Biogeography of Wood-Boring Crustaceans (Isopoda: Limnoriidae) Established in European Coastal Waters

Marine wood-borers of the Limnoriidae cause great destruction to wooden structures exposed in the marine environment. In this study we collated occurrence data obtained from field surveys, spanning over a period of 10 years, and from an extensive literature review. We aimed to determine which wood-boring limnoriid species are established in European coastal waters; to map their past and recent distribution in Europe in order to infer species range extension or contraction; to determine species environmental requirements using climatic envelopes. Of the six species of wood-boring Limnoria previously reported occurring in Europe, only Limnoria lignorum, L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata are established in European coastal waters. L. carinata and L. tuberculata have uncertain established status, whereas L. borealis is not established in European waters. The species with the widest distribution in Europe is Limnoria lignorum, which is also the most tolerant species to a range of salinities. L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata appear to be stenohaline. However, the present study shows that both L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata are more widespread in Europe than previous reports suggested. Both species have been found occurring in Europe since they were described, and their increased distribution is probably the results of a range expansion. On the other hand L. lignorum appears to be retreating poleward with ocean warming. In certain areas (e.g. southern England, and southern Portugal), limnoriids appear to be very abundant and their activity is rivalling that of teredinids. Therefore, it is important to monitor the distribution and destructive activity of these organisms in Europe

MOREHealth Research Group: more than clinical data!

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Behavioral and cardiopulmonary effects of dexmedetomidine alone and in combination with butorphanol, methadone, morphine or tramadol in conscious sheep

Objective: To compare cardiopulmonary and sedative effects following administration of dexmedetomidine alone or with butorphanol, methadone, morphine or tramadol in healthy sheep. Study design: Randomized crossover study. Animals: Six Santa Inês sheep, five females, one male, aged 12–28 months and weighing 40.1 ± 6.2 kg. Methods: Sheep were assigned treatments of dexmedetomidine (0.005 mg kg−1; D); D and butorphanol (0.15 mg kg−1; DB); D and methadone (0.5 mg kg−1; DM); D and morphine (0.5 mg kg−1; DMO); or D and tramadol (5.0 mg kg−1; DT). All drugs were administered intravenously with at least 7 days between each treatment. Rectal temperature, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (fR), invasive arterial pressure, blood gases and electrolytes were measured prior to administration of drugs (baseline, T0) and every 15 minutes following drug administration for 120 minutes (T15–T120). Sedation was scored by three observers blinded to treatment. Results: HR decreased in all treatments and fR decreased in DM at T30 and DMO at T30 and T45. PaCO2 was increased in D, DB and DM compared with baseline, and PaO2 decreased in D at T15 and T45; in DB at T15 to T75; in DM at T15 to T60; in DMO at T15; and in DT at T15, T30 and T75. There was a decrease in temperature in D, DB and DM. An increased pH was measured in D at all time points and in DT at T30–T120. inline image and base excess were increased in all treatments compared with baseline. There were no statistical differences in sedation scores. Conclusions and clinical relevance: The combination of dexmedetomidine with butorphanol, methadone, morphine or tramadol resulted in similar changes in cardiopulmonary function and did not improve sedation when compared with dexmedetomidine alone

Importância da orientação nutricional para indivíduos com glicemia alterada ou diagnóstico de diabetes mellitus

A orientação nutricional tem sido frequentemente citada em diversos estudos pelo mundo como uma importante ferramenta para a prevenção e o controle do Diabetes Mellitus. Paralelo a isso, tem sido observado um fenômeno de transição nutricional, com mudanças nos hábitos alimentares da população mundial. A percepção da carência de informações entre os pacientes, associada ao desconhecimento da importância do hábito alimentar motivou o presente estudo, que tem como objetivo implementar uma abordagem educativa para potencializar o cuidado aos portadores de diabetes mellitus e aos usuários mais suscetíveis ao desenvolvimento dessa doença, com foco na importância e no impacto da alimentação adequada na prevenção e no controle da doença. Para o alcance de seu objetivo, será realizado um projeto de intervenção que partirá da capacitação da equipe em diabetes, suas complicações e seu controle. Espera-se assim, tornar os pacientes mais conscientes de sua doença e da interferência da alimentação sobre o controle da mesma. Além disso, o projeto de intervenção visa contribuir para o melhor funcionamento do processo de trabalho na unidade de saúde e a diminuição de gastos públicos e privados devido às complicações decorrentes do descontrole da glicemia

Justiça Organizacional - Um Panorama da Produção Científica Brasileira

The relevance of organizational justice for the improvement of the relationship between workers and organizations has given the theme a prominent role on the international stage in recent decades. In Brazil, discrepancies between national and foreign contributions were pointed out by the last review on the subject, in 2005. Thus, this study analyzed the Brazilian scientific production on organizational justice, focusing on the dimensions of the organizational justice, the theoretical background, and the relationships investigated. A semi-systematic literature review was carried out in 19 journals (1996-2018). The results showed significant differences between national and international production. A national research agenda is presented, highlighting the need for studies exploring the antecedents and the effects of the process of mediation and interaction of justice and a better theoretical foundation.A relevância da justiça organizacional para melhoria da relação entre trabalhadores e organizações conferiu ao tema destaque em cenário internacional nas últimas décadas. No Brasil, discrepâncias entre as contribuições nacionais e estrangeiras foram apontadas pela última revisão do tema, em 2005. Assim, buscando responder como as dimensões de justiça foram pesquisadas, baseadas em que teorias e quais as principais relações investigadas, este estudo analisou o desenvolvimento da produção científica brasileira sobre justiça organizacional. Realizou-se uma revisão semi-sistemática da literatura, em 19 periódicos (1996-2018). Os resultados evidenciaram diferenças significativas entre a produção nacional e internacional. Apresenta-se uma agenda de pesquisa nacional, explicitando as necessidades de investigação dos antecedentes e dos efeitos mediacionais e interacionais do construto e de melhor fundamentação teórica

Regional inequalities in PISA: the case of Italy and Spain

This technical brief analyses the regional distribution of skills in Italy and Spain. Educational attainment rates have frequently been used as an indicator of regional educational development in EU Member States (MS). These rates indicate significant regional disparities in education within countries. However, recent evidence shows that the quality of education, as measured by the level of specific skills, is more important than the number of years one spends in school, in particular when considering the relationship between the cognitive (and non-cognitive) skills and economic growth. International large scale assessments (ILSA) of student performance measure these cognitive skills in key areas. OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) provides a very useful and important source of information of students' performance in key cognitive skills. When analysing PISA data, researchers and commentators often focus on cross-country comparisons. However, vast within-country differences exist, also in terms of educational attainment and PISA test scores. A focus on country averages alone would hence provide only a partial view of the status of education within countries. However, the possibility of exploring within-country differences with PISA data is limited to only a few countries. In this report we focus on regional inequalities in cognitive skills (as measured by PISA test scores) in Italy and Spain, using regional PISA data from the most recent 2015 wave, and we analyse the factors that are associated with these inequalities. In order to insure full comparability between the two countries we define regions at the level of NUTS1 (macro-region), following Eurostat’s official NUTS 2013 classification. We investigate regional inequalities by using descriptive statistics, by running a range of OLS regression models that allow us to analyse the associations between PISA 2015 science scores and the explanatory variables within regions and finally by using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method to specify the factors that are related to within-country differences. The results show that there are significant regional differences in PISA scores within both MS. There are several factors that are associated with regional differences within Italy and Spain. The factors most consistently positively associated with regional science achievement are teacher-directed teaching and epistemological beliefs, while grade repetition and truancy are significantly negatively related with achievement. Still, there is also a range of other relevant factors varying between and within both MS. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition also shows that variables such as the socio-economic background, the students’ expected occupation, learning outside school time, truancy, immigrant status and grade repetition matter for within-country differences. Our results suggest that policy makers should focus on finding solutions to limit truancy and rethink grade repetition to leverage scores in lower performing regions. Moreover, our results with regard to epistemological beliefs and teaching practices challenge thinking about how science should be taught in schools in Italy and Spain. The specific results for each region may allow policy makers to consider more in detail how a region stands in comparison to the rest of the country, and the specific factors that need to be addressed to improve the within-country inequality related to educational achievement.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Quality of Teaching and Learning in Science

Quality teaching and learning is linked to the structural and process characteristics of educational systems. Importantly, the role of education policies, of schools and of teachers in promoting high student performance is increasingly recognized (IEA, 2016; Hanushek & Woessmann, 2014). International large-scale surveys (ILSA) such as PISA allow for envisioning what is amenable to change beyond what is determined by culture and to consider reforms that improve learning conditions (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2014). This report focuses on identifying the variation in different teaching practices in the Science classroom and their relation with students’ achievement. Using PISA 2015 data collected in the student and school questionnaires, the report offers an overview of the variations in teaching practices across European Member States (EU MS) and how they relate to students’ Science achievement. For this purpose, we present univariate statistics and we explore the proportion of variance in students’ achievement that can be explained by the use of different teaching practices. More specifically, this report answers the following research question: What is the relationship between teaching practices, the learning environment and students’ achievement in EU MS? A multilevel analysis is used for the available PISA 2015 data including different levels of analysis. These analyses contribute to our understanding of the differences and similarities among countries and provide evidence regarding teaching effectiveness, giving an overview about what works well in the Science classroom in EU MS. This information strengthens the evidence-base and can be used at the EU level to share knowledge about good practices and to inform policy initiatives that focus on high quality teaching (European Commission, 2016). Specific actions in this area are intended to help raise the skills’ levels of pupils and the workforce by improving the effectiveness of education and training systems (European Commission, 2015).JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen