Methodological Alternatives Research Articles

Distribution and behavior of lipid droplets in hepatic cells analyzed by variations of citochemical technique and scanning electron microscopy

Toxicity evaluations involve the analysis of multiple biomarkers. In this study, the liver, target organ analyzed by treatments with iron concentrations, indicated the accumulation of lipids as a response. Considering that the distribution of lipids in an organ is directly related to the induction of inflammatory processes by aquatic contaminants, this study proposes to carry out an integrative investigation of the behavior and the distribution of lipids in the liver tissue. Techniques of light and electron microscopy were performed in order to propose a new way of assessing and quantifying the distribution of lipid droplets, also presenting methodological alternatives that can be chosen by the reader according to the interests and resources available. Thus, it is assumed that the method begins with the fixation of the liver with Glutaraldehyde 2,5% in PBS 0,1 M and continues with post fixation with osmium tretoxide 1%, which marks lipids. For this proposition, two inclusion methodologies were performed to histological analyses in Historesin and ultrastructural analyses in EMBeed 812. For light microscopy (LM) analyses, cuts were obtained with 2,5 micrometers thickness, which were stained with (1) Mayers hematoxylin and (2) toluidine blue. The images obtained were processed in software Image J Fiji to evidence the lipid distribution in liver.•Cytological reactions with osmium tetroxide constitute low complexity methods that allow the optimization of the localization, identification and quantification of lipid droplets in the liver tissue when analyzed under the conventional light microscope.•Samples included in EMBeed 812 resin commonly used in Transmission Electron Microscopy can be analyzed by SEM-BEC, as complementary analyses for the detection of lipids.•Using SEM-BEC and conventional light microscopy, it is possible to quantify the area occupied by lipid droplets using Image J Fiji software, as these are contrasted due to the reaction with osmium tetroxide.

Methodical Aspects of Soil Ecosystem Services Valuation

Abstract Ecosystem Services Valuation is an important tool for dialogue in the decision-making process and to highlight the society’s dependence on the biosphere for well-being. Soil is the primary source of ecosystem services such as the production of food and regulating the climate, however the methodological alternatives for valuing soil ecosystem services remain poorly studied. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate methodical aspects of ecosystem services valuation, with the special attention to soil services within agricultural context. We introduce frameworks specific for soil ecosystem services. Then, we present a case study where soil ecosystem services were evaluated within agricultural context. We conclude that such valuation represents the newest trend in soil science wherein soil resources are treated in the wider context of impacts on human well-being.

Contributions of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses to Nursing Education, Research, and Practice

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are helpful methodological alternatives that combine, discuss, and assess the quality of the best available evidence through adequate and exhaustive searches of the literature. In the last decade, there has been an increase in systematic reviews and meta-analyses in nursing research. This article intends to reflect on the contributions of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to nursing education, research, and practice. Synthesizing the evidence through high-quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses adds to the disciplinary development of nursing; therefore, students and professionals in the field should be encouraged to employ these methodological tools in education and research and implement the results of these methods in clinical practice for making better decisions regarding the individual needs of patients.

Novel methodology for identification and quantification of microplastics in biological samples

Currently, the evidence of the ingestion of microplastics (MPs) by organisms or the accumulation in different environmental compartments has been achieved using several methodological procedures. However, its uses have not been standardized across studies. In this study, we aim to assess and validate a protocol that can be useful for optimizing the identification and quantification procedures of polyethylene microplastics (PE MPs) in biological samples. Initially, considering that numerous studies filter samples previously digested in cellulosic membranes for isolation and analysis of MPs, we evaluated whether washing these membranes with different reagents could contribute to the complete detachment of particles, as well as to their dispersion in the obtained solutions. However, none of the tested reagents (dimethyl sulfoxide, acetone, ethyl alcohol and chloroform), including purified water, was able to completely remove the MPs adhered to the membranes or facilitate their dispersion in the solutions. On the other hand, we observed that the digestion of the membranes by acetonitrile constituted a procedure that prevents the loss of particles due to adherence, in addition to promoting good dispersion of MPs. Subsequently, we evaluated the use of Neubauer chambers for the quantification of MPs, having observed a good recovery rate (>92%) and results with insignificant variation, in PE MPs solutions with different concentrations (0.15; 0.075 and 0.0375 mg/mL). Ultimately, the validation of the proposed procedures took place from the evaluation of the accumulation of PE MPs in Astyanax spp. juveniles, having demonstrated the efficiency and sensitivity of the method proposed for this purpose. Subsequently, our study provides a methodological alternative that can optimize MPs quantifications in biological samples and reduce the generation of biased or unreliable results.

