Effectiveness of physical education to promote motor competence in primary school children

Background: Motor skill (MS) competence is an important contributing factor for healthy development.

Purpose: The goal was to test the effectiveness of primary school physical education (PE) on MS and physical fitness (PF) development.

Methods: Three classes (n?=?60, aged 9.0?±?0.9) were randomly assigned to three diverse conditions during a school year: two PE lessons/week (PE-2), three PE lessons/week (PE-3), and no PE lessons control group (CG). BMI, skinfolds, PF (9-min run/walk, sit-up, modified pull-ups), gymnastics, soccer, handball, basketball and track-and-field skills were evaluated. Effect sizes (d) were reported as magnitude of change.

Results: Skinfolds significantly increased only in CG (d?=?1.21). PF composite z-scores improved in PE-3 (d?=?0.61), but decreased in PE-2 (d?=?0.57), and had no changes in CG. Statistically significant improvement was verified in gymnastics and handball skills in both experimental groups (gymnastic: d?=?2.95 and d?=?2.61 for PE-3 and PE-2, respectively; handball: d?=?1.87 and d?=?0.57 for PE-3 and PE-2, respectively), and no changes were seen in CG. In soccer, there were improvements only in the PE-3 (d?=?0.55), and in basketball only in PE-2 (d?=?0.46). There were no changes in any group for track-and-field skills.

Conclusions: PE programs can effectively promote PF and MS development.     

Effects of psychosocial variables in the similarity and interdependence of physical activity levels among adolescent best friend dyads

Given that physical activity (PA) tends to decrease with age during adolescence, addressing factors that affect change is important. This study examined the similarity and interdependence of PA as influenced by psychosocial factors among adolescent best friend dyads. A total of 660 adolescents, representing 330 best friend dyads, completed questionnaires with regard to PA, sitting time, perceived exercise benefits and barriers, physical self-perception and social support for PA. Dyads were also identified as reciprocal and non-reciprocal best friends; reciprocal means that both considered each other best friends and non-reciprocal were those in which only one considered the other a best friend. Data were analysed using a hierarchical linear model framework. Results indicated significant similarities between reciprocal best friend dyads for PA and sitting time, and for sitting time in non-reciprocal best friends (P values <.01). Psychosocial variables were associated with PA in reciprocal best friend dyads and with sitting time in reciprocal and non-reciprocal best friend dyads. Best friend gender, regular sports practice of the person, perceived exercise barriers of the best friend and best friend social support were the best predictors for PA.     

Beyond educational attainment: The importance of skills and lifelong learning for social outcomes. Evidence for Europe from PIAAC

Empirical evidence suggests that educational attainment nurtures people's social outcomes and promotes active participation in society and stability. However, it is unclear to what extent other types of human capital also correlate with social outcomes. Hence, we explored the opportunity offered by the PIAAC survey through its provision of information on educational attainment, observed individual key skills proficiency, and participation in adult education and training (adult lifelong learning). We therefore studied the association between these human capital variables and social outcomes, and more specifically interpersonal trust and participation in volunteering activities. Results revealed that these social outcomes were affected not only by the formal qualification obtained, determined by the education variable, but also throughout the life‐cycle. Indeed, education and training when undertaken during adult life have a significant impact, especially on volunteering. The fact that the skill proficiency also plays a significant role is extremely relevant, as skills are more likely to change over the life‐cycle, either in a positive or negative way. Whilst the formal education received is constant after exiting the educational system, skills reflect competences more accurately: first, because those with the same level of education may have different skill levels because of differences in the quality of education or ability; second, because skills can vary over time. For example, they may increase with work experience or informal education, or decrease as a result of depreciation and ageing. These findings suggest that social outcomes are prone to be affected by many factors other than formal education, suggesting that policy makers can implement recommendations even after formal education has been completed.     

巴西档案学的发展历程及其影响

文章首先介绍了巴西档案学课程在大学设立的历程,接着讨论了巴西档案学与情报学的关系,论述了知识信息时代巴西档案工作者培养计划面临的挑战和应对措施,最后,针对巴西档案学及巴西档案工作人才培养面临的挑战得出了几点结论.     

The roots of reading for pleasure: Recollections of reading and current habits

Children's early literacy experiences are critical, yet it remains unclear whether memories of early reading instruction continue to be associated with reading habits into adulthood. We examined the association between recollections of reading experiences and present-day reading habits in an adult population. University students responded in writing to three open-ended prompts asking about their memories of reading during early childhood, elementary school and high school. They also completed two questionnaires inquiring about reading enjoyment and frequency in elementary school and high school. For the concurrent measures of reading, participants described their current reading habits in an open-ended prompt and completed an author recognition test. Results showed positive links between favourable memories of reading during elementary and high school years and present-day reading habits. Conversely, unfavourable memories during high school were associated with unenthusiastic present-day reading habits. We found that reading instruction in school forms long-lasting memories, and these memories are linked in meaningful ways with print exposure during adulthood.     

Writing week-journals to improve the writing quality of fourth-graders’ compositions

Students’ writing problems are a global educational concern and is in need of particular attention. This study aims to examine the impact of providing extra writing opportunities (i.e., writing journals) on the quality of writing compositions. A longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled design using a multilevel modeling analysis with 182 fourth grade students was conducted. We examined whether students’ writing quality differed when writing journals on a weekly basis for 12 weeks, compared with a control group. Three covariates were analyzed, namely: (i) the students’ attitudes towards writing; (ii) their self-efficacy in writing; (iii) and their use of self-regulation (SRL) strategies while writing. Findings have shown that students who wrote week-journals significantly improved the writing quality of their compositions and reported a higher use of SRL strategies in writing. Nevertheless, self-efficacy and attitude towards writing were found to not be related to the quality of the compositions. Moreover, data indicated that the writing quality of compositions improved along with the writing quality of the week-journals. Findings suggest the use of week-journals in class to promote writing.     

Knowledge management and communication in Brazilian agricultural research: An integrated procedural approach

The great contemporary organizational challenge for enterprises is to create a conceptual and methodological framework allows the management of knowledge by means of networks designed for social interaction. This statement is based on the premise that the competitive drive and sustainable success of the company depend on the introduction of new forms of production innovative processes, which can only be ensured through integrated approaches to knowledge management and the incorporation information technologies (IT). This is a reality that has already been accepted by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa, its acronym in Portuguese), a Brazilian research, development, and innovation (RD&I) institution supporting agricultural sector. For some years now, Embrapa has been incorporating what it has learned about knowledge management into its strategic planning process. In this paper, we present a new approach to managing knowledge and information, and we analyze the need for research institutions to administer the knowledge they produce through an RD&I management model based multi- and inter-disciplinary teams, and multi-institutional research networks.     

前列腺癌:亟待肿瘤标志物和治疗新靶点(英文)

研究目的:这篇综述系统地阐述了前列腺癌的发生、发展、相关分子信号通路以及分子标志物用于前列腺癌的临床诊断和前列腺癌诊治所面临的挑战。重要结论:许多分子信号通路通过影响细胞生长、凋亡、血管生成等病理生理过程而参与了前列腺癌的起始、发生和发展。这些研究基础有助于寻找前列腺癌的肿瘤标志物和改进前列腺癌的治疗。虽然去势治疗是早期前列腺癌治疗的金标准,但是晚期的激素抵抗型前列腺癌(CRPC)的治疗仍面临着巨大的挑战。所幸的是,目前研究发现可以通过切断特异的蛋白-蛋白相互作用或者通过调节某些影响肿瘤生长和转移的关键分子来治疗前列腺癌,能减少传统治疗所带来的副作用;相关临床研究已开始实施。这些研究进展给前列腺癌的诊治带来了新的曙光。