Variation in genes related to hepatic lipid metabolism and changes in waist circumference and body weight.

We analysed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging the genetic variability of six candidate genes (ATF6, FABP1, LPIN2, LPIN3, MLXIPL and MTTP) involved in the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism, an important regulatory site of energy balance for associations with body mass index (BMI) and changes in weight and waist circumference. We also investigated effect modification by sex and dietary intake. Data of 6,287 individuals participating in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition were included in the analyses. Data on weight and waist circumference were followed up for 6.9 ± 2.5 years. Association of 69 tagSNPs with baseline BMI and annual changes in weight as well as waist circumference were investigated using linear regression analysis. Interactions with sex, GI and intake of carbohydrates, fat as well as saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids were examined by including multiplicative SNP-covariate terms into the regression model. Neither baseline BMI nor annual weight or waist circumference changes were significantly associated with variation in the selected genes in the entire study population after correction for multiple testing. One SNP (rs1164) in LPIN2 appeared to be significantly interacting with sex (p = 0.0003) and was associated with greater annual weight gain in men (56.8 ± 23.7 g/year per allele, p = 0.02) than in women (-25.5 ± 19.8 g/year per allele, p = 0.2). With respect to gene-nutrient interaction, we could not detect any significant interactions when accounting for multiple testing. Therefore, out of our six candidate genes, LPIN2 may be considered as a candidate for further studies.

Efficacy of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in improving ankle kinetics during walking in children with cerebral palsy

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applied to the triceps surae muscle is claimed to be effective in improving gait in children with cerebral palsy. The main aim of this study was to determine the effect of NMES on the triceps surae muscle in improving the gait and function of children with cerebral palsy. Twelve children with spastic diplegia or hemiplegia were recruited and randomly assigned to the two experimental groups. The period of the study was 8 weeks (2-4-2 week design). The initial 2 weeks was the control period, in which usual treatment was given to both groups of patients with a pre- and post-treatment assessment. The middle 4 weeks was the experimental period, in which the Treadmill+NMES group received NMES plus treadmill walking training and the Treadmill group underwent treadmill walking training only. Assessment was performed at 2-week intervals. The final 2 weeks was the carryover period, in which treatment to be tested was stopped and reassessment performed again at the end of week 8. An additional treatment and post-treatment assessment were given at weeks 2, 4 and 6 to test for the immediate effect of treatment. Altogether, eight repeated measures with three-dimensional gait analysis and five clinical measurements using the gross motor function measure (GMFM) were performed. Kinetic changes in ankle moment quotient (AMQ) and ankle power quotient (APQ) were not significant either immediately or cumulatively in both groups. Improvement in trend was observed in both groups immediately but not cumulatively. Using the GMFM, functional changes were detected in standing (GMST, p < 0.001) and in walking (GMWK, p = 0.003) using a 'time' comparison. Significant interaction was also detected in GMWK using 'treatment by time' (p = 0.035). The difference between the two groups was not significant on 'treatment' comparison of both GMST and GMWK. Both groups showed improvement in GMST and GMWK cumulatively but there was no difference between the two groups. The effects in both groups could be carried over to 2 weeks after interventions stopped. Both the Treadmill+NMES and Treadmill groups showed improvement in functional outcomes. The trend in the changes of the GMFM score suggested that improvements were greater in the Treadmill+NMES group. There was also a trend showing some immediate improvement in AMQ and APQ.

Predominant learning styles among pharmacy students at the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil

Background: Learning styles are cognitive, emotional, and physiological traits, as well as indicators of how learners perceive, interact, and respond to their learning environments. According to Honey-Mumford, learning styles are classified as active, reflexive, theoretical, and pragmatic. Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the predominant learning styles among pharmacy students at the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive study was conducted using the Honey-Alonso Learning Style Questionnaire. Students in the Bachelor of Pharmacy program were invited to participate in this study. The questionnaire comprised 80 randomized questions, 20 for each of the four learning styles. The maximum possible score was 20 points for each learning style, and cumulative scores indicated the predominant learning styles among the participants. Honey-Mumford (1986) proposed five preference levels for each style (very low, low, moderate, high, and very high), called a general interpretation scale, to avoid student identification with one learning style and ignoring the characteristics of the other styles. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Results: This study included 297 students (70% of all pharmacy students at the time) with a median age of 21 years old. Women comprised 77.1% of participants. The predominant style among pharmacy students at the Federal University of Paraná was the pragmatist, with a median of 14 (high preference). The pragmatist style prevails in people who are able to discover techniques related to their daily learning because such people are curious to discover new strategies and attempt to verify whether the strategies are efficient and valid. Because these people are direct and objective in their actions, pragmatists prefer to focus on practical issues that are validated and on problem situations. There was no statistically significant difference between genders with regard to learning styles. Conclusion: The pragmatist style is the prevailing style among pharmacy students at the Federal University of Paraná. Although students may have a learning preference that preference is not the only manner in which students can learn, neither their preference is the only manner in which students can be taught. Awareness of students’ learning styles can be used to adapt the methodology used by teachers to render the teaching-learning process effective and long lasting. The content taught to students should be presented in different manners because varying teaching methods can develop learning skills in students.

Communication et animalité : cartographie d'un commerce

Thèse réalisée en co-tutelle avec le Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris.

Música como aia da vontade: ensaio sobre a leitura wagneriana de Schopenhauer

In the year 1851, Richard Wagner had his first contact with the philosophy of Schopenhauer, a fact that was followed soon by his proclaimed and somewhat surprising conversion to schopenhauerianism. Tweny years later, his debt to Schopenhauer is reaffirmed in Beethoven, a comemorative writing in which are to be found the outlines of a philosophy of music - claimed by the composer to be based on Schopenhauer's aesthetics - that had great influence in Nietzsche's theoretical elaboration of the dionysiac, as it appears in The birth of Tragedy. My work aims primarily at investigating to what extent the musical aesthetics outlined in Beethoven is actually compatible with that presented in The world as Will and representation. The pointing out of remarkable differences between the two aesthetic conceptions gives then rise to some reflexions concerning the character of the relations between Wagner, Schopenhauer and the young Nietzsche.

Neurobiologia e cognição na aprendizagem simultânea de línguas estrangeiras : aquisição multilingue do léxico

Na sociedade moderna, constata-se que os indivíduos multilingues compreendem e falam várias línguas e que essa proficiência tem despertado, ao longo de várias décadas, a curiosidade de numerosos especialistas no assunto (neurolinguistas, psicolinguistas). Sobre este assunto, Dijkstra (2003:11) preconiza que os falantes multilingues devem ter armazenado um vasto número de palavras no seu léxico mental no qual parece ser difícil recuperar uma palavra. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho, que se enquadra no Mestrado em Português Língua Não Materna, oferece uma revisão da literatura sobre o conhecimento neurolinguístico e psicolinguístico da aquisição multilingue do léxico em sujeitos bi / multilingues ; tendo como ponto nevrálgico o controlo inibitório e o acesso lexical. No decorrer desta pesquisa, a qual pôde contar com a participação de trinta e três informantes falantes de português europeu (3 monolingues, 3 bilingues, 5 trilingues e 22 multilingues), procurou-se averiguar se os informantes bi / multilingues seriam mais rápidos e precisos do que os monolingues, aquando da realização de tarefas trilingues de nomeação oral de imagens e de decisão lexical. A investigação realizada fornece dados para uma reflexão sobre o modo como falantes com estas particularidades acedem ao (s) seu (s) reportório (s) linguístico (s), bem como sobre a forma como exercem o controlo inibitório sobre o seu vasto campo linguístico.

The Pocket companion; or, Every man his own lawyer. Laid down in so plain a manner, that the farmer, mechanic, apprentice, or school boy, can draw any instrument of writing, without the assistance of an attorney. Prefaced with several pages of scrip, showing a correct form in which an instrument of writing should be drawn, and to instruct those who wish to improve their hand writing at leisure hours, at home, without the instruction of a teacher.

Mode of access: Internet.

Sir Francis Drake revived : who is or may be a pattern to stirre up all heroicke and active spirits of these times, to benefit their countrey and eternize their names by like noble attempts : Being a summary and true relation of foure severall voyages made by the said Sir Francis Drake to the West-Indies ... His voyage made with Chistopher Carleill, Martin Frobusher, Francis Knollis, and others, Their taking the townes of Saint Jago, Sancto Domingo, Carthagena and Saint Augustine : His last voyage (in which he dyed) being accompanied with Sir John Hawkins, Sir Thomas Baskerfield, Sir Nicholas Clifford, with others : His manner of buriall /

La primera obra relata el viaje de 1572-1573, la segunda el viaje de 1577-1580, la tercera el de 1585-1586 y la última del viaje de 1595-1596, en el que murió.

Which dissimilarity is to be used when extracting typologies in sequence analysis? A comparative study

Originally developed in bioinformatics, sequence analysis is being increasingly used in social sciences for the study of life-course processes. The methodology generally employed consists in computing dissimilarities between the trajectories and, if typologies are sought, in clustering the trajectories according to their similarities or dissemblances. The choice of an appropriate dissimilarity measure is a major issue when dealing with sequence analysis for life sequences. Several dissimilarities are available in the literature, but neither of them succeeds to become indisputable. In this paper, instead of deciding upon one dissimilarity measure, we propose to use an optimal convex combination of different dissimilarities. The optimality is automatically determined by the clustering procedure and is defined with respect to the within-class variance.

Can population-level variation in early childhood development be measured in a manner that supports service planning and intervention?

Background: The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a population-level measure of five developmental domains at school-entry age. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the potential of the EDI as an indicator of early development in Ireland. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 47 primary schools in 2011 using the EDI and a linked parental questionnaire. EDI (teacher completed) scores were calculated for 1,344 children in their first year of full-time education. Those scoring in the lowest 10% of the sample population in one or more domains were deemed to be 'developmentally vulnerable'. Scores were correlated with contextual data from the parental questionnaire and with indicators of area and school-level deprivation. Rasch analysis was used to determine the validity of the EDI. Results: Over one quarter (27.5%) of all children in the study were developmentally vulnerable. Individual characteristics associated with increased risk of vulnerability were being male; under 5 years old; and having English as a second language. Adjusted for these demographics, low birth weight, poor parent/child interaction and mother’s lower level of education showed the most significant odds ratios for developmental vulnerability. Vulnerability did not follow the area-level deprivation gradient as measured by a composite index of material deprivation. Children considered by the teacher to be in need of assessment also had lower scores, which were not significantly different from those of children with a clinical diagnosis of special needs. all domains showed at least reasonable fit to the Rasch model supporting the validity of the instrument. However, there was a need for further refinement of the instrument in the Irish context. Conclusion: This thesis provides a unique snapshot of early development in Ireland. The EDI and linked parental questionnaires are promising indicators of the extent, distribution and determinants of developmental vulnerability.

Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History and including all species and subspecies known to occur in North America, Mexico, Central America, South America, the West Indies, and islands of the Caribbean Sea, the Galapagos Archipelago, and other islands which may properly be included on account of their faunal affinities.

v.13:pt.1:no.1(1942)

Short nomenclator or vocabular in English and Hebrew: composed alphabetically for the use and benefit of my pupils in particular and for the advantage of those who are desirous to obtain the knowledge of the Hebrew tongue in general, which may be that great help to understand not only ye sacred oracles in their original, but even any Jewish author (so far as concern owns) as also it may give great insight in ye tongue to those, as to compose it, a work altogether new, [ca. 1735]

Headed on the first page with the words "Nomenclatura hebraica," this handwritten volume is a vocabulary with the Hebrew word in the left column, and the English translation on the right. While the book is arranged in sections by letter, individual entries do not appear in strict alphabetical order. The small vocabulary varies greatly and includes entries like enigma, excommunication, and martyr, as well as cucumber and maggot. There are translations of the astrological signs at the end of the volume. Poem written at the bottom of the last page in different hand: "Women when good the best of saints/ that bright seraphick lovely/ she, who nothing of an angel/ wants but truth & immortality./ Verse 2: Who silken limbs & charming/ face. Keeps nature warm."