Psychometric properties of a portuguese version of the SOCRATES 8D: a study with a sample of heroin addicts in treatment

In the present study, we adapted the Stage of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES, version 8D) to the European Portuguese and we examined its factor structure and psychometric properties. The scale was applied to a sample of 100 adults, mostly heroin addicts, in outpatient or inpatient treatment. A Principal Component Analysis applied to the data revealed three dimensions - Problem Recognition, Taking Steps and Ambivalence -, corresponding almost exactly to the factor structure originally proposed by Miller and Tonigan (1996). The reliability indices for SOCRATES three subscales (internal consistency and temporal stability) were adequate. External validity study showed that the subscales differentiated treatment contexts and were associated to the participants' evaluation regarding the treatment expectations and the technical team. Thus, the Portuguese version of SOCRATES 8D seems to possess the proper psychometric properties to evaluate drug addicts' treatment motivation

Ensino por investigação na aprendizagem dos "materiais" : um trabalho com alunos do 7º ano

Relatório da Prática da Ensino Supervisionada, Mestrado em Ensino de Física e Química no 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico e do Ensino Secundário, Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2018O ensino por investigação motiva os alunos a planearem investigações, procurarem respostas para as suas próprias questões, ou levantadas por outros, proporem previsões, experimentarem situações novas, e comunicarem os seus resultados. Assim, utilizou-se para a lecionação da unidade “Materiais” tarefas de investigação partindo de situações familiares do quotidiano dos alunos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo conhecer como as tarefas de investigação influenciam a aprendizagem dos alunos sobre a unidade “Materiais”. Para tal, procurou-se conhecer as dificuldades sentidas pelos alunos, as potencialidades e a avaliação que os alunos fazem quando são envolvidos no ensino por investigação na aprendizagem dos “Materiais”. Para dar resposta aos objetivos foram desenvolvidas cinco tarefas de investigação ao longo de 20 aulas de 45 minutos, no âmbito do domínio “Materiais”, inserido no tema organizador “Terra em transformação”, das Orientações Curriculares. O trabalho de cariz investigativo foi realizado numa turma de 28 alunos do 7.º ano de escolaridade, constituída por 12 rapazes e 14 raparigas, com uma média de idades de 12 anos. A turma tem três alunos NEE (Necessidades Educativas Especiais). Recorreu-se a uma metodologia de investigação qualitativa, dado que se pretendeu compreender e descrever as reações dos alunos quando são implementadas, em sala de aula, tarefas de investigação. A recolha de dados foi feita através de diversos instrumentos, nomeadamente a observação, os registos escritos dos alunos e a entrevista em grupo focado. Os resultados mostraram que os alunos apresentaram dificuldades na realização das tarefas, no entanto, com o seu decorrer estas dificuldades foram ultrapassadas. Os resultados mostraram igualmente que os alunos fazem uma avaliação positiva acerca do uso de tarefas de investigação para realizarem as suas aprendizagens.Teaching by inquiry motivates students to plan investigations, seek answers to their own questions, or raised by others, propose forecasts, experience new situations, and communicate their results. Thus, it was used for the teaching of the unit "Materials" inquiry tasks from familiar situations of the students' daily life. This work aims to know how the inquiry tasks influence students' learning about the "Materials" unit. To do so, we sought to know the difficulties experienced by the students, the potentialities and the evaluation that the students do when they are involved in inquiry in the learning of the "Materials". In order to respond to the objectives, five inquiry tasks were developed during 20 45-minutes classes under the "Materials" domain, inserted in the theme "Earth in transformation" of the Curricular Guidelines. The research work was carried out in a group of 28 students from the 7th year of schooling, consisting of 12 boys and 14 girls, with a mean age of 12 years. The class has three students (Special Educational Needs). A qualitative research methodology was used, since it was intended to understand and describe the reactions of students when inquiry tasks are implemented in the classroom. The data collection was done through several instruments, namely observation, written documents of the students and focused group interview. The results showed that the students presented difficulties in the accomplishment of the tasks, however, as the tasks progressed, these difficulties were overcome. The results also showed that students make a positive evaluation about the use of inquiry tasks to carry out their learning

Determinação dos fatores de intensidade de tensão KI, KII, KIII e Keq induzidos em provetes CT fissurados e sujeitos a diversos valores de momento torsor

