Perinatal and social risk of poor language, memory, and learning outcomes in a cohort of extremely and very preterm children

Children born extremely preterm (EPT) or very preterm (VPT) are at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment. How the interaction between biological and social risk factors affects cognitive development has not yet been completely understood. The objectives of this study are to analyze and compare the language, memory, and learning outcomes of five-year-old children born EPT (<28 weeks’ gestational age) and VPT (28–31+6 weeks’ gestational age) and to determine the risk of having poor outcomes attending to perinatal and maternal characteristics. The analysis included 377 children born VPT (n = 284) and EPT (n = 93) in 2011–2012. Maternal, neonatal, and clinical information was obtained at birth, and maternal education was obtained at five years using a parental questionnaire. At five years, the language, memory, and learning outcomes were assessed with the developmental NEuroPSYchological assessment second edition (NEPSY-II®). Logistic regression models were applied to assess the association of biological and social risk factors with performance below the expected level for the child’s age in language, memory, and learning subtests. Lower maternal age and education increased the odds of having language performance below the expected level for the child’s age, while lower maternal educational level and gestational age increased the likelihood of having memory performance below the expected level. Children living in the most social disadvantage contexts are at a higher risk of suboptimal cognitive development. Implementing intervention programs in disadvantaged contexts and targeting specific cognitive domains may enable EPT and VPT children to reach and fulfill their potential in society. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.This work is financed by national funding through the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the projects UIDB/04750/2020 e LA/P/0064/2020

Algoritmo como ferramenta de apoio à decisão para avaliação de sustentabilidade na introdução de novas tecnologias agrícolas.

Resumo: A avaliação dos impactos das tecnologias agrícolas pode ser uma aliada do processo de decisão. Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia para a avaliação dos impactos de inovações tecnológicas com adequações para a avaliação integrada das tecnologias agrícolas e suas aplicações, fornecendo informações organizadas de acordo com critérios e indicadores nas diversas dimensões onde os impactos da liberação ou utilização da tecnologia agrícola podem ser percebidos. O método consiste de um sistema que permite a análise do cenário no qual a tecnologia será introduzida, a partir da geração do índice de significância e a avaliação do desempenho da inovação, pela análise dos indicadores de impactos que irão compor o índice de magnitude. Este sistema conta com uma ferramenta de apoio, o software "Inovatec-AGRO", com informações apresentadas como um norteador para permitir uma avaliação instruída e embasada. Abstract: Agricultural technology impact assessment may be a helpful tool in the decision-making process. The present work suggests a method to evaluate the impact of technological innovation, with adequacy to assess agricultural technology providing information organized according to criteria and indicators in several areas where the innovation can be perceived, focusing the complexity of the innovation under investigation. The method consists of a system that allows the analysis of the innovation range starting from the generation of the significance index, and the assessment of the innovation performance through the analysis of the performance indicators which will compose the magnitude index. This system has a support tool, the software ?Inovatec-Agro?, with information shown as a guide to allow a well-informed and a well-based evaluation

Impact of Molecular Architecture and Adsorption Density on Adhesion of Mussel-Inspired Surface Primers with Catechol-Cation Synergy.

Marine mussels secrete proteins rich in residues containing catechols and cationic amines that displace hydration layers and adhere to charged surfaces under water via a cooperative binding effect known as catechol-cation synergy. Mussel-inspired adhesives containing paired catechol and cationic functionalities are a promising class of materials for biomedical applications, but few studies address the molecular adhesion mechanism(s) of these materials. To determine whether intramolecular adjacency of these functionalities is necessary for robust adhesion, a suite of siderophore analog surface primers was synthesized with systematic variations in intramolecular spacing between catechol and cationic functionalities. Adhesion measurements conducted with a surface forces apparatus (SFA) allow adhesive failure to be distinguished from cohesive failure and show that the failure mode depends critically on the siderophore analog adsorption density. The adhesion of these molecules to muscovite mica in an aqueous electrolyte solution demonstrates that direct intramolecular adjacency of catechol and cationic functionalities is not necessary for synergistic binding. However, we show that increasing the catechol-cation spacing by incorporating nonbinding domains results in decreased adhesion, which we attribute to a decrease in the density of catechol functionalities. A mechanism for catechol-cation synergy is proposed based on electrostatically driven adsorption and subsequent binding of catechol functionalities. This work should guide the design of new adhesives for binding to charged surfaces in saline environments

Von Bezold assimilation effect reverses in stereoscopic conditions

Lightness contrast and lightness assimilation are opposite phenomena: in contrast, grey targets appear darker when bordering bright surfaces (inducers) rather than dark ones; in assimilation, the opposite occurs. The question is: which visual process favours the occurrence of one phenomenon over the other? Researchers provided three answers to this question. The first asserts that both phenomena are caused by peripheral processes; the second attributes their occurrence to central processes; and the third claims that contrast involves central processes, whilst assimilation involves peripheral ones. To test these hypotheses, an experiment on an IT system equipped with goggles for stereo vision was run. Observers were asked to evaluate the lightness of a grey target, and two variables were systematically manipulated: (i) the apparent distance of the inducers; and (ii) brightness of the inducers. The retinal stimulation was kept constant throughout, so that the peripheral processes remained the same. The results show that the lightness of the target depends on both variables. As the retinal stimulation was kept constant, we conclude that central mechanisms are involved in both lightness contrast and lightness assimilation

Can groundwater secure drinking-water supply and supplementary irrigation in new settlements of North-West Cambodia ?

Since the end of the Cambodian Civil War in 1998, the population of the Oddar Meanchey province has drastically increased despite the lack of adequate infrastructure, including basic amenities such as drinking-water supply. To improve the access to drinking water, governmental and aid agencies have focussed on drilling shallow boreholes. The use of groundwater for irrigation is also a growing concern to cope with the occasional late arrival of the rainy season or to produce food during the dry season. Since the groundwater resource in the province has not been documented, a 4-year study was undertaken (2011-2014), aiming to estimate the capability of groundwater to supply domestic needs and supplementary irrigation for rice production. Aquifer properties were estimated by combined use of hydrogeological techniques with the geophysical magnetic resonance sounding method. Groundwater storage and recharge were estimated based on new developments in the application of the geophysical method for quantifying specific yield. The median groundwater storage of the targeted sandstone aquifer is 173 mm, the recharge is diffuse and annually ranges from 10 to 70 mm, and the transmissivity is low to medium. Simulations of pumping indicate that the aquifer can easily supply 100 L of drinking water per capita daily, even considering the estimated population in 2030. However, the shallow aquifer can generally not deliver enough water to irrigate paddy fields of several hectares during a 2-month delay in the onset of the monsoon

Efeito da seleção massal estratificada em duas populações de milho e na heterose dos seus cruzamentos.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar os efeitos da selecao massal estratificada na producao de graos das populacoes de milho (Zea mays L.), Dente Paulista e Cateto Minas Gerais e no desempenho dos hibridos entre estas populacoes, em varios ciclos de selecao. O Dente Paulista foi submetido a cinco ciclos de selecao e o Minas Gerais a tres ciclos. Os experimentos, no delineamento latice, foram conduzidos em tres locais, totalizando quatro diferentes ambientes e 32 repeticoes. Foram aplicados modelos matematicos adequados visando estimar e testar o progresso obtido nas variedades e as modificacoes sofridas pela heterose e pela producao dos hibridos. Os resultados permitiram concluir que a selecao recorrente intrapopulacional aplicada refletiu negativamente sobre a producao de graos do hibrido interpopulacional nos ciclos mais avancados de selecao

Efeito da seleção massal estratificada em duas populações de milho e na heterose dos seus cruzamentos.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar os efeitos da selecao massal estratificada na producao de graos das populacoes de milho (Zea mays L.), Dente Paulista e Cateto Minas Gerais e no desempenho dos hibridos entre estas populacoes, em varios ciclos de selecao. O Dente Paulista foi submetido a cinco ciclos de selecao e o Minas Gerais a tres ciclos. Os experimentos, no delineamento latice, foram conduzidos em tres locais, totalizando quatro diferentes ambientes e 32 repeticoes. Foram aplicados modelos matematicos adequados visando estimar e testar o progresso obtido nas variedades e as modificacoes sofridas pela heterose e pela producao dos hibridos. Os resultados permitiram concluir que a selecao recorrente intrapopulacional aplicada refletiu negativamente sobre a producao de graos do hibrido interpopulacional nos ciclos mais avancados de selecao.Título em inglês: Effects of stratified mass selection on two corn populations and on heterosis of their crosses

Characterization of actinomycetes antagonistic to Phytophthora fragariae var. rubi, the causal agent of raspberry root rot

Onze souches d'actinomycetes ayant la capacité de protéger les plants de framboisiers (Rubus strigosus) contre les infections causées par les Phytophthora ont été caractérisées. Il a été montré que toutes les souches appartenaient au genre Streptomyces. Deux souches (EF-34 et EF-76) croissaient à 4, 15 et 30°C sur un milieu V8 agar dont le pH avait été ajusté entre 5 et 9. Sept souches dont EF-34 et EF-76 pouvaient hydrolyser les parois cellulaires de Phytophthora et inhiber la croissance du champignon à 15°C et à des pH variant entre 5 et 9. Toutes les souches inhibaient la croissance du P. fragariae var. rubi et du Pythium ultimum. La croissance d'autres espèces fongiques et de bactéries à Gram négatif n'était inhibée qu'en présence de trois souches (EF-14, EF-72 et EF-76). Les onze actinomycetes antagonistes ont été classés en quatre groupes selon leur résistance à divers pesticides utilisés pour protéger les cultures de framboisiers. La souche EF-76 a été caractérisée plus en détail. Cette souche a été identifiée comme étant le Streptomyces hygroscopicus var. geldanus, et produisait l'antibiotique geldanamycine.Eleven actinomycete strains that were previously shown to protect raspberry (Rubus strigosus) plants against Phytophthora infection were characterized. all were shown to belong to the genus Streptomyces. Two strains (EF-34 and EF-76) grew at 4, 15 and 30°C on V8 agar between pHs 5 to 9. Seven strains including EF-34 and EF-76 had both the ability to hydrolyze Phytophthora cell walls and to inhibit Phytophthora growth at 15°C between pHs 5 to 9. all actinomycetes inhibited the growth of P. fragariaevar. rubi and of Pythium ultimum. The growth of other fungal species and of Gram-negative bacteria was inhibited only in the presence of three strains (EF-14, EF-72, and EF-76). The eleven antagonistic actinomycetes were classified into four groups with regard to their resistance to various pesticides used to protect raspberry crops. Strain EF-76 was further characterized. This strain was identified as Streptomyceshygroscopicus var. geldanus, and it was shown to produce geldanamycin, a known antibiotic

Software INOVA-TEC SYSTEM: uma proposta metodológica para avaliação de impacto das biotecnologias agrícolas.

A avaliação dos impactos das tecnologias pode ser uma aliada do processo de decisão. Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia para a avaliação dos impactos de inovações tecnológicas com adequações para a avaliação integrada das biotecnologias agrícolas e suas aplicações, fornecendo informações organizadas de acordo com critérios e indicadores nas diversas dimensões onde os impactos da biotecnologia agrícola sob avaliação podem ser percebidos. O método consiste de um sistema que permite a análise: i) do cenário no qual a tecnologia será introduzida, a partir da geração do índice de significância, e ii) do desempenho da inovação, pela análise dos indicadores de desempenho que irão compor o índice de magnitude. Este sistema conta com uma ferramenta de apoio, o software ?INOVA-tec v 1.0?, com informações apresentadas como um nortear para permitir uma avaliação instruída e embasada