“Contextos e Práticas Educativas” é um projecto que visa implementar a experimentação das Ciências Físicas e Naturais tendo por base o desenvolvimento da autonomia na aprendizagem, a construção cooperativa do conhecimento e a interdependência das várias áreas do saber para a promoção da literacia científica. Mediante a apresentação de breves descrições de práticas realizadas no Jardim-de-Infância e em salas do 1º ciclo do E.B., pretendemos contribuir para a construção do conceito de que a experimentação, como método de descoberta ou como consolidação dos saberes, no decorrer dos temas propostos pelo currículo, pode permitir aprendizagens mais significativas nas várias áreas disciplinares. Propomos uma rede cooperativa de construção do saber, dando ênfase ao método experimental.
In Portugal, little is known about the work ability profiles of municipal workers and their changes during working life. In order to characterize and understand the changes in work ability among municipal workers, a prospective study was designed to begin in 2015 in the municipality of Sintra, in the surroundings of Lisbon, and to collect data every two years. The present paper aims at characterizing the changes in the work ability of those workers between 2015 and 2017 and to identify the main predictors. Data collection was based on a questionnaire that encompassed socio-demographic data, the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (COPSOQ II), the Nordic questionnaire adapted, and the Work Ability Index (WAI). In this two-year period, the work ability of municipal workers decreased and the main predictive factors were age, lower-back pain, negative health perception, the presence of burnout, and making manual efforts. Still, there were factors that act as positive predictors of an excellent work ability, such as having training in the previous two years, a good sense of community at work, and a favorable meaning of work. In summary, the intervention strategies in the work field should take into consideration the main predictors of work ability that are relevant for each organization.
We established three new human myeloid cell lines from one patient, in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (UPM1-GM), interleukin-3 (UMP1-IL-3) or without exogenous growth factors (UPM1). The 3 lines were characterized by phenotypic, genotypic and functional studies. These cell lines may provide useful tools to study different aspects of leukemic cell biology
The reliability of eight distinct methods (Giemsa staining, trypan blue exclusion, acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double staining for fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, propidium iodide (PI) staining, annexin V assay, TUNEL assay and DNA ladder) for detection and quantification of cell death (apoptosis and necrosis) was evaluated and compared. Each of these methods detects different morphological or biochemical features of these two processes. The comparative analysis of the 8 techniques revealed that AO/EB (read in fluorescence microscopy) provides a reliable method to measure cells in different compartments (or pathways) of cell death though it is very time consuming. PI staining and TUNEL assay were also sensitive in detecting very early signs of apoptosis, but do not allow precise quantification of apoptotic cells. These three methods were concordant in relation to induction of apoptosis and necrosis in HL60 cells with the various UV irradiation time periods tested. Both AO/EB (read by flow cytometry) and annexin V‐FITC/PI failed to detect the same number of early apoptotic cells as the other three methods. Trypan blue is valueless for this purpose. Giemsa and DNA ladder might be useful as confirmatory tests in some situations.
The demographic ageing has a huge impact in working lives. The legal retirement age is increasing, leading to extending the working life as well as the exposure to occupational risks. This prospective study with municipal workers was conducted aiming at characterizing the associations between work ability, self-reported symptomatology and age. In 2015, the sample consisted of 885 workers and in 2017, of 1167 workers. A self-administered questionnaire was used including the Work Ability Index (WAI) and an adaptation of the Nordic questionnaire. The WAI showed a lower average in 2017. The age had a negative correlation with work ability in both years. The prevalence of low-back symptoms was high for 2015 (45,2%) and 2017 (49,2%) and work ability changes are influenced by musculoskeletal symptoms. The results evidence the need to promote health and to prevent work related disorders aiming at maintaining the work ability over the years.