Teaching with internet support : a case example

The evolution of Internet and all related technologies contributed, a lot, for the development of the e-learning. This paper discusses the advantages in using the new Technologies, namely the Internet, as an aid tool to teaching, and presents an example developed in the Degree of Industrial Electronics and Computer Engineering at University of Minho. It also discusses the motivations of the students on acquiring knowledge by an alternative method of teaching/learning.The authors are grateful to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia), projects funding POCTI/ESE/41170/2001 and POCTI/ESE/48242/2002

Spectral multi-normalisation for robust speech recognition

This paper presents an improved version of a spectral normalisation based method for extraction of speech robust features in additive noise. The baseline normalisation method was developed by taking into consideration that, while the speech regions with less energy need more robustness, since in these regions the noise is more dominant, the “peaked” spectral regions which are the most reliable due to the higher speech energy must also be preserved as much as possible by the feature extraction process. The additive noise effect tends to flatten the “peaked” spectral zones while the spectral zones of less energy are usually raised. The algorithm proposed in this paper showed to alleviate the noise effect by emphasising the voiced nature of the speech signal by raising the spectral “peaks”, which are “flatten” by the noise effect. The clean speech database is assumed as lightly contaminated, the additive noise is estimated in a frame by frame basis and then used to restore both the “peaked” and the flat spectral zones of the speech spectrum

Association between sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity, muscle strength and quality of life variables in elderly women

OBJETIVO: Verificar a associação entre sarcopenia, obesidade sarcopênica e força muscular com variáveis relacionadas à qualidade de vida em idosas. MÉTODO: A amostra foi composta por 56 voluntárias do sexo feminino que se submeteram à análise de composição corporal (IMC e absortometria de raios-x de dupla energia DXA). A força de preensão palmar (FPP) foi mensurada pelo dinamômetro Jamar. Para análise de qualidade de vida, usou-se o questionário SF-36; para análise estatística, os dados foram apresentados por meio da estatística descritiva e Coeficiente de Correlação de Pearson. O software SPSS, versão 15,0, foi utilizado para realização de todas as análises. RESULTADOS: As idosas apresentaram média de idade de 64,92±5,74 anos. Das 56 voluntárias avaliadas, 19,64% (n=11) foram classificadas com obesidade sarcopênica. Treze voluntárias (23,21%) foram classificadas como sarcopênicas. Os principais achados do presente estudo demonstraram que, embora não fosse encontrada significância estatística entre os parâmetros estudados em idosas classificadas com sarcopenia e obesidade sarcopênica e as dimensões de qualidade de vida, os valores médios foram inferiores nas acometidas. De forma interessante, a variável FPP correlacionou-se positiva e significativamente com todos os domínios do SF-36, com exceção de VIT (p=0,08) e SM (p=0,25). CONCLUSÕES: A FPP é um fator determinante nos aspectos relacionados à qualidade de vida na população estudada. O rastreamento e a identificação de pequenas alterações funcionais por meio de medidas clínicas simples, como a FPP, podem favorecer a intervenção precoce e prevenir incapacidades. Em contraste, sarcopenia e obesidade sarcopênica não foram associadas à qualidade de vida.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity and muscle strength and variables related to quality of life in elderly women. METHOD: The sample consisted of 56 female volunteers who underwent body composition analysis (BMI and x-ray absorptiometry dual-energy DXA). Handgrip strength was measured using a Jamar dynamometer. We used the SF-36 health questionnaire to analyze quality of life. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient; SPSS 15.0 was used to perform the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 64.92±5.74 years; of the 56 volunteers evaluated, 19.64% (n=11) were classified as sarcopenic obese and 45 (80.36%) were not. Thirteen volunteers (23.21%) were classified as sarcopenic while 43 (76.78%) were not. Although there were no statistically significant differences between the studied parameters and quality of life among those with sarcopenia or sarcopenic obesity, the values were lower in affected individuals. Interestingly, handgrip strength correlated positively and significantly with all of the SF-36 dimensions except VIT (p=0.08) and SM (p=0.25). Conclusions: Seeing that handgrip strength is a determining factor in quality of life aspects in this population, the screening and identification of small functional changes using simple clinical measures may facilitate early intervention and help prevent disability. In contrast, neither sarcopenia nor sarcopenic obesity were found to be associated with quality of life

Contraception and post abortion services: Qualitative analysis of users' perspectives and experiences following Zika epidemic in Honduras

