bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Prescribed Exercise on Physical Activity Compensation in Young Adults
Authors: Liguori Gary , Schuna John M. , Tucker Jared , Fountaine Charles M.
Published: June 2016

Liguori, G, Schuna, JM Jr, Tucker, J, and Fountaine, CM. Impact of prescribed exercise on physical activity compensation in young adults. J Strength Cond Res 31(2): 503–508, 2017—Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets present a unique subpopulation because they are required to participate in regular physical activity (PA). This study describes PA patterns of cadets and attempts to identify evidence of nonexercise PA compensation (activitystat) as a result of prescribed PA (pPA) by comparing differences between training and nontraining days for (a) autonomous PA among cadets and (b) PA between cadets and noncadets. Participants included 84 university students (33 cadets and 51 noncadets) who each wore an accelerometer for 5 consecutive days to estimate moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA). A 2×2 mixed model analysis of variance was used to examine within- and between-group differences in MVPA on training and nontraining days. This analysis was repeated after removing the cadet's pPA. Cadets had lower-body fat than noncadets (p = 0.044), but all other characteristics were similar. Overall, moderate PA (MPA) and vigorous PA (VPA) were significantly greater among cadets (p = 0.048 and p < 0.001), because of greater weekend MPA (p = 0.021) and greater weekday VPA (p < 0.001). Cadets accumulated more MVPA on training days than nontraining days (p < 0.001) and accumulated more MVPA than noncadets on training days (p = 0.004). However, after accounting for pPA, cadet MVPA did not differ between training and nontraining days (within 1.2Â ± 18.4 min·d−1) and was similar between cadets and noncadets (within 1.5Â ± 5.9 min·d−1). These results suggest that cadets were significantly more active than noncadets due mainly to pPA. When controlling for pPA, cadets were similarly active across all days, and were as active as noncadets, indicating no evidence of activitystat in this population.
Broadband Electrophysiological Dynamics Contribute to Global Resting-State fMRI Signal
Authors: Wen Haiguang , Liu Zhongming
Published: June 2016

Spontaneous activity observed with resting-state fMRI is used widely to uncover the brain's intrinsic functional networks in health and disease. Although many networks appear modular and specific, global and nonspecific fMRI fluctuations also exist and both pose a challenge and present an opportunity for characterizing and understanding brain networks. Here, we used a multimodal approach to investigate the neural correlates to the global fMRI signal in the resting state. Like fMRI, resting-state power fluctuations of broadband and arrhythmic, or scale-free, macaque electrocorticography and human magnetoencephalography activity were correlated globally. The power fluctuations of scale-free human electroencephalography (EEG) were coupled with the global component of simultaneously acquired resting-state fMRI, with the global hemodynamic change lagging the broadband spectral change of EEG by ∼5 s. The levels of global and nonspecific fluctuation and synchronization in scale-free population activity also varied across and depended on arousal states. Together, these results suggest that the neural origin of global resting-state fMRI activity is the broadband power fluctuation in scale-free population activity observable with macroscopic electrical or magnetic recordings. Moreover, the global fluctuation in neurophysiological and hemodynamic activity is likely modulated through diffuse neuromodulation pathways that govern arousal states and vigilance levels.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThis study provides new insights into the neural origin of resting-state fMRI. Results demonstrate that the broadband power fluctuation of scale-free electrophysiology is globally synchronized and directly coupled with the global component of spontaneous fMRI signals, in contrast to modularly synchronized fluctuations in oscillatory neural activity. These findings lead to a new hypothesis that scale-free and oscillatory neural processes account for global and modular patterns of functional connectivity observed with resting-state fMRI, respectively.
Decreasing Striatopallidal Pathway Function Enhances Motivation by Energizing the Initiation of Goal-Directed Action
Authors: Carvalho Poyraz Fernanda , Holzner Eva , Bailey Matthew R. , Meszaros Jozsef , Kenney Lindsay , Kheirbek Mazen A. , Balsam Peter D. , Kellendonk Christoph
Published: June 2016

Altered dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) binding in the striatum has been associated with abnormal motivation in neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Here, we tested whether motivational deficits observed in mice with upregulated D2Rs (D2R-OEdevmice) are reversed by decreasing function of the striatopallidal “no-go” pathway. To this end, we expressed the Gαi-coupled designer receptor hM4D in adult striatopallidal neurons and activated the receptor with clozapine-N-oxide (CNO). Using a head-mounted miniature microscope we confirmed with calcium imaging in awake mice that hM4D activation by CNO inhibits striatopallidal function measured as disinhibited downstream activity in the globus pallidus. Mice were then tested in three operant tasks that address motivated behavior, the progressive ratio task, the progressive hold-down task, and outcome devaluation. Decreasing striatopallidal function in the dorsomedial striatum or nucleus accumbens core enhanced motivation in D2R-OEdevmice and control littermates. This effect was due to increased response initiation but came at the cost of goal-directed efficiency. Moreover, response vigor and the sensitivity to changes in reward value were not altered. Chronic activation of hM4D by administering CNO for 2 weeks in drinking water did not affect motivation due to a tolerance effect. However, the acute effect of CNO on motivation was reinstated after discontinuing chronic treatment for 48 h. Used as a therapeutic approach, striatopallidal inhibition should consider the risk of impairing goal-directed efficiency and behavioral desensitization.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTMotivation involves a directional component that allows subjects to efficiently select the behavior that will lead to an optimal outcome and an activational component that initiates and maintains the vigor and persistence of actions. Striatal output pathways modulate motivated behavior, but it remains unknown how these pathways regulate specific components of motivation. Here, we found that the indirect pathway controls response initiation without affecting response vigor or the sensitivity to changes in the reward outcome. A specific enhancement in the activational component of motivation, however, can come at the cost of goal-directed efficiency when a sustained response is required to obtain the goal. These data should inform treatment strategies for brain disorders with impaired motivation such as schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.
DNA Methyltransferase 1 Is Indispensable for Development of the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus
Authors: Noguchi Hirofumi , Murao Naoya , Kimura Ayaka , Matsuda Taito , Namihira Masakazu , Nakashima Kinichi
Published: June 2016

Development of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) in the mammalian brain is achieved through multiple processes during late embryonic and postnatal stages, with each developmental step being strictly governed by extracellular cues and intracellular mechanisms. Here, we show that the maintenance DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) is critical for development of the DG in the mouse. Deletion ofDnmt1in neural stem cells (NSCs) at the beginning of DG development led to a smaller size of the granule cell layer in the DG. NSCs lackingDnmt1failed to establish proper radial processes or to migrate into the subgranular zone, resulting in aberrant neuronal production in the molecular layer of the DG and a reduction of integrated neurons in the granule cell layer. Interestingly, prenatal deletion ofDnmt1in NSCs affected not only the developmental progression of the DG but also the properties of NSCs maintained into adulthood:Dnmt1-deficient NSCs displayed impaired neurogenic ability and proliferation. We also found thatDnmt1deficiency in NSCs decreased the expression of Reelin signaling components in the developing DG and increased that of the cell cycle inhibitorsp21andp57in the adult DG. Together, these findings led us to propose that Dnmt1 functions as a key regulator to ensure the proper development of the DG, as well as the proper status of NSCs maintained into adulthood, by modulating extracellular signaling and intracellular mechanisms.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTHere, we provide evidence that Dnmt1 is required for the proper development of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). Deletion ofDnmt1in neural stem cells (NSCs) at an early stage of DG development impaired the ability of NSCs to establish secondary radial glial scaffolds and to migrate into the subgranular zone of the DG, leading to aberrant neuronal production in the molecular layer, increased cell death, and decreased granule neuron production. Prenatal deletion ofDnmt1in NSCs also induced defects in the proliferation and neurogenic ability of adult NSCs. Furthermore, we found that Dnmt1 regulates the expression of key extracellular signaling components during developmental stages while modulating intracellular mechanisms for proliferation and neuronal production of NSCs in the adult.
A homozygous point mutation in the GH1 promoter (c.-223C>T) leads to reduced GH1 expression in siblings with isolated GH deficiency (IGHD)
Authors: Madeira João L O , Jorge Alexander A L , Martin Regina M , Montenegro Luciana R , Franca Marcela M , Costalonga Everlayny F , Correa Fernanda A , Otto Aline P , Arnhold Ivo J P , Freitas Helayne S , Machado Ubiratan F , Mendonca Berenice B , Carvalho Luciani R
Published: June 2016

Context

Mutations in theGH1promoter are a rare cause of isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD).

Objective

To identify the molecular aetiology of a family with IGHD.

Design

DNA sequencing, electromobility shift (EMSA) and luciferase reporter assays.

Setting

University Hospital.

Patients

Three siblings (2M) born to consanguineous parents presented with IGHD with normal pituitary on MRI.

Methods

TheGH1proximal promoter, locus control region, five exons and four introns as well asGHRHRgene were sequenced in genomic DNA by Sanger method. DNA–protein interaction was evaluated by EMSA in nuclear extracts of GH3 pituitary cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed in cells transiently transfected with plasmids containing four different combinations ofGH1allelic variants (AV).

Results

The patients harboured two homozygous variants (c.-185T>C and c.-223C>T) in theGH1promoter within a highly conserved region and predicted binding sites for POU1F1/SP1 and SP1 respectively. The parents and brother were carriers and these variants were absent in 100 controls. EMSA demonstrated absent binding of GH3 nuclear extract to the c.-223C>T variant and normal binding of both POU1F1 protein and GH3 nuclear extract to the c.-185T>C variant. In contrast toGH1promoter with AV only at c.-185, theGH1promoter containing the AV only at c.-223 and at both positions drove significantly less expression of luciferase compared with the promoter containing either positions wild type in luciferase reporter assays.

Conclusion

To our knowledge, c.-223C>T is the first homozygous point mutation in theGH1promoter that leads to short stature due to IGHD.
ENDOCRINE TUMOURS: Imaging in the follow-up of differentiated thyroid cancer: current evidence and future perspectives for a risk-adapted approach
Authors: Lamartina Livia , Deandreis Désirée , Durante Cosimo , Filetti Sebastiano
Published: June 2016

The clinical and epidemiological profiles of differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) have changed in the last three decades. Today’s DTCs are more likely to be small, localized, asymptomatic papillary forms. Current practice is, though, moving toward more conservative approaches (e.g. lobectomy instead of total thyroidectomy, selective use of radioiodine). This evolution has been paralleled and partly driven by rapid technological advances in the field of diagnostic imaging. The challenge of contemporary DTCs follow-up is to tailor a risk-of-recurrence-based management, taking into account the dynamic nature of these risks, which evolve over time, spontaneously and in response to treatments. This review provides a closer look at the evolving evidence-based views on the use and utility of imaging technology in the post-treatment staging and the short- and long-term surveillance of patients with DTCs. The studies considered range from cervical US with Doppler flow analysis to an expanding palette of increasingly sophisticated second-line studies (cross-sectional, functional, combined-modality approaches), which can be used to detect disease that has spread beyond the neck and, in some cases, shed light on its probable outcome.
Tipo facial e postura de cabeça de crianças respiradoras nasais e orais
Authors: Bolzan Geovana de Paula , Souza Juliana Alves , Boton Luane de Moraes , Silva Ana Maria Toniolo da , Corrêa Eliane Castilhos Rodrigues
Published: June 2016

OBJETIVO: Verificar o tipo facial e a postura de cabeça de crianças respiradoras nasais, e respiradoras orais de etiologia obstrutiva e viciosa, e correlacionar o índice morfológico da face à angulação da postura da cabeça no plano sagital. MÉTODOS: Participaram 59 crianças com idades entre 8 anos e 11 anos e 10 meses. Todas passaram por triagem fonoaudiológica, avaliação otorrinolaringológica, e exame de nasofibrofaringoscopia, o que possibilitou a constituição de três grupos: com respiração nasal - 15 crianças; com respiração oral obstrutiva - 22 crianças; e com respiração oral viciosa - 22 crianças. Foram mensuradas a altura e a largura da face com paquímetro digital, para determinação do índice e do tipo facial. A postura da cabeça foi avaliada por meio de exame físico e fotogrametria computadorizada. RESULTADOS: Verificou-se predomínio de face curta nos respiradores nasais e de face longa nos respiradores orais. Houve associação entre tipo facial e modo respiratório/etiologia da respiração oral, o tipo braquifacial foi mais frequente nos respiradores nasais e menos frequente nos respiradores orais de etiologia obstrutiva. As crianças dos três grupos apresentaram postura de cabeça semelhante. Não foi verificada correlação entre índice morfológico da face e a postura da cabeça. CONCLUSÃO: O tipo braquifacial favorece o modo respiratório nasal e que a postura da cabeça não é influenciada pelo modo respiratório e etiologia da respiração oral, assim como não está relacionada ao tipo facial.
Qualidade de vida de pais/cuidadores de crianças e adolescentes com síndrome de Down
Authors: Oliveira Emília de Faria , Limongi Suelly Cecilia Olivan
Published: June 2016

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a qualidade de vida (QV) de pais/cuidadores de crianças e adolescentes com síndrome de Down (SD) e a influência de aspectos sócio-demográficos nos resultados obtidos. MÉTODOS: Participaram 31 pais/cuidadores de crianças e adolescentes com SD, que foram divididos em três grupos: G1, cuidadores de dez crianças pré-escolares (idades entre 1 ano e 5 anos e 11 meses); G2, cuidadores de 11 crianças em idade escolar (idades entre 6 anos e 10 anos e 11 meses); e G3, cuidadores de dez pré-adolescentes e adolescentes (idades entre 11 anos a 15 anos e 11 meses). Dados de caracterização dos pais/cuidadores: a maioria estava na faixa etária de 40-49 anos; o grau de escolaridade Ensino Médio Completo foi o mais freqüente, seguido de Ensino Fundamental Incompleto e Ensino Superior Completo; quanto à classe econômica, a concentração foi nas classes C e B2. Foi aplicado o questionário de QV WHOQOL-bref. RESULTADOS: Dos pais/cuidadores pesquisados, 84% avaliaram sua QV como "boa" e 55% afirmaram se sentir "satisfeitos" com sua saúde. O domínio Meio Ambiente apresentou menor média quando comparado aos demais e apresentou correlação com as variáveis sócio-demográficas referentes ao "grau de instrução" e ao "nível socioeconômico". Não houve diferença entre os grupos na comparação das faixas etárias. CONCLUSÃO: Os dados obtidos apontam que a população estudada avalia sua QV como "boa" e está "satisfeita" com sua saúde. O domínio Meio Ambiente e as variáveis sócio-demográficas "grau de instrução" e "nível socioeconômico" são os aspectos que influenciam sua QV.
Processamento auditivo na perda auditiva unilateral: relato de caso
Authors: Salvador Karina Krähembühl , Pereira Tatiane Cristina , Moraes Tamyne Ferreira Duarte de , Cruz Mariana Sodário , Feniman Mariza Ribeiro
Published: June 2016

A perda auditiva unilateral representa grande risco para o atraso acadêmico, a comunicação, o desenvolvimento social e também para o processamento auditivo. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as habilidades auditivas de localização, fechamento, figura-fundo, resolução temporal e ordenação temporal simples de um sujeito do gênero masculino, 17 anos de idade, com diagnóstico de perda auditiva sensorioneural unilateral de grau profundo, de causa idiopática, sem outros comprometimentos. O processo de avaliação constituiu da aplicação de um questionário, da realização da avaliação audiológica clínica convencional (audiometria tonal, logoaudiometria e imitanciometria) e de testes de processamento auditivo monóticos (SSI ipsilateral, Teste de fala filtrada) e dióticos (Localização sonora, Memória auditiva para sons verbais, Memória auditiva para sons não verbais, AFT-R). Apenas o teste de Localização sonora apresentou resultados alterados. Não foram relatadas queixas relacionadas à habilidade de localização sonora, atenção, discriminação e compreensão auditiva. No caso em estudo, a perda auditiva sensorioneural unilateral de grau profundo não pareceu restringir o desenvolvimento das habilidades do processamento auditivo avaliadas, exceto no que se refere à localização da fonte sonora.
Influence of Environmental Factors on Seed Germination and Emergence of Asia Minor Bluegrass (Polypogon fugax)
Authors: Wang Lifeng , Jin Su , Wu Lamei , Zhou Xiaomao , Liu Xiangying , Bai Lianyang
Published: June 2016

Asia minor bluegrass (AmB) is a major weed impacting rapeseed production in Dongting Lake District, China. Growth chamber experiments were conducted to determine the influence of environmental factors on germination and emergence of AmB. The optimum constant temperature for germination was around 20 C. Seeds showed germination percentages above 60% under 22/15 and 24/19 C day/night temperature regimes. Seeds could germinate in the dark, but light exposure significantly enhanced the germination percentage. More than 50% of seeds germinated over a pH range between 4 and 10. Seeds were highly sensitive to osmotic stress, and germination was completely inhibited at an osmotic potential of −0.4 MPa, indicating that it was favored by a moist environment. Increasing salinity reduced germination of AmB seeds from 58% at 0 mM to 13% at 80 mM NaCl. The highest seedling emergence (62%) was observed when seeds were placed on the soil surface, and no seedlings emerged from seeds placed at a depth of 5 cm. This work shows that the climate and soil conditions in Dongting Lake District are suitable for AmB seed germination and that no-till fields, where seeds remain on the soil surface, promote the successful establishment of the weed.
Publisiteitsbevele as Vonnisopsie vir Regspersone - Publicity Orders as Sentencing Option for Juristic Persons
Authors: Du Toit Pieter Gerhardus
Published: June 2016

This constribution addresses the issue of adverse publicity orders as a possible supplementary sentencing option for corporate offenders. In South Africa the fine is the primary sentencing option available to courts when imposing sentences on juristic persons. Fines, however, do not adequately serve the purposes of corporate sentencing. Publicity orders require the publication of an offender's conviction, sentence and the details of the offence to individulas or a group of persons (such as shareholders). An adverse publication order damages the corporate offender's reputation - a valuable asset to a corporate entity. It therefore serves the purposes of corporate deterrence. In this contribution criticim is levelled against the fine as primary sentencing option for juristic persons, the notion of corporate reputation is considered from a social and a legal perspective; a functional comparative study of adverse publication orders is presented and recommendations are made regarding the content of effective publicity orders.
Differetial Increase in Efficacy of Azotobacter Chroococcum and Bacillus Subtilis Co-Immobilized with Different Organic Manuares in Relation to Plant Growth, Nutritional Status and Grain Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Authors: Minj Rose P. , Singh Rana Pratap
Published: June 2016

Present study indicates that the growth, productivity and grain yield of wheat can be enhanced significantly by amending higher dose of Azotobacter chroococcum and Bacillus subtilis co-immobilized in 45mm diameter granules composed of different organic materials. The biofertilizers were co-immobilized in cow dung/ Farm Yard Manure (FYM) or vermicompost using acacia gum as binder, neem leaf powder and clay soil and applied to the earthen pots in forms of granules of 4-5 mm diameter. The vermicompost containing granules provided higher plant biomass (e.g. shoot height, root length, number of leaves, number of roots, tiller numbers, fresh weight and dry weight of shoot and root than others. FYM and cow dung based granules also enhanced the plant growth with a lower magnitude. The granules released NH4+, NO3-, NO2- and PO43- in the plant's rhizosphere and enhanced availability of essential nutrients to the plants. The co-immobilized form of biofertilizers with vermicompost also increased yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv 502) in terms of grain weight per plant by 13.79%, with FYM by 11.65% and that with cow dung by 10.15% over free form of the chemical fertilizers (Recommended dose of urea; 150 kg/ha and DAP; 75 kg/ha). The studies indicate that the vermicompost is a better carrier for co-immobilization of the microbial biofertilizers A. chroococcum and B. subtilis to provide the better shelter and nutrient to the microbes and for higher nutrient availability during their application in the earthen pots.
Mejora en la motivación por la Lectura Académica: la mirada de estudiantes motivados
Authors: Muñoz Carla , Valenzuela Jorge , Avendaño Carola , Núñez Claudia
Published: June 2016

