Inclusão social de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais: estudo de caso

O presente trabalho de investigação aborda a temática da inclusão social de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais, incluindo uma componente de sensibilização de uma turma para a diferença. Esta investigação foi concretizada no Agrupamento de Escolas Coimbra Centro, nomeadamente na Escola Básica Poeta Manuel da Silva Gaio, numa turma do 9º ano de escolaridade. Trata-se de uma temática com grande amplitude na sociedade e cada vez mais discutida nas escolas – a inclusão de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais – pelo que este trabalho pretende contribuir para perceber qual a situação dos alunos com necessidades educativas especiais (NEE) e dar voz a todos alunos de uma turma do 9º ano da Escola Básica Silva Gaio, nomeadamente aos alunos com NEE que nem sempre têm possibilidade de se expressar. A metodologia de investigação utilizada para a realização deste estudo foi a qualitativa ou interpretativa. A técnica de recolha de dados e instrumentos que considerámos importantes para a investigação foram o teste sociométrico, o questionário aos professores, entrevistas semiestruturadas ao diretor de turma e ao professor de Educação Especial e as observações realizadas. Este trabalho decorreu nos meses de Março a Junho de 2017. Através da análise dos dados realizada pudemos constatar que a inclusão social dos alunos com e sem NEE, merece uma reflexão conjunta (alunos e professores) tendo em vista o alcance do direito de participação e envolvimento de todos os intervenientes no processo de ensino e aprendizagem. Apesar da direção da escola e os professores afirmarem que a mesma reúne condições adequadas à inclusão de alunos com NEE, tais como a existência de recursos humanos e materiais (professores de educação especial e materiais de compensação), carece ainda de uma formação nesta área que abranja todos os professores e também de maior disponibilidade de tempo e espaços para poder ouvir os alunos com e sem Necessidades Educativas Especiais, pois a inclusão social refere-se a todos e não apenas aos alunos com Necessidades Educativas Especiais, sendo que ninguém melhor do que os próprios para dizerem como se sentem e o que deve ser feito no sentido de haver uma maior inclusão social de todos. Na perspetiva dos alunos, as condições da escola carecem de uma adequação que potencie a inclusão de todos os alunos

Developing a multi-touch serious game to fight the digital divide : the Portuguese ATM a pilot case study

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has grown substantially over the past few years. However, a portion of the world’s society has not been able to keep up with these technological advances. For this purpose, we present a serious game with a multi-touch interface envisioned to encourage and teach digitally excluded people on how to use the Portuguese Automated Teller Machine (ATM): a commodity much needed by society, but still avoided by some, mainly due to their fear of the digital world. An exploratory study was conducted to investigate if a serious game based on a new interaction paradigm can have a positive influence in the struggle against the Portuguese digital divide. We believe that the findings of our pilot case study can be useful to determine if a multi-touch serious game, due to its intuitiveness and ease of use, can stimulate the digitally excluded people to handle the ATM on a regular basis. The results that were obtained suggest that this approach may indeed produce a positive impact in the attempt to bridge the Portuguese digital divide.We would like to acknowledge the support and contribution of the two Parishes of Vila Real and their Chairmen. Diana Carvalho has a PhD fellowship granted by FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/81541/2011)

A 5G-based authentication framework for V2X communication

The integration of Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) promises to revolutionize smart mobility. However, this technological advancement also exposes V2X networks to cybersecurity threats. To address these challenges, this work explores the critical security requirements for V2X communications, including User Equipment (UE) authorization, data integrity protection, and privacy support

Use of clobetasol in lacquer for plaque psoriasis treatment

Clobetasol benefits to control psoriasis lesions are well defined, but there were not studies about its action when used in lacquer vehicle to control skin lesions. A double-blind study was conducted with 40 patients that utilized clobetasol 0.05% in one hemibody and just the vehicle in the other hemibody. Twenty of them used petrolatum as vehicle and the others used lacquer. An assessment was conducted using the clinical index PASI and a quality of life questionnaire (Dermatological Life Quality Index). There was no statistical difference between groups. There was a trend of favorable response particularly in the hemibody treated with clobetasol911113115CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSem informação2008/09433-

Antimicrobial resistance three ways: healthcare crisis, major concepts, and the relevance of biofilms

Worldwide, infections are resuming their role as highly effective killing diseases, as current treatments are failing to respond to the growing problem that is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The social and economical burden of AMR seems ever rising, with health- and research-related organizations rushing to collaborate on a worldwide scale to find effective solutions. Resistant bacteria are spreading even in first-world nations, being found not only in healthcare-related settings, but also in food and in the environment. In this mini-review, the impact of AMR in healthcare systems and the major bacteria behind it are highlighted. Ecological aspects of AMR evolution and the complexity of its molecular mechanisms are explained. Major concepts, such as intrinsic, acquired, and adaptive resistance, as well as tolerance and heteroresistance, are also clarified. More importantly, the problematic of biofilms and their role in AMR, namely its main resistance and tolerance mechanisms, is elucidated. Finally, some of the most promising anti-biofilm strategies being investigated are reviewed. Much is still to be done regarding the study of AMR and the discovery of new anti-biofilm strategies. Gladly, considerable research on this topic is generated every day and increasingly concerted actions are being engaged globally to try and tackle this problem.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors also acknowledge COMPETE2020 and FCT for the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029841, and FCT for the PhD Grants of Andreia Magalhães [grant number SFRH/BD/132165/2017] and Tânia Grainha [grant number SFRH/BD/136544/2018].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

East Asia Today

East Asia attracts growing interest in the West. Th e region is the world’s hotbed of economic growth, led by burgeoning China aided by more advanced Asian economies investing heavily in manufacturing and trading networks involving China. Western entrepreneurs clamor to join the China wave

Morphological and Postural changes in the foot during pregnancy and puerperium : a longitudinal study

The aim of this study is to observe the morphological and postural changes to the foot that take place during pregnancy and the puerperium. Method: In this descriptive, observational, longitudinal study, we analysed 23 pregnant women, with particular attention to morphological and postural aspects of the foot, at three time points during and after pregnancy: in weeks 9-13 of gestation, weeks 32-35 of gestation and weeks 4-6 after delivery. The parameters considered were changes in foot length, the Foot Posture Index (FPI) and the Hernández Corvo Index, which were analysed using a pedigraph and taking into account the Body Mass Index (BMI). The same procedure was conducted in each review. Results: The statistical analyses obtained for each foot did not differ significantly between the three measurement times. A pronator-type footprint was most frequently observed during the third trimester of pregnancy; it was predominantly neutral during the postpartum period. Statistically significant differences between the measurement times were obtained in the right foot for cavus vs. neutral foot type (between the first and third trimesters and also between the first trimester and the puerperium) (in both cases, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Foot length increases in the third trimester and returns to normal in the puerperium. According to FPI findings, the third trimester of pregnancy is characterised by pronation, while the posture returns to neutrality during the postpartum period. During pregnancy, the plantar arch flattens, and this persists during the puerperium. The incidence of cavus foot increases significantly in the third trimester and in the puerperium