A propagação de fendas por fadiga em componentes ou sistemas mecânicos pode levar à sua falha catastrófica. A velocidade de propagação, bem como a direção de propagação, dependem, entre outros fatores, do tipo e da intensidade do carregamento aplicado, bem como das propriedades mecânicas do material, da espessura da peça, e do comprimento e forma da fenda. A propagação de fendas por fadiga devido a carregamento em modo I encontra-se amplamente estudada, em oposição à propagação devida a carregamento em modo III, que se restringe, quase que exclusivamente, ao estudo de provetes cilíndricos sujeitos a torção.Esta dissertação apresenta os valores dos fatores de intensidade de tensão, , e , para provetes finos de tipo Compact Tension (CT) de espessuras diversas (2,5 ; 3 ; 5 ; 7,5 ; 10 ), sujeitos a torção (6 . ; 7,5 . ; 9 . ) e contendo duas fendas propagadas a partir da préfissura de fadiga segundo duas direções (+70º e -70º). Os valores dos fatores de intensidade de tensão foram obtidos na frente da fenda, para diversos comprimentos de fenda ( ⁄ =0,00; ⁄ =0,25; ⁄ =0,50; ⁄ =0,75; ⁄ =1,00), usando o Método dos Elementos Finitos (MEF). Utilizando os valores calculados de , e , determinou-se o fator de intensidade de tensão equivalente recorrendo aos critérios de Richard e de Pook. Adicionalmente, efetuou-se um ajustamento polinomial de todos os resultados obtidos, o que permitiu obter , , e ( ), mediante a especificação da espessura do provete, do comprimento da fenda e da intensidade do momento de torção a que o provete se encontra submetido.Concluiu-se que, ainda que fosse aplicado remotamente um carregamento em modo III ao provete CT, localmente, na frente da fenda, verificava-se a dominância do modo I, seguido do modo III e do modo II, respetivamente. Observou-se ainda que o fator de intensidade de tensão equivalente atingia os valores máximo e mínimo junto às superfícies laterais do provete, motivando a propagação mais rápida da fenda nesses locais

A gestão da performance e do desempenho na Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Barcelos

A gestão estratégica desempenha um dos papéis principais na gestão das organizações tendo como principal objetivo o alinhamento entre os objetivos das organizações e os dos colaboradores. As Organizações Não Lucrativas, apesar das suas particularidades, têm vindo a perceber que a gestão estratégica pode ser utilizada de forma semelhante às organizações lucrativas permitindo a procura de maior eficiência e eficácia na procura da sustentabilidade a longo prazo. O estudo incide numa Santa Casa da Misericórdia onde emerge a necessidade do desenvolvimento de um modelo de alinhamento estratégico, tendo sido criado o Projeto SIM, pela Mesa Administrativa, com dois grandes objetivos: melhoria da performance da instituição e o alinhamento dos profissionais nesta estratégia visando a sua satisfação e uma maior identificação com a organização. Para atingir estes objetivos é proposta a criação de um Sistema de Controlo de Gestão que, recorrendo ao Balanced Scorecard e ao desenho de um Sistema de Gestão de Desempenho, permitirá de forma sistematizada medir a performance organizacional e incentivar melhores desempenhos aos seus colaboradores. A construção destes instrumentos partiu de uma reflexão estratégica no caso do Balanced Scorecard e da criação de Perfis Profissionais e Fichas de Avaliação de Desempenho no caso do Sistema de Gestão de Desempenho.Strategic management plays one of the main roles in organizational management presenting, as main purpose, the way to get the strategic alignement between organizational and individual objetives from each of the employees. The Non Profit Organizations, even with their particularities, have been realising that strategic management can be used in a similar way that is used in Profit Organizations in order to get a better efficiency and effectiveness looking forward for long term sustainability. The study focuses on a Holy House of Mercy where have emerged the need for the development of a strategic alignment model. It was created the Projeto SIM, by the management board, with two main objectives: improvement of global performance of the organization and the alignement of all employees in this strategy aiming both satisfaction and a bigger engagement with organization. In order to achieve both objectives it is proposed the adoption of a control management system through the use of Balanced Scorecard and the creation of a Performance Management System that will allow, sistematically, to measure organizational performance and to motivate better performances by its employees. The creation of both instruments came from a strategic reflection in the case of Balanced Scorecard and from the creation of Professional Profiles and then Performance Assessment Sheets in the case of Performance Management System

New conceptual model of Reverse Logistics of a worldwide Fashion Company

This paper focuses on the logistics activity of the Outlet Retail industry of accessories and clothing items produced by a Portuguese fashion company, operated by an also Portuguese Third-Party Logistics providers (3PL). The main goal of this study is to address and analyze the current business and process model used by the Portuguese 3PL, to compare it with other existing models within the state-of-art, and to design a new conceptual model for 3PL’s reverse logistics activities in the Clothing and Fashion Industry. The second main goal is to identify improvement opportunities, while observing and mapping logistic activities, in order to increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve the quality of the service. The analysis was supported by Lean and Supply Chain methodologies and by appropriate tools like the Value Stream Mapping (VSM). VSM contributed to map the business processes in a structured and systematic way and provided a wide perception of the value chain to identify the waste that could be reduced. The data used to feed the VSM was collected by cycle time measurements and also data analytics. After the analysis, a new Value Stream Proposal was presented for that business model, as well as the gains achieved by the execution of technologic and lean-based improvement actions. Finally, this paper presents a Conceptual Business Model for 3PL’s Reverse Logistics in the Clothing and Fashion Industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Face grosseira, hipotonia e regressão do neurodesenvolvimento

Inborn errors of metabolism are a heterogeneous class of multisystemic diseases which, although individually rare, are collectively quite common. Central nervous system is usually affected. The authors report the case of a five-month-old girl, daughter of non-consanguineous parents, born after an unremarkable full-term pregnancy and delivery. Hypotonia and neurodevelopmental regression were noted from the age of five months, along with progressive onset of facial dysmorphism, hepatomegaly, seizures, and dilated cardiomyopathy. Gangliosidosis type 1 diagnosis was confirmed by biochemical, enzymatic, and genetic findings. This report enhances the relevance of multidisciplinary approach and follow-up.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antibody response against selected epitopes in the HIV-1 envelope gp41 ectodomain contributes to reduce viral burden in HIV-1 infected patients

The ectodomain of gp41 is the target of potent binding and neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) and is being explored in new strategies for antibody-based HIV vaccines. Previous studies have suggested that the W164A-3S (3S) and EC26-2A4 (EC26) peptides located in the gp41 ectodomain may be potential HIV vaccine candidates. We assessed 3S- and EC26-specific binding antibody responses and related neutralizing activity in a large panel of chronic HIV-1-infected Portuguese individuals on ART. A similar proportion of participants had antibodies binding to 3S (9.6%) and EC26 (9.9%) peptides but the level of reactivity against 3S was significantly higher compared to EC26, except in the rare patients with double peptide reactivity. The higher antigenicity of 3S was unrelated with disease stage, as assessed by CD4+ T cell counts, but it was directly related with plasma viral load. Most patients that were tested (89.9%, N = 268) showed tier 1 neutralizing activity, the potency being inversely associated with plasma viral load. In the subset of patients that were tested for neutralization of tier 2 isolates, neutralization breadth was inversely correlated with plasma viral load and directly correlated with CD4+ T cell counts. These results are consistent with a role for neutralizing antibodies in controlling viral replication and preventing the decline of CD4+ T lymphocytes. Importantly, in patients with 3S-specific antibodies, neutralizing titers were inversely correlated with viral RNA levels and proviral DNA levels. Moreover, patients with 3S and/or EC26-specific antibodies showed a 1.9-fold higher tier 2 neutralization score than patients without antibodies suggesting that 3S and/or EC26-specific antibodies contribute to neutralization breadth and potency in HIV-1 infected patients. Overall, these results suggest that antibodies targeting the S3 and EC26 epitopes may contribute to reduce viral burden and provide further support for the inclusion of 3S and EC26 epitopes in HIV-1 vaccine candidates.publishersversionpublishe

Interference of bioassay methods on the results of entomopathogenic fungi selection for insect control

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a interferência dos métodos de bioensaios nos resultados de seleção de fungos entomopatogênicos, com a utilização de quatro isolados de Beauveria bassiana e adultos de Alphitobius diaperinus. Quanto à forma de inoculação, foram testados os seguintes métodos: imersão do inseto em suspensão de conídios; pulverização da suspensão sobre insetos; e tratamento de superfície com a suspensão em oito concentrações. Para avaliar a interferência do tempo de imersão sobre a mortalidade, os insetos foram colocados em suspensão de conídios por 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 e 60 segundos. Conídios produzidos em arroz, insetos e meio sintético foram utilizados para avaliar a influência do substrato na virulência dos isolados. Os isolados UNIOESTE 4 e CG 152 foram os mais virulentos pelos métodos imersão e pulverização, respectivamente; em tratamento de superfície, a mortalidade foi baixa para todos os isolados. Observou-se que a mortalidade dos insetos é proporcional ao tempo em que ficam imersos, com tendência a se estabilizar após 40 segundos. Os isolados CG 71 e CG 152, produzidos sobre insetos, foram menos virulentos. Os métodos utilizados podem influenciar os resultados de bioensaios de seleção de fungos para o controle de insetos.The objective of this work was to evaluate the interference of bioassay methods on the entomopathogenic fungi selection, using four Beauveria bassiana isolates and Alphitobius diaperinus adults. Regarding the inoculation form on insect mortality, the following methods were tested: insects immersion in a conidia suspension; spraying of a suspension over the insects; and surface treatment with eight concentrations. In order to evaluate the interference of immersion time on mortality, insects were immersed in a fungal suspension for 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 seconds. Conidia produced on rice, insects, and synthetic medium were used to evaluate the influence of substrate on the virulence of the isolates. UNIOESTE 4 isolate and CG 152 were the most virulents for the methods immersion and spray, respectively; however, mortality was low in all isolates for the surface treatment. Mortality was proportional to the time during which insects stayed immersed, with a tendency to become stable after 40 seconds. Conidia from isolates CG 71 and CG 152 produced on insects were less virulent. The methods may influence bioassay results in the fungi selection for insects control