Dada la importancia de la lectura académica en la formación universitaria y que uno de los factores gravitantes en este tipo de tarea son los aspectos motivacionales, el presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo identificar los elementos, que según los propios protagonistas explicarían el incremento de su motivación por la lectura de textos académicos. El estudio de carácter mixto se realizó en dos fases. En una primera fase, de corte cuantitativo, fueron identificados a partir de una muestra amplia (n=1205) estudiantes con alta motivación por la lectura académica y que hubiesen experimentado un cambio motivacional positivo (n=10). En una segunda fase, estos casos fueron sujetos de entrevistas en profundidad y el análisis de estas entrevistas se recoge en este artículo. Los resultados muestran como causas de la mejora de la motivación por la lectura académica, dinámicas vinculadas con el desafío, el ingreso a la lógica universitaria (desescolarización) y las proyecciones académico/profesionales de estos estudiantes; procesos que se encuentran vinculados a los primeros años de formación, favorecidos por docentes que promueven una dinámica académica en la formación. Se discuten finalmente las implicaciones de estas dinámicas para el conjunto de la formación universitaria.
Ordenação dos advérbios em -mente na Gazeta de Lisboa (séculos XVIII e XIX)
Authors: Fontes Susana
Published: June 2016

O início da centúria setecentista ficou marcado pelo surgimento do primeiro periódico oficial português, a Gazeta de Lisboa, em 1715, que se constitui como um marco decisivo na nossa história. Um século volvido, Portugal continua a dispor deste importante órgão de informação, o que nos permitiu constituir um corpus de trabalho com cerca de um milhão de palavras, representativo do estado da língua durante estes dois séculos (XVIII e XIX). Neste artigo, auxiliados por ferramentas de linguística computacional (programas de análise automática de texto), pretendemos analisar os advérbios terminados em –mente presentes no texto e proceder à análise das diferentes posições ocupadas por este grupo de advérbios na frase, para podermos verificar se houve alguma mudança significativa neste percurso e de que forma a predominância de uma determinada posição poderá ter condicionado o próprio valor do advérbio.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
El Niño/La Niña e sua influência no número de dias com chuva em Bom Jesus – Piauí, Brasil
Authors: Medeiros Raimundo Mainar , Brito José Ivaldo Barbosa de , Silva Virgínia Mirtes de Alcântara , Melo Valneli da Silva , Costa Neto Francisco de Assis da
Published: June 2016

Em Bom Jesus, as características da variabilidade temporal da precipitação são provenientes de diversos sistemas meteorológicos atuantes. É comum a ausência de chuvas durante períodos prolongados, ocasionando graves problemas para a sociedade, agropecuários e nos ecossistemas naturais. Objetiva-se analisar a relação entre o número de dias com chuva e a precipitação no município em estudo compreendido entre o período de 1960-2014 e suas influencias entre os fenômenos Niño(a), utilizou-se dos dados diários de precipitações dos anos de 1960 a 2014 fornecido pela Superintendência do Desenvolvimento do Nordeste (SUDENE) e pela Empresa de extensão rural do Estado do Piauí (EMTERPI). A utilização do pacote estatística em planilhas eletrônicas para elaboração de gráficos com a variabilidade mensal dos dias com ocorrências de chuvas (DCC). Além dos dados citados, foram usados os dados de intensidade do fenômeno ENOS, obtidos do Serviço Climatológico Nacional dos Estados Unidos - NOAA referente ao mesmo período. As análises foram feitas para todos os meses do ano em estudo do município de Bom Jesus, gerando informações que servirão de indicativo para uso adequado da água para a agropecuária, irrigação, geração de energia, recursos hídricos e naturais e o abastecimento de água urbano/rural e a economia local. A análise do acervo de dados de 1960 a 2014 permitiram finalizar que: Nos anos onde a precipitação foi abaixo da média (984,8 mm), ocorreram melhor distribuição temporal dos índices pluviométricos, ao oposto de quando choveu acima da média. Ocorreu incremento na precipitação e no número de dias com chuva no 1° trimestre do ano; enquanto que no 2° e 4° trimestre ocorre redução tanto da precipitação como do número de dias de chuva, os números de dias com chuvas extremas que estiveram acima ou abaixo da média não foram explicitamente associados ao fenômeno ENOS.
Using the Tuning Methodology to design the founding benchmark competences for a new academic professional field: the case of Advanced Rehabilitation Technologies
Authors: Hughes Ann-Marie , Freeman Chris , Banks Tom , Savelberg Hans , Gobbi Mary
Published: June 2016

