Use of Urinary Pregnanediol 3-glucuronide to Confirm Ovulation

Objective Urinary hormonal markers may assist in increasing the efficacy of Fertility Awareness Based Methods (FABM). This study uses urinary pregnanediol-3a-glucuronide (PDG) testing to more accurately identify the infertile phase of the menstrual cycle in the setting of FABM. Methods Secondary analysis of an observational and simulation study, multicentre, European study. The study includes 107 women and tracks daily first morning urine (FMU), observed the changes in cervical mucus discharge, and ultrasonography to identify the day of ovulation over 326 menstrual cycles. The following three scenarios were tested: (A) use of the daily pregnandiol-3a-glucuronide (PDG) test alone; (B) use of the PDG test after the first positive urine luteinizing hormone (LH) kit result; (C) use of the PDG test after the disappearance of fertile type mucus. Two models were used: (1) one day of PDG positivity; or (2) waiting for three days of PDG positivity before declaring infertility. Results After the first positivity of a LH test or the end of fertile mucus, three consecutive days of PDG testing over a threshold of 5 μg/mL resulted in a 100% specificity for ovulation confirmation. They were respectively associated an identification of an average of 6.1 and 7.6 recognized infertile days. Conclusions The results demonstrate a clinical scenario with 100% specificity for ovulation confirmation and provide the theoretical background for a future development of a competitive lateral flow assay for the detection of PDG in the urine

A Framework for the Design and Implementation of Learning Objects: a Competence-based Approach

This paper presents a framework for the design and implementation of learning objects using a competence-based approach. This framework is illustrated by the development of a standalone Windows application (Trilho GOA) whose primary purpose is to create standardized pedagogical contents trough the aggregation and standardization of instructional resources in several formats that can be used later on a Learning Management System (LMS) supporting SCORM 1.2. The paper contains a brief introduction to the developed software, its system architecture, main features and several pedagogical advantages for its users

Ideias leguminosas

A comunicação de Ciência nas escolas de 1o Ciclo limita-se, muitas vezes, à abordagem superficial dos conteúdos previstos nas metas curriculares da área de Estudo do Meio, sem recurso a actividades experimentais, laboratoriais ou de campo. A Escola Sementes de Liberdade é uma escola particular do 1o Ciclo que promove a abordagem de Ciência em contexto de trabalho de projecto, promovendo a inter e transdisciplinaridade, a interligação de conceitos e potenciando uma aprendizagem significativa e integral, nomeadamente com recurso à Arte (plástica, dramática e musical). Esta assume um papel fundamental quando se pretende, mais do que cingir um conteúdo à aprendizagem cognitiva, explorá-lo de forma criativa, motivante e emocionalmente significativa. A Ciência ganha ênfase a partir do chamado conhecimento interessado, isto é, do conhecimento relativo aos interesses manifestados pelos alunos ou, alternativamente, do conhecimento de interesse de temas ou conceitos. O projecto “Ideias Leguminosas” é introduzido na Escola de acordo com a segunda alternativa, numa parceria com o STOL – Science Through Our Lives, como uma oportunidade para assinalar “2016 - Ano Internacional das Leguminosas”.. As características, particularidades e aplicações destas plantas são abordadas e trabalhadas de forma holística e integrada nas várias áreas, através da realização de uma panóplia de actividades. É nosso propósito explorar todo um leque de competências cognitivas, emocionais e sociais, permitir o envolvimento da Escola com a comunidade, proliferar a abordagem de Ciência de forma lúdica e contribuir para uma comunicação mais ampla de Ciência. Exemplo disso são a construção de textos criativos que abordam conceitos científicos relacionados com o tema, a posterior encenação teatral dos mesmos, a criação de peças de arte figurativa (mandalas, painéis, instalações ...) recorrendo a sementes leguminosas, para mencionar apenas alguns. Estas estratégias permitirão abordar assuntos tão diversos como por exemplo a simbiose planta – bactéria, a alimentação saudável, a sustentabilidade, a pegada hídrica e o conteúdo proteico de diversas sementes. O professor assume-se, neste projecto, como orientador das actividades e observador participante, avaliando em cada uma delas, parâmetros como o sucesso, impacto e adequabilidade das actividades desenvolvidas com as crianças, através de observação participativa e aplicação de inquéritos por questionário.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implementation of the goal-setting components in popular physical activity apps: Review and content analysis

