Otolith morphology of Nezumia sclerorhynchus and Nezumia aequalis (Macrouridae): a useful tool to species identification and ecological studies

Bol. Mus. Mun. Funchal, Sup. N.º 6: 205-212, 2001Otoliths of Nezumia sclerorhynchus and N. aequalis are described and compared. When studying the marine trophic relationships, its general shape and morphometry allows one to separated these two sympatric species.São descritos e comparados os otólitos sagitta de Nezumia sclerorhynchus e de N. aequalis. No estudo das relações tróficas marinhas a sua forma e morfometria permitem distinguir qual destas duas espécies simpátricas foi predada

The impact of the oil spill of the tanker “Aragon” on the littoral fish fauna of Porto Santo (NE Atlantic Ocean) in 1991 and ten years later

Bocagiana, 217: 1-8Em Janeiro de 1990, a Ilha de Porto Santo (Arquipélago da Madeira), foi atingida por uma maré negra proveniente de um derrame do navio petroleiro “Aragon”. Um ano depois, avaliou-se a ictiofauna costeira. Dez anos depois da maré negra, uma nova amostragem foi realizada com a mesma metodologia, de forma a comparar com os dados recolhidos anteriormente. A análise dos resultados obtidos parece revelar que os efeitos da maré negra nos peixes litorais foram reduzidos. Este trabalho constitui a primeira contribuição para a “check-list” da ictiofauna costeira da Ilha de Porto Santo.In January 1990, the tanker “Aragon” oil spill reached Porto Santo Island (Madeira Archipelago). One year later, in 1991 the littoral fish fauna was evaluated. Ten years after the “Aragon” oil spill, a new survey was made using the same methods, to compare data. From the results it seems that the effects of the oil were rather small. As a result of this work, as a check-list of the littoral fish fauna of this Island is presented

Descending inhibitory systems

The authors have been supported by the Academy of Finland (grant 78582), the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Finland, Grünenthal Foundation, Portugal and Project no POCTI/NSE/46399/2002 from FCT and FEDER, Portugal. The authors wish to thank Dr. Denis Artchakov for illustrations

El minicomputador de Papy: una estrategia didáctica para comprender y fortalecer las operaciones básicas

Esta propuesta, del proyecto Juega y Construye la Matemática, tiene como fin presentar una estrategia metodológica como herramienta en el proceso de aprendizaje de las operaciones elementales, por medio de la utilización del minicomputador de Papy, con base en las experiencias realizadas en los colegios Maristas de Colombia. En este trabajo se evidencia el valor pedagógico del juego y de la incorporación en forma adecuada de las nuevas tecnologías de la información para la formación del pensamiento matemático. El minicomputador de Papy, es un ejercitador que nos permite desarrollar en los niños conceptos como la composición y descomposición de números utilizando el esquema multiplicativo y aditivo. Además, otra estrategia que permite el minicomputador de Papy es realizar las operaciones suma, resta, multiplicacion y división, de las cuales nos encargaremos en esta experiencia de aula

El minicomputador de PAPY una estrategia didáctica para comprender y fortalecer las operaciones básicas

Esta propuesta tiene como fin, presentar una estrategia metodológica como herramienta en el proceso de aprendizaje de las operaciones elementales, por medio de la utilización del minicomputador de papy, con base en las experiencias realizadas en los colegios maristas de Colombia. En este trabajo se evidencia el valor pedagógico del juego y de la incorporación en forma adecuada de las nuevas tecnologías de la información para la formación del pensamiento matemático. El minicomputador de papy, es un ejercitador que nos permite desarrollar en los niños conceptos como la composición y descomposición de números utilizando el esquema multiplicativo y aditivo. Además, otra estrategia que permite el minicomputador de Papy es realizar las operaciones suma, resta, multiplicación y división, de las cuales nos encargaremos en esta experiencia de aula

Pronociceptive changes in response properties of rostroventromedial medullary neurons in a rat model of peripheral neuropathy

The spared nerve injury (SNI) model of peripheral neuropathy produces a robust and long-lasting hypersensitivity. Previous behavioural studies suggest that brainstem–spinal pathways originating in or relaying through the rostroventromedial medulla (RVM) contribute to neuropathic hypersensitivity. We determined whether SNI induces changes in response properties of RVM neurons that might influence descending modulation of nociception. RVM neurons included in the study were classified into presumably pronociceptive ON-cells and antinociceptive OFF-cells (giving excitatory or inhibitory responses to noxious stimulation, respectively). Spontaneous activity and the response to cold, pinch and colorectal distension were assessed under light anaesthesia in the rat, 1 week and 8 weeks following nerve injury or sham operation. Spontaneous activity was increased 1 week but not 8 weeks after nerve injury in ON-cells but decreased in OFF-cells at both time points. In the SNI group, cold-evoked responses were enhanced particularly in ON-cells, independent of the postoperative time point. Responses of ON-cells to pinch and visceral stimulation were enhanced 8 weeks but not 1 week following nerve injury, whereas OFF-cell responses to pinch or colorectal distension were not changed. The results indicate that SNI induces pronociceptive changes in spontaneous activities of ON-cells and OFF-cells and peripherally evoked responses of ON-cells that vary with the postoperative time point. Increased ON-cell activity and decreased OFF-cell activity in the RVM are likely to enhance spinal nociception in a tonic fashion, whereas increased responses of ON-cells to peripheral stimulation are likely to enhance ascending nociceptive signals by a positive feedback following peripheral noxious stimulation

Evaluation of the structural strength of anisotropic PLA components manufactured by 3D printing

Predicting the mechanical strength of components manufactured by additive processes is a challenging task that is difficulted by the complexity of the geometries fabricated by these processes, along with the anisotropy enhanced by the layer-by-layer manufacturing method and the difficulty in quickly obtaining the elastic and strength properties of the materials, which are strongly influenced by the manufacturing parameters. The use of 3D CAD models in the design phase of components manufactured by 3D printing facilitates the use of the finite element method in assessing their strength and simulating their in-service behavior. However, the finite element analysis of 3D printed parts using anisotropic material behaviour are rare and restricted to simple geometries. To deal with the anisotropy of materials, intense research has been carried out for the last decades in the field of evaluating the mechanical strength of composite materials, introducing several specific failure criteria. In this article, the in-service behaviour of PLA components manufactured by 3D printing is simulated, applying criteria usually used in the study of composite materials to evaluate their mechanical strength. The simulation through the finite element method was developed on the Hexagon Marc/Mentat software, using the Maximum Stress and Hoffman failure criteria.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluating e-health literacy, knowledge, attitude, and health online information in Portuguese university students: a cross-sectional study

Background: The main objective of the present study was to assess e-health literacy in a sample of Portuguese university students and its association with the level of knowledge and seeking for COVID-19-related information. Methods: This cross-sectional online study was conducted on Portuguese university students. All students completed a questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics, e-health Literacy Scale (eHEALS), and a questionnaire about knowledge, attitude, and health online information seeking. Results: A total of 534 students (76.8% women), with a mean age of 24.3 years old (SD = 7.8), participated in this cross-sectional study, 53.0% of students were from non-health sciences. The mean score of eHEALS literacy was 28.8 (SD = 5.6). Most students (71.1%) classified the Internet as a useful, or very useful, tool in helping them make health related decisions. The use of the Internet as a tool to research health information for a period of two or more hours (OR = 1.9; CI 95% = 1.2; 3.4), to search online for health information on professional websites (OR = 2.3; CI 95% = 1.4; 3.6), to search in official media (OR = 2.3; CI 95% = 1.4; 3.9), and to study in the field of health sciences (OR = 1.6; CI 95% = 1.1; 2.6) increased the likelihood of having sufficient e-health literacy. Conclusion: From a public health perspective, there is a need to develop programs that increase health literacy among university students.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio