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.     

The effects of resistance training volume on osteosarcopenic obesity in older women

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of resistance training (RT) performed with 1 or 3 sets per exercise on osteosarcopenic obesity (OSO) syndrome parameters in older women. Sixty-two older women (68.0 ± 4.3 years, 26.8 ± 4.4 kg/m²) participated in a 12-week RT program. Participants were randomly assigned into one of the three groups: two training groups that performed either 1 set (G1S, n = 21) or 3 sets (G3S, n = 20) 3 times weekly, or a control group (CG, n = 21). Body composition was assessed by dual X-ray absorptiometry, strength was evaluated by 1 repetition maximum testing. The G3S presented significantly higher strength changes than G1S. The changes for percentage of body fat were higher for G3S compared to G1S. There was no difference in skeletal muscle mass between G3S and G1S, however both training groups displayed greater increases in this outcome compared to CG. There was no effect for bone mineral density. The overall analysis indicated higher (P < 0.05) positive changes for G3S than G1S (composed Z-score: G3S = 0.62 ± 0.40; G1S = 0.11 ± 0.48). The results suggest that a 12-week RT period is effective to improve the risk factors of OSO, and that 3 sets induce higher improvements than a single set.     

Resting Bradycardia,Enhanced Postexercise Heart Rate Recovery and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Recreational Ballroom Dancers

Purpose: In a cross-sectional study design, we evaluated the resting heart rate (HR_baseline) and exercise and postexercise stress test-related chronotropic responses in male practitioners of recreational ballroom dancing (BD; n = 25, M_age = 26.6 ± 6.1 years) compared to a control group of insufficiently active nondancers (CG; n = 25, M_age = 25.9 ± 4.5 years). Method: All participants underwent a submaximal exercise test. At 85% of the maximal predicted HR, the recovery protocol was started, and heart rate recovery (HRR) was recorded during 1-min intervals for 5 min. Results: Compared with CG, BD showed lower HR_baseline (70 beats per minute [bpm] vs. 62 bpm, respectively, U = 143, p < .05, ES = .46), lower preexercise HR (94 bpm vs. 86 bpm, U = 157, p < .05, ES = .42), longer exercise test duration (346 s vs. 420 s, U = 95.5, p < .05, ES = .59), and higher HRR for 5 min postexercise (U = 1.29–1.89, p < .05, ES = .33–.50) as follows: 1st min (32 bpm vs. 40 bpm), 2nd min (45 bpm vs. 53 bpm), 3rd min (51 bpm vs. 58 bpm), 4th min (55 bpm vs. 59 bpm), and 5th min (59 bpm vs. 63 bpm). The coefficient of HRR from the 1st min to the 5th min postexercise was similar in both groups (U = 229–311, p > .05, ES = < .10–.22). Conclusion: Heightened cardiovascular functional status characterized by favorable enhanced chronotropic dynamics appears to occur in practitioners of recreational ballroom dancing, which suggests that this modality of exercise may result in health benefits.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy-derived total haemoglobin as an indicator of changes in muscle blood flow during exercise-induced hyperaemia

ABSTRACT

Blood flow changes in response to exercise have been attributed, among other factors, to the effect of vasodilators factors on the microvasculature, suggesting a close relationship between small blood vessels and conducting arteries. The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the changes in near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-derived total haemoglobin ([tHb]) and muscle oxygen saturation (SmO₂) signals and femoral artery blood flow in response to resistance exercise at fast- and slow-velocity muscle contraction. The study randomised crossover design included twelve participants. NIRS and blood flow measurements were continuously monitored before, during, and 5 min after the exercise protocol. There was a significant correlation between [tHb] reperfusion slope ([tHb]_slope) and peak blood flow (BF_peak) after slow- and fast-velocity muscle contraction (r = 0.83, p = 0.0008 and r = 0.72, p = 0.0080, respectively). No significant correlation existed between the SmO₂ reperfusion slope (SmO_{2_slope}) and BF_peak after both slow- and fast-velocity muscle contraction exercise (r = ?0.46, p = 0.1253 and r = 0.33, p = 0.2841, respectively). This study demonstrated a strong relationship between the NIRS-derived [tHb] and Doppler ultrasound BF during the recovery period of dynamic resistance exercise at both slow- and fast-velocity contraction.     

Machine learning techniques for XML (co-)clustering by structure-constrained phrases

A new method is proposed for clustering XML documents by structure-constrained phrases. It is implemented by three machine-learning approaches previously unexplored in the XML domain, namely non-negative matrix (tri-)factorization, co-clustering and automatic transactional clustering. A novel class of XML features approximately captures structure-constrained phrases as n-grams contextualized by root-to-leaf paths. Experiments over real-world benchmark XML corpora show that the effectiveness of the three approaches improves with contextualized n-grams of suitable length. This confirms the validity of the devised method from multiple clustering perspectives. Two approaches overcome in effectiveness several state-of-the-art competitors. The scalability of the three approaches is investigated, too.     

