All the Lab's a Stage: the Use of Drama to Promote Engagement in Higher Education Science

Communicating science can be challenging at any educational level. We used informal and experiential learning to engage groups of potential University applicants in one project that involved staging a play in one of the teaching laboratories at the University of Worcester whilst a second project designed a play in house and took this to schools. In the first project the plot centred on stem cell research. School pupils and students from FE Colleges were offered complementary sessions including a lecture exploring the science behind stem cell research, a discussion on ethical aspects involved and a practical using university facilities. We ascertained attitudes to Higher Education in the students participating before and after the event. We found an enhanced view of the science and a highly significant change in attitude to attending University for students taking vocational subjects at FE level. The second project was aimed at exploring attitudes to ethics and animal welfare among a cohort of 15 – 18 year olds. Students engaged with the issues in the drama to a high degree. Our conclusions are that drama is an excellent way to inform potential students about higher education and HE level science in particular. Additionally we demonstrated the importance of events taking place at HE institutions in order to maximise change in attitudes to HE.

Saúde oral e cuidados primários em Odontopediatria

Introdução: A cárie dentária é uma doença multifatorial, infeciosa, transmissível e dependente da dieta, que provoca a desmineralização das estruturas dentárias. Devido a esta natureza etiológica multifatorial é fundamental o aumento da sensibilização e educação das crianças e pais, quer por profissionais de saúde, quer pelos professores em ambiente escolar. A aquisição de hábitos de higiene oral e nutricionais adequados pela criança é um fator imperativo para a manutenção de uma boa saúde oral. Objetivos: Avaliação da Saúde Oral e cuidados primários num grupo de crianças e adolescentes pertencentes ao Agrupamento de Escolas de Alijó. Método: A amostra é constituída por 216 alunos do Agrupamento de Escolas de Alijó, agrupados em três escalões etários: 6-9 anos, 10-14 anos e 15-16 anos. Foi realizada uma observação oral com base no índice de higiene oral simplificado e no índice de cárie (CPOd/cpod- Dentes Cariados, Perdidos e Obturados). Após esta observação foi aplicado um questionário escrito sobre diversos temas relacionados com a saúde oral. Resultados: A percentagem de crianças livres de lesões cariosas aos 6, 12 e 15 anos foi de 33,3%, 28,4% e 16,2%, respetivamente. Os valores da média de número de escovagens diárias aumentam de acordo com a faixa etária. O número de escovagens médias aos 6-9anos, 10-14anos e 15-16anos foi 1,37; 1,48 e 1,55 no sexo masculino, no caso de sexo feminino estes valores passam para 1,58; 1,80 e 1,89 respetivamente. Discussão: Os números registados no presente estudo são semelhantes aos do I Estudo Nacional de Prevalência da Cárie Dentária, onde se verificou percentagens de 33%, 27% e 18,9% para os escalões referentes aos 6 anos, 9 anos e 15 anos. Existe uma melhoria significativa em cada um destes escalões nos dois estudos seguintes realizados pela DGS. Em 2008 estas percentagens foram de 51%, 44% e 28%, respetivamente para cada um dos escalões. Em 2015 existiu apenas um pequeno acréscimo, com percentagens registadas de 54,8%, 53% e 32,4%, respetivamente. A última percentagem, de 32,4%, refere-se neste caso ao escalão dos 18 anos, uma vez que a DGS substituiu o escalão de estudo dos 15 anos de idade. Quando nos referimos ao número de escovagens médio, os números registados neste estudo têm uma evolução semelhante aos encontrados no III Estudo Nacional de Prevalência da Cárie Dentária, publicado em 2015 pela DGS, que refere que aos 6 anos 53% dos inquiridos escova duas vezes ao dia e 25,7% apenas uma vez, enquanto que aos 12 anos nos deparamos com uma descida para 19,9% dos que escovam 1x por dia e um aumento para 69,9% dos que escovam duas vezes. O mesmo estudo afirma ainda que as jovens escovam mais vezes os dentes, tal como no presente estudo. Conclusão: Os últimos anos têm-se revelado determinantes na melhoria da Saúde Oral dos portugueses e a aposta na prevenção, nomeadamente nos Cuidados Primários de Saúde Oral tem apresentado uma mais-valia inquestionável. Como em todos os percursos que se iniciam, a monitorização dos resultados e a sua melhoria contínua podem conduzir à otimização das estratégias e no seu conjunto contribuir para fazer ainda mais e melhor. Este estudo permitiu aferir, que a realidade, em contextos de Saúde Oral, no Concelho de Alijó é preocupante sugerindo que existem assimetrias em Portugal e cabe a todos os intervenientes em Saúde Oral diminuí-las. O envolvimento de cada Médico Dentista neste processo é fundamental.

Estado nutricional de escolares do semi-árido do nordeste brasileiro

SILVA, João B. da et al. Estado Nutricional de Escolares do Semi-Árido do Nordeste Brasileiro. Revista de Salud Pública, v. 11, n. 1, p. 62-71, 2009.

From Cash to Electronic Payments: Microeconomic, Macroeconomic, and Policy Aspects of Retail Payment Systems

This dissertation explores three aspects of the economics and policy issues surrounding retail payments (low-value frequent payments): the microeconomic aspect, by measuring costs associated with retail payment instruments; the macroeconomic aspect, by quantifying the impact of the use of electronic rather than paper-based payment instruments on consumption and GDP; and the policy aspect, by identifying barriers that keep countries stuck with outdated payment systems, and recommending policy interventions to move forward with payments modernization. Payment system modernization has become a prominent part of the financial sector reform agenda in many advanced and developing countries. Greater use of electronic payments rather than cash and other paper-based instruments would have important economic and social benefits, including lower costs and thereby increased economic efficiency and higher incomes, while broadening access to the financial system, notably for people with moderate and low incomes. The dissertation starts with a general introduction on retail payments. Chapter 1 develops a theoretical model for measuring payments costs, and applies the model to Guyana—an emerging market in the midst of the transition from paper to electronic payments. Using primary survey data from Guyanese consumers, the results of the analysis indicate that annual costs related to the use of cash by consumers reach 2.5 percent of the country’s GDP. Switching to electronic payment instruments would provide savings amounting to 1 percent of GDP per year. Chapter 2 broadens the analysis to calculate the macroeconomic impacts of a move to electronic payments. Using a unique panel dataset of 76 countries across the 17-year span from 1998 to 2014 and a pooled OLS country fixed effects model, Chapter 2 finds that on average, use of debit and credit cards contribute USD 16.2 billion to annual global consumption, and USD 160 billion to overall annual global GDP. Chapter 3 provides an in-depth assessment of the Albanian payment cards and remittances market and recommends a set of incentives and regulations (both carrots and sticks) that would allow the country to modernize its payment system. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the lessons of the dissertation’s research and brings forward issues to be explored by future research in the retail payments area.

Ecological drivers of a vector borne pathogen: distribution and abundance of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and its vector Ixodes ricinus in Scotland

Vector-borne disease emergence in recent decades has been associated with different environmental drivers including changes in habitat, hosts and climate. Lyme borreliosis is among the most important vector-borne diseases in the Northern hemisphere and is an emerging disease in Scotland. Transmitted by Ixodid tick vectors between large numbers of wild vertebrate host species, Lyme borreliosis is caused by bacteria from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species group. Ecological studies can inform how environmental factors such as host abundance and community composition, habitat and landscape heterogeneity contribute to spatial and temporal variation in risk from B. burgdorferi s.l. In this thesis a range of approaches were used to investigate the effects of vertebrate host communities and individual host species as drivers of B. burgdorferi s.l. dynamics and its tick vector Ixodes ricinus. Host species differ in reservoir competence for B. burgdorferi s.l. and as hosts for ticks. Deer are incompetent transmission hosts for B. burgdorferi s.l. but are significant hosts of all life-stages of I. ricinus. Rodents and birds are important transmission hosts of B. burgdorferi s.l. and common hosts of immature life-stages of I. ricinus. In this thesis, surveys of woodland sites revealed variable effects of deer density on B. burgdorferi prevalence, from no effect (Chapter 2) to a possible ‘dilution’ effect resulting in lower prevalence at higher deer densities (Chapter 3). An invasive species in Scotland, the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), was found to host diverse genotypes of B. burgdorferi s.l. and may act as a spill-over host for strains maintained by native host species (Chapter 4). Habitat fragmentation may alter the dynamics of B. burgdorferi s.l. via effects on the host community and host movements. In this thesis, there was lack of persistence of the rodent associated genospecies of B. burgdorferi s.l. within a naturally fragmented landscape (Chapter 3). Rodent host biology, particularly population cycles and dispersal ability are likely to affect pathogen persistence and recolonization in fragmented habitats. Heterogeneity in disease dynamics can occur spatially and temporally due to differences in the host community, habitat and climatic factors. Higher numbers of I. ricinus nymphs, and a higher probability of detecting a nymph infected with B. burgdorferi s.l., were found in areas with warmer climates estimated by growing degree days (Chapter 2). The ground vegetation type associated with the highest number of I. ricinus nymphs varied between studies in this thesis (Chapter 2 & 3) and does not appear to be a reliable predictor across large areas. B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence and genospecies composition was highly variable for the same sites sampled in subsequent years (Chapter 2). This suggests that dynamic variables such as reservoir host densities and deer should be measured as well as more static habitat and climatic factors to understand the drivers of B. burgdorferi s.l. infection in ticks. Heterogeneity in parasite loads amongst hosts is a common finding which has implications for disease ecology and management. Using a 17-year data set for tick infestations in a wild bird community in Scotland, different effects of age and sex on tick burdens were found among four species of passerine bird (Chapter 5). There were also different rates of decline in tick burdens among bird species in response to a long term decrease in questing tick pressure over the study. Species specific patterns may be driven by differences in behaviour and immunity and highlight the importance of comparative approaches. Combining whole genome sequencing (WGS) and population genetics approaches offers a novel approach to identify ecological drivers of pathogen populations. An initial analysis of WGS from B. burgdorferi s.s. isolates sampled 16 years apart suggests that there is a signal of measurable evolution (Chapter 6). This suggests demographic analyses may be applied to understand ecological and evolutionary processes of these bacteria. This work shows how host communities, habitat and climatic factors can affect the local transmission dynamics of B. burgdorferi s.l. and the potential risk of infection to humans. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in pathogen dynamics poses challenges for the prediction of risk. New tools such as WGS of the pathogen (Chapter 6) and blood meal analysis techniques will add power to future studies on the ecology and evolution of B. burgdorferi s.l.

Bacchus Neumonitis

Objective: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of pathologies of undetermined frequency that require a broad differential diagnosis and continue to pose a challenge for clinicians. Observations: We present a clinical case of a 17-year-old male with acute interstitial pneumonitis, lung aspergillosis and foreign body lung granulomatosis after carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication. As far as we know, no similar cases have been reported in the literature. Conclusions: ILD require a broad differential diagnosis, which is of great importance to prognosis.

Transient Blue Skin: Pseudochromhidrosis

Objectives: Pseudochromhidrosis is a rare condition where colours due to chromogenic microbial products or extrinsic chemicals are excreted with sweat. Chromhidrosis is the production of coloured sweat from apocrine or eccrine sweat glands. The aim of this case report is to illustrate all the steps involved in the diagnosis of pseudochromhidrosis. Materials and methods: A 17-year-old patient with pseudochromhidrosis is presented. Results: Clinical features of the patient were consistent with pseudochromhidrosis. Conclusions: The distinction between chromhidrosis and pseudochromhidrosis can be made based on a detailed history, skin biopsy and empiric treatment

