Motor intervention and assessment instruments in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract The practice of physical activity in people with disabilities provides important health benefits (Wind, Schwend, & Larson, 2004; Chanias, Reid, & Hoover, 1998), particularly in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several motor interventions have been suggested as beneficial for this population. Considering this variety, it is important to synthesize the different existing programs, the population in which they are applied. This research aims to review the motor interventions used in children with ASD, as well as the evaluation methods used, so that it becomes clear what the options are for motor work with this population. All the studies presented showed improvements in participants. A literature search was conducted in Web of Science, SCOPUS and Google Scholar 2013, to include research studies that evaluate motor intervention in children with ASD. Fifteen studies meet inclusion criteria. Results show that motor intervention programs that have been carried out are quite diverse, from dance, trampoline training, balance training or fundamental motor skills, for example, to evaluate motor skills which used different test batteries, one of the most common is the motor proficiency test of Bruininks-Oseretsky. On the other hand, other methods were used to evaluate the social interaction like Gilliam Autism Rating Scale or Autism Rating Scale. We conclude that to improve the motor fitness of children with ASD different strategies can be followed. As the revised programs use different evaluation tools, it is difficult to compare the results obtained with each other. A motor intervention that comprises different types of exercises and materials, using ludic exercises may be a potentially more effective strategy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fitoestrogénios alimentares : saúde e prevenção da doença

Contém um relatório de estágio realizado no Serviço de Medicina Interna do Hospital de S. Bernardo, Viseu, e na Eurest, no âmbito da licenciatura em Ciências da Nutrição pela Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto. O exemplar do relatório de estágio existe apenas em formato papel e está disponível para consulta na Biblioteca da FCNAUPTese de licenciatura em Ciências da Nutrição apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do PortoResumo da tese: Os legumes são tradicionalmente consumidos pelas populações dos países Asiáticos. Nos países Ocidentais, os legumes são consumidos com menos frequência. Os legumes são excelentes fontes de macro e micronutrientes, e de não-nutrimentos bioactivos, chamados fitoquímicos, presentes naturalmente em algumas èspecies do Reino Vegetal. Os fitoestrogénios são um grupo de fitoquímicos com uma estrutura semelhante à dos estrogénios humanos. Os fitoestrogénios subdividem-se em 3 classes de maior interesse nutricional e biologico, a saber: isoflavonas, linhanos e cumestanos. Dada a semelhança na estrutura química entre os fitoestrogénios e os estrogénios, não é surpreendente que os fitoestrogénios tenham a capacidade de se ligarem aos receptores estrogénicos, exercendo assim, acções agonistas ou antagonistas, com consequentes acções biológicas no organismo humano. A menor incidência de doenças, como neoplasias hormono-dependentes, doença cardiovascular (DCV), osteoporose, sintomas menopáusicos em países Asiáticos, foi associada à alimentação tradicional consumida pelas populações destes países, ou seja, rica em frutos, legumes, leguminosas (soja) e cereais, uma alimentação rica em fitoestrogénios. Com o intuito de descobrir os medicanismos de acção dos fitoestrogénios, efeitos fisiológicos e suas implicações na saúde e na doença, têm sido efectuados inúmeros estudos neste campo. Estes estudos têm demonstrado um efeito fisiológico benéfico no organismo humano

Motor Proficiency of Children with Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently present difficulties in communication, social interaction, and motor abilities. Physical activity presents several major benefits for children with and can be considered a non-pharmacological therapy to improve both motor and social skills. This chapter aims to compare motor proficiency of children with ASD and neurotypical children. Twenty Portuguese children participated in this study, half diagnosed with ASD (6.9 ± 1.97 years) and half typically developed (7 ± 1.83 years). Children’s age ranged from 4 to 10 years (6.95 ± 1.85 years), with a prevalence of males (60%). Motor proficiency was evaluated using the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency (BOT-2). Children with ASD scored significantly lower on different items of motor proficiency (fine manual precision, manual dexterity, coordination of the upper limbs, balance, and motor proficiency profile). We conclude that, due to the deficits found, supervised physical exercise preferentially in small groups combining children with and without ASD is highly recommended

Análise do comportamento do consumidor de queijos certificados Alentejanos

O presente trabalho pretende, antes de mais, avaliar o conhecimento e valorização dos compradores e consumidores de queijos certificados da Região do Alentejo. Por outro lado, procura-se averiguar as diferenças ao nível da compra e consumo de queijos certificados alentejanos quanto a diversas variáveis sóciodemográficas. O terceiro objectivo passa por determinar os principais factores de influência na decisão de compra e consumo de queijos certificados do Alentejo. Para tal, recorreu-se a informação secundária e informação primária, esta última recolhida através de questionários com administração directa e pessoal. A metodologia utilizada inclui métodos de estatística univariada, bivariada e multivariada. No âmbito da análise multivariada, foram aplicadas a Análise em Componentes Principais (ACP), a Análise de Clusters (AC) e a Análise Discriminante (AD). Perante os resultados obtidos, apresenta-se algumas sugestões face aos produtos em análise. - El actual trabajo se propone, antes más, evaluar el conocimiento y la valuación de los compradores y de los consumidores de los quesos certificados de la Región del Alentejo. Por otra parte, se mira para investigar las diferencias al nivel de la compra y de la consumición de quesos certificados de Alentejo cuánto las variables socio-demográficas diversas. El tercer objetivo pasa para determinar los factores principales de la influencia en la decisión de la compra y la consumición de los quesos certificados del Alentejo. Para tal, uno abrogó la información secundaria y la información primaria, esta última recogió a través de los cuestionarios con administración directa y personal. La metodología usada incluye métodos de estadística uní variada, bivariada y multivariada. En el alcance del análisis multivariada, había sido aplicado el Análisis en los Componentes Principales (ACP), el Análisis de Clusters (AC) e el Análisis Discriminante (AD). Ante los resultados conseguidos, uno presenta algunas sugerencias a los productos en análisis

Supervised Exercise Patterns among Diabetic and Non-diabetic Portuguese Adults

Background. Physical activity (PA) is a keystone of diabetes management, but although self-exercise is beneficial, supervised exercise (SE), adapted to individual characteristics, and is more effective. Objectives. The main research goal is to compare SE patterns among diabetic and non-diabetic Portuguese adults. Methods. A total of 484 participants (85 diabetics, 399 non-diabetics), aged 41-90 years old (mean=58.9; SD=11.9) were interviewed. PA level was assessed using short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Attendance in different SE programs was evaluated across three kinds of PA programs providers: gym/health-clubs; swimming pools and other club/ sports facilities. Itens like Barriers to Exercise; Intention to participate; Importance of the structure and PA information sources were also evaluated. Independent t-tests were used to examine the difference between the group means, and Levene’s test was used to check the homokedasticity of the groups’ variances. Results. PA level of diabetics (32% low; 25% moderate; 44% high) and non-diabetics (29% low; 33% moderate; 39% high) display no differences. 90% of diabetics do not attend SE. The main barrier for diabetics’ non-participation is the perception that the exercise is not adequate to their health. Doctors are the preferred information source for diabetics and they rely less on information provided by the Internet, with may impair on-line campaigns. Conclusion. Promoting exercise in diabetics should shift the focus from "promoting physical activity" to "promoting SE".info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Segmentation of Portuguese customers’ expectations from fitness programs

Expectations towards fitness exercises are the major factor in customer satisfaction in the service sector in question. The purpose of this study is to present a segmentation framework for fitness customers, based on their individual expectations. The survey was designed and validated to evaluate individual expectations towards exercises. The study included a randomly recruited sample of 723 subjects (53% males; 47% females; 42.1±19.7 years). Factor analysis and cluster analysis with Ward’s cluster method with squared Euclidean distance were used to analyse the data obtained. Four components were extracted (performance, enjoyment, beauty and health) explaining 68.7% of the total variance and three distinct segments were found: Exercise Lovers (n=312), Disinterested (n=161) and Beauty Seekers (n=250). All the factors identified have a significant contribution to differentiate the clusters, the first and third clusters being most similar. The segmentation framework obtained based on customer expectations allows better understanding of customers’ profiles, thus helping the fitness industry develop services more suitable for each type of customers. A follow-up study was conducted 5 years later and the results concur with the initial study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Physical activity and supervised exercise among hypertensives and normotensives: status and barriers

Purpose Physical activity (PA) is considered central to hypertension prevention and management. The main purpose of this article is to compare supervised exercise (SE) patterns among hypertensive and normotensive Portuguese adults. Methods A total of 966 participants aged between 15 and 90 years old (mean 41.9; SD 19.5) were surveyed face-to-face in public places across Portugal. Participants were considered hypertensives (n=144) if they have systolic and diastolic blood pressure higher than 160 and 90 mmHg or report taking antihypertensive medication. PA was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test for associations and t test for independent samples were used to analyze data. Results Hypertensive individuals show a higher prevalence of sedentary lifestyle than normotensive (31% vs 20%). About 40% of hypertensive patients have a high level of physical activity. Several signifcant diferences were found between hypertensives and normotensives regarding the causes for non-participation, information sources and motivation to participate. For infrastructures, only the quality of the equipment (p=0.032), innovative activities (p=0.027), and the opportunity to socialize (p=0.000) are capable of diferentiating the two groups. Conclusions This study shows the prevalence of sedentary behavior among the hypertensive population. Hypertensives and normotensive behavior reveal diferent patterns on the barriers, sources of information, and perception regarding the structures. Service providers seem incapable to make hypertensives aware of the risks associated with PA and the benefts associated with SE. More information is needed to make hypertensives aware of the benefts of SE programs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análisis de la demanda de información sobre actividad física en los medios sociales online

Os media sociais online apresentam oportunidades para a promoção de um estilo de vida saudável, por poderem proporcionar um suporte social que incentive a adoção de comportamentos mais ativos. Para isso, é necessário que os indivíduos procurem informações sobre atividade física nesses canais. O objetivo desta investigação é avaliar a extensão do uso dos media sociais online como fontes de informação sobre exercício físico. Foram inquiridos 1034 portugueses (49,6% homens, 50,4% mulheres), 423 ± 20.6 anos. Os resultados mostram que apenas 9.9% dos inquiridos procuram informações sobre atividade física nos media sociais online e que 65.6% dos usuários da Internet não procuram nenhuma informação relacionada com o exercício. As potencialidades dos media sociais para a promoção da atividade física não estão a ser aproveitadas, pois poucos indivíduos reportam esses canais como fontes de informação sobre o exercício ou sobre a locais/equipamentos relacionados com a prática de atividade física.Online social media offers opportunities for promoting a healthy lifestyle by providing social support that encourages the adoption of more active behaviours. To accomplish this, individuals need to look for information about physical activity in these channels. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent of using social media online as information sources about physical activity. We interviewed 1034 Portuguese (49.6% male, 50.4% female), 42.3 ± 20.6 years. The results show that only 9.9% of respondents seek information about exercise in online social media and that 65.6% of Internet users do not seek information related to exercise. The potential of social media for the promotion of physical activity is not being used, since few individuals’ report these channels as physical activity information sources and few seek for information about t places / equipment related to the practice of physical activity in online social media.El objetivo es evaluar la extensión del uso de los medios sociales online como fuentes de información sobre actividad física. Se entrevistó a 1034 portugueses (49.6% hombres, 50.4% mujeres), 42.3 ± 20.6 años. Los resultados muestran que sólo 9.9% de los encuestados buscan información sobre actividad física en los medios sociales online y que 65,6% de los usuarios de Internet no buscan ninguna información relacionada com ejercicio. Las potencialidades de los medios sociales para la promoción de la actividad física no están siendo aprovechadas, pues pocos individuos reportan esos canales como fuentes de información sobre el ejercicio o sobre locales / equipos relacionados con la práctica de actividad física.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nível de atividade física e hábitos de vida saudável de universitários portugueses

Este estudo visa avaliar o nível de atividade física e hábitos de vida saudável de alunos de duas universidades portuguesas. Utilizou-se o Questionário Internacional da Atividade Física para avaliar o nível de atividade física dos estudantes, juntamente com questões de avaliação dos hábitos de vida. 35% dos estudantes inquiridos apresenta nível de atividade física baixo, reportando a disponibilidade, os horários, a distância e o preço, como causas de não participação nos programas de atividade física existentes. Os principais objetivos associados à prática de atividades física são melhorar a condição física, relaxamento, diminuição do stress, diversão, prevenção de doenças e aumento da autoestima. Os estudantes evidenciam alguns comportamentos de risco ao nível do consumo excessivo de tabaco, álcool e drogas. As Universidades deverão promover a prática regular de atividades físicas no seio académico e sensibilizar para os malefícios advindos do sedentarismo e comportamentos de risco no bem-estar e saúde desta população.This study aims to evaluate physical activity level and some lifestyle habits, presented by students representing two Portuguese universities. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess students’ physical activity level, together with a questionnaire designed to evaluate lifestyle habits. 35% of students surveyed present a low level of physical activity, reporting availability, timetable, distance and price as causes of non-participation in existing exercise programs. The main objectives associated with physical activity are improving physical fitness, relaxation, decrease stress, have fun, disease prevention and increased self-esteem. Students show some risk behaviors regarding tobacco, alcohol and drugs consumption. University authorities should combine efforts to attract students to practice regular physical activities or sports and design campaigns that sensitize students for the consequences of being sedentary and embrace unhealthy behaviors on health status.Esta investigación se propone comparar el nivel de actividad física y el estilo de vida saludable de universitarios de dos universidades portuguesas. Se utilizó el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física para evaluar el nivel de actividad física, junto con cuestiones de evaluación de los hábitos de vida de los estudiantes. 35% de los estudiantes presenta un bajo nivel de actividad física, identificando la disponibilidad, los horarios, la distancia y el precio como causas de no participación en estos programas. Los principales objetivos asociados con la actividad física son mejorar la condición física, relajación, disminución del estrés, la diversión, la prevención de enfermedades y el aumento de la autoestima. Los estudiantes muestran comportamientos de riesgo por uso de tabaco, alcohol y drogas. Las autoridades universitarias deben crear estrategias para motivar los estudiantes a practicar actividades físicas sensibilizar sobre los peligros de un estilo de vida sedentario y con comportamientos de riesgo.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of physical exercise on outcomes of cardiac (dys)function in women with breast cancer undergoing anthracycline or trastuzumab treatment: study protocol for a systematic review

Background: Cardiotoxicity is a known complication and one of the most adverse effects from the use of conventional treatments such as anthracyclines and trastuzumab in breast cancer (BC) care. This phenomenon has been associated with the restriction of therapeutic options and the increase of cardiovascular complications, which may compromise the survival of patients. Implementation of preventive strategies is an important approach for the management of this issue. Physical exercise has been proposed as a non-pharmacological strategy to counteracting cardiotoxicity. The aim of this protocol is to describe the rationale and methods for a systematic review of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have analysed the effects of physical exercise on outcomes of cardiac (dys)function in women with BC undergoing neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment containing anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab. Methods and analysis: This is a protocol for a systematic review reported according to the PRISMA-P 2015 checklist. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) will be included. The literature will be screened on MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ISI Web of Science and Scopus. The risk of bias of the included RCTs will be assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. The primary outcomes will be systolic function (left ventricular ejection fraction), diastolic function (E/A’ ratio, deceleration time of early left ventricular filling, isovolumetric relaxation time, E/E’ septal and lateral ratio) and myocardial deformation imaging outcomes (strain and strain rate [measured in longitudinal, radial, or circumferential directions]). Secondary outcomes will be cardiac biomarkers (troponin I or T, highsensitivity troponin I or T, brain natriuretic peptide, amino terminal of B-type natriuretic peptide). Data will be descriptively reported, and quantitative synthesis will also be considered if the included studies are sufficiently homogenous. Discussion: This systematic review will help to understand the effectiveness of physical exercise on counteracting cardiotoxicity related to anticancer therapies in women with BC.publishe