Advances in the diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases by next generation sequencing

O recente desenvolvimento da tecnologia de sequenciação de nova geração (NGS) revolucionou o diagnóstico molecular das doenças genéticas raras, de difícil diagnóstico, tais como as doenças mitocondriais. O estudo destas patologias foi implementado em 1993 pelo nosso grupo e até à data foram investigados mais de 2500 doentes portugueses. Muitos destes doentes ainda não dispõem de diagnóstico molecular, pelo que foi desenvolvida uma estratégia de NGS para a identificação da mutação causal. A sequenciação de um painel de 209 genes nucleares associados a doenças mitocondriais e do DNA mitocondrial completo por NGS, foi realizada num sequenciador MiSeq (Illumina). O estudo de 145 doentes permitiu identificar 41 mutações causais e caraterizar 35 doentes. Esta investigação contribuiu para esclarecer a etiologia molecular destes doentes (35/145; 24%), ii) alargar o espetro mutacional destas patologias e, iii) oferecer um aconselhamento genético e um eventual diagnóstico pré-natal aos casais em risco. O desenvolvimento de um painel, específico para estas patologias, tem um caráter inovador e reforça o nosso Centro como laboratório nacional para o estudo e investigação de doenças mitocondriais.Recent development of high throughput, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has revolutionized the research and molecular diagnosis of hardto- diagnose genetic disorders such as mitochondrial disorders. The study of these diseases was implemented in 1993 by our group and to date more than 2,500 Portuguese patients have been investigated. As many of these patients do not yet have molecular diagnosis, an NGS strategy was developed to identify the causal mutation. NGS was performed in a MiSeq Illumina instrument using a custom mitochondrial gene panel with around 209 genes involved in mitochondria metabolism and the entire human mitochondrial genome. The study of 145 patients allowed the identification of 41 causal mutations and the molecular characterization of 35 patients. This investigation contributed to i) identify the pathogenic mutations in the studied patients (35/145; 24%), ii) expand the mutational spectrum in the etiology of these disorders, and iii) propose an accurate genetic counseling. Custom design panels have been widely used for molecular heterogeneous disorders however, the development of this panel will be innovative in our country strengthening our Center as a national reference for the study and research of mitochondrial disorders.Estudo financiado por: Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia (PTDC/DTP-PIC/2220/2014, Genetic Defects of Mitochondrial Diseases: a Next Generation Sequencing Approach) - implementação da tecnologia de NGS e o desenho de um painel de genes nucleares aplicado ao diagnóstico das doenças mitocondriais; Programa NORTE 2020 (NORTE-01-0246-FEDER-000014, DESVENDAR “DEScobrir, VENcer as Doenças rARas”) - aquisição de equipamentos para a realização da sequenciação de nova geração.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Viés de manutenção da atenção na ansiedade social

The role of attentional bias in social anxiety is not yet fully understood. Social anxiety individuals can show deliberate avoidance of socially threatening stimuli or, on the contrary, be hypervigilant, persistently allocating attention to those stimuli. Our main purpose was to test whether social anxiety is preferably associated with mechanisms of hypervigilance, avoidance, vigilance-avoidance or maintenance of attention towards socially relevant stimuli. Our secondary goal was to explore the modulating role of personality traits in these attention bias mechanisms. Participants with high vs low social anxiety and different personality structures were exposed to pairs of faces representing different emotions (anger, happiness and neutrality) while their eye movements were continuously recorded. Comparisons between participants with high and low levels of social anxiety showed that participants with high social anxiety were slower in disengaging their attention from happy faces, suggesting that positive emotions can be perceived as a threatening stimuli for social anxious individuals. Preliminary results indicated that depressive personality structure may favour manifestations of hypervigilance bias toward threat faces.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio