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The central argument of this article is that abduction as a "mode of inference" is a key element in the nature of scientists' science and should consequently be introduced in school science. Abduction generally understood as generation and selection of hypotheses permits to articulate the classical scientific contexts of discovery and justification and provides educational insights into scientific methodology, this being a particularly important issue in science teaching. However, abductive reasoning has been marginally treated in the philosophy of science until relatively recently; accordingly, we deem it important to perform an "archaeology" of the concept that considers C. S. Peirce's seminal contributions. We also choose to review contemporary treatments in order to recognise useful classifications to support more meaningful ways of teaching science and the nature of science. An elucidation of the participation of abductive inferences in knowledge construction seems necessary for us to derive conceptual input for the understanding and design of explanations in school science. Some prospective examples of "school scientific abduction" are discussed in the article through the lens of the results of our theoretical analysis.

The objective of this article is to present the main results of an advising and assisting program, which took place in years 2001 until 2003, and which involved the Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food and two French institutions, French Agency for Standardization and National Institute for Designations of Origin. Authors report their experience in implementation of a system for the registration and certifi cation of special agricultural products and foodstuffs in the Republic of Slovenia, in accordance with the quality policy and legislation of the European union (Council Regulations 2081/92 and 2082/92). They highlight the key success factors for an effi cient implementation of the registration system for the special agricultural products and foodstuffs in the new EU members.

Differentiation of beef meat by quality. The necessary strategy of innovation. The beef meat supply chain faces with a very delicate situation: on the long term, red meat consumption in the Western countries is declining to benefit of meats of monogastrics (poultry and pork). Moreover, since the middle of the 1990s in France, a major sanitary crisis, the bovine spongiform encephalopathy, leads many consumers to stop or reduce their consumption of beef. Vis-a-vis this situation, the stakeholders have to react strongly. The purpose of this contribution is to show how the innovation, in all its forms, constitutes one of the means to restore the lost confidence. First of all, the author specially focuses on the various possible strategies while insisting on the innovations about products (technical and marketing) and organisation. A historical analysis of the development of the bovine meat processing industry makes it possible to highlight its current forces and weaknesses. It leads to the acknowledgement of the recent development of pre-packaged units of sale made by the industry and of a larger range of processed products that allow communication on private marks. On the organisational level, these changes are accompanied by deep evolutions on the definition of the processes and by the emergence of standardisation (in order to ensure a complete traceability for example by tracing and tracking). In a second time, the author shows how the recent changes in the processing sector of the bovine meat lead to an acceleration of industrialisation: the implementation of standards, the diffusion of schedules coming from quality insurance systems (like guide of good practices for example) as well as the requirements of the purchasers of supermarkets strongly boost the rationalisation of the production.

Objetivos: Describir la prevalencia de la utilización de medicamentos según factores sociodemográficos y estado de salud autopercibido en la población adulta. Métodos: Examen de salud transversal del estudio CRONICAT/MONICA-Cataluña realizado en 1994-1996 en una muestra aleatoria de la población general de 25 a 64 años. Se interrogó a 3.421 participantes (tasa de respuesta del 72%) con cuestionario abierto sobre los medicamentos consumidos durante las dos semanas previas y otros hábitos de salud. Los medicamentos se codificaron posteriormente según la clasificación ATC (versión 1993). Resultados: Mayor proporción de mujeres (38%) que de varones (26%) autopercibió peor estado de salud (p < 0,001). El consumo total de medicamentos ajustado por edad fue: varones, del 57% (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%, 55-59), y en mujeres, del 76% (IC del 95%, 74-78). Excluyendo los anticonceptivos, el consumo regular fue: varones, del 35% (IC del 95%, 33-37), y en mujeres, del 48% (IC del 95%, 46-51). Tomaron más de un medicamento el 29% de los varones y el 48% de las mujeres (p < 0,001). Ni el nivel educativo ni el estado civil influyeron en la toma de medicamentos. Mayor proporción de jubilados o pensionistas consumieron medicamentos (68%; IC del 95%, 62-74) que los trabajadores activos (54%; IC del 95%, 52-57) sólo en los varones. Los medicamentos más consumidos fueron para el sistema nervioso (35% en varones; 51% en mujeres; p < 0,001); digestivo (15%) y cardiovascular (9% en varones; 13% en mujeres; p < 0,001). La mayoría de la medicación consumida fue prescrita por el especialista (40%) y una cuarta parte fue autoprescrita. Conclusiones: La prevalencia del consumo total de medicamentos en la población adulta de Cataluña es alta, especialmente entre las mujeres, quienes autoperciben peor salud. Las políticas de racionalización del gasto farmacéutico deberían considerar el patrón epidemiológico.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar os níveis de ocorrência de pesticidas em água, tendo em vista preservar a água de contaminação por esses produtos na região de Guaíra, SP. A hipótese foi que o uso intensivo de pesticidas nessa região propiciaria a contaminação das águas superficiais e subterrâneas por seus resíduos. Para a caracterização das propriedades, das características e da dinâmica da água do solo, foi selecionada a Fazenda Macaúba por possuir relevo e solos característicos da região. Aproximadamente 80% da área da fazenda é constituída por Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico típico (LVdf), profundo. As áreas cultivadas apresentam um horizonte superficial (Ap) completamente desprovido de sua estrutura natural e, abaixo deste, um horizonte compactado, ambos frutos das práticas agrícolas. Durante dois anos e meio realizou-se o monitoramento do Ribeirão do Jardim que abastece a cidade de Guaíra, bem como de um de seus afluentes e da água subterrânea proveniente do Aqüífero Guarani, à procura de pesticidas. A água superficial foi coletada de 21em 21 dias e a subterrânea, no início e no final do período monitorado (dois anos e meio). Os produtos monitorados, trifluralina, endosulfan, lambda cialotrina, dicofol (4,4 diclorobenzofenona), captan, metil paration, clorotalonil e clorpirifós, foram selecionados a partir de um levantamento dos pesticidas utilizados em quatro áreas agrícolas localizadas na bacia do Ribeirão do Jardim e em razão da efetividade de um método de análise de resíduos múltiplos para sua quantificação. Os resultados analíticos indicaram que não houve contaminação da água subterrânea, mas que ocasionalmente houve contaminação direta das águas de superfície. A não-contaminação da água subterrânea deve-se principalmente às características dos Latossolos, como sua grande espessura, sua textura argilosa e sua grande capacidade de armazenamento de água.

