of the project SwitchBox-FP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2; FM is supported by the fellowship SFRH/BPD/33379/2008 funded by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). The work was supported by SwitchBox-FP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

PERFIL DOS ALUNOS SURDOS INSERIDOS NO ENSINO SUPERIOR EM CURITIBA

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o perfil dos surdos universitários, na cidade de Curitiba, durante o ano de 2012.Aplicou-se um questionário semi-aberto com 18 discentes surdos universitários, com idades entre 19 e 43 anos, e que na época do estudo frequentavam o ensino superior na cidade de Curitiba. O questionário foi aplicado individualmente por meio da língua portuguesa na modalidade escrita. Os resultados demonstram que a maioria desses alunos que responderam ao questionário são do sexo masculino e estão cursando administração de empresas. A maioria ingressou no ensino superior por meio do vestibular e todos possuem intérprete neste nível de ensino. Também a maioria afirma apresentar dificuldades no uso da língua portuguesa. Percebeu-se neste estudo que a maioria dos surdos que frequenta o ensino superior enfrenta alguns percalços para acompanhar este nível de ensino, principalmente com relação ao uso da língua portuguesa. Faz-se necessário que está língua seja melhor trabalhada nas séries iniciais de ensino, para que estes alunos consigam acompanhar o nível superior de maneira mais justa e igualitária