Utilização de murganhos no estudo de novos alvos da terapia oncológica anti-angiogénica

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias na Especialidade de Ciências Biológicas e Biomédicas

Gastrointestinal parasite screening in pet reptiles in the area of Perth, Western Australia

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina Veterinária

Psicomotricidade na promoção de competências pessoais e sociais : intervenção com crianças em contexto institucional e escolar, e com idosos em contexto institucional

O presente relatório descreve a experiência de estágio desenvolvida no âmbito do Mestrado em Reabilitação Psicomotora, e insere-se no Ramo de Aprofundamento de Competências Profissionais da Faculdade de Motricidade Humana. A intervenção prática decorreu Junta de Freguesia de Belém, mais precisamente, no Centro de Dia e nas três escolas de 1º Ciclo de que esta entidade está encarregue; e num Centro de Acolhimento Temporário, a Casa da Fonte. Após o enquadramento teórico, no qual são apresentados os conceitos fundamentais na compreensão da intervenção e são caraterizadas as instituições, é apresentada a prática profissional. Nos três contextos de intervenção obtiveram-se resultados muito positivos relativamente à eficácia da Intervenção Psicomotora enquanto promotora de Competências Pessoais e Sociais, tanto em crianças como em idosos. Uma vez apresentados os resultados, é feita uma discussão dos mesmos, e são apresentadas as principais conclusões e reflexões pessoais retiradas da experiência teórica e prática do estágio.

Patterns of sedentary behavior : insights from observational and experimental studies on body composition and energy expenditure

It is recognized that sedentary behavior (SB) has deleterious effects on numerous health outcomes and it appears that physiological mechanisms underlying these harms are distinct from the ones explaining moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) benefits. Sedentary behavior represents a large portion of human’s life and is increasing with technological development. A new current of opinion supports the idea that the manner SB is accumulated plays an important role. This dissertation presents six research studies conducted under the scope of SB. In the methodological area, the first study highlighted the magnitude of potential errors in estimating SB and its patterns from common alternative methods (accelerometer and heart rate monitor) compared to ActivPAL. This study presented the accelerometer as a valid method at a group level. Two studies (2 and 5) were performed in older adults (the most sedentary group in the population) to test the associations for SB patterns with abdominal obesity using accelerometry. The findings showed positive graded associations for prolonged sedentary bouts with abdominal obesity and showed that those who interrupted SB more frequently were less likely to present abdominal obesity. Therefore, public health recommendations regarding breaking up SB more often are expected to be relevant. The associations between sedentary patterns and abdominal obesity were independent of MVPA in older adults. However, the low MVPA in this group makes it unclear whether this independent relationship still exists if highly active persons are analysed. Study 3 inovates by examining the association of SB with body fatness in highly trained athletes and found SB to predict total fat mass and trunk fat mass, independently of age and weekly training time. Study 4 also brings novelty to this research field by quantifying the metabolic and energetic cost of the transition from sitting to standing and then sitting back down (a break), informing about the modest energetic costs (0.32 kcal·min−1). Finally, from a successful multicomponent pilot intervention to reduce and break up SB (study 6), an important behavioral resistance to make more sit/stand transitions despite successfully reducing sitting time (~ 1.85 hours·day-1) was found, which may be relevant to inform future behavioral modification programs. The present work provides observational and experimental evidence on the relation for SB patterns with body composition outcomes and energy regulation that may be relevant for public health interventions.

Protein disulfide isomerase as a target for besnoitiosis therapy : molecular characterization and studies of its role in infection and host immune response

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias na especialidade de Sanidade Animal