Probabilidade em uma oficina de matemática: uma análise à luz da aprendizagem situada e da teoria da atividade

Com este artigo objetiva-se revelar as possibilidades que o espaço das oficinas oferece para a aprendizagem de matemática e mostrar como é possível articular referenciais da aprendizagem situada e da teoria da atividade para se fazer reconhecer momentos de ocorrência de aprendizagem de matemática. Apresenta-se uma oficina sobre probabilidade que fez parte do projeto de educação integral da Rede Municipal de Belo Horizonte. O material empírico se constituiu das transcrições de interações dos alunos, de 4° e 5° anos, produzidas a partir dos registros da observação e de gravações em áudio e vídeo. Destaca-se, como resultado, que a articulação teórica empreendida mostrou grande potencial para a análise facilitando reconhecer e iluminar indícios de aprendizagem (eqüiprobabilidade, evento, evento impossível) em salas de aula

Climate Change and Global Warming: Are Individuals with Dementia - including Alzheimer's Disease - at A Higher Risk?

N/

Muscle Asymmetries in the Lower Limbs of Male Soccer Players: Preliminary Findings on the Association between Countermovement Jump and Tensiomyography

Strength and power asymmetries have been observed in different sports, including soccer. Such asymmetries, as well as the bilateral deficit (BLD), can be assessed during different tasks, static or dynamic, and with different methods and devices, in order to detect the possible different aspects, as well as the association with physical performance and injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between muscle asymmetries and BLD during a countermovement jump (CMJ), and tensiomyography (TMG) parameters and asymmetries, in the lower limbs of male soccer players. A total of 23 male soccer players (18 ± 4 years) were recruited. Bilateral and unilateral CMJs were performed, and peak power (W) and height (cm) were obtained. TMG was performed on different muscles of the lower limbs, and lateral and functional symmetries were obtained. Playing position and history of injuries were collected. CMJ inter-limb symmetry was found to significantly correlate with biceps femoris (r = 0.574, p = 0.004) and soleus (r = 0.437, p = 0.037) lateral symmetry. Players in central roles presented significantly worse functional symmetry scores of the knee than defense players (−17.5%, 95% CI −31.2–−3.9; p = 0.10). Participants reporting a history of injury at the ankle were characterized by significantly lower functional symmetry in both the dominant (43%, 39.5–48.0 vs. 74.5%, 46.5–89.3, p = 0.019) and non-dominant (45%, 42.5–46.0 vs. 81.0%, 45.8–90.3, p = 0.024) ankle. Findings from this preliminary study suggest an association between lower-limb muscle asymmetries during a dynamic task, such as jumping, and muscle contractile properties evaluated with TMG; moreover, functional asymmetries may be present after ankle injuries. Future studies in larger samples should evaluate the presence of such asymmetries as predictors or characteristics of different muscular and joint injuries

Neurophysiological and Clinical Outcomes in Episodic Migraine Without Aura: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess differences between people with episodic migraine and healthy controls in some neurophysiological and clinical outcomes, which, in turn, may highlight the differences in sensory processing, especially in cortical excitability, pain processing, and executive function. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed, including the following outcomes: pressure pain thresholds with algometry; resting motor threshold, short-interval intracortical inhibition, and intracortical facilitation with transcranial magnetic stimulation; and executive functions with the trail making test and the frontal assessment battery. Results: Thirty adults with migraine (36 ± 10 years) and 30 healthy controls (29 ± 14 years) were included in this study. Compared with the healthy controls, participants with migraine presented lower pressure pain thresholds values in all the assessed muscles (P < 0.001), lower resting motor threshold (-10.5% of the stimulator output, 95% CI: -16.8 to -4.2, P = 0.001, Cohen d = 0.869) and higher short-interval intracortical inhibition motor-evoked potential's amplitude at 3 ms (0.25, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.46, P = 0.015, Cohen d = 0.662), and worse performances both in trail making test (7.1, 95% CI: 0.9 to 13.4, P = 0.027, Cohen d = 0.594) and frontal assessment battery (-1.1, 95% CI: -1.7 to -0.5, P = 0.001, Cohen d = 0.915). Conclusions: Participants with migraine presented significant differences in cortical excitability, executive functions, and pressure pain thresholds, compared with healthy controls

Criação de uma nova disciplina como intervenção: alternativa metodológica na aula de Matemática

Este artigo, recorte de uma pesquisa de doutorado finalizada, tem como objetivo analisar as contribuições de uma intervenção realizada para facilitar a identificação de articulações entre disciplinas, em uma escola de tempo integral. Nele, discorremos sobre desafios enfrentados no desenvolvimento dessa investigação e sobre as alternativas metodológicas de que lançamos mão para enfrentá-los. O artigo utiliza referenciais da Teoria da Atividade e, mais especificamente, se aporta nas apropriações do grupo liderado pelo pesquisador Yrjö Engeström. Baseia-se em resultados de pesquisa realizada em uma turma de 7° ano do ensino fundamental, em Belo Horizonte, focalizando as disciplinas de Matemática e dos Grupos de Trabalho Diferenciado (GTD). Os procedimentos metodológicos empregados foram a observação em sala de aula, entrevistas (com estudantes, professores e monitora) e criação de uma nova disciplina como forma de intervenção. Os resultados indicam que a intervenção contribuiu para a caracterização de reverberações de um GTD nas aulas de multiplicação e divisão de frações, evidenciando assim a possibilidade de se criar articulações entre diferentes disciplinas, em escolas de tempo integral. Eles mostram também que os desdobramentos dessas reverberações nas ações de dois estudantes favoreceram o trabalho desenvolvido nas aulas de Matemática, colaborando para o início de processos expansivos de aprendizagem. Todavia sugerem que as reverberações, em situações específicas, podem se desdobrar em prejuízos para o andamento das aulas, levando os estudantes a perderem o foco da atividade nelas caracterizada

Inertial Sensors and Pressure Pain Threshold to Evaluate People with Primary Adhesive Capsulitis: Comparison with Healthy Controls and Effects of a Physiotherapy Protocol

Inertial sensors (IMUs) have been recently widely used in exercise and rehabilitation science as they can provide reliable quantitative measures of range of motion (RoM). Moreover, the pressure pain threshold (PPT) evaluation provides an objective measure of pain sensation in different body areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of physiotherapy treatment in people with adhesive capsulitis in terms of RoM and pain improvement measured by IMUs and the PPT. A combined prospective cohort/cross-sectional study was conducted. Nineteen individuals with adhesive capsulitis (10/19 females, 54 ± 8 years) and nineteen healthy controls (10/19 females, 51 ± 6 years) were evaluated for active glenohumeral joint RoM and PPT on shoulder body areas. Then, individuals with adhesive capsulitis were invited to 20 sessions of a physiotherapy protocol, and the assessments were repeated within 1 week from the last session. The range of motion in the flexion (p = 0.001) and abduction (p < 0.001) of the shoulder increased significantly after the physiotherapy protocol. Similarly, the PPT was found to increase significantly in all the assessed shoulder body areas, leading to no significant differences compared to the healthy controls. IMU and PPT assessments could be used to evaluate the efficacy of physical therapy in people with adhesive capsulitis

Efficacy of manual therapy and pelvic floor exercises for pain reduction in primary dysmenorrhea: A prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: Primary dysmenorrhea represents one of the most common causes of pelvic and low back pain. Pharmacological treatment can present some side effects, and non-pharmacological treatments should be considered to improve the symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of manual therapy (MT), pelvic floor exercises (PFE), and their combination (MT + PFE) to improve clinical outcomes and pain sensitivity in women with primary dysmenorrhea. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted. Thirty females (age 25.0 ± 6.1 y) with history of primary dysmenorrhea participated to 8 sessions of 60 min of either MT, PFE or MT + PFE, twice per week. They participated to the different treatments according to the different services offered by the school of physiotherapy. A 0–10 numeric rating scale (NRS) was administered to assess subjective pain, while short-form 36 (SF-36) was used to evaluate quality of life. The pressure pain threshold (PPT) was assessed with a portable algometer on different pelvic and lumbar areas. RESULTS: Independently from the treatment, significant improvements were reported for general pain NRS (p < 0.001; pη2 = 0.511), as well as most the domains of the SF-36, although the general health domain did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.613; pη2 = 0.010). PPT revealed a general improvement in all tested body areas, although on the quadratus lumborum, the PFE treatment did not induce a significant improvement compared to the MT and MT + PFE protocols (p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of proposing physiotherapy treatments to females with primary dysmenorrhea to improve symptoms, with manual therapy combined with active pelvic floor exercise providing the best outcomes including an improvement of lumbar pain thresholds

Inertial sensors-based assessment to detect hallmarks of chronic ankle instability during single-leg standing: Is the healthy limb “healthy”?

Background Chronic ankle instability can be common in sportsmen and can increase the risk of damaging the articular surfaces and result in negative consequences to joint health. Balance assessment is often used to evaluate ankle instability characteristics and guide rehabilitation protocols. This study aims to investigate balance-related parameters in people with chronic ankle instability and healthy-matched controls, using inertial sensors. Methods Ten young adults with a history of multiple ankle sprains (30 y, 25–34, 5 females) and ten matched healthy controls (30 y, 23–39, 5 females) were invited to participate in the study. Inertial sensors were placed on the head of the astragalus and on the chest to collect kinematic parameters during a 20-s single-leg stance performed on the leg with ankle instability (and corresponding for the healthy controls) and on the contralateral leg, randomly. Outcomes were calculated with MATLAB and subsequently analyzed. Findings A significant group effect was found only for the inversion angle (F1,15 = 12.514, p = 0.003, pη2 = 0.455), consisting of individuals with ankle instability being characterized by higher inversion angles (4.999 degrees, 95% CI: 1.987–8.011, p = 0.003) without significant side differences. No significant side x group effects were found for the assessed parameters. Interpretation Results from this study suggest that young adults with chronic ankle instability might be characterized by worse single-stance control in terms of inversion angle, and such worse performance could also be found in the contralateral leg. As such, inertial sensors could be used to assess kinematic parameters during balance tasks in people with chronic ankle instability

Shoulder tensiomyography and isometric strength in swimmers before and after a fatiguing protocol

Context. Shoulder muscles are active during front crawl swimming to provide propulsion and stabilize the glenohumeral and scapulothoracic joints. It has been proposed that fatigue might contribute to altered activation of these muscles and represent a risk factor for injuries. Tensiomyography (TMG) might represent a non-invasive tool to detect exercise-induced neuromuscular fatigue changes in contractile parameters of the skeletal muscles, and it has never been used in the shoulder muscles in swimmers. Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a fatiguing swimming protocol on shoulder muscles TMG parameters and isometric strength in competitive swimmers. Design. A cross-sectional study. Setting. A swimming pool facility. Patients or Other Participants. Sixteen young front crawl competitive swimmers were invited to participate in the study, and 14 of them (21 y, range 17-26, 11 males 3 females) completed all the assessments before and after a 30-min high-intensity swimming training. Main Outcome Measure(s). The main outcome included the TMG assessment which was performed on seven muscles of the shoulder according to front crawl biomechanics and applicability of the technique, in order to obtain data such as time to contraction and muscle belly radial displacement (Dm), whereas isometric strength was assessed with a digital dynamometer during shoulder flexion, extension, external rotation and internal rotation. Results. Fatigue induced a smaller Dm (-0.5 mm, 95% CI: -0.7 - -0.3, p< 0.001, pη2= 0.692), mostly observable in latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major muscles. Only shoulder extension showed a significant isometric strength reduction after the fatiguing protocol (-0.03 N/kg, 95% CI: -0.05 - -0.01, p= 0.045, pη2= 0.275). Conclusions. This study provides preliminary evidence for the usefulness of TMG to detect fatigue-induced changes in contractile properties of the shoulder muscles in swimmers, in particular the latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major and lower trapezius

CRIAÇÃO DE UMA NOVA DISCIPLINA COMO INTERVENÇÃO: ALTERNATIVA METODOLÓGICA NA AULA DE MATEMÁTICA

This article, on some selected results from a finalized doctoral research, aims to analyze the contributions of an intervention made to facilitate the identification of articulations between different school disciplines in a full time school. In this, we discuss some challenges encountered during development of the mentioned research and the methodological alternatives used to face them. The discussion is supported by references from Activity Theory, more specifically, it is backed up by the appropriations of this theory made by the group led by the researcher Yrjö Engeström. It is based on the results of a research carried out in a federal full time public school, in a 7th grade class of an elementary school, in Belo Horizonte, focusing on the work developed in the disciplines Mathematics and Differentiated Work Groups (GTD). The methodological procedures employed were: observation in the classroom, interviews (with students, teachers and monitor) and creation of a new discipline as a form of intervention. The results show that the intervention contributed to the characterization of reverberations from a GTD on multiplication and division of fractions in the Mathematics classes, thus showing the possibility of creating articulations between different disciplines, in full time schools. They also show that the consequences of these reverberations, in the actions of two students, favored the work developed in mathematics classes, contributing to the beginning of expansive learning processes. However, they suggest as well that, in certain situations, the reverberations can result as losses for the course of the classes, leading students to lose the focus on the activity they were supposed to be tuned into.Este artigo, recorte de uma pesquisa de doutorado finalizada, tem como objetivo analisar as contribuições de uma intervenção realizada para facilitar a identificação de articulações entre disciplinas, em uma escola de tempo integral. Nele, discorremos sobre desafios enfrentados no desenvolvimento dessa investigação e sobre as alternativas metodológicas de que lançamos mão para enfrentá-los. O artigo utiliza referenciais da Teoria da Atividade e, mais especificamente, se aporta nas apropriações do grupo liderado pelo pesquisador Yrjö Engeström. Baseia-se em resultados de pesquisa realizada em uma turma de 7° ano do ensino fundamental, em Belo Horizonte, focalizando as disciplinas de Matemática e dos Grupos de Trabalho Diferenciado (GTD). Os procedimentos metodológicos empregados foram a observação em sala de aula, entrevistas (com estudantes, professores e monitora) e criação de uma nova disciplina como forma de intervenção. Os resultados indicam que a intervenção contribuiu para a caracterização de reverberações de um GTD nas aulas de multiplicação e divisão de frações, evidenciando assim a possibilidade de se criar articulações entre diferentes disciplinas, em escolas de tempo integral. Eles mostram também que os desdobramentos dessas reverberações nas ações de dois estudantes favoreceram o trabalho desenvolvido nas aulas de Matemática, colaborando para o início de processos expansivos de aprendizagem. Todavia sugerem que as reverberações, em situações específicas, podem se desdobrar em prejuízos para o andamento das aulas, levando os estudantes a perderem o foco da atividade nelas caracterizada