Percepção dos estilos educativos parentais : sua variação ao longo da adolescência

Esta comunicação analisa a percepção de adolescentes portugueses em relação às práticas educativas de seus pais. Assim, procedeu-se à aplicação do Questionário de Estilos Educativos Parentais (adaptado e validado por Ducharne, Cruz, Marinho & Grande, 2006) a uma amostra de 136 alunos, de uma escola pública, em dois momentos, nomeadamente no 7.º e 9.º ano de escolaridade. Este questionário engloba 19 itens, agrupados em duas dimensões: Aceitação e Monitorização. A dimensão Aceitação remete para os comportamentos de afecto positivo, suporte emocional e envolvimento nas interacções com os filhos. Por sua vez, a dimensão Supervisão corresponde ao conjunto de comportamentos parentais que envolvem a procura de informação em relação aos comportamentos e contextos frequentados pelos filhos. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que rapazes e raparigas não diferem na percepção de aceitação e monitorização parentais e consequentemente na categorização dos estilos educativos parentais. Por seu turno, a percepção destas dimensões parece variar em função da fase de desenvolvimental dos adolescentes. No caso concreto deste estudo, quando os adolescentes se encontram na fase intermédia da adolescência percepcionam os seus pais como menos apoiantes e, simultaneamente, menos controladores.GIPDAE - Grupo de Investigación en Psicoloxia do desenvolvemento e da aprendizaxe escolarCERXunta de Galicia - Consellería de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria (Secretaria Xeral)Ministerio de Educación y CienciaBase de Datos - ISOCFundación Universidade da CoruñaAyuntamiento de La Coruña - Concello de A CoruñaUniversidade do Minh

A convergência de variáveis pessoais e familiares na construção do sucesso académico

É objetivo deste artigo contribuir para a discussão em redor da definição do conceito de sucesso académico, partindo da identificação das variáveis pessoais e familiares que mais influem nos resultados académicos obtidos pelos estudantes. Neste estudo, a par das variáveis de raciocínio, autoconceito académico, metas académicas, estratégias de estudo e das classificações escolares prévias, se destaca, igualmente, o impacto de variáveis parentais, tais como habilitações escolares parentais, suporte, monitorização expetativas parentais e envolvimento parental com a escola. Expõe-se, desta forma, o cariz multifacetado da aprendizagem e sucesso académico, elencando o impacto dessas variáveis nos desempenhos escolares. Da mesma forma, se defende que o sucesso académico seja perspetivado enquanto processo em construção ao longo do percurso escolar dos estudantes. Conclui-se pela conceptualização multidimensional da aprendizagem, em detrimento de um foco de análise meramente centrado nas classificações escolares enquanto indicador da qualidade das aprendizagens e sucesso académico.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)Universidade do Minh

Contribution of Expatriates in the Management of Subsidiaries to the Corporate Governance of International Firms: the Case of Vale

In the current context of globalization, where firms are increasingly operating in networks of relationships with international subsidiaries, the relevance of their corporate governance has become evident. By the same token, the contribution to corporate governance of expatriates in these subsidiaries has become an important topic of discussion. The literature is not unanimous in recognizing the contribution of expatriates. However, the question as to whether the participation of expatriates in the management of international firms’ subsidiaries is a critical success factor for their corporate governance has not been fully analyzed. This article presents the results of a study of a leading international firm - Vale - that investigated this question from a network perspective, with a view to narrowing this gap. The case study method was adopted and data collected from various sources - documental investigation, structured questionnaires and interviews. The results suggested that expatriates can contribute to the success of corporate governance, especially through informal elements pertinent to social mechanisms of governance, such as commitment, communication, flexibility, trust and interdependence. The study thus provided insights for both managers of international firms and academics on corporate governance from a network perspective

Fatores de risco nas alianças em projetos de TI: estudo de casos no Banco Central do Brasil

ABSTRACTRisk factors for alliances in IT projects: case study on the Central Bank of BrazilIn response to growing competitive pressures and changes, a growing number of companies have established alliances as a way to complement their resources and ensure their competitive advantages. Although these alliances are a good strategic option for companies, there is evidence of a high rate of failure. Many studies have examined partnerships’ critical success factors, but few have investigated the difficulties and risk factors. The objective of this paper is to present the results of a research that aimed at identifying risk factors for alliances established in the scope of Information of Technology (IT) projects. The research was exploratory, and focused on five strategic IT projects of the Central Bank of Brazil, developed in partnership with other public and private, both national and foreign institutions. Although the projects have been successful, the following major risk factors were identified: lack of alliance planning, lack of partner negotiation, lack of partner commitment and lack of institutional support for the alliance. The research provided some significant lessons for managing project alliances that can benefit other IT projects

Functional biopolymer-based matrices for modulation of chronic wound enzyme activities

Collagen, collagen/hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen/HA/chitosan (CS) sponges loaded with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), catechin (CAT) and gallic acid (GA) were developed and evaluated as active chronic wound dressings. Their physico-mechanical properties, biostability, biocompatibility and ability to inhibit in vitro myeloperoxidase (MPO) and collagenase—major enzymes related with the persistent inflammation in chronic wounds—were investigated as a function of the biopolymer composition and the polyphenolic compound used. The results demonstrated that the molecular weight of HA influences significantly the bulk properties of the obtained materials: higher elastic modulus, swelling ability and biostability against collagenase were measured when HA with higher molecular weights (830 and 2000 kDa) were added to the collagen matrices. The addition of CS and the polyphenols increased further the biostability of the sponges. Preliminary in vitro tests with fibroblasts revealed that the cells were able to adhere to all sponges. Cell viability was not affected significantly by the addition of the polyphenols; however, the presence of CS or high molecular weight HA in the sponge composition was associated with lower cellular viability. Finally, all specimens containing polyphenols efficiently inhibited the MPO activity. The highest inhibition capacity was observed for EGCG (IC50 = 15 ± 1 lM) and it was coupled to the highest extent of binding to the biopolymers (>80%) and optimal release profile from the sponges that allowed for prolonged (up to 3–5 days) effects.Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovació

Fucoidan-based hydrogels particles as versatile carriers for diabetes treatment strategies

There is a current lack of fully efficient therapies for diabetes mel-litus, a chronic disease where the metabolism of blood glucose isseverely hindered by a deficit in insulin or cell resistance to thishormone. Therefore, it is crucial to develop new therapeutic strat-egies to treat this disease, including devices for the controlleddelivery of insulin or encapsulation of insulin-producing cells. Inthis work, fucoidan (Fu)â a marine sulfated polysaccharide exhib-iting relevant properties on reducing blood glucose and antioxi-dant and anti-inflammatory effectsâ was used for thedevelopment of versatile carriers envisaging diabetes advancedtherapies. Fu was functionalized by methacrylation (MFu) using8% and 12% (v/v) of methacrylic anhydride and further photo-crosslinked using visible light in the presence of triethanolamineand eosin-y to produce hydrogel particles. Degree of methacryla-tion varied between 2.78 and 6.50, as determined by1HNMR, andthe produced particles have an average diameter ranging from0.63 to 1.3mm (dry state). Insulin (5%) was added to MFu solutionto produce drug-loaded particles and the release profile wasassessed in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and simulated intes-tinal fluid (SIF) for 24h. Insulin was released in a sustained man-ner during the initial 8 h, reaching then a plateau, higher in PBSthan in SIF, indicating that lower pH favors drug liberation.Moreover, the ability of MFu particles to serve as templates forthe culture of human pancreatic cells was assessed using 1.1B4cell line during up to 7 days. During the culture period studied,pancreatic beta cells were proliferating, with a global viabilityover 80% and tend to form pseudo-islets, thus suggesting thatthe proposed biomaterial could be a good candidate as versatilecarrier for diabetes treatment as they sustain the release of insulinand support pancreatic beta cells viability.We acknowledge ERDF for the financial support through POCTEP Project 0687_NOVOMAR_1_P, under the scope of INTERREG 2007-2013, and project 0302_CVMAR_I_1_P, under the scope of INTERREG Espana-Portugal 2014-2020, and Structured Projects NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000021, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023 and ATLANTIDA (ref. NORTE-01–0145-FEDER-000040), under the scope of Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (Norte 2020). Funding from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for doctoral grant (SFRH/BD/112139/2015) and post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/85790/2012) is also acknowledge