SES-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN WORD LEARNING: EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE INHIBITION AND WORD LEARNING

Socioeconomic status (SES) influences language and cognitive development, with discrepancies particularly noticeable in vocabulary development. This study examines how SES-related differences impact the development of syntactic processing, cognitive inhibition, and word learning. 38 4-5-year-olds from higher- and lower-SES backgrounds completed a word-learning task, in which novel words were embedded in active and passive sentences. Critically, unlike the active sentences, all passive sentences required a syntactic revision. Measures of cognitive inhibition were obtained through a modified Stroop task. Results indicate that lower-SES participants had more difficulty using inhibitory functions to resolve conflict compared to their higher-SES counterparts. However, SES did not impact language processing, as the language outcomes were similar across SES background. Additionally, stronger inhibitory processes were related to better language outcomes in the passive sentence condition. These results suggest that cognitive inhibition impact language processing, but this function may vary across children from different SES backgrounds

A transversalidade da Matemática no quotidiano de uma sala de 4 anos

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção de grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar

Hyperprolinemia as a clue in the diagnosis of a patient with a psychiatric disorder

Background: Over the last few years, microdeletions of the 22q11.2 region responsible for DiGeorge syndrome, or velocardiofacial syndrome, have been increasingly related to neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. These signs seem to be related to certain genes located in the hemideleted region as the proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) and the catecholo-methyltransferase (COMT) genes. The PRODH or proline oxidase deficiency is responsible for hyperprolinemia type 1 (HPI) also causing psychiatric manifestations. Case Report: We describe a 17 year old boy with previous mild psychomotor and speech delay, mild cognitive impairment, and obsessive behaviours who started his adolescent psychiatric care presenting irritablemood and aggressive behaviour with schizophrenia symptoms that scored a “severely ill” level PANSS assessment. Symptoms got worse when he was treated with valproic acid and plasma aminoacids showing increase in alanine and proline, suggested a mitochondrial involvement of the proline metabolic pathway. Results: Mild dysmorphia suggested a possible 22q11.2 deletion genetically confirmed involving both the PRODH and COMT regions. HPI that can present with psychiatric features is however a recessive disorder and therefore the symptoms could not be solely explained by this genetic deletion. Additional investigations also showed disclosed a p.L289m (c.1865 T > A) mutation in the PRODH gene. Discussion: We believe that the association of this mutation together with the 22q11.2 deletion would lead to a decrease of functional protein. Although it may be difficult to diagnosis chromosomal abnormalities in patients with no clear malformations and mild dysmorphic features as in this patient we emphasize need to investigate the aetiology in patients with psychiatric symptoms, especially if they have other systemic manifestations such as developmental delay or psychotic symptoms, as it may be important in the management of the patients.

O Direito da Participação das Crianças, em contexto escolar

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para a obtenção de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Escutares a minha voz é um direito: construção de espaços integradores de participação na Educação Pré-Escolar e no Ensino do 1ºCiclo do Ensino Básico

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré- escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Prevalence of asthma among school children in Gaborone, Botswana.

Background: Asthma prevalence is high (>10%) in developed countries and although data is still missing for most of Africa, rates are increasing in developing regions as they become more westernized. We investigated the prevalence of asthma in school children in Gaborone, Botswana. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study. ISAAC methodology was used. A representative proportionate size random sample of two age groups of children (13-14 year olds and 6-7 year olds) was consecutively enrolled from 10 schools. The schools were selected using a table of random numbers. A minimum sample size of 924 individuals (462 from each group) was adequate to achieve a precision of 3 % around our estimated prevalence of asthma of 10% with 95% confidence assuming a non-response rate of 20%. Data was collected using the validated International study of Asthma and Allergies in children (ISAAC) questionnaire. In accordance with the ISAAC criteria, Asthma was defined as wheezing in the previous 12 months. Data was captured in microsoft excel and analysed using SPSS version 23. Results: The prevalence of asthma (wheezing in the previous 12 months) was 16.5% (194/1175). Among the 6-7 year olds, the prevalence of asthma (wheezing in the previous 12 months) was 15.9%, while among the 13-14 years olds it was 16.8 %. The prevalence school type was 22.3 % in private schools versus 14.5 % in public schools. More severe asthma was associated with older children, 13 -14 years. The older children reported more limited speech due to wheezing (OR= 2.0, 95% CI =1.034, 3.9, p-value=0.043), ever had asthma (OR= 1.5, 95% CI=1.031, 2.3, p-value=0.034) and wheezing during exercise (OR=3.4, 95% CI= 2.5, 4.9, p-value= <0.001) compared to the younger children 6-7 years. Children from private schools had more wheezing symptoms. They were more likely to have ever wheezed (OR=2.2, .95% CI=1.7,2.9, p-value < 0.0001), wheezed in the previous twelve months (have asthma) (OR=1.7,95%CI=1.2,2.4, p-value = 0.001), ever had asthma (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.7,3.5, pvalue< 0.0001), and wheezed during exercise (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.4,2.4, p-value < 0.0001). Conclusion: The prevalence of asthma amongst school children in Gaborone, Botswana is high with older children experiencing more severe symptoms of asthma.

Shifting development in mid-childhood: the influence of between-task interference

Performance on the task-switching paradigm is greatly affected by the amount of conflict between tasks. Compared to adults, children appear to be particularly influenced by this conflict, suggesting that the ability to resolve interference between tasks improves with age. We used the task-switching paradigm to investigate how this ability develops in mid-childhood. Experiment 1 compared 5- to 8-year-olds’ and 9- to 11-year-olds’ ability to switch between decisions about the colour of an object and its shape. The 5- to 8-year-olds were slower to switch task and experienced more interference from the irrelevant task than the 9-to 11-year-olds, suggesting a developmental improvement in resolving conflict between tasks during mid-childhood. Experiment 2 explored this further, examining the influence of stimulus and response interference at different ages. This was done by separating the colour and shape dimensions of the stimulus and reducing overlap between responses. The results supported the development of conflict resolution in task-switching during mid-childhood. They also revealed that a complex interplay of factors, including the tasks used and previous experience with the task, affected children’s shifting performance.

Ansiedad escolar según género y edad en una muestra de adolescentes chilenos

La ansiedad constituye un factor de riesgo para el bienestar y el desarrollo personal, social y académico de niños y adolescentes. Altos niveles de ansiedad reducen la eficiencia en el aprendizaje, ya que disminuyen la atención, la concentración y la retención, con el consecuente deterioro en el rendimiento escolar. Las investigaciones muestran altas tasas de prevalencia de ansiedad en población adolescente, especialmente en las mujeres. El objetivo del estudio es analizar la ansiedad escolar en una muestra de adolescentes chilenos según género y edad. Participaron 673 adolescentes, estudiantes de 6 colegios de la provincia de Ñuble, cuyo rango de edad es de 13 a 17 años (M = 15, 26; DE = 1, 32). La Ansiedad Escolar se evaluó con el Inventario de Ansiedad Escolar (IAES) que evalúa tres sistemas de respuesta; ansiedad cognitiva, ansiedad conductual y ansiedad psicofisiológica, y tres factores situacionales: ansiedad ante la evaluación social, ansiedad ante el fracaso escolar, y ansiedad ante la agresión. Los hombres presentaron puntuaciones menores que las mujeres, siendo las diferencias estadísticamente significativas en todos los sistemas de respuesta y en todos los factores situacionales. En los grupos de edad, las diferencias significativas se presentaron en el sistema de respuesta cognitivo, en dos factores situacionales (ansiedad ante el fracaso escolar y ansiedad ante la agresión) y en la puntuación total. El grupo de varones de 17 años fue quien presentó menores niveles de ansiedad escolar.