22 research outputs found
Allergic diseases in the elderly
Demographic distribution of the population is progressively changing with the proportion of elderly persons increasing in most societies. This entails that there is a need to evaluate the impact of common diseases, such as asthma and other allergic conditions, in this age segment. Frailty, comorbidities and polymedication are some of the factors that condition management in geriatric patients. The objective of this review is to highlight the characteristics of allergic diseases in older age groups, from the influence of immunosenescence, to particular clinical implications and management issues, such as drug interactions or age-related side effects
Identification and characterization of cichlid TAAR genes and comparison with other teleost TAAR repertoires
Public Perception of Invasive Plant Species: Assessing the impact of workshop activities to promote young students’ awareness
Invasive species are one of the main threats to biodiversity worldwide. Even though they are
identified and recognized as such by the Portuguese law, the majority of the population is not yet
aware of this problem. Aiming to increase awareness about biological invasions among young
students, a workshop on Invasive Plant Species was organized at the Botanical Museum of the
University of Coimbra. A total of 170 teenager students from five schools participated in the
workshop. Three activities were prepared, focusing on: (1) identification of invasive plants, (2)
competition between native and invasive plants and (3) control of invasive plants. One year later,
questionnaires were sent to the participants, aiming to appraise workshop effectiveness, and this
questionnaire revealed that these students know more about invasive plant species than a
comparable group of students that did not participate in the workshop. The results clearly
showed that practical informal education activities may be effective in raising public awareness.
Questionnaires were essential to evaluate the knowledge acquired and retained by the students
during the workshop.This workshop was supported
by FCT-MCTES (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) and
European fund FEDER, project INVADER II—Invasion processes, control and restoration
of coastal ecosystems invaded by Acacia longifolia—PPCDT/AMB/61387/
2004