A aplicabilidade de estratégias e procedimentos do método de Jaques-Dalcroze no ensino do clarinete : um estudo de caso

A investigação subordinada ao tema “A aplicabilidade de estratégias e procedimentos do método de Jaques-Dalcroze no ensino do clarinete: um estudo de caso” pretende ser um contributo para o enriquecimento de estratégias de ensino do instrumento clarinete, em contexto de sala da aula, através da aplicação do método de Émile Jacques - Dalcroze (1865-1950). Dalcroze foi um dos impulsionadores de métodos ativos, a rítmica, um sistema de educação musical que integra ritmo e movimento corporal. Este estudo, conduzido segundo uma investigação naturalista de índoles quantitativa e qualitativa, tem como finalidade verificar se o método de Dalcroze, quando aplicado na música - ensino do instrumento do clarinete - contribui para melhorar a interpretação musical, em termos de ritmo, pulsação, tempo, dinâmicas e fraseado. O estudo de caso foi desenvolvido com um grupo de seis alunos de clarinete que frequentam, no ano letivo 2015/2016, o sexto ano de escolaridade, e o 2ºgrau, do curso Básico de Música, 2º ciclo, na disciplina de clarinete, em regime articulado, na Escola de Música de Esposende (EME). As técnicas utilizadas para a recolha de dados foram a observação direta e participante, notas de campo registadas em diário de bordo, videogravação das aulas, inquérito por questionário e técnica documental. A interpretação dos dados e a sua discussão foram feitas através do tratamento e análise de todos estes registos. Os resultados obtidos nesta investigação permitiram concluir que o método de Dalcroze quando aplicado como estratégia de ensino do instrumento clarinete contribuiu para melhorar os processos de aprendizagem e compreensão dos elementos constitutivos da linguagem musical.The present research entitled " The applicability of Jaques-Dalcroze´s method, strategies and procedures to clarinet teaching: a case study” is intended to contribute for the improvement of teaching strategies applied to instrumental music teaching, specifically with the clarinet, through application of the methodology developed by the pedagogue. Emile Jacques-Dalcroze (1865-1950) was one of the main creators of active methods – the rhythmic – a music education system that combines rhythm and body movement. The case study presented, a quantitative and qualitative naturalistic investigation, aims to experiment if Dalcroze method, applied to clarinet teaching, contributes to improve musical performance, specifically rhythm, pulse, time, dynamics and phrasing. The case study was developed with a group of six clarinet students from the 2nd grade (11 years old) from Escola de Música de Esposende during the schoolyear of 2015/2016. The techniques used for data collection were direct and participant observation, field notes recorded in the diary, audiovisual recordings, questionnaire surveys and documental techniques. Data interpretation and discussion were made through the processing and analysis of all records collected. The results of this research showed that Dalcroze’ s method, when applied as a strategic teaching tool applied to clarinet, help students to improve learning and understanding processes of musical language elements

Developing healthy eating promotion mass media campaigns: a qualitative study

Copyright © 2022 Capitão, Martins, Feteira-Santos, Virgolino, Graça, Gregório and Santos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Background: Involving consumers in the development and assessment of mass media campaigns has been advocated, though research is still lacking. This study aimed to explore opinions and attitudes of citizens, health professionals, communication professionals, and digital influencers regarding the development and implementation of healthy eating promotion mass media campaigns. Methods: We conducted five semi-structured focus groups, where participants were exposed to the first nationwide mass media campaign promoting healthy eating in Portugal. Through criteria-based purposive sampling, 19 citizens, five health professionals, two communication professionals, and four digital influencers were included. Transcripts were analyzed using Charmaz's line-to-line open coding process. Results: Main identified themes were: considerations about informative-centered campaigns, health/nutritional issues to address, campaign formulation, target audiences, dissemination channels, and influencers' involvement. Participants favored campaigns focused on practical, transformative, and useful information with simple, innovative, activating, and exciting messages instead of strictly informative campaigns. Health and communication professionals mentioned the importance of adapting the message and dissemination channels to the target audience, addressing the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach individuals, and highlighted the importance of short video format. Conclusions: Active involvement of the health promotion target audience is crucial for the development and effectiveness of health campaigns. Campaigns need to convey health messages on simple though exciting communication materials, targeted to the most vulnerable subgroups, including deprived, less educated, younger, and older generations.This work was supported by the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health. The Directorate-General of Health had no role in the design, the analysis of this work, and the decision to publish. Researchers affiliated with the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health reviewed and made valuable contributions to the manuscript. The writing of the manuscript was also supported by funds from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia to ISAMB (ref. UIDB/04295/2020 and UIDP/04295/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dietary acrylamide and risk of specific subtypes of cancer: a dose response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Acrylamide is a probable carcinogen in humans. The main source of exposure to acrylamide in the general population is through diet. We performed a systematic literature review and dose-response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies evaluating the associations between dietary intake and specific subtypes of cancers. METHODS: A systematic literature search following PRISMA guidelines was conducted using Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science until October 2020. Eligible studies included adults,assessment of dietary acrylamide (μg/day), risk estimates for increasing exposure to acrylamide, and cancer incidence. Quality of papers was assessed using the NIH’s Quality Assessment Tools for Observational Cohort and Case-Control Studies. We employed random-effects models comparing the highest versus the lowest intake of acrylamide and using the one-stage approach for dose-response meta-analysis. RESULTS:Out of 835 studies screened 28 studies were eligible for this meta-analysis. A total of 1 109 365 (mean age 60 years, range 45-70 years) participants were included, of which 61957 developed cancer. The mean follow-up period was 15.1 years (range 7.3-33.9). Mean estimated dose of acrylamide intake across studies was 22.6 µg/day. Pooled HR showed that high intake of acrylamide (35 µg/day) vs low intake (10 µg/day) was associated with increased risk of hematological malignances (summary HR: 1.4 95%CI:1.03-1.23). Dose-response meta-analysis showed evidence of linear association. No clear associations were noted between high intake of acrylamide (vs low) and esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, lung, renal, bladder-urothelial, and prostate cancers. Similar results were observed in the smoking stratification analysis CONCLUSIONS:From this dose-response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies investigating the association between dietary intake of acrylamide and specific subtypes of cancer, high intake of acrylamide was noted to be associated with increased risk of hematological malignancies. Further studies based on human biomonitoring data are needed to clarify the relationship of dietary acrylamide and cancers in humans. KEYWORDS: acrylamide, dietary exposure, neoplasms, epidemiological studies, Systematic Revie

Exposure to heavy metals and red blood cell parameters in children: a systematic review of observational studies

© 2022 Capitão, Martins, Santos, Bicho, Szigeti, Katsonouri, Bocca, Ruggieri, Wasowicz, Tolonen and Virgolino. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Background: Mechanistic studies show that heavy metals interfere with the hematopoietic system by inhibiting key enzymes, which could lead to anemia. However, the link between children’s exposure and red blood cell (RBC) parameters has been inconsistent. We aimed to summarize evidence on human studies exploring the association between exposure to lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium VI and RBC parameters in children. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for studies published between January 2010 and April 2022. Eligible papers included human observational studies that directly assessed exposure (internal dose) to the heavy metals under study and RBC parameters in participants aged ≤18 years. We excluded studies using hospital-based samples. Study quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health’s Quality Assessment Tools for Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. We synthesized the evidence using vote counting based on the direction of the relationship. Results: Out of 6,652 retrieved papers, we included a total of 38 (33 assessing lead, four mercury, two cadmium, and two arsenic; chromium VI was not assessed in any included paper). More than half of the studies were conducted in Asia. We found evidence of a positive relationship between lead concentration and hemoglobin (proportion of studies reporting negative relationships = 0.750; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.583, 0.874) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (0.875; 95% CI 0.546, 0.986), and a positive relationship with red cell distribution width (0.000; 95%CI 0.000, 0.379). When considering only good-quality studies (24% of the Pb studies), only the relationship with hemoglobin levels remained (0.875; 95% CI: 0.546, 0.986). Conclusion: We found evidence of a negative relationship between lead concentration and hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin and of a positive relationship with red cell distribution width in children. We also identified a need to conduct more studies in European countries. Future studies should use standardized practices and make eorts to increase study quality, namely by conducting comprehensive longitudinal studies. Our findings support the need to take further actions to limit heavy metal exposure during childhood.This work was developed under the HBM4EU initiative, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 733032.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dietary acrylamide exposure and risk of site-specific cancer: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

Copyright © 2022 Filippini, Halldorsson, Capitão, Martins, Giannakou, Hogervorst, Vinceti, Åkesson, Leander, Katsonouri, Santos, Virgolino and Laguzzi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Diet is a main source of acrylamide exposure to humans. Existing observational data on the relationship between dietary exposure to acrylamide and risk of cancer are inconsistent. We performed a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies evaluating the association between dietary acrylamide exposure and several site-specific cancer. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases until March 7, 2022. Studies were eligible if they were carried out in non-occupationally exposed adults, assessed dietary acrylamide exposure (µg/day) and reported risk estimates of cancer incidence (all but gynecological cancers). Using a random-effects model, we performed a metaanalysis of site-specific cancer risk comparing the highest vs. lowest category of dietary acrylamide exposure. We also carried out a one-stage dose-response metaanalysis assessing the shape of the association. Out of 1,994 papers screened, 31 were eligible (total of 16 studies), which included 1,151,189 participants in total, out of whom 48,175 developed cancer during the median follow-up period of 14.9 years (range 7.3–33.9). The mean estimated dose of dietary acrylamide across studies was 23 µg/day. Pooled analysis showed no association between the highest vs. lowest dietary acrylamide exposure and each site-specific cancer investigated, with no evidence of thresholds in the dose-response meta-analysis. There were also no associations between dietary acrylamide exposure and the risk of cancers when stratifying by smoking status, except for increased risk of lung cancer in smokers. In conclusion, high dietary acrylamide exposure was not associated with an increased risk of site-specific non-gynecological cancer.This work was supported by the European Union Horizon-2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 733032 HBM4EU.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Developing healthy eating promotion mass media campaigns: A qualitative study

BackgroundInvolving consumers in the development and assessment of mass media campaigns has been advocated, though research is still lacking. This study aimed to explore opinions and attitudes of citizens, health professionals, communication professionals, and digital influencers regarding the development and implementation of healthy eating promotion mass media campaigns.MethodsWe conducted five semi-structured focus groups, where participants were exposed to the first nationwide mass media campaign promoting healthy eating in Portugal. Through criteria-based purposive sampling, 19 citizens, five health professionals, two communication professionals, and four digital influencers were included. Transcripts were analyzed using Charmaz's line-to-line open coding process.ResultsMain identified themes were: considerations about informative-centered campaigns, health/nutritional issues to address, campaign formulation, target audiences, dissemination channels, and influencers' involvement. Participants favored campaigns focused on practical, transformative, and useful information with simple, innovative, activating, and exciting messages instead of strictly informative campaigns. Health and communication professionals mentioned the importance of adapting the message and dissemination channels to the target audience, addressing the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach individuals, and highlighted the importance of short video format.ConclusionsActive involvement of the health promotion target audience is crucial for the development and effectiveness of health campaigns. Campaigns need to convey health messages on simple though exciting communication materials, targeted to the most vulnerable subgroups, including deprived, less educated, younger, and older generations

The relationship between tumor metabolic activity and body composition changes in patients with cancer

Abstract Background: To support tumor metabolism, gluconeogenesis is upregulated in normal cells to increase glucose supply. Gluconeogenesis uses non-carbohydrate substrates, such as glucogenic amino acids and glycerol, that can be secured through increased proteolysis and lipolysis. This increased catabolism may contribute to the loss of both muscle and adipose tissue, which are prevalent features of patients with cancer. Aim: To assess whether tumor metabolic activity at diagnosis is associated with body composition changes in patients with cancer during cancer treatment. Methods: Data from the ACRIN 6668 multi-center clinical trial were used. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were included and submitted to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scans were performed at diagnosis and after treatment. Tumor metabolic activity at baseline was calculated as the maximum and peak standardized uptake value of the lung (SUVmax and SUVpeak), total metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total glycolytic activity of all lesions (TGA). Using an automated deep learning algorithm, skeletal muscle, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) areas were assessed based on CT scans at the L3 vertebra level. Results: After excluding patients due to missing data, 136 patients were included in our analysis. Baseline MTV and TGA were associated with higher increases in SAT index per 100 days in univariable and multivariable analysis. SUVmax was associated with decreases in skeletal muscle radiation attenuation (SMRA) per 100 days (T2 vs. T1 adjusted B=-4.396, 95% confidence interval (CI): -8.282, -0.509), and SUVpeak was associated with decreases in SMRA and increases in VAT radiation attenuation per 100 days (T2 vs. T1 adjusted B=-4.181, 95% CI: -8.045, -0.317; and 2.429, 95% CI: 0.611, 4.247, respectively). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that tumor metabolic activity might be related to changes in body composition, although consistency was not found across analyses. Future research should address the limitations of the present work to assess if tumor metabolic activity at baseline can be confirmed as a predictor of body composition changes in patients with NSCLC during CRTResumo Enquadramento: Para sustentar o metabolismo do tumor, a gliconeogénese está aumentada em células normais para aumentar a oferta de glicose. A gliconeogénese utiliza substratos não-glucídicos, como aminoácidos glicogénicos e glicerol, que podem ser assegurados através do aumento da proteólise e da lipólise. Este aumento do catabolismo pode contribuir para a diminuição do tecido muscular e adiposo característica de doentes com cancro. Objetivo: Avaliar se a atividade metabólica tumoral está associada a alterações da composição corporal de doentes com cancro durante o tratamento oncológico. Métodos: Foram utilizados dados do ensaio clínico multicêntrico ACRIN 6668. Foram incluídos doentes com cancro do pulmão de não pequenas células (NSCLC) submetidos a quimioradioterapia concomitante (CRT). Foram realizadas tomografias por emissão de positrões (PET)/tomografia computadorizada (CT) antes e depois do tratamento. A atividade metabólica tumoral antes do tratamento foi calculada como Standardized Uptake Value máximo e pico (SUVmax e SUVpeak), volume metabólico tumoral total (MTV) e atividade glicolítica total de todas as lesões (TGA). Utilizando um algoritmo automatizado de Deep Learning para coloração, as áreas de músculo esquelético, tecido adiposo visceral (VAT) e tecido adiposo subcutâneo (SAT) foram medidas com base nas imagens de CT ao nível da vértebra L3. Resultados: Após exclusão de doentes por dados em falta, 136 doentes foram incluídos na análise. MTV e TGA antes do tratamento foram associados a maiores aumentos de índice de SAT por 100 dias, em análises univariáveis e multivariáveis. O SUVmax foi associado a diminuição da atenuação da radiação do músculo esquelético (SMRA) por 100 dias (T2 vs. T1 B ajustado=-4,396, intervalo de confiança (IC) de 95%: - 8,282, -0,509), e o SUVpeak foi associado a diminuições da SMRA e aumentos da atenuação da radiação do VAT por 100 dias (T2 vs. T1 B ajustado=-4,181, IC 95%: -8,045, -0,317; e 2,429, IC 95%: 0,611, 4,247, respetivamente). Conclusão: Os nossos resultados sugerem que a atividade metabólica tumoral pode estar relacionada com a alterações de composição corporal, ainda que com falta de consistência entre análises. Investigação futura deve considerar as limitações do presente trabalho para avaliar se a atividade metabólica tumoral no diagnóstico pode ser um preditor de alterações de composição corporal de doentes com NSCLC durante a CRT

Waste incineration and cancer mortality: a longitudinal controlled population-based study

<p>Poster presented in the 16th European Public Health Conference in Dublin, Ireland, between 9 and 11 of November, 2023</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Waste incinerator emissions have been associated with the possibility of increased risk for some cancers. Indeed, emissions are usually composed of heavy metals, dioxins, and furans, including carcinogens. Although emissions levels of incineration activity are considered safe, evidence about the impact of long-term human exposure to low dosages is lacking. We performed a longitudinal population-based study to compare cancer mortality rates between a geographical area exposed to pollutant emissions due to waste incineration and combined local industry activity, a non-exposed control area, and a reference (larger) area.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Exposed area was defined according to pollutants dispersion models, considering predominant wind intensity and direction. The control area was defined as near-to-the-exposed parishes unaffected by the pollutants emitted at the location where the incinerator is situated. Another larger area ("Large Lisbon") was also considered as the reference area. Data about cancer mortality was provided by the Portuguese National Statistics Institute. Relative risks (RR) compared standardized (age and sex) specific mortality rates due to malignant neoplasms (ICD-9 and ICD-10) between the exposed area and (a) control are and (b) reference area.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the first five years of the waste incinerator activity (2000-2004), the RR for each cancer-related mortality was not statistically significant (considering either control or reference areas). Considering the average mortality rates between 2015 and 2019 for exposed versus control area, we found increased RR for hepatic and biliary tract (RR = 1.50; 95%CI:1.15-1.85), pancreatic (RR = 1.37; 95%CI:1.06-1.67), and respiratory tract cancer (RR = 1.24; 95%CI:1.07-1.41). No significant RR was found when comparing the exposed with the reference area.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Strengthening public health surveillance systems is pivotal to assess air pollution's impact on health.</p><p><strong>Key messages</strong></p><ul><li>Exposure to emissions from an industrial region including a waste incinerator plant was found to have increased risk for hepatic and biliary tract, pancreatic, and respiratory tract cancer mortality.</li><li>Surveillance systems are needed to continuously monitor how long-term exposure to low concentrations of carcinogenic substances from waste incinerator emissions impacts on population's health.</li></ul&gt

At-home thermal discomfort is associated with non-communicable chronic diseases

<p>Poster displayed in the 16th European Public Health Conference in Dublin, Ireland, between 9 and 11 of November, 2023.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Air temperature is a relevant environmental determinant of hospitalization and mortality. Less known is the prevalence of at-home thermal discomfort and its associations with health indicators. This work aimed to characterize the association between thermal discomfort and self-reported non-communicable chronic diseases in adults living in the municipality of Lisbon.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Observational cross-sectional study with data collected through individual telephone interviews, with a non-probabilistic stratified (by gender, age, education, and area of residence) sample. Logistic regression models were used to estimate effect sizes, controlling for age, gender, educational level, and morbidity indicators.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, 855 adults (25+ years old) living in the municipality of Lisbon participated in the study. Only respondents who reported to be 10+ hours per day at home were included in the analysis. The sample was balanced for genders (55,2% female), with an average age of 53,4 years (SD = 17,0; maximum age=93 years old), and 40,2% (n = 356) not having a higher-level education. About three-quarters (74,2%; n = 552) reported feeling thermal discomfort at home and 56,9% (n = 414) reported having at least one non-communicable disease diagnosed. When considering the sample's most prevalent self-reported chronic diseases, a significant association with thermal discomfort was found for asthma and hypercholesterolemia (chi-square=4,08; p=.004; and chi-square=4,87; p=.027, respectively). After adjusting for sex, age, educational level, area of residence, and other self-reported morbidities, asthma was found as a significant predictor of thermal discomfort (OR = 3,03; 95% CI: 1,03-8,90).</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> These preliminary results suggest that some chronic diseases may have an unequal impact on thermal regulation and comfort. This is an important message also for those responsible for the development of policies against energy poverty.</p><p><strong>Key messages:</strong></p><ul><li>At-home thermal discomfort is a relevant indicator to consider when monitoring chronic diseases and urban health.</li><li>Suffering from chronic diseases may have a relevant impact on thermal discomfort and this should be taken into account when defining policies against energy-poverty.</li></ul&gt