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy has severe consequences on the new-born. The World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in 2016. Health facilities in the regions most affected by Zika lacked the capacity to respond to the increased demand for contraception. The objectives were to explore healthcare users' perceptions regarding contraception, Zika prevention during pregnancy and post-abortion care (PAC) services in the context of a Zika outbreak in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and to follow these services over time. Methods: This study was part of a broader implementation research study. We used qualitative research consistent with grounded theory approach. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were performed with women and their partners who used contraceptive services or received PAC services. Data were collected in two stages from December 2017 to July 2018. Themes explored included contraception, Zika and PAC services. Results: Participants had positive attitude towards the use of contraceptive methods and demanded more information on safety, efficacy and on side effects. Health care services were inconsistent in the provision of information on Zika and contraception services. ZIKV vector transmission was known but fewer participants were aware of risk of sexual transmission of Zika. Barriers to access healthcare services included contraceptive and PAC services included distance to healthcare facilities, disorganized admission process, long waiting times and out-of-pocket expenditure to purchase medicines. Furthermore, poor quality, mistreatment and abuse of women seeking PAC was prevalent. Some positive changes were noted over time, such as improvements in infrastructure including improved privacy and cleanliness, removal of fees, requisite to bring clean water to hospital. Conclusions: Our results highlight the challenges and areas for improvement in policy and practice related to contraceptive services and PAC in the context of ZIKV infection. Public policies to prevent epidemics should focus more on providing proper sanitation; removing barriers to access and use of effective contraception as human rights priority. Zika epidemic has highlighted weaknesses in health systems that obstruct access to and use of sexual and reproductive health services. The study results call for increased efforts to improve access, especially for women of low socio-economic status and intervene at different levels to eradicate discrimination and improve equity in the provision of health care. Qualitative methods can capture the community perspectives and can provide useful information to develop interventions to improve services.Fil: Belizan, Maria. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Maradiaga, Edna. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; HondurasFil: Roberti, Javier Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Casco Aguilar, Maricela. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; HondurasFil: Ortez, Alison F.. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; HondurasFil: Avila Flores, Juan C.. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; HondurasFil: González, Gloria. Hospital Escuela; HondurasFil: Bustillo, Carolina. Hospital Escuela; HondurasFil: Calderón, Alejandra. Centro de Salud Alonso Suazo; HondurasFil: Bock, Harry. No especifíca;Fil: Cafferata, María L.. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Tavares, Adriano B.. Organizacion Mundial de la Salud; ArgentinaFil: Alger, Jackeline. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; HondurasFil: Ali, Moazzam. Organizacion Mundial de la Salud; Argentin

The step of incorporation of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086 into “requeijão cremoso” processed cheese does not affect metabolic homeostasis of rats

Dairy product consumption is a common habit in Brazil. These products present a good matrix for probiotic incorporation. Thus, in this study the feasibility of producing a probiotic "requeijao cremoso" incorporated with Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086 in three different steps and its metabolic effect in an animal model for 2 weeks has been evaluated. Wistar adult health rats were randomized into one to five groups (n = 8 for each group): Control (C); "requeijao cremoso" without probiotic (RC); probiotic inoculated in the milk before pasteurization at 65 degrees C/30 min (RPP); "requeijao cremoso" inoculated before the fusion step and consequently exposed to 90 degrees C/5 min (RPF); and "requeijao cremoso" inoculated after fusion step, i.e., once the product temperature reached 50 degrees C (RPAF). At the end of treatment, analysis of molecular markers of proteins of stress and antioxidant system, HSP 25, 60, 70 and 90, SOD and catalase were performed in the animals' muscles by Western Blot technique. The HSP25, HSP90 and catalase levels of C, RPP, RPF, and RPAF were similar, indicating that the homeostasis remained unchanged. The incorporation of B. coagulans GBI-30 6086 in the "requeijao cremoso" was shown to be stable and the microorganism remained viable in all steps tested. The incorporation of the probiotic strain in the fusion stage facilitated the technological process, since it allowed a better homogenization of the product and did not affect the maintenance of the metabolic homeostasis of rats10CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPsem informação302763/2014-7; 305804/2017-013/21544-9; 18/24540-8; 2019/21188-

Erratum to: The study of cardiovascular risk in adolescents – ERICA: rationale, design and sample characteristics of a national survey examining cardiovascular risk factor profile in Brazilian adolescents

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Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016