Autoficção em Journal d’un fantôme de Nicolas de Crécy

A génese de Journal d’un fantôme, de Nicolas de Crécy, radica numa Geo hors-série, concebida por artistas gráficos. Esta experiência virá a ser problematizada pelo autor, o qual se questiona acerca da viagem ao Brasil, do alojamento que lhe é providenciado, do que vê, do estatuto que a revista lhe confere e, até, da sua responsabilidade futura. Efectivamente, cada vez mais cidadãos questionam as viagens. Ou o “grand tour” ou nada. O nosso mundo assemelha-se cada vez mais – como no filme homónimo de Jia Zhang-Ke – a um parque temático. A aparente traição do artista pode reverter a favor da indústria cultural, para a qual, provavelmente, também não há má publicidade. Importa é descobrir de que forma de Crécy solicita à realidade que se torne fantástica – e como poderemos descodificar a autoficção nesta narrativa literária e visual.The origin of Journal d'un fantôme, by Nicolas de Crécy, comes from a GÉO hors-series, designed by graphic artists. This experience will be totally engaged by the author, who questions himself regarding the trip to Brasil, the lodging to him offered, what he sees, the status the magazine gives him and even of his future responsibility. Truly, each day more citizens question their voyages. The "grand tour" or nothing. Each day our world resembles more – like in the homonym film by Jia Zhang-Ke - a theme park. The apparent artist’s treason can benefit the cultural industry, to which, probably, there is also no bad publicity. The important thing is to discover how de Crécy asks reality to become fantasy and how we might decode the self-fiction in this literary and visual narrative

Shedding light on the composition of extreme microbial dark matter: alternative approaches for culturing extremophiles

More than 20,000 species of prokaryotes (less than 1% of the estimated number of Earth’s microbial species) have been described thus far. However, the vast majority of microbes that inhabit extreme environments remain uncultured and this group is termed “microbial dark matter.” Little is known regarding the ecological functions and biotechnological potential of these underexplored extremophiles, thus representing a vast untapped and uncharacterized biological resource. Advances in microbial cultivation approaches are key for a detailed and comprehensive characterization of the roles of these microbes in shaping the environment and, ultimately, for their biotechnological exploitation, such as for extremophile-derived bioproducts (extremozymes, secondary metabolites, CRISPR Cas systems, and pigments, among others), astrobiology, and space exploration. Additional efforts to enhance culturable diversity are required due to the challenges imposed by extreme culturing and plating conditions. In this review, we summarize methods and technologies used to recover the microbial diversity of extreme environments, while discussing the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of these approaches. Additionally, this review describes alternative culturing strategies to retrieve novel taxa with their unknown genes, metabolisms, and ecological roles, with the ultimate goal of increasing the yields of more efficient bio-based products. This review thus summarizes the strategies used to unveil the hidden diversity of the microbiome of extreme environments and discusses the directions for future studies of microbial dark matter and its potential applications in biotechnology and astrobiology

Visual Inspection and Toothbrush Care: A Mother-Baby Paired Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To evaluate the physical conditions and presence of residues of toothbrushes used by mothers and their babies and mothers' knowledge about toothbrush care. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study comprising a convenience sample represented by 60 mother-baby pairs. The mothers answered a questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge of toothbrush care. A calibrated dentist performed a visual inspection of the toothbrushes. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests, with a significance level of 5%. Results: It was found that 82% of the mothers had never received instructions regarding the care of toothbrushes after use (p=0.024). Most of them believed that their toothbrushes (70%) and their children’s toothbrushes (88%) were in good condition to use (p=0.043). However, most mother’s toothbrushes presented an unacceptable deformity of the bristles (65%) and the presence of residues (60%). In addition, babies’ toothbrushes also presented unacceptable deformities of the bristles (52%) and residues (55%). There was an association between the lack of instructions received by the mother and the presence of deformity and residues on the mother’s toothbrush bristles (p=0.037 and p=0.003, respectively). Conclusion: Most mothers had never received instructions regarding toothbrush care, which is reflected in the condition of their and their baby’s toothbrushes, which presented unacceptable physical conditions concerning deformation and presence of residues

Interviews of Children in a Portuguese Special Judicial Procedure

Since 2007, alleged victims of child sexual abuse in Portugal have provided evidence in a mandatory “Declarações para Memória Futura” (DMF; English transl. ‘Statement for future use’) proceeding. In order to protect children from having to testify in court, interviews conducted at the DMF can be used later as trial evidence because the hearings are conducted by judges. The present study examined 137 interviews with 3- to 17-year-olds conducted in several Portuguese criminal courts. Detailed examination of interview transcripts showed that 69% of all questions asked were option-posing questions, 16% were directive questions, 11% were suggestive questions, and only 3% were open-ended prompts. The vast majority of details provided by children were thus obtained using the risky recognition-based prompts (i.e., option posing and suggestive questions) associated with the risks of contaminating and limiting children's informativeness, both potential threats to the credibility of their testimony. There is an urgent need to address this issue and consider the implementation of a scientifically validated structured interview protocol in Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Taxa de sudorese e condições hídricas em atletas de Futsal

O futsal é um esporte coletivo que tem como característica principal a movimentação constante e intensa por parte de todos os atletas, levando a um alto gasto energético. Esta movimentação leva a uma maior produção de calor que é eliminado na forma de suor. O presente estudo teve como objetivo mensurar a taxa de sudorese e verificar o consumo hídrico em jogadores de futsal. Foram analisados 25 atletas, do sexo masculino, com idade média de 11,1 ± 1,3 anos e peso de 41,6 kg ± 12,4 kg. O peso inicial e o peso final foram aferidos para determinação da porcentagem de perda de peso (%PP) e a taxa de sudorese. Durante o treino houve consumo de água ad libitum e ao término da sessão de treino os participantes foram orientados a urinar em um copo graduado para obter o volume da urina. A taxa de sudorese encontrada variou entre 2,5 a 24,4 ml/min, com uma média geral de 9,4 ml/min ± 5,0 ml/min. Já a média de perda de peso foi 0,5% ± 1,4%, porém houve grande variação entre os atletas. O volume médio ingerido durante o treino foi de 660 ml, mas como variação de 0 a 1500 ml. Conclui-se que a taxa de sudorese, o percentual de perda de peso e o volume de líquidos ingeridos pelos atletas de futsal variou amplamente, ainda que, a maioria tenha terminado o treino com a hidratação adequada. ABSTRACT Sweating rate and water conditions in futsal athletesFutsal is a team sport whose main characteristic is the constant and intense movements of all athletes, leading to a high energy expenditure. This movement leads to an increased production of heat that is lost as sweat. This study aimed to measure the sweat rate and check the water consumption in indoor soccer players. They analyzed 25 athletes, male, mean age 11.1 ± 1.3 years and weight 41.6 kg ± 12.4 kg. The initial weight and final weight were measured to determine the percentage of weight loss (% PP) and sweat rate. During training, the consumption of water was ad libitum and in the end of training session, participants were asked to urinate into a measuring cup for urine volume. The sweat rate found ranged from 2.5 to 24.4 ml / min, with an overall average of 9.4 ml / min ± 5.0 ml / min. The mean weight loss was 0.5% ± 1.4%, but there was wide variation among athletes. The average volume ingested during training was 660 ml, but as a variation of 0 to 1500 ml. It is concluded that the sweat rate, weight loss percentage and the fluid volume ingested by futsal athletes varied widely, though, most have completed training with proper hydration

Relações interpessoais no centro cirúrgico: equipe de enfermagem e equipe médica

Objetivo: Compreender significados e desvelar sentidos da equipe de enfermagem em centro cirúrgico nas suas relações interpessoais com a equipe médica. Método: Pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, embasada no referencial teórico, filosófico e metódico na fenomenologia Heideggeriana. Participaram 17 profissionais da equipe de enfermagem de um centro cirúrgico, entre os meses de outubro de 2016 a janeiro de 2017, utilizando a entrevista fenomenológica norteada pela questão: Como você significa as suas relações interpessoais com a equipe médica no seu trabalho?. Dos depoimentos emergiram as estruturas essenciais, a construção do conceito de ser e a unidade de significado, possibilitando desvelar os sentidos dos profissionais. Resultado: Os profissionais de enfermagem significaram as relações interpessoais com a equipe médica como boa, mas com conflitos e divergências. Foram desvelados os sentidos ser-com, impropriedade, inautencidade, ambiguidade e distanciamento. Considerações Finais: Dos sentidos desvelados considera-se imprescindíveis que as relações interpessoais estabelecidas sejam harmônicas, baseadas na empatia, respeito e comunicação eficaz a fim de garantir uma assistência segura ao paciente

Mangrove bacterial diversity and the impact of oil contamination revealed by pyrosequencing:Bacterial proxies for oil pollution

BACKGROUND: Mangroves are transitional coastal ecosystems in tropical and sub-tropical regions and represent biologically important and productive ecosystems. Despite their great ecological and economic importance, mangroves are often situated in areas of high anthropogenic influence, being exposed to pollutants, such as those released by oil spills. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A microcosm experiment was conducted, which simulated an oil spill in previously pristine mangrove sediment. The effect of the oil spill on the extant microbial community was studied using direct pyrosequencing. Extensive bacterial diversity was observed in the pristine mangrove sediment, even after oil contamination. The number of different OTUs only detected in contaminated samples was significantly higher than the number of OTUs only detected in non-contaminated samples. The phylum Proteobacteria, in particular the classes Gammaproteobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria, were prevalent before and after the simulated oil spill. On the other hand, the order Chromatiales and the genus Haliea decreased upon exposure to 2 and 5% oil, these are proposed as sensitive indicators of oil contamination. Three other genera, Marinobacterium, Marinobacter and Cycloclasticus increased their prevalence when confronted with oil. These groups are possible targets for the biomonitoring of the impact of oil in mangrove settings. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We suggest the use of sequences of the selected genera as proxies for oil pollution, using qPCR assessments. The quantification of these genera in distinct mangrove systems in relation to the local oil levels would permit the evaluation of the level of perturbance of mangroves, being useful in field monitoring. Considering the importance of mangroves to many other environments and the susceptibility of such areas to oil spills this manuscript will be of broad interest

Effects of 48-hour feed deprivation on acute-phase response in horses

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of feed restriction on acute-phase response in horses. Twenty horses were deprived of food for 48 h and others 12 animals (control) had free access to water and hay. They were closely monitored and examined, and blood samples were taken at the beginning (0) of the study and 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42 and 48 hours afterward. Data were submitted to two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures and statistical significance was P ≤ 0.05. The horses tolerated feed restriction without serious clinical complications. Feed restriction induced an increase in the acute-phase response by elevating serum concentrations of α2-macroglobulin (24-38 h), ceruloplasmin (36-48 h), α1-antitrypsin (30-48 h), α1-acid glycoprotein (42-48 h) and haptoglobin (42-48 h). Nutrient deprivation raised the levels of circulating cortisol, which acts on the innate immune system, which then induces the acute-phase response. In conclusion, food restriction is a physical stressor for horses, capable of inducing an acute-phase protein reaction, characterized by increased production of α2-macroglobulin, ceruloplasmin, α1-antitrypsin, α1-acid glycoprotein and haptoglobin. Keywords: Equine; Feed restriction; Inflammation; Immune response; Proteins; Stress.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of feed restriction on acute-phase response in horses. Twenty horses were deprived of food for 48 h and others 12 animals (control) had free access to water and hay. They were closely monitored and examined, and blood samples were taken at the beginning (0) of the study and 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42 and 48 hours afterward. Data were submitted to two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures and statistical significance was P ≤ 0.05. The horses tolerated feed restriction without serious clinical complications. Feed restriction induced an increase in the acute-phase response by elevating serum concentrations of α2-macroglobulin (24-38 h), ceruloplasmin (36-48 h), α1-antitrypsin (30-48 h), α1-acid glycoprotein (42-48 h) and haptoglobin (42-48 h). Nutrient deprivation raised the levels of circulating cortisol, which acts on the innate immune system, which then induces the acute-phase response. In conclusion, food restriction is a physical stressor for horses, capable of inducing an acute-phase protein reaction, characterized by increased production of α2-macroglobulin, ceruloplasmin, α1-antitrypsin, α1-acid glycoprotein and haptoglobin. Keywords: Equine; Feed restriction; Inflammation; Immune response; Proteins; Stress