Vivências académicas e rendimento escolar: Estudo com alunos universitários do 1.º ano

Partindo de uma amostra de 456 alunos do primeiro ano da Universidade do Minho, analisam-se as dimensões da adaptação académica e o seu possível impacto no rendimento escolar dos estudantes. Os dados referentes à adaptação foram obtidos através da administração do Questionário de Vivências Académicas –QVA (Almeida & Ferreira, 1997), agrupando-se neste estudo as 17 subescalas do QVA nas dimensões pessoal, de realização académica e institucional. Para efeitos de avaliação do rendimento escolar foram recolhidos alguns indicadores referentes às avaliações destes alunos ao longo do ano lectivo de 1998/1999.Os resultados apontam para uma correlação com significado estatístico entre a dimensão de realização da adaptação académica e os indicadores de rendimento tomados. O rendimento académico foi explicado entre 16% a 30% pelas subescalas do QVA. Tendencialmente as variáveis mais decisivas para o rendimento académico foram as respeitantes aos métodos de estudo, às bases de conhecimentos, à percepção de competências cognitivas e à adaptação ao curso

Condicionantes percepcionadas na entrada para a universidade: estudos com alunos do 1º ano da Universidade do Minho

Poster apresentado no Simpósio Internacional e Multidisciplinar "Transições ao longo da vida : família, escola, trabalho e saúde", Coimbra, Portugal, 5 - 6 Maio 2005.A transição para o Ensino Superior confronta os jovens com inúmeros desafios nos diferentes planos da sua existência. Neste contexto, e considerando a massificação e heterogeneização registada nos últimos anos no acesso e frequência do Ensino Superior em Portugal, interessa conhecer a “nova” composição social desta população, para que as instituições universitárias possam responder eficazmente às suas “novas” características e necessidades. O presente trabalho, inserido num projecto de investigação (financiado pela Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), procura caracterizar as razões de escolha da Universidade do Minho, bem como as dificuldades antecipadas nesta transição educativa, nos alunos que ingressaram na 1ª fase do Concurso Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Superior na Universidade do Minho. Esta análise considera variáveis sócio-demográficas (género e habilitações literárias dos pais) e da trajectória escolar dos alunos (nota de ingresso e opção curso e estabelecimento de ensino de entrada na Universidade)

Development of stacked porous tantalum oxide layers by anodization

Interest in nanoporous tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) has been increasing due to its high variety of applications, from protective coatings, photocatalysts to biomedical devices. Anodization is a surface modification technique, which is inexpensive, versatile, easily scalable and widely used to produce these nanostructures. In this study, Ta2O5 nanoporous surfaces were produced by anodization in HF-free electrolyte composed of ethylene glycol, water and ammonium fluoride (NH4F) with different anodization parameters (electrolyte concentration, applied potential and time). The surface morphology of each sample was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the sample with the more uniform porous nanostructure was characterized in terms of cross-section morphology, chemical composition and crystalline structure. The concentration of NH4F and applied potential demonstrated a significant impact on current-density-time curve, and thereafter in surface morphology. Multiple thin porous nanolayers were formed under strong electrochemical conditions (very high current density and electrolyte temperature). Through chemical analysis, it was possible to detect the presence of fluoride, which is consistent with an amorphous Ta2O5 layer with fluoride ions incorporation. Thereby, managing the electrochemical conditions is crucial to control the morphology of an anodic Ta2O5 layer.This research was supported by Norte2020, through European Social Fund (FSE), under the National Doctoral Program in “Surfaces Engineering and Protection”, NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000047. The authors also thank the financial support by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the HEALTHYDENT (co-financed via FEDER (PT2020) POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030708 and FCT (PIDDAC)), On-Surf (co-financed via FEDER (PT2020) POCI-01-0247-FEDER-024521) and Strategic Funding (co-financed via UID/FIS/04650/2019 and FCT) projects

Information processing among high-performance managers

O propósito deste estudo foi avaliar o processamento da informação de 43 gestores empresariais de desempenho superior. No seu enquadramento teórico recorremos a três modelos: a Teoria dos Papéis Gerenciais de Henry Mintzberg, a Teoria do Processamento da Informação e o Modelo de Processo de Resposta ao Rorschach de John Exner. A ava-liação dos sujeitos recorreu ao método do Rorschach. Os resultados deste estudo mos-traram que esses gerentes são capazes de recolher dados, avaliá-los e estabelecer ran-kings de maneira adequada. Ao mesmo tempo, verifica-se que são capazes de ser objeti-vos e precisos na avaliação dos problemas. Este estilo de processamento de informação possibilita uma interpretação do mundo a partir de um modo de processamento ou de um estilo cognitivo, próprio e característico.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the information processing of 43 business managers with a professional superior performance. The theoretical framework consid-ers three models: the Theory of Managerial Roles of Henry Mintzberg, the Theory of In-formation Processing, and Process Model Response to Rorschach by John Exner. The participants have been evaluated by Rorschach method. The results show that these managers are able to collect data, evaluate them and establish rankings properly. At same time they are capable of being objective and accurate in the problems assessment. This information processing style permits an interpretation of the world around on basis of a very personal and characteristic processing way or cognitive style.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), no âmbito do Fundo de Apoio à Comunidade Científica - Edição de Publicações Periódicas de Natureza Científica

