A conceção dos bebés: As ideias existentes num grupo de alunos do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

A implementação da educação sexual continua a ser um processo difícil, no entanto, a sua promoção visa ser garantida desde a Lei n.º 120/99, regulamentada pelo Decreto-Lei nº 259/2000 de 17 de outubro, nomeadamente através do estabelecimento de um programa para a promoção da saúde e sexualidade humana desde o ensino básico. Segundo Frade, Marques, Alverca e Vilar (2006) a educação sexual pode ser encarada como a realização de atividades com carater informativo, versando temas relacionados com a saúde reprodutiva, ou seja, a anatomia, a fisiologia da reprodução humana e a contraceção. A educação sexual nas escolas tem assim como objetivo transmitir conhecimentos, educar para uma sexualidade potencialmente gratificante e responsável. No 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico (1.º CEB) as crianças começam a ter contacto com o tema da sexualidade no 3º ano de escolaridade. Desta forma, considerou-se pertinente aferir os conhecimentos que alunos do 4º ano apresentam sobre fecundação. Os dados para esta investigação foram obtidos através do recurso ao desenho. O desenho é, para alguns autores (Barbosa-Lima & Carvalho, 2008; Costa, Costa, Lima, & Leite, 2006; Pereira, s.d), um instrumento de recolha de dados que permite aceder às representações individuais de quem o realiza, permitindo ao professor ou investigador compreender o que os alunos sabem sobre um determinado tema. Por outro lado, as representações iconográficas são, para esta faixa etária, uma boa forma de expressar o que as crianças sabem, pensam ou compreendem. Os participantes deste estudo foram alunos com idades compreendidas entre os 9 e 10 anos de uma turma do 4º ano do 1.º CEB de uma escola do distrito de Santarém, no concelho de Coruche. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam que, para a maioria das crianças, a progenitora tem um papel relevante no processo reprodutivo visto que a figura feminina tem uma presença marcante na maioria dos desenhos. Foram poucos os alunos que souberam explicitar a ocorrência de fecundação através da representação da união dos gâmetas masculino e femino. Foram identificadas algumas conceções alternativas (CA) quanto à forma como se concebe um bebé. Alguns desenhos representam espermatozoides 3 distribuídos pelo corpo da mulher. Observa-se ainda uma ligação indevida do embrião ao umbigo da mãe pelo cordão umbilical. Simultaneamente, alguns registos personificam o gâmeta masculino atribuindo-lhe características físicas humanas como a existência de olhos e boca. No entanto, muitas crianças têm a perceção que o tempo de gestação do bebé é de 9 meses. Em suma, e em consonância com o estudo de Menino e Correia (2001), é possível referir que o sistema reprodutor é entendido como uma “máquina” que fabrica o novo ser. Após a análise dos desenhos, constata-se que grande parte dos intervenientes da referida investigação ainda não desenvolveu conceitos explícitos sobre a fecundação. De acordo com o estudo realizado, considera-se pertinente apostar em metodologias de ensino propícias a um conhecimento científico mais ajustado ao nível da educação sexual para o 1.º CEB

Local diagnostic reference levels in fluoroscopy guided procedures in urology, orthopedy and neurosurgery

The use of imaging in the operating room, namely through fluoroscopy guided procedures, it's commonly used in several surgical practices. Is known that fluoroscopy is a source of ionizing radiation and therefore there's a need to keep the exposure levels on recommended values, as this type of radiation induces biological damages to cell atoms and therefore, it can cause deterministic and/or stochastic effects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MERIS phytoplankton time series products from the SW Iberian Peninsula (Sagres) using seasonal-trend decomposition based on loess

The European Space Agency has acquired 10 years of data on the temporal and spatial distribution of phytoplankton biomass from the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) sensor for ocean color. The phytoplankton biomass was estimated with the MERIS product Algal Pigment Index 1 (API 1). Seasonal-Trend decomposition of time series based on Loess (STL) identified the temporal variability of the dynamical features in the MERIS products for water leaving reflectance ((w)()) and API 1. The advantages of STL is that it can identify seasonal components changing over time, it is responsive to nonlinear trends, and it is robust in the presence of outliers. One of the novelties in this study is the development and the implementation of an automatic procedure, stl.fit(), that searches the best data modeling by varying the values of the smoothing parameters, and by selecting the model with the lowest error measure. This procedure was applied to 10 years of monthly time series from Sagres in the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula at three Stations, 2, 10 and 18 km from the shore. Decomposing the MERIS products into seasonal, trend and irregular components with stl.fit(), the (w)() indicated dominance of the seasonal and irregular components while API 1 was mainly dominated by the seasonal component, with an increasing effect from inshore to offshore. A comparison of the seasonal components between the (w)() and the API 1 product, showed that the variations decrease along this time period due to the changes in phytoplankton functional types. Furthermore, inter-annual seasonal variation for API 1 showed the influence of upwelling events and in which month of the year these occur at each of the three Sagres stations. The stl.fit() is a good tool for any remote sensing study of time series, particularly those addressing inter-annual variations. This procedure will be made available in R software

Divulgação da informação contabilística na campanha eleitoral autárquica: estudo exploratório

O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar a divulgação da informação contabilística por parte dos políticos locaisna campanha eleitoral autárquica das últimas eleições (2013) e identificar os fatores que potencialmente explicam essa divulgação, tomando como referência o caso específico dos municípios de Trás os Montes e Alto Douro. Os resultados mostram que os políticos locais tendem a divulgar a informação contabilística para fins de campanha eleitoral autárquica. O valor dos investimentos realizados e das dívidas por pagar revelam ser os tipos de informação divulgados em maior número. Os resultados permitiram ainda concluir que a divulgação da informação contabilística na campanha eleitoral autárquica é influenciada pela dimensão do município, pelo tipo de governação (maioria ou minoria) do partido político do executivo e pelo montante das dívidas a pagar

A Buck-Boost Converter with Extended Duty-Cycle Range in the Buck Voltage Region for Renewable Energy Sources

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Buck-boost DC–DC converters are useful as DC grid interfaces for renewable energy resources. In the classical buck-boost converter, output voltages smaller than the input voltage (the buck region) are observed for duty cycles between 0 and 0.5. Several recent buck-boost converters have been designed to present higher voltage gains. Nevertheless, those topologies show a reduced duty-cycle range, leading to output voltages in the buck region, and thus require the use of very low duty cycles to achieve the lower range of buck output voltages. In this work, we propose a new buck-boost DC-DC converter that privileges the buck region through the extension of the duty-cycle range, enabling buck operation. In fact, the converter proposed here allows output voltages below the input voltage even with duty cycles higher than 0.6. We present the analysis, design, and testing of the extended buck-boost DC-DC converter. Several tests were conducted to illustrate the characteristics of the extended buck-boost DC-DC converter. Test results were obtained using both simulation software and a laboratory prototype.publishersversionpublishe

TiO2 nanostructured films for electrochromic paper based-devices

(H2020-NMP-2015, grant 685758-21D H2020 ERC AdG 787410)Electrochromic titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructured films were grown on gold coated papers using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method at low temperature (80 °C). Uniform nanostructured films fully covered the paper substrate, while maintaining its flexibility. Three acids, i.e., acetic, hydrochloric and nitric acids, were tested during syntheses, which determined the final structure of the produced films, and consequently their electrochromic behavior. The structural characteristics of nanostructured films were correlated with electrochemical response and reflectance modulation when immersed in 1 M LiClO4-PC (lithium perchlorate with propylene carbonate) electrolyte, nevertheless the material synthesized with nitric acid resulted in highly porous anatase films with enhanced electrochromic performance. The TiO2 films revealed a notable contrast behavior, reaching for the nitric-based film optical modulations of 57%, 9% and 22% between colored and bleached states, at 250, 550 and 850 nm, respectively in reflectance mode. High cycling stability was also obtained performing up to 1500 cycles without significant loss of the electrochromic behavior for the nitric acid material. The approach developed in this work proves the high stability and durability of such devices, together with the use of paper as substrate that aggregates the environmentally friendly, lightweight, flexibility and recyclability characters of the substrate to the microwave synthesis features, i.e., simplicity, celerity and enhanced efficiency/cost balance.publishersversionpublishe

INSEF-ExpoQuim: assessing the exposure of the Portuguese population to chemicals

Introduction: Exposure to hazardous chemicals may endanger human health and pollute the environment. To assess and minimize the risks associated with the use of chemicals it is essential to know whether and to what extent these substances are present in the human body. We report preliminary results of the recruitment phase in the study of Exposure of the Portuguese Population to Environmental Chemicals: a study nested in INSEF 2015 (INSEF-ExpoQuim). Methods: INSEF-ExpoQuim is an epidemiologic study nested in INSEF 2015 targeting 300 non-institutionalized individuals aged 28-39 years, living in Portugal for more than 12 months, able to follow an interview in Portuguese. Fieldwork started in June 2019 and is ongoing. Procedures are according to the guidelines of the HBM4EU project. Selected individuals receive an invitation letter and are later contacted by phone to schedule sample collection and the telephone interview. Urine samples for determination of heavy metals, bisphenols and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are collected, as well as data on socio-demographic characteristics, living conditions and residential history, habits/lifestyle, nutrition, health, occupation and substance specific information covering nearly all exposure pathways. Results: Up to date 384 of the 848 eligible individuals were successfully contacted (45,3%), of which 172 accepted to participate in INSEF-ExpoQuim corresponding to a participation rate of 20%. Conclusions: Results from INSEF-ExpoQuim will contribute to reduce the health impact that could result from the exposure of the population residing in Portugal to environmental chemicals, by producing high quality data on the actual exposure of the Portuguese population to hazardous chemicals, in order to support the development and implementation of policy measures aimed at minimizing exposure to those chemicals.HBM4EU has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 733032.N/

Reabilitação respiratória em pessoas com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crónica – Protocolo de estudo

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with an important and growing economic and social burden. The benefits of Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) include better control of dyspnoea and major improvements in exercise capacity and health-related quality of life. The general objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of implementing a Pulmonary Rehabilitation program in Outpatients with COPD and with Follow-up at Home.Methodology: A quasi-experimental single-group, descriptive and correlational study. Participants will be subject to PR sessions 3 times a week in a total of 36 sessions, in the Health Center of the area of residence and teleconsultation, in a previously defined scheme. Evaluations will be carried out at the beginning of the intervention, at the 18th and 36th sessions and 6 and 12 weeks after the 36th session. Throughout the PR sessions, physical exercise plans will be developed, education about exacerbating factors and control of risk factors, respiratory functional re-education techniques and inhalotherapy training. Participants will be provided with a customized plan to be implemented at their home, with teleconsultation monitoring after the end of the PR program (12th week).Expected results: The aim is to achieve clinical and statistically significant improvements in the ability to perform ADL, in the quality of life, in the management of symptoms and the therapeutic regimen, in the ability to walk and in the reduction of costs associated with exacerbations. It is also intended to verify whether there are significant differences between the two modalities of implementation of the program.Conclusion: Through the planned intervention, it is expected to reach the end of 2023 with data that allow to optimize the response to the needs of people with COPD in the district of Bragança and highlight the value of the specialized intervention in Rehabilitation Nursing in Primary Health Care.Introducción: La Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica (EPOC) es una de las principales causas de morbilidad y mortalidad a nivel mundial, con una importante carga económica y social. Los beneficios de la Rehabilitación Respiratoria (RR) incluyen un mejor control de la disnea y mejoras importantes en la capacidad de ejercicio y la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud. El objetivo general de este estudio es evaluar el impacto de la implementación de un programa de rehabilitación respiratoria en pacientes con EPOC en ambulatorio y seguimiento a domicilio. Metodología: Estudio cuasi-experimental de grupo único, de carácter descriptivo y correlacional. Los participantes serán objeto de sesiones de RR 3 veces por semana en un total de 36 sesiones, en el Centro de Salud del área de residencia y en teleconsulta, en esquema previamente definido. Se realizarán evaluaciones al comienzo de la intervención, a la 18ª y a la 36ª sesiones y 6 y 12 semanas después de la 36ª sesión. A lo largo de las sesiones de RR se desarrollarán planes de ejercicio físico, enseñanza sobre factores exacerbantes y control de los factores de riesgo, técnicas de reeducación funcional respiratoria y entrenamiento de inaloterapia. Se proporcionará a los participantes un plan personalizado para ser implementado en su domicilio, con monitoreo por teleconsulta después del término del programa de RR (12ª semana). Resultados esperados: Se pretende lograr mejoras clínicas y estadísticamente significativas en la capacidad para el desempeño de las AVD, en la calidad de vida, en la gestión de los síntomas y del régimen terapéutico, en la capacidad para la marcha y en la reducción de los costes asociados a las exacerbaciones. También se pretende comprobar si existen diferencias significativas entre las dos modalidades de aplicación del programa. Conclusión: A través de la intervención planeada, se prevé llegar al final de 2023 con datos que permitan optimizar la respuesta a las necesidades de las personas con EPOC en el distrito de Braganza y evidenciar la másvalía de la intervención especializada en Enfermería de Rehabilitación en los Cuidados de Salud Primarios.Introdução: A Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crónica é uma das principais causas de morbilidade e mortalidade em todo o mundo, com peso económico e social importante e crescente. Os benefícios da Reabilitação Respiratória (RR) incluem um melhor controlo de dispneia e melhorias importantes na capacidade de exercício e qualidade de vida relacionada com a saúde. O objetivo geral deste estudo é avaliar o impacto da implementação de um programa de Reabilitação Respiratória em pessoas com DPOC em Ambulatório e com Follow-up no Domicílio. Metodologia: Estudo quasi-experimental de grupo único, de caráter descritivo e correlacional. Os participantes serão alvo de sessões de RR 3 vezes por semana num total de 36 sessões, no Centro de Saúde da área de residência e em teleconsulta, em esquema previamente definido. Serão efetuadas avaliações no início da intervenção, à 18ª e à 36ª sessões e 6 e 12 semanas depois da 36ª sessão. Ao longo das sessões de RR serão desenvolvidos planos de exercício físico, ensino sobre fatores exacerbantes e controlo dos fatores de risco, técnicas de reeducação funcional respiratória e treino de inaloterapia. Será fornecido aos participantes um plano personalizado para ser implementado no seu domicílio, com monitorização por teleconsulta após o término do programa de RR (12ª semana). Resultados esperados: Pretende-se obter melhorias clínica e estatisticamente significativas na capacidade para o desempenho das AVD, na qualidade de vida, na gestão dos sintomas e do regime terapêutico, na capacidade para a marcha e na redução dos custos associados às exacerbações. Pretende-se, ainda, verificar se existem diferenças significativas entre as duas modalidades de implementação do programa. Conclusão: Através da intervenção planeada, prevê-se chegar ao final de 2023 com dados que permitam otimizar a resposta às necessidades das pessoas com DPOC no distrito de Bragança e evidenciar a mais-valia da intervenção especializada em Enfermagem de Reabilitação nos Cuidados de Saúde Primários

A protocol to evaluate retinal vascular response using optical coherence tomography angiography

Copyright © 2019 Sousa, Leal, Moreira, do Vale, Silva-Herdade, Aguiar, Dionísio, Abegão Pinto, Castanho and Marques-Neves. 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 termsIntroduction: Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) is a novel diagnostic tool with increasing applications in ophthalmology clinics that provides non-invasive high-resolution imaging of the retinal microvasculature. Our aim is to report in detail an experimental protocol for analyzing both vasodilatory and vasoconstriction retinal vascular responses with the available OCT-A technology. Methods: A commercial OCT-A device was used (AngioVue®, Optovue, CA, United States), and all examinations were performed by an experienced technician using the standard protocol for macular examination. Two standardized tests were applied: (i) the hypoxia challenge test (HCT) and (ii) the handgrip test, in order to induce a vasodilatory and vasoconstriction response, respectively. OCT-A was performed at baseline conditions and during the stress test. Macular parafoveal vessel density of the superficial and deep plexuses was assessed from the en face angiograms. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA v14.1 and p < 0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Results: Twenty-four eyes of 24 healthy subjects (10 male) were studied. Mean age was 31.8 ± 8.2 years (range, 18–57 years). Mean parafoveal vessel density in the superficial plexus increased from 54.7 ± 2.6 in baseline conditions to 56.0 ± 2.0 in hypoxia (p < 0.01). Mean parafoveal vessel density in the deep plexuses also increased, from 60.4 ± 2.2 at baseline to 61.5 ± 2.1 during hypoxia (p < 0.01). The OCT-A during the handgrip test revealed a decrease in vessel density in both superficial (55.5 ± 2.6 to 53.7 ± 2.9, p < 0.001) and deep (60.2 ± 1.8 to 56.7 ± 2.8, p < 0.001) parafoveal plexuses. Discussion: In this work, we detail a simple, non-invasive, safe, and non-costly protocol to assess a central nervous system vascular response (i.e., the retinal circulation) using OCT-A technology. A vasodilatory response and a vasoconstriction response were observed in two physiologic conditions—mild hypoxia and isometric exercise, respectively. This protocol constitutes a new way of studying retinal vascular changes that may be applied in health and disease of multiple medical fields.This study was supported by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, AstraZeneca Foundation – 14th Grant.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Retinal vascular reactivity in type 1 diabetes patients without retinopathy using optical coherence tomography angiography

Copyright © 2020 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.Purpose: We hypothesize that patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) may have abnormal retinal vascular responses before diabetic retinopathy (DR) is clinically evident. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was used to dynamically assess the retinal microvasculature of diabetic patients with no clinically visible retinopathy. Methods: Controlled nonrandomized interventional study. The studied population included 48 eyes of 24 T1D patients and 24 demographically similar healthy volunteers. A commercial OCTA device (AngioVue) was used, and two tests were applied: (1) the hypoxia challenge test (HCT) and (2) the handgrip test to induce a vasodilatory or vasoconstrictive response, respectively. The HCT is a standardized test that creates a mild hypoxic environment equivalent to a flight cabin. The handgrip test (i.e., isometric exercise) induces a sympathetic autonomic response. Changes in the parafoveal superficial and deep capillary plexuses in both tests were compared in each group. Systemic cardiovascular responses were also comparatively evaluated. Results: In the control cohort, the vessel density of the median parafoveal superficial and deep plexuses increased during hypoxia (F1,23 = 15.69, P < 0.001 and F1,23 = 16.26, P < 0.001, respectively). In the T1D group, this physiological response was not observed in either the superficial or the deep retinal plexuses. Isometric exercise elicited a significant decrease in vessel density in both superficial and deep plexuses in the control group (F1,23 = 27.37, P < 0.0001 and F1,23 = 27.90, P < 0.0001, respectively). In the T1D group, this response was noted only in the deep plexus (F1,23 = 11.04, P < 0.01). Conclusions: Our work suggests there is an early impairment of the physiological retinal vascular response in patients with T1D without clinical diabetic retinopathy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio