This study aimed to identify the effects of different pitch configurations on youth players positional and physical performances. Forty players participated in a Gk + 5vs5 + Gk small-sided game under four conditions: regular condition (regular), pitch with the direction of competitive matches; sided condition (sided), goals were changed to width; different pitch orientation (≠orientation), performed in side-to-side line compared to competitive matches; dynamic pitch (dynamic), boundaries were randomly changed every minute by: regular pitch; decrease 6 m width; diamond shape. The following variables were considered: players' effective playing space, distance between teammates' dyads time spent synchronized, average speed and a ratio between the distance covered at different intensities and distance covered while recovering. Overall, players exhibited better performances in pitches that are more representative of the environmental information seen during competitive matches (regular and ≠orientation). However, coaches may also use different boundary conditions to promote the players' ability to adapt to different context information.

In terrestrial organisms, sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic field is mediated by at least two different magnetoreception mechanisms, one involving biogenic ferromagnetic crystals (magnetite/maghemite) and the second involving a photo-induced biochemical reaction that forms long-lasting, spin-coordinated, radical pair intermediates. In some vertebrate groups (amphibians and birds), both mechanisms are present; a light-dependent mechanism provides a directional sense or 'compass', and a non-light-dependent mechanism underlies a geographical-position sense or 'map'. Evidence that both magnetite- and radical pair-based mechanisms are present in the same organisms raises a number of interesting questions. Why has natural selection produced magnetic sensors utilizing two distinct biophysical mechanisms? And, in particular, why has natural selection produced a compass mechanism based on a light-dependent radical pair mechanism (RPM) when a magnetite-based receptor is well suited to perform this function? Answers to these questions depend, to a large degree, on how the properties of the RPM, viewed from a neuroethological rather than a biophysical perspective, differ from those of a magnetite-based magnetic compass. The RPM is expected to produce a light-dependent, 3-D pattern of response that is axially symmetrical and, in some groups of animals, may be perceived as a pattern of light intensity and/or color superimposed on the visual surroundings. We suggest that the light-dependent magnetic compass may serve not only as a source of directional information but also provide a spherical coordinate system that helps to interface metrics of distance, direction and spatial position.

A partir da premissa de que os conhecimentos da percepção e do comportamento humanos são importantes para o entendimento de seus valores, e que estes podem influenciar no uso e ocupação do espaço, este artigo considera crucial ao processo de gestão ambiental a compreensão destes elementos. A pesquisa apresentada é de caráter exploratório, qualitativo e associa a investigação em cognição ambiental com inteligência artificial através do empreendimento da técnica de mapa mental para caracterização do perfil de grupos de usuários da praia Brava, Itajaí – SC, Brasil, a partir da percepção e comportamento de cada indivíduo frente a atributos espaciais do meio. Os perfis obtidos por este tipo de metodologia são testados num modelo de simulação baseada em agentes inteligentes difusos, uma técnica de inteligência artificial bastante recente. O uso da ferramenta de simulação para a gestão ambiental em áreas costeiras, em particular em praias, é uma importante forma de entender o impacto humano através da previsão de situações e medidas que visam o gerenciamento mais adequado do lugar.

When mothers with HIV breastfeed their children, this represents a risk factor to transmit the virus. Therefore, the exclusion of breastfeeding is recommended. Not breastfeeding can make communication between mother and child more difficult. A comparative study was carried out in the light of proxemic factors between mother and child during artificial feeding and breastfeeding among HIV-positive and negative women. At a rooming-in unit, 84 interactions between four mothers and their children were analyzed. Intimate distance prevails in 100% of the interactions, as well as the sitting posture. Babies of HIV-positive mothers remained active longer than vertically exposed babies. The quality of interactions over time and maternal responsiveness to the baby will probably determine repercussions of non-breastfeeding to the development of bonding between mother and child. 

Background: Synthetic glucocorticoids are commonly prescribed during pregnancy, despite a lack of systematic investigations of their potential impact on the developing brain and neurological and behavioral performance. Methods: Neuroendocrine parameters and behavior in the adult offspring of pregnant Wistar rats treated antenatally with either dexamethasone (DEX) or corticosterone (CORT) were monitored; DEX (.1 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg) and CORT (25 mg/kg) were given to pregnant rat dams on gestation days 18 and 19. Results: Despite normal basal levels of corticosterone, the adult offspring of mothers given DEX or CORT displayed abnormal responses in the dexamethasone-suppression test. Neither treatment influenced spatial memory performance, but both DEX and CORT facilitated development of depressionlike behavior following chronic stress. The latter finding demonstrates that high-dose antenatal corticotherapy can impair the organism’s resilience to stress in adulthood. Interestingly, comparison of the progeny of CORT-treated and DEX-treated mothers revealed that the latter were more anxious. Conclusions: Since DEX and CORT differ in their affinity for glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors and corticosteroidbinding globulin, our findings emphasize the need to consider the pharmacologic properties of antenatal corticotherapies and demonstrate the potential long-term benefits of ligands that can bind to both receptors.

Transthyretin (TTR) is a plasma and cerebrospinal fluid carrier for thyroxine and retinol, described also to sequester the amyloid beta peptide. TTR levels have been described as decreased in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's disease. In order to investigate the role of TTR in learning and memory, we studied young adult and old TTR-null 129/Sv mice for cognitive performance. In the absence of TTR, 5-month-old mice display spatial reference memory impairment when compared to age-matched wild-type mice. Interestingly, while aging in wild-type mice is associated with a worsening reference memory performance, TTR-null mice show no further impairment with increasing age. As a result, no significant differences were found in this spatial reference task in old mice. Our data show that the absence of TTR seems to accelerate the poorer cognitive performance normally associated with aging.