Portuguese Adaptation of Students Engagement in Schools International Scale (SESIS)

The importance of student’s engagement has been recently pointed out in research. However, there has been a lack of engagement assessment instrument, pertaining psychometric qualities. Objective: This paper presents the Portuguese adaptation of the “Student’s Engagement in School International Scale” (SESIS), drawn up from a12 countries international study (Lam et al., 2012; Lam et al., in press). Method: Psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data from 685 students from different grades (6th, 7th, 9th and 10th), from both sexes, and different regions of the country. Results: Factorial analysis of the results, with varimax rotation, lead to three different factors which explain 50.88% of the variance. The scale integrates the original 33 items, and cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions. For the external validity study, the relationship between student’s engagement in school results and other school variables — academic performance, self-concept — was considered, and significant relations were observed, as expected. Conclusion: The data presented highlights the qualities of SESIS, as well as its usefulness for research purposes. Suggestion: It is suggested the investigation of the extension of SESIS’s three-dimensionality, in future studiesKeywords: Innovation, technology, research projects, etc. [Arial 10-point, justified alignment]

Ecologia do desenvolvimento profissional das crianças: uma revisão da literatura

Previous efforts to elaborate an organizing framework for the study of children’s career development identified its main dimensions and processes. However, the existing literature on children’s ecological subsystems is scarce. This article presents a literature review of the context of children’s career development. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s theory, 36 eligible articles covered the following subjects: the Microsystems family and school; the mesosystems family-school/peer-school relations and antecedents of transitions; the exosystems parents’ work situation, social class, curriculum and teachers’ professional development; the macrosystems ethnicity and culture; and the chronosystems passage of time over the life-course and across generations. An ecological perspective can be included in an organizing framework of children’s careers and support further research and intervention. Empirical and practical implications are discussed.Esforços prévios para organizar um modelo organizador do estudo do desenvolvimento profissional das crianças têm identificado as suas principais dimensões e processos. Contudo, a literatura existente sobre os subsistemas ecológicos das crianças é escassa. Este artigo apresenta uma revisão da literatura sobre os contextos de desenvolvimento profissional das crianças. De acordo com a teoria de Bronfenbrenner, 36 artigos elegidos abordam: os microssistemas família e escola; os mesossistemas família-escola/pares-escola e antecedentes de transições; os exossistemas situação profissional parental, classe social, currículo e desenvolvimento profissional de professores; os macrossistemas etnia e cultura; e os cronossistemas passagem do tempo no ciclo vital e entre gerações. Uma perspetiva ecológica pode ser incluída em um modelo organizador do desenvolvimento profissional das crianças e apoiar ivestigações e intervenção futuras. Discutem-se implicações empíricas e práticas.(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Therapeutic options for lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM): where we are and where we are going

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a multisystem disease affecting predominantly premenopausal and middle-aged women, causes progressive respiratory failure due to cystic lung destruction and is associated with lymphatic and kidney tumors. In the past, the treatment of LAM comprised exclusively anti-estrogen and related hormonal therapies. These treatments, however, have not been proven effective. In this article, we discuss new findings regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of LAM cell growth, which may offer opportunities to develop effective and targeted therapeutic agents

Is sirolimus a therapeutic option for patients with progressive pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease characterised by progressive airflow obstruction. No effective medical treatment is available but therapy with sirolimus has shown some promise. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate sirolimus in progressive LAM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sirolimus (trough level 5 - 10 ng/ml) was administered to ten female patients (42.4 ± 11.9 years) with documented progression. Serial pulmonary function tests and six-minute-walk-distance (6-MWD) assessments were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean loss of FEV₁was -2.30 ± 0.52 ml/day before therapy and a significant mean gain of FEV₁of 1.19 ± 0.26 ml/day was detected during treatment (p = 0.001). Mean FEV₁and FVC at baseline were 1.12 ± 0.15 l (36.1 ± 4.5%pred.) and 2.47 ± 0.25 l (69.2 ± 6.5%pred.), respectively. At three and six months during follow-up a significant increase of FEV₁and FVC was demonstrated (3 months ΔFEV₁: 220 ± 82 ml, p = 0.024; 6 months ΔFEV₁: 345 ± 58 ml, p = 0.001); (3 months ΔFVC: 360 ± 141 ml, p = 0.031; 6 months ΔFVC: 488 ± 138 ml, p = 0.006). Sirolimus was discontinued in 3 patients because of serious recurrent lower respiratory tract infection or sirolimus-induced pneumonitis. No deaths and no pneumothoraces occurred during therapy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that sirolimus might be considered as a therapeutic option in rapidly declining LAM patients. However, sirolimus administration may be associated with severe respiratory adverse events requiring treatment cessation in some patients. Moreover, discontinuation of sirolimus is mandatory prior to lung transplantation.</p

Individual characteristics and career exploration in adolescence

The effects of gender, age and school grade on several career exploration dimensions measured by the Career Exploration Survey were investigated. Subjects were high school students facing an imminent career decision. Regression analyses indicated that sex and grade-level were the most significant and prevailing individual characteristics related to the adolescents’ career exploration behaviours, reactions and beliefs. Implications for career exploration interventions are discussed.JNICT -Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica(PSU436-92)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Academic and life satisfaction in Portuguese and Mozambican college students : a comparative study

