Impacto da capacidade cognitiva e das atribuições causais no rendimento escolar na matemática

A capacidade cognitiva e a motivação académica têm sido frequentemente assumidas como as variáveis do aluno mais determinantes da sua aprendizagem e rendimento escolar. Neste estudo, operacionalizando a capacidade cognitiva através de uma bateria de testes de raciocínio e a motivação através de uma escala de atribuições causais, analisa-se o impacto de ambas as variáveis psicológicas no rendimento dos alunos na disciplina de Matemática. A amostra é formada por todos os alunos do 6.° ano de escolaridade de uma escola privada, com contrato de associação, do distrito de Braga. Os resultados mostram que a capacidade cognitiva se apresenta como o melhor preditor do rendimento escolar, havendo ainda parte da variância do rendimento na matemática associada, em sentido negativo, à atribuição causal do sucesso à sorte. Este dado sugere que alunos que não atribuem o seu rendimento ao acaso apresentam, em geral, melhores classificações escolares.The cognitive ability and academic motivation have often been assumed as the most determinant variables of student learning and their school performance. ln this study, the operationalization of the cognitive ability through a battery of tests of reasoning and motivation through a scale of causal attributions, alIow us analyze the impact of both psychological variables in the student performance in mathematics. The sample consists of all students in the 6th grade at a private school, integrated in public system, in the district of Braga. The results showed that cognitive ability remains on the best predictor of academic performance, and part of students ' mathematics results variance is related negatively to causal attribution of success to luck. This last aspect shows that students who do not attribute their academic performance to random reasons have, in general, better academic results

Bateria "Aurora" : estudos exploratórios de adaptação e validação em Portugal

No quadro de alguma insatisfação com o tipo de provas usadas pelos psicólogos na avaliação da inteligência, em particular em contextos educativos, a Universidade Yale assume nesta última década um projecto internacional de validação da Bateria AURORA. Esta bateria de provas emerge da teoria triárquica de inteligência de Robert Sternberg, e pretende avaliar habilidades cognitivas nos domínios da inteligência analítica, criativa e prática. As tarefas propostas para cada uma destas inteligências recorrem a conteúdos verbais, numéricos e figurativos, procurando sempre situações bastante apelativas (motivantes) e associadas ao quotidiano das crianças/adolescentes (validade ecológica). A Bateria aparece, ainda, mencionada como um contributo futuro à identificação de alunos com características de sobredotação, ultrapassando as limitações apontadas habitualmente aos testes de QI. Nesta comunicação, a par da descrição das provas, descrevemos os estudos qualitativos e quantitativos iniciados junto de crianças e adolescentes portugueses, tendo em vista a adaptação e validação da Bateria

Presence of extra-pulmonary treatable traits in people with COPD increases the likelihood of responding to pulmonary rehabilitation

Introduction: Evidence suggests that people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have worse clinical status (e.g., higher symptom burden) at baseline respond better to pulmonary rehabilitation. Identification of treatable traits in this population might help to better distinguish responders from non-responders, which could aid optimisation of the intervention in the future. This study aimed to explore the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on extra-pulmonary traits of people with COPD and whether the presence of these treatable traits at baseline influences the type of response (responder or non-responder) to pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods: An observational retrospective study was conducted. A comprehensive extra-pulmonary treatable traits’ assessment including symptoms (dyspnoea, fatigue, anxiety, and depression), functional status, balance, impact of the disease and healthrelated quality of life, was conducted before and after a 12-week com-munity-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Pre-post differences between people with or without each TT were compared with independent samples t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. The proportion of responders between groups (with or without treatable traits) were explored with chi-square tests and odds ratio. Results: A total of 102 people with COPD (70 [65; 75] years old, 78% male, FEV1 47 [36; 60]% predicted) were included. People with COPD had a median [min-max] of 3 [0-7] treatable traits per person and each responded on average to 5 [0-9] outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation. People with identified treatable traits at baseline were more responsive than those without them in all outcomes (p < 0.05) except for the 1-minute sit-to-stand test. The presence of treatable traits increased the likelihood of being a good responder in all outcomes (OR: 1.72-19.95) except for the 1-minute sit-to-stand test (p = 0.175).Conclusions: Identification of extra-pulmonary treatable traits in people with COPD showed potential to inform on pulmonary rehabilitation responsiveness and might therefore be an important strategy for patient selection, treatment personalisation and optimisation.publishe

Agronomic and chemical characterization of soybean genotypes for human consumption.

Soybean (Glycine max (L) Merrill) presents a high level of good quality protein and lipids that consist mainly of unsaturated fatty acids. It also has considerable amounts of B complex vitamins and minerals such as iron, potassium and magnesium (Carrão-Panizzi, 1987). In addition to these good nutritional characteristics, soybean for human consumption should have a sweet, nut-like flavor, pale colored seeds (tegument, hilum and cotyledon) and suitable seed size for use as food (Destro, 1991; Vello, 1992). This research was carried out to describe the agronomic and chemical characteristics of food-type soybean genotypes for later use as cultivars or in crosses. Seventy-two soybean genotypes were used in the study, and the agronomic quantitative, qualitative and chemical traits of the grains were assessed, including mineral composition, oil, protein, carbohydrates and ash contents. The results showed that there was great genetic diversity among the genotypes studied for all the agronomic characteristics assessed. The F 82-5782 genotype was outstanding, presenting yield compatible with commercial exploitation as well as large seeds. The Mikawashima genotype presented the highest carbohydrate contents, while the Toffumame II genotype showed the greatest P contents and was also among the six genotypes that presented the greatest K, Ca, Mg, S, Zn, Mn and protein values. These genotypes can be used as cultivars or in breeding programs to solve specific problems of nutrient shortage due to genetic traits

Clusters of functional status in COPD: an exploratory analysis

Functional status is highly meaningful to the daily life of people with COPD but is often overlooked by treatmentoptions. Understanding its heterogeneity, might contribute to better personalised care. We aimed to explore clustersof functional status in people with COPD. Lung function, impact of the disease, activity-related dyspnoea and functional status were collected cross-sectionally.The 6-minute walk test, 1-minute sit-to-stand test, quadriceps maximum voluntary contraction and handgrip musclestrength were used to group individuals to clusters (K-means clustering). Total within cluster sum of squares wascomputed for different values of k and the optimum number of clusters was defined as the inflexion point on thecurve. Differences between clusters were explored using ANOVA and post-hoc multiple pairwise comparisons. 127 people with COPD (82% male, 68±8 years, FEV1 56±20 %pred) were included in the analysis. 4 clusters werefound (Fig. 1): ‘over-achievers’ (Cluster 2, n=30); ‘achievers’ (Cluster 1, n=28); ‘partial-achievers’ (Cluster 4, n=39);‘non-achievers’ (Cluster 3, n=29). Our 4 clusters of functional status may guide tailored treatment regimens to improve this highly meaningful outcome.Cluster validity, their behaviour over time and differential response to treatment needs further investigation.publishe

Functional status and impact of the disease in people with COPD according to symptoms’ burden

Background: COPD is a heterogeneous disease. Better understanding of its trajectory, especially considering symptoms level, may help improving disease management. We described the evolution of functional status and impact of the disease in people with COPD according to symptoms level. Methods: People with COPD were assessed monthly for 6 months. Participants were grouped by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria in low (GOLD A & C) or high (GOLD B & D) symptom burden, based on the baseline values in the modified medical research council dyspnoea scale. Quadriceps muscle strength (QMS)–handheld dynamometry, 1-minute sit-to-stand test (1STS) and COPD assessment test (CAT) were collected. Differences within/between groups over time were explored with (non-)parametric mixed ANOVAs and Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons. Results: 87 people (85%♂, 68±9y, FEV1 51±20pp, 54% high symptoms) participated. People with low symptoms presented higher 1STS (p=0.01) and lower CAT (p<0.01). Improvements in 1STS and CAT over time (p<0.01) were found regardless of group allocation (Fig. 1). There were no group*time interaction or other significant differences. Conclusion: The pattern of progression in functional status and impact of the disease seems similar in people with COPD independently of symptoms’ burden, with improvements in CAT and 1STS over time. Reasons for this finding must be explored.publishe

Benzotiadiazol (BTH) induz atividades das enzimas peroxidase, b-1,3-Glucanase e formação de lignina em feijão-caupi.

O feijão-caupi se constitui numa importante fonte de proteínas, carboidratos e vitaminas sendo cultivado em vários países em desenvolvimento. Entretanto, herbívoros e fitopatógenos são responsáveis por grandes perdas nesta cultura. Para diminuir estes problemas, estratégias envolvendo o uso de elicitores químicos da resposta de defesa vegetal têm sido desenvolvidas. Dentre esses elicitores há aqueles que induzem resposta sistêmica adquirida (SAR) como o BTH [(1,2,3)-Benzothiadiazole-7-carbotioico S-metil ester]. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar se o BTH é capaz de induzir a expressão de proteínas relacionadas à patogênese como peroxidase (POX), -1,3-glucanase (GLU), fenilalanina amônia-liase (PAL) e o aumento do conteúdo de lignina em folhas de feijão-caupi, cv. TE-97- 411. Dez dias após plantio, a parte aérea das plantas foi borrifada com diferentes concentrações de BTH. Para determinação das atividades enzimáticas, foram utilizadas folhas coletadas com 48 horas, e, para lignina, com 10 e 15 dias após tratamento. Aumento nas atividades destas enzimas, com exceção da PAL, e na deposição de lignina foi observado nas plantas tratadas. Estes resultados sugerem que o BTH representa uma estratégia potencial para ativação da defesa bioquímica do feijão-caupi

Generalized Totalizer Encoding for Pseudo-Boolean Constraints

Pseudo-Boolean constraints, also known as 0-1 Integer Linear Constraints, are used to model many real-world problems. A common approach to solve these constraints is to encode them into a SAT formula. The runtime of the SAT solver on such formula is sensitive to the manner in which the given pseudo-Boolean constraints are encoded. In this paper, we propose generalized Totalizer encoding (GTE), which is an arc-consistency preserving extension of the Totalizer encoding to pseudo-Boolean constraints. Unlike some other encodings, the number of auxiliary variables required for GTE does not depend on the magnitudes of the coefficients. Instead, it depends on the number of distinct combinations of these coefficients. We show the superiority of GTE with respect to other encodings when large pseudo-Boolean constraints have low number of distinct coefficients. Our experimental results also show that GTE remains competitive even when the pseudo-Boolean constraints do not have this characteristic.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables. To be published in 21st International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming 201