Professional Teacher Identity: Methodological Alternatives for Qualitative Research

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teacher’s identity is a process where language, as an object of study, is a tool in the mediation for scaffolding the identity of future teachers. Identity construction is not an isolated process. Instead, it is the result of a continuous and social process that embraces a variety of factors and the tension of diverse forces, struggles, and adjustments that the individual deals with. In the last two decades, an increasing number of qualitative studies focused on EFL teachers’ professional identity have appeared. To identify how professional identity is constructed, it must be understood as a product of discourse, practice, and relationships. Moreover, identity is developed through the stories (narratives) describing life encounters that have shaped who they are as teachers. Both discourse and narratives help teachers define and redefine themselves as professionals through the meaning they give to their lived experiences. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to address discourse and narratives as two research perspectives to investigate EFL pre-service teachers’ professional identity. First, the link between qualitative and identity studies is presented. Then, discourse analysis and narratives as methodological alternatives are introduced. Finally, implications and reflections for teacher education are discussed.

Nature Experiences of Older People for Active Ageing: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Co-Design of Community Gardens

In Western countries, the concepts of healthy ageing and active ageing, that is, concepts that favour health, participation, and security to increase the quality of life of older people, have become key issues. Hence, the effective design of public green spaces in urban areas is crucial, as visiting these areas encourages social relations and interactions in natural, healthy contexts. Consistent with these perspectives, existing landscape design criteria emphasise the importance of considering not only the functional and aesthetic elements, but also the ecosystemic and biophilic relationships between people and the environment, producing positive effects for both. To maximise the impact of such design criteria, proper engagement strategies are desirable, both to assign an active role to older people themselves and to inform the fine-tuning of the design process according to the specific needs of the local population. This study presents an interdisciplinary co-design method that encourages and informs a biophilic approach by describing the experiences of people in natural environments, actual and designed, through the application of attention restoration theory (ART). The case study was developed through six focus group meetings with older people for the co-design of a restorative area in a community garden in the Ortica district in Milan (Italy). Results show how the main needs expressed by participants can be classified into the ART factors of “compatibility” (a multifunctional garden), “fascination” (sense of contact with nature), and “being away” (metaphorical escape from nursing homes). The garden designed includes biophilic principles that respond to such needs, and specific links with designed elements were identified. For example, “being away” (e.g., isolation from daily routine and visual occlusion of the surroundings) and “compatibility” (e.g., pergola and aesthetic value) are the factors that include the elements that more satisfactorily answer previous needs. “Fascination” also includes many positive aspects, allowing space for improvements (e.g., more water elements, interaction with animals). Implications of the method are discussed, including the importance of subjective experience in informing design, the use of different psychological constructs to describe it, and the methodological alternatives for psychological assessment.

O poder disciplinar produz, a sociologia problematiza e o PIBID- direitos humanos resiste

PIBID’s one of the most important projects implemented in Higher Education with regard to teacher training and bringing the University closer to Basic Education. Understood as a subproject, PIBID-Human Rights was inserted in a public high school in Blumenau, between 2016 and 2017, linked to the Sociology curriculum component. For about two years, the PIBID undergraduates promoted actions aimed at raising students' awareness about the importance of an education committed to Human Rights; for this, rethinking traditional teaching and creating methodological alternatives to reflect the school and its paradigms became an imperative. Conceived as a disciplinary institution, the school produces bodies, scales time and controls knowledge. Would it be possible for the PIBID-Human Rights and the Sociology curricular component to be a space of resistance to this model so deeply rooted in Education? The present work aims to understand the challenges found by the PIBID-Human Rights and the Sociology curricular component in problematizing the school paradigms and traditional methodologies. In our analyses we’ll resort to reports of PIBID- Human Rights (2016; 2017), scholars of Sociology and Education, Mills (1965) and Freire (1998;2003). The conceptual approach to school disciplining is based on Michel Foucault.

Düşünce Deneyleri Doğallaştırıldı

Thought experiments have long been utilized in science and philosophy. They come in various forms, from Schrödinger's cat in physics to the Chinese room argument in philosophy. Although thought experiments are used widely, scant attention has been paid to how thought experiments actually work. In philosophy literature, it has been argued that thought experiments are a disguised form of meaning analysis. Thought experiments rely on the notion of analyticity on their basis, and therefore they should be abandoned. In this paper, I argue that if we distinguish conceivability type thought experiments commonly found in philosophy from factive thought experiments widely used in science, a viable methodological alternative can be found. I propose a set of criteria to define factive thought experiments precisely. I show how factive thought experiments can be successfully used in philosophical reasoning by giving examples, mainly from Wittgenstein's work. In this way, I argue, it is possible to naturalize thought experimentation.

INTEGRATED CULTURAL MANAGEMENT OF TERRITORY IN SERRA DO ESPINHAÇO: paths to a didactic of dilemmas

The work is part of a joint diagnostic effort in the micro-region of Presidente Kubistchek, in Serra do Espinhaço, through a partnership between the Espinhaço Institute and the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). This work seeks to analyze the limits and possibilities for an Integrated Cultural Territory Management (GCIT) in the micro-region and to propose methodological alternatives for new interventions in the territory. As a reference, the conceptual basis of GCIT was used. Methodologically, the diagnosis of the UFLA team was analyzed, which generated data through Participant Observation and focus groups. The results show that the method used to collect data from the pre-diagnosis requires greater participation by the various groups in the territories, aiming at empowering the actors and a transdisciplinary view on the data. Subsequently, at a time of diagnosis, with all groups debating the data generated, the study points out the possibilities for a reflection and understanding of the territory in a perspective of space, time and causality. As a way to enhance medium and long-term actions, the study outlines the need for Resource Centers and Spaces of Memories that open the way for debate between generations, aiming at a symbolic appropriation of territories and their territorialities, with the objective of structuring proposals medium and long term for the micro-region of Presidente Kubistchek

Formas de adaptación de los productores de café a la liberalización del mercado: propuesta de tipología analítica basada en un estudio de caso en la región de Matas de Minas

The article addresses the forms of adaptation that coffee farmers adopt to the context of market liberalization. We analyze how coffee growers build their strategies for adapting to the new context and the relationship of these strategies with the reconfiguration of forms of market control. A case study was carried out in the Matas de Minas region, typically an area of ​​family production, considering the post-1990 period, being a region still little considered in the literature. Based on the qualitative data obtained through the research, we propose an analytical model focused on the construction of a typology of producers, which aims to describe the diversity of ways of adapting to the new economic and institutional context defined by liberalization. The analysis is based on the neoinstitutional perspective of economic sociology, focusing on the processes of social construction of market strategies and structures, in this case guided, fundamentally, by the issue of the social construction of quality. This analytical proposal is opposed to the perspective of transaction cost economics, the main model to guide studies on agro-industrial or agri-food systems in Brazil today, offering a theoretical and methodological alternative.

Relieving efforts in palm-tree tissue sampling for population genetics analyses.

The young leaves are the main source of nucleic acids for population genetic studies in palm‐trees; however, the access to this tissue may be limited by specific features of each species. Using root tissues as an alternative source of nucleic acids could facilitate the sampling in large populations.This study tests root tissue viability as an alternative nucleic acid source (root versus. leaf) and explores different protocols (tissue storage and DNA extraction methods) to obtain high‐quality DNA samples.The results showed no significant differences in DNA concentration (603.7 vs. 599.1 ng/μl) and quality ratios (A260/280:2.1 vs. 1.9, and A260/230:2.1 vs. 2.0) for the comparisons of tissue source (leaf vs. root) and DNA extraction method (manual vs. kit). For tissue storage method, DNA concentration was significantly higher for root tissues stored in 70% and 90% alcohol solutions (692.8 and 822.6 ng/μl, respectively) versus those obtained from leaf tissue (603.7 ng/μl); however, for the quality parameters, no differences were found.Results showed the effective potential of using root tissue as an alternative source for nucleic acids, which could facilitate population sampling of palm‐tree species for future studies, and this methodological alternative could be applied to other plant systems with similar sampling challenges. ​

Developing Number Sense: An Approach to Initiate Algebraic Thinking in Primary Education

Traditionally, the teaching and learning of algebra has been addressed at the beginning of secondary education with a methodological approach that broke traumatically into a mathematical universe until now represented by numbers, with bad consequences. It is important, then, to find methodological alternatives that allow the parallel development of arithmetical and algebraic thinking from the first years of learning. This article begins with a review of a series of theoretical foundations that support a methodological proposal based on the use of specific manipulative materials that foster a deep knowledge of the decimal number system, while verbalizing and representing quantitative situations that underline numerical relationships and properties and patterns of numbers. Developing and illustrating this approach is the main purpose of this paper. The proposal has been implemented in a group of 25 pupils in the first year of primary school. Some observed milestones are presented and analyzed. In the light of the results, this well-planned early intervention contains key elements to initiate algebraic thinking through the development of number sense, naturally enhancing the translation of purely arithmetical situations into the symbolic language characteristic of algebraic thinking.

Reconocimiento pedagógico del patrimonio arqueológico: caso Turmequé, Boyacá

Definir los potenciales arqueológicos de los municipios en Colombia es una tarea difícil por la desinformación, los altos costos que genera y los temores de propietarios de predios a la hora de denunciar y registrar un sitio arqueológico. Sin embargo, existen alternativas metodológicas participativas y pedagógicas que permiten el reconocimiento y la gestión socioeducativa del patrimonio arqueológico, los cuales recurren a ejercicios interdisciplinares que vinculan actores sociales y garantizan la apropiación del patrimonio. Para el caso de Turmequé, se reconocieron cinco actores sociales claves en la protección y salvaguarda de bienes, quienes a su vez permitieron la identificación de 56 bienes muebles, 28 bienes inmuebles y 7 sitios con arte rupestre, consolidando un primer inventario y una zonificación arqueológica del municipio que permita definir los lineamientos para su gestión y conservación desde la articulación institucional, tal y como se evidencia en este artículo de investigación.

Benchmarking of single-virus genomics: a new tool for uncovering the virosphere.

Metagenomics and single-cell genomics have enabled the discovery of relevant uncultured microbes. Recently, single-virus genomics (SVG), although still in an incipient stage, has opened new avenues in viral ecology by allowing the sequencing of one single virus at a time. The investigation of methodological alternatives and optimization of existing procedures for SVG is paramount to deliver high-quality genomic data. We report a sequencing dataset of viral single-amplified genomes (vSAGs) from cultured and uncultured viruses obtained by applying different conditions in each SVG step, from viral preservation and novel whole-genome amplification (WGA) to sequencing platforms and genome assembly. Sequencing data showed that cryopreservation and mild fixation were compatible with WGA, although fresh samples delivered better genome quality data. The novel TruPrime WGA, based on primase-polymerase features, and WGA-X employing a thermostable phi29 polymerase, were proven to be with sufficient sensitivity in SVG. The Oxford Nanopore (ON) sequencing platform did not provide a significant improvement of vSAG assembly compared to Illumina alone. Finally, the SPAdes assembler performed the best. Overall, our results represent a valuable genomic dataset that will help to standardized and advance new tools in viral ecology.

Alternativa metodológica para el estudio de las estructuras gramaticales en la comprensión de textos del Español Básico

The teaching of basic Spanish as a requirement for entry into higher education, requires the search for learning alternatives that bring the student, not only the knowledge of the structures of the language, but also the comprehensive analysis of the text. This work aims to propose a methodological alternative that favors the study of grammatical structures in the comprehension of texts of first year students of the Bachelor's degree in Physical Culture. The proposed methodological alternative is directed to the treatment of the grammatical structures in the comprehension of texts, from a cognitive, communicative and socio-cultural approach, taking into consideration its psychological, pedagogical and methodological foundations, in order to contribute to the development of the student's communicative skills.

Secondary school music education students’ perception of technology-assisted cooperative learning (Percepción del alumnado de música de educación secundaria sobre el aprendizaje cooperativo asistido por tecnología)

ABSTRACT Cooperative learning has been one of the burgeoning methodological approaches in recent decades due to its empirically demonstrated benefits. The use of technologies to support this methodology plays a fundamental role in better implementing it. This paper presents a study conducted with music students in the third year of ESO (Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria, or Compulsory Secondary Education) (n = 145) with the aim of ascertaining their perception of technology-assisted cooperative learning, an essential factor in creative projects that are extremely organizationally complex. In this study, we adopted a quasi-experimental design of repeated measures for a pre- and post-stage with a control group and an experimental group. The results suggest that there are statistically significant differences in academic performance and satisfaction with the methodology used. The conclusions show that technology-assisted cooperative work may be one of the few methodological alternatives that very effectively contribute to implementing creative projects.

Effects of mistreatment in medical schools: how to evaluate? A brief review

Abstract: Introduction: The occurrence of abuse, harassment and mistreatment of medical students is a widespread phenomenon and not a problem limited to certain countries or particular schools. Such behavior during medical training creates hostile learning environments, induces stress, depressive symptoms, may impair performance and patient care. Objective: To analyze the methodology used in recent studies to describe the consequences of mistreatment on medical student’s life and academic performance. Method: A brief review of the literature indexed in 6 international databases was carried out (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library). The descriptors were categorized into two groups, one containing different types of violence and the other contemplating the studied population. Results: A total of 20 articles were selected for this study and all of them based their research methodology on the use of questionnaires, scales and/or interviews. The strengths and weaknesses of these methodologies were discussed, and the use of simulation was suggested as a new methodological alternative. Conclusion: This review reinforces that mistreatment of medical students has remained frequent over time and it is closely related to the students’ mental health and performance impairment. The authors recommend a new methodological approach to collect data related to the effects arising from a hostile learning environment.

Socio-anthropological approach to the study of legal cultures: evolutionism and functionalism

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the productivity of the socio-anthropological approach to the study of legal culture. In the study of legal cultures, the methodology of legal science involves going beyond both the special legal sciences and, in general, the social sciences. This actualizes the assessment of the productivity of the socio-anthropological approach to law and the justification of its evolutionist and functionalist directions for the conceptualization of legal phenomena. Their methodology in identifying the characteristics of legal culture is based on a) the recognition of its integral organism, whose elements are functionally connected and based on common principles; b) the principle of organicism, which involves the spread of methods, tools, and patterns of scientific knowledge, characteristic of the biological sciences, to social phenomena. This approach identifies the relationships between human thoughts and behavioral acts, biological and social processes, and various stages of the historical development of legal cultures. The result of the research is a structural scheme developed by the author, which demonstrates the productivity of the socio-anthropological approach to the study of legal culture, reflecting the main forms of manifestation of the reductionism of legal research from narrow methodological positions and ways to overcome it with the help of the socio-anthropological approach of evolutionist and functionalist orientation. The novelty of the work is due to the evolutionist and functionalist study of legal cultures applied by the author, which contributes to overcoming the limitations of criteria for the critical assessment of the laws of their development, contexts that allow characterizing legal phenomena from an interdisciplinary perspective, offer substantive and methodological alternatives to explain them and assess the importance of social communication processes in their dynamics.

Experimentação problematizadora e o ensino de ciências: desafios e perspectivas na educação do campo

Ao refletir sobre alternativas metodológicas, torna-se importante contextualizar o Ensino de Ciências sob o viés na Educação do Campo, com a finalidade de promover a participação efetiva dos estudantes no processo de construção de conhecimentos. A Experimentação Problematizadora tem sido enfatizada pelo seu grande potencial pedagógico, auxiliando no processo de construção dos saberes, por intermédio de questionamentos, com o intuito de superar o ensino fragmentado. Nessa perspectiva, buscou-se identificar os principais desafios enfrentados pelos educadores de Ciências em utilizar a Experimentação Problematizadora enquanto metodologia ativa nas Escolas Comunitárias Rurais de Jaguaré - ES, que adotam o Regime de Alternância. Para tanto, participaram do presente estudo três professoras, representando as três escolas pesquisadas. A pesquisa possui caráter qualitativo, e para coleta de dados foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas e as informações obtidas foram gravadas e, posteriormente analisadas. Foi possível constatar que a Experimentação Problematizadora pode despertar o pensamento crítico dos estudantes, que por sua vez, se tornam protagonistas desse processo, contribuindo nas reflexões acerca das consequências da Ciência na Sociedade e nas possibilidades de enfrentamento dos problemas.

Sum things are not what they seem: Problems with point-wise interpretations and quantitative analyses of proxies based on aggregated radiocarbon dates

Radiocarbon-date assemblages are commonly used as proxies for past human and environmental phenomena. Prominent examples of target phenomena include past population levels and sea level fluctuations. These processes are thought to have affected the amount of organic carbon deposited into the archaeological and/or palaeoenvironmental record. Time-series representing through-time fluctuations in the frequency of radiocarbon samples are, therefore, often used as proxies for such processes. However, there are critical problems with using radiocarbon “dates-as-data” in point-wise comparisons and these problems have gone largely underappreciated. The key problem is that the established proxies are easily misinterpreted. They conflate process variation and chronological uncertainty, which makes them unsuitable for point-wise comparisons aimed at identifying rates of change, comparing variables directly, or estimating parameters in regression models. Here we explore the interpretive and analytical problems in detail in an effort to raise awareness and promote skepticism about the use of the established proxies in point-wise comparisons. We also provide suggestions for future research and point to potential methodological alternatives that may improve the viability of dates-as-data approaches.