Analyzing the use of linking words in concept maps designed for pathophysiology learning in medicine

[EN] Pathophysiology at NOVA Medical School adopted the concept mapping methodology to promote the visual display of pathophysiological reasoning and learning, based on clinical vignettes. The objective of this project is to identify and label the linking words, in order to study their role in the structure and organization of the concept maps constructed by the students. We used an adopted classification of linking words, categorized in 5 groups: dynamic, static, illustrative, definition and clinical case information. At the end of the semester the concept maps related to the respiratory (mid-semester) and endocrine systems (end of semester) were analyzed and compared. We found linking words not included in any of the five categories, thus a group named “other” has been created. Statistically significant differences were found in dynamic and “other” categories (p=0,049 and p= 0,011, respectively; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The dynamic words were the most commonly used, probably reflecting students’ need to better describe pathophysiological mechanisms, and the difference found was probably due an improvement in the learning process and concept maps building technic. It would be interesting next year to conduct a more detailed analysis, increasing the sample and ensuring a more robust dataset.Grateful thanks are due to the teaching staff of pathophysiology, tutors Manuel Almeida, Patrícia Santos, Diana Ferreira, Miguel Proença, Ana Rita Franco, Luísa Quaresma, Vasco Gaspar and António Mesquita, and the junior students Sofia Ribeiro, Pedro Vilão Silva, Joana Vigeant Gomes and Margarida Flores that acted as mentors during the tutorial sessions.Fonseca, M.; Oliveira, B.; Canha, I.; Dores, H.; Pinheiro Santos, M.; Lemos, V.; Verdasca, A.... (2021). Analyzing the use of linking words in concept maps designed for pathophysiology learning in medicine. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 95-102. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13036OCS9510

O 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico: Que identidade(s)?

O presente livro resulta das comunicações apresentadas no seminário O 1.º ciclo do Ensino Básico — Que identidade(s)? | Currículo, práticas e formação docente, que teve como objetivo primeiro a partilha de perspetivas e investigações sobre o currículo, as práticas e a identidade docente, para uma reflexão mais ampla no âmbito do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

WHEN SYNERGIC WORK BETWEEN GENERAL AND VASCULAR SURGEONS MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Introduction: Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia (CMI) resulting from an impaired blood flow of the splanchnic organs is characterized by an insidious clinical course and is often an underestimated and undertreated disease. The natural history is progressive, caused by atherosclerosis progression in a polymorbidity and aging society. Due to collateralization, diffuse stenotic lesions can remain asymptomatic for a long time and usually manifests when an acute medical or surgical event occurs. In those cases, the clinical suspicion is crucial to reach the diagnosis promptly, allowing to preserve the patients’ quality of life and, above all, the patients’ life. Clinical case 1: A 48-year-old woman with a history of smoking goes to the emergency department for hypogastric abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. A study was performed by computed tomography angiography (CTA) that demonstrated occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and significant stenosis of the celiac trunk associated with thickening of small bowel suggestive of ischemia. A thrombectomy of the superior mesenteric artery and retrograde stenting of the artery ostium was performed, followed by extensive enterectomy on 24-hour laparotomy. After hospital discharge, the patient had new abdominal complaints, and stent occlusion was documented in the SMA. She underwent an iliohepatic bypass with good results. Clinical case 2: A 76-year-old man previously submitted to a right axillofemoral and femoropopliteal sequential bypass to treat chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), went to the emergency department with complaints of abdominal pain, vomiting, and constipation. The diagnosis of a subocclusive intestinal syndrome was made, having performed a computed tomography (CT) scan where it was observed the Ileum adhered to the cecum, which was thickened; the celiac trunk and SMA had subocclusive stenosis. The patient underwent primary celiac trunk stenting with a balloon-expandable stent. After celiac artery revascularization, a right colectomy was performed with two segmental enterectomies. Conclusion: Mesenteric ischemia is a severe condition that is often underdiagnosed due to the lack of awareness of most physicians and nonspecific symptoms. The vascular intervention aims to prevent intestinal necrosis, which can lead to the patient’s death. Timely diagnosis is therefore essential, and revascularization must be performed before or at the same time as intestinal surgery. The close collaboration between the general and vascular surgery teams is essential to the success of these cases

O sítio de Eira (Vila Nova de Foz Côa)

The settlement of Eira, implanted in an alluvial terrace, is positioned just downstream the Pocinho dam. Geographically it’s located in the Vila Nova de Foz Côa municipality. The archaeological site was excavated in an emergency intervention during the process of impact minimization related to the construction of an Extra High Tension Line transmission tower. In order to characterize the site, four diagnostic areas each with 2x2 m were executed. Although partial, the works allowed the identification of a human settlement dated to the Copper Age/ Bronze Age. e results indicate what seems to be an early seasonal occupation that transitioned into a fully settled community.O sítio de Eira, implantado em terraço aluvionar situado imediatamente a jusante da barragem do Pocinho, localiza-se no concelho de Vila Nova de Foz Côa. O sítio arqueológico foi alvo de escavação com cariz de emergência no âmbito de uma intervenção de minimização de impactes da construção de um poste de uma Linha de Muito Alta Tensão. Para caracterização do sítio realizaram-se quatro sondagens de 2x2m. Apesar da limitação inerente a um trabalho desta natureza, os trabalhos permitiram identi ficar, de forma parcelar, uma ocupação datada da Calcolítico/Idade do Bronze com características que parecem apontar inicialmente para uma utilização sazonal do local que, eventualmente e em fase final, terá evoluído para um padrão de ocupação permanente do espaço

O 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico: Que identidade(s)? - Livro de Resumos

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Which Low-Abundance Proteins are Present in the Human Milieu of Gamete/Embryo Maternal Interaction?

The improvement of the embryo culture media is of high relevance due to its influence on successful implantation rates, pregnancy, neonatal outcomes, and potential effects in adult life. The ideal conditions for embryo development are those naturally occurring in the female reproductive tract, i.e., the oviductal and uterine fluids. To shed light on the differences between chemical and natural media, we performed the first comparative study of the low abundance proteins in plasma, uterine, and oviductal fluid collected, simultaneously, from healthy and fertile women that underwent a salpingectomy. The rationale for this design derives from the fact that high-abundant proteins in these fluids are usually those coming from blood serum and frequently mask the detection of low abundant proteins with a potentially significant role in specific processes related to the embryo–maternal interaction. The proteomic analysis by 1D-nano LC ESI-MSMS detected several proteins in higher amounts in oviductal fluid when compared to uterine and plasma samples (RL3, GSTA1, EZRI, DPYSL3, GARS, HSP90A). Such oviductal fluid proteins could be a target to improve fertilization rates and early embryo development if used in the culture media. In conclusion, this study presents a high-throughput analysis of female reproductive tract fluids and contributes to the knowledge of oviductal and uterine secretome

Effect of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists on cardiovascular events in overweight or obese adults without diabetes: A meta‐analysis of placebo‐controlled randomized trials

International audienceOur aim was to study the effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) on the risk of any cardiovascular event in adults with overweight or obesity and without diabetes. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials. Nine trials were eligible and, in total, 11 430 patients were included, of which 7702 (67%) were submitted to treatment with GLP-1 RA. During follow-up, 673 participants receiving GLP-1 RA treatment (8.7%) and 416 participants receiving placebo (11.2%) had a cardiovascular event. Treatment with GLP-1 RA versus placebo resulted in a reduction in the risk of any cardiovascular event (RR = 0.81, CI 0.70-0.92; p = .001). In overweight or obese adults without diabetes, treatment with GLP-1 RA reduced the risk of cardiovascular events. Our findings support the use of GLP-1 RA for reducing the cardiovascular risk of these patients

Albiglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes and heart failure: a post‐hoc analysis from Harmony Outcomes

International audienceAim: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, some studies suggest that their effects in patients with heart failure (HF) may be attenuated. We aimed to explore the effects of the GLP1-RA albiglutide on HF outcomes in patients with and without HF history enrolled in the Harmony Outcomes trial.Methods and results: Harmony Outcomes enrolled patients with T2D and cardiovascular disease randomized to either albiglutide or placebo over a median follow-up of 1.6 years. A total of 9462 patients were included, of whom 1922 (20%) had HF history. Patients with HF had more cardiovascular comorbidities, poorer renal function, and had a three to four-fold higher risk of HF events compared to patients without HF. Compared to placebo, the effect of albiglutide on the composite of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization was more pronounced among patients without HF (hazard ratio [HR] 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56-0.95) than in patients with HF (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.79-1.43) (interaction p = 0.062). A similar pattern was observed for HF hospitalizations (interaction p = 0.025). The effect of albiglutide on cardiovascular death, sudden death or 'pump failure' death, and all-cause mortality was also attenuated among patients with HF history, but without significant interaction (p > 0.1). The benefit of albiglutide to reduce atherosclerotic events was consistent regardless of HF history.Conclusions: In patients with T2D and cardiovascular disease, albiglutide appeared to have no effect in reducing HF-related events among patients with HF history. These findings, placed in the context of other trials, suggest that GLP1-RA may not improve HF outcomes in patients with HF

Hierarchical scaffolds enhance osteogenic differentiation of human Wharton’s jelly derived stem cells

Hierarchical structures, constituted by polymeric nano and microfibers, have been considered promising scaffolds for tissue engineering strategies, mainly because they mimic, in some way, the complexity and nanoscale detail observed in real organs. The chondrogenic potential of these scaffolds was already demonstrated, but their osteogenic potential is not corroborated yet. In order to assess if a hierarchical structure, with nanoscale details incorporated, is an improved scaffold for bone tissue regeneration, we evaluate cell adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of human Whartonâ s jelly derived stem cells (hWJSCs), seeded into hierarchical fibrous scaffolds. Biological data corroborates that hierarchical fibrous scaffolds show an enhanced cell entrapment when compared to rapid prototyped scaffolds without nanofibers. Furthermore, upregulation of bone specific genes and calcium phosphate deposition confirms the successful osteogenic differentiation of hWJSCs on these scaffolds. These results support our hypothesis that a scaffold with hierarchical structure, in conjugation with hWJSCs, represents a possible feasible strategy for bone tissue engineering applications.The authors would like to acknowledge Hospital S. Marcos for kindly providing the biological samples. Also we would like to thank the Institute for Health and Life Sciences (ICVS), University of Minho, Braga, for allowing the use of their research facilities. Authors want to acknowledge Luis Martins for his valuable help with the histological procedures, Goreti Pinto for helping with the microscopy and Elsa Ribeiro with SEM. Finally we would like to acknowledge the European Integrated Project GENOSTEM (NMP3-CT-2004-500283). We also express our thanks to the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the MaxBone (PTDC/SAU-ENB/115179/2009) project, as well as for the post-doc fellowships attributed to A R Costa-Pinto (SFRH/BPD/90332/2012) and Albino Martins (SFRH/BPD/70669/2010)