Publicado em "ICERI2010 Proceedings, ISBN 978-84-614-2439-9"The social-cognitive model of well-being [1] has become an important framework to study satisfaction and adjustment in specific life contexts and in overall life [1] [2]. Taking into consideration this integrative perspective, this paper aims to understand and compare the process of academic satisfaction in European and Mozambican Portuguese speaking college students, and to draw implications for psycho educational interventions and research in those contexts. We present and discuss the results of the assessment of self-efficacy, goal progress, environmental supports, academic adjustment, positive affect and overall life satisfaction dimensions (AAQ; Academic Adjustment Questionnaire [1]), conducted with 305 students attending one public university and one public polytechnic institute in Portugal, and with 465 students attending one public university in Mozambique. A first study of the instrument in Portugal with higher education students [3] revealed values of internal consistency for the seven scales ranging between 0,75 and 0,88 (M =0, 84, SD = 5,00). In this study, the range of internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach alpha) were between 0,52 and 0,78 (M =0,67, SD = 9,5) for the Portuguese sample, and between 0,65 and 0,83 (M =0,75, SD = 5,4) for the African Mozambican sample. Moreover, in the Portuguese sample, positive correlations were registered between the dimensions of academic adjustment, positive affect and satisfaction with life in general. In the Mozambican sample, in turn, in general, moderate and positive correlations were obtained, statistically significant between all the dimensions of the academic adjustment that were evaluated. An analysis of the mean tells us that, in both samples, students tend to have moderate values on the dimensions of the academic adjustment model. The comparison test of means reveals significant differences between the two countries in the overall dimensions of academic adjustment, with the exception of the scale factors to stimulate the academic adjustment. Specifically, the Portuguese students obtain the highest values in the dimensions of self-confidence, overall adjustment, and satisfaction with life. The Mozambican students registered higher results on self- confidence to face academic barriers and progress in their academic goals. The results obtained also evidence that students from both countries perceive they have a support system and incentives in the academic and classroom environments. This is a dimension that is directly and indirectly correlated with academic adjustment, in both samples, which suggests the importance of socio-cognitive dimensions of adjustment to college

An ancestral HIV-2/simian immunodeficiency virus peptide with potent HIV-1 and HIV-2 fusion inhibitor activity

"Objectives: To produce new fusion inhibitor peptides for HIV-1 and HIV-2 based on ancestral envelope sequences. Methods: HIV-2/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) ancestral transmembrane protein sequences were reconstructed and ancestral peptides were derived from the helical region 2 (HR2). The activity of one ancestral peptide (named P3) was examined against a panel of HIV-1 and HIV-2 primary isolates in TZM-bl cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells and compared to T-20. Peptide secondary structure was analyzed by circular dichroism. Resistant viruses were selected and resistance mutations were identified by sequencing the env gene. Results: P3 has 34 residues and overlaps the N-terminal pocket-binding region and heptad repeat core of HR2. In contrast to T-20, P3 forms a typical a-helical structure in solution, binds strongly to the transmembrane protein, and potently inhibits both HIV-2 (mean IC50, 63.8 nmol/l) and HIV-1 (11 nmol/l) infection, including T-20-resistant isolates. The N43K mutation in the HR1 region of HIV-1 leads to 120-fold resistance to P3 indicating that the HR1 region in transmembrane glycoprotein is the target of P3. No HIV-2-resistant mutations could be selected by P3 suggesting that the genetic barrier to resistance is higher in HIV-2 than in HIV-1. HIV-1-infected patients presented significantly lower P3-specific antibody reactivity compared to T-20. Conclusion: P3 is an HIV-2/SIV ancestral peptide with low antigenicity, high stability, and potent activity against both HIV-1, including variants resistant to T-20, and HIV-2. Similar evolutionary biology strategies should be explored to enhance the production of antiviral peptide drugs, microbicides, and vaccines.

Outbreak of acute respiratory infection among infants in Lisbon, Portugal, caused by human adenovirus serotype 3 and a new 7/3 recombinant strain

Human adenoviruses (AdVs) typically cause mild illnesses in otherwise healthy hosts. We investigated a pediatric outbreak of acute respiratory infection with fatal outcomes that occurred in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2004.Biological specimens were collected from 83 children attending two nurseries, a kinesiotherapy clinic, and the household of a nanny. Adenovirus infection was confirmed in 48 children by PCR and virus isolation. Most(96%) isolates were classified as being of subspecies B1. Phylogenetic analysis of fiber and hexon gene sequences revealed that most infants were infected with AdV serotype 3 (AdV3) strains. Infants attending one nursery harbored a new recombinant strain containing an AdV serotype 7 hexon and serotype 3 fiber (AdV7/3). Both the AdV3 and the AdV7/3 strains caused fatal infections. Two different serotype 3 strains were circulating in Lisbon in 2004, and the new AdV7/3 recombinant type originated from only one of those strains. These results demonstrate that recombination leads to the emergence of new adenovirus strains with epidemic and lethal potentialThis research was funded by DGE of the European Commission (for the research project entitled Genomic inventory, forensic markers, and assessment of potential therapeutic and vaccine targets for viruses relevant in biological crime and terrorism, grant SSPE-CT-2005-022639 RIVIGENE