Does Physical Fitness Relate to Academic Achievement in High School Students?

BACKGROUND: Academic achievement (AA) is an important issue not only during the school period since it is a strong predictor of long-term professional and social success. Physical fitness (PF) components are associated with AA, and previous studies were conducted with relatively small samples, lack of statistical power, and the conclusions are based on simple correlational analyses. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between PF (single and clustered) with AA in a large and representative sample of high school students. METHODS: Cross-sectional design study conducted with 911 students, aged 13-15 years (38.52% boys) enrolled in the first year of high school. Cardiorespiratory fitness (20-m shuttle run test), muscular strength (dynamometer), and body composition (skinfolds) were measured. PF components were clustered (Z-cardiorespiratory fitness + Z-muscular strength - Z-body fatness). AA was analyzed through standard math tests. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was applied to verify the independent contribution of each single component and PF's cluster on AA. Age, screen time, maternal education, race, and type of residence were used as covariates. RESULTS: Among boys, cardiorespiratory fitness was negatively associated with AA (ß = -0.137; P = .041), while strength was positively associated with AA (ß = 0.188; P = .004). There was no association between clustered PF indicators and AA (ß = 0.064; P = .297). There was a negative association between age and AA in girls (ß = -0.151; P = .003) and in boys (ß = -0.128; P = .045). CONCLUSIONS: These results support current literature, indicating an association between PF's component, namely muscular strength and AA (mathematics) in adolescents, even when controlled for several covariates.

Multiple anthropogenic stressors in the Galápagos Islands' complex social-ecological system: Interactions of marine pollution, fishing pressure, and climate change with management recommendations.

For decades, multiple anthropogenic stressors have threatened the Galápagos Islands. Widespread marine pollution such as oil spills, persistent organic pollutants, metals, and ocean plastic pollution has been linked to concerning changes in the ecophysiology and health of Galápagos species. Simultaneously, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing are reshaping the composition and structure of endemic and native Galápagos pelagic communities. In this novel review, we discuss the impact of anthropogenic pollutants and their associated ecotoxicological implications for Galápagos species in the face of climate change stressors. We emphasize the importance of considering fishing pressure and marine pollution, in combination with climate-change impacts, when assessing the evolutionary fitness of species inhabiting the Galápagos. For example, the survival of endemic marine iguanas has been negatively affected by organic hydrocarbons introduced via oil spills, and endangered Galápagos sea lions exhibit detectable concentrations of DDT, triggering potential feminization effects and compromising the species' survival. During periods of ocean warming (El Niño events) when endemic species undergo nutritional stress, climate change may increase the vulnerability of these species to the impacts of pollutants, resulting in the species reaching its population tipping point. Marine plastics are emerging as a deleterious and widespread threat to endemic species. The Galápagos is treasured for its historical significance and its unparalleled living laboratory and display of evolutionary processes; however, this unique and iconic paradise will remain in jeopardy until multidisciplinary and comprehensive preventative management plans are put in place to mitigate and eliminate the effects of anthropogenic stressors facing the islands today. We present a critical analysis and synthesis of anthropogenic stressors with some progress from local and international institutional efforts and call to action more precautionary measures along with new management philosophies focused on understanding the processes of change through research to champion the conservation of the Galápagos. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:870-895. © 2022 SETAC.

Entrevista com Sonia Guajajara: o movimento indígena frente à pandemia da COVID-19 / Interview with Sonia Guajajara: the Indigenous movement in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Resumo Nesta entrevista, Sonia Guajajara, coordenadora executiva da Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB), aborda as análises e estratégias desenvolvidas pelo movimento indígena para o enfrentamento da pandemia da COVID-19. Entre os pontos destacados, estão as estratégias de comunicação, vigilância e monitoramento da COVID-19, o apoio aos territórios indígenas, as iniciativas no Legislativo e no Judiciário, a incidência internacional e a articulação com a academia. Torna-se evidente o importante protagonismo do movimento indígena nas ações de contenção da emergência sanitária e na defesa dos direitos dos povos indígenas, em uma conjuntura de embate com o governo federal e de retrocessos nas políticas públicas.

Abstract In this interview, Sonia Guajajara, the executive coordinator of the Brazil's Indigenous Peoples Articulation (APIB), addresses the analyzis and strategies developed by the Indigenous movement to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other topics, she highlights some of the movement's strategies concerning communication, surveillance, and the monitoring of COVID-19, as well as its actions to support Indigenous territories, the initiatives carried out in the Legislative and Judiciary realms, the movement's international incidence, and its articulation with academia. Sonia shows the important role played by the Indigenous movement to control the health emergency and to defend the rights of the Indigenous peoples, in the framework of intense conflicts with the federal government and setbacks in public policies.

Interview with Sonia Guajajara: the Indigenous movement in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. / Entrevista com Sonia Guajajara: o movimento indígena frente à pandemia da COVID-19.

In this interview, Sonia Guajajara, the executive coordinator of the Brazil's Indigenous Peoples Articulation (APIB), addresses the analyzis and strategies developed by the Indigenous movement to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other topics, she highlights some of the movement's strategies concerning communication, surveillance, and the monitoring of COVID-19, as well as its actions to support Indigenous territories, the initiatives carried out in the Legislative and Judiciary realms, the movement's international incidence, and its articulation with academia. Sonia shows the important role played by the Indigenous movement to control the health emergency and to defend the rights of the Indigenous peoples, in the framework of intense conflicts with the federal government and setbacks in public policies.

Nesta entrevista, Sonia Guajajara, coordenadora executiva da Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB), aborda as análises e estratégias desenvolvidas pelo movimento indígena para o enfrentamento da pandemia da COVID-19. Entre os pontos destacados, estão as estratégias de comunicação, vigilância e monitoramento da COVID-19, o apoio aos territórios indígenas, as iniciativas no Legislativo e no Judiciário, a incidência internacional e a articulação com a academia. Torna-se evidente o importante protagonismo do movimento indígena nas ações de contenção da emergência sanitária e na defesa dos direitos dos povos indígenas, em uma conjuntura de embate com o governo federal e de retrocessos nas políticas públicas.

"Shark is the man!": ethnoknowledge of Brazil's South Bahia fishermen regarding shark behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Fishermen's knowledge is a source of indispensable information in decision-making processes related to efforts to stimulate the management and conservation of fishing resources, especially in developing countries. This study analyzed the knowledge of fishermen from three municipal areas of Bahia in northeast Brazil regarding the behavior repertoire of sharks and the possible influence that these perceptions may have on the inclination to preserve these animals. This is a pioneering study on the ethnobiological aspects of elasmobranchs in Brazil. METHODS: Open, semi-structured interviews with shark fishing specialists were conducted between September 2011 and October 2012. The interviews addressed the fishermen's profile, fishing techniques and knowledge about sharks, focusing on the behaviours exhibited by sharks. The data were analysed with quantitative approach and conducted with the use of descriptive statistical techniques. RESULTS: Sixty-five fishermen were interviewed. They descend from the rafting subculture of Brazil's northeast, which has historically been disregarded by public policies addressing the management and conservation of fishing resources. The fishing fleet involved in shark fishing includes rafts, fishing boats and lobster boats equipped with fishing lines, gillnets, longlines and "esperas". The informers classified sharks' behaviour repertoire into 19 ethological categories, related especially to feeding, reproduction, and social and migratory behaviours. Because they identify sharks as predators, the detailed recognition of the behaviours exhibited is crucial both for an efficient catch and to avoid accidents. Therefore, this knowledge is doubly adaptive as it contributes to safer, more lucrative fishing. A feeling of respect for sharks predominates, since informers recognize the ecological role of these animals in marine ecosystems, attributing them the status of leader (or "the man") in the sea. CONCLUSIONS: This work demonstrates the complexity and robustness of artisanal fishermen's ichthyological knowledge of sharks. Therefore, we suggest that such knowledge should be considered to develop public policies for the control of the fishing activity, as well as to develop and consolidate the National Action Plan for the Conservation of Shark and Ray Species (PAN - Tubarões e Raias).