Understanding the dynamic of rice farming systems in southern Mozambique to improve production and benefits to smallholders

Rice farming systems (RFSs) in southern Mozambique are very heterogeneous and diversified, which has implications for smallholders’ adoption of each RFS, as well as on rice production and productivity in the region. In this regard, it is important to understand: (i) which RFS typologies can be leveraged to improve rice production and productivity; (ii) the drivers for smallholder farmers’ decisions to adopt an RFS; and (iii) which policies/incentives could enhance existing RFSs. The present study was based on surveys of 341 smallholder rice farmers in the Chókwè Irrigation Scheme (CIS), southern Mozambique. Data on the productivity of rice, size of the herd, and total other crop types were used to frame the RFS typologies. A multinomial logit model (MLM) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were applied to determine the driver for each RFS, and predict the constraints for production and yield. Based on cluster analysis, four typologies of RFSs were identified: the subsistence farming system (FS), specialised rice FS, mixed crops FS, and rice–livestock FS. Farms with longer experience reported applying more fertiliser and seedlings per unit hectare. The availability of labour increased the likelihood of adopting the mixed crops FS and rice–livestock FS. Older households were more likely to adopt the subsistence FS, and live closer to the farming fields. Yield of rice was positively associated with inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and seedlings, as well as years of experience of the household. Our results suggest that smallholder farmers need more assistance and technical support to identify and adopt more productive and less costly RFSs in this regioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Types of Motivation to Participate in the Physical Education Classes in the Stage of Compulsory Secondary Education (C.S.E.)

La inactividad física de la población es uno de los principales problemas del siglo XXI. Por el contrario, la Actividad Física y la motivación hacia ella se plantea como uno de los factores clave para fomentar estilos de vida saludables entre el alumnado. El presente estudio realiza una investigación sobre los tipos de motivación que tiene el alumnado para participar en las clases de Educación Física. Se parte de la hipótesis que afirma que los alumnos de secundaria, tienen en mayor medida una motivación intrínseca que extrínseca a la hora de participar en dichas clases. El objetivo es analizar el porcentaje de participación en ellas por motivos intrínsecos y extrínsecos (regulación identificada, introyectada y externa) o si tienen desmotivación. El método consiste en analizar la opinión de una muestra de 99 alumnos de un centro de Vizcaya (España), aplicando el Cuestionario de Motivación en las Clases de Educación Física (CMEF) de García-Calvo et al. (2012), que se basa en la Teoría de la Autodeterminación (TAD). Los principales resultados son que la motivación intrínseca supera a la extrínseca ligeramente, siendo el porcentaje de desmotivación el más bajo.Physical inactivity is one of the main problems among the population in the twenty-first century. One of the key factors to promote a healthy lifestyle among students, such as physical activity, is motivational regulation. This study is an investigation about the types of motivation that students have in order to participate in physical education classes. The aim of this study is to analyze the percentage of students who participate in classes by intrinsic motivation, extrinsic (identified regulation, introjected and external) or if they are demotivated, to subsequently verify the proposed hypothesis: Secondary school students participate more in physical education classes because of intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation. The analysis of the study focuses on a sample of 99 students from a state- assisted school in Vizcaya (Spain). The results were collected using the Motivation in Physical Education Classes Questionnaire (CMEF) (García-Calvo et al., 2012), which focused its scope on the theory of self-determination (TAD). We observe that the main results are that the intrinsic motivation slightly outperforms the extrinsic, discouragement being the lowest percentag

Análisis del discurso educativo centrado en emociones

Presento a continuación el trabajo realizado sobre las emociones expresadas, como descripciones y valoraciones de la experiencia educativa de la escuela taller del parque Miraflores de Sevilla (2011/2013). Contando con diferentes entrevistas realizadas al alumnado trabajador (doce) para la reconstrucción de la experiencia educativa, llamaba la atención la entrevista de Alba por su carga emocional en todo el desarrollo, por ello decido escogerla para aplicarle una nueva perspectiva de análisis que aflore y tome en consideración sus emociones y afectos. Aunque de forma resumida, queda plasmado en la comunicación la valoración de aspectos claves para el aprendizaje, como son el ambiente de aprendizaje o el papel del docente. Todo ello introducido por los testimonios de la entrevistada que han sido seleccionados para esta presentación

A poética de contestação social do slam e do rap na literatura brasileira contemporânea

This article proposes reflections on the effects of hegemonic discourses in historiography and literary criticism that impact peripheral arts, relating their reception to literary and decolonial studies. What we observe is an overvaluation of classical and canonical arts, juxtaposed with an undervaluation of peripheral arts. Thus, the depreciation of arts such as slam and rap is associated with a prejudiced imaginary constructed socially and historically in the perception of poetry closed in on itself, without ethical connection to its production context. In this sense, the objective is to shed light on this cultural bias that permeates artistic conceptions, so that we consider rap and slam from a decolonial perspective. For this reason, we promote reflections based on the assertions of Abreu (2006), Candido (2006), Fish; Hoys-Andrade (2001), Lajolo (1993), Palermo (2018), and Shusterman (1998) and Zumthor (1997) according to whom the paths involved in the reception of artistic text will be exclusively expressive communication (and therefore art) if those who consume it also understand it. Therefore, the final purpose of this work is to provide enhanced contributions to the idea that both slam and rap are arts that can reach their audience regarding the fabulation process. To do this, the method through which we weave our reflections revisits some works belonging to the periphery, such as the slams compiled by Mel Duarte (2019), as well as the song "Capítulo 4, versículo 3" by the group Racionais Mc’s (2023), seeking to analyze them in light of the arguments put forth by the mentioned authors.Este artigo propõe reflexões acerca dos efeitos dos discursos hegemônicos da historiografia e crítica literária que incidem sobre as artes periféricas, relacionando sua recepção aos estudos literários e decoloniais. O que percebemos é uma supervalorização das artes clássicas e canônicas e, em contrapartida, uma subvalorização das artes periféricas. Assim, a depreciação de artes, como o slam e o rap associa-se a um imaginário preconceituoso erigido social e historicamente na percepção do poético fechado em si mesmo, sem relação ética com seu contexto de produção. Nesse sentido, o objetivo consiste em lançar luz a esse viés cultural que atravessa as concepções artísticas, para que contemplemos o slam e o rap sob uma ótica decolonial. Por essa razão que promovemos reflexões com base nas asseverações de Abreu (2006), Candido (2006), Fish; Hoys-Andrade (2001), Lajolo (1993), Palermo (2018), Shusterman (1998) e Zumthor (1997), segundo os quais os percursos envolvidos na recepção do texto artístico será, exclusivamente, comunicação expressiva (e, portanto, arte) se quem a consome também a compreende. Assim sendo, expectamos como propósito final deste trabalho contribuições potencializadas à ideia de que tanto o slam quanto o rap são artes que conseguem atingir seu público, no que diz respeito ao processo de fabulação. Para isso, o método por meio do qual tecemos nossas reflexões revisita algumas obras pertencentes ao universo da periferia, como os slams compilados por Mel Duarte (2019), bem como a música Capítulo 4, versículo 3 do grupo Racionais Mc’s (2023), procurando analisá-las à luz do que advogam os autores mencionados

Somewhere between the type and the norm: reflections on the behavior of the graphic designer in the academic environment

Este estudo exploratório busca compreender como os designers gráficos, especialistas em mediar informações pelo aspecto simbólico da tipografia, comportam-se diante dos mecanismos ordenadores do texto científico. Parte-se do pressuposto de que as convenções normativas, ao estabelecerem uma estética padronizada, restringem o potencial significante dos tipos a modelos preconcebidos. Diante disso, deseja-se saber como os designers que atuam no ensino superior lidam com essa questão, se eles resistem ao serviço de normalização e que soluções podem ser apresentadas a fim de melhorar ou alterar os padrões atuais. Em campo, optou-se por trabalhar com o grupo “Professores de Tipografia” do Facebook™, pois reúne designers docentes de diferentes instituições brasileiras, além de algumas internacionais. Foi disponibilizado para eles um questionário digital criado pelo Google Forms™, cujo conteúdo das respostas foi analisado com base no conceito de regime de informação de Frohmann (1995) e de González de Gómez (2012). Pelo retorno obtido, percebe-se que as ações e as opiniões dos depoentes apresentam marcas do regime ordenador científico, configurando-lhes um comportamento acadêmico condicionado pela norma, a despeito de suas habilidades como comunicadores visuais. Conclui-se que, apreendidos por esse sistema, os depoentes não somente seguem as prescrições normativas, mas as reforçam, ampliando o poder regulatório consolidado no rigor estrutural do texto, na escrita objetivada e na funcionalidade operacional dos meios que armazenam e recuperam a informação.This exploratory research seeks to understand how graphic designers, specialists in mediating information by the symbolic aspect of typography, behave dealing with the ordaining mechanisms of the scientific text. The assumption is that normative conventions, in establishing a standardized aesthetic, restrain the significant potential of types towards preconceived models. In view of this, we want to know how designers working at the academic environment deal with this issue, whether they resist the standardization service and what solutions can be presented in order to improve or change current standards. In the field, we chose to work with the Facebook™ group so called “Professores de Tipografia” (Typography Teachers), as it gathers teaching designers from different Brazilian institutions, as well as some international ones. They were provided a digital questionnaire created by Google Forms™, whose content of the answers was analyzed based on the concept of information regime by Frohmann (1995) and González de Gómez (2012). By the data obtained from the questionnaire, it is perceived that the actions and the opinions of the deponents present marks of the scientific ordaining regime, configuring to them an academic behavior conditioned by the norm, in spite of their abilities as visual communicators. It is concluded that chained to this system, the deponents not only follow the normative prescriptions, but reinforce them, expanding the consolidated regulatory power in the structural rigidity of the text, and also in the objective writing and the operational functionality of the means that retain and retrieve the information

iNGS: a prototype tool for genome interpretation and annotation

Currently, clinical interpretation of whole-genome NGS genetic findings are very low-throughput because of a lack of computational tools/software. The current bottleneck of whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing projects is in structured data management and sophisticated computational analysis of experimental data. In this work, we have started designing a platform for integrating, in a first step, existing analysis tools and adding annotations from public databases to the findings of these tools. This platform can be used to produce tools for different kind of users. As a first experiment with this platform, we have developed a Web tools for running multiple analysis tasks, completing the findings with public data and producing a simple report similar to blood test reports.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. The Project Grant (TIN2011-25840) (Spanish Ministry of Education and Science) and P11-TIC-7529 (Innovation, Science and Enterprise Ministry of the regional government of the Junta de Andalucía)

Gestión de prevención de riesgos psicosociales en el personal que labora en el cuerpo de bomberos del cantón Guano, Provincia de Chimborazo

La investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar como la Gestión de prevención de riesgos psicosociales influye en el desempeño laboral del personal que labora en el Cuerpo de Bomberos del cantón Guano provincia de Chimborazo aplicando el programa de prevención. Por lo que, el diseño de la investigación fue pre experimental, de tipo aplicativa y se utilizó el método deductivo acorde a sus pasos. La población de estudio corresponde al personal administrativo y operativo del Cuerpo de Bomberos del cantón Guano formando un total de 23 personas. La identificación de la línea base mediante el instrumento de evaluación de riesgos psicosociales FPSICO, demostró que los factores de riesgo estaban muy elevados, por lo que, se estableció el programa de prevención de riesgos psicosociales verificando la disminución de los factores de riesgo y el incremento de los estándares de desempeño. El programa de prevención de riesgos psicosociales incluyó estrategias como manejo de emociones, participación del personal en distribución de tareas, distribución adecuada de personal, definición de actividades, funciones y actividades de recreación y manejo de conflictos.  La comprobación de hipótesis se realizó usando la prueba Chi Cuadrado con los datos obtenidos antes y después de la implementación del programa. Con ello se obtuvo que la gestión de prevención de riesgos psicosociales mejora el desempeño laboral del personal operativo y administrativo del Cuerpo de Bomberos del cantón Guano; y se recomienda continuar desarrollando las actividades planteadas en el programa para asegurar que se tiene una gestión continua de los riesgos manteniendo así el buen desempeño de los trabajadores

GDNF gene is associated with tourette syndrome in a family study

Huertas-Fernández, Ismael et al.[Background] Tourette syndrome is a disorder characterized by persistent motor and vocal tics, and frequently accompanied by the comorbidities attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Impaired synaptic neurotransmission has been implicated in its pathogenesis. Our aim was to investigate the association of 28 candidate genes, including genes related to synaptic neurotransmission and neurotrophic factors, with Tourette syndrome.[Methods] We genotyped 506 polymorphisms in a discovery cohort from the United States composed of 112 families and 47 unrelated singletons with Tourette syndrome (201 cases and 253 controls). Genes containing significant polymorphisms were imputed to fine-map the signal(s) to potential causal variants. Allelic analyses in Tourette syndrome cases were performed to check the role in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder comorbidities. Target polymorphisms were further studied in a replication cohort from southern Spain composed of 37 families and three unrelated singletons (44 cases and 73 controls).[Results] The polymorphism rs3096140 in glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor gene (GDNF) was significant in the discovery cohort after correction (P = 1.5 × 10−4). No linkage disequilibrium was found between rs3096140 and other functional variants in the gene. We selected rs3096140 as target polymorphism, and the association was confirmed in the replication cohort (P = 0.01). No association with any comorbidity was found.[Conclusions] As a conclusion, a common genetic variant in GDNF is associated with Tourette syndrome. A defect in the production of GDNF could compromise the survival of parvalbumin interneurons, thus altering the excitatory/inhibitory balance in the corticostriatal circuitry. Validation of this variant in other family cohorts is necessary. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder SocietyThis study was supported by New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders (NJCTS), the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH092293), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI10/01674, PI13/01461, PI14/01823), the Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía (CVI-02526, CTS-7685), the Consejería de Salud y Bienestar Social de la Junta de Andalucía (PI-0741/2010, PI-0437-2012, PI-0471-2013), the Sociedad Andaluza de Neurología, the Fundación Alicia Koplowitz, the Fundación Mutua Madrileña and the Jaques and Gloria Gossweiler Foundation. Ismael Huertas Fernández was supported by the “PFIS” program, Pilar Gómez Garre was supported by the “Miguel Servet” program, and Juan Francisco Martín Rodríguez was supported by the “Sara Borrell” program, all 3 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Peer Reviewe

Impacts of heat stress conditions on mortality from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in Brazil

This study assesses the risk of exposure to heat stress conditions and their potential impact on mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in Brazilian capital cities for warming levels of 1.5 °C, 2.0 °C and 4.0 °C in the RCP8.5 scenario. The risk of exposure and the impact of heat stress conditions on mortality were measured by the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index. The impact on health was estimated by applying exposure-response curves between WBGT and health outcomes in the projections. The potential impact on mortality was measured by attributable fraction of mortality due to heat stress. The results showed an increase in heat stress conditions for Brazil, especially in the Northern and Center-Western regions. The estimated curves showed an association between the WBGT and mortality by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in Brazil, with an upward impact trend, according to the levels of warming and heterogeneous results among the capitals. Â

Microcephaly in Pernambuco State, Brazil: epidemiological characteristics and evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of cutoff points for reporting suspected cases.

The increase in the number of reported cases of microcephaly in Pernambuco State, and Northeast Brazil, characterized an epidemic that led the Brazilian Ministry of Health to declare a national public health emergency. The Brazilian Ministry of Health initially defined suspected cases as newborns with gestational age (GA) ≥ 37 weeks and head circumference (HC) ≤ 33cm, but in December 2015 this cutoff was lowered to 32cm. The current study aimed to estimate the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of different cutoff points for HC, using ROC curves, with the Fenton and Intergrowth (2014) curves as the gold standard. The study described cases reported in Pernambuco from August 8 to November 28, 2015, according to sex and GA categories. The Fenton and Intergrowth methods provide HC growth curves according to GA and sex, and microcephaly is defined as a newborn with HC below the 3rd percentile in these distributions. Of the 684 reported cases, 599 were term or post-term neonates. For these, the analyses with ROC curves show that according to the Fenton criterion the cutoff point with the largest area under the ROC curve, with sensitivity greater than specificity, is 32cm for both sexes. Using the Intergrowth method and following the same criteria, the cutoff points are 32cm and 31.5cm for males and females, respectively. The cutoff point identified by the Fenton method (32cm) coincided with the Brazilian Ministry of Health recommendation. Adopting Intergrowth as the standard, the choice would be 32cm for males and 31.5cm for females. The study identified the need to conduct critical and on-going analyses to evaluate cutoff points, including other characteristics for microcephaly case definition