Ecological assessment of executive dysfunction in anxiety

Introduction: The specialized literature states that anxiety can interfere with cognition, particularly in complex cognitive processes such as those related to executive functioning. Neuropsychological studies in anxiety disorders have confirmed the presence of deficits in executive functions, with significant changes in its components. The main aim of this study was to compare the executive performance of a sample with anxiety disorder to a control group, using an instrument that differs from the others by high ecological validity, revealing a higher predictive evidence on daily tasks.Methods: This study included 60 participants aged between 18 and 53 years that were allocated to an experimental group (n=30; mean = 31.93; standard deviation [SD] =10.99) and a control group (n=30; mean = 29.63; SD=9.07). Anxiety symptoms and the executive functioning were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), respectively.Results: Participants with anxiety disorders presented a significant impairment on executive functioning in general. However, we found a significant impact in tasks that involve control inhibition, design of action strategies according to the functionality and probability of success, the ability to predict or estimate and the ability to plan the action. In addition, the EG required significantly more time to execute all the tests (mean = 440.33, SD = 97.17), compared to the CG (mean = 320.90; SD = 51.27).Conclusions: Individuals with anxiety disorders have a significant impairment in their executive functioning in general, which is reflected in activities of daily living. Keywords: Anxiety disorders; executive functions; BADS; cognitive and affective evaluationIntroduction: The specialized literature states that anxiety can interfere with cognition, particularly in complex cognitive processes such as those related to executive functioning. Neuropsychological studies in anxiety disorders have confirmed the presence of deficits in executive functions, with significant changes in its components. The main aim of this study was to compare the executive performance of a sample with anxiety disorder to a control group, using an instrument that differs from the others by high ecological validity, revealing a higher predictive evidence on daily tasks.Methods: This study included 60 participants aged between 18 and 53 years that were allocated to an experimental group (n=30; mean = 31.93; standard deviation [SD] =10.99) and a control group (n=30; mean = 29.63; SD=9.07). Anxiety symptoms and the executive functioning were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), respectively.Results: Participants with anxiety disorders presented a significant impairment on executive functioning in general. However, we found a significant impact in tasks that involve control inhibition, design of action strategies according to the functionality and probability of success, the ability to predict or estimate and the ability to plan the action. In addition, the EG required significantly more time to execute all the tests (mean = 440.33, SD = 97.17), compared to the CG (mean = 320.90; SD = 51.27).Conclusions: Individuals with anxiety disorders have a significant impairment in their executive functioning in general, which is reflected in activities of daily living.Keywords: Anxiety disorders; executive functions; BADS; cognitive and affective evaluatio

DESENVOLVIMENTO SUSTENTÁVEL E AGROECOLOGIA NA PERCEPÇÃO DOS ESTUDANTES DE ENSINO MÉDIO DO CAP – COLUNI

A agroecologia é uma ciência que surgiu da necessidade de repensar a forma como o ser humano se relaciona com a natureza, uma busca por maior sustentabilidade econômica, social e ecológica na produção de alimentos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o grau de conhecimento dos estudantes sobre sustentabilidade e agroecologia, a fim de utilizá-lo como ferramenta de ensino, pesquisa e extensão no contexto da nova BNCC. Para tal, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualiquantitativa pelo Google Forms; os dados coletados foram analisados pelo software Statistic 10.0 em análises de frequência e teste de Qui-quadrado. O formulário foi dividido em três sessões temáticas: perfil do estudante, experiência escolar e conhecimentos e, encaminhado a 480 estudantes de 1ª, 2ª e 3ª série. 166 estudantes responderam ao questionário (34,5%). Quanto ao perfil, os estudantes se dividem entre vindos de escolas públicas (56,6%) e particulares (43,4%), e ainda que apenas 50% dos estudantes tenham contato frequente com a zona rural, aproximadamente 70% têm o hábito de consumir produtos da agricultura local/familiar, ir a feiras e já plantou uma horta ou jardim. Em relação à experiência escolar, 73,5% afirmam que os livros didáticos utilizados atualmente por eles abordam questões sobre sustentabilidade, sendo o tema desenvolvimento sustentável e agroecologia pouco mencionado durante as aulas. Os componentes curriculares de biologia (88%), geografia (56,6%), ciências (40,4%) e química (37,3%), foram as que mais abordaram o assunto. 56,6% dos estudantes afirmam já ter desenvolvido na escola um trabalho prático relacionado ao tema e 63,9% acreditam que estes contribuam para o seu aprendizado. Em relação ao conhecimento, mais de 85% dos alunos foram capazes de reconhecer que a agroecologia está relacionada à produção de alimentos orgânicos (98,2%), à adubação verde (94,6%) e à políticas públicas voltadas ao fortalecimento da agricultura familiar (88%). 95,2% reconhecem a presença da tecnologia na agricultura atual e 73,5% acreditam que a produção se concentra em grandes fazendas. Entretanto, apenas 31,9% reconhecem a agricultura familiar, como o principal responsável pela produção de alimentos consumidos pelos brasileiros e 30,7 % pela geração de empregos na agropecuária brasileira. 45,8% acreditam que a agricultura familiar de base agroecológica seja capaz de suprir as demandas alimentares da população humana. As análises mostraram ainda que diferenças quanto ao conhecimento sobre o tema entre grupos de entrevistados com diferentes perfis e experiências escolares se devem ao acaso (p > 0,05). Ainda que os estudantes reconheçam a sustentabilidade e a agroecologia, o ensino apresenta lacunas no que diz respeito ao conhecimento acerca da agricultura familiar no Brasil. Portanto, consideramos que essas lacunas podem e devem ser trabalhadas de forma interdisciplinar com o objetivo de despertar nos estudantes a capacidade de argumentar e questionar, tornando o conhecimento melhor aproveitado acadêmica e socialmente

Derivados funcionais sulfatados de quitosana como agente de adsorção de Cd+2 / Functional derivatives of chitosan sulphate as Cd+2 adsorption agent

A quitosana, um polissacarídeo biocompatível, atóxico e abundante na região do Nordeste Brasileiro, tem se mostrado um material de grande interesse pela comunidade científica para fins ambientais. Devido a presença de grupos amino e hidroxila, este polissacarídeo pode ser submetido a reações de modificação estrutural, a fim de potencializar seu escopo de aplicações. Neste estudo, realizou-se reações de sulfatação e carboximetilação em quitosana de modo a ampliar sua capacidade de adsorção. Os dois derivados sintetizados apresentaram alta taxa de adsorção de Cd+2 em diferentes pH’s, com valores entre 50% a 70%. A quitosana sulfatada (QTS) possui uma capacidade máxima de adsorção (Qmax) superior a 275 mg/g, sendo maior que a capacidade adsortiva da quitosana reportada na literatura. Os estudos cinéticos demonstraram que os derivativos sulfatados de quitosana obedecem ao modelo de pseudo-segunda ordem, atingindo o tempo de equilíbrio rapidamente. Os estudos de isoterma de adsorção em função do pH demonstraram que a QTS obedece ao modelo de Langmuir em todos os pHs, com a adsorção ocorrendo em monocamada. Desta forma, observou-se que a QTS é um material muito promissor para a adsorção de cádmio

Temas de investigação em direitos humanos para o século XXI

Edição comemorativa do 10.º aniversário do Mestrado em Direitos Humanos da Universidade do Minho.Este livro é uma celebração do ensino e da investigação em direitos humanos que têm vindo a ser desenvolvidos, na Escola de Direito da Universidade do Minho, há já mais de uma década. A sua publicação num momento em que se avolumam os riscos para valores fundamentais subjacentes à proteção dos direitos humanos – como a igualdade e a não discriminação, a proibição da escravatura e de tratamentos cruéis, desumanos e degradantes, a liberdade de religião ou crença, entre muitos outros –, torna-o especialmente oportuno. Os sinais de aparente retrocesso no consenso das nossas sociedades a respeito desses valores – visíveis no triunfo político de discursos abertamente racistas, xenófobos, sexistas, etc. – recordam-nos que, também no mundo ocidental, os direitos humanos são um work in progress, não um dado adquirido. Os novos riscos para a dignidade da pessoa humana associados aos avanços tecnológicos andam de par com velhas formas de subalternização e de opressão. O campo para a reflexão crítica é muito vasto. Os temas que hoje (pre)ocupam académicos, decisores políticos e ativistas de direitos humanos são também aqueles que estruturam o plano de estudos do Mestrado em Direitos Humanos da Universidade do Minho. Todos estes temas surgem ao longo do presente livro, que reúne contributos de muitos dos membros da comunidade científica e académica que o Mestrado em Direitos Humanos mobilizou e ajudou a dinamizar ao longo da última década, entre docentes do Mestrado, colaboradores em júris de provas públicas e/ou na orientação de mestrandos, oradores convidados e estudantes. Os textos aqui reunidos refletem bem as sinergias interdisciplinares, interinstitucionais e inter-nacionais que o Mestrado em Direitos Humanos foi capaz de criar, não apenas pela variedade de campos disciplinares representados – Direito, Filosofia, Relações Internacionais, Antropologia –, mas também pela participação de autores que são docentes e/ou investigadores em diversas instituições nacionais e estrangeiras, como a Faculdade de Direito da Universidade do Porto, a Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra, a Universidade Federal da Paraíba e a Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location: Amazonia. Taxon: Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods: Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran\u27s eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results: In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R$^{2}$ = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R$^{2}$ = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion: Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

AimAmazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types.LocationAmazonia.TaxonAngiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots).MethodsData for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny.ResultsIn the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types.Main ConclusionNumerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates

Aim: To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser-availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource-availability hypothesis). Time period: Tree-inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied: Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location: Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods: We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree-inventory plots across terra-firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance-weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results: Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra-firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions: The disperser-availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio