Does the PMSP connectionist model of single word reading learn to read in the same way as a child?

The Plaut, McClelland, Seidenberg and Patterson (1996) connectionist model of reading was evaluated at two points early in its training against reading data collected from British children on two occasions during their first year of literacy instruction. First, the network’s non-word reading was poor relative to word reading when compared with the children. Second, the network made more non-lexical than lexical errors, the opposite pattern to the children. Three adaptations were made to the training of the network to bring it closer to the learning environment of a child: an incremental training regime was adopted; the network was trained on grapheme– phoneme correspondences; and a training corpus based on words found in children’s early reading materials was used. The modifications caused a sharp improvement in non-word reading, relative to word reading, resulting in a near perfect match to the children’s data on this measure. The modified network, however, continued to make predominantly non-lexical errors, although evidence from a small-scale implementation of the full triangle framework suggests that this limitation stems from the lack of a semantic pathway. Taken together, these results suggest that, when properly trained, connectionist models of word reading can offer insights into key aspects of reading development in children.

As práticas educativas na saúde da família: uma cartografia simbólica

This qualitative research aimed to understand the educational activities carried out in Family Health Units, of the municipality of Mossoró-RN. It was used symbolic cartography to organize and present data from reality. It started on the approach of Health Education and knowledge transformation practice, aiming at the development of autonomy and responsibility of individuals and healthcare, publicized by the appreciation of the interpersonal relations area established in services, such as educational emancipator practices contexts. Individual and collective interviews were realized, conducted with health professionals and users of ESF, about themes, activities, membership, the difficulties, the potential and the design of health education that permeate everyday Family Health Strategy. From what was apprehended, thematic maps were done with the analysis of educational practices of professionals belonging to the Family‟s Health. Links are built with the wires of conceptions of education reflected on themes and activities of family health teams. The storylines are rebinded by voices about the difficulties and the potential of educational processes for emancipator postures. For users, health education means proper care and information on disease prevention. Professionals understand that it is all information that is given to users, about health, social well-being, economic and general condition of human being as a way of preventing and treating disease. Mark printed on voices denote that activities and themes worked don‟t motivate users enough for their participation, being that physicians and dentists also get excluded themselves from educational practices. Elderly groups are those who get most involved with the activities. The size of the contained area and its seclusion from community make harder the access of users, as well as diminishing the quality of educational actions and links users-professionals. Therefore, the searching for medicines, medical consultations and wish to be well served are trademarks of voices from the users that interconnect with enlightening information and guidelines offered by professionals to users. It brings out practices that need to incorporate the social, the subjective and act with practices of prevention and health promotion, on the basis of lifestyles. The dialogical model, which needs to be approached since planning phase of health education actions could arouse interest of involved groups; promoting a relationship of dialogue and listening; discussing the local reality; stimulating practical methodological dialetics; promoting processes of deconstruction of concepts, values and attitudes, as more necessary than construction, using multiple languages. The defended thesis denotes paths to other studies aimed at understanding a dialogical template committed to exchanges of knowledge, and discover strategies that encourage formation of critical consciousness and the discovery of how is the training of new generations of healthcare professionals to belong to the project of society, in its technical, scientific, pedagogical, ethical, political and humanistic dimensions

Trânsito de saberes e campo representacional na visão dos profissionais da saúde da família e do programa de educação pelo trabalho e para a saúde

The Family Health Strategy (ESF) is emerging as a possible restructuring of services and new practices of intervention in health care; it requires skilled professionals to work with that framework. Within this purpose, we established the Education Programme for Work and Health (PET-Saúde), in order to integrate teaching and service activities, focusing on primary care. On this basis, the aim of this work is to apprehend the social representation of nurse, doctor and dentist (Project PET-Natal Health RN preceptors) on the ESF, while practice field of them. It is a descriptive and exploratory study, with a qualitative approach, carried out in 07 Family Health Units (USF) included in the PET-Saúde Natal (RN). The population was composed of 35 professional components of the primary care team with bachelor's degree of the USF linked to this project. The sample was composed of 05 nurses, 05 physicians and 05 dentists, for a total of 15 subjects. Data were collected through three instruments: the drawing-themed story, a semi-structured individual interviews and field diary. The data relating to the identification of the subjects were entered and tabulated by the Microsoft Excel software 2007 version. The drawing analysis and interpretation is given by the significance attributed to the resource chart from title and keywords assigned by the subjects, considering the ESF as an inductive term. The stories and interviews were transcribed and typed and then subjected to read/listen the material and a lexical analysis through Alceste. After this process, the discursive material was analyzed and discussed by theoretical and methodological feature of the Social Representations theory. The majority of health professionals were female, aged between 46 and 52 years old, married, income less than six minimum wage, time since graduation ranged from 22 to 29 years and working time in the ESF range from 02 to 11 years. From the classification system ALCESTE were selected categories identified by: Category 1 - ESF: relations and territory; Category 2 - Training and bond profile; Category 3 - Working process in the ESF; Category 4 - Articulation between teaching and service; Category 5 - Health care and disease prevention. The representational field construction, while a process, followed the logic of structural cores in existing categories. In this sense, it is clear that the ESF is an environment rich in diversity, experience and relationships with potential such as the relationship "very subject-subject" and the link established between professional-community, but also has some weaknesses such as poor working conditions, lack of popular participation and management support, thus difficulties in the achievement of teamwork. Being essential to that end, the teaching-service aimed at the formation of a new health professional able to work in the ESF. In this research, the training of the representational field encountered a diversity of structural cores, or thoughts on training, about the ESF because of the greater emphasis on the here and now of the interaction between health professionals, the ESF, the community, PET Health-UFRN and students, emphasizing that such proposals are still considered as concepts in the context of recent health and that, therefore, are not fully realized in the social imaginary

Does bench model fidelity interfere in the acquisition of suture skills by novice medical students?

OBJETIVO: Embora vários modelos de bancada inanimados tenham sido descritos para o treinamento de habilidades de sutura, até o momento, não existe um método ideal para esse ensino e aprendizagem durante a formação médica. O objetivo foi avaliar se a fidelidade dos modelos de bancada interfere na aquisição de habilidades de sutura em estudantes de medicina iniciantes na prática cirúrgica. MÉTODOS: 36 estudantes de medicina sem exposição prévia a habilidades cirúrgicas foram randomizados em três grupos (n = 12): treinamento de suturas baseado em materiais didáticos (controle); treinamento de suturas em modelo de baixa-fidelidade (modelo de bancada de etileno vinil acetato); ou treinamento de suturas em modelo de alta-fidelidade (modelo de bancada de pele de pata de porco). Foram aplicados pré e pós-testes (realização de pontos simples e pontos subdérmicos invertidos em língua de boi). Três ferramentas (Global Rating Scale com avaliação cega, tamanho do efeito e autopercepção da confiança baseada em uma escala de Likert) foram utilizadas para mensurar todas as performances de sutura. RESULTADOS: A análise após o treinamento demonstrou que os estudantes que treinaram nos modelos tiveram um melhor (p < 0.0000) desempenho na avaliação pela Global Rating Scale, quando comparados com o controle, independente da fidelidade do modelo. A magnitude do efeito (treinamento) foi considerada grande (> 0.80) em todas as mensurações. Após o treinamento os alunos sentiram-se mais confiantes (p < 0.0000) para executarem os dois tipos de suturas. CONCLUSÃO: A aquisição de habilidades de suturas no modelo de baixa fidelidade foi semelhante à prática no modelo de alta fidelidade, sendo que a melhora no desempenho dos participantes que treinaram nesses dois modelos foi superior à aprendizagem baseada em materiais didáticos.

Electromyographic activity of shoulder muscles during exercises performed with oscillatory and non-oscillatory poles

CONTEXTUALIZAÇÃO: A dor e a disfunção no complexo articular do ombro é comumente encontrada na prática fisioterapêutica. Essas anormalidades musculoesqueléticas estão relacionadas à instabilidade e inadequado funcionamento cinemático, que dependem da integridade dos tecidos musculares. Assim, no sentido de prevenir e reabilitar esses sintomas, o uso da haste oscilatória vem sendo implantado para melhorar os resultados de técnicas cinesioterapêuticas. OBJETIVOS: Analisar a atividade eletromiográfica (EMG) dos músculos que estabilizam a articulação do ombro durante a realização de exercícios com haste oscilatória e haste não-oscilatória. MÉTODOS: Participaram do estudo 12 voluntárias com idade de 20,4±1,9 anos. Os dados EMG foram coletados nos músculos trapézio superior (TrS), trapézio inferior (TrI) e deltoide médio (DM) durante três diferentes exercícios realizados com haste oscilatória e haste não-oscilatória. O sinal EMG foi analisado no domínio do tempo pelo cálculo do Root Mean Square (RMS). Os valores de RMS foram normalizados pelo valor de pico obtido em todas as tentativas por cada músculo. A análise estatística foi feita com os testes ANOVA para medidas repetidas e post-hoc de Bonferroni. RESULTADOS: A atividade EMG dos músculos TrS, TrI e DM foi significativamente maior nos exercícios com haste oscilatória do que com haste não-oscilatória (todos p<0,001). Não foram significativas as diferenças na ativação desses músculos entre os exercícios. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados do presente estudo indicaram que a haste oscilatória requisitou maior atividade EMG dos músculos do ombro e, assim, pode ser um instrumento útil no treinamento desses músculos.

Feather mites of Brazil (Acari: Astigmata: Analgoidea and Pterolichoidea)

We present a checklist of feather mites known from native birds in Brazil. The list was compiled from a survey of Brazilian records published in indexing databases (e.g. Zoological Records) and from the available literature. To date, 185 nominal species representing 21 families have been recorded from Brazilian birds. Associations with 15 bird orders were found: Anseriformes, Apodiformes, Caprimulgiformes, Ciconiiformes, Columbiformes, Cuculiformes, Falconiformes, Galliformes, Gruiformes, Opisthocomiformes, Passeriformes, Piciformes, Psittaciformes, Tinamiformes and Trogoniformes. These birds sum to 218 species, which represent only 12.4% of all bird species occurring in Brazil. The feather mite fauna of several species-rich and important bird orders in Brazil remain unexplored, including Cathartiformes, Charadriiformes, Coraciiformes, Galbuliformes and Strigiformes. We estimate that between 900 and 5300 feather mite species are expected to occur on Brazilian birds, which is at least five times greater than current records. The training of researchers with expertise in the taxonomy of this group of mites should be stimulated so that there is a compatible number of taxonomists to discover and describe the almost unexplored feather mite fauna in Brazil.

Estimation of the volumetric oxygen tranfer coefficient (KLa) from the gas balance and using a neural network technique

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Prediction of occurrences of diverse chemical classes in the Asteraceae through artificial neural networks

The training and the application of a neural network system for the prediction of occurrences of secondary metabolites belonging to diverse chemical classes in the Asteraceae is described. From a database containing about 604 genera and 28,000 occurrences of secondary metabolites in the plant family, information was collected encompassing nine chemical classes and their respective occurrences for training of a multi-layer net using the back-propagation algorithm. The net supplied as output the presence or absence of the chemical classes as well as the number of compounds isolated from each taxon. The results provided by the net from the presence or absence of a chemical class showed a 89% hit rate; by excluding triterpenes from the analysis, only 5% of the genera studied exhibited errors greater than 10%. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

The initial formation of teachers in scholastic cartography: a report on a research experience

This paper is derived from the PhD research entitled "The initial training of Geography teacher in school cartography: a reflective analysis", developed by the program of Post-graduation in Geography of UNESP, campus of Rio Claro. The research is in the final phase, focused on data analysis and final writing of thesis. In this context, it may be stated that the research orientates in the problematic focused at the understanding of how the recent knowledge produced by the school cartography unfolds in the practices of Geography licentiate students. However, at this time, we will discuss about issues related to the research by the theoretical and practical point of view.

Investigations into the use of the finite element method and artificial neural networks in the non-destructive analysis of metallic tubes

This work presents an investigation into the use of the finite element method and artificial neural networks in the identification of defects in industrial plants metallic tubes, due to the aggressive actions of the fluids contained by them, and/or atmospheric agents. The methodology used in this study consists of simulating a very large number of defects in a metallic tube, using the finite element method. Both variations in width and height of the defects are considered. Then, the obtained results are used to generate a set of vectors for the training of a perceptron multilayer artificial neural network. Finally, the obtained neural network is used to classify a group of new defects, simulated by the finite element method, but that do not belong to the original dataset. The reached results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach, and encourage future works on this subject.

Education and knowledge: basic pillars of changing production patterns with social equity

Includes bibliography

Labour markets, worker protection and lifelong learning in a global economy: experiences and perspectives of Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Tridimensional modeling of the cardiac wall

The advance in the graphic computer's techniques and computer's capacity of processing made possible applications like the human anatomic structures modeling, in order to investigate diseases, surgical planning or even provide images for training of Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD). On this context, this work exhibits an anatomical model of cardiac structures represented in a tridimensional environment. The model was represented with geometrical elements and has anatomical details, as the different tunics that compose the cardiac wall and measures that preserves the characteristics found on real structures. The validation of the anatomical model was made through quantitative comparations with real structures measures, available on specialized literature. The results obtained, evaluated by two specialists, are compatible with real anatomies, respecting the anatomical particularities. This degree of representation will allow the verification of the influence of radiological parameters, morphometric peculiarities and stage of the cardiac diseases on the quality of the images, as well as on the performance of the CAD. © 2010 IEEE.

The contributions of applied anthropology to peasant development

Includes bibliography

Simulation-based cutaneous surgical-skill training on a chicken-skin bench model in a medical undergraduate program

Background: Because of ethical and medico-legal aspects involved in the training of cutaneous surgical skills on living patients, human cadavers and living animals, it is necessary the search for alternative and effective forms of training simulation. Aims: To propose and describe an alternative methodology for teaching and learning the principles of cutaneous surgery in a medical undergraduate program by using a chicken-skin bench model. Materials and Methods: One instructor for every four students, teaching materials on cutaneous surgical skills, chicken trunks, wings, or thighs, a rigid platform support, needled threads, needle holders, surgical blades with scalpel handles, rat-tooth tweezers, scissors, and marking pens were necessary for training simulation. Results: A proposal for simulation-based training on incision, suture, biopsy, and on reconstruction techniques using a chicken-skin bench model distributed in several sessions and with increasing levels of difficultywas structured. Both feedback and objective evaluations always directed to individual students were also outlined. Conclusion: The teaching of a methodology for the principles of cutaneous surgery using a chicken-skin bench model versatile, portable, easy to assemble, and inexpensive is an alternative and complementary option to the armamentarium of methods based on other bench models described. © Indian Journal of Dermatology 2013.