Presenting a Regular Music Class with 3rd Grade Children

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Anticoagulantes orais: terapêutica clássica versus novos anticoagulantes

Os novos anticoagulantes orais representam uma inovação terapêutica anticoagulante, tendo obtido recentemente aprovação para várias indicações clínicas. A varfarina foi um dos primeiros anticoagulantes orais a ser desenvolvido, no entanto acarreta inúmeras inconveniências tais como, interações medicamentosas e alimentares, margem terapêutica reduzida, monitorização frequente e variações de resposta entre indivíduos, que comprometem a eficácia do tratamento. Consequentemente, foi necessário investigar outras alternativas surgindo assim os novos anticoagulantes orais, dabigatrano, apixabano e rivaroxabano que detêm menos limitações e a mesma eficácia que os AVK. Estes anticoagulantes são eficientes na profilaxia e tratamento tromboembolismo venoso e na prevenção de AVC em pacientes com fibrilação auricular, contudo também apresentam as suas desvantagens como custo elevado e ausência de antídoto específico. Nesta revisão bibliográfica serão abordadas as propriedades farmacológicas, mecanismos de ação, vantagens e desvantagens, custos terapêuticos dos anticoagulantes clássicos e novos anticoagulantes, sendo feita uma comparação entre estes de modo a perceber qual será a melhor opção terapêutica.The new oral anticoagulants represent an innovation in anticoagulant therapy, which has been recently approved for various clinical indications. Warfarin was the first oral anticoagulants to be developed, however entails numerous drawbacks such as drug and food interactions, narrow therapeutic index, frequent monitoring and interindividual response variations that compromise the effectiveness of treatment. Consequently, it was necessary to investigate other alternatives that lead to the discover of new oral anticoagulants, dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban who hold fewer limitations and the same efficacy as the AVK. These anticoagulants are effective in the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism and for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, but also have their disadvantages such as high cost and lack of specific antidote. In this literature review the pharmacological properties will be addressed as well as mechanisms of action, advantages and disadvantages, therapeutic costs of classic and new anticoagulants and a comparison between them in order to understand what the best treatment option is

A survey of gastrointestinal parasites and trichinella spp. in wild carnivores of Portugal

Currently, mainly due to anthropogenic factors, there are ecological changes that allow a greater proximity of the wildlife to urban areas, increasing the contact between domestic animals, wild animals and humans. At the same time, the occurrence of zoonosis having wild animals as hosts is a major public health problem, affecting the whole world. The concept of the One Health underlined the idea that it is only by giving equal importance to animal, environmental and human health that a balanced and holistically healthy ecosystem can be achieved. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and the burden of gastrointestinal helminth fauna and the presence of Trichinella spp. in wild carnivores from Portugal. For this purpose, faecal and muscular samples of 16 eurasian badgers, 10 genets, 9 stone martens and only faecal samples of 35 foxes were collected in a wildlife rescue centre. The faecal samples were analysed using Mini-Flotac method and the muscles by artificial digestion method. Of the 70 faecal samples in 40 (57.1%) gastrointestinal parasites have been found. The most frequent parasites were those of the family Ancylostomatidae (24.2%), followed by Capillaria spp. (22.8%) and Toxocara spp. (22.8%). Parasites of the families Spiruridae, Oxyuridae and Taeniidae and the species Toxascaris leonina and Alaria alata were also found. Capillaria spp. and badgers reached the higher burden. Trichinella spp. was not identified in any pool sample. It was found that neither the species, nor the age, nor the gender of the animals influenced the burden. The study showed that, in Portugal as in other European countries, hookworms and Toxocara spp. are the main danger to animal and public health, since their prevalence is very high in synanthropic animals, like foxes. Trichinella spp. has not been identified. Nevertheless, more representative parasitological studies should be carried out in order to draw more conclusions about the current situation, especially with respect to Trichinella spp..Nos dias de hoje, principalmente devido a fatores antropogénicos, existem mudanças ecológicas que permitem uma maior proximidade entre os animais selvagens e as áreas urbanas, o que leva a um maior contacto entre animais domésticos, animais selvagens e o Homem. A ocorrência de doenças zoonóticas, nomeadamente parasitárias, tendo os animais selvagens como hospedeiros é um problema de saúde pública disseminado pelo mundo. O conceito “One Health” veio sublinhar a ideia de que só dando igual importância à saúde animal, ambiental e humana é que é possível criar um ecossistema equilibrado e holisticamente saudável. Assim, os objetivos do presente estudo foram: avaliar a prevalência e a carga parasitária da helmintofauna gastrointestinal e avaliar a presença de Trichinella spp. em carnívoros selvagens de Portugal. Para este fim recolhemos amostras fecais e musculares de 16 texugos euroasiáticos, 10 ginetas e 9 fuínhas e apenas amostras fecais de 35 raposas num centro de recuperação de animais selvagens. As amostras fecais foram analisadas através do método Mini-FLOTAC e as musculares através do método de digestão artificial. Este será o primeiro estudo com carnívoros selvagens usando o método Mini-FLOTAC. Em 40 das 70 amostras fecais recolhidas (57,1%) foram identificadas formas parasitárias. As formas parasitárias mais prevalentes foram os ancilostomatídeos (Ancylostomatidae) (24,2%), seguidos dos géneros Capillaria (22,8%) e Toxocara (22,8%), tendo também sido identificados ovos das famílias Spiruridae, Oxyuridae e Taeniidae e as espécies Toxascaris leonina e Alaria alata. Capillaria spp. e os texugos alcançaram a maior carga parasitária. Não se identificaram larvas de Trichinella spp. Não se verificou relação entre a carga parasitária e a idade, o sexo ou a espécie dos animais. O estudo mostrou que em Portugal, à semelhança de outros países da Europa, ancilostomatídeos e Toxocara spp. são os agentes parasitários mais frequentes nestas espécies, o que, sendo estes potencialmente zoonóticos, pode constituir um perigo para a saúde pública, uma vez que a sua prevalência é muito elevada em animais sinantrópicos como a raposa. No entanto, estudos parasitológicos mais representativos devem ser realizados para que seja possível retirar mais conclusões acerca da situação atual, principalmente no caso de Trichinella spp.

Balanced scorecard, modelo de excelência EFQM e common assessment framework, como instrumentos integrados de gestão de qualidade nos serviços públicos

Vários autores têm-se debruçado sobre o conceito de qualidade nos serviços, como um instrumento que visa promulgar a eficácia e eficiência desses mesmos serviços. A aplicação de instrumentos de gestão privada no seio da Administração Pública preconiza a introdução de uma nova gestão pública, atenta à qualidade, à auto-avaliação e por conseguinte à promoção da mudança nos serviços. Neste âmbito, a aplicação coordenada do Balanced Scorecard (BSC), do modelo de Excelência da European Foundation for Quality Managemen (EFQM) e da Common Assessement Framework (CAF),que poderá ser uma estratégia a que os organismos públicos podem recorrer para promoverem a melhoria contínua. Com base no enquadramento teórico elaborado na revisão de literatura, o objectivo deste estudo pressupõe a definição e análise de uma estrutura integrada, BSC-CAF, que permite efectuar uma aplicação conjunta destas ferramentas. Constatou-se que o emprego em simultâneo das ferramentas enunciadas, permite fomentar a criatividade e a gestão dos recursos de que as organizações dispõem, de modo a melhorar o seu desempenho organizacional

Teaching practice in the teaching of stringed musical instruments

UIDB/00693/2020 UIDP/00693/2020In the context of individual instruction of a musical instrument, there are several factors to be considered. The use of self-regulation-promoting strategies is one of them, which could contribute to greater autonomy in students. This study seeks to articulate the concept of self-regulated learning in stringed instrument lessons with other factors, such as teaching strategies, teaching verbalizations, and student’s in-class performance. Self-regulated learning refers to the control of cognition, motivation, and behaviors to achieve specific educational goals (Zimmerman & Schunk, 2011). The process of self-regulated learning begins with the definition of goals, develops through the monitoring and regulation of actions, and concomitant reflection on performance and adjustment of the strategies used (Zimmerman, 2000). In this study, 14 individual lessons of stringed instruments (violin, viola, and cello) were video recorded, for a total of 10 hours (lasting from 35 to 55 minutes each lesson). These lessons include 4 violin lessons taught by the author and the remaining lessons were taught by 5 other stringed teachers. The 10 participating students, aged between 7 and 12 years-old, played their instruments at the beginner- intermediate level of learning. For the analysis of in-class behaviors, an observation grid containing 4 categories and their subcategories was designed: 1. Self-regulated learning (Forethought, Performance and Self-reflection), 2. Teaching strategies (Demonstration, Gesticulation, Mark beat, Singing, Playing along with the student), 3. Teaching verbalizations (Goal identification, Pointing to the context, Feedback, Short verbal assistance, Teaching study strategy, Task explanation, Questions, and Informal indication) 4. Student performance (Insufficient, Reasonable, Good). The lessons were analyzed using MaxQda software, version 20. Firstly, rehearsal frames were selected (Duke, 1999), that is, the temporal events of the class considered relevant for the analysis. These rehearsal frames were coded using the categories and subcategories belonging to the observation grid. Subsequently, the overlap of the coded events was analyzed considering the components of Self- regulated learning (no.1) with Teaching strategies (no.2), and Teaching verbalizations (no.3). Results revealed (i) the quantitative aspect - the time devoted to certain teaching strategies or verbalizations; (ii) the qualitative aspect – elaboration of the critical reviews describing the teaching process within a rehearsal frame of the lesson; and (iii) the influence of “Teaching verbalizations” as a possible way of promoting self-regulatory behaviors in students. Although associated with the specific context of individual lessons of strings instruments, the observation grid presents potentialities as an instrument of observation and/or assessment of teaching practices. The application of this grid will allow the micro-analysis of the teaching process of each teacher and may contribute to improve this process, as well as enable greater independence in student’s learning. For a possible refinement and improvement of the observation grid, it will be desirable to establish a broad dialogue with the teachers of the area.publishersversionpublishe

The development and application of a measurement tool for assessing children’s vocal performance

UID/EAT/00693/2013Research on the influence of text and neutral syllable on children’s vocal performance has shown inconsistent results. Furthermore, the influence of teaching songs starting with melody and words or with the melody sang in neutral syllable, adding the words later, has not been addressed in depth. The purpose of this study was to develop two valid and reliable rating scales to assess children’s vocal achievement in two songs presented in both manners. These rating scales comprised two dimensions (tonal and rhythm) with five criteria each. Children aged 4 to 10 (N = 135) attending regular music classes in a city private school were individually audio recorded in two moments: (a) after an instruction phase of four weeks singing song A with neutral syllable and song B with text; and (b) three weeks later singing song A with the text presented over this period and song B again with text. Three judges rated children’s performances after being provided with samples of good, average, and poor performances on each dimension and having discussed the application of each criterion. Content and construct validity were assured by both authors according to a Music Learning Theory based-curriculum. Item analysis revealed that all items from difficulty and discrimination indices were within an acceptable range in both moments for both songs. Inter-rater reliabilities were high, ranging from ICC(2, k) = .878 to .951. Results are discussed in terms of the use of rating scales to investigate progression on children’s performance depending on the song-teaching strategy.publishersversionpublishe