Poor precompetitive sleep habits,nutrients’ deficiencies,inappropriate body composition and athletic performance in elite gymnasts

This study aimed to evaluate body composition, sleep, precompetitive anxiety and dietary intake on the elite female gymnasts’ performance prior to an international competition. Sixty-seven rhythmic gymnasts of high performance level were evaluated in relation to sport and training practice, body composition, sleep duration, daytime sleepiness by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), sleep quality by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), precompetitive anxiety by the Sport Competition Anxiety Test form A (SCAT-A) and detailed dietary intake just before an international competition. Most gymnasts (67.2%) suffered from mild daytime sleepiness, 77.6% presented poor sleep quality and 19.4% presented high levels of precompetitive anxiety. The majority of gymnasts reported low energy availability (EA) and low intakes of important vitamins including folate, vitamins D, E and K; and minerals, including calcium, iron, boron and magnesium (p?p?=?.001), sport practice (p?=?.024), number of daily training hours (p?=?.000), number of hours of training/week (p?=?.000), waist circumference (WC) (p?=?.008) and sleep duration (p?=?.005). However, it was negatively correlated with WC/hip circumference (p?=?.000), ESS (p?=?.000), PSQI (p?=?.042), SCAT-A (p?=?.002), protein g/kg (p?=?.028), EA (p?=?.002) and exercise energy expenditure (p?=?.000). High performance gymnasts presented poor sleep habits with consequences upon daytime sleepiness, sleep quality and low energy availability.     

Methodological-conceptual problems in the study of chimpanzees’ folk physics: How studies with adult humans can help

In three experiments, we examined humans’ folk physics (i.e., a naturally occurring and spontaneous understanding of the physical world), using variations of problems used to study chimpanzees’ folk physics. Presented with trap-tube problems in two experiments, adult humans showed an unnecessary bias to insert a stick into the end of the tube farthest from the reward to push it out the other end. When presented with trap-table problems with ineffective trapping holes, people unnecessarily avoided the side with the hole. The similarity of humans’ and chimpanzees’ behavior on these tasks highlights methodological and conceptual problems in studies of chimpanzees’ folk physics and suggests alternative explanations for their behavior.     

American influencies in Brazilian physical education: clues in the specialised periodical press (1932–1950)

This study investigates the American presence and influences in the physical education press to understand the way in which that presence influenced and contributed to the production of a sports culture in the first half of the twentieth century. As historical sources, the study uses periodicals in the field that were published in the period 1932–1950. As a theoretical frame of reference, it uses the repertoire of the New Cultural History in terms of strategy, tactics and devices. It is written in a narrative way, following Ginzburg's style, presenting data and contextualizing them with the historic scene. Clues enabled us to infer that the American presence, which was catalysed by the Brazilian Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), sought to shape a sports culture from physical education and society. This effort reflected the yearning of Brazilian intellectuals for modernisation and an attempt at cultural colonisation by the government of the USA.     

Paternal Sensitivity and Children’s Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Review

In a series of meta-analyses, paternal sensitivity was associated with children’s (age range: 7 months–9 years) overall cognitive functioning (N = 3,193; k = 23; r = .19), including language skills (k = 9; r = .21), cognitive ability (k = 9; r = .18), and executive function (k = 8; r = .19). Paternal sensitivity was not associated with children’s overall socioemotional functioning (N = 2,924; k = 24; r = −.03) or internalizing problems, but it was associated with children’s emotion regulation (k = 7; r = .22) and externalizing problems (k = 19; r = −.08). In the broad cognitive functioning, executive function, broad socioemotional functioning, and externalizing problems meta-analyses, child age was a significant moderator.     

Development of mechanical engineering curricula at the University of Minho

The implementation of the Bologna protocol in the European Union has set new goals for the whole higher education system as: (a) a quality assessment for university courses; (b) a framework for the exchange of students and academics; and (c) an opportunity for changing the teaching/learning procedures and methodologies. Within the context, the mechanical engineering curricula at the University of Minho have been comprehensively formulated in order to meet these and future challenges and expectations. The whole process has been based upon various cornerstones: the legal framework for the higher education system; the introduction of new learning methodologies and an accurate survey and understanding of the existing strong and week points of the previous experience. For this purpose, a comprehensive evaluation has been carried out with former students and a detailed map has been formulated regarding their professional careers and experiences. Furthermore, a discussion has been carried out in order to define the mission of the graduate in mechanical engineering. In brief, such mission may be referred by his ability to participate in the wealth creation through technology based innovation. Within this context, the curriculum has been structured in order to meet such goals. In addition to strong foundations in physics and mathematics, new subjects are introduced into the curriculum. The whole education is based upon project development which stimulates the students' initiative, responsibility and their ability to integrate knowledge. Throughout the curriculum, students are enrolled into research projects developed in the department and it is expected that a few selected projects may be taken into a quasi industrial stage.