School dropout, problem behaviour and poor academic achievement : a longitudinal view of portuguese male offenders

This study examines school drop outs from the perspective of male adults themselves through interviews with offenders currently serving sentences. Participants were 10 Portuguese male inmates, between the ages of 19 and 46 years of age, incarcerated in two prison facilities of the Azores. Qualitative and interpretative methods were carried out using a semi-structured in-depth individual interview that was audiorecorded and conducted on the basis of a list of topics. Interview transcripts and thematic analysis were used in data treatment and analysis. The findings primarily indicate that poor academic achievement and emotional and behavioural difficulties of participants played a particular role in early school drop out. The trajectories these individuals followed within the education system presented problem behaviour, learning disabilities, and/or foster care interventions. While school drop out circumstances were apparently various, analysis showed that they were underpinned by three distinct sets of conditions generally not addressed by the education system. The analysis of the triggering factors and the maintenance dynamics of school drop outs indicated three distinct types: retention/absenteeism, life turning points and positive resolution. Implications for secondary prevention and screening practices are discussed.FCT (SFRH/ BD/ 44245/ 2008)CIEC - unidade de investigação 317 da FC

Old stones' song: Use-wear experiments and analysis of the Oldowan quartz and quartzite assemblage from Kanjera South (Kenya)

Evidence of Oldowan tools by w2.6 million years ago (Ma) may signal a major adaptive shift in hominin evolution. While tool-dependent butchery of large mammals was important by at least 2.0 Ma, the use of artifacts for tasks other than faunal processing has been difficult to diagnose. Here we report on use-wear analysis ofw2.0 Ma quartz and quartzite artifacts from Kanjera South, Kenya. A use-wear framework that links processing of specific materials and tool motions to their resultant use-wear patterns was developed. A blind test was then carried out to assess and improve the efficacy of this experimental use-wear framework, which was then applied to the analysis of 62 Oldowan artifacts from Kanjera South. Usewear on a total of 23 artifact edges was attributed to the processing of specific materials. Use-wear on seven edges (30%) was attributed to animal tissue processing,corroborating zooarchaeological evidence for butchery at the site. Use-wear on 16 edges (70%)was attributed to the processing of plant tissues, including wood, grit-covered plant tissues that we interpret asunderground storage organs (USOs), and stems of grass or sedges. These results expand our knowledge of the suite of behaviours carried out in the vicinity of Kanjera South to include the processing of materials that would be ‘invisible’ using standard archaeological methods. Wood cutting and scraping may represent the production and/or maintenance of wooden tools. Use-wear related to USO processing extends the archaeological evidence for hominin acquisition and consumption of this resource by over 1.5 Ma. Cutting of grasses, sedges or reeds may be related to a subsistence task (e.g., grass seed harvesting, cutting out papyrus culm for consumption) and/or a non-subsistence related task (e.g., production of ‘twine,’ simple carrying devices, or bedding). These results highlight the adaptive significance of lithic technology for hominins at Kanjera

New insights into the neolithisation process in southwest Europe according to spatial density analysis from calibrated radiocarbon dates

The agricultural way of life spreads throughout Europe via two main routes: the Danube corridor and the Mediterranean basin. Current archaeological literature describes the arrival to the Western Mediterranean as a rapid process which involves both demic and cultural models, and in this regard, the dispersal movement has been investigated using mathematical models, where the key factors are time and space. In this work, we have created a compilation of all available radiocarbon dates for the whole of Iberia, in order to draw a chronological series of maps to illustrate temporal and spatial patterns in the neolithisation process. The maps were prepared by calculating the calibrated 14C date probability density curves, as a proxy to show the spatial dynamics of the last hunter-gatherers and first farmers. Several scholars have pointed out problems linked with the variability of samples, such as the overrepresentation of some sites, the degree of regional research, the nature of the dated samples and above all the archaeological context, but we are confident that the selected dates, after applying some filters and statistical protocols, constitute a good way to approach settlement spatial patterns in Iberia at the time of the neolithisation process

Targeting the cause, not just the symptoms: A new treatment for chronic low back pain – results of the ReActiv8-A trial [Conference Abstract]

Introduction: For many people with chronic low back pain (CLBP), the root cause of the persistence of pain is disruption in control of the key muscles that stabilize the lumbar spine, particularly the lumbar multifidus. A feasibility study demonstrated that stimulation of the L2 medial branch to elicit episodic repetitive smooth contractions of the lumbar multifidi facilitated recovery from CLBP. Purpose: ReActiv8-A is a prospective single arm clinical trial designed to evaluate a new implantable neurostimulation stimulation system (ReActiv8® by Mainstay Medical). Materials and methods: Ten centers in Australia and Europe enrolled 92 subjects, of whom 47 proceeded to ReActiv8 implant and 46 reached the 90 day follow up. Key inclusion criteria included disabling CLBP (low back pain NRS ≥ 6) despite a minimum of 90 days of medical management including at least physical therapy and drugs, no prior spine surgery, and no indications for spine surgery or spinal cord stimulation. After the treatment activation visit, subjects were asked to administer two 30-min stimulation sessions per day for a minimum of 90 days. At baseline, average duration of CLBP was 13.8 ± 10.3 years; average age was 43.9 ± 10.7 years. The majority of subjects (70%) were regularly taking opioids at baseline, and many were taking NSAIDS. The population had attempted all or most available treatments for their CLBP. Results: At the 90 day follow up, 63% of subjects reported a ≥2 point improvement on single day NRS for average low back pain with a mean improvement of 2.3 ± 0.3 (33%) compared to baseline of 6.7 ± 0.2 (n = 46; p < 0.0001), and at 180 days it was 58% with a mean improvement of 2.1 ± 0.4 (30%) (n = 45, p < 0.0001). The proportion of subjects with a clinically important improvement in disability (≥10 point reduction in ODI) at 90 days was 57% with a mean improvement of 14.8 ± 2.3 (33%) compared to baseline of 46.4 ± 1.8 (n = 46, p < 0.0001), and at 180 days it was 60% with a mean improvement of 12.4 ± 2.4 (30%) compared to baseline of 45.2 ± 2.1 (n = 45, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: These results show that subjects with disabling CLBP implanted with ReActiv8, experienced a clinically important, statistically significant and lasting improvement in their low back pain, related disability and quality of life