Modelo pedagógico Problem Based Learning aplicado na licenciatura em Saúde Ambiental

No ano letivo 2017/18 iniciou-se o processo de transição do plano de estudos do curso de Licenciatura em Saúde Ambiental, na Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico do Porto. A nova estrutura curricular do curso assenta no modelo pedagógico Problem Based Learning (PBL). Este modelo é muitas vezes definido em oposição às abordagens ditas como “tradicionais”. Um dos pontos mais diferenciadores é a sua interdisciplinaridade, a qual se encontra refletida na estrutura curricular do curso. A substituição do conhecimento fragmentado, apresentado nos modelos tradicionais em diferentes Unidades Curriculares (UC), pelo estudo de problemas reais em Saúde Ambiental que permitem envolver e relacionar várias áreas de conhecimento, promove não só uma melhor integração dos conteúdos curriculares, mas também potencia a aprendizagem, de uma forma contextual. Neste modelo pedagógico o docente deixa de ser visto como um meio para expor a matéria, passando a ser considerado pelo estudante como um especialista com quem poderá esclarecer as suas questões ao longo das sessões de recurso (equivalente às aulas teóricas). Adicionalmente, existe a necessidade da figura de um tutor, o qual acompanhará o grupo ao longo do estudo do problema nas sessões de orientação tutorial. Este trabalho em grupo promove o desenvolvimento de competências transversais. Foi realizada uma análise comparativa do desempenho dos estudantes entre os dois planos de estudos. Numa primeira fase, foram determinadas as notas equivalentes às novas UC dos 1º e 2º anos considerando a classificação obtida pelos estudantes em 16/17 e de acordo com o plano de acreditação do ciclo de estudos. Posteriormente, estes resultados foram comparados com as notas obtidas pelos estudantes nas novas UC em 2017/18. Os dados denotaram uma melhoria nos resultados de aprendizagem, enfatizando a pertinência do PBL na Licenciatura em Saúde Ambiental.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Asymptotic normalization coefficients from the 14C(d,p)15C reaction

The {sup 14}C(n, {gamma}){sup 15}C reaction plays an important role in inhomogeneous big bang models. In Timofeyuk et al.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 162501 (2006)] it was shown that the {sup 14}C(n, {gamma}){sup 15}C radiative capture at astrophysically relevant energies is a peripheral reaction, i.e., the overall normalization of its cross section is determined by the asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) for {sup 15}C{yields}{sup 14}C+n. Here we present new measurements of the {sup 14}C(d, p){sup 15}C differential cross sections at deuteron incident energy of 17.06 MeV and the analysis to determine the ANCs for neutron removal from the ground and first excited states of {sup 15}C. The results are compared with previous estimations

Characterization of Individualized Glycemic Excursions during a Standardized Bout of Hypoglycemia-Inducing Exercise and Subsequent Hypoglycemia Treatment—A Pilot Study

The glycemic response to ingested glucose for the treatment of hypoglycemia following exercise in type 1 diabetes patients has never been studied. Therefore, we aimed to characterize glucose dynamics during a standardized bout of hypoglycemia-inducing exercise and the subsequent hypoglycemia treatment with the oral ingestion of glucose. Ten male patients with type 1 diabetes performed a standardized bout of cycling exercise using an electrically braked ergometer at a target heart rate (THR) of 50% of the individual heart rate reserve, determined using the Karvonen equation. Exercise was terminated when hypoglycemia was reached, followed by immediate hypoglycemia treatment with the oral ingestion of 20 g of glucose. Arterialized blood glucose (ABG) levels were monitored at 5 min intervals during exercise and for 60 min during recovery. During exercise, ABG decreased at a mean rate of 0.11 ± 0.03 mmol/L·min−1 (minimum: 0.07, maximum: 0.17 mmol/L·min−1). During recovery, ABG increased at a mean rate of 0.13 ± 0.05 mmol/L·min−1 (minimum: 0.06, maximum: 0.19 mmol/L·min−1). Moreover, 20 g of glucose maintained recovery from hypoglycemia throughout the 60 min postexercise observation window

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health: An international study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic triggered vast governmental lockdowns. The impact of these lockdowns on mental health is inadequately understood. On the one hand such drastic changes in daily routines could be detrimental to mental health. On the other hand, it might not be experienced negatively, especially because the entire population was affected. Methods The aim of this study was to determine mental health outcomes during pandemic induced lockdowns and to examine known predictors of mental health outcomes. We therefore surveyed n = 9,565 people from 78 countries and 18 languages. Outcomes assessed were stress, depression, affect, and wellbeing. Predictors included country, sociodemographic factors, lockdown characteristics, social factors, and psychological factors. Results Results indicated that on average about 10% of the sample was languishing from low levels of mental health and about 50% had only moderate mental health. Importantly, three consistent predictors of mental health emerged: social support, education level, and psychologically flexible (vs. rigid) responding. Poorer outcomes were most strongly predicted by a worsening of finances and not having access to basic supplies. Conclusions These results suggest that on whole, respondents were moderately mentally healthy at the time of a population-wide lockdown. The highest level of mental health difficulties were found in approximately 10% of the population. Findings suggest that public health initiatives should target people without social support and those whose finances worsen as a result of the lockdown. Interventions that promote psychological flexibility may mitigate the impact of the pandemic

To Help or Not to Help? Prosocial Behavior, Its Association With Well-Being, and Predictors of Prosocial Behavior During the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic

Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded to ATG (PP00P1_ 163716/1 and PP00P1_190082). The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors (EH and ATG) but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Haller, Lubenko, Presti, Squatrito, Constantinou, Nicolaou, Papacostas, Aydın, Chong, Chien, Cheng, Ruiz, García-Martín, Obando-Posada, Segura-Vargas, Vasiliou, McHugh, Höfer, Baban, Dias Neto, da Silva, Monestès, Alvarez-Galvez, Paez-Blarrina, Montesinos, Valdivia-Salas, Ori, Kleszcz, Lappalainen, Ivanović, Gosar, Dionne, Merwin, Karekla, Kassianos and Gloster.The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally disrupted humans’ social life and behavior. Public health measures may have inadvertently impacted how people care for each other. This study investigated prosocial behavior, its association well-being, and predictors of prosocial behavior during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and sought to understand whether region-specific differences exist. Participants (N = 9,496) from eight regions clustering multiple countries around the world responded to a cross-sectional online-survey investigating the psychological consequences of the first upsurge of lockdowns in spring 2020. Prosocial behavior was reported to occur frequently. Multiple regression analyses showed that prosocial behavior was associated with better well-being consistently across regions. With regard to predictors of prosocial behavior, high levels of perceived social support were most strongly associated with prosocial behavior, followed by high levels of perceived stress, positive affect and psychological flexibility. Sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of prosocial behavior were similar across regions.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Mental Health and Adherence to COVID-19 Protective Behaviors among Cancer Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International, Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted during the first COVID-19 wave, to examine the impact of COVID-19 on mental health using an anonymous online survey, enrolling 9565 individuals in 78 countries. The current sub-study examined the impact of the pandemic and the associated lockdown measures on the mental health, and protective behaviors of cancer patients in comparison to non-cancer participants. Furthermore, 264 participants from 30 different countries reported being cancer patients. The median age was 51.5 years, 79.9% were female, and 28% had breast cancer. Cancer participants reported higher self-efficacy to follow recommended national guidelines regarding COVID-19 protective behaviors compared to non-cancer participants (p < 0.01). They were less stressed (p < 0.01), more psychologically flexible (p < 0.01), and had higher levels of positive affect compared to non-cancer participants. Amongst cancer participants, the majority (80.3%) reported COVID-19, not their cancer, as their priority during the first wave of the pandemic and females reported higher levels of stress compared to males. In conclusion, cancer participants appeared to have handled the unpredictable nature of the first wave of the pandemic efficiently, with a positive attitude towards an unknown and otherwise frightening situation. Larger, cancer population specific and longitudinal studies are warranted to ensure adequate medical and psychological care for cancer patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Molecular dissection of colorectal cancer in pre-clinical models identifies biomarkers predicting sensitivity to EGFR inhibitors.

Colorectal carcinoma represents a heterogeneous entity, with only a fraction of the tumours responding to available therapies, requiring a better molecular understanding of the disease in precision oncology. To address this challenge, the OncoTrack consortium recruited 106 CRC patients (stages I-IV) and developed a pre-clinical platform generating a compendium of drug sensitivity data totalling >4,000 assays testing 16 clinical drugs on patient-derived in vivo and in vitro models. This large biobank of 106 tumours, 35 organoids and 59 xenografts, with extensive omics data comparing donor tumours and derived models provides a resource for advancing our understanding of CRC. Models recapitulate many of the genetic and transcriptomic features of the donors, but defined less complex molecular sub-groups because of the loss of human stroma. Linking molecular profiles with drug sensitivity patterns identifies novel biomarkers, including a signature outperforming RAS/RAF mutations in predicting sensitivity to the EGFR inhibitor cetuximab