Experiência no curso de estudantes de 1º ano – um estudo no âmbito das tutorias de acompanhamento na Universidade de Évora

O presente estudo pretende conhecer a experiência no curso de estudantes de 1º ano que ingressaram na Universidade de Évora no final do 1º semestre. Estudos realizados sobre a percepção dos estudantes relativa ao contexto de aprendizagem no ensino superior indicam forte relação com as abordagens à aprendizagem e apresentam forte relevância para a compreensão da forma como os estudantes acedem ao conhecimento e para a definição de processos de aprendizagem de elevada qualidade (Entwistle, 2009; Chaleta & Entwistle, 2011). Os dados foram obtidos através da aplicação do CEQP (Ramsden, 2005; 2006; Chaleta et al, 2012) com 565 estudantes de diferentes cursos e áreas científicas. Os resultados indicaram que a experiência no curso é positiva para o conjunto dos estudantes havendo necessidade de observar com mais atenção as questões relacionadas com a avaliação. A grande maioria dos estudantes revela também satisfação com o curso que frequenta. Palavras-Chave: Experiência no Curso; Tutorias de Acompanhamento; CEQP; Ensino Superior. Abstract This study examine the experience in the course of the 1st year students who entered at the University of Évora. Studies on the perception of students on the learning environment in higher education indicate a strong relationship with the approaches to learning and have strong relevance to the understanding how students access the knowledge and the definition of high quality learning processes (Entwistle, 2009; Chaleta & Entwistle, 2011). The data were obtained by applying the CEQP (Ramsden, 2005, 2006; Chaleta et al, 2012) with 565 students from different courses and scientific areas. The results indicated that the course experience is positive for all the students but we need to look more closely at the issues related to assessment. The vast majority of students also reveals satisfaction with the course who attends Keywords: Course Experience; Mentor Monitoring; CEQP; Higher Education

Usefulness of Perfusion CT to Assess Response to Neoadjuvant Combined Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To prospectively evaluate perfusion computed tomography (CT) for assessment of changes in tumor vascularity after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer and to analyze the correlation between baseline perfusion parameters and tumor response. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients with rectal cancer underwent baseline perfusion CT before CRT, and in 11 an examination after CRT was also performed. For each tumor, blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), and permeability-surface area product (PS) were quantified. The Mann-Whitney U test compared baseline perfusion parameters of responders and nonresponders and pre- and post-CRT measurements were compared by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (P < .05 statistically significant for both tests). RESULTS: Baseline BF was significantly lower (P = .013) and MTT was significantly higher (P = .006) in responders. Both were able to discriminate responders from nonresponders with a sensitivity of 80% and 100% and a specificity of 73.3% and 86.7%, respectively, for BF and MTT. Baseline BV and PS were not significantly different in responders and nonresponders. Perfusion parameters changed significantly in post-CRT scans compared to baseline: BF (P = .003), BV (P = .003), and PS (P = .008) decreased, whereas MTT increased (P = .006). CONCLUSION: Baseline BF and MTT can discriminate patients with a favorable response from those that fail to respond to CRT, potentially selecting high-risk patients with resistant tumors that may benefit from an aggressive preoperative treatment approach

Molecular Typing, Virulence Traits and Antimicrobial Resistance of Diabetic Foot Staphylococci

Diabetes mellitus is a major chronic disease that continues to increase significantly. One of the most important and costly complications of diabetes are foot infections that may be colonized by pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria, harboring several virulence factors, that could impair its successful treatment. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most prevalent isolate in diabetic foot infections, together with aerobes and anaerobes

Salmonella sp. in edible offal (liver and tongue) from pigs slaughtered for consumption

During this study, 120 samples from slaughtered pigs (tongue swabs, n=40; liver swabs, n=40; liver parenchyma, n=40) were collected in a slaughterhouse. Salmonella sp. was isolated using conventional microbiological methods and strains were analyzed using serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and macrorestriction profiling (MRP) by Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), to identify clonal relationships and potential contamination sources

COMPARAÇÃO DA CIRURGIA CONVENCIONAL COM A LAPAROSCÓPICA NO CANCRO DO RETO: RESULTADOS DO REGISTO PORTUGUÊS

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the 3-year rates of local recurrence (LR) and overall survival (OS) for open (OPEN) and laparoscopic (LAP) surgeries in a Portuguese registry. Material and Methods: This observational study included patients who underwent rectal cancer resection performed in 16 hospitals between July 2014 and December 2019. The radiologic staging and the specimen images of the first three cases of any hospital were uploaded and audited by the scientific committee. Clinical and pathological characteristics and short and long-term outcomes of OPEN and LAP surgeries were analyzed. Results: The registry included 640 patients who underwent rectal cancer surgery: 562 (87.8%) underwent curative resection and 78 (12.2%) underwent palliative resection. In the curative cohort, OPEN surgery was performed in 269 cases whereas LAP surgery, which had a conversion rate of 17.5%, was performed in 266 cases. The pN staging showed that the LAP group had less advanced disease than the OPEN group. Anterior resection was performed in 57.8% of the cases whereas abdominoperineal resection was performed in 16.5%. Patients who underwent LAP surgery had shorter hospital stays. The 3-year LR rate was 3.0% (95% CI, 1.4%-6.3%) for LAP surgery and 8.3% (95% CI, 5.1%-13.1%) for OPEN surgery (P=0.02). The 3-year OS was 88.2% (95% CI, 83.1%-92.0%) for LAP surgery and 76.5% (95% CI, 69.1%-82.6%) for OPEN surgery (P=0.0061). Discussion: LAP surgery for patients with rectal cancer is associated with a decreased LR rate and improved OS, although in those with less advanced pN staging. Conclusion: The data support the view that the LAP approach is justified for rectal cancer when performed by surgeons with appropriate laparoscopic experience.Introdução: O objetivo do estudo consistiu na avaliação da recidiva local (RL) e da sobrevivência global (SG) aos 3 anos, comparando cirurgia convencional (CONV) e laparoscópica (LAP) no registo Português do cancro do reto. Material e Métodos: Neste estudo observacional incluíram-se doentes com cirurgia por cancro do reto realizada em 16 hospitais, entre Julho 2014 e Dezembro 2019. O estadiamento imagiológico e as imagens anatomopatológicas foram registadas e auditadas pela comissão científica. Analisaram-se as características clinico-patológicas e os resultados pós-operatórios e à distância na cirurgia CONV e LAP. Resultados: O registo inclui 640 doentes que realizaram cirurgia por cancro do reto: 562 (87.8%) resseções curativas e 78 (12.2%) resseções paliativas. No grupo curativo foram realizadas 269 resseções CONV e 266 resseções LAP, que tiveram conversão em 17,5% dos casos. O grupo LAP tinha estadiamento pN menos avançado que o grupo CONV. A resseção anterior foi realizada em 57,8% dos casos e a amputação abdominoperineal em 16,5%. Os doentes com cirurgia LAP tiveram estadia pós-operatória mais curta. A taxa de RL aos 3 anos foi de 3,0% (95% CI, 1,4%-6,3%) na cirurgia LAP e 8,3% (95% CI, 5.1%-13,1%) na cirurgia CONV (P=0.02). A SG aos 3 anos foi 88,2% (95% CI, 83,1%-92,0%) na cirurgia LAP e 76,5% (95% CI, 69,1%-82,6%) na cirurgia CONV (P=0.0061). Discussão: Nos doentes com cancro do reto a cirurgia LAP associou-se a menor taxa de RL e melhor SG, embora em doentes com estadiamento pN menos avançado. Conclusão: Estes resultados confirmam que no cancro do reto a abordagem LAP é segura se for realizada por cirurgiões com adequada experiência laparoscópica

Observed development of the vertical structure of the marine boundary layer during the LASIE experiment in the Ligurian Sea

In the marine environment, complete datasets describing the surface layer and the vertical structure of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL), through its entire depth, are less frequent than over land, due to the high cost of measuring campaigns. During the seven days of the Ligurian Air-Sea Interaction Experiment (LASIE), organized by the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) in the Mediterranean Sea, extensive in situ and remote sensing measurements were collected from instruments placed on a spar buoy and a ship. Standard surface meteorological measurements were collected by meteorological sensors mounted on the buoy ODAS Italia1 located in the centre of the Gulf of Genoa. The evolution of the height (&lt;I&gt;z&lt;sub&gt;i&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/I&gt;) of the MABL was monitored using radiosondes and a ceilometer on board of the N/O Urania. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Here, we present the database and an uncommon case study of the evolution of the vertical structure of the MABL, observed by two independent measuring systems: the ceilometer and radiosondes. Following the changes of surface flow conditions, in a sequence of onshore – offshore – onshore wind direction shifting episodes, during the mid part of the campaign, the overall structure of the MABL changed. Warm and dry air from land advected over a colder sea, induced a stably stratified Internal Boundary Layer (IBL) and a consequent change in the structure of the vertical profiles of potential temperature and relative humidity

Developing and Validating High-Value Patient Digital Follow-Up Services: a Pilot Study in Cardiac Surgery

Background: The existing digital healthcare solutions demand a service development approach that assesses needs, experience, and outcomes, to develop high-value digital healthcare services. The objective of this study was to develop a digital transformation of the patients' follow-up service after cardiac surgery, based on a remote patient monitoring service that would respond to the real context challenges. Methods: The study followed the Design Science Research methodology framework and incorporated concepts from the Lean startup method to start designing a minimal viable product (MVP) from the available resources. The service was implemented in a pilot study with 29 patients in 4 iterative develop-test-learn cycles, with the engagement of developers, researchers, clinical teams, and patients. Results: Patients reported outcomes daily for 30 days after surgery through Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and a mobile app. The service's evaluation considered experience, feasibility, and effectiveness. It generated high satisfaction and high adherence among users, fewer readmissions, with an average of 7 ± 4.5 clinical actions per patient, primarily due to abnormal systolic blood pressure or wound-related issues. Conclusions: We propose a 6-step methodology to design and validate a high-value digital health care service based on collaborative learning, real-time development, iterative testing, and value assessment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

NewsImages : Addressing the Depiction Gap with an Online News Dataset for Text-Image Rematching

We present NewsImages, a dataset of online news items, and the related NewsImages rematching task. The goal of NewsImages is to provide researchers with a means of studying the depiction gap, which we define to be the difference between what an image literally depicts and the way in which it is connected to the text that it accompanies. Online news is a domain in which the image-text connection is known to be indirect: The news article does not describe what is literally depicted in the image. We validate NewsImages with experiments that show the dataset's and the task's use for studying occurring connections between image and text, as well as addressing the depiction gap, which include sparse data, diversity of content, and importance of background knowledge.Peer reviewe

Protective Responses at the Biochemical and Molecular Level Differ between a Coffea arabica L. Hybrid and Its Parental Genotypes to Supra-Optimal Temperatures and Elevated Air [CO2]

Climate changes with global warming associated with rising atmospheric [CO2] can strongly impact crop performance, including coffee, which is one of the most world’s traded agricultural commodities. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to understand the mechanisms of heat tolerance and the potential role of elevated air CO2 (eCO2) in the coffee plant response, particularly regarding the antioxidant and other protective mechanisms, which are crucial for coffee plant acclimation. For that, plants of Coffea arabica cv. Geisha 3, cv. Marsellesa and their hybrid (Geisha 3 Marsellesa) were grown for 2 years at 25/20 C (day/night), under 400 (ambient CO2, aCO2) or 700 L (elevated CO2, eCO2) CO2 L-1, and then gradually submitted to a temperature increase up to 42/30 C, followed by recovery periods of 4 (Rec4) and 14 days (Rec14). Heat (37/28 C and/or 42/30 C) was the major driver of the response of the studied protective molecules and associated genes in all genotypes. That was the case for carotenoids (mostly neoxanthin and lutein), but the maximal (a + b) carotenes pool was found at 37/28 C only in Marsellesa. All genes (except VDE) encoding for antioxidative enzymes (catalase, CAT; superoxide dismutases, CuSODs; ascorbate peroxidases, APX) or other protective proteins (HSP70, ELIP, Chape20, Chape60) were strongly upregulated at 37/28 C, and, especially, at 42/30 C, in all genotypes, but with maximal transcription in Hybrid plants. Accordingly, heat greatly stimulated the activity of APX and CAT (all genotypes) and glutathione reductase (Geisha3, Hybrid) but not of SOD. Notably, CAT activity increased even at 42/30 C, concomitantly with a strongly declined APX activity. Therefore, increased thermotolerance might arise through the reinforcement of some ROS-scavenging enzymes and other protective molecules (HSP70, ELIP, Chape20, Chape60). Plants showed low responsiveness to single eCO2 under unstressed conditions, while heat promoted changes in aCO2 plants. Only eCO2 Marsellesa plants showed greater contents of lutein, the pool of the xanthophyll cycle components (V + A + Z), and b-carotene, compared to aCO2 plants at 42/30 C. This, together with a lower CAT activity, suggests a lower presence of H2O2, likely also associated with the higher photochemical use of energy under eCO2. An incomplete heat stress recovery seemed evident, especially in aCO2 plants, as judged by the maintenance of the greater expression of all genes in all genotypes and increased levels of zeaxanthin (Marsellesa and Hybrid) relative to their initial controls. Altogether, heat was the main response driver of the addressed protective molecules and genes, whereas eCO2 usually attenuated the heat response and promoted a better recovery. Hybrid plants showed stronger gene expression responses, especially at the highest temperature, when compared to their parental genotypes, but altogether, Marsellesa showed a greater acclimation potential. The reinforcement of antioxidative and other protective molecules are, therefore, useful biomarkers to be included in breeding and selection programs to obtain coffee genotypes to thrive under global warming conditions, thus contributing to improved crop sustainabilityinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio