APRENDENDO A ENSINAR QUIMICA A PARTIR DA VISÃO MACROSCÓPICA NA CONSTRUÇÃO DO LÓGICO-FORMAL

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a intervenção pedagógica numa abordagem de ensino que teve como ponto de partida a visão macroscópica, lógico-empírica, buscando a compreensão e aprendizagem dos alunos em escolas públicas de Curitiba. A pesquisa foi realizada nas disciplinas de Metodologia de Ensino e Prática Docente de Química I e II, de caráter de pesquisa-ação, em quatro etapas, a saber: 1º: foi iniciada na disciplina de Metodologia do Ensino de Química, com leituras e discussões buscando fundamentar e subsidiar os envolvidos; 2º: elaboração do projeto de intervenção pedagógica numa perspectiva de ensino cujo ponto de partida é o cotidiano, possibilitando a construção do lógico-formal, conhecimento microscópico; 3º: foi implementada a intervenção pedagógica dos licenciandos, a 4º: se refere às atividades didático-pedagógicas contextualizadas e problematizadas a partir do lógico-empírico. O estudo desvelou que a aprendizagem se efetiva quando o ensino é parte do sentido, vivido e visto pelo educand

Análise de aspectos hedônicos e utilitários como preditores da recomendação e recompra do Natal Luz

The objective of this study was to demonstrate that the hedonic and utilitarian aspects prior to recommendation and repurchase (loyalty) and the frequency of visits to an event changes the perception of the consumer of the hedonic and utilitarian motivations and the higher the frequency of visits more utilitarian event is motivation. For this purpose we proceeded a survey, applied December 2011 and January 2012, measuring the hedonic and utilitarian perception of the recommendation and moderate repurchase by the frequency of visits to the event. The data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique (ESM) and the results showed that the more consumers attending the event, the greater the strength of utilities reasons for recommendation and repurchase and hedonic aspects and utilities prior to recommendation and repurchase. The hedonic value the results found decreases as the consumer attends the event. This evidence allowed the inference that after the first visit to the "Christmas Light" the consumer develops a useful relationship with the show and can cite "reasons" for your choice and the greater the higher repurchase will be the rationalization of choice by new repurchases of event. El objetivo de este estudio fue demostrar que los aspectos hedónicos y utilitarias antes de recomendación y de recompra (lealtad) y la frecuencia de las visitas a un evento cambia la percepción del consumidor de las motivaciones hedónicas y utilitarias y cuanto mayor sea la frecuencia de visitas evento más utilitario es la motivación. Para ello se procedió a una encuesta, aplicado de diciembre de 2011 y enero de 2012, que mide la percepción hedonista y utilitarista de la recomendación y recompra moderada por la frecuencia de visitas al evento. Los datos fueron analizados utilizando la técnica de modelado de ecuaciones estructurales (ESM) y los resultados mostraron que los más consumidores que asistieron al evento, mayor será la fuerza de utilidades razones de recomendación y de recompra y los aspectos hedónicos y las utilidades antes de recomendación y recompra. El valor hedónico los resultados disminuye a medida que el consumidor asiste al evento. Esta evidencia permite la inferencia de que después de la primera visita a la "luz de la Navidad" el consumidor desarrolla una relación útil con la demostración y puede citar las "razones" para su elección y mayor será la recompra mayor será la justificación de la elección de nuevas recompras de evento.O objetivo do presente trabalho foi demonstrar que os aspectos hedônicos e utilitários antecedem a recomendação e recompra (lealdade) e que a frequência de visitas a um evento modifica a percepção do consumidor sobre as motivações hedônicas e utilitárias sendo que quanto maior a frequência de visitas ao evento mais utilitária é a motivação. Para tal intento procedeu-se uma survey, executada entre dezembro de 2011 e janeiro de 2012, medindo a percepção hedônica e utilitária em relação à recomendação e recompra moderada pela frequência de visitas ao evento. Os dados foram tratados com a utilização da técnica de modelagem de equações estruturais (MEE). s resultados demonstraram que quanto mais os consumidores vão ao evento, maior é à força dos motivos utilitários para recomendação e recompra e que aspectos hedônicos e utilitários antecedem a recomendação e recompra. O valor hedônico nos resultados encontrados diminui conforme o consumidor frequenta o evento. Esta evidencia possibilitou a inferência que após a primeira visita ao “Natal Luz” o consumidor desenvolve uma relação de utilidade com o espetáculo, podendo citar “razões” para sua escolha e quanto maior for a recompra maior será a racionalização da escolha pelas novas recompras do event

Scarce population genetic differentiation but substantial spatiotemporal phenotypic variation of water‑use efficiency in Pinus sylvestris at its western distribution range

Water and carbon fluxes in forests are largely related to leaf gas exchange physiology varying across spatiotemporal scales and modulated by plant responses to environmental cues. We quantified the relevance of genetic and phenotypic variation of intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi, ratio of net photosynthesis to stomatal conductance of water) in Pinus sylvestris L. growing in the Iberian Peninsula as inferred from tree-ring carbon isotopes. Inter-population genetic variation, evaluated in a provenance trial comprising Spanish and German populations, was low and relevant only at continental scale. In contrast, phenotypic variation, evaluated in natural stands (at spatial level) and by tree-ring chronologies (at temporal inter-annual level), was important and ten- and threefold larger than the population genetic variance, respectively. These results points to preponderance of plastic responses dominating variability in WUEi for this species. Spatial phenotypic variation in WUEi correlated negatively with soil depth (r = − 0.66; p < 0.01), while temporal phenotypic variation was mainly driven by summer precipitation. At the spatial level, WUEi could be scaled-up to ecosystem-level WUE derived from remote sensing data by accounting for soil water-holding capacity (r = 0.63; p < 0.01). This outcome demonstrates a direct influence of the variation of leaf-level WUEi on ecosystem water and carbon balance differentiation. Our findings highlight the contrasting importance of genetic variation (negligible) and plastic responses in WUEi (large, with changes of up to 33% among sites) on determining carbon and water budgets at stand and ecosystem scales in a widespread conifer such as Pinus sylvestris.This work was supported by the Spanish Government [MINECO Grant Number AGL2015-68274-C3-3-R] and the Russian Science Foundation (Project Number 14-14-00219-P, mathematical approach). We acknowledge P. Sopeña and M.J. Pau for technical assistance and V. Muñoz, M. Sala and A. Teixidó for field sampling

Spin dynamics of molecular nanomagnets fully unraveled by four-dimensional inelastic neutron scattering

Molecular nanomagnets are among the first examples of spin systems of finite size and have been test-beds for addressing a range of elusive but important phenomena in quantum dynamics. In fact, for short-enough timescales the spin wavefunctions evolve coherently according to the an appropriate cluster spin-Hamiltonian, whose structure can be tailored at the synthetic level to meet specific requirements. Unfortunately, to this point it has been impossible to determine the spin dynamics directly. If the molecule is sufficiently simple, the spin motion can be indirectly assessed by an approximate model Hamiltonian fitted to experimental measurements of various types. Here we show that recently-developed instrumentation yields the four-dimensional inelastic-neutron scattering function S(Q,E) in vast portions of reciprocal space and enables the spin dynamics to be determined with no need of any model Hamiltonian. We exploit the Cr8 antiferromagnetic ring as a benchmark to demonstrate the potential of this new approach. For the first time we extract a model-free picture of the quantum dynamics of a molecular nanomagnet. This allows us, for example, to examine how a quantum fluctuation propagates along the ring and to directly test the degree of validity of the N\'{e}el-vector-tunneling description of the spin dynamics

Nanoparticle delivery systems in the treatment of diabetes complications

Diabetes mellitus, an incurable metabolic disease, is characterized by changes in the homeostasis of blood sugar levels, being the subcutaneous injection of insulin the first line treatment. This administration route is however associated with limited patients compliance, due to the risk of pain, discomfort and local infection. Nanoparticles have been proposed as insulin carriers to make possible the administration of the peptide via friendlier pathways without the need of injection, i.e., via oral or nasal routes. Nanoparticles stand for particles in the nanometer range that can be obtained from different materials (e.g., polysaccharides, synthetic polymers, lipid) and are commonly used with the aim to improve the physicochemical stability of the loaded drug and thereby its bioavailability. This review discusses the use of different types of nanoparticles (e.g., polymeric and lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, dendrimers, niosomes, micelles, nanoemulsions and also drug nanosuspensions) for improved delivery of different oral hypoglycemic agents in comparison to conventional therapies.The authors acknowledge the financial support received from Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and from European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) under the project reference M-ERA-NET/0004/2015-PAIRED, co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. The authors also acknowledge the support of the research project: “Nutraceutica come supporto nutrizionale nel paziente oncologico”, CUP: B83D18000140007.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Condizionalità europea e identità costituzionali

La presente Sezione monografica trae origine dall’omonimo seminario organizzato presso l’Università degli Studi di Udine nel marzo 2023. Il tema della call for papers alla base del seminario – condizionalità europea e identità costituzionali – è stato scelto in quanto la condizionalità, o meglio le condizionalità, costituiscono meccanismi, di diversa matrice, sempre più presenti e pervasivi nel processo di integrazione europea, sia dal punto di vista quantitativo che da quello qualitativo. Essi agiscono sul versante orizzontale dei fini propri dell’Unione e dei rapporti tra i suoi organi, sul versante verticale dei rapporti tra Unione e Stati membri, sul versante esterno dei rapporti tra Unione e Stati candidati all’adesione, futuri candidati o Stati terzi. Gli strumenti di condizionalità rappresentano, così, uno stress test per alcuni dei tratti caratterizzanti dell’ordinamento sovranazionale, quali il limite delle competenze attribuite, il principio di parità tra Stati, la persistente oscillazione tra modello intergovernativo e modello comunitario, oggi unionale, fino a toccare, nelle più recenti evoluzioni, la stessa capacità prescrittiva dei valori di cui all’art. 2 TUE e la loro tenuta rispetto alle identità costituzionali degli Stati membri. Di qui la scelta di un tema che tocca il cuore dell’integrazione europea da molteplici sfaccettature. La Sezione si apre con un contributo di carattere generale su “L’utilizzo della condizionalità e la trasformazione dello spazio europeo” (A. Baraggia). I successivi contributi si possono raggruppare attorno a quattro nuclei tematici distinti che, tuttavia, si intersecano fra loro in maniera significativa. La condizionalità di bilancio connessa alla protezione dello Stato di diritto è analizzata da Adriano Dirri e Ylenia Guerra – che hanno scritto sulla controversa genesi e sulla «contestata applicazione» del Regolamento 2020/2092, evidenziando sia gli aspetti giuridici che le dinamiche politiche – e da Nicola Maffei, con un contributo che ne offre una lettura in chiave di evoluzione costituzionale dell’Unione, in correlazione con il piano Next Generation EU (NGEU). Il secondo nucleo di riflessione è costituito dalla condizionalità relativa all’utilizzo delle risorse finanziarie, in rapporto con la forma di governo nazionale: Federico Musso mette in luce la diversa incidenza dei vincoli sovranazionali di natura macroeconomica sulle decisioni finanziarie degli Stati membri, mentre Giulio Santini riprende l’elaborazione teorica sul concetto di indirizzo politico, proponendone l’utilizzo come chiave di lettura dell’efficacia dei meccanismi di condizionalità in ambito europeo. Ci si concentra poi su obiettivi settoriali di particolare rilevanza perseguiti dall’Unione con lo strumento della condizionalità. Paola Valerio descrive l’emergere del suo utilizzo per finalità di carattere ambientale, dalla politica di coesione alla politica agricola comune, sino al Dispositivo per la ripresa e la resilienza (cd. Recovery Fund). Roberto Vinceti, invece, approfondisce come il «formante negoziale» sotteso alla condizionalità possa spingere all’armonizzazione degli ordinamenti giudiziari nazionali, pur in assenza di competenze normative dell’Unione, facendo emergere un modello comune che i soli interventi della giurisprudenza sovranazionale non avrebbero potuto forgiare. L’ultima forma di condizionalità esaminata dai contributi della Sezione è quella insita nel procedimento di adesione ed è rivolta agli Stati candidati o potenziali candidati: Edin Skrebo analizza l’esperienza dei Balcani occidentali, e in particolare dei quattro Stati che erano parte della Repubblica Federale di Yugoslavia (Bosnia ed Erzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro e Macedonia del Nord), mentre Tatiana-Maria Cernicova-Dragomir parla dell’«associated trio» di Stati che, nel 2022, ha espresso la volontà di diventare parte dell’Unione: Ucraina, Moldavia e Georgia

Effect of aliskiren on post-discharge outcomes among diabetic and non-diabetic patients hospitalized for heart failure: insights from the ASTRONAUT trial

Aims The objective of the Aliskiren Trial on Acute Heart Failure Outcomes (ASTRONAUT) was to determine whether aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, would improve post-discharge outcomes in patients with hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) with reduced ejection fraction. Pre-specified subgroup analyses suggested potential heterogeneity in post-discharge outcomes with aliskiren in patients with and without baseline diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods and results ASTRONAUT included 953 patients without DM (aliskiren 489; placebo 464) and 662 patients with DM (aliskiren 319; placebo 343) (as reported by study investigators). Study endpoints included the first occurrence of cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 and 12 months, all-cause death within 6 and 12 months, and change from baseline in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at 1, 6, and 12 months. Data regarding risk of hyperkalaemia, renal impairment, and hypotension, and changes in additional serum biomarkers were collected. The effect of aliskiren on cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 months (primary endpoint) did not significantly differ by baseline DM status (P = 0.08 for interaction), but reached statistical significance at 12 months (non-DM: HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.64-0.99; DM: HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.91-1.47; P = 0.03 for interaction). Risk of 12-month all-cause death with aliskiren significantly differed by the presence of baseline DM (non-DM: HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.94; DM: HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.15-2.33; P < 0.01 for interaction). Among non-diabetics, aliskiren significantly reduced NT-proBNP through 6 months and plasma troponin I and aldosterone through 12 months, as compared to placebo. Among diabetic patients, aliskiren reduced plasma troponin I and aldosterone relative to placebo through 1 month only. There was a trend towards differing risk of post-baseline potassium ≥6 mmol/L with aliskiren by underlying DM status (non-DM: HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.71-1.93; DM: HR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.30-4.42; P = 0.07 for interaction). Conclusion This pre-specified subgroup analysis from the ASTRONAUT trial generates the hypothesis that the addition of aliskiren to standard HHF therapy in non-diabetic patients is generally well-tolerated and improves post-discharge outcomes and biomarker profiles. In contrast, diabetic patients receiving aliskiren appear to have worse post-discharge outcomes. Future prospective investigations are needed to confirm potential benefits of renin inhibition in a large cohort of HHF patients without D

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p &lt; 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)

TRANSMISSÃO CULTURAL: UM PONTO DE CONVERGÊNCIA E DE DIVERGÊNCIA ENTRE SKINNER E TOMASELLO

Tomasello e Skinner são dois autores que descrevem em suas obras, teorias sobre práticas culturais. O objetivo deste ensaio é apresentar um ponto de convergência e de divergência observados nas definições sobre transmissão cultural, descritas por esses dois autores. Skinner e Tomasello concordam que o estabelecimento da cultura só foi possível através da ação conjunta dos seres humanos dentro de um contexto social específico. Porém, estes dois autores diferem na forma como descrevem os processos pelos quais ocorre a transmissão cultural em contextos humanos