Práticas letivas dos professores Santomenses no ensino da Estatística

Neste artigo pretendemos dar a conhecer um estudo realizado na Républica de São Tomé e Princípe, no âmbito do curso de Mestrado em Ensino das Ciências e centrado no ensino da Estatística no ensino superior. Aqui pretendemos dar resposta à questão de investigação: Que práticas letivas desenvolvem os professores do ensino superior no ensino da Estatística? Metodologicamente optámos pela realização de um estudo de natureza qualitativa. Participaram dois professores que lecionavam a disciplina de Estatística no Instituto Superior Politécnico de São Tomé e Princípe. A recolha de dados foi efetuada através da realização de uma entrevista semi-estruturada e pela observação de três aulas a cada professor, nas quais foram abordadas as “Medidas de Tendência Central”. A análise de dados consistiu na definição de categorias no início do estudo. No que concerne às práticas de sala de aula, os dois professores adoptaram, nas aulas observadas, uma metodologia centrada num tipo de ensino de caráter expositivo, estruturando a sua prática letiva em três fases: apresentação teórica de termos e conceitos, resolução de um exercício de aplicação do conceito em estudo e resolução de outros exercícios para a consolidação do mesmo. É de referir que os alunos manifestaram interesse nas aulas, procuraram esclarecer as suas dúvidas e ajudar os colegas na compreensão dos conceitos em estudo e cooperaram na realização das tarefas, tanto individualmente no caderno como coletivamente no quadro.In this paper we aim at unveiling an analysis undertaken in the R.D. of S. Tomé e Príncipe within a master’s course in Teaching Sciences and centred on teaching statistics in higher education. We wish to furnish a question to the investigation question: which teaching practices do higher education teachers develop when teaching statistics. Methodologically we opted for a qualitative study. Two lecturers teaching Statistics in the Instituto Superior Politécnico of São Tomé e Príncipe participated. Data gathering occurred through conducting a semi-structured interview and observation of three classes for each lecturer, in which “Measures of Central Tendency” were approached. Data analysis consisted in the definition of categories in the beginning of the study. Concerning classroom practices, both lecturers opted for, in the classes observed, a teaching methodology centred on a basically expositive teaching approach, structuring their teaching practice around three steps: theoretical presentation of terms and concepts; solving an exercise applying the concept under study and; solving further exercises aiming at reinforcing the same. It must be noted that students have shown an high degree of interest in the lectures, have sought to solve their doubts and tried to help colleagues in understanding concepts under study and cooperated in performing tasks, both on an individual level on their exercise books or collectively on the blackboard.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Access to drinking water and sewage treatment in Brazil: a challenge for the control of waterborne infectious diseases

Not Applicabl

Ultra-sonografia abdominal na avaliação de fibrose e hipertensão portal em área de baixa endemicidade de esquistossomose

This study was undertaken in the municipality of Bananal, São Paulo, an endemic area for schistosomiasis with a prevalence under 10% and low parasite load among infected individuals. Our objective was to identify the clinical forms of schistosomiasis among 109 patients in whom the disease had been diagnosed through direct fecal analysis and who had been medicated with oxamniquine at the time of the Plan for the Intensification of Schistosomiasis Control Actions (1998-2000). These patients were submitted to an abdominal ultrasonography and fecal analysis by Kato-Katz method, four years, on average, after the end of the Plan. Five patients, whose abdominal ultrasound images were compatible with either peripheral or central periportal fibrosis and portal hypertension, were identified. None of the 109 patients presented Schistosoma mansoni eggs at fecal analysis. Ultrasonography is a sensitive, noninvasive diagnostic method that allows a better identification of the extent of liver involvement in schistosomiasis cases.Este estudo desenvolveu-se no município de Bananal, São Paulo, uma área endêmica para esquistossomose com prevalência menor que 10% e baixa carga parasitária nos infectados. Teve como objetivo a identificação de formas clínicas da esquistossomose mansoni através do exame ultra-sonográfico, em 109 pacientes diagnosticados parasitologicamente e medicados com oxamniquine, durante a realização do Plano de Intensificação das Ações de Controle da Esquistossomose mansônica (1998-2000). Foram utilizadas a ultra-sonografia abdominal e exames de fezes (Kato-Katz) realizados após o término do plano, quatro anos em média. Nesta casuística, foram identificados cinco pacientes com imagens ultra-sonográficas abdominais compatíveis com fibrose periportal periférica ou central e hipertensão portal, além da negatividade de todos os exames parasitológicos nos 109 pacientes. A ultra-sonografia, um método de diagnóstico sensível e não invasivo, possibilitou a identificação de casos com comprometimento hepático em uma área de baixa endemicidade para esquistossomose mansoni

Expansão da leishmaniose visceral no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: relato do primeiro caso autóctone no município de Volta Redonda e a dificuldade de diagnóstico

A leishmaniose visceral vem apresentando mudanças epidemiológicas marcantes nas últimas décadas, com acentuada expansão e surgimento de casos em áreas urbanas do Norte, Sudeste e Centro-Oeste do Brasil. O caso de Calazar aqui relatado, apesar de ser muito característico, apresentou grande dificuldade de diagnóstico, por se tratar de doença não-endêmica em Volta Redonda. A criança passou por duas internações em hospitais diferentes, porém, só obteve o diagnóstico correto após 11 meses do início dos sintomas. Neste relato são discutidos os principais diagnósticos diferenciais e chama-se a atenção de sempre considerar a hipótese de leishmaniose visceral em todo paciente com febre prolongada, hepatoesplenomegalia e pancitopenia, mesmo em áreas tradicionalmente não endêmicas.Visceral Leishmaniasis has been showing remarkable epidemiological changes in recent decades, with marked expansion and an emergence of cases in urban areas of the North, Southeast and Midwest regions of Brazil. The Kala-azar cases reported here, despite being very characteristic, presented a great difficulty of diagnosis, because the disease is not endemic in Volta Redonda. The child underwent two hospitalizations in different hospitals, but got the correct diagnosis only after 11 months of symptom onset. In this report we discuss the main differential diagnoses and call attention to the suspected symptoms of visceral leishmaniasis in patients with prolonged fever, hepatosplenomegaly and pancytopenia, even in areas not traditionally endemic for the disease

Sonographic and hemodynamic findings of schistosomiasis mansoni: doppler sonography assessment in endemic areas

OBJETIVO: Este estudo de campo objetivou identificar as alterações ultrassonográficas e hemodinâmicas indicativas da morbidade da esquistossomose mansônica em áreas endêmicas. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Foram examinados pela ultrassonografia Doppler 554 pacientes esquistossomóticos em três áreas com níveis distintos de endemicidade: baixa endemicidade (n = 109); média endemicidade (n = 255) e alta endemicidade (n = 190). Para o estudo ultrassonográfico foi utilizado o protocolo da Organização Mundial da Saúde (Niamey Working Group, 2000). Pelo Doppler foram avaliados: vasos portais, artérias hepática e esplênica, veias hepáticas e vasos colaterais. RESULTADOS: Houve correlação significativa entre a frequência das alterações ultrassonográficas e o nível de endemicidade das áreas, exceto a hipertrofia do lobo esquerdo. As veias hepáticas apresentaram padrão de fluxo alterado em 23,7% dos casos, alteração esta relacionada à presença e à intensidade de espessamento periportal. A artéria hepática não apresentou alterações nos parâmetros avaliados. Os vasos colaterais foram identificados apenas na área de alta endemicidade. A artéria esplênica apresentou alterações (aumento do calibre, da velocidade e do índice de resistência) mais frequentes na área de alta endemicidade, com diferença significativa entre os grupos. CONCLUSÃO: A ultrassonografia Doppler mostrou-se ferramenta auxiliar importante no estudo da morbidade relacionada à esquistossomose mansônica, contribuindo para definição mais precisa do perfil da doença nas áreas endêmicas.OBJECTIVE: The present field research was aimed at identifying sonographic and hemodynamic findings indicative of the presence of schistosomiasis mansoni in endemic areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Doppler sonography was performed in 554 patients with schistosomiasis in three areas with different endemicity levels: low (n = 109), medium (n = 255) and high endemicity (n = 190). The World Health Organization (Niamey Working Group, 2000) protocol was adopted for sonographic evaluation. Doppler study included portal vessels, hepatic and splenic arteries, hepatic veins and collateral vessels. RESULTS: A significant correlation was observed between the frequency of sonographic findings, except for left lobe hypertrophy, and the areas endemicity levels. Altered hepatic veins flow pattern was observed in 23.7% of cases, such abnormality being related to the presence and intensity of periportal thickening. Hepatic arteries did not present any alteration as related to the evaluated parameters. Collateral vessels were identified only in the patients from the high-endemicity area. The splenic artery presented alterations (increase in caliber, flow velocity and resistive index), most frequently in the high-endemicity area, with significant difference between groups. CONCLUSION: Doppler sonography has shown to be a relevant auxiliary tool in the study of the morbidity related to schistosomiasis mansoni, contributing for a more accurate description of the disease profile in endemic areas

Molecular detection of prepatent Schistosoma mansoni infection in Biomphalaria glabrata snail vectors

Approximately 240 million people worldwide are infected by Schistosoma. In Brazil, one of the main intermediate hosts of this parasite is Biomphalaria glabrata snails. The early detection of larval stages in intermediate hosts is an important challenge to public health, but it also represents an opportunity as a new alternative to indicate earlier natural infections before cercariae differentiation and emergence. In this context, we demonstrated that PCR amplification of a 28S gene fragment from the parasite does demonstrate S. mansoni infection in snails 14 days post infection. This conventional polymerase chain reaction amplified clear bands and was able to detect parasitic infection in the intermediate host B. glabrata under experimental conditions. However, we reinforce that this approach requires deeper investigations and further comparisons to confirm its specificity and sensitivity in earlier time points after miracidia infection. This approach has relevant potential as an effective molecular-based strategy for the monitoring of schistosomiasis transmission

Management and treatment of decompensated hepatic fibrosis and severe refractory Schistosoma mansoni ascites with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt

This study aimed to report the first case of a patient with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni, refractory ascites and portal vein thrombosis treated with a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), at the Instituto de Radiologia, Hospital das Clinicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. After the procedure, the patient recovered favorably and progressed with portal pressure reduction and no deterioration of the liver function. Endovascular shunt modification is a conservative medical approach that often helps in reducing symptoms significantly, making it a less invasive and a safer alternative to liver transplantation for the treatment of schistosomiasis with portal hypertension

Health promotion teaching and practices in the first year of medical school at the University of Campinas

INTRODUCTION: According to Brazil's National Curriculum Guidelines and recommendations from the Brazilian Association of Medical Education (ABEM) to expand the general practice focus of medicine, the School of Medicine at the University of Campinas (FCM-UNICAMP) renewed its curriculum by introducing a course on Public Health Action in the first year, in which students are expected to identify and take steps to attenuate a specific public health problem in the region, through projects in primary care clinics or Health Centers. In 2008, students detected a high teenage pregnancy rate in the area surrounding the São Quirino Health center, and a project was developed that focused on the reasons and consequences for this phenomenon. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to improve the quality of life of these teenage mothers and their infants. METHODS: A sample of adolescents was selected, after which a questionnaire was applied and a Pregnant Women's Support Group was organized in the Health Center. Workshops were held on various topics. RESULTS: Student and staff at the Health Center worked in collaboration, which helped sustain the work in the subsequent years. CONCLUSION: The adolescents recognized the importance of proper care during pregnancy, and the medical students had early contact with practices under the Unified National Health System (SUS)INTRODUÇÃO: Conforme as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais e as orientações da Abem para ampliar a visão generalista da prática médica, a FCM-Unicamp renovou seu currículo ao implantar, no primeiro ano do curso de Medicina, a disciplina Ações de Saúde Pública, na qual os alunos devem identificar e atenuar um problema da região mediante projetos de intervenção nos Centros de Saúde (CS). Foi desenvolvido um projeto com foco nos motivos e consequências da presença de adolescentes grávidas nas redondezas do CS São Quirino em 2008. OBJETIVO: Contribuir para a melhoria da qualidade de vida de adolescentes e bebês. MÉTODOS: Selecionadas as adolescentes, aplicou-se um questionário e formou-se um Grupo de Gestantes no CS. Oficinas com temas variados foram desenvolvidas. RESULTADOS: Alunos e funcionários do CS trabalharam harmonicamente, o que viabilizou a sustentabilidade do trabalho nos anos seguintes. CONCLUSÃO: As adolescentes reconheceram a importância dos cuidados com a gravidez, e os alunos tiveram contato precoce com as práticas do SUS61562

Risk factors, biochemical markers, and genetic polymorphisms in early coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk factors, lipid and apolipoprotein profile, hemostasis variables, and polymorphisms of the apolipoprotein AI-CIII gene in early coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Case-control study with 112 patients in each group controlled by sex and age. After clinical evaluation and nutritional instruction, blood samples were collected for biochemical assays and genetic study. RESULTS: Familial history of early CAD (64 vs 39%), arterial hypertension (69 vs 36%), diabetes mellitus (25 vs 3%), and previous smoking (71 vs 46%) were more prevalent in the case group (p<0.001). Hypertension and diabetes were independent risk factors. Early CAD was characterized by higher serum levels of total cholesterol (235 ± 6 vs 209 ± 4 mg/dL), of LDL-c (154 ± 5 vs 135 ± 4 mg/dL), triglycerides (205 ± 12 vs 143 ± 9 mg/dL), and apolipoprotein B (129 ± 3 vs 105 ± 3 mg/dL), and lower serum levels of HDL-c (40 ± 1 vs 46 ± 1 mg/dL) and apolipoprotein AI (134 ± 2 vs 146 ± 2mg/dL) [p<0.01], in addition to an elevation in fibrinogen and D-dimer (p<0.02). The simultaneous presence of the rare alleles of the APO AI-CIII genes in early CAD are associated with hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Of the classical risk factors, hypertension and diabetes mellitus were independently associated with early CAD. In addition to an unfavorable lipid profile, an increase in the thrombotic risk was identified in this population. An additive effect of the APO AI-CIII genes was observed in triglyceride levels.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) EPMUNIFESP, EPMSciEL