Olhares de género face à matemática: uma investigação no ensino obrigatório espanhol

O interesse pelo estudo das atitudes e o seu papel determinante na aprendizagem da matemática tem sido objecto de investigação há mais de 50 anos. Não obstante, actualmente, a investigação ainda se centra sobre as diferenças das atitudes das mulheres e dos homens, bem como sobre as causas de tais diferenças. No geral, os estudos realizados concluíram que, face à aprendizagem da matemática, as mulheres se percepcionam como menos competentes que os homens, embora estes estudos não sejam conclusivos. Outro dos dados emergentes sugere que, à medida que o estudante progride na escolaridade obrigatória, a atitude face à matemática vai sendo mais negativa. O presente trabalho aporta mais alguns dados sobre as diferenças nas atitudes face à matemática em função do género e do ano de escolaridade no contexto educativo espanhol.Looking at Mathematics through gender: a study in Spanish compulsory education. Studying attitudes and their important role in learning Mathematics has been one of the concerns of research over the last fifty years. Nowadays research still deals with attitudes, but a new focus of interest comes to light: studying the differences between male and female attitudes and the reasons for that. Some existing studies state that females perceive themselves as less competent than males do in learning Mathematics but those studies are still not conclusive. Data also suggest that over school years students’ attitudes grow more and more negative. The present study highlights the differences in attitudes towards Mathematics according to gender and school year in the Spanish educational context.(undefined

Análise espacial de viagens em transporte público na Região Metropolitana de Campinas-SP

A alta dependência do uso do transporte individual e a ausência de planejamento da mobilidade têm se mostrado insustentáveis para o meio urbano e para a qualidade de vida da população. Na busca pela mitigação destes problemas e promoção de uma mobilidade mais sustentável, indicadores de mobilidade sustentável se mostram excelentes ferramentas de gestão. O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar a distribuição espacial do indicador de viagens realizadas em transporte público da Região Metropolitana de Campinas (RMC), a partir de dados levantados pela Pesquisa Origem Destino de 2011, coordenada pela Secretaria de Transportes Metropolitanos do Estado de São Paulo. Foram utilizadas técnicas de econometria espacial que permitiram avaliar a distribuição espacial do indicador “viagens realizadas em modos coletivos”. Os resultados alcançados identificaram valor significativo para o I de Moran (0,485). A zona com maior uso do transporte público coletivo, apresentou 1,13 viagens per capita, já a zona com menor uso, apresentou 0,18 viagens per capita, confirmando o baixo uso do transporte público em toda a região metropolitana

Short term sodium alendronate administration improves the peri-implant bone quality in osteoporotic animals

Sodium alendronate is a bisphosphonate drug that exerts antiresorptive action and is used to treat osteoporosis. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the bone repair process at the bone/implant interface of osteoporotic rats treated with sodium alendronate through the analysis of microtomography, real time polymerase chain reactions and immunohistochemistry (RUNX2 protein, bone sialoprotein (BSP), alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin and osteocalcin). Material and Methods A total of 42 rats were used and divided in to the following experimental groups: CTL: control group (rats submitted to fictitious surgery and fed with a balanced diet), OST: osteoporosis group (rats submitted to a bilateral ovariectomy and fed with a low calcium diet) and ALE: alendronate group (rats submitted to a bilateral ovariectomy, fed with a low calcium diet and treated with sodium alendronate). A surface treated implant was installed in both tibial metaphyses of each rat. Euthanasia of the animals was conducted at 14 (immunhostochemistry) and 42 days (immunohistochemistry, micro CT and PCR). Data were subjected to statistical analysis with a 5% significance level. Results Bone volume (BV) and total pore volume were higher for ALE group (

Disentangling the seasonal effects of agricultural intensification on birds and bats in Mediterranean olive groves

Assessing the spatio-temporal impact of agricultural intensification on species and communities is key for biodiversity conservation. Here, we investigated the seasonal effects of olive grove intensification at both local (farming practices and grove structural complexity) and landscape scale (land-cover diversity) on birds and bats, at species and community-level. Both groups were surveyed during spring, summer, and autumn in 60 sites representing varying levels of olive grove intensification throughout the Alentejo region (southern Portugal). At the local scale, the number of chemical applications was used as a proxy for the intensification of farming practices and a Structural Index, which accounted for within-grove variability in tree density and features, was used as a measure of grove structural complexity. At landscape scale, we quantified the proportion of the major land-cover types potentially affecting birds and bats. We found that the abundance of ca. 77% of the species analyzed (ca. 84% and 55% of birds and bats respectively) was negatively related to olive grove intensification in at least one season. The Structural Index was the most influential factor at both species and community-levels, especially for birds, with a consistent and strong effect across seasons. Chemical applications had a stronger negative effect on birds, whereas the amount of olive grove cover had a stronger detrimental effect on bats. Birds and bats showed a variable response to predictor variables depending on the season, particularly for the bat community. Our study shows differences in bird and bat responses associated with the spatio-temporal variability of the agricultural intensification components. On the one hand, birds and bats showed a seasonal pattern of association with the different components of olive grove intensification, probably due to their ecological and biological requirements. On the other hand, the responses of both groups also appear to be scale-dependent: while birds seem to respond to in-farm or local intensification more strongly, bats seem to be more influenced by landscape-scale simplification. Overall, we highlight the importance of the structural complexity of olive groves for birds and bats, an aspect that should be considered in the design of agricultural policies aiming to promote biodiversity conservation.11 página

Attitudes of elementary school students in relation to Physical Education classes

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las actitudes y reacciones emocionales de los estudiantes en el proceso de aprendizaje de la Educación Física. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 525 alumnos de 6º curso de Educación Primaria de 20 colegios públicos de Albacete, España. Fue aplicado el cuestionario sobre el dominio afectivo (Physical Education Orientation Questionnaire - PEOQ) con los resultados: a) no hubo diferencias significativas en la variable género; b) los alumnos aprecian la asignatura, aplican los conocimientos que en ella adquieren, conocen su valor y defienden su importancia, si bien dicha circunstancia queda lejos de alcanzar la máxima valoración. El estudio llega a la conclusion que la actitud de los estudiantes en relación a las clases de Educación Física fue positiva.The aim of this study was to analyze the attitudes and emotional reactions experienced by students in the learning process of physical education. The sample consisted of 525 students in 6th year of primary education than 20 public schools in Albacete, Spain. The questionnaire was applied on the affective domain (PEOQ - Physical Education Orientation Questionnaire) with the folowing results: a) not ocurred significant differences in the sex variable b) students appreciate the course, apply knowledge, know their value and defend its importance, although that fact is far from achieving the best possible estimate. The study comes to the conclusion that the attitude of the students in relation to the Physical Education is positive

Dietary Supplementation with Omega-3-PUFA-Rich Fish Oil Reduces Signs of Food Allergy in Ovalbumin-Sensitized Mice

We investigated the effect of dietary supplementation with n-3 PUFA (fish oil source) in an experimental model of food allergy. Mice were sensitized (allergic group) or not (nonallergic group) with OVA and were fed with OVA diet to induce allergy signals. Mice were fed with regular diet in which 7% of lipid content was provided by soybean (5% of n-3 PUFA) or fish (25% of n-3 PUFA) oil. Allergic group mice had increased serum levels of antiovalbumin IgE and IgG1 and changes in small intestine, characterized by an increased edema, number of rolling leukocytes in microcirculation, eosinophil infiltration, mucus production, and Paneth cell degranulation, in comparison to non-allergic group. All these inflammatory parameters were reduced in mice fed high-n-3-PUFA diet. Our data together suggest that diet supplementation with n-3 PUFA from fish oil may consist of a valid adjuvant in food allergy treatment

The effects of retinol oral supplementation in 6-hydroxydopamine dopaminergic denervation model in Wistar rats

Vitamin A (retinol) is involved in signaling pathways regulating gene expression and was postulated to be a major antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound of the diet. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons, involving oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory activation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of retinol oral supplementation against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 12 μg per rat) nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation in Wistar rats. Animals supplemented with retinol (retinyl palmitate, 3000 IU/kg/day) during 28 days exhibited increased retinol content in liver, although circulating retinol levels (serum) were unaltered. Retinol supplementation did not protect against the loss of dopaminergic neurons (assessed through tyrosine hydroxylase immunofluorescence and Western blot). Retinol supplementation prevented the effect of 6-OHDA on Iba-1 levels but had no effect on 6-OHDA-induced GFAP increase. Moreover, GFAP levels were increased by retinol supplementation alone. Rats pre-treated with retinol did not present oxidative damage or thiol redox modifications in liver, and the circulating levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 were unaltered by retinol supplementation, demonstrating that the protocol used here did not cause systemic toxicity to animals. Our results indicate that oral retinol supplementation is not able to protect against 6-OHDA-induced dopaminergic denervation, and it may actually stimulate astrocyte reactivity without altering parameters of systemic toxicity

Daily melatonin administration improves osseointegration in pinealectomized rats

The hypothesis of this study was that the peri-implant bone healing of the group of pinealectomized rats would differ from the control group. The samples were subjected to immunohistochemical, microtomographic (total porosity and connectivity density), and fluorochrome (mineralized surface) analyses. Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate the cellular changes and bone remodeling dynamics along the bone/implant interface in pinealectomized rats. Material and Methods: The total of 18 adult male rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus, Wistar) was divided into three groups (n=6): control (CO), pinealectomized without melatonin (PNX) and pinealectomized with melatonin (PNXm). All animals were submitted to the first surgery (pinealectomy), except the CO group. Thirty days after the pinealectomy without melatonin, the second surgery was conducted, in which all animals received an implant in each tibia (36 titanium implants with surface treatment were installed – Implalife® São Paulo, SP, Brazil). By gavage, the rats of the PNX group received the vehicle solution, and the procedure. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis for runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteopontin (OP) and osteocalcin (OC) showed that the bone repair process in the PNXm group was similar to that of the CO group, whereas the PNX group showed a delay. The microtomographic parameters of total porosity [Po(tot)] and bone surface (BS) showed no statistically significant differences, whereas for the connective density (Conn.Dn) a statistical difference was found between the CO and PNXm groups. Fluorochrome analysis of the active mineralized surface showed statistically significant difference between the CO and PNX and between the CO and PNXm groups. Conclusion: The absence of the pineal gland impaired the bone repair process during osseointegration, however the daily melatonin replacement was able to restore this response