Data from: Sex-specific fitness effects of unpredictable early life conditions are associated with DNA methylation in the avian glucocorticoid receptor

Organisms can adapt to variable environments by using environmental cues to modulate developmental gene expression. In principle, maternal influences can adaptively adjust offspring phenotype when early life and adult environments match, but they may be maladaptive when future environments are not predictable. One of the best-studied ‘maternal effects’ is through modification of the offspring's hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, the neuroendocrine system that controls responses to stress. In addition to the direct transfer of glucocorticoids from mother to offspring, offspring HPA function and other phenotypes can also be affected by epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor promoter. Here we examine how among-year variation in rainfall is related to DNA methylation during development and fitness in adulthood in the superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus), which lives in a climatically unpredictable environment where early life and adult environments are unlikely to match. We found that DNA methylation in the putative promoter of the glucocorticoid receptor gene is reduced in chicks – particularly in males – born following drier prebreeding periods. Additionally, DNA methylation is lower in males that become breeders than those that never breed. However, there is no relationship in females between DNA methylation and the likelihood of dispersing from the natal group to breed elsewhere. These results suggest that early life conditions may positively affect fitness in a sex-specific manner through chemical modification of an HPA-associated gene. This study is the first to show that epigenetic modifications during early life may influence the fitness of free-living organisms adapted to unpredictable environments

Raw Data: DNA methylation, behavior and rainfall

(1) Whole Region DNA Methyl: DNA methylation of the coding and regulatory region for 11 birds. (2) Regulatory region DNA Methyl: DNA methylation in the regulatory region for 96 birds, including behavior and rainfall data. (3) Recapture DNA Methyl: DNA methylation in a portion of the regulatory region for 12 birds recaptured after initial sampling

Gamification como catalisador motivacional dos trabalhadores : uma metodologia para aumentar a produtividade

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementO rápido desenvolvimento das tecnologias proporciona a alteração do modelo de negócio das empresas de qualquer dimensão e permite alcançar diversos benefícios, principalmente económicos. Torna-se cada vez mais difícil aproveitar este fator para retirar maior vantagem competitiva e garantir um bom nível de produtividade. As tecnologias permitem o controlo sobre a maior parte dos processos e tarefas de forma automatizada, mas os recursos humanos são muito mais complicados de gerir e manter níveis de produtividade desejados devido aos inúmeros fatores que influenciam o desempenho individual e de grupo. Apesar das tecnologias terem aberto este problema, estas podem também ser parte da solução. As Técnicas de Gamification ajudam a desenvolver soluções orientadas na ótica do jogo e trazem benefícios adicionais. Tendo em consideração a metodologia de Gamification, esta dissertação tem como o objetivo o estudo de um problema real e generalizado de falta de motivação por parte dos recursos humanos, independentemente da sua função dentro da organização, e a proposta de uma solução dentro desta metodologia que, efetivamente aumente a sua motivação e consequentemente melhore os níveis de produtividade