Objective: Goal setting is an effective strategy to promote physical activity. Commercial apps that tackle physical activity often include goal setting; however, it is unknown whether the implementation of the goal-setting components is congruent with the theory. This study evaluated the quality of goal setting in popular free and paid physical activity apps by assessing the presence of effective goal-setting components. Methods: A six-item scale was developed based on the goal-setting literature and used for coding each app for the presence/absence of goal-setting components (i.e. specificity, difficulty, action planning, timeframe, goal evaluation and goal re-evaluation). Cohen's Kappa was used to evaluate inter-rater reliability for each scale item. The number of goal-setting components included in the 40 apps was calculated and the difference between free and paid apps was assessed. Results: All scale items achieved satisfactory inter-rater reliability except 'goal evaluation'. The most frequently included goal-setting components in popular physical activity apps were 'goal specificity' (95% of the apps) and 'goal timeframe' (67.5%). Conversely, only 47.5% and 25% of the apps implemented 'action planning' and 'goal difficulty', respectively, and none included 'goal re-evaluation'. No differences emerged between free and paid apps. Conclusions: The quality of the goal-setting strategy in popular physical activity apps could be improved by introducing components scarcely implemented to date. In particular, tailoring the goal difficulty to the users' ability level and re-evaluating the goals based on achievements should be implemented to increase the quality of goal setting

Physically active lessons in schools: A systematic review and meta-analysis of effects on physical activity, educational, health and cognition outcomes

Objective: This review provides the first meta-analysis of the impact of physically active lessons on lesson-time and overall physical activity (PA), as well as health, cognition and educational outcomes. // Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies. Six meta-analyses pooled effects on lesson-time PA, overall PA, in-class educational and overall educational outcomes, cognition and health outcomes. Meta-analyses were conducted using the metafor package in R. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool for risk of bias. // Data sources: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC and Web of Science, grey literature and reference lists were searched in December 2017 and April 2019. // Studies eligibility criteria: Physically active lessons compared with a control group in a randomised or non-randomised design, within single component interventions in general school populations. // Results: 42 studies (39 in preschool or elementary school settings, 27 randomised controlled trials) were eligible to be included in the systematic review and 37 of them were included across the six meta-analyses (n=12 663). Physically active lessons were found to produce large, significant increases in lesson-time PA (d=2.33; 95% CI 1.42 to 3.25: k=16) and small, increases on overall PA (d=0.32; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.46: k=8), large, improvement in lesson-time educational outcomes (d=0.81; 95% CI 0.47 to 1.14: k=7) and a small improvement in overall educational outcomes (d=0.36; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.63: k=25). No effects were seen on cognitive (k=3) or health outcomes (k=3). 25/42 studies had high risk of bias in at least two domains. // Conclusion: In elementary and preschool settings, when physically active lessons were added into the curriculum they had positive impact on both physical activity and educational outcomes. These findings support policy initiatives encouraging the incorporation of physically active lessons into teaching in elementary and preschool setting

Social Capital During COVID-19: Research Case Studies from U.S. and U.K. Contexts

Our research used a case study methodology to explore how engineering students at a university in the United Kingdom and in the United States experienced social supports in the spring term(s) of 2020 when universities worldwide shifted into emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first cross-cultural study to examine engineering students' social support during the pandemic. We administered the Undergraduate Support Survey to engineering undergraduates at both institutions. The survey collected data about students' sense of belonging and social capital, including names of individuals who provided support for their engineering education and the specific expressive and instrumental resources they utilized during the pandemic. Results revealed similarities and differences between students at the two institutions. Both groups reported friends/roommates, professors, and family members as the primary providers of support, and both reported almost the same frequency in communication with these individuals. Participants at both institutions also reported high rates of instrumental and expressive support. However, the mean response for both sense of belonging and satisfaction at the university was lower in the U.K. and the types of alters identified in the two groups showed marked differences. Our work affirms the importance of social relationships to engineering students' success and persistence

Properties of Subsurface Soil Cores from Four Geologic Provinces Surrounding Mars Desert Research Station, Utah: Characterizing Analog Martian Soil in a Human Exploration Scenario

The DOMEX program is a NASA-MMAMA funded project featuring simulations of human crews on Mars focused on science activities that involve collecting samples from the subsurface using both manual and robotic equipment methods and analyzing them in the field and post mission. A crew simulating a human mission to Mars performed activities focused on subsurface science for 2 weeks in November 2009 at Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah --an important chemical and morphological Mars analog site. Activities performed included 1) survey of the area to identify geologic provinces, 2) obtaining soil and rock samples from each province and characterizing their mineralogy, chemistry, and biology; 3) site selection and reconnaissance for a future drilling mission; 4) deployment and testing of Mars Underground Mole, a percussive robotic soil sampling device; and 5) recording and analyzing how crew time was used to accomplish these tasks. This paper summarizes results from analysis of soil core

Phase equilibria of phenolic compounds in aqueous, organic and supercritical solvents

Phenolic compounds are relevant chemicals in industrial and biological processes. Their production, either by synthesis or extraction from biological media, requires the knowledge of phase equilibrium data that is lacking considerably in the open literature. For this reason, we have been performing at our laboratory a series of experimental measurements of solubility in water (1,2] and organic solvents, focused on two important families of phenolics: hydroxybenzoic and phenylpropenoic acids. The analytical shake flask method was employed for generating the saturated solutions, followed by quantitative analysis by Uv-vis spectrophotometry and/or gravimetry [1,2]. Alternatively, a synthetic method using DSC is being implemented, as this is faster and requires smaller amounts of solid. For a better understanding of the solubilization process, the corresponding melting properties were determined by DSC, with the exception of those phenolics that decompose upon melting, such as Do-coumaric, gallic and caffeic acids. For these, the Marrero and Gani group-contribution procedure [3] was used to generate estimates of the melting properties [1]. Since the studied molecules are organic acids, dissociation constants were also determined by potentiometric titratpon. As these compounds represent a class of associating molecules containing different associating groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl (in many cases with, multiple substitutions), a new methodology for modeling these multifunctional compounds with the cubic-plus-association (CM) equation of state was developed. In this, the three cubic term parameters (a0, ci and b) are obtained from correlations involving the critical temperature and pressure, and van der Waals volumes, while the association term parameters depend on the nature and positron of each associating group (1,2]. Results showed that this methodology for the pure component parameters can lead to a good description of the aqueous solubility of phenolics using a single, small and temperature independent binary interaction parameter in the physical contribution of CPA. Further results for organic and supercritical solvents using the same methodology will be presented during the meeting

Solubility of phenolic compounds in water, organic and supercritical solvents

Phenolic compounds represent a class of important chemicals with both biological and industrial importance. Their production, either by chemical synthesis or extraction from different biological media requires the adequate knowledge of phase equilibria. Particularly, the solubility in aqueous systems organic and supercritical solvents are fundamental for a better design of separation and purification processes

Pyrolysis of cork residues - preliminary results

The energy from renewable sources is a topic that has been widely discussed and studied, especially since the use of fossil fuels in industrial processes are the principal source of environmental pollution. ln, this context, the processes of biomass gasification and pyrolysis are alternatives for energy enhancement, especially in rural areas [1]. One novel area that has begun to be investigated is the use of cork residues. Gasification studies have been conducted using several) samples of residues obtained during different phases of the cork manufacturing process in order to test their ability to produce energy [2]. An alternative to gasification is pyrolysis, which involves the carbonization of solid materials in an inert atmosphere, resulting in three distinct products: gas, oil and a carbon-rich solid residue. The formation of pyrolytic products is influenced by the operating conditions and the characteristics of the raw material [3]. The aim of this study was to investigate possible innovation in the cork industry by analysing the efficiency of pyrolysis of natural cork waste and by identifying optimal operating conditions, and the characteristics of the products obtained. ln, this paper some preliminary results are reportedN/