Go global or go home: comparing the regional vs. global engagement of Brazil and South Africa at the UN General Assembly

Brazil and South Africa have long been regarded as archetypical regional powers, commanding more resources than their neighbours, spearheading regional projects and pursuing high-profile global status. Yet, recent years have also evidenced how the engagement with their regions and acceptance as leading players is often ambiguous and incomplete. How does one ascertain that a regional power privileges either the regional or the global stage? Through an original dataset of Brazilian and South African output at the UN General Assembly between 1994 and 2013, we monitor sponsorship patterns and thematic preferences in order to verify whether these countries indulged their regional partners and topics. Our findings suggest that Brazil and South Africa favoured their immediate neighbourhoods but have gradually engaged their regions in different ways: while Brazilian emphasis on regional peers and themes declined over the years, South Africa developed an increasingly more regionalised UNGA agenda.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Teachers representations about students' misbehaviours in physical education related with subjects, class moments and their targets

FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia), IDP (Instituto do Desporto de Portugal), AIESEP World Congres

An exercise program improves health-related quality of life of workers

Low back problems are associated with decreased quality of life. Specific exercises can improve quality of life, resulting in better professional performance and functionality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of following a 21-month exercise program on the quality of life of warehouse workers. The population included 557 male warehouse workers from a food distribution company in Oporto, Portugal. Upon application of the selection criteria, 249 workers were deemed eligible, which were randomized into two groups (125 in the intervention group and 124 in the control group). Then, subjects were asked to volunteer for the study, the sample being formed by 229 workers (112 in the intervention group and 117 in the control group). All subjects completed the SF-36 questionnaire prior to beginning the program and on the 11th and 21st months following it. The exercises were executed in the company facilities once a day for 8 min. Data were analyzed using SPSS® 17.0 for Windows®. After 11 months of following the exercise program, there was an increase in all scores for the experimental group, with statistically significant differences in the dimensions physical functioning (0.019), bodily pain (0.010), general health (0.004), and rolephysical (0.037). The results obtained at the end of the study (21 months) showed significant improvements in the dimensions physical functioning (p = 0.002), rolephysical (p = 0.007), bodily pain (p = 0.001), social functioning (p = 0.015), role-emotional (p = 0.011), and mental health (p = 0.001). In the control group all dimensions showed a decrease in mean scores. It can be concluded that the implementation of a low back specific exercise program has changed positively the quality of life of warehouse workers

Acumulação de polihidroxialcanoatos por culturas microbianas mistas do tratamento do efluente urbano

Os microrganismos podem acumular intracelularmente inclusões de polihidroxialcanoatos (PHAs) durante o tratamento de águas residuais, utilizando o efluente urbano como fonte de carbono. Estes polímeros biodegradáveis surgem como alternativa aos plásticos convencionais, permitindo reduzir a quantidade de lamas enviadas para tratamento posterior. A monitorização da acumulação de PHAs nos microrganismos das lamas ativadas da ETAR de Penices foi efetuada durante 30 dias, recorrendo ao método de Cromatografia Gasosa (CG) e à técnica de coloração de Negro Sudão B (NSB). Os resultados obtidos por CG revelaram uma acumulação máxima, em fração mássica, de PHAs igual a 5.3 % nas lamas ativadas, relativamente ao teor de biomassa liofilizada e uma concentração máxima de 127 mg L-1. Os resultados obtidos por NSB corroboraram estes valores, pelo que esta técnica poderá ser uma alternativa viável para a quantificação de PHAs, sendo mais fácil de operar e menos dispendiosa. Concluiu-se ainda que a produção de PHAs com culturas mistas à escala industrial para este caso de estudo não é viável, dadas as baixas quantidades obtidas de polímero e o elevado investimento em unidades de extração e purificação do mesmo.The microorganisms can accumulate intracellularly inclusions of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) during wastewater treatment, using the urban efluent as carbon source. These biodegradable polymers appear to emerge as an alternative to conventional plastics, allowing to reduce the amount of activated sludge sent to posterior treatment. The monitoring of the PHAs accumulation in the activated sludge microorganisms of the Penices wastewater treatment facility was performed for 30 days, using gas chromatography (GC) and Sudan Black B (SBB) staining. GC results revealed a maximum accumulation of PHAs mass fraction of 5.3 % in the activated sludge, in relation to the liophilized biomass content, and a maximum concentration of 127 mg L -1 . The SBB results corroborated these values, and therefor this technique can be a viable alternative to the PHAs quantification, being easier to operate and less costly. Still, it was possible to conclude that the PHAs production with mixed cultures at the industrial scale is not viable in this case, given the obtained low quantities of polymer and the high investment in extraction and purification units