Repositório RCAAP

This paper will philosophically extend Julian Leff’s Avatar therapy paradigm (AT) for voice-like hallucinations that was initially proposed for treatment-resistant Schizophrenia patients into the realm of gesture-enhanced embodied cognition and Virtual Reality (VR), entitled g+TA (gesture-enhanced Avatar Therapy). I propose an philosophy of technology approach of embodied rhetorics of triadic kinetic “actions” in the sense of Charles Sanders Peirce that transforms the voice hallucination incorporated by an avatar- and that can confront acousmatic voice-like hallucinations with a method of gesture synchronization and dyssynchronization and gestural refusal of interaction that the player with the Avatar can resist in full embodiment. This paper therefore introduces a gesture-enhanced, extended version of Cybertherapy with Avatars that tackle multimodal bodily experience of voice-like hallucinations beyond mere visual or auditory stimulation. This is put forward theoretically in a 4E-cognition approach that expands Avatar Therapy with gestures into VR.

Technological skills development is a central issue for a country’s educational and social policies. Throughout their school career, from primary to secondary education and later in higher education, students have the opportunity to build and develop various skills, including technological. Considering the different needs and different uses that these skills encompass, these will certainly be necessary and useful in students’ academic and professional life. This study reports on an investigation of technological skills development in higher education. It aims to analyze the relevance of technologies integration, which technological skills are built and developed by higher education students, and what their perception about the importance of technological skills is. Based on a literature review, an online questionnaire was designed and applied to 217 students from three public higher education institutions located in the North, Center, and South of Portugal. This intended to verify which areas of technological skills (from the European Digital Competence Framework for Citizens) are most developed and to understand respective repercussions. It is concluded that the balanced development of students’ technological skills in higher education is crucial for their personal, social, and professional future and consequently, for their quality of life, with the integration of digital technologies being relevant in the change of the academic work organization, in the relations between learners, teachers, and institutions, and in the new ways of teaching and learning.

A investigação-ação enquanto metodologia de investigação qualitativa no contexto educacional pode contribuir para um questionamento reflexivo e coletivo com vista ao melhoramento das práticas pedagógicas, para a compreensão sobre essas práticas e situações nas quais estas foram desenvolvidas e, consequentemente, para o desenvolvimento profissional docente. Na recolha e tratamento dos dados, a análise de conteúdo apresenta-se como um método privilegiado na análise de dados qualitativos que inclui um conjunto de técnicas que permitem cumprir de forma mais rigorosa e objetiva os critérios de cientificidade e a validação da construção do conhecimento. Este artigo, através de uma revisão de literatura e análise de um caso, pretende compreender como pode ser aplicada a metodologia de investigação-ação em estudos de investigação no contexto educacional, especificamente na formação de professores, e verificar a importância que assume o método de análise de conteúdo na qualidade de uma investigação qualitativa. O caso apresentado constitui-se por um projeto de investigação-formação desenvolvido numa comunidade educativa com o objetivo de promover a inovação de metodologias e estratégias pedagógicas através da aplicação de um programa de formação ativa de professores com integração das tecnologias digitais. Neste projeto confirmou-se o desenvolvimento de uma cultura mais digital nesta comunidade educativa, propiciadora do desenvolvimento profissional docente no contexto da futura sociedade do conhecimento, constando-se a adequação da metodologia de investigação proposta.

O trabalho de projeto, enquadrado nas metodologias ativas de ensino-aprendizagem de base construtivista, permite a construção de competências transversais, atualmente potenciado pela utilização das tecnologias digitais. Esta metodologia assume na contemporaneidade uma renovada importância, designadamente devido: à complementaridade com o ensino online, onde os espaços e os tempos se diluem, e à ponte que permite estabelecer entre o ensino e a sociedade. O objetivo deste estudo é analisar de que forma a metodologia de trabalho de projeto contribuiu para a construção de competências pelos estudantes, particularmente de autonomia e de literacia digital. A abordagem será qualitativa com recurso a um estudo de caso, recorrendo a observação participante e análise de conteúdo de reflexões escritas. Como resultados espera-se contribuir para uma melhor compreensão do processo de implementação da metodologia de trabalho de projeto, com recurso intensivo à integração de tecnologias digitais na comunicação e no processo de ensino, avaliação e aprendizagem.

This handbook is an important companion for future users of the ENRICH CPD Course, including, but not limited to: (a) pre- or in-service English language teachers who may wish to engage with the CPD materials and activities at their own pace; (b) teacher educators who would like to employ the CPD materials and activities with their own trainees; (c ) researchers in the fields which ENRICH revolves around (e.g., English as a Lingua Franca, multilingualism, English language pedagogy) who may be interested in finding out whether, and how, information gathered through ENRICH could inform their research studies; and (d) members of educational policy- making organisations and institutions which may want to explore the relevance of ENRICH to their own professional endeavours. It is divided into five main chapters where the ENRICH project is firstly introduced, followed by an explanation of the needs analysis for the development of the CPD Course, a rationale for the target audience, a detailed description of each of the CPD Course sections, and a final reflection on the evaluation of the Course and lessons learnt.

This master's dissertation has the evolution of Comics as the main focus. It explores not only its history, but also its mutations at the narrative level, used supports and how these new potentialities are changing the paradigms as we know them today.In the theoretical component of this project, firstly, we will approachthe path that the visual narratives have taken along the history of Man before becoming the language of Comics we know today. It is from this starting point that these narratives, that go beyond the idea of a book, or even conventional reading, will be analyzed. This is the case of webcomics, an increasingly emerging support which is worthy of analysis. In these, we can find not only a wide variety of expressions, techniques and narratives, but also a creative freedom that doesn’t not bow to any editor.. It is from these webcomics and their potential, that this dissertation is based on, more specifically on the desire to share ideas and the advent of social networks and their language. Based on these assumptions, this theoretical-practical dissertation will be complemented by a practical component, which aims to show this evolution through comic strips and other drawings, created by the author, that are inspired by analog and digital technologies. The practical work will also watch out for aspects that are parallel to the works of other artists, to in this way, we can learn more about their processes and approaches.

A Modernidade (re)escreveu a relação entre a escola e o estado/ nação, instituindo a Escola como meio de informação e consolidação da estatalização e da regimentalização da nação, e reificando os conceitos de cidadania e de humanitas. Ainda que entre o imaginário e a realidade, no que se refere à construção historiográfica se observe uma grande distância epistémica, a cultura escolar foi orientada no sentido da disciplina e da formação de um cidadão comprometido com os destinos pátrios. Neste contexto, a cultura escolar foi frequentemente uma actualização, mas também uma activação da memória social, convertida em texto e (pre)texto para a educação. A associação entre história da educação e memória social assenta numa análise da cultura escolar, tomando como referência o estado-nação e tendo como principal pressuposto que a memória sócio-cultural se estrutura e se reveste de finalidades informativas de socialização e de enquadramento das gerações jovens, sob a forma currículo escolar.

This Master of Critic, Curatorship and Art Theories dissertation work theme is the following: José Tagarro (1902-1931): the path of an independent modernist and it presents an organized collection of his life and work. With this purpose in mind, an exhaustive listing was made of both his artistic production and biographic aspects in order to obtain the most complete and certified information on the subject. José Tagarro iniciated his art studies at Escola Oficina n.º 1 before enrolling at the Escola de Belas Artes in 1919. He started his artistic career in 1923 with a first exhibition of his work and the publication of his illustrations, and from 1926 onwards his work became a regular presence at the annual art shows at the SNBA as well as in the monthly magazines. He had his first solo exhibition at Bobone gallery, in 1928, where he also showed his work in two collective exhibitions the following year. In 1929 he also travelled to Paris, where he studied works by Holbein and Ingres, whom he admired. The next year he was involved in the organization of the I Salão dos Independentes and he also opened his first exhibition in Porto. By the end of 1930 and beginning of 1931, he worked on sceneries for two plays at Politeama theatre and he also participated in the International Colonial Paris Exhibition competition. His artistic life suddenly ended with his death in 1931, leaving the artistic community in shock, who then paid him homage with a retrospective exhibition of his work at the SNBA in 1932. In spite of his short life, José Tagarro maintained an uninterrupted artistic production. His drawings stand out, mainly his portraits, where he applies his very own expression of the neoclassical style used by Picasso, characterized by a firm linearity and elaborate stylization in the details, where he achieved great formal elegance and weightlessness, endowing them through this classical expression to achieve a certain quality of timeless spirituality.

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Diferentes estudos abordam a questão da organização, gestão e representação da informação e do conhecimento, no âmbito da Ciência da Informação. Algumas destas abordagens alargam o espetro para as interações possíveis com a Arquivística. Pretende-se identificar alguns desses estudos e analisar as perceções de autores sobre essas matérias, tendo como alvo alguma da produção científica recente neste âmbito. Trata-se de uma abordagem qualitativa, baseada no método de Investigação Documental. As análises incidem sobre 21 textos, publicados entre 2016 e 2021. Os resultados apontam para a subdivisão do tema principal em três eixos discursivos secundários, reveladores de diferentes, mas complementares, perceções (ou discursos): i) Organização e representação da informação e do conhecimento arquivístico: especificidades e relações; ii) Representação e descrição da informação e do conhecimento arquivístico: interlocuções e desafios; iii) Representação da informação e do conhecimento arquivístico: processos e produtos. As conclusões encaminham a Arquivística e a Ciência da Informação para um território comum - a Representação da Informação e do Conhecimento - , para que a primeira (a Arquivística) possa beneficiar-se, especialmente, no que respeita à eficácia na recuperação da informação, dos conhecimentos científicos consolidados pela segunda ( a Ciência da Informação).

Background: Falls are a common cause of injury and pose an increased risk of morbidity, mortality, and lifelong disability. Falls encompass a troublesome definition and can pose challenges in epidemiological studies. Data on fall-related hospital admissions in Portugal remain unpublished. This study aimed to examine the epidemiology of fall-related hospital admissions in the Portuguese population between 2010 and 2018. It also aimed to examine annual rates of fall-related hospital admissions using three methodological approaches. Methods: The Portuguese Hospital Morbidity Database was used to identify all cases resulting in one or more inpatient admission in public hospitals related to falls from 2010 to 2018. Fall-related hospital admissions were described by age groups, sex, geographical area of residence, and type of fall. Annual rates were computed using three approaches: i) based on the number of inpatient admissions with an ICD code of fall, ii) based on the number of patients admitted to inpatient care with an ICD code of fall, and iii) based on the number of inpatient admissions with a principal diagnosis of injury. Results: Between 2010 and 2018, 383,016 fall-related admissions occurred in 344,728 patients, corresponding to 2.1% of the total number of hospitalizations during the same period. Higher rates were seen among the younger (20-25) and the oldest age groups (+85), males until the age of 60, females from the age of 60, and areas of residence with a higher aging index. An overall rate of falls per 100,000 population was estimated at 414 (based on number of admissions), 373 (based on number of patients) and 353 (based on number of admissions with a principal diagnosis of injury). Conclusions: This study provides an overall picture of the landscape of falls in a scarcely explored setting. The results aim to contribute to identifying appropriate preventive interventions and policies for these populations.

Background: Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease characterized by arterial and venous thrombosis and / or obstetric morbidity in the presence of at least one circulating anti-phospholipid antibody. The spectrum of vascular events varies from deep venous thrombosis to catastrophic APS, a rare form characterized by acute multiorgan thrombosis and high mortality. Case report: We present the case of a 32-week pregnant woman arriving in the hospital emergency room with bilateral acute lower limb ischemia. In the obstetric evaluation, fetal death was declared. Computerized Tomography angiography showed pulmonary embolism of both pulmonary arteries, areas of splenic and right renal infarction and multiple arterial and venous thrombosis. The patient underwent urgent caesarean section and axillary-bifemoral bypass. No events registered. In the postoperative period, in an intensive care unit, treatment with rituximab and plasmapheresis were added to anticoagulant therapy. The laboratorial investigation was negative for thrombophilia and autoimmune diseases. Conclusion: Catastrophic APS develops quickly, with multiorgan involvement and high mortality rate. The presented case poses a multidisciplinary challenge, with the surgical approach of extra-anatomical revascularization being less invasive and guaranteeing immediate perfusion of the lower limbs. Although the serological tests were negative for anti-phospholipid antibodies, this case hardly fits into another diagnosis. Therefore, it was treated as a catastrophic APS, having shown a favorable evolution.

Although the RNA helicase Upf1 has hitherto been examined mostly in relation to its cytoplasmic role in nonsense mediated mRNA decay (NMD), here we report high-throughput ChIP data indicating genome-wide association of Upf1 with active genes in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This association is RNase sensitive, correlates with Pol II transcription and mRNA expression levels. Changes in Pol II occupancy were detected in a Upf1 deficient (upf1Δ) strain, prevalently at genes showing a high Upf1 relative to Pol II association in wild-type. Additionally, an increased Ser2 Pol II signal was detected at all highly transcribed genes examined by ChIP-qPCR. Furthermore, upf1Δ cells are hypersensitive to the transcription elongation inhibitor 6-azauracil. A significant proportion of the genes associated with Upf1 in wild-type conditions are also mis-regulated in upf1Δ. These data envisage that by operating on the nascent transcript, Upf1 might influence Pol II phosphorylation and transcription.

The increasing consumption of sugar and fat seen over the last decades and the consequent overweight and obesity, were recently linked with a deleterious effect on cognition and synaptic function. A major question, which remains to be clarified, is whether obesity in the elderly is an additional risk factor for cognitive impairment. We aimed at unravelling the impact of a chronic high caloric diet (HCD) on memory performance and synaptic plasticity in aged rats. Male rats were kept on an HCD or a standard diet (control) from 1 to 24 months of age. The results showed that under an HCD, aged rats were obese and displayed significant long-term recognition memory impairment when compared to age-matched controls. Ex vivo synaptic plasticity recorded from hippocampal slices from HCD-fed aged rats revealed a reduction in the magnitude of long-term potentiation, accompanied by a decrease in the levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor receptors TrkB full-length (TrkB-FL). No alterations in neurogenesis were observed, as quantified by the density of immature doublecortin-positive neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. This study highlights that obesity induced by a chronic HCD exacerbates age-associated cognitive decline, likely due to impaired synaptic plasticity, which might be associated with deficits in TrkB-FL signaling.

Pancreatic cancer (PCA) is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide with a 5-year survival rate of 9%. Despite the advances in the field, the need for an earlier detection and effective therapies is paramount. PCA high heterogeneity suggests that epigenetic alterations play a key role in tumour development. However, only few epigenetic biomarkers or therapeutic targets have been identified so far. Here we explored the potential of distinct DNA methylation signatures as biomarkers for early detection and prognosis of PCA. PI3K/AKT-related genes differentially expressed in PCA were identified using the Pancreatic Expression Database (n = 153). Methylation data from PCA patients was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (n = 183), crossed with clinical data to evaluate the biomarker potential of the epigenetic signatures identified and validated in independent cohorts. The majority of selected genes presented higher expression and hypomethylation in tumour tissue. The methylation signatures of specific genes in the PI3K/AKT pathway could distinguish normal from malignant tissue at initial disease stages with AUC > 0.8, revealing their potential as PCA diagnostic tools. ITGA4, SFN, ITGA2, and PIK3R1 methylation levels could be independent prognostic indicators of patients' survival. Methylation status of SFN and PIK3R1 were also associated with disease recurrence. Our study reveals that the methylation levels of PIK3/AKT genes involved in PCA could be used to diagnose and predict patients' clinical outcome with high sensitivity and specificity. These results provide new evidence of the potential of epigenetic alterations as biomarkers for disease screening and management and highlight possible therapeutic targets.

X-inactive-specific transcript (Xist) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) essential for X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) in female placental mammals. Thirty years after its discovery, it is still puzzling how this lncRNA triggers major structural and transcriptional changes leading to the stable silencing of an entire chromosome. Recently, a series of studies in mouse cells have uncovered domains of functional specialization within Xist mapping to conserved tandem repeat regions, known as Repeats A-to-F. These functional domains interact with various RNA binding proteins (RBPs) and fold into distinct RNA structures to execute specific tasks in a synergistic and coordinated manner during the inactivation process. This modular organization of Xist is mostly conserved in humans, but recent data point towards differences regarding functional specialization of the tandem repeats between the two species. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on understanding the role of Xist repetitive blocks and their involvement in the molecular mechanisms underlying XCI. We also discuss these findings in the light of the similarities and differences between mouse and human Xist.

An intriguing and remarkable feature of African trypanosomes is their antigenic variation system, mediated by the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) family and fundamental to both immune evasion and disease epidemiology within host populations. Recent studies have revealed that the VSG repertoire has a complex evolutionary history. Sequence diversity, genomic organization, and expression patterns are species-specific, which may explain other variations in parasite virulence and disease pathology. Evidence also shows that we may be underestimating the extent to what VSGs are repurposed beyond their roles as variant antigens, establishing a need to examine VSG functionality more deeply. Here, we review sequence variation within the VSG gene family, and highlight the many opportunities to explore their likely diverse contributions to parasite survival.

Tomados na sua especificidade, os fenômenos educativos referem-se a uma acção que se insere num contexto e evolui num determinado sentido, compreendendo uma materialidade, uma materialização e uma substantivação; uma relação de comunicação, alteridade e transmissão entre agentes e sujeitos; uma projecção e uma apropriação. Abordarei estas questões no quadro paradigmático, complexo e multidimensional, das instituições educativas, focalizado enquanto objecto que se constitui como uma totalidade em organização e em evolução. Adoptarei um registo teórico-prático, procurando referências arquivísticas, hermenêuticas e discursivas neste quadro investigativo específico da histórica das instituições escolares e das práticas educativas.

We report the case of a patient with symptoms of myelopathy following acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. MRI documented a longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis and further investigation was unremarkable with the exception of positivity for MOG-IgG in serum. This report extends the spectrum of post-COVID-19 neurological syndromes, and documents a very significant improvement to long-term oral corticosteroid therapy in this setting. Further prospective studies are needed to establish the risk of recurrence in this subset of patients.

Interleukin-7 receptor α (encoded by IL7R) is essential for lymphoid development. Whether acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)-related IL7R gain-of-function mutations can trigger leukemogenesis remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that lymphoid-restricted mutant IL7R, expressed at physiological levels in conditional knock-in mice, establishes a pre-leukemic stage in which B-cell precursors display self-renewal ability, initiating leukemia resembling PAX5 P80R or Ph-like human B-ALL. Full transformation associates with transcriptional upregulation of oncogenes such as Myc or Bcl2, downregulation of tumor suppressors such as Ikzf1 or Arid2, and major IL-7R signaling upregulation (involving JAK/STAT5 and PI3K/mTOR), required for leukemia cell viability. Accordingly, maximal signaling drives full penetrance and early leukemia onset in homozygous IL7R mutant animals. Notably, we identify 2 transcriptional subgroups in mouse and human Ph-like ALL, and show that dactolisib and sphingosine-kinase inhibitors are potential treatment avenues for IL-7R-related cases. Our model, a resource to explore the pathophysiology and therapeutic vulnerabilities of B-ALL, demonstrates that IL7R can initiate this malignancy.