From Liberal Acceptance to Intolerance: Discourses on Sexual Diversity in Schools by Portuguese Young People

Purpose: This article explores different strands of educational discourse about sexual diversity in Portuguese schools, from the students’ perspectives.Method: The methodological approach consisted in conducting focus groups discussions: 36 with 232 young students (H = 106, M = 126) in 12 public secondary schools.Findings: Students reveal a polyphony of discourses that gravitate between liberal acceptance, conditional acceptance and intolerance.Research implications: Attention is drawn not only to discriminatory processes that question school as a democratic place for LGBT youth, but also to the gap between what is legally decreed and a lack of know-how in the approach to sexual diversity in school

Maintenance management based on organization maturity level

This article aims to discuss the management processes of the maintenance function of a company depending on the degree of maturity of the organization in connection with the maintenance, redefining training strategies, collection and analysis of failures, study and action plan to improve operational performance according to the organization's strategies. The maintenance management makes use of some tools and techniques to improve efficiency and minimize their impacts, such as the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Analysis of the Failure Mode and Effects (FMEA). The identification of the degree of maturity on the maintenance, leads us to a better planning of actions needed to adapt management strategies proposed thus appropriate computerized tools, performance indicators, technical analysis and management methodologies most appropriate, providing a horizon of improvements necessary for the successful evolution of the process and the resulting progress in the maintenance maturity level function for the company. Understanding the aspects which define the degree of maturity of an organization may not be an easy task. We intend, therefore, support the argument that the degree of maturity management processes associated with maintaining the function of a company is closely related to the degree of preparation and knowledge of tools and control systems that an organization has. Aspects related to maturity levels have been fairly dealt with in various segments of the knowledge and practice of characterizing its findings have contributed to the achievement of better results in organizations in general.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Vibriosis outbreaks in aquaculture: addressing environmental and public health concerns and preventive therapies using gilthead seabream farming as a model system

Bacterial and viral diseases in aquaculture result in severe production and economic losses. Among pathogenic bacteria, species belonging to the Vibrio genus are one of the most common and widespread disease-causing agents. Vibrio infections play a leading role in constraining the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector worldwide and, consequently, are the target of manifold disease prevention strategies. During the early, larval stages of development, Vibrio species are a common cause of high mortality rates in reared fish and shellfish, circumstances under which the host organisms might be highly susceptible to disease preventive or treatment strategies such as vaccines and antibiotics use, respectively. Regardless of host developmental stage, Vibrio infections may occur suddenly and can lead to the loss of the entire population reared in a given aquaculture system. Furthermore, the frequency of Vibrio-associated diseases in humans is increasing globally and has been linked to anthropic activities, in particular human-driven climate change and intensive livestock production. In this context, here we cover the current knowledge of Vibrio infections in fish aquaculture, with a focus on the model species gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), a highly valuable reared fish in the mediterranean climatic zone. Molecular methods currently used for fast detection and identification of Vibrio pathogens and their antibiotic resistance profiles are addressed. Targeted therapeutic approaches are critically examined. They include vaccination, phage therapy and probiotics supplementation, which bear promise in supressing vibriosis in land-based fish rearing and in mitigating possible threats to human health and the environment. This literature review suggests that antibiotic resistance is increasing among Vibrio species, with the use of probiotics constituting a promising, sustainable approach to prevent Vibrio infections in aquaculture.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chemical characterization and antioxidant activities of oligomeric and polymeric procyanidin fractions from grape seeds

Two procyanidin fractions, namely oligomers and polymers isolated from grape seed methanolic extract were characterized. Phenolic composition and procyanidin purity of these fractions were determined by normal-phase and reverse-phase HPLC, thioacidolysis-HPLC, ESI-MS analyses, formaldehyde–HCl precipitation and elemental analysis. Antioxidant activities of these fractions and other wellknown antioxidants were measured using xanthine–xanthine oxidase system for generating superoxide radical ({O 2 }), the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical method and the Fenton system for generating hydroxyl radical (HO ). The results showed that both oligomeric and polymeric procyanidin fractions were highly pure, with the degree of polymerization ranging from 2 to 17–18 and 12 to 32–37, respectively. On the basis of molar concentration, polymeric procyanidins appeared the highest antioxidant activities, followed by oligomeric procyanidins, whereas catechins presented a lower antioxidant activity than its oligomers and polymers. These results indicate that the antioxidant activities of grape seed procyanidins are positively related to their degree of polymerization. Moreover, grape seed procyanidins presented higher antioxidant activities than other well-known antioxidants such as vitamin C, suggesting that grape seed procyanidins might be of interest to be used as alternative antioxidant

Time dependent clustering of time series

In this work we consider the problem of clustering time series. Contrary to other works on this topic, our main concern is to let the most important observations, for instance the most recent, have a larger weight on the analysis. This is done by defining similarities measures between two time series, based on Pearson's correlation coefficient, which uses the notion of weighted mean and weighted covariance, where the weights increase monotonically with the time. We use these measures, which are metrics between time series, as a similarity or dissimilarity index between the $n$ time series to be clustered. We apply a very well known partitional method, the K-means, with some adaptations to make it able to choose the number of clusters

Electronic wave functions and optical transitions in (In,Ga)As/GaP quantum dots

Robert, Cédric et al.We study the complex electronic band structure of low In content InGaAs/GaP quantum dots. A supercell extended-basis tight-binding model is used to simulate the electronic and the optical properties of a pure GaAs/GaP quantum dot modeled at the atomic level. Transitions between hole states confined into the dots and several XZ-like electronic states confined by the strain field in the GaP barrier are found to play the main role on the optical properties. Especially, the calculated radiative lifetime for such indirect transitions is in good agreement with the photoluminescence decay time measured in time-resolved photoluminescence in the µs range. Photoluminescence experiments under hydrostatic pressure are also presented. The redshift of the photoluminescence spectrum with pressure is also in good agreement with the nature of the electronic confined states simulated with the tight-binding model.A.R.G. and M.I.A. acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through Grant No. MAT2009-09480 (PIEZOHM) and Severo Ochoa Excellence Centre Award (No. SEV-2015-0496). M.O.N. acknowledges financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. This research is supported by “Region Bretagne” through the PONANT project including ´ FEDER funds. This paper is also supported by the OPTOSI Agence Nationale pour la Recherche Project No. 12-BS03- 002-02. This work has been performed using HPC resources of GENCI CINES, TGCC/CCRT, and IDRIS under the allocation No. 2013-[x2013096724].Peer reviewe

Be the one – stop bullying

Nuestra investigación se basó en una revisión de la literatura de 22 estudios científicos sobre el bullying, el tipo de víctima y agresor, sus causas y consecuencias, aquí se mostraron los daños de las víctimas, así como su repercusión global en el mundo. La intimidación se considera hoy en día un desafío global para la salud pública, las nuevas propuestas de intervención son esenciales para detener esta guerra silenciosa y silenciada por lo general, con consecuencias dramáticas como el desarrollo de patologías graves surgido por las experiencias traumáticas, y eventual conducta suicida. Con este fin tenemos la intención de ilustrar una posible vía para restaurar un medio ambiente seguro y saludable esencial para el desarrollo sano del niño, se dibuja una intervención terapéutica para hacer frente a esta violencia entre pares, concluyendo que es fundamental la prevención responsable y la alerta general la sociedad, el fortalecimiento de las víctimas primarias y secundarias, mediante la preparación de una acción Be the One - Stop Bullying , sabiendo que "la unión hace la fuerza", garantizado esto por el compromiso de toda la comunidad, traducido en la comunicación proactiva entre la escuela, la familia y las entidades gubernamentales competentes.Our investigation was based in a literature revision of 22 scientific studies of Bullying, enlightening aggressor’s and victim’s characteristics type, its causes and consequences here showed as victim’s damages as well as its global repercussion in the world. Being Bullying considered nowadays a global challenge to health public, new intervention proposals are essential to stop this usually silent and silenced war, with dramatic consequences as the development of severe pathologies emerged by traumatic experiences, and eventual suicidal. On this purpose we intend to illustrate a possible pathway to restore the safe and healthy environment essential to the child healthy development, drawing a therapeutic intervention to face this violence among pairs, concluding being crucial the responsible prevention and society general alert, focusing in aggressor’s inclusion in spite of exclusion, and primary as well secondary victim’s reinforcement, trough “Be the One- Stop Bullying” action, knowing that Strength is United Power warranted by community commitment, figured in proactive communication between school, family and governmental institutions.A nossa investigação assentou em 22 estudos científicos sobre Bullying, reflectindo sobre as características tipo de agressores e vítimas, as suas causas, bem como sobre as consequências também aqui desveladas, quer em termos dos danos individuais provocados às vítimas, quer em termos da sua repercussão à escala mundial. Sendo o Bullying actualmente considerado um desafio à saúde pública mundial, urgem novas propostas de intervenção para travar esta frequentemente silenciosa e silenciada guerra, com consequências dramáticas como o desenvolvimento de patologias severas despoletadas pela vivência traumática, culminando no suicídio. Nesse sentido, pretendemos ilustrar um possível caminho de preparação para a reestruturação do ambiente seguro e saudável e essencial ao bom desenvolvimento da criança, desenhando uma abordagem terapêutica para fazer face a esta forma de violência entre pares, para a qual concluímos ser crucial a responsável prevenção e alerta geral da sociedade, com enfoque na inclusão em detrimento da exclusão dos agressores e do fortalecimento das vítimas primárias e secundárias, através da preparação para a acção do Be the One - Stop Bullying, sabendo que a “união faz a força”, garantida esta, pelo empenho de toda a comunidade, traduzido na profícua comunicação entre escola, família e entidades governamentais competentes.peerReviewe

An integrated approach to assess the sublethal effects of colloidal gold nanorods in tadpoles of Xenopus laevis

Gold nanorods (AuNR) have been explored for many applications, including innovative nanomedicines, which also might contribute to its increase in the environment, namely due to inadequate disposable of wastes into aquatic environments. Early-life stages of amphibians are usually aquatic and sensitive to chemical contamination. Accordingly, this study aimed to determine the sublethal effects of CTAB functionalized AuNR on Xenopus laevis tadpoles. As such, tadpoles were exposed to serial concentrations of AuNR for 72 h. A reduction in the rate of feeding (EC50 = 4 μg.L-1), snout to vent growth (EC50 = 5 μg.L-1) and weight gain (EC50 = 6 μg.L-1), was observed for AuNR-exposed tadpoles. Also, tadpoles actively avoided concentrations ≥ 4 μg.L-1 of AuNR, after 12 h of exposure. At the biochemical level, AuNR caused impairments in antioxidant and nervous system related enzymes. Exposure to CTAB alone caused a high mortality. Results indicated that CTAB functionalized AuNR may induce several sublethal effects that may compromise the organism's fitness. Avoidance behavior (which corresponds to the disappearance of organisms, thus, similar to their death), observed at concentrations matching those inducing sublethal effects, suggest that it should be considered in the risk assessment for amphibians.publishe

Spillover effects of a community-managed marine reserve

The value of no-take marine reserves as fisheries-management tools is controversial, particularly in high-poverty areas where human populations depend heavily on fish as a source of protein. Spillover, the net export of adult fish, is one mechanism by which no-take marine reserves may have a positive influence on adjacent fisheries. Spillover can contribute to poverty alleviation, although its effect is modulated by the number of fishermen and fishing intensity. In this study, we quantify the effects of a community-managed marine reserve in a high poverty area of Northern Mozambique. For this purpose, underwater visual censuses of reef fish were undertaken at three different times: 3 years before (2003), at the time of establishment (2006) and 6 years after the marine reserve establishment (2012). The survey locations were chosen inside, outside and on the border of the marine reserve. Benthic cover composition was quantified at the same sites in 2006 and 2012. After the reserve establishment, fish sizes were also estimated. Regression tree models show that the distance from the border and the time after reserve establishment were the variables with the strongest effect on fish abundance. The extent and direction of the spillover depends on trophic group and fish size. Poisson Generalized Linear Models show that, prior to the reserve establishment, the survey sites did not differ but, after 6 years, the abundance of all fish inside the reserve has increased and caused spillover of herbivorous fish. Spillover was detected 1km beyond the limit of the reserve for small herbivorous fishes. Six years after the establishment of a community-managed reserve, the fish assemblages have changed dramatically inside the reserve, and spillover is benefitting fish assemblages outside the reserve