From positive youth development to youth’s engagement : the dream teens

In addition to the empirical validation of ‘health and happiness’ determinants, theoretical models suggesting where to ground actions are necessary. In the beginning of the twentieth century, intervention models focused on evaluation and empirical validation were only concerned about overt behaviours (verbal and non-verbal) and covert behaviours (cognitions and emotions). Later on in the middle of the century, there was a shift from treating the problems to a positive approach, focused on promoting assets and individual strengths. Thus, the role of social competences, self-regulation and resilience became salient. Researchers also highlighted the importance of social cohesion and social support, as active health and wellbeing facilitators. More recently, in the twentyfirst century, the population’s engagement (positive engagement) has become crucial. This paper presents the evolution of this theoretical and scientific path, using Portugal as a case study, where early interventions focused on the positive aspects of both covert and overt behaviours, while more recent interventions included explicitly the perspective of youth engagement and participation, as is the case of the Dream Teens Project. It is expected that the political and professional understanding of this trajectory will allow professionals to provide better health and educational services, improving young people’s engagement, quality of life, health and wellbeingpeer-reviewe

The role of social and emotional competence on risk behaviors in adolescence

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between social and emotional competence and substance use in adolescence, including tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. The sample included 3,494 students, mean age 15 years old, in the 8th and 10th grades of the public school system from Portugal. Data were collected using the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. For the purpose of this study, the questionnaire included questions about social and emotional competence and risk behavior, specifically past 30-day tobacco use, drunkenness, and illicit drugs use. Results showed that adolescent social and emotional competence was negatively related to substance use. All social-emotional competence subscales were significantly associated with illicit drug use. In addition empathy, cooperation and communication, and goals and aspirations subscales, were significantly associated with tobacco use. Results demonstrate the potential importance of social and emotional competence in levels of substance use among Portuguese adolescents, and may be used to inform the development of Portuguese substance use prevention programspeer-reviewe

RESCUR : surfing the waves - a resilience curriculum for early years and primary schools - a teacher's guide

This book is based on a European Project, RESCUR, financed by the EU LLP Comenius Programme, together with the six Universities taking part in the project, namely the University of Malta (coordinator), University of Crete, Greece, University of Lisbon, Portugal, University of Pavia, Italy, Orebro University, Sweden, and the University of Zagreb, Croatia. The Maltese version of this book is also available in this section.RESCUR Surfing The Waves is a resilience programme for early years and primary schools in Europe developed by six European universities The curriculum seeks to empower vulnerable children at risk of early school leaving, absenteeism, disengagement, bullying, social exclusion and marginalisation through a universal, whole school approach. Amongst its special features, it includes story telling making use of two specially created animal characters, mindfulness activities at the beginning of each session, ready made activities and resources for the classroom teacher, interactive multisensory activities, learners portfolio, take home activities, teacher and self assessment checklists for each theme and subtheme, finger and cloth puppets, theme posters, and activity sheets. The activities are experiential, spiral, developmental, inclusive and make use of the SAFE approach. The programme consists of a Teachers Guide, a Parents Guide, and three manuals of activities and resources for Early Years, Early Primary Years and Late Primary Years respectively. It is available in hard and soft copies and available in English and six other languages (Croatian, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Portugese and Swedish). The Maltese version of this book is also available in this section.peer-reviewe

Kurikul otpornosti za rane godine i osnovnu školu u Europi: Poboljšavanje kvalitetnog obrazovanja

About twenty percent of school children experience social, emotional and behaviour problems during the course of any given year and may need the use of mental health services. The number may rise to up to fifty percent amongst children coming from socio-economically disadvantaged areas and from vulnerable communities. The economic crisis which Europe is undergoing at the moment has exacerbated the risks among those already facing disadvantages such as unemployment of young people and new families, increasing poverty and social disadvantage for the whole communities and regions. These challenges underline the need to equip children from an early age with the requisite skills to help them overcome the challenges and obstacles they are set to face in such circumstances while providing healthy and protective contexts which promote their health and well-being. This paper describes the development of a resilience curriculum for children in early years and primary schools in Europe with the aim of enhancing quality education for all children, including the most vulnerable ones. It presents and discusses the curriculum framework developed from the existing literature, including the key principles, processes and themes underlying the curriculum.Oko dvadeset posto školske djece ima socijalne, emocionalne i druge probleme u ponašanju zbog čega bi im mogla zatrebati pomoć stručnjaka za mentalno zdravlje. Taj bi se postotak mogao povećati i do pedeset posto u djece lošijeg socioekonomskog statusa ili djece koja dolaze iz posebno osjetljivih zajednica. Ekonomska kriza kojom je Europa trenutno pogođena dodatno je povećala rizik među onima koji su već od prije bili suočeni s problemima poput nezaposlenosti mladih pojedinaca i obitelji, povećavanja siromaštva i socijalne nesigurnosti cijelih zajednica i regija. Ti izazovi povećavaju potrebu da se djeci već od rane dobi pruže potrebne vještine koje će im pomoći da prevladaju izazove i prepreke s kojima se u tim okolnostima suočavaju, pružajući im u isto vrijeme zdrav i zaštitnički kontekst koji će promicati njihovo zdravlje i dobrobit. U ovom je radu opisan razvoj kurikula otpornosti za djecu predškolske i osnovnoškolske dobi u Europi s ciljem poboljšanja kvalitetnog obrazovanja sve djece, uključujući i najranjivije skupine. U radu se raspravlja o okviru kurikula razvijenog iz postojeće literature, uključujući ključna načela, procese i teme koje su mu u podlozi

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

HOW CAN SOCIOLINGUISTIC DATA BE USED?* Deolinda Simões

O presente artigo trata os problemas éticos e legais relacionados com a divulgação de dados de fala incluídos em bases de dados sociolinguísticos, tomando para o efeito o caso do CPE-Var, um corpus recolhido pelo primeiro autor. Os tópicos discutidos incluem: privacidade, consentimento, integridade dos dados, anonimização, autoria e copyright, entre outros. É fornecido um background das recolhas de dados sociolinguísticos, uma discussão dos usos possíveis desses dados e das 288 Celeste Rodrigues e Deolinda Simões consequências dos possíveis usos indevidos, para além de argumentação de suporte dos usos científicos dos dados deste corpus. A maior parte das questões éticas surgem quando se pretende usar os dados fora do âmbito inicial da pesquisa. Embora os fins iniciais da pesquisa estejam legalmente cobertos, é discutível se outros usos serão legítimos. A nossa conclusão é a de que alguns novos usos podem legitimamente ser dados aos materiais, mas outros devem ser avaliados com muito cuidado ou rejeitados. Palavras-chave: direitos éticos e legais, bases de dados sociolinguísticos, privacidade, consentimento informado, autoria, copyright.

Social inclusion and social justice: A resilience curriculum for early years and elementary schools in Europe

Purpose – Thepurposeofthispaperistopresentthedevelopmentofaresiliencecurriculuminearly years and primary schools to enhance social inclusion, equity and social justice amongst European communities, particularly amongst disadvantaged and vulnerable ones, through quality education. It defines educational resilience in terms of academic, social and emotional growth in the face of life challenges; discusses the conceptual framework and key principles underpinning the curriculum; and presentsthesixmajorcontentareasofthecurriculum.Finally,itpresentsthepreliminaryfindingsofa pilotprojectontheimplementationofthecurriculuminmorethan200classroomsinabout80earlyand primaryschoolsinsixEuropeancountries. Design/methodology/approach – Thecurriculumwasfirstdraftedcollaborativelyamongstthesix partnersonthebasisoftheexistingliteratureinthepromotionofresilienceinearlyyearsandprimary schools,withaparticularfocustoEuropeanrealities.Onceitwasinternallyreviewed,itwaspilotedin 200earlyyearsandprimaryschoolclassroomsinsixEuropeancountries,witheachofthesixpartners implementing one theme. Data collection included teacher reflective diaries, classroom checklists, semi-structuredinterviewswithteachersandfocusgroupswithstudents. Findings – The preliminary results from the pilot evaluation of the curriculum in 199 classrooms totalling 1,935 students across six countries indicate that both the teachers and the learners overwhelminglyfoundthecurriculumhighlyenjoyable,useful,relevantandeasytouse.Theylooked forwardtothepossibilityofhavingtheprogrammeonafull-timebasisaspartofthegeneralcurriculum in the future. The teachers reported a positive moderate change in learners’ behaviour related to the theme implemented and argued that for the implementation to be effective, it needs to take place throughout the whole year. A number of modifications have been on the basis of the teachers’ and learners’feedback. Originality/value – This is the first resilience curriculum for early years and primary schools in Europe. While it seeks to address the needs of vulnerable children such as Roma children, immigrantandrefugeechildrenandchildrenwithindividualeducationalneeds,itdoessowithinanassets-based, developmental, inclusive and culturally responsive approach, thus avoiding potential labelling and stigmatising, while promoting positive development and growth. It puts the onus on the classroom teacher, in collaboration with parents and other stakeholders, in implementing the curriculum in the classroom

Synergism of in vitro plasmodicidal activity of phospholipase A2 isoforms isolated from panamanian Bothrops asper venom

Bothrops asper is one of the most important snake species in Central America, mainly because of its medical importance in countries like Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica, where this species causes a high number of snakebite accidents. Several basic phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) have been previously characterized from B. asper venom, but few studies have been carried out with its acidic isoforms. In addition, since snake venom is a rich source of bioactive substances, it is necessary to investigate the biotechnological potential of its components. In this context, this study aimed to carry out the biochemical characterization of PLA2 isoforms isolated from B. asper venom and to evaluate the antiparasitic potential of these toxins. The venom and key fractions were subjected to different chromatographic steps, obtaining nine PLA2s, four acidic ones (BaspAc-I, BaspAc-II, BaspAc-III and BaspAc-IV) and five basic ones (BaspB-I, BaspB-II, BaspB-III, BaspB-IV and BaspB-V). The isoelectric points of the acidic PLA2s were also determined, which presented values ranging between 4.5 and 5. The findings indicated the isolation of five unpublished isoforms, four Asp49-PLA, corresponding to the group of acidic isoforms, and one Lys49-PLA2-like. Acidic PLA2s catalyzed the degradation of all substrates evaluated; however, for the basic PLA2s, there was a preference for phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidic acid. The antiparasitic potential of the toxins was evaluated, and the acidic PLA2s demonstrated action against the epimastigote forms of T. cruzi and promastigote forms of L. infantum, while the basic PLA2s BaspB-II and BaspB-IV showed activity against P. falciparum. The results indicated an increase of up to 10 times in antiplasmodial activity, when the Asp49-PLA2 and Lys49-PLA2 were associated with one another, denoting synergistic action between these PLA2 isoforms. These findings correspond to the first report of synergistic antiplasmodial action for svPLA2s, demonstrating that these molecules may be important targets in the search for new antiparasitic agent