Outdoor Learning in Science for Sustainability

The Olympic Games was staged in London in 2012 and Rio de Janerio in 2016. Ahead of these major sporting events, the host cities spent vast sums of time and money developing new stadiums and sports arenas. The developments were billed as regeneration in areas of social deprivation. We created a socio-scientific inquiry into the grounds for claims of sustainable development for both events and carried out two research studies in London and Rio, with secondary science students, to explore children's conceptions of what was happening in their cities. The findings showed that students held concerns about effects on people, habitats and wildlife but overall felt there were economic and social benefits to be gained from staging the Olympic Games

Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis. A Report of 4 Cases Occurring in One Family

We describe slipped capital femoral epiphysis in 4 members of a black, obese family, who were all first-degree relatives. The aetiology of slipped capital femoral epiphysis is unknown, although it is thought to be multifactorial. Genetic predisposition and environmental factors have been associated with the condition. A familial incidence with at least two cases in the same family has been reported. In epidemiological studies, this incidence ranges from 3% to 35%. Our cases were investigated in an attempt to find a possible aetiological genetic factor. A genetic predisposition with an autosomal dominant pattern of transmission is suggested, although environmental variables must be considered as provocative factors

Comparativo de personajes de la historia de la enfermería brasileña

Este artículo es una reflexión sobre la historia de los profesionales que se destacaron en la enfermería. Para ello, la búsqueda se llevó a cabo en algunos personajes que hicieron mucho para la enfermería y la salud en el país. El análisis de las historias de estas enfermeras puesto de manifiesto en hechos común como: la ruptura de paradigmas relacionado con el matrimonio, la formación en instituciones de renombre, la ocupación en puestos de gran importancia, la participación en asociaciones profesionales expresiva, a si como una relación con la formación de calidad. A través de sus biografías, se puede ver que a pesar del contexto político de la época han favorecido la formación de esas enfermeras, mucho esfuerzo y dedicación fueron necesarios para esas trayectorias de éxito, que cooperaron en la consolidación de la enfermería brasileña.This article presents a reflection about the story of outstanding nursing professionals. For this purpose, a survey was conducted among some people who contributed a lot to nursing and health in Brazil. The analysis of these nurses' stories unveiled facts in common: breaking of paradigms relating to marriage, education at renowned institutions, holding of very important jobs, significant membership in professional associations, and quality education. The bios of these nurses reveal that, while the political scenario then existing contributed to their education, unswerving dedication and diligence, were the key for their successful careers and helped consolidate nursing in Brazil.Este artigo trata de uma reflexão sobre a história de profissionais que se destacaram na Enfermagem. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa sobre algumas personagens que muito realizaram pela Enfermagem e pela saúde no país. A análise das histórias dessas enfermeiras revelou fatos em comum, como: o rompimento de paradigmas relacionados ao casamento; a formação em instituições renomadas; a ocupação em cargos de grande importância; a participação expressiva em entidades de classe, assim como uma relação com a formação de qualidade. Através de suas biografias, percebe-se que, apesar de o contexto político da época ter favorecido na formação dessas enfermeiras, muito esforço e dedicação foram necessários para essas trajetórias de sucesso, que colaboraram para a consolidação da Enfermagem brasileira.UNIFESPUNIFESPSciEL

Neurodevelopment and Dietary Intake in Toddlers: A Cross-Sectional Study from the Healthy Children 2021 Project

Little is known about the potential associations between neurodevelopment, dietary diversity and food processing in the toddler period. This study aimed to estimate the association between these dietary quality dimensions and neurodevelopment in toddlers. Data for this cross-sectional analysis came from the Healthy Children 2021 project and included 212 toddlers (51.9% females, aged 1236 months) from 15 Portuguese childcare centers. Neurodevelopment was assessed through Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Dietary intake was gathered by a two-day non-consecutive dietary recall. The food items were categorised with NOVA classification. Dietary diversity was explored through Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD). Logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders were performed. Girls with a higher energy contribution of unprocessed/minimally processed foods and with an above median MDD score had higher odds of achieving a higher neurodevelopment score (aOR:1.04; 95%CI 1.01; 1.08 and aOR:2.26; 95%CI 1.01; 5.06, respectively); no significant association was observed in boys. Our findings suggest that these dietary dimensions are associated with a higher neurodevelopment in toddler girls. This should be further studied as a possible early link between dietary factors and neurodevelopment. Promotion of healthy eating can be promising in improving neurocognitive development and might help to introduce public health recommendations for toddlers nutrition.</jats:p

Analysis of drugs returned by inpatient services after unit dose distribution in a portuguese public hospital

Unit-dose has been considered the most effective dispensing system in hospital pharmacy, however not all drugs are administered, are then returned to the pharmacy. The analysis of non-administered drugs might provide important data regarding pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, but also regarding pharmacy management decisions. The present study aims at depicting the drugs returned to the pharmacy following their previous unit-dose dispensing. Methods: During a period of 45 days, the unused returned drugs of five different inpatient clinical services were analyzed regarding the state of conservation, justification for return, inpatient clinical service provenance, and dosage regimen. Of a total of 65280 unit-dose dispensed drugs, 25.2% were returned (n=16431) and 74.9% of SOS (i.e. medications prescribed as needed) drugs (n=6583) were unused. Excluding SOS drugs, more than a half of the returned drugs (52.4%, n=4967), were probably returned due to unintended omission of administration, after excluding patients that were not physically on the unit and patients whose treatments were modified. The large majority of returned drugs (98.6%, n=16201) were suitable for reintroduction in the medication circuit. In order to accomplish the basic principles of unit-dose dispensing genesis, the returned drugs must be kept to a minimum. Therefore, the suspension of dispensing SOS drugs by unit-dose should be considered. Additionally, the careful analysis of returned drugs should be promoted, in order to avoid, as much as possible, the omission of administration.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chromosome analysis in Saccodon wagneri (Characiformes) and insights into the karyotype evolution of Parodontidae

Parodontidae is a relatively small group of Neotropical characiform fishes consisting of three genera (Apareiodon, Parodon, and Saccodon) with 32 valid species. A vast cytogenetic literature is available on Apareiodon and Parodon, but to date, there is no cytogenetic data about Saccodon, a genus that contains only three species with a trans-Andean distribution. In the present study the karyotype of S. wagneri was described, based on both conventional (Giemsa staining, Ag- NOR, C-bands) and molecular (repetitive DNA mapping by fluorescent in situ hybridization) methods. A diploid chromosome number of 2n = 54 was observed in both sexes, and the presence of heteromorphic sex chromosomes of the ZZ/ ZW type was detected. The W chromosome has a terminal heterochromatin band that occupies approximately half of the long arm, being this band approximately half the size of the Z chromosome. The FISH assay showed a synteny of the 18S-rDNA and 5S-rDNA genes in the chromosome pair 14, and the absence of interstitial telomeric sites. Our data reinforce the hypothesis of a conservative karyotype structure in Parodontidae and suggest an ancient origin of the sex chromosomes in the fishes of this family

Avaliação contínua no Ensino Superior com recurso a metodologias ativas: Perspetiva comparativa de Docentes e Estudantes

Num tempo em que novas abordagens pedagógicas se discutem, se aperfeiçoam e se implementam, surgem as metodologias ativas. Assumidas como ferramentas potencializadoras dos processos de ensino-aprendizagem, favorecem o desenvolvimento de competências e a construção do conhecimento. Considerando a vontade de melhoria das práticas docente, e a perceção de que poucos estudos abordam a aplicabilidade de novas tecnologias digitais como instrumento para a avaliação contínua, foi incluído em três unidades curriculares da área técnico científica de análises clínicas e saúde pública, do 1º, 2º e 3º anos do curso de Ciências Biomédicas Laboratoriais, da ESS-IPP, momentos de avaliação contínua com recurso ao Socrative – aplicação simples de resposta que permite avaliar conhecimentos em tempo real. Para avaliar a perceção dos docentes e estudantes relativamente ao uso do Socrative neste contexto, usou- -se a metodologia de inquérito por questionário. Dos resultados obtidos, constata-se uma elevada motivação e aceitação do Socrative como ferramenta de avaliação contínua, pelo conhecimento em tempo real do resultado e nível da sua aprendizagem, e por ser promotora de uma aprendizagem mais dirigida às dificuldades ao permitir o autodiagnóstico. Os docentes valorizaram a obtenção em tempo real dos resultados individuais, da performance da turma, dos resultados cumulativos por questão e o feedback por parte dos alunos. As limitações identificadas, reportam-se à (in)disponibilidade de internet e do dispositivo móvel “compatível”, a não permissão de alteração de opção de resposta na mesma sessão e a impossibilidade de atribuir cotações segundo a tipologia das questões e, assim terem de imediato o valor quantitativo.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evolutionary plasticity determination by orthologous groups distribution

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genetic plasticity may be understood as the ability of a functional gene network to tolerate alterations in its components or structure. Usually, the studies involving gene modifications in the course of the evolution are concerned to nucleotide sequence alterations in closely related species. However, the analysis of large scale data about the distribution of gene families in non-exclusively closely related species can provide insights on how plastic or how conserved a given gene family is. Here, we analyze the abundance and diversity of all Eukaryotic Clusters of Orthologous Groups (KOG) present in STRING database, resulting in a total of 4,850 KOGs. This dataset comprises 481,421 proteins distributed among 55 eukaryotes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose an index to evaluate the evolutionary plasticity and conservation of an orthologous group based on its abundance and diversity across eukaryotes. To further KOG plasticity analysis, we estimate the evolutionary distance average among all proteins which take part in the same orthologous group. As a result, we found a strong correlation between the evolutionary distance average and the proposed evolutionary plasticity index. Additionally, we found low evolutionary plasticity in <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>genes associated with inviability and <it>Mus musculus </it>genes associated with early lethality. At last, we plot the evolutionary plasticity value in different gene networks from yeast and humans. As a result, it was possible to discriminate among higher and lower plastic areas of the gene networks analyzed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The distribution of gene families brings valuable information on evolutionary plasticity which might be related with genetic plasticity. Accordingly, it is possible to discriminate among conserved and plastic orthologous groups by evaluating their abundance and diversity across eukaryotes.</p> <p>Reviewers</p> <p>This article was reviewed by Prof Manyuan Long, Hiroyuki Toh, and Sebastien Halary.</p

SMART Research: Toward Interdisciplinary River Science in Europe

Interdisciplinary science is rapidly advancing to address complex human-environment interactions. River science aims to provide the methods and knowledge required to sustainably manage some of the planet’s most important and vulnerable ecosystems; and there is a clear need for river managers and scientists to be trained within an interdisciplinary approach. However, despite the science community’s recognition of the importance of interdisciplinary training, there are few studies examining interdisciplinary graduate programs, especially in science and engineering. Here we assess and reflect on the contribution of a 9-year European doctoral program in river science: ‘Science for MAnagement of Rivers and their Tidal Systems’ Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate (SMART EMJD). The program trained a new generation of 36 early career scientists under the supervision of 34 international experts from different disciplinary and interdisciplinary research fields focusing on river systems, aiming to transcend the boundaries between disciplines and between science and management. We analyzed the three core facets of the SMART program, namely: (1) interdisciplinarity, (2) internationalism, and (3) management-oriented science. We reviewed the contents of doctoral theses and publications and synthesized the outcomes of two questionnaire surveys conducted with doctoral candidates and supervisors. A high percentage of the scientific outputs (80%) were interdisciplinary. There was evidence of active collaboration between different teams of doctoral candidates and supervisors, in terms of joint publications (5 papers out of the 69 analyzed) but this was understandably quite limited given the other demands of the program. We found evidence to contradict the perception that interdisciplinarity is a barrier to career success as employment rates were high (97%) and achieved very soon after the defense, both in academia (50%) and the private/public sector (50%) with a strong international dimension. Despite management-oriented research being a limited (9%) portion of the ensemble of theses, employment in management was higher (22%). The SMART program also increased the network of international collaborations for doctoral candidates and supervisors. Reflections on doctoral training programs like SMART contribute to debates around research training and the career opportunities of interdisciplinary scientists