Designing innovative high quality educational programmes to meet the workforce needs in emerging interdisciplinary areas of practice can present challenges to academics, students, employers and industrial partners. This paper demonstrates how the Tuning Process successfully helped to construct benchmark learning outcomes and competences in the area of healthcare practice where advanced technologies are used to improve movement namely Rehabilitation Technologies (RTs). The paper also discusses the engagement of patients, carers and carer organisations within the development of competences.  Due to changing demographics, limited resources and the availability of technology, rehabilitation technologies are starting to be used for the assessment and treatment of patients. However there are currently no European transnational Bachelor or Master programmes targeted at educating people for the design, development, use and evaluation of these technologies. The contemporary field is predominantly staffed and resourced by engineering scientists and clinicians who were primarily educated in their primary discipline. The first generations of rehabilitation technologists have established this specialist field through invention, perseverance, and collaborative working. However, there is now a recognition that new and complementary skill sets are required by future graduates, whether engineering scientists or clinicians, so as to better meet the needs of clients and the employment market whether in the domains of industry, research, academia or clinical practice.  This project demonstrates how a group of European specialist rehabilitation technologists, supported by educationalists, collaborated to identify and develop the core competences and learning outcomes required by future Master’s (second cycle) graduates in this new discipline. Building on the work of the Tuning Process and applying the principles embedded in the Bologna Process, future employability needs are determined through an imaginative, technological and cost conscious entrepreneurial approach to education.
Published online: 01 June 2016
Increasing PhD students’ employability by focusing on the academic entrepreneurship. The analysis of the entrepreneurial competences
Authors: Hodzic Sabina
Published: June 2016

The aim of the present study was to explore the perspective for entrepreneurship among PhD students coming from variety of disciplines. More precisely, to identify the most important entrepreneurial competences for succeeding in the entrepreneurial venture, to explore whether these competences are being developed during the 3rd cycle studies, and to explore the entrepreneurial intentions of the future doctors. In order to choose the most important entrepreneurial competences, individual semi-structured interviews with ten entrepreneurs from different fields were conducted. In addition, the importance of each competence was evaluated in form of the questionnaire, by seventeen entrepreneurs. After the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the interviews and the questionnaire, 20 competences were selected as the most important entrepreneurial competences. These 20 competences were then evaluated by 50 PhD students from different fields of study. They evaluated the importance of each entrepreneurial competence, the level of its development during their PhD studies, and indicated their entrepreneurial intentions after finishing the PhD. The most important and the most developed competences are presented in the results. In addition, the results showed relatively high entrepreneurial intentions in case of not finding a job after the PhD and in general. These results imply the need for incorporating some sort of entrepreneurial training and the development of entrepreneurial competences adapted to each subject area during the PhD studies.

Published online: 01 June 2016
Dialética da informação: Uma leitura epistemológica no pensamento de Vieira Pinto e Anthony Wilden | Dialectics of Information: an epistemological reading of Vieira Pinto and Anthony Wilden
Authors: Dantas Marcos
Published: June 2016

RESUMO Este texto, seccionado por razões editoriais em duas partes, apresenta, basicamente, uma leitura no pensamento de dois autores de formação marxista, o brasileiro Álvaro Vieira Pinto e o britânico Anthony Wilden. Ambos, nos anos 1970, buscaram elaborar um conceito de "informação" a partir de pressupostos dialético-materialistas, em diálogo com os cientistas que então avançavam estudos e formulações sobre o tema. O artigo mostra os pontos que aproximam Vieira Pinto e Wilden, bem como pontos que os distinguem. E visa contribuir para a reconstrução epistemológica do materialismo dialético, nisto também fornecendo fundamentos teóricos para a economia política da informação e da comunicação. Nesta primeira parte será discutido o pensamento de Vieira Pinto.Palavras-chave: Informação; Marxismo: Dialética; Economia Política.ABSTRACT This paper essentially proposes a reading of two marxist authors, the Brazilian Alvaro Vieira Pinto and British Anthony Wilden. In the 1970s, both tried to develop a concept of "information" from dialectical-materialist assumptions in a dialogue with scientists who developed studies and conceptual formulations in this field. The article shows the points approaching Vieira Pinto and Wilden as well as points that distinguish them. It aims to contribute to the epistemological reconstruction of dialectical materialism, and to provide a theoretical background for the political economy of information and communication. Due to editorial needs, the article was divided in two parts. This first part discusses Vieira Pinto's thought.Keywords: Information; Marxism; Dialectic; Political Economy.
O projeto de lei do Compartilhamento de Arquivos Digitais: uma possível solução para o problema? | The bill's proposal of digital file sharing: a possible solution to the problem?
Authors: Machado Jorge
Published: June 2016

RESUMO A reprodução não autorizada de conteúdos digitais protegidos constitui um dos maiores problemas da atualidade, fazendo do direito autoral no meio digital um terreno de amplos conflitos. A repressão ao compartilhamento digital tem falhado enquanto solução ao problema. No texto, expomos uma proposta de legalização e apresentamos sua viabilidade econômica diante dos interesses dos detentores de direitos autorais.Palavras-chave: P2P; Compartilhamento; Legalização; Direitos Autorais; Internet.ABSTRACT The unauthorized reproduction of Protected Digital Content is one of the most important problems of the present. It raises great conflicts about copyright in the digital environment.The repression linked to digital sharing has failed to solve the problem. In this text, we present a proposal to legalize digital sharing and present the economic feasibility in facing the interests of copyright owners.Keywords: P2P; Digital Sharing; Legalization; Copyrights; Internet.
Marco Civil da Internet: abrindo a caixa-preta da agenda de uma política pública | Civil Rights Framework for the Internet: opening the black box agenda of a public policy
Authors: Radomsky Guilherme , Solagna Fabricio
Published: June 2016

RESUMO O Marco Civil da Internet (MCI), aprovado em abril de 2014, foi resultado de um longo processo de elaboração e discussão que enfrentou a resistência de vários setores e o apoio de novos atores emergentes. Este artigo analisa a história da construção da lei e traça a emergência de um ativismo em prol de direitos na internet que ultrapassou a fronteira entre sociedade civil e Estado. O mapeamento e o estudo da rede de ativismo permitiu mostrar como os atores-chave mobilizaram o Estado, atuaram dentro e fora das esferas de governo, modificaram pautas legislativas, abriram e aproveitaram oportunidades políticas na formulação do Marco Civil.Palavras-chave: Marco Civil; Políticas Públicas; Movimentos Sociais; Redes Sociais; Agenda-Setting.ABSTRACT The Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (MCI), approved in April 2014, was the result of a long process that faced resistance from various sectors and, at the same time, received the support of emergent actors. This article analyzes the history of the MCI and the emergence of activism in favor of internet rights. This movement transcended the boundaries between civil society and the State. The study on the activists' network shows how key stakeholders mobilized the State, acting inside and outside government instances, modified legislative agendas and took advantage of political opportunities in the  formulation of the Framework.Keywords: Civil Rights Framework for the Internet; Public Policy; Social Movements; Social Networks.
Os direitos autorais no marco civil da internet | Copyrights in the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet
Authors: Souza Allan Rocha de , Schirru Luca
Published: June 2016

RESUMO Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar a representação das questões sobre os direitos autorais no mundo digital conforme expostas na construção do Marco Civil da Internet. Para tal, recorre-se aos debates travados nas consultas públicas conduzidas pelo Poder Executivo Federal e no decorrer do processo legislativo. A discussão central revolve em torno da forma de retirada do ar de conteúdos alegadamente protegidos por direitos autorais e a responsabilidade do provedor. Não resolvidas por um consenso político-social mínimo, essas situações são objeto de regulamentação privada e suas discordâncias levadas ao Judiciário, privilegiando, com isso, o poder econômico dos agentes.Palavras-chave: Direitos Autorais; Regulamentação da Internet; Direitos Digitais. ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze how the issues pertaining to copyrights in the digital world are presented in the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet. To this end, we refer to the debates in public consultations conducted by the State and throughout the legislative process. The central questions revolve around the procedures for removal of content allegedly protected by copyrights as well as internet service providers' responsibility over it. Unsolved by political and social consensus, these situations end up subject to private regulation and the disagreements are taken to the judicial system, thus favoring the economic power of agents.Keywords: Copyright Law; Internet Regulation; Digital Rights.
Editorial V.3 N.º 1 (2010)
Authors: A. Barroso Magali M.
Published: June 2016

Informações sobre a primeira edição do terceiro volume da Revista e-xacta.
Phylogenetic impoverishment of plant communities following chronic human disturbances in the Brazilian Caatinga
Authors: Ribeiro Elâine M. S. , Santos Bráulio A. , Arroyo‐Rodríguez Víctor , Tabarelli Marcelo , Souza Gustavo , Leal Inara R.
Published: June 2016

Chronic disturbances, such as selective logging, firewood extraction and extensive grazing, may lead to the taxonomic and phylogenetic impoverishment of remaining old‐growth forest communities worldwide; however, the empirical evidence on this topic is limited. We tested this hypothesis in the Caatinga vegetation – a seasonally dry tropical forest restricted to northeast Brazil. We sampled 11,653 individuals (adults, saplings, and seedlings) from 51 species in 29 plots distributed along a gradient of chronic disturbance. The gradient was assessed using a chronic disturbance index (CDI) based on five recognized indicators of chronic disturbances: proximity to urban center, houses and roads and the density of both people and livestock. We used linear models to test if mean effective number of lineages, mean phylogenetic distance and phylogenetic dispersion decreased with CDI and if such relationships differed among ontogenetic stages. As expected, the mean effective number of lineages and the mean phylogenetic distance were negatively related to CDI, and such diversity losses occurred irrespective of ontogeny. Yet the increase in phylogenetic clustering in more disturbed plots was only evident in seedlings and saplings, mostly because clades with more descendent taxa than expected by chance (e.g., Euphorbiaceae) thrived in more disturbed plots. This novel study indicates that chronic human disturbances are promoting the phylogenetic impoverishment of the irreplaceable woody flora of the Brazilian Caatinga forest. The highest impoverishment was observed in seedlings and saplings, indicating that if current chronic disturbances remain, they will result in increasingly poorer phylogenetically forests. This loss of evolutionary history will potentially limit the capacity of this ecosystem to respond to human disturbances (i.e., lower ecological resilience) and particularly their ability to adapt to rapid climatic changes in the region.
Feeding guild of non‐host community members affects host‐foraging efficiency of a parasitic wasp
Authors: de Rijk Marjolein , Yang Daowei , Engel Bas , Dicke Marcel , Poelman Erik H.
Published: June 2016

Interactions between predator and prey, or parasitoid and host, are shaped by trait‐ and density‐mediated processes involving other community members. Parasitoids that lay their eggs in herbivorous insects locate their hosts through infochemicals such as herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) and host‐produced kairomones. Hosts are frequently accompanied by non‐host herbivores that are unsuitable for the parasitoid. These non‐hosts may interfere with host location primarily through trait‐mediated processes, by their own infochemicals, and their induction of the emission of plant volatiles. Although it is known that single non‐hosts can interfere with parasitoid host location, it is still unknown whether the observed effects are due to species specific characteristics or to the feeding habits of the non‐host herbivores. Here we addressed whether the feeding guild of non‐host herbivores differentially affects foraging of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata for its common host, caterpillars of Pieris brassicae feeding on Brassica oleracea plants. We used different phloem‐feeding and leaf‐chewing non‐hosts to study their effects on host location by the parasitoid when searching for host‐infested plants based on HIPVs and when searching for hosts on the plant using infochemicals. To evaluate the ultimate effect of these two phases in host location, we studied parasitism efficiency of parasitoids in small plant communities under field‐tent conditions. We show that leaf‐chewing non‐hosts primarily affected host location through trait‐mediated effects via plant volatiles, whereas phloem‐feeding non‐hosts exerted trait‐mediated effects by affecting foraging efficiency of the parasitoid on the plant. These trait‐mediated effects resulted in associational susceptibility of hosts in environments with phloem feeders and associational resistance in environments with non‐host leaf chewers.
Demographic shifts related to mycoheterotrophy and their fitness impacts in two Cephalanthera species
Authors: Shefferson Richard P. , Roy Mélanie , Püttsepp Ülle , Selosse Marc‐André
Published: June 2016

Evolutionary losses of photosynthesis in terrestrial plants all originate in photosynthetic ancestors. The adaptive context under which this transition happens has remained elusive because of the rarity of plants in which both photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic forms exist as a polymorphism. Here, we report on demographic patterns in photosynthetic (“green”) and nonphotosynthetic (“albino”) individuals within populations of two such species, Cephalanthera damasonium and C. longifolia, which also acquire nutrition from their mycorrhizal hosts (partial mycoheterotrophy). We hypothesized that demographic shifts in albinos relative to greens would include compensatory patterns with respect to fitness, such that maladaptive changes to survival or reproduction would be adaptively countered by changes to other parameters, such as growth probabilities. We tracked individuals in two populations of C. damasonium for 3 yr, and in one population of C. longifolia for 14 yr. We then analyzed vital rates for both phenotypes using general linear mixed models (GLMMs) and multi‐state capture mark‐recapture models (CMR), and used these models to develop size‐classified, function‐based population projection matrices. We estimated fitness as the deterministic population growth rate (λ) for each phenotype, and explored the impact of shifts in demographic patterns to albinism via life table response experiments (LTREs). Mortality differed between greens and albinos, but not similarly across species. Albinos generally sprouted less than greens, and flowered more when small but less at other times. Albinos typically had a higher probability of fruiting, although their lower flower numbers yielded lower numbers of fruits overall. Fitness did not differ significantly among phenotypes. Thus, we did not find significant evidence that albinism is adaptive or maladaptive; however, if in fact it is the latter, then we did find evidence of incomplete compensation for declines in survival and reproduction from growth transitions, particularly to small flowering size classes in C. damasonium, and to large vegetative size classes in C. longifolia. These patterns indicate some support for the idea that albinism may lead to the speciation of mycoheterotrophic plants.
Trophic interactions determine the effects of drought on an aquatic ecosystem
Authors: Amundrud Sarah L. , Srivastava Diane S.
Published: June 2016

Species interactions can be important mediators of community and ecosystem responses to environmental stressors. However, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of the indirect ecological effects of stress that arise via altered species interactions. To understand how species interactions will be altered by environmental stressors, we need to know if the species that are vulnerable to such stressors also have large impacts on the ecosystem. As predators often exhibit certain traits that are linked to a high vulnerability to stress (e.g., large body size, long generation time), as well as having large effects on communities (e.g., top‐down trophic effects), predators may be particularly likely to mediate ecological effects of environmental stress. Other functional groups, like facilitators, are known to have large impacts on communities, but their vulnerability to perturbations remains undocumented. Here, we use aquatic insect communities in bromeliads to examine the indirect effects of an important stressor (drought) on community and ecosystem responses. In a microcosm experiment, we manipulated predatory and facilitative taxa under a range of experimental droughts, and quantified effects on community structure and ecosystem function. Drought, by adversely affecting the top predator, had indirect cascading effects on the entire food web, altering community composition and decomposition. We identified the likely pathway of how drought cascaded through the food web from the top‐down as drought→predator→shredder→decomposition. This stress‐induced cascade depended on predators exhibiting both a strong vulnerability to drought and large impacts on prey (especially shredders), as well as shredders exhibiting high functional importance as decomposers.