Non-traditional university students at university: an explanatory model of the intention to continue studying

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Psicologia (área de especialização em Psicologia Escolar e da Educação)Em Portugal, tem aumentado a participação de novos grupos de alunos no ensino superior, resultando numa presença cada vez maior de estudantes adultos neste contexto. Embora o desempenho académico constitua um fator importante no processo de decisão dos alunos para continuar a estudar na universidade, a investigação sobre este tema é limitada. O presente estudo analisou a relação entre o desempenho académico e a intenção de estudantes não-tradicionais (NTS) continuarem os seus estudos numa universidade pública (N = 327). Os dados foram analisados através da construção de um modelo de equações estruturais, observando-se que a intenção de continuar a estudar dos alunos de primeiro ano é significativamente determinada pelo seu desempenho académico e que essa conquista é parcialmente determinada pela opção de entrada dos alunos na universidade, média de ingresso e idade. Os resultados apoiaram a viabilidade do modelo e sugerem direções rentáveis em relação à continuidade de NTS na universidade. Os dados sugerem que as universidades deveriam refletir sobre o apoio académico que NTS necessitam receber para continuarem os seus estudos.Portugal is widening the participation of new groups of people in higher education, resulting in a growing presence of mature students at university. Although academic achievement is believed to be an important factor in students’ decision to continue studying at university, the research on this topic is limited. The current study analyzed the relationship between academic achievement and the intention of non-traditional students (NTS) to continue studying at a public university (N=327). The data were analyzed by fitting a path model where first-year students’ intention to continue studying is significantly determined by their academic achievement and that this achievement is partly determined by students’ entry option at university, high school GPA and age. The findings supported the feasibility of the model and suggested profitable directions regarding the retention of NTS at university. The data suggest that universities should reflect upon the academic support that NTS receive to continue their studies

Manifestações neurológicas como forma de apresentação do cancro do pulmão

O cancro do pulmão, em particular o carcinoma de pequenas células do pulmão, é a principal causa maligna de síndromes paraneoplásicas. Esta revisão foca-se nos dados da literatura acerca da associação das síndromes paraneoplásicas com o cancro do pulmão. As síndromes paraneoplásicas podem ser o primeiro sinal de apresentação ou de recorrência da neoplasia subjacente. Geralmente, a síndrome paraneoplásica pode ser aliviada com o tratamento bem sucedido do tumor. Síndromes paraneoplásicas, em particular as neurológicas, são doenças com fisiopatologia relacionada ao cancro, mas não atribuíveis a metástases ou outros mecanismos indirectos. Desenvolvem-se em menos de 1% dos doentes com neoplasias sistémicas, mais frequentemente neoplasia pulmonar de pequenas células, neoplasias da mama e ovário. Podem afectar qualquer nível do sistema nervoso e frequentemente antecedem a detecção do tumor. O diagnóstico correcto depende de um alto grau de suspeição por parte do médico, além do conhecimento de suas manifestações clínicas e dos tumores tipicamente a elas associadas. Por anteceder o diagnóstico da neoplasia, a sua importância reside na oportunidade de identificar e tratar precocemente o tumor, que muitas vezes é pequeno e por isso mesmo escapa à detecção mesmo após avaliações clínicas repetidas

Fatores determinantes na escolha dos serviços termais

A presente dissertação aborda as estâncias termais de Portugal, baseando-se em passar um questionário por algumas delas. Pretende-se, deste modo, perceber quais os fatores determinantes na escolha dos serviços termais. A metodologia utilizada baseou-se na revisão de literatura e em seguida passar um questionário pelas seguintes estâncias termais, as Termas de São Pedro do Sul, as Termas das Caldas de Arêgos, as Termas de Chaves e as Termas de Amarante, conseguimos resposta de aquistas de outras termas através do questionário online partilhado pelas redes sociais. Os resultados indicam que a valorização deste tipo de estâncias termais é uma mais-valia na dinamização turística de territórios com menor procura turística, de menor densidade populacional, como é o caso de algumas termais que analisamos

Effects of word length and word frequency among dyslexic, ADHD-I and typical readers

This study aimed to investigate the neuropsycholinguistic functioning of children with Developmental Dyslexia (DD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) in a reading task. The psycholinguistic profile of both groups was assessed using a battery of neuropsychological and linguistic tests and compared to typical readers. Participants were submitted to a silent reading task with lexical manipulation of the text. Eye movements were recorded and compared aiming to find cognitive processes involved in reading that could help differentiate groups. The study examined whether word-frequency and word-length effects distinguish between groups. Participants included 19 typical readers, 21 children diagnosed with ADHD-I and 19 children with DD. All participants were attending 4th grade and had a mean age of 9.08 years. Children with DD and ADHD-I exhibited significant different cognitive and linguistic profiles on almost all measures evaluated when compared to typical readers. The effects of word length and word frequency interaction also differed significantly in the 3 experimental groups. The results support the multiple cognitive deficits theory. While the shared deficits support the evidence of a phonological disorder present in both conditions, the specific ones corroborate the hypothesis of an oculomotor dysfunction in DD and a visuo-spatial attention dysfunction in ADHD

Integrating cognitive factors and eye movement data in reading predictive models for children with dyslexia and ADHD-I

This study reports on several specific neurocognitive processes and eye-tracking predictors of reading outcomes for a sample of children with Developmental Dyslexia (DD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – inattentive subtype (ADHD-I) compared to typical readers. Participants included 19 typical readers, 21 children diagnosed with ADHD-I and 19 children with DD. All participants were attending 4th grade and had a mean age of 9.08 years. The psycholinguistic profile of each group was assessed using a battery of neuropsychological and linguistic tests. Participants were submitted to a silent reading task with lexical manipulation of the text. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the predictive capability of developing dyslexia or ADHD-I based on the following measures: (a) a linguistic model that included measures of phonological awareness, rapid naming, and reading fluency and accuracy; (b) a cognitive neuropsychological model that included measures of memory, attention, visual processes, and cognitive or intellectual functioning, and (c) an additive model of lexical word properties with manipulation of word-frequency and word-length effects trough eye-tracking. The additive model in conjunction with the neuropsychological model classification improved the prediction of who develops dyslexia or ADHD-I having as baseline normal readers. Several of the neuropsychological and eye-tracking variables have power to predict the degree of reading outcomes in children with learning disabilities

Multidimensional assessment study of the elderly living alone in the county of Alfândega da Fé – Northeast of Portugal

Indexada ao LatindexEm Portugal a taxa de idosos que vive na comunidade é cerca de 96%. A taxa de idosos que vivem sós é cerca de 16%. Importa conhecer a situação destes idosos para desenvolver estratégias que visem o seu bem-estar. O estudo teve como objetivo efetuar a avaliação multidimensional dos idosos que vivem sós no concelho de Alfândega da Fé (dados sociodemográficos; situação socioeconómica; situação habitacional; avaliação funcional; risco geriátrico; avaliação de violência e maus-tratos). O concelho de Alfandega da Fé tem 1661 idosos (INE, 2012) destes 260 vivem sozinhos. A amostra deste estudo é de 208 idosos. O instrumento de avaliação foi aplicado através de entrevista presencial. O tratamento estatístico dos dados inclui: indicadores de estatística descritiva (médias e frequências) de todas as variáveis estudadas; em função dos dados obtidos, foi considerado pertinente fazer um estudo do nível de depressão geriátrica, da avaliação do estado mental e do nível de dependência segundo o género e o grupo etário (jovens idosos, idosos e muito idosos) do idoso. O estudo confirma a importâncias dos familiares, vizinhos e amigos no enquadramento social dos idosos. Foram identificados níveis elevados de alteração da saúde mental (depressão sobretudo) e níveis igualmente elevados de dependência. De uma forma geral as mulheres idosas apresentam indicadores mais desfavoráveis.In Portugal the rate of elderly living in the community is about 96%. The rate of older people living alone is about 20%. Therefore it is important to know the situation of the elderly in order to develop strategies to improve their support and well-being. The aim of the study was to carry out the multidimensional assessment of the elderly living alone in the county of Alfândega da Fé – Northeast of Portugal: demographic data; socio-economic situation; housing; functional evaluation; geriatric risk; assessment on violence and physical abuse. The county of Alfândega da Fé has 1661 elderly people (INE, 2012), and about 16% (260) live alone. The sample is 208 elderly. The inquiry was applied by a direct interview. Statistical analysis includes descriptive and inferential statistics. The geriatric depression, mental state and dependency level were studied according to gender and age. The study confirms the importance of family, neighbors and friends for the support of the elderly. High levels of mental disorders were identified (depression mostly) and also high levels of dependency. In general, women have more unfavorable indicators

How Executive Functions Are Evaluated in Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy? A Systematic Review

Aims : The aim of the present study was to examine how executive functions are assessed in children and adolescents with Cerebral Palsy.Method : A systematic literature review was conducted using four bibliographic databases (WebScience, Scopus, PubMed, and Psycinfo), and only studies that evaluated at least one executive function were selected. Both the research and reporting of results were based on Cochrane's recommendations and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines.Results : The instrument most frequently used was the D-KEFS. All studies point to the existence of impairments in the executive functions among children and adolescents with Cerebral Palsy with an impact on several cognitive and life domains.Interpretation : There is a need to further systematize the research protocols to study the executive functions and their assessment in the intervention context. Findings of this review presented a diversity of tests (e.g., D-KEFS) or tasks (e.g., The inhibitory ability task) used with children with Cerebral Palsy. However, no information was given about adaptations performed to the test/task to meet Cerebral Palsy's specificities. Future research could consider including this information, which is key both to researchers and practitioners. The results of this study have important implications and suggestions for future avenues and guidelines for research and practice.This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). AP and SL were supported by PhD fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. PM was supported by a Post-Doctoral fellowship from the Research Center on Psychology (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização de fatores moleculares implicados na patogenicidade de Phytophthora cinnamomi

Os Oomicetas estão entre os organismos que causam doenças graves nas plantas e importantes perdas económicas na agricultura. São um grupo diverso de organismos eucariotas que podem encontrar-se em muitos nichos ecológicos, incluindo saprófitas e parasitas de plantas e animais. Phytophthora cinnamomi é um Oomiceta, considerado um dos patogéneos mais difundidos e destrutivos do planeta. A sua presença geográfica é cosmopolita e a gama de hospedeiros é encarada como uma das maiores. Este patogéneo causa danos económicos enormes a importantes culturas a nível mundial, isto contribuiu para despertar a atenção da comunidade científica. É o agente causal da doença da “tinta” do castanheiro (Castanea sativa Miller). Em Portugal, o castanheiro ocupa sobretudo a parte mais montanhosa do interior Centro e Norte, sendo uma importante fonte de rendimento das populações. O castanheiro tem diferentes aplicações, para além da castanha e da madeira, possuí um papel importante na ecologia dos solos e na biodiversidade. Por isso, é importante conhecer os mecanismos moleculares (genes e proteínas) que estão na base do processo infeccioso de Castanea sativa por Phytophthora cinnamomi e a natureza da interação patogéneo-hospedeiro a fim de se poderem estabelecer estratégias de combate e controlo deste parasita. Com ferramentas de bioinformática, conseguimos identificar e caracterizar o gene Avr3a em sequências genómicas de P. cinnamomi, depositadas nas Databases. Este gene codifica uma proteína com 209 aa reconhecida no citoplasma do hospedeiro onde desencadeia morte celular. Neste trabalho também caraterizamos duas sequências no genoma de P. cinnamomi que codificam proteínas de 309 e 425 aa, com atividade lipásica e com localização extracelular, homólogas com proteínas de papel significativo na patogenicidade de fungos de diferentes espécies do género Phytophthora. A fim de compreender melhor o seu papel no mecanismo de patogenicidade, foram desenhadas cassetes de silenciamento por ARN de interferência para os genes que codificam estas proteínas.Oomycetes are among the organisms that cause serious diseases in plants and significant economic losses in agriculture. They are a diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that can be found in many ecological niches, including saprophytes and plant and animal parasites. Phytophthora cinnamomi is an Oomycete considered one of the most widespread and destructive pathogens on the planet. Its geographic presence is cosmopolitan and the range of hosts is regarded as one of the largest. This pathogen causes enormous economic damages to important cultures worldwide, this has helped to attract the attention of the scientific community. It is the causal agent of chestnut "ink" disease (Castanea sativa Miller). In Portugal, the chestnut tree occupies mainly the hilly part of the interior of the Center and North, being an important source of income of the populations. The chestnut tree has different applications, besides chestnut and wood, it plays an important role in soil ecology and biodiversity. Therefore it is important to know the molecular mechanisms (genes and proteins) that are the basis of the Castanea sativa infestation process by Phytophthora cinnamomi and the nature of the pathogen-host interaction in order to establish strategies to combat and control this parasite. With bioinformatics tools, we were able to identify and characterize the Avr3a gene in genomic sequences of P. cinnamomi deposited in the Databases. This gene encodes a recognized 209 aa protein in the host cytoplasm where it triggers cell death. In this work we also characterize two sequences in the genome of P. cinnamomi that encode proteins of 309 and 425 aa with lipase activity and with extracellular localization, homologues with proteins with significant role in the pathogenicity of fungi of different species of the genus Phytophthora. In order to better understand their role in the pathogenicity mechanism, interference RNA silencing cassettes were designed for the genes encoding these proteins

Satisfaction with life in individuals with a lower limb amputation: The importance of active coping and acceptance

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between sociodemographic/clinical characteristics, coping strategies and satisfaction with life in individuals with lower limb amputation. Sixty-three individuals with a lower limb amputation due to Diabetes and Peripheral Vascular Disease participated in the study and answered measures of coping strategies and satisfaction with life. Findings revealed high dissatisfaction with life. Acceptance and active coping were the most used coping strategies. Satisfaction with life was positively associated with active and planning coping, religion, acceptance and humour. There were differences in coping strategies according to gender, age, marital status, presence of residual limb pain, prosthesis use and mobility level. Results emphasize the differential role of coping strategies, for each individual. Psychosocial interventions need to take into consideration coping strategies during the process of rehabilitation and be specific regarding individuals` sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. This study may help design interventions that answer individuals with lower limb amputations given that coping strategies are a valuable resource in the promotion of satisfaction with life.- (undefined

Digital games: possibilities and limitations: the Spore Game case

This paper discusses the educational value of digital games, its advantages and limitations. In order to present the educational potential of digital games, we proceed to the analysis and evaluation of a game, which was recently published by Electronic Arts Inc., Spore, a game that reached the market surrounded by controversy, due to the evolution of the cells that settle its universe. This game presents defensible characteristics regardless of the underlying moral bias, offering a strong educational potential and reveling itself as a valuable educational resource, as it promotes active, autonomous and participated learning processes.Universidade do Minho. Centro de Investigação em Educação (CIEd