Sulfation degree of glycosaminoglycans triggers distinct cytoskeleton organisation in mesenchymal stem cells

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) comprise the closest cellular environment: they are building elements of the ECM and can be also found on cells surface. Their biological activity depends on several parameters among which the negative charge is of prime importance[1]. This charge is generally associated with the presence of sulfate groups (-OSO3H). Sulfation is a dynamic modification: it can occur at various positions within the glycan and different sulfation patterns have been identified for the same organs and cells during their development. However, the mechanisms of coding and transferring information by these functionalities are not yet complete understood, mainly because of (i)the complex physiological microenvironment in which GAGs interactions occur and (ii)the inability to access homogeneous GAGs[2]. In this work, we propose model surfaces bearing GAGs with different sulfation degree as platform to investigate the pathways by which mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) sense and respond to this peculiar functionality: the -OSO3H. We have selected two natural GAGs for this study: hyaluronic acid (HA) because it is the only non-sulfated glycan and heparin (HEP) as it is the GAG with the highest degree of sulfation. To obtain a larger range of sulfation degrees, we have also prepared a synthetic analogue of HA with a sulfation degree of 1.4 (sHA). All these GAGs were covalently bonded to aminothiols deposited on gold surfaces. MSCs, both from bone marrow and adipose tissue, adhered well to all surfaces. Formation of focal adhesions was observed after only 1h of culture for bone marrow derived MSCs regardless the used substrate. The presence of –OSO3H groups induced different morphology and cytoskeleton organisation: formation of longer filopodia and well pronounced actin fibers were visible for the MSCs from both sources. Moreover, cells were more spread after 24h in contact with – OSO3H containing surfaces. Cells behaved similarly on both sulfated surfaces (sHA and HEP) and differences in cell morphology were less obvious: higher sulfation degree induced less lamellipodia formation while filopodia number and length increased. In summary, the present study provides evidence that sulfation degree of GAGs triggers distinct cytoskeleton organisation in mesenchymal stem cells that may be related with the differentiation of those cells. However, further studies at the molecular level about the exact mechanism of these processes need to be carried out

GAGs-thiolated chitosan assemblies for chronic wounds treatment: control of enzyme activity and cell attachment

Multilayered polyelectrolyte coatings comprising thiolated chitosan (TC) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid, were built using a layer-by-layer approach. The surface activity of these coatings for binding and inhibition of enzymes related to chronic inflammation, such as collagenase and myeloperoxidase, was assessed. The build-up of five bi-layers of TC/GAGs onto gold surfaces was monitored in situ by QCM-D. All experimental groups showed exponential growth of the coatings controlled by the degree of chitosan thiolation and the molecular weight of the GAGs. The degree of chitosan modification was also the key parameter influencing the enzyme activity: increasing the thiols content led to more efficient myeloperoxidase inhibition and was inversely proportional to the adsorption of collagenase. Enhanced fibroblast attachment and proliferation were observed when the multilayered polyelectrolyte constructs terminated with GAGs. The possibility to control either the activity of major wound enzymes by the thiolation degree of the coating or the cell adhesion and proliferation by proper selection of the ultimate layer makes these materials potentially useful in chronic wounds treatment and dermal tissue regeneration.EU projects Lidwine (contract no. FP6-026741)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci on de España - (MICINN) - bolsa BES-2008-0037

Sulfonic groups induce formation of filopodia in mesenchymal stem cells

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are an integral part of the extracellular matrix and glycocalix, i.e. the closest cellular environment. They are abundant in –OH groups and their bioactivity is also associated with the presence of negatively charged –SO3H functionalities. Therefore, we have investigated and discussed the influence of these functional units on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) behaviour using single component and mixed self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols with –SO3H and –OH end groups. In the absence of serum, MSCs attachment, spreading, cytoskeleton organisation and motility were significantly influenced by the surface chemistry. We found that the sulfonic groups induce starlike cell shape with very intense actin staining and a high density net of filopodia that enlarge from the base of lamellipodia structures. Moreover, this response is concentration dependent and is apparent only for very short culture time in the presence of serum.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT