Paternal physical exercise modulates global DNA methylation status in the hippocampus of male rat offspring

It is widely known that maternal physical exercise is able to induce beneficial improvements in offspring cognition; however, the effects of paternal exercise have not been explored in detail. The present study was designed to evaluate the impact of paternal physical exercise on memory and learning, neuroplasticity and DNA methylation levels in the hippocampus of male offspring. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: sedentary or exercised fathers. The paternal preconception exercise protocol consisted of treadmill running, 20 minutes daily, 5 consecutive days per week for 22 days, while the mothers were not trained. After mating, paternal sperm was collected for global DNA methylation analysis. At postnatal day 53, the offspring were euthanized, and the hippocampus was dissected to measure cell survival by 5-bromo-2′-deoxiuridine and to determine the expression of synaptophysin, reelin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and global DNA methylation levels. To measure spatial memory and learning changes in offspring, the Morris water maze paradigm was used. There was an improvement in spatial learning, as well as a significant decrease in hippocampal global DNA methylation levels in the offspring from exercised fathers compared with those from sedentary ones; however, no changes were observed in neuroplasticity biomarkers brain-derived neurotrophic factor, reelin and 5-bromo-2′-deoxiuridine. Finally, the global DNA methylation of paternal sperm was not significantly changed by physical exercise. These results suggest a link between paternal preconception physical activity and cognitive benefit, which may be associated with hippocampal epigenetic programming in male offspring. However, the biological mechanisms of this modulation remain unclear

Multiple perceptions of the everyday unfolded: the case study of Sunnyside

This article introduces the project Sunnyside, an album and composition created using extended recording techniques inside the domestic space of my home during the initial Covid-19 lockdown in Belfast in 2020. While there was widespread public discourse around the ways in which public and outdoor spaces were changing during the pandemic, there was relatively little discussion concerning the changes occurring in indoor and domestic spaces. Sunnyside was an attempt to sense, analyze, and represent those changes and examine what they might mean. The following discussion draws on ideas of critical phonography, systems theory, situated knowledge, and interconnectivity to illustrate the project’s refusal of the physical boundaries of the home under lockdown. This critical reflection on everyday routines underscores the project’s relationship with memory, place, and the sonic documentation of everyday personal auditory experiences while opening up a discussion about social networks, both immediate and distributed

A narrativa em supervisão: a oralidade na competência educativa do professor de língua materna

No presente trabalho, procuramos investigar o impacte da narrativa como estratégia reflexiva na formação de professores de Português, Língua Materna (PLM), a nível da planificação e avaliação de práticas incidentes no desenvolvimento da competência comunicativa oral. Partimos de um projecto de formação, desenvolvido com professores em estágio, que reflecte preocupações a nível de práticas pedagógicas, práticas estas que contemplem o ensino da oralidade. Procedemos à análise do discurso dos professores, no qual se incluem as narrativas, com base no modelo de Competências de Zimpher & Howey (1987), procurando, desta forma, retirar conhecimento sobre o desenvolvimento de profissionais competentes no ensino da Língua Materna (LM), de modo a dar algum contributo para a supressão do carácter artesanal de que ainda enferma o processo de supervisão de professores. Terminamos com uma reflexão sobre os resultados obtidos, colocando-os à consideração dos que nos vierem a ler.In this work we try to investigate the influence of the narrative as a reflective strategy in the trainíng of Portuguese teachers as a mother language, in matters of planing and evaluation of practices leading to the developrnent of aural comrnunicative competence. We have developed a training programme with student teachers, which reflects our concerns for the pedagogical practices in the teaching of the speaking skill. We have analysed the speech of teachers, in which we include the narratives, following the competence model of Zimpher & Howey (1987). In doing so, we have tried to enlarge our knowledge about the development of the expert practitioners in the teaching of the mother tongue, so as to contribute to the decrease of the artistry ways which still prevail in the supervision of teachers. We conclude by reflecting about the results and putting then to considerations of our readers.Mestrado em Supervisã