Sight Reading Strategies on teaching piano in groups

O presente artigo faz uma revisão panorâmica sobre o paradigma da leitura à primeira vista, tema alvo de uma investigação desenvolvida no âmbito do Programa de Mestrado em Ensino de Música da Universidade do Minho. Baseando-se nas competências da audiação, análise, memorização e orientação cinestésica foram realizadas atividades aplicadas em diferentes contextos e culminando com performances de uma leitura sujeita a avaliação. Os resultados da intervenção revelaram-se estimulantes e vieram redimensionar a pertinência das experiências funcionais, já que as vantagens que estas atividades acarretam a nível didático, pedagógico e psicossocial, superam em grande escala, as dificuldades e desafios que implicam.This article presents a panoramic review of the paradigm of sight reading, the subject of an investigation developed during the Master Program in Music Education from the Universidade do Minho. Based on skills of audiation, analysis, memorization and kinesthetic orientation were carried out diversified activities applied in different contexts and culminating with performances of a sight reading subjected to evaluation. The results of the intervention were proved stimulating and revealed the importance of reading experiences, since the advantages that these activities entail in didactic, pedagogical and psychosocial level, far surpass the difficulties and challenges that imply. Keywords: Sight Reading Strategies. Teaching Piano in Group. Functional Language.CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT), PortugalFundos Nacionais através da FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) e cofinanciado pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) com a referência POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Editorial - Ser criança num mundo complexo e violento

[Excerpt] This is the third issue of Child Studies, a scientific journal published since 2022 by the Research Centre on Child Studies (CIEC) of the Institute of Education at the University of Minho. Overall, the empirical and/or theoretical studies published by Child Studies aim at substantiate the interdisciplinary and the multidisciplinary dimensions, and reflect the research on children and childhood from a holistic perspective that CIEC researchers carry out in their daily work. The papers published by Child Studies focuses on children’s social contexts and practices, children’s health, the environment and physical education, childcare professionals, pedagogical resources and cultural productions for children, lines that also structure CIEC’s research.This work was financially support by Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and conducted within the framework of the CIEC (Research Centre on Child Studies of the University of Minho) with the references UIDB/00317/2020 and UIDP/00317/2020

TEX4WOUNDS: development of advanced textile materials for wound care

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automated image analysis of lung branching morphogenesis from microscopic images of fetal rat explants

Article ID 820214Background. Regulating mechanisms of branching morphogenesis of fetal lung rat explants have been an essential tool for molecular research. This work presents a new methodology to accurately quantify the epithelial, outer contour, and peripheral airway buds of lung explants during cellular development from microscopic images. Methods. The outer contour was defined using an adaptive and multiscale threshold algorithm whose level was automatically calculated based on an entropy maximization criterion. The inner lung epithelium was defined by a clustering procedure that groups small image regions according to the minimum description length principle and local statistical properties. Finally, the number of peripheral buds was counted as the skeleton branched ends from a skeletonized image of the lung inner epithelia. Results. The time for lung branching morphometric analysis was reduced in 98% in contrast to the manual method. Best results were obtained in the first two days of cellular development, with lesser standard deviations. Nonsignificant differences were found between the automatic and manual results in all culture days. Conclusions. The proposed method introduces a series of advantages related to its intuitive use and accuracy, making the technique suitable to images with different lighting characteristics and allowing a reliable comparison between different researchers.The authors acknowledge Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal, for the fellowship with the references: SFRH/BD/74276/2010 and SFRH/BPD/46851/2008

Finite element analysis of pectus carinatum surgical correction via a minimally invasive approach

Pectus carinatum (PC) is a chest deformity caused by a disproportionate growth of the costal cartilages compared to the bony thoracic skeleton, pulling the sternum towards, which leads to its protrusion. There has been a growing interest on using the 'reversed Nuss' technique as a minimally invasive procedure for PC surgical correction. A corrective bar is introduced between the skin and the thoracic cage and positioned on top of the sternum highest protrusion area for continuous pressure. Then, it is fixed to the ribs and kept implanted for about 2-3 years. The purpose of this work was to (a) assess the stresses distribution on the thoracic cage that arise from the procedure, and (b) investigate the impact of different positioning of the corrective bar along the sternum. The higher stresses were generated on the 4th, 5th and 6th ribs backend, supporting the hypothesis of pectus deformities correction-induced scoliosis. The different bar positioning originated different stresses on the ribs' backend. The bar position that led to lower stresses generated on the ribs backend was the one that also led to the smallest sternum displacement. However, this may be preferred, as the risk of induced scoliosis is lowered.This work was financially supported by the Potuguese Foundation for Science and Techrnology (FCT) under the R&D project PTDC/SAU-BEB/103368/2008 and the fellowship SFRH/BPD/46851/2008

Targeting lactate transport suppresses in vivo breast tumour growth.

BACKGROUND Most cancers, including breast cancer, have high rates of glucose consumption, associated with lactate production, a process referred as "Warburg effect". Acidification of the tumour microenvironment by lactate extrusion, performed by lactate transporters (MCTs), is associated with higher cell proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and increased cell survival. Previously, we have described MCT1 up-regulation in breast carcinoma samples and demonstrated the importance of in vitro MCT inhibition. In this study, we performed siRNA knockdown of MCT1 and MCT4 in basal-like breast cancer cells in both normoxia and hypoxia conditions to validate the potential of lactate transport inhibition in breast cancer treatment. RESULTS The effect of MCT knockdown was evaluated on lactate efflux, proliferation, cell biomass, migration and invasion and induction of tumour xenografts in nude mice. MCT knockdown led to a decrease in in vitro tumour cell aggressiveness, with decreased lactate transport, cell proliferation, migration and invasion and, importantly, to an inhibition of in vivo tumour formation and growth. CONCLUSIONS This work supports MCTs as promising targets in cancer therapy, demonstrates the contribution of MCTs to cancer cell aggressiveness and, more importantly, shows, for the first time, the disruption of in vivo breast tumour growth by targeting lactate transport.This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) (grant number PTDC/ SAU-FCF/104347/2008), under the scope of “Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade” (COMPETE) of “Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III” and co-financed by the Fundo Europeu De Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). FM-S, VM-G and AHJM received doctoral fellowships from FCT (refs. SFRH/BD/87139/2012, SFRH/BD/ 51997/2012 and SFRH/ BD/68270/2010, respectively). SG received a postdoctoral fellowship from UMINHO/BPD/18/2014 and CP from FCT (ref. SFRH/BPD/69479/2010)

Quality of life in caregivers of patients with multiple myeloma

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the relationship between sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological variables with quality of life (QoL) and the moderating role of caregivers' age and caregiving duration in caregivers of patients with Multiple Myeloma.Method: The sample included 118 caregivers who completed questionnaires that assessed psychological morbidity, satisfaction with social support, coping, burden, unmet needs, and QoL.Results: High psychological morbidity, burden and information, financial and emotional unmet needs were associated with lower QoL, while higher satisfaction with social support and more effective use of coping strategies were associated with better QoL. Women caregivers reported more satisfaction with social support and those who did not choose to care reported greater financial unmet needs and more use of coping strategies. The relationship between caregivers' psychological morbidity/social support and QoL was mediated by emotional needs and double mediated by coping and burden. The caregivers' age moderated the relationship between psychological morbidity/social support and emotional needs.Conclusion: Interventions to support the caregiver's emotional needs to promote their QoL are needed. These should be particularly tailored for older caregivers reporting greater psychological morbidity and younger caregivers less satisfied with their social support, as they have a negative indirect impact on their QoL.Portuguese Associations of Portuguese Association against Leukemia and the PortugueseAssociation of Leukemias and Lymphoma

Analysis of the evolution of burn patients based on their epidemiological profile in Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos, Brazil

Introduction: Burns are an important public health problem, representing the second cause of death in childhood not only in the United States but also in Brazil. However, available data and information for guiding prevention programs are limited. The objective of this study was to analyze the epidemiological data of hospitalized patients diagnosed with burns and to outline a profile of the patients in the study period. Methods: A retrospective study of the 716 hospitalized patients from January 2011 to May 2017 at Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Santos (SCMS) for Plastic Surgery was performed. The demographic profile, length of hospital stay, and mortality were analyzed. Results: Of the 716 hospitalized patients, the mean age was 29 years in both sexes, and 28 patients, with a mean age of 58.6 years, died during the study period. Conclusion: The study showed the profile of hospitalized patients in SCMS and the importance of care in burn patients. All factors of poor prognosis were determined, and older age was considered an important factor for the unfavorable progression of the cases

Genetic ablation of inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate receptor type 2 (IP3R2) fails to modify disease progression in a mouse model of Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 3

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a rare neurodegenerative disease caused by an abnormal polyglutamine expansion within the ataxin-3 protein (ATXN3). This leads to neurodegeneration of specific brain and spinal cord regions, resulting in a progressive loss of motor function. Despite neuronal death, non-neuronal cells, including astrocytes, are also involved in SCA3 pathogenesis. Astrogliosis is a common pathological feature in SCA3 patients and animal models of the disease. However, the contribution of astrocytes to SCA3 is not clearly defined. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 2 (IP3R2) is the predominant IP3R in mediating astrocyte somatic calcium signals, and genetically ablation of IP3R2 has been widely used to study astrocyte function. Here, we aimed to investigate the relevance of IP3R2 in the onset and progression of SCA3. For this, we tested whether IP3R2 depletion and the consecutive suppression of global astrocytic calcium signalling would lead to marked changes in the behavioral phenotype of a SCA3 mouse model, the CMVMJD135 transgenic line. This was achieved by crossing IP3R2 null mice with the CMVMJD135 mouse model and performing a longitudinal behavioral characterization of these mice using well-established motor-related function tests. Our results demonstrate that IP3R2 deletion in astrocytes does not modify SCA3 progression.This work has been funded by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020, PTDC/NEUNMC/3648/2014 and COMPETE-FEDER (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016818); fellowships to DCG (2021.08121.BD), DMF (SFRH/BD/147947/2019), JSC (SFRH/BD/140624/2018), ANC (SFRH/BPD/118779/2016), AVF (UMINHO/BIL-CNCG/2022/11), SGG (SFRH/BD/101298/2014), and JFV (2020.05109.BD); FCT Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEEC)—Individual Call position to SDS (CEECIND/00685/2020); grants from the Bial Foundation (037/18) and “the la Caixa” Foundation (LCF/PR/HR21/52410024) to JFO; and by the projects NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023, supported by the Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It was also supported by grants from the ICVS Scientific Microscopy Platform, a member of the national infrastructure PPBI—Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122 and national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)