Professores em fim de carreira: desenvolvimento profissional e sentimentos atuais

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de mestre em Ciências da Educação - Especialidade Supervisão em EducaçãoO objetivo deste estudo qualitativo é compreender como professores em fim de carreira (PFC) analisam o seu desenvolvimento profissional e quais os sentimentos atuais por eles experienciados. Enquadra-se no quadro dos estudos sobre fases de desenvolvimento profissional (Huberman, 1989; Katz, 2005; Day 2008), sobre fatores associados ao stresse e bem-estar docentes (Jesus, 1989; Gomes, 2012), sobre a complexificação das funções do professor (Nóvoa, 2005; Morelli, 2011) e sobre o impacto da formação contínua no desenvolvimento profissional (Martins, 2012; Formosinho, 2009). Procurou-se também rever a literatura específica sobre a fase de desenvolvimento no fim da carreira, o que se revelou difícil dado o escasso número de estudos, nomeadamente para o contexto português (Costa, 2007; Fernandes, 2014; Huberman, 2013). Participaram no estudo quatro docentes do primeiro ciclo do Ensino Básico que se encontravam nos últimos cinco anos de carreira. Cada participante foi entrevistado quanto à sua motivação para a profissão, impactos de formação contínua, experiências profissionais relevantes, mudanças no ensino, nas funções e eficácia docente e sentimentos atuais em fim de carreira. A análise de conteúdo revelou que a relação afetiva com os alunos é um dos principais fatores protetores do professor, que a formação contínua, sobretudo se incluir uma definição colaborativa, tem um impacto muito importante no desenvolvimento profissional, que as funções do professor são cada vez mais complexas o que pode prejudicar aquilo que é sentido como a principal tarefa do professor – o ensinar, e que, no fim de carreira existe uma mistura muito dinâmica de sentimentos, por vezes contraditórios, associados quer ao reconhecimento de ter valido a pena todo o envolvimento na profissão, quer tristeza, nostalgia, alguma mágoa, perspetivando alguns professores saídas da profissão que mantenham ainda alguma ligação a atividades substitutivas próximas do ensino ou voluntariado social. Conclui-se que é importante desenhar formas de potenciar o conhecimento e experiências dos professores em fim de carreira por forma a que aproveite à melhoria da formação inicial e contínua e ao desenvolvimento dos professores em exercício.Abstract This qualitative study aims to understand how teachers ending their careers analise their professional development and which feelings are experienced as a consequence of that. Studies analising teachers professional development (Huberman, 1989; Katz, 2005; Day, 2008), stress and subjective wellbeing (Jesus, 1989; Gomes, 2012), complexification of teachers roles (Nóvoa, 2005; Morelli, 2011), impact of in-service training (Martins, 2012; Formosinho, 2009) on professional development, are reviewed. Although scarce, a few studies on teachers professional development at the end of their careers were also reviewed (Costa, 2007; Fernandes, 2014; Huberman, 2013). The participants were four primary school teachers, who serve the last five years of their career. An interview assessed their perspectives about motivation, in-service training, relevant professional experiences, changing roles and effectiveness and present feelings for approaching career ending. Content analysis revealed the impact of positive affective relationships with students, collaborative in-service training, focus on teaching despite many other obligations and roles. At career ending, teachers experience mixed feelings of either satisfaction or sadness, nostalgia or some hurt. Some teachers envisage leaving the profession replacing their actual duties by substitutive, close-to-teaching, activities. We conclude for the importance of potentiating knowledge and experience of these teachers so that teacher training programs and professional development may be enhanced

Determination of apramycin in oral soluble powder by a HPLC method using pre-column derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde and UV detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method employing pre-column derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) and 2-mercaptoacetic acid was developed for the determination of apramycin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic used in veterinary medicine, in the oral soluble powder form. The chromatographic separation was done by ion-pair HPLC using a C18 reversed-phase column, Synergy Hydro (150 mm x 4.6 mm x 4 µm) and mobile phase composed of 0.005 mol/L sodium octanosulfonate in a mixture of acetonitrile: water: acetic acid (45:55:2) (v/v/v) with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min; the UV detector was operated at 332 nm. The developed method was validated according to official compendia guidelines, having demonstrated robustness, selectivity and linearity for the concentration range of 0.02 to 0.05 mg/mL, precision (with RSD < 2.0% both for intra and inter-day precision) accuracy (average recuperation of 99.33%) and detectivity (quantification and detection limits of 0.08 and 0.02 µg/mL, respectively). Three batches of commercial apramycin oral soluble powder were analyzed by both the proposed method and the official microbiological method, where all the results obtained were in the acceptable range (95% to 105% of labeled value of apramycin). Both methods were statistically compared by the t test, which yielded no significant differences (&#945; = 0.05) thereby confirming the equivalence of the methods.Foi desenvolvido um método por cromatografia líquida alta eficiência empregando derivatização pré-coluna com o-ftalaldeído (OPA) e ácido mercaptoacético para determinação de apramicina, um antibiótico aminoglicosídeo de uso veterinário, em pó oral solúvel. A separação cromatográfica foi feita por fase reversa com pareamento iônico utilizando-se coluna Synergy Hydro C18 (150 x 4,6 mm x 4 µm) e fase móvel composta por octanossulfonato de sódio 0,005 mol/L em mistura de acetonitrila:água:ácido acético nas proporções 45:55:2 (v/v/v), numa vazão de 1.0 mL/min; efetuou-se detecção por UV a 332 nm. O método foi validado de acordo com os compêndios oficiais e demonstrou robustez, seletividade, linearidade na faixa de 0,02 a 0,05 mg/mL, precisão (com DPR < 2,0% tanto para a precisão intra-dia quanto para a precisão inter-dia), exatidão (recuperação média de 99,33%) e detectabilidade (limite de quantificação e de detecção iguais a 0,08 e 0,02 µg/mL, respectivamente). Analisaram-se 3 lotes de apramicina pó oral solúvel pelo método proposto e pelo método microbiológico oficial e todos os resultados obtidos estavam dentro do limite de aceitação (95%-105% valor rotulado de apramicina). Ambos os métodos foram comparados estatisticamente pelo teste t, não sendo encontradas diferenças significativas entre eles para &#945;=0,05, sendo os dois equivalentes

Quercetin-1,2,3-Triazole Hybrids as Multifunctional Anti-Alzheimer’s Agents

The number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continues to rise and, despite the efforts of researchers, there are still no effective treatments for this multifaceted disease. The main objective of this work was the search for multifunctional and more effective anti-Alzheimer agents. Herein, we report the evaluation of a library of quercetin-1,2,3-triazole hybrids (I–IV) in antioxidant, hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress protection, and cholinesterases (AChE and BuChE) inhibitory activities. Hybrids IIf and IVa-d showed potent in vitro inhibitory activity on eqBuChE (IC50 values between 11.2 and 65.7 μM). Hybrid IIf, the best inhibitor, was stronger than galantamine, displaying an IC50 value of 11.2 μM for eqBuChE, and is also a competitive inhibitor. Moreover, toxicity evaluation for the most promising hybrids was performed using the Artemia salina toxicity assay, showing low toxicity. Hybrids IIf, IVb, and IVd did not affect viability at 12.5 μM and also displayed a protective effect against oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide in cell damage in MCF-7 cells. Hybrids IIf, IVb, and IVd act as multifunctional ligands in AD pathologies

Unraveling the genetic background of individuals with a clinical familial hypercholesterolemia phenotype

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common genetic disorder of lipid metabolism caused by pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in LDLR, APOB, and PCSK9 genes. Variants in FH-phenocopy genes (LDLRAP1, APOE, LIPA, ABCG5, and ABCG8), polygenic hypercholesterolemia, and hyperlipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] can also mimic a clinical FH phenotype. We aim to present a new diagnostic tool to unravel the genetic background of clinical FH phenotype. Biochemical and genetic study was performed in 1,005 individuals with clinical diagnosis of FH, referred to the Portuguese FH Study. A next-generation sequencing panel, covering eight genes and eight SNPs to determine LDL-C polygenic risk score and LPA genetic score, was validated, and used in this study. FH was genetically confirmed in 417 index cases: 408 heterozygotes and 9 homozygotes. Cascade screening increased the identification to 1,000 FH individuals, including 11 homozygotes. FH-negative individuals (phenotype positive and genotype negative) have Lp(a) >50 mg/dl (30%), high polygenic risk score (16%), other monogenic lipid metabolism disorders (1%), and heterozygous pathogenic variants in FH-phenocopy genes (2%). Heterozygous variants of uncertain significance were identified in primary genes (12%) and phenocopy genes (7%). Overall, 42% of our cohort was genetically confirmed with FH. In the remaining individuals, other causes for high LDL-C were identified in 68%. Hyper-Lp(a) or polygenic hypercholesterolemia may be the cause of the clinical FH phenotype in almost half of FH-negative individuals. A small part has pathogenic variants in ABCG5/ABCG8 in heterozygosity that can cause hypercholesterolemia and should be further investigated. This extended next-generation sequencing panel identifies individuals with FH and FH-phenocopies, allowing to personalize each person’s treatment according to the affected pathway

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data