Basic Manuals for increases below inflation, prices remain on the Secondary

The APEL said in a statement that the increase in the price of books is below inflation - estimated at "2.94 per cent in the month of June" - and asserted that "most of the books is now available in bookstores." 

In the major supermarket chains, multiply promotional campaigns associated with the purchase of textbooks: discounts on shopping carts, the possibility of buying on credit or store discounts on the price of the editor. Another possibility this year is to purchase second-hand books over the Internet with a website dedicated to the auction to inaugurate a special section of "back to school," which includes textbooks. 

This year, the biggest news regarding the content of textbooks is the entry into force of the new agreement spelling, which this year will already be present in all the books adopted this year for the first and second years of primary education. 

Coexistence of different versions 

According to one of the industry's leading publishers of school books, Porto Editora, the assimilation of the new way to write the manual "is proceeding as defined in 2010 by the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Committee on Textbook of APEL , a calendar that will end the academic year 2014/2015. " 

The person responsible for communication of Porto Editora, Paulo Gonçalves, said the phased adoption aims to "minimize the costs to households, municipalities, libraries, school libraries and publishers to avoid unnecessary waste." In the fourth year of Basic, the manuals of mathematics should already have the new spelling, as all of the fifth - less Physical Education, Music Education, Visual and Technological Education.
The sixth year, the students will learn in books adapted to the new agreement in all seats except the Portuguese Language, Physical Education, Music Education and Visual and Technological Education. This year come into force with the new way to write the books of Portuguese Language in the seventh grade, and eighth grade math. 

However, it may happen that in the same classroom books coexist with different spellings, one source of possible confusion that the president of the Association of Teachers of Portuguese, Hedwig Ferreira, devalued. "Of course they will coexist. Often the books are only brothers to brothers and is the same manual that will happen. Teachers will have to be to draw attention but I think it will go well, "he said. Hedwig Ferreira said that there are several resources for teachers to avoid confusion: there are books to support the written manuals that come with new spelling, teachers had training and there is a spelling converter. 

Paulo Goncalves noted that in the classroom, in spelling books that will be replaced by the new agreement will continue to be used by teachers and students, just as in libraries, bookstores and many other sites will continue to coexist with the books "old "and" new "spelling".

Source publico.pt

Nanotechnology can increase shelf life of foods

Dairy products are the first to adopt technology.

You do not see, does not smell, but you can eat. The University is proposing a revolution in the food industry: a film that allows packaging of foods, increasing their shelf life, but that is so thin it's invisible. It can eat up, because its base is a material that is 100 percent safe for human consumption.

Foods are covered with a liquid solution containing a nanoparticle that, when dry, will create a protective film. This material prevents the microorganisms from contaminating the fruit or vegetable, solving problems of food security. "In practice, this is a barrier," said Teixeira, a researcher at the University of Minho (UM) which coordinates the team of five people who developed this innovation.

The material which forms the basis of this solution is used for several years in the food industry. These are polysaccharides, which are the basis of the cooking broth, for example. The novelty lies in how it is put at the service of food safety. The technology developed in Minho presents a set of advantages that brings those responsible to believe they can revolutionize the food market.

Deterioration decreases

The products involved with this nano-film are less exposed to natural deterioration, increasing the period during which you can consume them. In the case of strawberries - one of the fruits that the application of this technology is more developed - were achieved reductions in losses of 30 percent.

"The consumer can not see, feel, and can eat food without problems," says Teixeira. The solution allows to increase the shelf life of food and enhance food security. In addition, the membrane can become a vehicle for adding value addition, allowing the incorporation of bioactive compounds in foods such as antioxidants or antibiotics can be applied nanofilms The three forms. The easiest is to soak food in a viscous liquid with the characteristics necessary for their protection, but is a more expensive solution, because they spend greater amounts of material. The researchers are now working on a model of sprinkling, that can be adapted to existing solutions in the food industry for washing food. The UM is also developing an application in film, very similar to adherent films that are commonly used in home kitchens.

Cheese Thursday of the Navy will soon be the first major test of this invention. Packaged products with nanofilms developed in Minho coming soon to the market, responding to a problem that the company - which several years working with UM - facing and that is common to several dairies. Cheese is a perishable food easily, requiring constant speed of the stocks in supermarkets, often involving large losses for producers.

The invention of the team coordinated by José Teixeira reduces by 20 percent losses in mass of cheese, which then can spend more time on store shelves. This type of solutions is already being tested with two other dairies and there are also companies in Brazil interested in applying the technology.

The new solution of the research in nanotechnology applied to food packaging industry in which this group has specialized UM. The area is booming and the market represented in 2002, 150 million dollars a year, be worth next year, something like 20 billion dollars, the latest estimates show.

Source publico.pt

Students promise an eventful autumn

Media personalities and political union came to give their support yesterday to the camp run by militant students in front of the offices of the Ministry of Education in Montreal. The President of the Confederation of Unions of Quebec (CSQ), Réjean Parent, called for a greater contribution of private funding for universities while the President of the Federation of Labour (QFL), Michel Arseneault, invited the government to reopen dialogue with students on the issue of tuition fees. The member for Nicolet-Yamaska, Jean-Martin too, who recently slammed the door of the Parti Quebecois, has also come show support to the cause.

A few days of school, students are still in fashion against attack. They still have not digested the Charest government's last budget foresees an increase in tuition of $ 325 per year for five years. "We have a fairly clear position: cap tuition," says Martine Desjardins, president of the Quebec Federation of University Students (FEUQ). "The last time we spoke was at the meeting of partners in December. It was a big play in which we tried to make us swallow the idea of ​​a consensus on the rise. This last dialogue we had left a little bitter, "she said in lamenting the lack of openness of the Education Minister Line Beauchamp.

Future actions

The president of the Quebec Federation of College Students (FECQ), Leo Blouin-Office, ensures that the protests will not cease. "We will continue to inform people, we will announce in more detail the various public appearances at our convention," he said, referring to the gathering of two student federations at the weekend. A demonstration is preparing for Nov. 10. "This week, we step up camp outside the offices of the minister and the pressure is increased to show that we are ready to put the machine on," he added. Other support unions and political parties are expected later in the week.

Hugo Morin and Marc-Olivier Goulet were part of the core group of ten students who held the fort every weekend of the summer. Rain or shine, their camping experience, made of encounters with curious, fireworks and toast with peanut butter gives them all the same memories. "We often feel that social movements, those who attempt to offer solutions to government, out of breath quickly. Camping here, we wanted to show that students, even in the summer while they are on vacation, will not let go. We were there and we will stay there, "said Hugo Morin, who is studying international economics at UQAM. "I'm happy to have done," insisted Marc-Olivier Goulet, a student at CEGEP Ahuntsic.

University management

Martine Desjardins argues instead for better management of universities. "How much money we will have to put in our network to make it adequate? We asked and you realize that no study has been done to assess the real needs of universities, "she argued. While calling for a collective discussion that could take the form of the Estates General, the President of the CSQ abounds in this direction. "Currently, we tend to point fingers at students, while larger companies benefit extensively from universities without putting their fair share," said Parent.
Michel Arsenault, QFL, for his part preferred the old method of negotiation and dialogue. "It's not by meeting with students having an attitude that everything is decided in advance that the government will create a climate of trust with the students," he said.

Source ledevoir