Semi-empirical analysis of Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies: II. The bimodality of the galaxy population revisited

We revisit the bimodal distribution of the galaxy population commonly seen in the local universe. Here we address the bimodality observed in galaxy properties in terms of spectral synthesis products, such as mean stellar ages and stellar masses, derived from the application of this powerful method to a volume-limited sample, with magnitude limit cutoff M_r = -20.5, containing about 50 thousand luminous galaxies from the SDSS Data Release 2. In addition, galaxies are classified according to their emission line properties in three distinct spectral classes: star-forming galaxies, with young stellar populations; passive galaxies, dominated by old stellar populations; and, hosts of active nuclei, which comprise a mix of young and old stellar populations. We show that the extremes of the distribution of some galaxy properties, essentially galaxy colours, 4000 A break index, and mean stellar ages, are associated to star-forming galaxies at one side, and passive galaxies at another. We find that the mean light-weighted stellar age of galaxies is the direct responsible for the bimodality seen in the galaxy population. The stellar mass, in this view, has an additional role since most of the star-forming galaxies present in the local universe are low-mass galaxies. Our results also give support to the existence of a 'downsizing' in galaxy formation, where massive galaxies seen nowadays have stellar populations formed at early times.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Kit Educate to prevent (high school level): foodborne outbreaks prevention

A promoção de boas práticas de higiene e segurança alimentar é um contributo importante para a prevenção de toxinfeções alimentares causadas pelo consumo de alimentos contaminados. Neste contexto e na continuação do projeto “Educar para Prevenir”, criado e desenvolvido em 2016 pelo Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, foi elaborado um conjunto de materiais educativos como apoio escolar composto por duas apresentações em PowerPoint, um folheto, um póster e um questionário de avaliação, para ser utilizado pelos professores do 10º ao 12º anos de escolaridade. O desenvolvimento deste material baseou-se em pesquisa bibliográfica, para integrar conceitos de género alimentício, perigo, risco, toxinfeção alimentar e boas práticas para a sua prevenção, como também no conhecimento da ocorrência dos perigos biológicos alimentares e dos fatores que contribuíram para a ocorrência de toxinfeções alimentares descritos na literatura científica e na informação partilhada em redes europeias de vigilância de doenças de origem alimentar.The promotion of consumer good hygiene and food safety practices is an impor tant contribution to the prevention of foodborne outbreaks caused by the consumption of biologically contaminated food. In this contex t and the project in progress "Educating to Prevention", created and developed in 2016 by the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, it was produced a kit with school educational material consisting of two Power- Point presentations, a brochure, a poster and a questionnaire, to be used by High School level teachers. The development of this material was scientific based on literature to integrate concepts of foodstuf f, hazard, risk, foodborne outbreak (FBO) and best practices for their prevention, and also on the knowledge of the occurrence of the biological hazards and of the factors that contributed to the occurrence of FBO described on scientific literature or on information shared by European networks of surveillance of foodborne diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Salt content in different food categories: the Portuguese reality compared to other European countries

As doenças cardiovasculares (DCVs) são a principal causa de mor te e de incapacidades em Por tugal e no mundo, sendo aos hábitos alimentares inadequados um dos principais fatores responsáveis por esta realidade. O consumo excessivo de sal tem sido diretamente associado ao desenvolvimento da hiper tensão ar terial e, por conseguinte, de DCVs, tendo, por isso, conduzido à implementação de várias medidas, a nível global, que visam garantir a sua redução progressiva, como forma de prevenção e controlo destas doenças crónicas. A nível nacional, o Governo definiu e aprovou a Estratégia Integrada para a Promoção da Alimentação Saudável (EIPAS), com o objetivo de promover e incentivar o consumo de alimentos enquadrados num padrão alimentar saudável, apostando sobretudo na redução significativa do consumo diário excessivo de sal, açúcar e gordura (ácidos gordos trans), para ir de encontro aos níveis recomendados pela Organização Mundial da Saúde. O Depar tamento de Alimentação e Nutrição do Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge efetua a avaliação do teor de sal em alimentos e, neste contexto, procedeu à sua monitorização em alimentos disponíveis no mercado nacional, fazendo também, para comparação, o levantamento online do teor de sal em alimentos de outros países europeus. As categorias estudadas - sopa, fiambre, queijo e tostas - apresentaram no mercado por tuguês, teores médios de sal, em g/100 g, de 0,61; 2,3; 2,6 e 1,2 respetivamente, exigindo um esforço conjunto de todas as par tes envolvidas para se atingir a meta geral de 0,3 g de sal por 100 g de alimento (0,2 g/100 g para a sopa) definida na EIPAS para 2020.in Portugal and in the World, with inadequate dietary habits being one of the main factors responsible for this reality. Excessive salt intake has been directly associated with the development of arterial hypertension and, consequently, of CVDs having led, therefore, to the implementation of several measures, at a global level, aimed at ensuring it’s progressive reduction, as a form of prevention and control of these chronic diseases. At national level, the Government defined and approved the Integrated Strategy for the Promotion of Healthy Eating (EIPAS), with the objective of promoting and encouraging the consumption of foods in a healthy dietary pattern, in particular focusing on the significant reduction of daily excessive salt, sugar and fat (trans fatty acids) consumption, to meet the levels recommended by the World Health Organization. The The Food and Nutrition Department of the National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge assess the salt content in food and, in this context, has monitored several foods available in the national market also making, for comparison, an online compilation of the salt content in foods from other European countries. The food categories studied: soup, ham, cheese and toasts; presented in the Por tuguese market the average salt content, in g/100 g, of 0,61; 2,3; 2,6 and 1,2 respectively, requiring a joint ef for t of all par ties involved to achieve the overall target of 0.3 g/100 g (0.2 g/100 g for soup) defined in EIPAS for 2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Nearby and Extremely Metal-Poor Galaxy CGCG 269-049

We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Spitzer Space Telescope images and photometry of the extremely metal-poor (Z = 0.03 Z_sol) blue dwarf galaxy CGCG 269-049. The HST images reveal a large population of red giant and asymptotic giant branch stars, ruling out the possibility that the galaxy has recently formed. From the magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch, we measure a distance to CGCG 269-049 of only 4.9 +/- 0.4 Mpc. The spectral energy distribution of the galaxy between ~3.6 - 70 microns is also best fitted by emission from predominantly ~10 Gyr old stars, with a component of thermal dust emission having a temperature of 52 +/- 10 K. The HST and Spitzer photometry indicate that more than 60% of CGCG 269-049's stellar mass consists of stars ~10 Gyr old, similar to other local blue dwarf galaxies. Our HST H-alpha image shows no evidence of a supernova-driven outflow that could be removing metals from the galaxy, nor do we find evidence that such outflows occurred in the past. Taken together with CGCG 269-049's large ratio of neutral hydrogen mass to stellar mass (~10), these results are consistent with recent simulations in which the metal deficiency of local dwarf galaxies results mainly from inefficient star formation, rather than youth or the escape of supernova ejecta.Comment: 35 Pages, 7 Figures, accepted for publication in ApJ; new version corrects errors in Table 1, Figure 3, and related calculations in tex

Influence of crop system fruit quality, carotenoids, fatty acids and phenolic compounds in cherry tomatoes

Tomato is one of the most consumed vegetables in the world, and its intake is known to be beneficial for human health. The nutritional quality of tomato is connected with numerous factors namely the cultivation system. To achieve the highest fruit quality and yield, the cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. Moscatel RZ) was cultivated in three cultivation systems and its nutritional quality was evaluated. The highest fruit productivity, 2135–2240 g plant-1 dry weight (dw), was observed for the cherry tomatoes grown in the soilless systems. The cherry tomato from the hydroponic culture had the highest protein (13.41% dw), lipid (3.20% dw), sugar (354.94 mg g-1 dw) and taste index (1.24). It also comprised high amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, like oleic (1.28 mg g-1 dw) and linoleic acids (5.42 mg g-1 dw). With respect to cherry tomato from the organic culture, higher contents of carotenoids—lycopene (47.1 mg kg-1 dw) and polyphenols (56.7 mg GAE 100 g-1 dw) were verified. Flavonoids were the main family of phenolic compounds found in the cherry tomato. The highest levels of chalconaringenin (51.95 mg 100 g-1 dw) and rutin (39.69 mg 100 g-1 dw) were observed in the cherry tomatoes cultivated through organic practices. This study shows that the agronomic system greatly influences the different characteristics associated with fruit quality. Hydroponic cultures presented higher quality, namely texture and taste, while the higher amounts of bioactive compounds were found in the organic culture.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Monitoring sugar content in foods available in the Portuguese market: contribution to promote healthy eating

O excesso de peso e a obesidade representam um grave problema de saúde pública, que afeta mais de metade da população mundial e que tem enormes implicações no aparecimento de diversas doenças crónicas, nomeadamente diabetes e doenças cérebro-cardiovasculares. Estudos científicos têm evidenciado a associação do consumo excessivo de açúcar ao desenvolvimento da obesidade e da diabetes tipo 2. Neste âmbito, o Governo português aprovou uma Estratégia Integrada para a Promoção da Alimentação Saudável (EIPAS), assente na promoção de um padrão de alimentação saudável que, entre outros objetivos, pretende uma redução progressiva do consumo diário de açúcar. O Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Laboratório Nacional de Referência e parceiro estratégico na implementação da EIPAS, através do seu Departamento de Alimentação e Nutrição, procedeu à monitorização do teor de açúcar em cereais de pequeno-almoço e iogurtes (sólidos e líquidos), disponíveis no mercado português. Estas categorias apresentaram medianas de teor de açúcar de 22,0 g; 12,0 g e 12,1 g, por 100 g (por mL, no caso dos iogurtes líquidos), respetivamente, o que evidencia a necessidade de intervir junto dos operadores económicos e consumidores, para se garantir uma redução para os valores definidos na EIPAS, 5 g/100 g para alimentos sólidos e 2,5 g/100 mL para os líquidos.Overweight and obesity represent a serious public health problem, which affects more than half the world's population and has enormous implications for the emergence of various chronic diseases, including diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases. Scientific studies have related excessive sugar intake with the development of obesity. In this context, Portuguese Government approved an Integrated Strategy for the Promotion of Healthy Eating (EIPAS), based on the promotion of a healthy eating pattern that, among other objectives, aims at a progressive reduction of daily sugar consumption. The National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, National Reference Laboratory and strategic partner in the EIPAS implementation, through its Department of Food and Nutrition, monitored the sugar content in breakfast cereals and yoghurts (solids and liquids) available in the Portuguese market. The categories studied presented medians with a sugar content of 22.0 g; 12.0 g and 12.1 g, per 100 g (or 100 mL, for liquids), respectively, which evidences the need to intervene with economic operators and consumers in order to guarantee an effective reduction for the values defined in EIPAS, for 5 g/100 g for solid foods and 2.5 g/100 ml for liquids.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Physical exercises in patients with eating disorders

CONTEXTO: Diferentes estudos discutem a relação da prática excessiva de exercícios físicos com transtornos alimentares como estratégia para perda de peso. OBJETIVO: Revisar a literatura sobre a prática de exercícios físicos em pacientes com transtornos alimentares, discutindo definições, critérios diagnósticos e propostas terapêuticas. MÉTODOS: Levantamento bibliográfico foi realizado por meio de MedLine, LiLacs e Cochrane Library, com os termos "transtornos alimentares", "anorexia", "bulimia", "exercício físico excessivo", "atividade física", "exercício obrigatório", "exercício compulsivo" e "exercício excessivo". RESULTADOS: Dos 80 artigos encontrados, foram selecionados 12 que incluíam a investigação de um padrão de atividade física considerado excessivo em indivíduos acima dos 18 anos e uso de algum instrumento de avaliação para essa finalidade. A prática de exercícios físicos em pacientes com transtornos do comportamento alimentar é revisada. CONCLUSÃO: Não há consenso sobre critérios diagnósticos e instrumentos para considerar o exercício físico como inadequado ou excessivo e seu uso como recurso para perder peso. Por outro lado, a prática de exercícios físicos durante o tratamento de pacientes com transtornos alimentares pode ser benéfica desde que orientada e supervisionada.BACKGROUND: Several studies discuss the relationship between excessive physical exercises and eating disorder patient as a strategy to lose weight. OBJECTIVE: Review the literature concerning physical exercises in eating disorder patients including definitions, diagnostic criteria and therapeutic proposals. METHODS: A literature review was done through MedLine, LILACS and Cochrane databases using the terms "eating disorders", "anorexia nervosa", "bulimia nervosa", "physical activity", "obligatory exercise", "compulsive exercise" and "excessive exercise". RESULTS: 12 articles in a sampling of 80 were selected. These articles include the investigation of a physical pattern that was considered excessive in adults over 18 and the use of evaluation instruments. The practice of physical exercises in patients with disturbed eating behaviors is revised. DISCUSSION: There is no consensus in literature about diagnostic criteria and instruments to consider the physical exercise as inadequate or excessive and its use as a way to lose weight. On the other hand the practice of physical exercises along the treatment of eating disorder patients could be beneficial if oriented and supervised

Corporate governance : value creation and performance in credit unions

In this study, we examine the relationship between good corporate governance practices and the creation of value/performance of credit unions from 2010 to 2012. The objective was to create and validate a corporate governance index for credit unions, and to then analyse the relationship between good governance practices and the creation of value/performance. The problem question is: do good corporate governance practices provide value creation for credit unions? The research started by creating indices from factor analysis to identify latent dependent variables related to value creation and performance; next indices were created from the principal component analysis for the creation of independent latent variables related to corporate governance. Finally, based on panel data from regression models, the influence of the variables and indices related to corporate governance on the indices of value creation and performance was verified. Based on the research, it became evident that the Corporate Governance Index (IGC) is mainly impacted by Executive Management, with 40.31% of the IGC value, followed by the Representation and Participation dimension, with 34.07% of the IGC value. The contribution for academics was the creation of the Corporate Governance Index (IGC) applied for credit unions. As for the contribution to the system of credit unions, the highlight was the effectiveness of the mechanisms for economic-financial and asset management adopted by BACEN, credit unions and OCEMG.Nesta pesquisa, procurou-se analisar a relação entre as boas práticas de governança corporativa e a relação com a criação de valor/desempenho, das cooperativas de crédito ao longo do período de 2010 e 2012. O objetivo da pesquisa foi criar e validar um índice de governança corporativa para as cooperativas de crédito para então analisar a relação entre boas práticas de governança e a criação de valor/desempenho, tendo como questão problema: as boas práticas de governança corporativa proporcionam criação de valor para as cooperativas de crédito? Assim, iniciou-se a pesquisa por meio da criação de índices a partir da análise fatorial para a identificação de variáveis latentes dependentes relacionadas à criação de valor e desempenho; em seguida, a criação de índices a partir da análise de componentes principais para a criação de variáveis latentes independentes relacionadas à governança corporativa. Finalmente, verificou-se, a partir de modelos de regressão com dados em painel, a influência das variáveis e índices relacionados à governança corporativa com os índices de criação de valor e desempenho. Com base na pesquisa, ficou evidenciado que o Índice de Governança Corporativa (IGC) é impactado principalmente pela Gestão Executiva, representando 40,31% da importância do IGC, seguido da dimensão Representação e Participação com 34,07% da importância do IGC. A contribuição do trabalho para a academia foi a criação de Índice de Governança Corporativa (IGC) aplicável às cooperativas de crédito. Quanto à contribuição para o sistema de cooperativas de crédito, assinala-se a constatação de efetividade dos mecanismos de gestão econômico-financeira e patrimonial adotados pelo BACEN, Centrais de Cooperativas de Crédito e a OCEMG

An Atlas of the circumnuclear regions of 75 Seyfert galaxies in the near-UV with HST Advanced Camera for Surveys

We present an atlas of the central regions of 75 Seyfert galaxies imaged in the near-UV with the Advanced Camera for Surveys of the Hubble Space Telescope at an average resolution of ~10pc. These data complement archival high resolution data from the Space Telescope at optical and near-IR wavelengths, creating an extremely valuable dataset for astronomers with a broad range of scientific interests. Our goal is to investigate the nature of the near-UV light in these objects, its relation to the circumnuclear starburst phenomenon, and the connection of this to the evolution and growth of the galaxy bulge and central black hole. In this paper, we describe the near-UV morphology of the objects and characterize the near-UV emission. We estimate the size and the luminosity of the emitting regions and extract the luminosity profile. We also determine the presence of unresolved compact nuclei. In addition, the circumnuclear stellar cluster population is identified, and the contribution of the stellar clusters to the total light, at this wavelength, is estimated. The size of the sample allows us to draw robust statistical conclusions. We find that {Seyfert 1} galaxies are completely dominated by its bright and compact nucleus, that remains point-like at this resolution, while we find almost no unresolved nucleus in Seyfert 2. The Seyfert types 1 and 2 are quite segregated in an asymmetry vs compactness plot. Stellar clusters are found somewhat more frequently in Sy2 (in ~70% of the galaxies) than in Sy1 (~57%), and contribute more to the total light in Sy2, but this two differences seem to be mostly due to the large contribution of the compact nucleus in Sy1, as the luminosity distribution of the clusters is similar in both Sy types.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ, 58 pages, 20 figures. High-resolution figures for all the objects are available at http://www.iaa.es/~manuel/publications/paper01.htm

Feeding practices and physical inactivity contributions to childhood overweight

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature in order to show how current feeding and physical activity practices may contribute to childhood overweight. DATA SOURCE: Ovid Journals, Highwire and SciELO, selecting original and review articles from 1997 to 2007, published in English and Portuguese. DATA SYNTHESIS: The periodic assessment of children nutritional status is important to diagnose their current health status and to predict their adult life prognosis. In Brazil, the prevalence of childhood obesity is progressively increasing in all social classes and its frequency varies from five to 18%, according to the region assessed. The association between the health, demographic and behavioral transition and the change in feeding practices can explain the increasing prevalence of childhood overweight. The current food consumption with high fat, sugar and sodium intake and low intake of whole cereals, fruits and vegetables associated to physical inactivity due to the excessive use of computers, electronic games and television may play a role in childhood obesity. This life style can be explained by changing family habits and school environment. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest considerable influence of environmental factors, mainly nutritional habits and physical inactivity, on the increasing prevalence of childhood overweight.OBJETIVO: Revisar estudos que abordam as práticas alimentares atuais e o padrão de atividade física como contribuintes do excesso de peso na infância. FONTES DE DADOS: Ovid Journals, Highwire e SciELO, com seleção de artigos originais e de revisão nos últimos dez anos (1997 a 2007), na língua portuguesa e inglesa. SÍNTESE DE DADOS: O acompanhamento do estado nutricional de crianças permite diagnosticar seu estado de saúde atual, bem como predizer parcialmente seu prognóstico na vida adulta. A prevalência de obesidade infantil, no Brasil, apresenta aumento progressivo em todas as classes sociais e sua freqüência varia entre cinco a 18%, dependendo da região estudada. A associação da transição epidemiológica, demográfica e comportamental e a alteração do hábito alimentar são apontadas como fatores causais do aumento progressivo da obesidade infantil. Práticas alimentares caracterizadas por elevado teor de lipídios, sacarose e sódio e por reduzido consumo de cereais integrais, frutas e hortaliças associadas à inatividade física decorrente do uso de computadores, jogos eletrônicos e televisores influenciam parte considerável de crianças. Este estilo de vida reflete os hábitos familiares e pode ser influenciado pelo ambiente escolar no qual a criança está inserida. CONCLUSÕES: Os dados sugerem influência considerável dos fatores ambientais, principalmente hábitos alimentares e inatividade física, no crescente aumento da prevalência de excesso de peso na população pediátrica.Universidade Estadual Paulista Faculdade de Medicina de BotucatuUniversidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroUnesp FMB Departamento de PediatriaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de FisiologiaUnesp FMBUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de FisiologiaSciEL