The effects of spinal anaesthesia for elective caesarean section on uterine and umbilical arterial pulsatility indexes in normotensive and chronic hypertensive pregnant women: a prospective, longitudinal study

Background: Despite the known effects of neuraxial blockade on major vessel function and the rapid decrease in uterine vascular impedance, it is unclear how the blockade affects the utero-placental circulation in the near-term. We hypothesize that among women with chronic hypertension, a loss of sympathetic tonus consequent to spinal block may cause significant changes in the utero-placental haemodynamics than the changes typical in normal pregnant women. Therefore, the main study objective was to analyse the effect of spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section on uterine and umbilical arterial impedance in pregnant women at term diagnosed with stage-1 chronic hypertension. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal study was performed in singleton pregnant women (203 low-risk and 33 with hypertension) scheduled to undergo elective caesarean section. The mean arterial blood pressure and pulsatility indexes for the uterine and umbilical arteries were recorded before and after spinal anaesthesia was performed using 8–9 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine (5 mg/mL) and 2–2.5 μg sufentanil (5 μg/mL). Multiple linear regression models with errors capable of correlation or with unequal variances were fitted using the generalized least squares. Results: In normotensive women, the mean arterial blood pressure decreased after administering spinal anaesthesia (p < 0.05). The pulsatility index of the uterine and umbilical arteries did not change after spinal anaesthesia. In the hypertensive women, the mean arterial blood pressure (p < 0.05) and uterine artery pulsatility index (p < 0.05) decreased. In both groups, the umbilical artery pulsatility index did not change after spinal anaesthesia. Conclusions: In stage-1 chronic hypertensive pregnant women at term, spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section reduces uterine artery impedance but not umbilical artery impedance. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2393-14-291) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Estudantes com deficiência no ensino superior: percepção dos factores facilitadores e inibidores da integração e do sucesso académico

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).Secretariado Nacional para a Reabilitação e Integração de Pessoas com Deficiência

Development and characterization of PHB-HV based 3D scaffolds for a tissue engineering and cell-therapy combinatorial approach for spinal cord Injury regeneration

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to devastating neurological deficits. Several tissue engineering (TE)- based approaches have been investigated for repairing this condition. Poly (3-hydroxybutyrateco- 3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHB-HV) is found to be particularly attractive for TE applications due to its properties, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, thermoplasticity and piezoelectricity. Hence, this report addresses the development and characterization of PHB-HV-based 3D scaffolds, produced by freeze-drying, aimed to SCI treatment. The obtained scaffolds reveal an anisotropic morphology with a fully interconnected network of pores. In vitro studies demonstrate a lack of cytotoxic effect of PHB-HV scaffolds. Direct contact assays also reveal their ability to support the culture of CNS-derived cells and mesenchymal-like stem cells from different sources. Finally, histocompatibility studies show that PHB-HV scaffolds are well tolerated by the host tissue, and do not negatively impact the left hindlimb locomotor function recovery. Therefore results herein presented suggest that PHB-HV scaffolds may be suitable for SCI treatment.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Grant no PTDC/SAU-BMA/114059/2009; PEst-C/SAU/LA0001/2013-2014 and RNEM-REDE/1506/REM/2005) and Foundation Calouste Gulbenkian, under the scope of the Gulbenkian Program to Support Cutting Edge Research in Life Sciences (A.J.S.). This work was also partially supported by the European FP7 Project Find and Bind (NMP4-SL-2009-229292). The authors would like to thank Miguel Carvalho, Fabio Teixeira, and Filipa Campos for their collaboration in in vivo experiments

Sustained remission from depressive-like behavior depends on hippocampal neurogenesis

Impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis has been associated with the expression of depressive-like symptoms and some studies have suggested neurogenesis as a critical factor in the normalization of behavior by antidepressant (AD) drugs. This study provides robust evidence that ongoing neurogenesis is essential for the maintenance of behavioral homeostasis and that its pharmacological arrest precipitates symptoms commonly found in depressed patients. Further, the incorporation of newly born neurons and astrocytes into the preexisting hippocampal neurocircuitry is shown to be necessary for the spontaneous recovery from the adverse effects of stress and for long-term benefits of AD treatments.We thank M Carneiro and L Martins for technical assistance. AM-P, LP, MM and SM received fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was supported by FCT (PTDC/SAU-NEU/105180/2008) and the ICVS

Trimetilaminúria (Síndroma de odor a peixe) uma doença subestimada: espectro mutacional da população portuguesa

Pretende-se com este trabalho divulgar a capacidade instalada de estudo desta doença, esclarecer a etiologia de casos investigados e tentar correlacionar o genótipo/fenótipo da doença, minimizando os impactos psicossociais que esta patologia acarreta. Por outro lado, pretende-se também alertar para a necessidade do estudo desta patologia de uma forma integrada com a farmacogenética, uma vez que certos genótipos poderão condicionar a atuação de um determinado fármaco

Ensino da leitura no 1.º ciclo do ensino básico: crenças, conhecimentos e formação dos professores

Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santo