Randomized controlled trial of an intervention to change cardiac misconceptions in myocardial infarction patients

There is converging evidence that changing beliefs about an illness leads to positive recovery outcomes. However, cardiac misconceptions interventions have been investigated mainly in Angina or Coronary Heart Disease patients, and less in patients following Myocardial Infarction (MI). In these patients, cardiac misconceptions may play a role in the adjustment or lifestyle changes. This article reports a randomized controlled trial of an intervention designed to reduce the strength of misconceptions in patients after a first MI. The primary outcome was the degree of change in misconceptions and the secondary outcomes were: exercise, smoking status, return to work and mood (anxiety and depression). Patients in the intervention condition (n = 60) were compared with a control group (n = 67) receiving usual care. Both groups were evaluated at baseline and 4, 8 and 12 months after hospital discharge. There was a significant time-by-group interaction for the total score of cardiac misconceptions. Patients in the intervention group significantly decreased their total score of cardiac misconceptions at 4 months compared with the control group and this difference was sustained over time. Patients in the intervention group were also more likely to exercise at the follow-up period after MI than the control group. This intervention was effective in reducing the strength of cardiac misconceptions in MI patients and had a positive impact on health behaviour outcomes. These results support the importance of misconceptions in health behaviours and the utility of belief change interventions in promoting health in patients with Myocardial Infarction.

An Integrative Case Study of Positive Youth Development in a Recreational Community Sport Program

Thesis (Ph.D, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-21 14:22:50.954

Exploring barriers to breastfeeding among chinese mothers living in Madrid, Spain

In Spain, immigrant women have high rates for initiating breastfeeding. In contrast, the case of immigrant Chinese mothers stands out, due to the low rate. In China, breastfeeding has historically been the cultural norm. An ethnographic study was conducted to explore aspects related to the low rate of breastfeeding. Field observations and informal interviews were conducted in two hospitals and a primary care center. Semi-structured interviews were performed with Chinese mothers and health workers. Among Spanish health workers, there is a belief that Chinese women do not breastfeed due to cultural reasons. The rapid return to work and the popular phenomenon of sending babies back to China for grandparents to raise constitute barriers for breastfeeding. Although in China breastfeeding is common practice, in Madrid the prioritization of productivity over reproduction and the existence of the so-called “satellite babies” and transnational maternity make the establishment and maintenance of breastfeeding difficult.

La poésie à l’école secondaire québécoise (1963-2016) - Une histoire à travers les textes

Afin de comprendre et d’expliquer le malaise actuel vis-à-vis de l’enseignement de la poésie au secondaire, la thèse remonte à la publication du Rapport Parent (1963-1966), document fondateur de l’école québécoise moderne, et à la création du ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (1964) pour suivre, à travers les documents, l’histoire de l’enseignement de la poésie au secondaire au cours des 50 dernières années. Cette période se divise en trois grandes étapes : une révolution en éducation marquée par la publication du Rapport Parent et de deux programmes; le retour aux sources amorcé par L’école québécoise qui verra deux programmes et deux séries de manuels scolaires; la réforme articulée autour de L’école, tout un programme dont les programmes et les manuels sont actuellement en vigueur. C’est à travers ces trois types de documents (documents d’orientation, programmes d’enseignement et manuels scolaires) que je retracerai le parcours de l’enseignement de la poésie à l’école secondaire avec comme toile de fond les grands courants qui ont marqué l’éducation et l’enseignement du français au Québec depuis les années 1960. L’enseignement de la poésie ne peut se détacher du contexte dans lequel il se fait. Ce contexte comprend diverses facettes qui lui sont internes et d’autres qui lui sont externes. Les facettes externes dans ce travail sont la vision de la culture et de l’enseignement ainsi que la place faite à la littérature et à la poésie. L’idée de culture a beaucoup évolué depuis 50 ans. Le Rapport Parent abandonne la vision traditionnelle de la culture au profit d’une vision plus large qui englobe l’ensemble des activités humaines. Nuancée et actualisée, cette vision large de la culture restera la référence. La littérature qui détenait une place importante dans la culture traditionnelle perd ainsi de l’influence. Sa place et son importance, malgré les discours qui la valorisent, vont diminuer jusqu’à ne devenir qu’un adjuvant à l’enseignement de la technique de la langue et des types de textes. L’évolution de l’enseignement transformera la classe traditionnelle bien ordonnée sous l’autorité du maitre en lieu qui doit permettre à l’élève de construire ses connaissances. Les éléments reliés directement à l’enseignement de la poésie comprennent les programmes, les manuels, l’enseignement de la lecture et de l’écriture et le travail du professeur et de l’élève. Les programmes subiront d’importantes modifications. Le programme-cadre de 1969 marque la fin des programmes à visées littéraires. Le seul vrai but des programmes depuis, c’est de parfaire l’apprentissage technique de la langue. Le programme de 1980 marque l’abandon des genres littéraires comme base de l’enseignement des textes au profit de la notion de discours. Comme le discours poétique n’y apparait pas, la poésie peine à se trouver une place. Les programmes de 1995 et de la réforme optent pour les types de textes plutôt que les discours, mais la poésie n’entre pas dans cette typologie. La place de la poésie en lecture et en écriture est variable selon les époques. Sur un même pied que les autres types de textes dans le programme-cadre, elle apparait seulement en lecture dans le programme de 1980. Les programmes subséquents lui redonneront une place en écriture. Depuis 1980, elle reste un genre marginal qui souvent ne sert qu’à illustrer des notions utiles aux discours ou types de textes utilisés par le programme. La relation professeur/élève s’est considérablement modifiée au cours de cette période. De maitre, le professeur est devenu guide et médiateur. L’élève évolue en sens inverse : de passif récepteur de la connaissance, il devient responsable de construire ses connaissances. Le professeur, compte tenu du peu de place qu’occupe la poésie dans les programmes et du fait qu’elle ne fait pas partie de la typologie des textes adoptée par ceux-ci, ne peut compter que sur ses connaissances pour en assurer un enseignement valable. Les manuels accompagnent les programmes sauf pour le programme-cadre. Depuis 1980, les manuels de français ont une visée autoéducative parce qu’ils s’adressent directement à l’étudiant. Ils se présentent comme des préparations de cours que l’élève n’a qu’à suivre pour acquérir les connaissances au programme. La place de la poésie en lecture et en écriture y est variable selon les époques et les manuels.

Sodium hypochlorite sterilization of culture medium in micropropagation of Gerbera hybrida cv. Essandre.

Micropropagation requires controlling contamination that might compromise the success of the process. Thermal sterilization is traditionally used; however, costs deriving from equipment acquisition and maintenance render this technique costly. With the purpose of finding an alternative to thermal sterilization, this research aimed at assessing the efficiency and ideal concentration of sodium hypochlorite for sterilization of culture media and glassware used during rooting of micropropagated Gerbera hybrida cv. Essandre. Two experiments were carried out. In the first one, treatments consisted of control I (no sterilization), control II (thermal sterilization), and total active chlorine concentrations of 0.0005, 0.001, 0.002 and 0.003%. In the second experiment, based on the results observed in the first experiment, treatments consisted of control I (thermal sterilization) and II (chemical sterilization), and total active chlorine concentrations of 0.002, 0.0025 and 0.003%. Plant behavior was assessed based on the length of aerial part and roots, number of roots, and dry biomass of plants. Results showed that the addition of an active chlorine concentration of 0.003% to culture media provided total control of contaminants, and there were no significant differences regarding the variables analyzed between plants obtained with thermal sterilization and with sodium hypochlorite sterilization. Thus, chemical sterilization can be used as a replacement for thermal sterilization of nutrition media for rooting of gerbera in vitro.

The right to adequate housing in International Human Rights Law: Polish transformation experiences

AbstractHousing rights are now one of the most fundamental social and economic human rights. It is therefore the duty of every country to implement such rights for its own citizens, irrespective of its economicdevelopment, political situation, or social conditions. Possession of appropriate living conditions determines, in fact, the possibility of using other, more advanced human rights (e.g. the right to health, right to development, right to peace, or access to culture). Realization of the right to adequate housing is increasingly problematic for developed countries. According to the United Nations, there areover 100 million homeless people worldwide and more than 1 billion inadequately housed. Poland is an example of a country particularly afflicted by housing problems after the Second World War.Experiences of Polish democratic transformation after 1989, therefore, provide interesting lessons (and warnings) for all countries wishing to deal with the social problems arising from housing difficulties.Keywords: right to adequate housing, human rights, housing rights, social transformation, transition, economic and social human rights, social issues, Poland, United Nations, communism.ResumenEl derecho a la vivienda es uno de los derechos humanos sociales y económicos más elementales. Por lo tanto, es un deber de todos los países implementar esos derechos para susciudadanos y ciudadanas, independependientmente de su desarrollo económico, situación política, o condiciones sociales. La posesión de adecuadas condiciones de vida determinala posibilidad de utilizar otros derechos humanos más avanzados (por ejemplo, derecho a la salud, derecho al desarrollo, derecho a la paz, acceso a la cultura). La realizacióndel derecho a una vivienda adecuada es cada vez más problemática para los países desarrollados. Según las Naciones Unidas, hay más de 100 millones de personas sin hogar en todo el mundo y más de 1000 millones alojadas en viviendas inadecuadas. Polonia es ejemplo de un país particularmente afectado por los problemas de vivienda después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Experiencias de la transformación democrática de Polonia después de 1989 ofrecen lecciones interesantes (y advertencias) para todos los países que deseen hacer frente a los problemas sociales derivados de las dificultades de vivienda.Palabras clave: derecho a la vivienda, derechos humanos, transformación social, transición, derechos económicos y sociales, cuestiones sociales, Polonia, Naciones Unidas, comunismo. 

Studies of sustainable strategies to control phytopathogen agents

Choosing natural enemies to suppress pest population has been for a long the key of biological control. Overtime the term biological control has also been applied to the use of suppressive soils, bio-disinfection and biopesticides. Biological control agents (BCA) and natural compounds, extracted or fermented from various sources, are the resources for containing phytopathogens. BCA can act through direct antagonism mechanisms or inducing hypovirulence of the pathogen. The first part of the thesis focused on mycoviruses infecting phytopathogenic fungi belonging to the genus Fusarium. The development of new approaches capable of faster dissecting the virome of filamentous fungi samples was performed. The semiconductor-based sequencer Ion Torrent™ and the nanopore-based sequencer MinION have been exploited to analyze DNA and RNA referable to viral genomes. Comparison with GeneBank accessions and sequence analysis allowed to identify more than 40 putative viral species, some of these mycovirus genera have been studied as inducers of hypovirulence in several phytopathogenic fungi, therefore future works will focus on the comparison of the morphology and physiology of the fungal strain infected and cured by the viruses identified and their possible use as a biocontrol agent. In a second part of the thesis the potential of botanical pesticides has been evaluated for the biocontrol of phloem limited phytopathogens such as phytoplasmas. The only active compounds able to control phytoplasmas are the antibiotic oxytetracyclines and in vitro direct and fast screening of new antimicrobials compounds on media is almost impossible due to the difficulty to culture phytoplasmas. For this reason, a simple and reliable screening method was developed to evaluate the effects of antimicrobials directly on phytoplasmas by an “ex-vivo” approach. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in parallel with molecular tools (ddRT-PCR), the direct activity of tetracyclines on phytoplasma cells was verified, identifying also a promising compound showing similar activity.

La narrativa italiana degli anni Duemila - tra postmodernità e ipermodernità

Nel corso degli ultimi quindici anni, il dibattito letterario italiano si è rivolto soprattutto alla persistenza dei caratteri del postmoderno italiano nella produzione letteraria nazionale, e parallelamente sulla ricerca dei sintomi e dei segnali che possano dimostrare un superamento di questo periodo storico e letterario. Le posizioni prese dalla critica letteraria sono polarizzate, da una parte i sostenitori di un necessario recupero dei caratteri al contempo realisti e modernisti e dall’altra coloro che ritengono che il postmoderno sia evoluto verso una forma più matura. In questo lavoro, sulla scorta di Luperini, Donnarumma e Cortellessa, consideriamo il postmoderno come una fase artistica e storica consumata. Pertanto, abbiamo indagato le forme che rappresentano i nodi tematici più riconoscibili della nuova produzione letteraria italiana; lo si è fatto attraverso le opere di alcuni autori che più di altri mostrano una sensibilità comune e degli elementi problematici affini, malgrado delle differenze stilistiche profonde. Abbiamo scelto di concentrarci sulla produzione di Giorgio Falco, Nicola Lagioia, Laura Pugno e Giorgio Vasta. Nella prima parte, abbiamo osservato la presenza della corporalità in alcune opere di tali autori, alfine di verificare le modalità del ritorno alla dimensione fisica dell’esistenza. Nella seconda parte, abbiamo indagato il ritorno all’impegno, osservando la rappresentazione degli anni Settanta e Ottanta e lo sguardo degli autori verso la città diffusa del nord Italia.

Le sol productif. Au-delà de la « zone », vers des stratégies de reterritorialisation des sites d’activité

Depuis 70 ans, les outils de planification des zones dédiées aux activités productives (Zones industrielles, Zones d’activités économiques, etc.) ont produit des espaces déconnectés des spécificités physiques et sociales du territoire, et ont participé à réduire le sol à un support de production soumis en premier lieu à des logiques de marché. Aujourd’hui, nous constatons l’inadéquation de ces outils avec leur objectif : le développement du territoire. L’ambition de la thèse est de réfléchir à une démarche alternative qui permet d’envisager des outils de planification capables d’instaurer une relation de maintien et de valorisation des ressources territoriales. Face à un aménagement des activités productives inadéquat au développement durable du territoire, la thèse propose de retracer une généalogie de la démarche « territorialiste » qui vise à établir une relation synergique entre la production et les ressources territoriales. Une démarche « Eutopique » de retour au territoire qui, en prenant en compte le lien indissociable entre défis sociaux et environnementaux, permet d’un côté de rétablir une relation aux ressources naturelles et d’en respecter les cycles et les rythmes écologiques, et de l’autre d’identifier des éléments de réponse à la crise sociale. Suite à une introduction critique du rapport que les activités productives établissent avec le territoire, le raisonnement se développe en quatre parties : Les trois premières parties suivent une approche généalogique et montrent comment les concepts de cette démarche ont évolué et se sont transformées en s’adaptant à différents contextes, et répondant à la question de pourquoi et comment ces transferts théoriques ont vu le jour. Dans la quatrième partie de la thèse est retracée l’influence et le développement original que cette démarche trouve aujourd’hui en France : l’objectif est celui d’ouvrir sur des stratégies pour envisager un système productif capable de développer le territoire dans le temps long.

Análise do investimento em climatização para bovinos de leite em sistema de alojamento free-stall

The difficulty in adapting European dairy cows breeds in Brazil affect considerably the milk production sector. Brazilian climatic conditions are not totally favorable and the development of new tecnologies is needed for the animals express their genetic potential, as well as their best feed conversion. An economical analysis of the applied investment in the free-stall climatization equipment in dairy housing, for estimating studies related to profit, possibility of return investment as well as time for this return is necessary. The objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of climatization investment in the milk production process and analyze the economical aspect of this investment. There were used 470 high productive dairy cows with genetic and morphologic homogeneous characteristics, and analyzed in two similar periods. Investment calculations were done using Excell®. The results were satisfactory and the invested capital was proved to return to the producer in a short term, 57 days.

Lingüística e arqueologia

This retrospective paper will shed light on the relations between Linguistics and Archaeology by drawing special attention to the history of Archaeology and the influence of Linguistic models for the development of archaeological interpretive frameworks. Reference will be made to culture history theoreticians, like Gordon Childe, to processual archaeologists influenced by Structuralism and to post-processual discourse analysis. The paper will conclude stressing the importance of Linguistics to archaeological thought.

Autoscopia: um procedimento de pesquisa e de formação

This article considers a procedure for data collection called autoscopy. Autoscopy entails the video recording of a practice with the purpose of allowing analysis and self-evaluation by one of the protagonists of that practice. The objective of the video recording is that of apprehending the actions of the agent (or agents), the scenario, and the plot that make up a situation. The recorded material is subjected to sessions of analysis after the action that aim at the understanding of the reflective process of the agent (or agents) through their verbalizations during the analysis of video recorded scenes. The present text introduces a theoretical basis for the procedure of autoscopy, deals with advantages and limitations of its use, as well as with aspects that deserve attention and, finally, describes the authors' experiences in two studies in which the procedure was employed. Starting from these two experiences, differences and similarities are pointed out between the studies, especially regarding the participants, object, and the time distribution of the video recordings. The authors draw considerations about the formative-reflective potential of the procedure, both for research situations and for the learning and training of various professionals, considering it to be an excellent educational instrument. It is, however, vital to keep in mind the need to recognize and return to the teacher, as an autoscopic participant, his condition as subject of his own profession, thereby promoting, besides the self-evaluation, also the autonomy of his thinking and doing.

Sociedade, cultura, matemática e seu ensino

One of the effects of the globalized world is a strong tendency to eliminate differences, promoting a planetary culture. Education systems are particularly affected, undergoing strong pressure from international studies and evaluations, inevitably comparative, and sadly competitive. As a result, one observes the gradual elimination of cultural components in the definition of education systems. The constitution of new social imaginaries becomes clear; imaginaries empty of historical, geographical and temporal referents, characterized by a strong presence of the culture of the image. The criteria of classification establish an inappropriate reference that has as its consequence the definition of practices and even of education systems. On the other hand, resistance mechanisms, often unconscious, are activated seeking to safeguard and recover the identifying features of a culture, such as its traditions, cuisine, languages, artistic manifestations in general, and, in doing so, to contribute to cultural diversity, an essential factor to encourage creativity. In this article, the sociocultural basis of mathematics and of its teaching are examined, and also the consequences of globalization and its effects on multicultural education. The concept of culture is discussed, as well as issues related to culture dynamics, resulting in the proposition of a theory of transdisciplinar and transcultural knowledge. Upon such basis the Ethnomathematics Program is presented. A critique is also made of the curriculum presently used, which is in its conception and detailing, obsolete, uninteresting and of little use. A different concept of curriculum is proposed, based on the communicative (literacy), analytical (matheracy), and material (technoracy) instruments.

Meninos de rua ou de um beco sem saida?

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física

Culex quinquefasciatus vitellogenesis: morphological and biochemical aspects

The vitellogenic process in Culex quinquefasciatus, which is triggered by a blood meal, involves the synthesis, distribution and storage of the nutrients necessary for embryo development. The fat body of an adult female Cx. quinquefasciatus revealed two cell types: large trophocytes and small, eosinophilic, "oenocyte-like" cells, which show no morphological changes throughout the gonotrophic cycle. Trophocytes, which only begin to synthesise vitellogenin (Vg) 12 h post-blood meal (PBM), undergo a series of morphological changes following engorgement. These changes include the expansion of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and Golgi complex, which are later destroyed by autophagosomes. At 84 h PBM, trophocytes return to their pre-engorgement morphology. The ovarian follicles of non-blood-fed Cx. quinquefasciatus contain a cluster of eight undifferentiated cells surrounded by follicular epithelium. After engorgement, the oocyte membrane facing the perioocytic space increases its absorptive surface by microvilli development; large amounts of Vg and lipids are stored between 24 and 48 h PBM. Along with yolk storage in the oocyte, follicular cells exhibit the development of RER cisternae and electron-dense granules begin to fill the perioocytic space, possibly giving rise to endochorion. Later in the gonotrophic cycle, electron-dense vesicles, which are possible exochorion precursors, fuse at the apical membrane of follicular cells. This fusion is followed by follicular cell degeneration.