En este estudio se analizan los restos humanos de individuos subadultos identificados en el conjunto arqueofaunístico del sitio CH2D01-A. Se trata de un sitio monticular ubicado en el bañado de San Miguel (Rocha, Uruguay), en el que se identificaron ocupaciones con un rango temporal entre 2090±90 y 220±50 AP. Se recuperaron 17 enterramientos humanos individuales. Posteriormente, se hallaron 514 restos humanos en el conjunto faunístico, de los cuales 50 corresponden a individuos subadultos. Dichos restos fueron integrados al registro funerario del sitio a través de parámetros anatómicos y tafonómicos e información locacional. Se asignaron 22 restos a dos entierros infantiles previamente definidos, en tanto que 28 restos fueron identificados como pertenecientes a cuatro nuevos individuos con edades comprendidas entre 2 y 16 años. Con este análisis aumenta a 21 el número mínimo de individuos representados y la cantidad de subadultos pasa de 2 a 6, incrementando un registro de subadultos reducido considerando la buena preservación general de restos óseos en el sitio. Se enfatiza la importancia de los análisis conjuntos de los registros bioarqueológico y arqueofaunístico del Uruguay como forma de mejorar el control tafonómico de procesos de formación del registro y de factores metodológicos.

Background and objectivesThe biologic mechanisms underlying neurologic postacute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (PASC) are incompletely understood.MethodsWe measured markers of neurologic injury (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], neurofilament light chain [NfL]) and soluble markers of inflammation among a cohort of people with prior confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection at early and late recovery after the initial illness (defined as less than and greater than 90 days, respectively). The primary clinical outcome was the presence of self-reported CNS PASC symptoms during the late recovery time point. We compared fold changes in marker values between those with and without CNS PASC symptoms using linear mixed-effects models and examined relationships between neurologic and immunologic markers using rank linear correlations.ResultsOf 121 individuals, 52 reported CNS PASC symptoms. During early recovery, those who went on to report CNS PASC symptoms had elevations in GFAP (1.3-fold higher mean ratio, 95% CI 1.04-1.63, p = 0.02), but not NfL (1.06-fold higher mean ratio, 95% CI 0.89-1.26, p = 0.54). During late recovery, neither GFAP nor NfL levels were elevated among those with CNS PASC symptoms. Although absolute levels of NfL did not differ, those who reported CNS PASC symptoms demonstrated a stronger downward trend over time in comparison with those who did not report CNS PASC symptoms (p = 0.041). Those who went on to report CNS PASC also exhibited elevations in interleukin 6 (48% higher during early recovery and 38% higher during late recovery), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (19% higher during early recovery), and tumor necrosis factor α (19% higher during early recovery and 13% higher during late recovery). GFAP and NfL correlated with levels of several immune activation markers during early recovery; these correlations were attenuated during late recovery.DiscussionSelf-reported neurologic symptoms present approximately 4 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection are associated with elevations in markers of neurologic injury and inflammation at earlier time points. Some inflammatory pathways seem to be involved months after acute infection. Additional work will be needed to better characterize these processes and to identify interventions to prevent or treat this condition.

This article assesses nutritional intake and adequacy in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), subdiagnostic autistic symptoms and children with typical development (TD). In total, 77 children diagnosed with ASD, 40 with subdiagnostic autistic symptoms and 333 children with TD were assessed. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used. Very few nutritional differences were found between ASD and TD groups. Preschool children with ASD and subdiagnostic autistic symptoms had slightly lower intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), vitamin D and vitamin B12, and primary school children with ASD and subdiagnostic autistic symptoms had slightly higher intake of protein, cholesterol, thiamine and niacin, and a higher percentage of obesity than children with TD. All samples had an unbalanced energy intake (high in added sugars, fats and saturated fatty acids (SFAs); extremely inadequate intake (80%--100%) of vitamins D and E; high intake (50%-80%) of fibre, b-carotene (except preschool children with TD), calcium (except preschool children) and magnesium). The fact that differences between diagnoses are scarce may be related to the low level of ASD severity in this school sample.