Predicting the ecological status of rivers and streams under different climatic and socioeconomic scenarios using Bayesian Belief Networks

Freshwater systems have increasingly been subjected to a multitude of human pressures and the re-establishment of their ecological integrity is currently a major worldwide challenge. Expected future climate and socioeconomic changes will most probably further exacerbate such challenges. Modelling techniques may provide useful tools to help facing these demands, but their use is still limited within ecological quality assessment of water resources due to its technical complexity. We developed a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) framework for modelling the ecological quality of rivers and streams in two European river basins located in two distinct European climatic regions: the Odense Fjord basin (Denmark) and the Sorraia basin (Portugal). This method enabled us to integrate different data sources into a single framework to model the effect of multiple stressors on several biological indicators of river water quality and, subsequently, on their ecological status. The BBN provided a simple interactive user interface with which we simulated combined climate and socioeconomic changes scenarios to assess their impacts on river ecological status. According to the resulting BBNs the scenarios demonstrated small impacts of climate and socioeconomic changes on the biological quality elements analysed. This yield a final ecological status similar to the baseline in the Odense case, and slightly worse in Sorraia. Since the present situation already depicts a high percentage of rivers and streams with moderate or worse ecological status in both basins, this means that many of them would not fulfil the Water Framework Directive target in the future. Results also showed that macrophytes and fish indices were mainly responsible for a non-desirable overall ecological status in Odense and Sorraia, respectively. The approach followed in this study is novel, since BBN modelling is used for the first time for assessing the ecological status of rivers and streams under future scenarios, using an ensemble of biological quality elements. An important advantage of this tool is that it may easily be updated with new knowledge on the nature of relationships already established in the BBN or even by introducing new causal links. By encompassing two case studies of very different characteristics, these BBN may be more easily adapted as decision-making tools for water management of other river basinsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring the Benefits of Using Gamification and Videogames for Physical Exercise: a Review of State of Art

There is a lack of motivation in children and adolescents to do physical exercise and at the same time a worldwide obesity epidemic. Gamification and active videogames can be used to increase the motivation of young people, promoting healthy habits. In this work we explore different studies on active videogames, eSports and gamification applied to physical exercise and health promotion. Main findings include positive effects in a reduction in body weight and in the promotion to continue performing of physical exercise. It also contributes to increase the motivation in children and adolescents to practice exercise. The personalization of user experience and emerging technologies (big data, wearables, smart technologies, etc.) are presented as promising opportunities to keep the engagement in game-based program and gamification of physical exercise

Efeitos de sujeição: Programa Ciência sem Fronteiras

We live in a historic moment in which globalization is the watchword. The search for globalized relations requires contact with other countries and values internationalization. This internationalization triggers connections in the fields of educational, social, economic, legal, among others. In this partnership between globalization and internationalization that are sometimes complementary, sometimes synonymous, there is simultaneously another partnership: power-knowledge. It is in this mood of globalization / internationalization, power-knowledge, that the Science without Borders Program (SwB) is idealized and politically instituted by the Brazilian government in higher education institutions. The objective of this article is to reflect on the perceived governmentality effects in the discourses produced on the SwB in the enunciative sequences (ESs) of the corpus listed for this article. As a methodology, we used bibliographical research, documentary research, narrative interviews (BAUER & GASKEL, 2002) and archegenealogical method (FOUCAULT, 1999, 2008a, 2014a). Our discussion has theoretical support in Foucault (1995, 1999, 2008a, 2008b, 2008a, 2014b, 2015a, 2015b), Veiga-Neto (1999), Veyne (2011), Bauman (1999), among others. We observed that the effects of subjection in the ESs analyzed depart from the propositions suggested by the SwB, which diverge from the difficulty of those involved in the SwB with the use of the English language and, consequently, the obstacle in effectively participating in research and extension.Vivemos em um momento histórico em que a globalização é a palavra de ordem. A busca pelas relações globalizadas exige contato com outros países e preza pela internacionalização. Essa internacionalização aciona conexões no campo educacional, social, econômico, jurídico, entre outros. Nessa parceria entre globalização e internacionalização que ora são complementares, ora sinonímias, ocorre simultaneamente outra parceria: poder-saber.  É nesse clima de globalização/internacionalização, poder-saber que o Programa Ciência sem Fronteiras (CsF) é idealizado e politicamente instituído pelo governo brasileiro nas instituições de ensino superior (IES). O objetivo deste artigo é refletir sobre os efeitos de governamentalidade percebidos nos discursos produzidos sobre o CsF nas sequências enunciativas (SEs) do corpus elencado para esse artigo. Como metodologia utilizamos levantamento bibliográfico, pesquisa documental, entrevistas narrativas (BAUER & GASKEL, 2002) e método arquegenealógico (FOUCAULT, 1999, 2008a, 2014a). Nossas discussões têm suporte teórico em Foucault (1995, 1999, 2008a, 2008b, 2008a ,2014b, 2015a, 2015b), Veiga-Neto (1999), Veyne (2011), Bauman (1999), entre outros. Percebemos que os efeitos de sujeição nas SEs analisadas divergem das proposições sugeridas pelo CsF, divergências essas que se materializam na dificuldade dos envolvidos no CsF com o uso da língua inglesa e por consequência o obstáculo em fazer parte efetivamente de pesquisa e extensão

A GLOBALIZAÇÃO DA LÍNGUA ESTRANGEIRA INGLESA:: ELEMENTOS HISTÓRICOS E DISCURSIVO

O ensino da língua estrangeira inglesa está relacionado com vários campos do saber na história do Brasil e do mundo. Geopoliticamente compreendemos o uso da língua inglesa com função de destaque nas relações internacionais atuais e com isso a necessidade criada do ensino/aprendizado desse idioma no mundo contemporâneo. Com a globalização programas linguísticos de políticas públicas como o Programa Ciência sem Fronteiras (CsF) foram estimulados e financiados pelo governo federal brasileiro. Nesse contexto o CsF emerge com a intenção de promover a internacionalização das instituições de ensino superior (IES) nas seguintes áreas do conhecimento: exatas e biológicas/tecnológicas. Nessa perspectiva, ao inventariarmos para este artigo um corpus de entrevistas, documentos e mídias temos como objetivo deste artigo analisar elementos da história da língua estrangeira inglesa no Brasil e sua relação com a educação para o trabalho através do viés discursivo. Como metodologia utilizamos levantamento bibliográfico, pesquisa documental, entrevistas narrativas (BAUER & GASKEL, 2002) e método arquegenealógico (FOUCAULT, 2014). Como resultados observamos o ensino da língua estrangeira inglesa relacionada com elementos da história que remetem às práticas discursivas da área econômica e do trabalho, o que nos leva a considerar a língua enquanto elemento de saber-poder que fortalece ou não políticas linguísticas

Identification of the Male-Produced Aggregation Pheromone of the Four-Spotted Coconut Weevil, Diocalandra frumenti

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc6b04829[EN] The four-spotted coconut weevil, Diocalandra frumenti Fabricius (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae), is a small weevil found attacking economically important palm species, such as coconut, date,, oil, and Canary palms. Given the scarcity of detection and management tools for this pest, the availability of a pheromone to be included in trapping protocols would be a crucial advantage. Previous laboratory experiments showed evidence for aggregation behavior; thus, our main goal was to identify the aggregation pheromone in this species. The volatile profile of D. frumenti individuals was studied by aeration and collection of effluvia in Porapak-Q and also by solid phase microextraction (SPME) techniques. Moreover, solvent extraction of previously frozen crushed individuals was also performed. All resulting extracts and SPME fibers were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The comparison of male and female samples provided the candidate compound, 5ethyl-2,4-dimethy1-6,8-dioxabicyclo [3.2.1]octane (multistriatin), whose biological activity was evaluated in olfactometer and field assays.This work received funding from Direccion General de Agricultura del Gobierno de Canarias (Spain).Vacas González, S.; Navarro Fuertes, I.; Seris, E.; Ramos, C.; Hernández Suárez, E.; Navarro-Llopis, V.; Primo Millo, J. (2017). Identification of the Male-Produced Aggregation Pheromone of the Four-Spotted Coconut Weevil, Diocalandra frumenti. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 65(2):270-275. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc6b04829S27027565

Gamification and Active Games for Physical Exercise: A review of literature

Physical and active games can attract young people and children to have regular physical exercise and to promote healthy habits. We presented a review about different studies on games and gamification applied to physical exercise, specially focused on the promotion healthy habits. We found that manly studies on active games or gamified physical exercise has been focused on energy expenditure and motivation. Personalization of user experience and emerging technologies (big data, wearables, smart technologies, etc.) are presented as promising opportunities to keep the engagement in game based program and gamification of physical exercise in a long term

Red Flags Not To Be Missed

BACKGROUND: Urinary sediment is a noninvasive laboratory test that can be performed by an automated analyzer or manually by trained personnel. Manual examination remains the diagnostic standard because it excels at differentiating isomorphic from dysmorphic red blood cells and identifying other urinary particles such as renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs), lipids, crystals, and the composition of casts. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of a complete profile of urinary sediment particles and its associations with histologic lesions on kidney biopsy, regardless of diagnosis. METHODS: This was a single-center, observational retrospective study of 131 patients who had contemporary manual urinary sediment evaluation and kidney biopsy. A comprehensive set of urinary particles and histologic lesions were quantified, and their associations were analyzed. RESULTS: In our samples, we found an elevated frequency of findings suggestive of proliferative kidney disease and a low frequency of particles evoking urologic damage. The association of histologic lesions and urinary particles was explored with a multivariate model. We identified urinary sediment characteristics that independently correlated with the presence of some histologic lesions: urinary lipids with mesangial expansion (OR=2.86; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.3 to 6.3), mesangial hypercellularity (OR=2.44; 95% CI, 1.06 to 5.58), and wire loops and/or hyaline deposits (OR=2.89; 95% CI, 1.13 to 7.73); Urinary renal tubular epithelial cells with endocapillary hypercellularity (OR=3.17; 95% CI, 1.36 to 7.39), neutrophils and/or karyorrhexis (OR=4.51; 95% CI, 1.61 to 12.61), fibrinoid necrosis (OR=4.35; 95% CI, 1.48 to 12.74), cellular/fibrocellular crescents (OR=5.27; 95% CI, 1.95 to 14.26), and acute tubular necrosis (OR=2.31; 95% CI, 1.08 to 4.97). CONCLUSIONS: In a population of patients submitted to kidney biopsy, we found that the presence of some urinary particles (renal tubular epithelial cells, lipids, and dysmorphic erythrocytes), which are seldom reported by automated analyzers, is associated with active proliferative histologic lesions. In this regard, manual urinary sediment evaluation may help to shape the indications for performing a kidney biopsy.publishersversionpublishe

Artificial bee colony aplicado a la optimización nutricional de menús escolares

El presente trabajo describe el desarrollo de un prototipo, diseñado para optimizar los nutrientes de diversos menús escolares destinados a estudiantes del nivel secundario, de manera tal que alcancen una alimentación saludable. La optimización se centra en minimizar el contenido de grasas totales del menú seleccionado, teniendo presente no solo las cantidades de los nutrientes que deben ser consumidos mínimamente, sino también las cantidades máximas de los alimentos seleccionados para los menús. Dada la complejidad del caso de estudio, se utilizó como técnica de resolución, una variante del algoritmo de Colonia de Abejas Artificiales (ABC) la cual es lo suficientemente flexible, eficiente y robusta para ser aplicada a problemas de optimización.Eje: Agentes y Sistemas Inteligentes.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Artificial bee colony aplicado a la optimización nutricional de menús escolares

El presente trabajo describe el desarrollo de un prototipo, diseñado para optimizar los nutrientes de diversos menús escolares destinados a estudiantes del nivel secundario, de manera tal que alcancen una alimentación saludable. La optimización se centra en minimizar el contenido de grasas totales del menú seleccionado, teniendo presente no solo las cantidades de los nutrientes que deben ser consumidos mínimamente, sino también las cantidades máximas de los alimentos seleccionados para los menús. Dada la complejidad del caso de estudio, se utilizó como técnica de resolución, una variante del algoritmo de Colonia de Abejas Artificiales (ABC) la cual es lo suficientemente flexible, eficiente y robusta para ser aplicada a problemas de optimización.Eje: Agentes y Sistemas Inteligentes.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI