Organização didático-metodológica das aulas de Anatomia e Fisiologia Humana: comportamento e percepção dos estudantes

Resumo O presente artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa quantitativa, do tipo pesquisa-ação, cujo objetivo foi analisar o comportamento e a percepção dos estudantes sobre a organização didático-metodológica, através dos momentos didático-problematizadores, implementada em três aulas da Disciplina de Anatomia e Fisiologia Humana de um Curso Técnico em Enfermagem da cidade de Santa Maria, no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Foram planejadas pelas pesquisadoras três aulas sobre os temas: sistema endócrino, tegumentar e nervoso, tendo por base a organização didático-metodológica através dos momentos didático-problematizadores. As aulas foram implementadas numa turma do Módulo I, do Curso Técnico em Enfermagem, constituída por oito estudantes. Para a coleta dos dados foram utilizados diário de bordo para registro dos comportamentos dos estudantes observados em cada aula e questionário com perguntas fechadas e abertas para identificar a percepção e sugestões dos estudantes acerca da organização didático-metodológica através dos momentos didático-problematizadores. Dentre os principais resultados, destaca-se a percepção da maioria dos estudantes que considerou boa e/ou muito boa a organização didático-metodológica utilizada, assim como os seus momentos constituintes (desafio inicial, melhor solução escolar no momento, desafio mais amplo e tarefa extraclasse). Sendo que alguns estudantes ainda apresentam comportamento passivo diante do processo de ensino-aprendizagem, concluindo-se que ainda existe uma necessidade de mudanças culturais neste contexto pesquisado, partindo especialmente das ações docentes

Impact of protozoan cell death on parasite-host interactions and pathogenesis

PCD in protozoan parasites has emerged as a fascinating field of parasite biology. This not only relates to the underlying mechanisms and their evolutionary implications but also to the impact on the parasite-host interactions within mammalian hosts and arthropod vectors. During recent years, common functions of apoptosis and autophagy in protozoa and during parasitic infections have emerged. Here, we review how distinct cell death pathways in Trypanosoma, Leishmania, Plasmodium or Toxoplasma may contribute to regulation of parasite cell densities in vectors and mammalian hosts, to differentiation of parasites, to stress responses, and to modulation of the host immunity. The examples provided indicate crucial roles of PCD in parasite biology. The existence of PCD pathways in these organisms and the identification as being critical for parasite biology and parasite-host interactions could serve as a basis for developing new anti-parasitic drugs that take advantage of these pathways

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified