A stereotaxic method for small animals using experimentally determined reference profiles

In bats conventional stereotaxic methods do not yield sufficient positional accuracy to allow reliable recordings and tracer injections in subnuclei of the auditory system. In a newly developed stereotaxic system experimentally measured patterns of skull profile lines are used to define the animal's brain position with an accuracy of ±100 μm. By combining the neurophysiological stereotaxic procedure with a standardization of the neuroanatomical processing of the brains, the location of recordings, stimulations or injections can be readily transformed into brain atlas coordinates. This facilitates the compilation and comparison of data within and among animals. The system is not restricted to use in bats and can be readily adapted to other experimental animals

Ex Post Assessment of European Competition Policy: Buyer Power in Concentration Cases

acceptedVersio

A Beliefs-based Strategy to Prepare Social Workers for Educational Practices with Asylum Seekers

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to optimise educational interventions with asylum seekers. Asylum seekers (n=284) completed a questionnaire that assessed the theory of planned behaviour constructs. The results highlight the importance of social norms and their perceived control over the decision to stay, when explaining their intention to remain in the host country until the reception of the answer to their asylum request. Moreover, behavioural beliefs about the new life, medical services, the feeling of security, employment and education perspectives were identified as motivators. Educational practices can be developed on the basis of these asylum seekers’ beliefs

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

Gender Differences in Psychosocial Determinants of University Students' Intentions to Buy Fair Trade Products

This study examined gender differences in university students’ intentions to buy fair trade (FT) products through the lens of the moral-norm-extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Data were obtained from 782 students at the University of Luxemburg. Results of structural equation analysis indicated that the inclusion of moral norms increased the explained variance in behavioural intentions from 62% to 68%. Compared to men, women reported more favourable attitude, higher moral obligation, and stronger intentions toward buying FT products. Moderating analyses showed that the attitude–intentions relationship was stronger for men, whereas the perceived behavioural control–intentions relationship was stronger for women. The implications of the moderation analysis are that sustainability professionals seeking to encourage university students’ intentions to buy FT products should develop gender-targeted interventions: for men, more emphasis should be placed on attitude toward buying FT products (i.e., the advantages of adopting this behaviour), and for women, more emphasis should be placed on perceived behavioural control (e.g., factors that facilitate the purchase of FT products)

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

Perfil epidemiológico das tentativas de suicídio em crianças e adolescentes registradas no Centro de Informações Toxicológicas de Santa Catarina, no período de janeiro de 2003 a dezembro de 2007.

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Curso de Medicina. Departamento de Saúde Pública

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