Dislexia e perturbações associadas: Memória e Atenção

p. 93-115O número de crianças com Dificuldades Especificas de Aprendizagem/Dislexia, continua a aumentar. Urge estarmos atentos, enquanto profissionais da educação. Para melhorar as estratégias de ensino, é necessário conhecer as causas e os factores que provocam tanto insucesso nos alunos. Pretende-se com este trabalho investigar a influência que a atenção/concentração e a memória têm nas dificuldades de aprendizagem registadas na leitura e na escrita, nos alunos do 1ºciclo. A leitura e a escrita são actividades extremamente complexas, que estão relacionadas com diversos processos como a linguagem, a psicomotricidade, a percepção auditiva e visual, o comportamento emocional, a memória, a atenção, entre outros. O papel do professor pode ser um factor decisivo para a diminuição do insucesso dos alunos a nível da leitura e da escrita se estiver informado e formado nesta temática

Trends of BMI and prevalence of overweight and obesity in Portugal (1995-2005): a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Locale-specific data on BMI and overweight/obesity are necessary to understand how the obesity epidemic is evolving in each setting. We aimed to describe the temporal trends of mean BMI and prevalences of overweight/obesity in studies that evaluated Portuguese adults and older people. DESIGN: Systematic review, conducted via a PubMed search up to January 2011 and independent reference screening and data extraction. Twenty-one eligible studies were identified. Data were extracted from the published reports and obtained from the authors of seven of the largest studies. Adjusted ecological estimates of mean BMI and prevalences of overweight/obesity were computed by linear regression. RESULTS: Between 1995 and 2005, when using data obtained from anthropometric measurements, overweight prevalence increased by 3·2 % and 3·5 % and obesity prevalence by 7·4 % and 1·3 % among women and men, respectively, while mean BMI did not vary meaningfully. When using self-reported information, mean BMI increased by 0·8 kg/m2 and 0·9 kg/m2, overweight prevalence by 3·5 % and 3·7 % and obesity prevalence by 5·8 % and 5·5 % among women and men, respectively. Results from the 20-year-old conscripts (1960-2000) showed a marked increase in these outcomes in the last decades. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show an important increase in overweight/obesity in younger ages. The trends in the indicators derived from self-reported data suggest an increase in awareness of the importance of overweight/obesity among the population

Trends in the prevalence of smoking in Portugal: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the dynamics of smoking at the population level is essential for the planning and evaluation of prevention and control measures. We aimed to describe trends in the prevalence of smoking in Portuguese adults by sex, age-group and birth cohort. METHODS: PubMed was searched from inception up to 2011. Linear regression was used to assess differences in prevalence estimates according to the type of population sampled, and to estimate time trends of smoking prevalence considering only the results of studies on nationally representative samples of the general population. RESULTS: Thirty eligible studies were identified. There were statistically significant differences in the prevalence estimates according to the types of population sampled in the original studies. Between 1987 and 2008, the prevalence of smoking increased significantly among women aged ≤ 70 years; the steepest increase was observed in those aged 31-50 and 51-70 years (from 4.6% and 0.1% in 1988, respectively, to 16.4% and 4.5% in 2008, respectively). The prevalence of smoking increased in all birth cohorts, except for those born before 1926. In the same period, among men, smoking decreased in all age-groups, with steepest declines in those aged ≤ 30 years (from 41.8% in 1988 to 28.8% in 2008) and those aged ≥ 71 years (from 15.1% in 1988 to 4.6% in 2008). The prevalence of smoking declined among men of all birth cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides robust evidence to place Portuguese women at stage II and men at the later stages of the tobacco epidemic

Learning mathematics and competences: Bringing together three theoretical perspectives

The symposium aims to bring into analysis and discussion a possibility of articulating and integrating theoretical concepts from Activity Theory, Situated Learning and Critical Mathematics Education in order to contribute to understanding learning in practices where mathematics and technology seem to be relevant

Manual lymphatic drainage and quality of life in patients with lymphoedema and mixed oedema: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of adults with lymphoedema or mixed oedema, through a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched to identify RCTs evaluating HRQoL after a MLD intervention compared to non-MLD interventions (PROSPERO 2016:CRD42016042255). We extracted the effect of the interventions on the HRQoL (primary outcome) as well as data on volume and functional changes, and adverse events when available (secondary outcomes). RESULTS: Eight studies were eligible. The studies were heterogeneous in the aetiology of oedema, schemes of MLD applied, additional treatments offered with MLD, length of follow-up, instruments used to assess HRQoL and interventions offered to the control group. Five studies included patients with breast cancer-related arm lymphoedema; one study reported increased HRQoL among patients randomised to the MLD group. The two RCTs that involved patients with leg mixed oedema due to chronic venous insufficiency did not find between-group differences in the overall HRQoL. One trial included patients with hand oedema from systemic sclerosis and showed higher HRQoL in the group that received MLD. No studies reported reductions in HRQoL, or severe adverse events after MLD. The small numbers of patients analysed in all studies may have resulted in lack of power to detect between-group differences in HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of MLD on the HRQoL of patients with chronic oedema is unclear

Variedades do português em texto literário e sua tradução em francês. Que fronteiras? Que horizontes?

A recriação literária das variedades da língua portuguesa revela a complexidade dos usos e sua variação, trilhando os caminhos da criação esteticamente modelada e afastando-se da imitação pauperizada. Assim, o presente estudo basear-se-á na análise de diferentes níveis e registos de língua, a partir de um corpus de textos literários contemporâneos de modo a pôr em evidência os processos de recriação da complexidade linguística em português. Num segundo tempo, uma comparação com a tradução francesa, permitir-nos-á refletir de modo comparativo sobre coincidências, aproximações e discordâncias de processos linguísticos em português (texto fonte) e em francês (tradução). Tal reflexão será conduzida na perspetiva de zonas de transição, de margens que atenuam fronteiras separadoras, anulando-as, abrindo assim horizontes de interpretação de um contexto linguístico e cultural de uma língua outra – o português- graças à sua recriação em francês

Immunohistochemical Evaluation of TNF Expression in Canine Cystic Endometrial Hyperplasia

Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF) has been identified in the uterus of several species, and altered TNF expression is reported in some pathological conditions. This study sought to evaluate TNF expression in canine cystic endometrial hyperplasia (CEH; n=20) and compare it with expression in postpartum samples (PP; n=5).This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, Center for Studies in Education, Technologies and by Health and by strategic project PEst-OE/CED/UI4016/201

Adverse mental health outcomes in breast cancer survivors compared to women who did not have cancer: systematic review protocol.

BACKGROUND: Recent increasing trends in breast cancer incidence and survival have resulted in unprecedented numbers of cancer survivors in the general population. A cancer diagnosis may have a profound psychological impact, and breast cancer treatments often cause long-term physical sequelae, potentially affecting women's mental health. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and summarise all studies that have compared mental health outcomes in breast cancer survivors, versus women who did not have cancer. METHODS: This study will be a systematic review of the literature. Four databases, including MEDLINE and PsycINFO, will be searched to identify potentially relevant studies. The search expressions will use a Boolean logic, including terms for the target population (women who have had breast cancer), outcomes (psychiatric disorders) and comparators (e.g. risk, hazard). All mental disorders will be eligible, except those with onset normally occurring during childhood or strong genetic basis (e.g. Huntington disease). The eligibility of the studies will be assessed in two phases: (1) considering the information provided in the title and abstract; (2) evaluating the full text. Studies including women diagnosed with breast cancer 1 year or more ago and that provide original data on mental health outcomes will be eligible. Studies in which all women were undergoing surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or hospitalised or institutionalised, will be excluded, as well as studies that include patients selected on the basis of symptomatology. Two investigators will do the screening of the references and the data extraction independently, with results compared and discrepancies resolved by involving a third investigator when necessary. Study quality and risk of bias will be assessed across six broad domains. Results will be summarised by outcome, and summary measures of frequency and/or association will be computed if possible. DISCUSSION: This review will summarise the evidence on the mental health outcomes of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This information can be used to motivate further research and increase understanding of the most common mental health conditions affecting this growing population of women. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42017056946

Associations between breast cancer survivorship and adverse mental health outcomes: A matched population-based cohort study in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women globally, and 5-year net survival probabilities in high-income countries are generally >80%. A cancer diagnosis and treatment are often traumatic events, and many women struggle to cope during this period. Less is known, however, about the long-term mental health impact of the disease, despite many women living several years beyond their breast cancer and mental health being a major source of disability in modern societies. The objective of this study was to quantify the risk of several adverse mental health-related outcomes in women with a history of breast cancer followed in primary care in the United Kingdom National Health Service, compared to similar women who never had cancer. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a matched cohort study using data routinely collected in primary care across the UK to quantify associations between breast cancer history and depression, anxiety, and other mental health-related outcomes. All women with incident breast cancer in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD primary care database between 1988 and 2018 (N = 57,571, mean = 62 ± 14 years) were matched 1:4 to women with no prior cancer (N = 230,067) based on age, primary care practice, and eligibility of the data for linkage to hospital data sources. Cox models were used to estimate associations between breast cancer survivorship and each mental health-related outcome, further adjusting for diabetes, body mass index (BMI), and smoking and drinking status at baseline. Breast cancer survivorship was positively associated with anxiety (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.33; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29-1.36; p < 0.001), depression (1.35; 1.32-1.38; p < 0.001), sexual dysfunction (1.27; 1.17-1.38; p < 0.001), and sleep disorder (1.68; 1.63-1.73; p < 0.001), but not with cognitive dysfunction (1.00; 0.97-1.04; p = 0.88). Positive associations were also found for fatigue (HR = 1.28; 1.25-1.31; p < 0.001), pain (1.22; 1.20-1.24; p < 0.001), receipt of opioid analgesics (1.86; 1.83-1.90; p < 0.001), and fatal and nonfatal self-harm (1.15; 0.97-1.36; p = 0.11), but CI was wide, and the relationship was not statistically significant for the latter. HRs for anxiety and depression decreased over time (p-interaction <0.001), but increased risks persisted for 2 and 4 years, respectively, after cancer diagnosis. Increased levels of pain and sleep disorder persisted for 10 years. Younger age was associated with larger HRs for depression, cognitive dysfunction, pain, opioid analgesics use, and sleep disorders (p-interaction <0.001 in each case). Limitations of the study include the potential for residual confounding by lifestyle factors and detection bias due to cancer survivors having greater healthcare contact. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we observed that compared to women with no prior cancer, breast cancer survivors had higher risk of anxiety, depression, sleep problems, sexual dysfunction, fatigue, receipt of opioid analgesics, and pain. Relative risks estimates tended to decrease over time, but anxiety and depression were significantly increased for 2 and 4 years after breast cancer diagnosis, respectively, while associations for fatigue, pain, and sleep disorders were elevated for at least 5-10 years after diagnosis. Early diagnosis and increased awareness among patients, healthcare professionals, and policy makers are likely to be important to mitigate the impacts of these raised risks

Abordagens linguísticas de usos literários da linguagem

Livro de homenagem à professora Maria Emília Ricardo Marque