ESTIMAÇÃO DA FUNÇÃO DE REAÇÃO DO BANCO CENTRAL: UMA ANÁLISE PARA A ECONOMIA BRASILEIRA

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Sócio-Econômico. Economia.O presente estudo busca realizar a estimação da função de reação do Banco Central a partir da ideia de reação da taxa de juros às variações nos índices de inflação e no hiato do produto proposta por Taylor (1993) para dados trimestrais da economia brasileira que iniciam no período de implantação do sistema de metas de inflação. Essa estimação é feita a partir de modelos econométricos do tipo ARIMA com a intenção de verificar como é a condução da política monetária brasileira. No trabalho é concluído que o Banco Central brasileiro tem a sua política monetária voltada somente à condução da inflação para a sua meta, não apresentando objetivo relacionado a manter um elevado crescimento do produto interno bruto brasileiro

The development of early life gut microbiota in health and allergic disease

The development of the gut microbiome from birth through to childhood is thought to be important for establishing a healthy symbiosis, but much is yet to be learnt about this phase of microbiome development. Perturbations of gut microbiome during this development have been associated with the pathology of diseases, such as allergy. In Chapter 2, we describe this dynamic period of gut microbiome development, the various factors involved in shaping its composition and the importance for the concurrent maturation of the immune system. Environmental factors including birth mode, exposure to antibiotics and household exposures (such as siblings and furry pets) represent important factors impacting its development, and which also have been epidemiologically implicated in the risk to develop allergic disease. Several paediatric studies indeed associated altered gut microbiota with development of allergic disease. Breastfeeding represents the most significant factor in shaping early life microbiome and is associated with several short-term and long-term health benefits, including a lower risk of developing allergic disease. Specific prebiotic or synbiotic (when combined with probiotics) ingredients added to infant formula may exert similar effects on gut microbiota composition and activity, which may benefit infants for whom breastfeeding is not possible. Bifidobacteria are the most abundant bacteria in breastfed infants, but often under-represented in 16S rRNA surveys of diversity, due to poor DNA extraction techniques, poor PCR primer choice or a combination of both. In Chapter 3, we optimized a commonly used “universal” PCR primer set and demonstrated the effective recovery of this genus without compromising the detection of other genera. In Chapter 4 we applied the optimized pyrosequencing method described in Chapter 3 to analyse the gut microbiota of infants at high-risk of developing allergy, who participated in a clinical trial that investigated the effects of a partially hydrolysed protein formula supplemented with prebiotics on the prevention of eczema. We showed that the taxonomic composition of infants receiving the prebiotic-supplemented formula was closer to that of breastfed infants when compared to infants receiving an infant formula based on intact protein without prebiotics, which was driven by increased abundance of Bifidobacterium spp. and decreased abundances of Clostridium spp. and Lachnospiraceae spp. Importantly this also led to specific changes in gut eco-physiology characterized by a more acidic pH and increased levels of lactate and acetate as also characteristic for breastfed infants. In a nested case-control, we found that infants who developed eczema by 18 months of age showed an altered development of bacterial taxa and metabolites around the time that complementary feeding was started. The patterns identified suggested that the establishment of specific bacteria that utilize lactate and acetate to produce butyrate may have a role in protecting from the development of eczema. Infants who suffer from severe CMA often rely on cow's milk protein avoidance and, when breastfeeding is not possible, on specialised infant formulas such as amino-acid based formulas (AAF) to meet their nutritional needs and in order to resolve the allergic symptoms they suffer from. In Chapter 5, we investigated the modulatory effects of an AAF supplemented with synbiotics on the gut microbiota and showed that both composition and activity approximated that of an age-matched breastfed reference group as opposed to infants receiving the AAF without synbiotics. Similar as observed in Chapter 4 this was driven by an increase of the Bifidobacterium spp./ Lachnospiraceae spp. ratio (B/L-ratio). In Chapter 6 we screened the intestinal microbiota of a small set CMA-infants and healthy controls to select donor samples for faecal microbiota transplantation into germ-free mice. We confirmed the decreased B/L-ratio in CMA versus healthy infants as observed in Chapter 5, which was maintained upon transplantation into the germ-free mice. Herein, we showed that CMA-associated infant microbiota resulted in an atopic orientation, with increased immunoglobulin E levels and an enhanced responsiveness to cow’s milk allergen upon sensitization, which suggested that the pathobiology of allergic disease is mediated at least in part by gut microbiome perturbation.</p

Het weblog als instrument voor reflectie op leren en handelen

Wopereis, I. G. J. H., & Sloep, P. B. (2009). Het weblog als instrument voor reflectie op leren en handelen [Kennisnet Essay]. Te verkrijgen via http://onderzoek.kennisnet.nl/onderzoeken/rendement/hetweblogHet zelf vastleggen en verspreiden van persoonlijke informatie via internet, ofwel ‘personal webpublishing’, is momenteel populair. Met name het gebruik van weblogs om kennis en inzichten te delen en te reflecteren op eigen en andermans handelen groeit gestaag. Als ‘cognitive tool’ voor informeel leren heeft de weblog zijn waarde bewezen. Ook in formele settings (lees: onderwijs en training) wordt in toenemende mate gebruik gemaakt van weblogs. De vraag is of weblogs ook binnen de formele onderwijscontext waardevol zijn en een bijdrage kunnen leveren aan effectief, efficiënt en/of motivationeel leren. Dit essay richt zich op deze vraag en zoomt daarbij in op het gebruik van weblogs als reflectie-instrument. Hierbij ligt de focus op reflectie op werkplekleren binnen het domein van de lerarenopleidingen.Kennisne

Enhanced catch-up growth after a challenge in animals on organic feed

A feeding experiment was performed in two generations of three groups of chickens with different immune responsiveness. All groups were fed identically composed feeds from either organic or conventional production. In the young animals of the second generation an immune challenge was imposed. The chickens fed conventional feed showed overall a higher weight gain, whereas feed intake of the groups was similar. The animals on organic feed showed an enhanced immune reactivity, a stronger reaction to the immune challenge, as well as an enhanced ’catch-up-growth’ after the challenge

Eerste ontwerp format voor de beschrijving van virtuele klas scenario’s – Memo:Deliverable D2.2

Deze deliverable beschrijft een eerste ontwerp van een format voor de beschrijving van virtuele klas scenario's

Weblogs as learning tools for aspirant reflective practitioners

Wopereis, I., & Sloep, P. B. (2013, January-February). Weblogs as learning tools for aspirant reflective practitioners. Position paper presented at the Workshop on Technology support for reflecting on experiences and sharing them across learning contexts at the Alpine Rendez-Vous 2013, Villard-de-Lans, France.Weblogs, a mainstream social software, allow for externalizing thinking processes and subsequent review, and thus offer rich opportunities for modelling, reflection and feedback. We studied the assumption that weblogs are suitable tools to support and stimulate reflection on action in teacher training in the Netherlands. At the Alpine Rendez-Vous we would like to discuss the findings of our study, which include moderate positive findings with regard to reflection learning and technology use. Both (instructional) design issues and concerns related to the implementation of weblogs will be presented (e.g., the relation with e-portfolio). In addition, we would like to consider the redefinition of teacher training expertise needed for using weblog technology and the role of the (incipient) expert in the context of Web 2.0-powered changes in knowledge creation

Designing networked learning for innovation in teacher learning groups

This study searches for guidelines to facilitate teacher-learning groups (TLGs) that aim to create sustainable knowledge (i.e., knowledge-creating TLGs). The ‘Dimensions of Social Learning (DSL) Framework’ is applied as a starting point to analyse the groups’ social configuration. The study explores the integration of two theories (social capital and value creation) into the DSL Framework in order to broaden the sustainable knowledge-creation perspective. To test the usability of the extended framework we conducted a case study in a primary teacher training college in the Netherlands. We found that both theories added features of knowledge creation to the DSL Framework: social capital in a process-oriented manner and value creation in a product-oriented way. For the facilitation of knowledge-creating TLGs, the collective knowledge working identity is an important indicator. A gradual development of both spread leadership and an inquiry-based attitude are important for this indicator. Institutional value creation is a second indicator. This indicator says that TLGs should involve all stakeholders when starting a joint enterprise and connect actions to institutional goals right from the start