Wettability and decay of particleboards manufactured with thermally treated sugarcane residue and bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) particles

This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition of wood particles (control and treated), and the effects of thermal modification and adhesive levels on the wettability and biological resistance of particleboards made of sugarcane residue and bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper). Therefore, 75% bamboo particles and 25% sugarcane residue (bagasse) were used for producing the particleboards. The particles were treated at 220 °C for 3h35min. Urea formaldehyde (UF) adhesive was used in three solid contents (10%, 12% and 14%) based on the dry mass of the particles. The mat was cold pre-consolidated (pressure of 0,5 MPa for 5 min) and after hot consolidated (3,45 MPa, 180 ºC, 10 min). Water and ethylene glycol and two measurement times were used to measure the contact angle.  Gloeophyllum trabeum and Rhodonia placenta (brown rot) and Trametes versicolor (white rot) fungi were used for the biological resistance test. There was a change in the chemical composition of the treated particles such as a reduction in the levels of lignin (bagasse and bamboo), total extracts and holocellulose (bagasse). The thermal treatment increased the final contact angles obtained with water. The particleboard surfaces were classified as non-wettable and partially wettable to the tested solvents. The thermal treatment provided biological resistance improvements in the particleboards to the tested fungi, being classified as very resistant to Rhodonia placenta, resistant to very resistant to Gloeophyllum trabeum, and moderate to resistant to Trametes versicolor

Mental Rotation Test Performance in Brazilian and German Adolescents: The Role of Sex, Processing Speed, and Physical Activity in Two Different Cultures

It was the main goal of this study to investigate performance on the mental rotation test (MRT) in Brazilian and German adolescents. Mental rotation is the ability to mentally transform a three-dimensional stimulus in mind and relates to science education. 60 German and 60 Brazilian adolescents (76 males and 44 females, 11-17 years) completed the Mental Rotation Test, a physical activity and media use questionnaire and a Number Connection Test. The result showed no difference between Brazilian and German adolescents in the cognitive processing speed measurement. German adolescents are more active and show a less media use compared to the Brazilian adolescents. Furthermore, German adolescents demonstrate a better MRT performance than Brazilian ones, as well as boys show a better performance than girls do. A multiple regression analysis indicated that the MRT performance could be predicted by nationality, sex, and cognitive processing speed. Since cognitive processing speed did not differ between Brazilian and German adolescents, the worse MRT performance of the Brazilian adolescents could be explained by different educational systems. Further studies have to follow which investigate the reasons for the different nations in more detail

Chronic effects of aerobic exercise on panic disorder: a systematic review of randomized and non-randomized trials

In general, most studies have supported an association between the acute effects of exercise and a reduced state anxiety, but failed to completely explain the relationship between the chronic effect of exercise and anxiety traits. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding the chronic effect of exercise on symptoms associated with panic disorder. The studies were retrieved from a MEDLINE/PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge and SciELO. We adopted PICOS’s strategy recommended to determine the eligibility criteria. The survey was conducted using an advanced search in the ISI Web of Science and MEDLINE / PubMed with MeSH terms and Entry Terms for the keywords “Panic Disorder” basis and “Exercise”. Boolean operators “AND” and “OR” were used separately or in combination. Two independent researchers performed the selection of studies; in case of disagreement they sought a consensus on the selection. A total of 265 articles were identified: 199 articles from PubMed/Medline, 63 articles from ISI Web of Science and 3 articles by manual searches. Thus, 31 articles were analyzed by the eligibility criteria and the exclusion criteria, a total of five studies included in the systematic review. The regular practice of aerobic exercise seems to be an appropriate intervention to promote improvements in the severity of anxiety symptoms in PD patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Neural Mechanisms of Exercise: Effects on Gut Miccrobiota and Depression

Microbiota is a set of microorganisms resident in gut ecosystem that reacts to psychological stressful stimuli, and is involved in depressed or anxious status in both animals and human being. Interestingly, a series of studies have shown the effects of physical exercise on gut microbiota dynamics, suggesting that gut microbiota regulation might act as one mediator for the effects of exercise on the brain. Recent studies found that gut microbiota dynamics are also regulated by metabolism changes, such as through physical exercise or diet change. Interestingly, physical exercise modulates different population of gut bacteria in compared to food restriction or rich diet, and alleviates gut syndromes to toxin intake. Gut microbiota could as well contribute to the beneficial effects of exercise on cognition and emotion, either directly through serotonin signaling or indirectly by modulating metabolism and exercise performance

Neural Mechanisms of Exercise: Anti-Depression, Neurogenesis, and Serotonin Signaling

Depression is associated with decreased serotonin metabolism and functioning in the central nervous system, evidenced by both animal models of depression and clinical patient studies. Depression is also accompanied by decreased hippocampal neurogenesis in diverse animal models. Neurogenesis is mainly defined in dentate gyrus of hippocampus as well as subventricular zone. Moreover, hypothalamus, amygdala, olfactory tubercle, and piriform cortex are reported with evidences of adult neurogenesis. Physical exercise is found to modulate adult neurogenesis significantly, and results in mood improvement. The cellular mechanism such as adult neurogenesis upregulation was considered as one major mood regulator following exercise. The recent advances in molecular mechanisms underlying exercise-regulated neurogenesis have widen our understanding in brain plasticity in physiological and pathological conditions, and therefore better management of different psychiatric disorders

Activity-dependent neurorehabilitation beyond physical trainings: "mental exercise" through mirror neuron activation

The activity dependent brain repair mechanism has been widely adopted in many types of neurorehabilitation. The activity leads to target specific and non-specific beneficial effects in different brain regions, such as the releasing of neurotrophic factors, modulation of the cytokines and generation of new neurons in adult hood. However physical exercise program clinically are limited to some of the patients with preserved motor functions; while many patients suffered from paralysis cannot make such efforts. Here the authors proposed the employment of mirror neurons system in promoting brain rehabilitation by "observation based stimulation". Mirror neuron system has been considered as an important basis for action understanding and learning by mimicking others. During the action observation, mirror neuron system mediated the direct activation of the same group of motor neurons that are responsible for the observed action. The effect is clear, direct, specific and evolutionarily conserved. Moreover, recent evidences hinted for the beneficial effects on stroke patients after mirror neuron system activation therapy. Finally some music-relevant therapies were proposed to be related with mirror neuron system

Oficina culinária como estratégia didático-pedagógica interdisciplinar na formação do nutricionista

Os objetivos deste estudo foram relatar a experiência da utilização de oficinas culinárias como estratégia didático-pedagógica na disciplina de educação nutricional, e analisar as percepções dos estudantes quanto à interdisciplinaridade e aplicabilidade na atuação profissional, pela análise de conteúdo temática. Este é um relato de experiência da utilização de oficinas culinárias durante a disciplina de Educação Nutricional no curso de nutrição de uma universidade pública. Foram quantificados os tipos de receitas selecionadas e seus respectivos princípios dietéticos e/ou dietoterápicos. Identificamos que 80% das receitas selecionadas priorizavam o conteúdo de nutrientes dos ingredientes como princípio dietético/dietoterápico e somente 20% consideraram aspectos sensoriais e culturais. Na análise qualitativa, foram identificados três eixos temáticos: (1) O olhar do estudante sobre a oficina culinária; (2) O aprendizado da oficina culinária para sua prática profissional; (3) A racionalização da alimentação. A oficina foi considerada uma experiência inovadora e enriquecedora para a formação acadêmica, principalmente pela interdisciplinaridade. Conclui-se que o uso de oficinas culinárias como estratégia didático-pedagógica interdisciplinar nos cursos de Nutrição pode trazer benefícios na formação dos futuros nutricionistas.The objectives of this study were to report the experience of using culinary workshops as a didactic-pedagogical strategy in the nutrition education discipline, and analyze the students’ perceptions regarding interdisciplinarity and applicability in their professional practices through thematic-content analysis. This is an experience report on the use of culinary workshops during the nutritional education discipline in the nutrition course of a public university. The types of recipes selected and their respective dietetic/diet therapy principles were quantified. We found that 80% of the selected recipes were based on the nutritional composition of foods and only 20% considered sensory and cultural aspects. In the qualitative analysis, 3 thematic axes were identified: (1) The student’s perception of the culinary workshop; (2) The learning in the culinary workshop for their professional practice; (3) The rationalization of food. The workshop was considered an innovative and enriching experience for academic training, mainly due to its interdisciplinarity. It is concluded that the use of culinary workshops as an interdisciplinary didactic-pedagogical strategy in Nutrition courses can bring benefits to the training of future nutritionists.Los objetivos de este estudio fueron relatar la experiencia del uso de talleres de cocina como estrategia didáctico-pedagógica en la disciplina de educación nutricional, y analizar las percepciones de los estudiantes sobre la interdisciplinariedad y la aplicabilidad en la práctica profesional, a través del análisis de contenido temático. Este es un relato de experiencia del uso de talleres de cocina durante el curso de Educación Nutricional en el curso de nutrición en una universidad pública. Se cuantificaron los tipos de recetas seleccionadas y sus respectivos principios dietéticos y/o dietoterápicos. Identificamos que el 80% de los estudiantes seleccionaron las recetas con base en la composición nutricional de los alimentos y solo el 20% consideró aspectos sensoriales y culturales. En el análisis cualitativo se identificaron 3 ejes temáticos: (1) La mirada del estudiante sobre el taller de cocina; (2) Aprender el taller de cocina para su práctica profesional; (3) La racionalización de los alimentos. El taller fue considerado una experiencia innovadora y enriquecedora para la formación académica, principalmente por su interdisciplinariedad. Se concluye que el uso de talleres de cocina como estrategia didáctico-pedagógica interdisciplinaria en cursos de Nutrición puede traer beneficios en la formación de futuros nutricionistas