Adaptation and validation to Portuguese of the Reasons for Higher Education Dropout Scale

Enquadramento: O abandono escolar é um problema com que os sistemas educacionais se debatem, colocando em causa a qualidade da instituição escolar e do próprio sistema de ensino. Objetivos: Adaptar e avaliar as qualidades psicométricas da Escala de Motivos de Intenção de Abandono do Ensino Superior para os estudantes do ensino superior português. Metodologia: Estudo quantitativo, transversal, descritivo e correlacional. Foi aplicado um questionário de caracterização sociodemográfica e a Escala de Motivos de Intenção de Abandono do Ensino Superior a uma amostra de 891 estudantes, maioritariamente feminina (68,2%), com uma idade média de 19,68 anos. Recorreu-se à análise fatorial exploratória e confirmatória. Resultados: A escala composta por 30 itens, organizados em 4 dimensões: Organizacional; Gestão de vida; Profissional e Relacional. Apresenta uma variância explicada de 46,5%, e um alfa de Cronbach de 0,959. Conclusão: Os resultados apoiam a adequação psicométrica da escala para a população portuguesa, indicando que poderá ser utilizada em ensaios futuros neste âmbito e permitir a implementação de medidas que o contrariem.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Competências emocionais e prevenção do abandono nos estudantes do ensino superior politécnico

CONTEXTO: Nos últimos anos, a comunidade científica foi tomando consciência da importância do desenvolvimento de competências emocio - nais para o sucesso escolar e profissional dos estudantes. OBJETIVO(S): Identificar os fatores que influenciam o abandono escolar dos estudantes do ensino superior politécnico. Analisar a relação entre as competências emocionais e o abandono escolar dos estudantes do Ensino Superior Politécnico. METODOLOGIA: Estudo quantitativo, transversal, descritivo e correlacional. O instrumento de recolha de dados utilizado foi questionário de caracterização sociodemográfica dos estudantes e dos pais, a Escala de Motivos para Abandono do Ensino Superior (Ambiel, 2015) e a Escala Com - petências Emocionais (Taksic’, 2000), adaptada para Portugal por Faria e Santos (2006). Amostra constituída por 560 estudantes do ensino superior a frequentarem o 1.º ano do curso. RESULTADOS: Participaram 560 estudantes do ensino superior a frequentarem o 1.º ano do curso, maioritariamente feminina (69,3%), com uma idade mínima de 18 anos e uma máxima de 30 anos, correspondendo-lhe uma média de 19,76 anos (±2,06 anos), 36,6% da área da tecnologia. O sexo influenciou o abandono escolar dos estudantes do ensino superior, sendo os estudantes do sexo feminino os que revelam mais motivos para o abandono (p=0,010). Os estudantes cujas mães se encontram ativas profissionalmente manifestam mais Intenção de abandono (p=0,035). A per- ceção emocional, a expressão emocional e a capacidade de lidar com as emoções foram preditoras da intenção de abandono escolar. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados apontam para a necessidade de inclusão nos programas de intervenção contra o abandono escolar, das variáveis sexo, idade e algumas dimensões das competências emocionais, para minimizar, assim, as suas consequências, quer para os estudantes, quer para a própria sociedade.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of clusters of asthma control: A preliminary analysis of the inspirers studies

This work was funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI- -01-0145-FEDER-029130 (“mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases - generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies”) co-funded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).© 2020, Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica. All rights reserved. Aims: To identify distinct asthma control clusters based on Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) and to compare patients’ characteristics among these clusters. Methods: Adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with persistent asthma were recruited at 29 Portuguese hospital outpatient clinics, in the context of two observational studies of the INSPIRERS project. Demographic and clinical characteristics, adherence to inhaled medication, beliefs about inhaled medication, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and asthma control (CARAT, >24 good control) were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using CARAT total score (CARAT-T). Results: 410 patients (68% adults), with a median (percentile 25–percentile 75) age of 28 (16-46) years, were analysed. Three clusters were identified [mean CARAT-T (min-max)]: cluster 1 [27(24-30)], cluster 2 [19(14-23)] and cluster 3 [10(2-13)]. Patients in cluster 1 (34%) were characterised by better asthma control, better quality of life, higher inhaler adherence and use of a single inhaler. Patients in clusters 2 (50%) and 3 (16%) had uncontrolled asthma, lower inhaler adherence, more symptoms of anxiety and depression and more than half had at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Further-more, patients in cluster 3 were predominantly female, had more unscheduled medical visits and more anxiety symp-toms, perceived a higher necessity of their prescribed inhalers but also higher levels of concern about taking these inhalers. There were no differences in age, body mass index, lung function, smoking status, hospital admissions or specialist physician follow-up time among the three clusters. Conclusion: An unsupervised method based on CARAT--T, identified 3 clusters of patients with distinct, clinically meaningful characteristics. The cluster with better asthma control had a cut-off similar to the established in the validation study of CARAT and an additional cut-off seems to distinguish more severe disease. Further research is necessary to validate the asthma control clusters identified.publishersversionpublishe

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

TURLING: Jornadas de Línguas e Turismo 2023: livro de resumos. Book of abstracts. Libro de resúmenes

(Excerto do Prefácio). Esta primeira edição representa um desafio precursor enquanto fórum onde a investigação no âmbito das línguas estrangeiras e do turismo no Ensino Superior se consubstancia na partilha de práticas pedagógicas, estudos académicos e participação em projetos que visem estas temáticas. Este encontro proporcionou aos docentes e investigadores um ambiente ideal para trocar ideias e apontar os avanços sobre os temas em questão.(Extracted from the Preface). This first edition represents a precursor challenge as a forum where research into foreign languages and tourism in higher education takes the form of sharing pedagogical practices, academic studies and participation in projects on these themes. This meeting provided teachers and researchers with an ideal environment for exchanging ideas and pointing out progress on the topics in question.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance de Aprendizagem e o Abandono Escolar no Ensino Superior

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Leptospiral antibodies in sera of fish from the Ave river: preliminary results

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis with world distribution, caused by infection with pathogenic spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. Leptospires’ natural habitat is the kidney of infected animals, being disseminated via urine to the environment, where they survive outside the host in fresh water or moist soils. Thus, leptospirosis is associated with activities such as fish farming, animal and agricultural production and water-related activities. The aim of this work was to detect leptospiral antibodies (Abs) in wild fish species (Luciobarbus bocagei, Pseudochondrostoma duriense and Squalius carolitertii) captured in the north of Portugal. Sera of 29 fish caught in the Ave River basin in July 2017 were tested by Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). Abs were detected in 51.7% (15/29) specimens, with reactivities against serogroups Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pomona, Canicola, Sejroe, Australis and Ballum. The highest Abs titre was 1:160, observed to Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar. Leptospiral Abs were detected in 75% (9/12) of P. duriense and in 46.2% (6/13) of L. bocagei. The results undeniably show that the sampled fish inhabit fresh water contaminated with leptospires and develop immune response, being potential sources of infection for man and animals. Further studies are needed to better understand potential public health threats.This work is supported by European Investnient Funds FEDER/COMPETE/POCI - Operational Competitiveness and Intemationalization Programme, under Project POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-006958 and National Funds by FCT - Ponuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2013, and by the I&D Project Interact - Integrative Research in Environment, Agro-Chain and Technology, number of operation NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017B, EST research line, co-fínanced bythe European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through NORTE 2020 (2014-2020 North Portugal Regional Operational Programme).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio