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Abstract Background Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at risk of developing interstitial lung disease (ILD), which is associated with high mortality. Screening tools based on risk factors are needed to decide which patients with RA should be screened for ILD using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The ANCHOR-RA study is a multi-national cross-sectional study that will develop a multivariable model for prediction of RA-ILD, which can be used to inform screening for RA-ILD in clinical practice. Methods Investigators will enrol consecutive patients with RA who have ≥ 2 of the following risk factors for RA-ILD: male; current or previous smoker; age ≥ 60 years at RA diagnosis; high-positive rheumatoid factor and/or anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (titre > 3 x upper limit of normal); presence or history of certain extra-articular manifestations of RA (vasculitis, Felty’s syndrome, secondary Sjögren’s syndrome, cutaneous rheumatoid nodules, serositis, and/or scleritis/uveitis); high RA disease activity in the prior 12 months. Patients previously identified as having ILD, or who have had a CT scan in the prior 2 years, will not be eligible. Participants will undergo an HRCT scan at their local site, which will be assessed centrally by two expert radiologists. Data will be collected prospectively on demographic and RA-related characteristics, patient-reported outcomes, comorbidities and pulmonary function. The primary outcomes will be the development of a probability score for RA-ILD, based on a multivariable model incorporating potential risk factors commonly assessed in clinical practice, and an estimate of the prevalence of RA-ILD in the study population. It is planned that 1200 participants will be enrolled at approximately 30 sites in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain. Discussion Data from the ANCHOR-RA study will add to the body of evidence to support recommendations for screening for RA-ILD to improve detection of this important complication of RA and enable early intervention. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT05855109 (submission date: 3 May 2023).

Objective To develop a multivariable model for predicting the progression of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) over 52 weeks.Methods We used logistic regression models to analyse associations between candidate predictors assessed at baseline and progression of SSc-ILD (absolute decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) % predicted >5% or death) over 52 weeks in the placebo group of the SENSCIS trial. Analyses were performed in the overall placebo group and in a subgroup with early and/or inflammatory SSc and/or severe skin fibrosis (18) at baseline. Model performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).Results In the overall placebo group (n=288), the performance of the final multivariable model for predicting SSc-ILD progression was moderate (apparent AUC: 0.63). A stronger model, with an apparent AUC of 0.75, was developed in the subgroup with early and/or inflammatory SSc and/or severe skin fibrosis at baseline (n=155). This model included diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLco) % predicted, time since first non-Raynaud symptom, mRSS, anti-topoisomerase I antibody status and mycophenolate use.Conclusion Prediction of the progression of SSc-ILD may require different approaches in distinct subgroups of patients. Among patients with SSc-ILD and early and/or inflammatory SSc and/or severe skin fibrosis, a nomogram based on a multivariable model may be of value for identifying patients at risk of short-term progression.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are prevalent nutritional disorders following bariatric surgery. Although they are more prevalent after malabsorptive procedures such as bypass, they also occur in restrictive procedures such as gastric sleeve. The mechanisms that lead to the occurrence of these deficits are related to the presence of poor nutritional intake or poor adherence to multivitamins and multimineral supplementation. Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) is an acute neurological disorder resulting from thiamine deficiency. This syndrome is composed of two distinct phases: first, Wernicke Encephalopathy (WE), the acute phase of this syndrome, which is characterized by a triad of mental confusion, ocular signs, and ataxia, followed by the chronic phase of WKS, called Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS), which is known for the presence of anterograde amnesia and confabulation. We aimed to report a case of a patient with WKS after bariatric surgery. The patient’s retrospective chart review was performed in order to retrieve the relevant clinical data. The patient was a 24-year-old female student with a BMI of 48 kg/m2 who underwent sleeve gastrectomy surgery for morbid obesity. Over the following 2 months, recovery from surgery was complicated by non-specific symptoms such as nausea, recurrent vomiting, and a significant reduction in food intake, which led the patient to visit the emergency department six times with hospitalization on the last occasion for a definitive diagnosis. During the 15 days of hospitalization, the patient developed ocular diplopia, nystagmus, complaints of rotatory vertigo, and gait abnormalities. A magnetic resonance imaging of the head was performed but revealed no significant changes. After a formal neurological assessment, treatment with parenteral thiamine (100 mg, three times a day) was started without prior dosing. The observed clinical improvement confirmed the diagnosis of WKS. Bariatric surgery may contribute to thiamine deficiency and, consequently, to WKS. Education about the adverse consequences of malnourishment is mandatory before and after the surgery. Investigation of nutritional deficiencies both pre- and post-operatively is crucial in order to prevent complications such as WKS.

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Objective In the SENSCIS trial, participants with systemic sclerosis‐associated interstitial lung disease (SSc‐ILD) were randomized to receive nintedanib or placebo until the last participant reached week 52 but for 100 weeks or less. Nintedanib reduced the rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) (ml/year) over 52 weeks by 44% (41 ml [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.9‐79.0]) versus placebo. We investigated the effect of nintedanib over the whole SENSCIS trial. Methods The annual rate of decline in FVC (ml/year) over the whole trial was assessed descriptively using 1) on‐treatment data plus off‐treatment data from participants who prematurely discontinued treatment (intent‐to‐treat analysis) and 2) only on‐treatment data to assess the effect of nintedanib in participants who remained on treatment. Results In the intent‐to‐treat analysis, the adjusted mean (SE) annual rate of decline in FVC over 100 weeks was −54.9 (11.1) and −88.8 (10.9) ml/year in the nintedanib (n = 287) and placebo (n = 288) groups, respectively (difference 34.0 ml/year [95% CI: 3.4‐64.5]). In the on‐treatment analysis, the adjusted mean (SE) annual rate of decline in FVC over 100 weeks was −55.1 (12.3) and −94.0 (11.7) ml/year in the nintedanib (n = 286) and placebo (n = 288) groups, respectively (difference 38.9 ml/year [95% CI: 5.6‐72.1]). The adverse event profile of nintedanib over 100 weeks was consistent with that observed over 52 weeks. Conclusion Nintedanib provides a sustained benefit on slowing the progression of SSc‐ILD over 100 weeks, with adverse events that are manageable for most patients.

Abstract Background The forced vital capacity (FVC) of healthy individuals depends on their age, sex, ethnicity and height. Systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is characterised by loss of FVC. We compared FVC values in the subjects with SSc-ILD in the SENSCIS trial of nintedanib versus placebo with values from hypothetical matched healthy references. Methods The SENSCIS trial enrolled subjects with SSc with first non-Raynaud symptom in the prior ≤ 7 years, extent of fibrotic ILD on HRCT ≥ 10%, and FVC ≥ 40% predicted. FVC at baseline and decline in FVC over 52 weeks were compared with FVC values in hypothetical healthy reference subjects matched 1:1 to the subjects in the trial for age, sex, ethnicity and height, determined using equations published by the European Respiratory Society Global Lung Function Initiative. Results At baseline, mean (SD) FVC was 2460 (737) mL in the nintedanib group (n = 287) compared with 3403 (787) mL in the hypothetical matched healthy references. Mean (SD) FVC was 2544 (817) mL in the placebo group (n = 286) compared with 3516 (887) mL in the hypothetical matched healthy references. Mean (SE) changes in FVC at week 52, i.e., age-related loss of lung function, in the hypothetical healthy references matched to the nintedanib and placebo groups, respectively, were − 26.3 (0.5) mL and − 25.8 (0.5) mL. The difference in the change in FVC at week 52 between the nintedanib group and the hypothetical healthy references was 26.6 mL (95% CI: 1.2, 52.0; p = 0.04). The difference in the change in FVC at week 52 between the placebo group and the hypothetical healthy references was 77.5 mL (95% CI: 51.4, 103.7; p

Objective To investigate the rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC), and the effect of nintedanib on the rate of decline in FVC, in subjects with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) who had risk factors for rapid decline in FVC.Methods The SENSCIS trial enrolled subjects with SSc and fibrotic ILD of ≥10% extent on high-resolution CT. The rate of decline in FVC over 52 weeks was analysed in all subjects and in those with early SSc (

Abstract Background Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common organ manifestation in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and is the leading cause of death in patients with SSc. A decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) is an indicator of ILD progression and is associated with mortality in patients with SSc-associated ILD (SSc-ILD). However, the relationship between FVC decline and hospitalisation events in patients with SSc-ILD is largely unknown. The objective of this post hoc analysis was to investigate the relationship between FVC decline and clinically important hospitalisation endpoints. Methods We used data from SENSCIS®, a phase III trial investigating the efficacy and safety of nintedanib in patients with SSc-ILD. Joint models for longitudinal and time-to-event data were used to assess the association between rate of decline in FVC% predicted and hospitalisation-related endpoints (including time to first all-cause hospitalisation or death; time to first SSc-related hospitalisation or death; and time to first admission to an emergency room [ER] or admission to hospital followed by admission to intensive care unit [ICU] or death) during the treatment period, over 52 weeks in patients with SSc-ILD. Results There was a statistically significant association between FVC decline and the risk of all-cause (n = 78) and SSc-related (n = 42) hospitalisations or death (both P < 0.0001). A decrease of 3% in FVC corresponded to a 1.43-fold increase in risk of all-cause hospitalisation or death (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24, 1.65) and a 1.48-fold increase in risk of SSc-related hospitalisation or death (95% CI 1.23, 1.77). No statistically significant association was observed between FVC decline and admission to ER or to hospital followed by admission to ICU or death (n = 75; P = 0.15). The estimated slope difference for nintedanib versus placebo in the longitudinal sub-model was consistent with the primary analysis in SENSCIS®. Conclusions The association of lung function decline with an increased risk of hospitalisation suggests that slowing FVC decline in patients with SSc-ILD may prevent hospitalisations. Our findings also provide evidence that FVC decline may serve as a surrogate endpoint for clinically relevant hospitalisation-associated endpoints. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02597933 . Registered on 8 October 2015.

Comparative analyses of the Programme for International Student Assessment between immigrant and native students place immigrant students in an unfavourable position in schools, with disadvantageous indicators regarding socioeconomic and professional paths. However, the Programme for International Student Assessment assesses a series of dimensions that involve constructs that have been little studied in the school immigrant population and that relate to self-concept and school adjustment. Based on the Programme for International Student Assessment’s most recent edition, Portugal’s database of 7,325 15-year-old students was analysed. We selected 438 immigrant cases with two objectives: (1) to evaluate the impact of the length of exposure in the host country on three dependent variables of school adjustment: sense of belonging, perceived loneliness and attitudes towards school (expectations of educational and professional opportunities); (2) to evaluate the differences in results for the same dependent variables, but considering the first and second generation of immigrants in Portugal. For the data analysis, sampling weights and plausible values were analysed with the International Database Analyzer. The results show that students who have been in the country for a year or less have greater difficulties and increased significant differences compared to other migrant groups in the referred indices of self-concept and inclusion. However, other groups, especially those with periods of long-term residence between four and five years, also face substantial levels of school maladjustment.

Abstract: A scoping review from 2000 to 2020, in a qualitative approach, were analyzed in order to provide a synthesis of the empirical issues concerning conflict mediation in schools in the context of teacher education, and to investigate the extent to which empirical research has provided evidence on key elements that are crucial to develop conflict mediation skills among teachers. A scoping review, on Scopus and B-on online databases, was made using nine inclusive criteria. The results showed that the number of publications is stable throughout the years. Seven journals published studies about this subject. Two continents are represented in the reviewed studies. They were mostly on-site and qualitative research and focus the mediation as a method of conflict resolution, and as a tool to introduce initial learning-to-teach experiences. There are a few empirical studies in which conflict mediation and its impact on teacher education is sufficiently explored. A thematic overview of reported outcomes suggested that although mediation is perceived as positive and encourages emotional, cognitive, and moral learning, stimulating pre-service teachers’ reflective thinking, teachers identify a deficiency when it comes to their training.

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A pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a atuação dos profissionais contábeis no município de Barra do Bugres-MT, e apontar os desafios vivenciados em período de pandemia do Covid-19, bem como verificar os fatores tecnológicos, reconhecimento profissional e aspectos emocionais. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo com abordagem quali-quantitativa, e quanto aos procedimentos técnicos, classificada como levantamento survey, com questões aberta e fechada, a amostra compreendeu 11 escritórios de serviços contábeis ativos no município de Barra do Bugres. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi questionário estruturado, segregado em blocos, com afirmativas considerando a escala de likert de 5 pontos. Os dados serão tabulados com uso do software Microsoft Office Excel, e apresentados em tabelas e quadros. Os resultados apontam que os contadores se mantiveram calmos e equilibrados para auxiliar seus clientes frente a tantas mudanças na pandemia. Que em meio a tantas demissões no país, conseguiram manter seu quadro de funcionários. Isso devido a importância dos serviços contábeis mediante esse cenário instável da economia. O trabalho em home office não influenciou na entrega dos resultados, e que esse formato remoto possibilitou a busca por novas ferramentas de trabalho. Entretanto os benefícios oferecidos pelo governo nesse momento de instabilidade, foram cruciais para equilibrar a situação financeira. Enfim, por mais tranquilo que os contadores buscam estar, mesmo assim sentem a insegurança com fechamento do comércio, precisando se adequar a novas medidas de enfrentamento da pandemia.

The bioreceptivity, and the consequent biodeterioration of contemporary glass, used by artists worldwide, was studied. The two main objectives were: first, to verify if fungi with some culture media would produce more damages than the same fungi without a nutritional source, and to verify if the two genera of fungi produce the same damage on the same glass. Colourless glass samples with Spruce Pine 87 Batch (SPB-87) composition were inoculated with two distinct fungal species, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus niger, separately: (i) half with fungal spores (simulating primary bioreceptivity), and (ii) half with fungi in a small portion of culture media (simulating organic matter that can be deposited on exposed glassworks, i.e., secondary bioreceptivity). The alteration of glass surfaces were analysed by Optical Microscopy, SEM-EDS and µ-Raman. The mycelium of Penicillium chrysogenum generated a higher amount of fingerprints, stains and iridescence, whereas Aspergillus niger produced more biopitting and crystals on the glass surface. However, both species damaged the glass to different degrees in 4 and 6 months after the inoculation, producing physico-chemical damage (e.g., iridescence, biopitting), and chemical alterations (e.g., depletion and deposition of elements and crystals). The primary bioreceptivity experiment of glass samples inoculated with Aspergillus niger results in less damage than in the case of secondary bioreceptivity, being almost similar for Penicillium chrysogenum. The new and in-depth understanding of the bioreceptivity and deterioration of post-modern glass art and cultural heritage provided here is of paramount importance for the scientific, conservation and artistic communities—to protect glass cultural materials, or seen by artists as innovative and inspirational ways of creating glass art in the future.

O presente artigo tem como objetivo a análise dos relatórios técnicos anual, das contas públicas da Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, UNEMAT, emitidos pelo Tribunal de Contas do estado de Mato Grosso, TCE-MT, dos anos de 2006 à 2014. A pesquisa é de natureza descritiva e de caráter qualitativo, utilizando de fontes bibliográficas e documentos eletrônicos, para obtenção dos dados secundários para elaboração do estudo. A partir daí, levantou-se a quantidade de irregularidades ocorridas em cada ano, a fim de comparar a evolução dos apontamentos nos períodos. Com um total de 316 irregularidades apontadas nesses anos, os apontamentos são classificados segundo a natureza gravíssima, grave, moderada e não classificada e também, de acordo com o assunto de cada irregularidade. Após a realização da análise, verifica-se que a quantidade de irregularidades total por período, tem tido alguns acréscimos em comparação ao ano anterior, porém nos dois últimos anos, a quantidade tem diminuído significativamente, indicando que houve melhoras nas contas anuais de gestão da UNEMAT.

RESUMO: Os níveis conceituais da escrita (FERREIRO; TEBEROSKY, 1999), revelam o processo evolutivo da compreensão do princípio alfabético pelas crianças. Por outro lado, as teorias sobre a aprendizagem da leitura revelam as estratégias de reconhecimento de palavras. Visando analisar a relação entre os níveis conceituais de escrita e as estratégias de leitura de palavras compostas por sílabas de estruturas CV, CCV e CVC, aplicou-se testes de leitura e de escrita de palavras em 47 crianças do 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental. Concluiu-se que a evolução da compreensão do princípio alfabético promovem avanços na leitura de palavras compostas por sílabas CV e a formação do léxico ortográfico; e que o confronto com as estruturas silábicas CVC e CCV contribui para que o sistema de análise sequencial das letras no reconhecimento da palavra se modifique, ampliando a percepção das crianças sobre a complexidade das estruturas fonológicas dos segmentos silábicos.

Resumo O principal objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos de um programa de treino de escrita inventada na aprendizagem de habilidades iniciais de alfabetização em crianças pré-escolares falantes de língua portuguesa. Participaram 79 crianças de educação infantil em Portugal e no Brasil. Constituíram-se quatro grupos (um grupo experimental e um grupo controle em cada país) equivalentes no conhecimento do alfabeto, inteligência não verbal e consciência fonológica (silábica e fonêmica). Foi realizado um pré/pós-teste de escrita e leitura. No período intermédio, os grupos experimentais participaram de atividades de escrita inventada e os grupos controle na leitura de livros infantis. No pós-teste, os resultados dos grupos experimentais foram superiores aos dos grupos controle nas tarefas de escrita e leitura. Além disso, os resultados foram equivalentes nos dois países, o que sugere que as atividades de escrita inventada promovem habilidades de alfabetização de pré-escolares falantes de duas variantes do português: europeu e brasileiro.

La formación de profesores ha experimentado cambios sustantivos en lo que se refiere a su conceptualización y organización. Dado que el aprendizaje se sitúa social y culturalmente, este texto de reflexión conceptual buscó reflexionar sobre el valor formativo de las Comunidades de Práctica para la construcción de la identidad profesional de futuros profesores en contexto de prácticas, así como identificar las limitaciones que pueden contener. De lareflexión se destaca el potencial de las Comunidades de Práctica en el proceso de construcción de la identidad profesional de los alumnos en prácticas, que aquí encuentran un espacio de compartición y de reflexión que les permite construir y reconstruir concepciones, por el asumir gradual de papeles potencialmente emancipatorios. Ya las limitaciones incurren en las relaciones establecidas en el seno de las Comunidades de Práctica cuando estas se estructuran sobre la base de una jerarquía excesiva y unidireccional.

Our aim was to assess the impact of a writing programme on the reading acquisition of first graders considered at-risk of developing reading difficulties. Eighteen children from six classrooms of three primary schools attended this programme. Their results on literacy tests at the end of the first trimester were very low when compared to those of the remaining 91 children attending the same classrooms. This programme, based on a socio-constructive approach, had 12 sessions. In each session, children were asked to discuss the writing of words and sentences until they reached an agreement. The adult's role was to guide and question children along their process of discovery and reflection. The dynamics that occurred during the sessions and the adult’s help (scaffolding) were characterized. At the end of the programme, children who underwent the intervention reached similar reading results as the remaining children in the classrooms.

Resumo O estudo das estratégias que as crianças usam na leitura de palavras e a análise dos erros que tipicamente ocorrem ao longo do processo de aprendizagem numa dada ortografia são da maior importância para a compreensão do processo de aprendizagem da leitura. O objectivo deste trabalho foi perceber como se processa a aquisição da leitura no início do ensino fundamental no português europeu. Procurou-se saber se haveria diferenças na frequência de erros fonológicos e lexicais e no padrão de erros fonológicos entre os dois primeiros anos do ensino fundamental. Participaram 175 crianças do 1º ano e 137 do 2º ano de seis escolas. Foi aplicada uma prova de leitura oral de palavras. Os erros foram categorizados em fonológicos, com diversas subcategorias, e lexicais. Encontraram-se diferenças na frequência dos erros fonológicos e lexicais entre os dois anos, assim como nos subtipos de erros fonológicos que tipicamente ocorreram. Os erros de substituição foram os mais frequentes, tendo ocorrido mais nas consoantes e nos dígrafos. Seguiram-se os erros de adição e de supressão, que ocorreram sobretudo em sílabas complexas. Tais resultados, contribuindo para uma caracterização dos erros típicos nessa fase de aprendizagem, revelam-se um instrumento importante na detecção de dificuldades precoces na aprendizagem da leitura e na adequação de estratégias de ensino-aprendizagem. Este estudo permite uma melhor compreensão dos processos usados pelas crianças na resolução dos problemas que as características da língua portuguesa lhes coloca, assim como poderá permitir uma intervenção educativa que conduza a um maior sucesso na aprendizagem da leitura.

Pretendemos reflectir, neste artigo, acerca do conceito de matéria na escultura contemporânea, integrando elementos formais e conceptuais oriundos da fí­sica. Propomos um enquadramento da escultura no domí­nio do "˜campo expandido' de Rosalind Krauss e, através desta contextualização, admitimos a expansão do conceito de matéria na escultura a escalas que vão muito para além da percepção humana, ou seja, entrando nos domí­nios do universo cosmológico e do infimamente pequeno que aprofunda. Deste modo, integraremos na nossa reflexão diferentes escalas e respectivos limites de visibilidade da matéria: 1) Limites de visibilidade da matéria decorrentes da percepção humana (escala do corpo - escala do homem; fí­sica newtoniana); 2) Limites de visibilidade da matéria infimamente pequena (recurso a dispositivos analógicos e digitais e final substituição da escala espacial contí­nua pela quantificação energética probabilí­stica - não contí­nua; integração da fí­sica quântica); 3) Limites de visibilidade da matéria infinitamente grande (recurso a dispositivos analógicos e digitais e final substituição da fí­sica newtoniana - contí­nua e linear - pela relatividade geral - contí­nua e não linear); 4) Retorno à escala do homem (integração de objectos intangí­veis no nosso olhar/ percepção humana e sua respectiva racionalização e possibilidade de construção criativa a partir dos mesmos). Do ponto de vista cientí­fico, pretendemos debruçar-nos na temática, por si só complexa, da "˜matéria visí­vel', ou seja, da matéria detectável pelos nossos sentidos e pelos instrumentos/dispositivos analógicos e digitais de amplificação do espectro da visão. Tal não significa que não seja feita uma contextualização epistemológica no âmbito da "˜matéria negra', deixando um espaço em aberto para a possibilidade da natureza constituinte da "˜matéria negra' constituir a nossa própria natureza e, naturalmente, a natureza da escultura. Por isso, e no que diz respeito ao conceito de matéria, integraremos também as reflexões Dufrenniana e Bachelardiana (que tratam a invisibilidade enquanto fonte do visí­vel).

The aim of this paper is to present the results of a study developed with teachers of 18 public kindergartens in Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal, in order to understand their perspective about the written language development on preschool children. To evaluate the teachers’ beliefs, there was taken into account some aspects such as the methodology that they assume as characteristics of their practices, their pedagogical stand and the pedagogical processes that they assure to privilege in order to promote the development of children attending these kindergartens. The interview conducted during the second trimester of the scholar year, allowed to conclude that teachers’ way of thinking about written language is basically characterized for a lack of an emergent literacy perspective, focus on children, pointing out aspects such as a remarkable importance attributed to activities and direct intervention strategies and the deficit of knowledge about the development of children’s conceptualisations on reading and writing.

Various authors argue that invented spelling activities with preschool-age children help them to analyse the oral segments of words and to discover the relations between those segments and the corresponding letters. Several studies have shown the impact of invented spelling programmes on early spelling, but few experimental ones have looked at the impact of invented spelling on early reading. Our aim was to assess the impact of an invented spelling programme on children’s early spelling and reading. We worked with 108 five-year-old Portuguese children who were not able to read or write. Their initial cognitive ability, knowledge of letters and phonological awareness were controlled. Children were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. They were evaluated in a pre- and a post-test in which they were asked to write and read a set of words. The experimental group participated in a 5-week invented spelling programme. We expected the experimental group to have better post-test scores than the control group. Data analysis showed statistically significant differences between the two groups, with the experimental one having better results in spelling and reading than the control group, supporting the idea that the acquisition of spelling and reading may be mutually facilitative.

Este estudo teve como objetivo evidenciar a importância da contabilidade ambiental para os profissionais de contabilidade de Tangará da Serra – MT. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo, através da aplicação de 37 questionários com perguntas fechadas sobre contabilidade ambiental, aos contadores de cada escritório. Após a coleta, os dados foram tabulados, e, realizada análise descritiva. Através da pesquisa constatou-se que os escritórios já reconhecem a importância da contabilidade ambiental, todavia o nível de conhecimento foi considerado insuficiente, pois não exercem nenhuma atividade relacionada a essa temática em seu cotidiano, em função de não existir nenhuma demanda.

O “comportamento verbal” concretiza-se porque, por um lado, existe um sistema de princípios e condições que por si só são considerados os elementos inerentes a todas as línguas naturais, determinados pela necessidade biológica, mas, por outro lado, esses elementos integram uma relação dinâmica de eventos que constituem o contexto do sujeito. Os eventos não se restringem às estruturas cerebrais (a perspetiva mentalista), mas também a aspetos externos e que se apresentam como conjunto de estímulos a ser discriminado- meio ambiente (a perspetiva funcional). Após uma breve revisão teórica de conceitos e de processos de descodificação fonética, serão apresentados resultados de alunos portugueses imigrantes com idades compreendidas entre os 8 e os 30 anos de idade, decorrentes da aplicação da bateria de testes de descodificação fonética (provas de identificação de pares mínimos, segmentação, reconstrução fonémica, identificação sintática, audição dicótica). A discussão foca especificamente o desempenho de sujeitos aprendentes de Português Língua Segunda relativamente aos testes de segmentação de palavras (soletração) e de identificação de pares mínimos. Este modelo de engenharia didática, na área específica da didática das línguas segundas, assume-se com uma medida importante para monitorizar a evolução e o estado da proficiência e competência geral linguística dos alunos ao longo do ano letivo, a ser conduzido pelos professores.

Diversos estudos sobre programas de escrita inventada com crianças do pré-escolar têm revelado a eficácia desses programas de intervenção na evolução das escritas das crianças. Os programas até agora desenvolvidos têm usado palavras apresentadas de forma descontextualizada. Por outro lado, têm também sido organizados de modo a que, em cada uma das sessões, sejam apresentadas palavras em que a 1ª letra seja sempre a mesma e em que a introdução das várias letras seja progressiva. Sendo uma das preocupações atuais a transição deste tipo de programas para salas de jardim-de-infância, de forma a poderem ser integrados nas atividades normalmente desenvolvidas em contextos naturais, o presente estudo procurou testar a eficácia de dois programas de escrita inventada, em que as palavras apresentadas surgiam inseridas em materiais usados geralmente em contextos de jardim-de-infância, e em que a sequência de apresentação das várias palavras foi variável. Partimos da hipótese de que estes programas seriam ambos eficazes na promoção do desenvolvimento da escrita das crianças dos grupos experimentais face ao grupo de controlo. Assim, o presente estudo seguiu um delineamento experimental com uma fase de pré-teste, programa de intervenção, para os grupos experimentais, e um pós-teste. A investigação contou com a participação de 61 crianças de 5 anos que frequentavam dois jardins-de-infância. Estas foram divididas em 3 grupos (dois grupos experimentais e um grupo de controlo) tendo em conta o nível de desenvolvimento cognitivo, a consciência fonológica (silábica e fonémica) e as letras conhecidas. O pré-teste e o pós-teste consistiram numa prova de escrita de palavras isoladas. Os grupos experimentais participaram em 10 sessões de escrita inventada, conduzidas em pequenos grupos de 4 crianças, em que estas foram induzidas a discutir a forma como algumas palavras se escreviam até chegarem a acordo, sendo essa discussão mediada pelo adulto. Em todas as sessões as palavras trabalhadas estavam integradas em histórias, canções, lengalengas ou poemas que começavam por ser lidos a cada grupo no início de cada sessão. O grupo de controlo participou em sessões de leitura desses mesmos materiais. As palavras trabalhadas nas sessões dos dois programas experimentais foram as mesmas, mas a ordem com que foram introduzidas e, portanto, trabalhadas foi diferente. Num dos grupos experimentais foram introduzidas, em cada uma das sessões, palavras começadas sempre pela mesma letra, enquanto no outro foram introduzidas, em cada uma das sessões, palavras começadas por mais do que uma letra. Os resultados foram analisados comparando as diferenças no desenvolvimento da escrita das crianças do pré para o pós-teste entre os vários grupos. Foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os dois grupos experimentais e o grupo de controlo, demonstrando a eficácia destes programas no desenvolvimento da escrita. As implicações educativas deste estudo serão discutidas, em particular a forma como este tipo de atividades poderão ser integradas em contexto de jardim-de-infância, de modo a potenciar as competências das crianças na área da escrita.

Our aim in this study was to test two programmes designed to lead preschool children to use conventional letters to spell the initial consonants of words. These programmes differed in terms of the characteristics of the vowels that followed those consonants. The participants were 45 five-year-old Portuguese children whose spelling was pre-syllabic - they used strings of random letters in their spelling, making no attempt to match the oral to the written language. They were divided into two experimental and a control group. Their age, level of intelligence, and phonological awareness were controlled. Their spelling was assessed in a pre- and a post-test. In-between, children from the experimental groups participated in two programmes where they had to think about the relationships between the initial consonant and the corresponding phoneme in different words: In Experimental Group 1, the initial consonants were followed by an open vowel, and in Experimental Group 2, these same consonants were followed by a closed vowel. The control group classified geometric shapes. Experimental Group 1 achieved better results than Experimental Group 2 following open vowels, being more able to generalize the phonological procedures to sounds that were not taught during the programmes. Both experimental groups used conventional letters to represent several phonemes in the post-test whereas the control group continued to produce pre-syllabic spellings.

Comparative analyses of the Programme for International Student Assessment between immigrant and native students place immigrant students in an unfavourable position in schools, with disadvantageous indicators regarding socioeconomic and professional paths. However, the Programme for International Student Assessment assesses a series of dimensions that involve constructs that have been little studied in the school immigrant population and that relate to self-concept and school adjustment. Based on the Programme for International Student Assessment's most recent edition, Portugal's database of 7,325 15-year-old students was analysed. We selected 438 immigrant cases with two objectives: (1) to evaluate the impact of the length of exposure in the host country on three dependent variables of school adjustment: sense of belonging, perceived loneliness and attitudes towards school (expectations of educational and professional opportunities); (2) to evaluate the differences in results for the same dependent variables, but considering the first and second generation of immigrants in Portugal. For the data analysis, sampling weights and plausible values were analysed with the International Database Analyzer. The results show that students who have been in the country for a year or less have greater difficulties and increased significant differences compared to other migrant groups in the referred indices of self-concept and inclusion. However, other groups, especially those with periods of long-term residence between four and five years, also face substantial levels of school maladjustment.

O mercado global exige profissionais capacitados, que buscam continuamente conhecimento técnico e científico. A pesquisa teve o objetivo de mensurar o perfil profissional dos egressos quanto às competências, habilidades e capacidades perante o mercado. Utilizou-se o método de pesquisa censitário, com aplicação de questionário objetivo, contendo 25 questões que primeiramente foram aplicadas aos 65 egressos, porém, obteve-se o retorno de 45, resultando a substituição técnica da pesquisa para amostragem. Os resultados obtidos identificaram que tanto as hipóteses quanto os objetivos foram alcançados. Como principais resultados, destacam-se: a) a maioria dos egressos escolheram o curso de ciências contábeis por falta de opção; b) quanto à escolha da instituição 66,67% consideraram como fator principal a gratuidade do curso, pelo fato da universidade ser pública; c) a formação acadêmica recebida foi de boa qualidade, demonstrando que o curso possui profissionais qualificados; d) quanto à atuação na área contábil, 60% não trabalham diretamente com a contabilidade, porém, quase 50% estão inseridos em áreas de atuação ramificadas; e) identifica-se que a graduação proporcionou mudanças significativas na faixa salarial dos egressos e que possuem maior interesse de ingressar na carreira pública.

É importante que o acadêmico após concluir a graduação busque estudo continuado, fazendo especializações, pois, o mercado exige cada vez mais profissionais que tenham interesse na contínua busca de informações mantendo-se atualizado, acompanhando as constantes mudanças que vem ocorrendo em todo cenário mundial. A pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar e demonstrar os motivos, expectativas e influências que contribuíram para os acadêmicos na escolha do curso de ciências contábeis. Utilizando como método de pesquisa levantamento por meio de questionário objetivo contendo treze perguntas. A amostra para os iniciantes e população para os concluintes, realizado somente em uma etapa. Os resultados dessa pesquisa mostram que os objetivos e as hipóteses foram alcançados tornando-a relevante. Os alunos responderam que possuem boa perspectiva com relação ao curso que buscaram como profissão futura, e que o mesmo proporciona variedades de atuação no mercado com boas expectativas. Percebeu-se que os entrevistados gostam do curso e também buscam com o curso grande atuação na área pública. Os ingressantes buscam carreiras como auditores ou contadores. Os concluintes, não sabem qual carreira pretendem seguir. Há consenso entre concluintes e ingressantes que o curso é bom preparo para a carreira em órgãos públicos.

A pesquisa teve, como objetivo principal, a comparação e análise dos custos de manutenção da frota de veículos utilizados pela UNEMAT e do valor de locação de veículos proposta ao Estado de Mato Grosso. Justifica-se, pois, o transporte é de grande importância na interação entre campi e na realização de ações para o desenvolvimento da instituição. Esta divisão deve ser operacionalizada com a maior eficiência possível. Para realização da pesquisa foram considerados somente os custos de manutenção e depreciação dos cinco veículos utilizados pelo campus de Tangará da Serra entre 2008 e 2010. O método utilizado foi o custeio por absorção, identificando-se todos os custos por veículo. Este método baseia-se na alocação de custos diretos ao objeto de acordo com o seu consumo. A metodologia utilizada classificou-se como exploratória e descritiva. Quanto aos meios, foram utilizados pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e estudo de caso. Concluiu-se que os custos de locação para substituir a frota seriam, em média, 51% maiores do que os custos de manutenção e depreciação. A hipótese proposta na pesquisa foi validada.

O propósito central deste estudo foi detetar a valorização e o entendimento que os professores cooperantes têm de reflexão e de formação de professores reflexivos. Adicionalmente procurou-se identificar as estratégias que estes percecionam como mais eficazes na promoção da capacidade de reflexão do estudante-estagiário. Participaram neste estudo 21 professores cooperantes da Faculdade de Desporto da Universidade do Porto (FADEUP) do ano letivo 2009/10, responsáveis pela orientação da prática de ensino supervisionada (PES) no contexto escola. Na recolha de dados recorreu-se a uma entrevista semi-estruturada com quatro questões abertas. Para analisar os dados utilizou-se a análise de conteúdo, por recurso a um processo dedutivo-indutivo. Os professores cooperantes revelaram um entendimento de reflexão marcado pelas ideias de Schön (1983), sendo evidente no seu discurso a valorização da reflexão no processo formativo dos estudantes-estagiários. Em termos de estratégias promotoras da reflexão as mais valorizadas foram o diálogo, o questionamento sistemático e a emissão de feedbacks.

In order to assess the accuracy and validity of proficiency diagnostic tests in Second Language (L2), specifically regarding the linguistic (orthographic, semantic, syntactic, lexical) and cognitive (verbal reasoning, lexical decision) components for the immigrant population in Portugal, a study of cut-off points of 6 tests was conducted. This study was motivated by the unknown tests and the gap concerning the testing and rating of individuals in L2 settings, different from English as L2. The objective was to validate and inform about new tests (and how to establish rating scores and understand the proficiency level of students) in Second Language Testing (for European Portuguese) especially concerning different psychometrics for specific skills (e.g., phonemic blending). In this way, we contribute to identify new procedures for schools and professionals about testing of cognitive functions in immigrant populations. First, we examined 108 non-native students attending Portuguese schools, aged 7-17 years, speakers of mother tongues other than Portuguese and residing in Portugal for a period not exceeding eight years. Then, series of univariate analyses, non-parametric tests and the calculation of percentiles enabled the subsequent classification of the subjects' proficiency levels: With or without proficiency. Several levels were identified. The sensitivity and specificity indexes were calculated using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis to define the cut-off points for each test. The score calculation took into account the chronological age, age of immigration and gender variables. The evidence from this study suggests that all tasks are suitable to assess immigrant students. However with the ROC analysis, this assessment differs regarding degrees of proficiency between groups given the characteristics of the tasks and of the subjects. The importance of doing tests with discriminatory power of the subjects' performance to be able to intervene in the linguistic and cognitive areas with the greatest deficit is examined here.

There is considerable evidence on the connections between emergent literacy-related skills in preschool-age and successful reading and writing. The purpose of this double-designed experimental/descriptive study was to analyse the impact of invented spelling activities on kindergarten children's spelling performance and to explore adult mediation and peer collaboration processes that occurred within a sample of intervention sessions. Data was collected with 52 participants divided into an experimental group and a control group who were submitted to a pre/post-test assessment. The global quantitative analysis revealed the strong impact of the intervention on children's word spelling progress scores. The descriptive qualitative data of 2304 verbal interventions of a small-scale sample suggested that significant and diverse mediation scaffolding strategies were incorporated by the children in a shared dialogical learning approach. Our findings point to the need for delivering group interaction activities combining early literacy contents in kindergarten contexts as a vehicle for responding to the challenge of reading and writing acquisition at the beginning of schooling.

RESUMOVários investigadores mostraram que actividades de escrita inventada com crianças em idade pré-escolar contribuem para a aquisição da literacia, tendo um impacto positivo na evolução da sua escrita e consciência fonológica. O nosso objectivo foi avaliar o impacto de um programa de escrita inventada na aquisição da leitura. Participaram 60 crianças Portuguesas de 5 anos que não sabiam ler nem escrever. Foram aleatoriamente divididas em dois grupos, experimental e controlo, equivalentes quanto às letras conhecidas, consciência fonológica e inteligência. O grupo experimental participou num programa de escrita inventada e o grupo de controlo num programa de leitura de histórias. A leitura de palavras foi avaliada num pré-teste, pós-teste e pós-teste postergado. O grupo experimental teve resultados superiores nos dois pós-testes.

Understanding the role of the practicum in the PI (professional identity) construction and reconstruction within a pre-service teacher is crucial, since this is a remarkable moment in their initial training. This moment provides new feelings and challenges, and it represents the transition from students (pre-service teacher) to teachers (in-service teacher). Although there are some studies about this subject, the perspective of a self-narrative of the PI construction had not been hitherto unveiled. In this paper, the authors try to capture the contributions of the practicum to the PI construction based on the analysis of the Practicum Report and the Board Diary. The confrontation with the real context of school and teaching is noticed as critical, and the importance attributed to the practicum is one of the most emphasized aspects. The pre-service teacher remarked the necessity to be able to (re)construct and (re)adapt methodologies. The idea that PI is constructed in community, to enhance the importance of group work, was also noticed. All in all, the most notorious contributes to the PI (re)construction were engaged with aspects that can only be experienced "in loco", raising new questions about the importance of the context of the practicum to the PI construction.

Heritage language speakers struggle in European classrooms with insufficient material provided for second language (SL) learning and assessment. Considering the amount of instruments and pertinent studies in English SL, immigrant students are better prepared than their peers in Romance language settings. This study investigates how factors such as age and home language can be used in the teaching environment to predict and examine the development outcomes of SL students in verbal reasoning and vocabulary tasks. One hundred and six Portuguese participants, SL learners, between 8 and 17 years old, were assessed in vocabulary frequency, verbal analogies and morphological extraction tasks. In alphabetic languages (Romance languages), immigrant students (in a SL learning situation) with a strong linguistic distance (a home language with a very different orthographic foundation) are expected to struggle in language learning in spite of being aware of strategies that can improve their skills. The storage and combination of morphemes can be a demanding task for individual speakers at different levels. Cognitive mapping is strongly based on linguistic features of L1 development. Results show that home language, not age, was a significant predictor of variation in student's outcomes. Speakers of alphasyllabary languages (Indo-Aryan languages as L1) were the poorest performers, the "linguistic distance" of their languages explaining the performance results.

Our aim was to assess the impact of an invented spelling programme conducted in small groups on children's written language acquisition in Portuguese. We expected the experimental group to have better post-test results than the control group in spelling and reading. Participants were 160 preschool-age children who were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. Their age, cognitive ability, knowledge of letters and phonological abilities were controlled. Children's spelling and reading were evaluated in a pre- and a post-test. In-between, experimental group participated in an invented spelling programme in small groups and the control group in story readings. The experimental group showed better results in spelling and reading in the post-test than the control one. Different dynamics occurred in the small groups which had different impacts on children's acquisitions. These results provide empirical support for the proposal that invented spelling should be incorporated into early literacy instruction.