Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2015-12-10"
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- MEF2C: expression, regulation and interaction with target genes in health and diseasesPublication . Adrião, Andreia Lúcia Gonçalves; Cancela, Leonor; Grazina, Manuela; Conceição, NatérciaMEF2C is the first MEF2 family factor to be expressed during embryonic development. Zebrafish has been proven to be an excellent model for human genetic diseases and has two MEF2C orthologues, mef2ca and mef2cb. The involvement of MEF2C in different developmental processes was studied in zebrafish through expression analysis and usage of mutant lines as loss of function models. Alterations in this gene were related to cardiac defects and its haploinsufficiency was linked to a human disease (MRD20) whose patients show abnormal neuronal and craniofacial development. Recently this gene was reported to be involved in dementia conditions such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Our work aims to further validate zebrafish as an animal model to study MEF2C related pathologies focusing on craniofacial and neuronal issues. Our in silico analysis demonstrated a high conservation of mef2c pattern of chromosome localization, protein structure and sites of mRNA expression throughout evolution. We also identified two transcriptional start sites for mef2cb that were conserved through evolution. These are related to the occurrence of alternative promoters that appear to be differentially regulated by Sox9b, Sox10 and Runx2, three nuclear factors associated to craniofacial or neuronal development. Through the use of Mef2ca and Mef2cb loss of function mutant lines, we described the craniofacial phenotype resulting from the absence of both mef2c isoforms in zebrafish. We concluded that both orthologues are involved in cartilage, bone and brain development in zebrafish and we described the molecular profile of specific marker genes resulting from mef2c loss of function. Our results allow us to consider zebrafish as a valuable animal model for analysis concerning MEF2C related pathologies. To complement our work we performed a pilot study in which we describe for the first time an alteration in MEF2C gene in a patient with frontotemporal lobar degeneration, suggesting an association between MEF2C and this disease, a result that extends the involvement of this gene to a previously unsuspected human pathology.
- Birdwatcher profile in the Ria Formosa Natural ParkPublication . Costa, Andreia Sofia Correia da; Pintassilgo, Pedro Miguel Guerreiro Patolea; Matias, António Jorge PeresBirdwatching is a growing tourism sector worldwide. In the Algarve the potential for birdwatching activities is widely recognized, in particular in the Ria Formosa Natural Park (RFNP). This study aims to describe birdwatchers profile in RFNP and for that a survey was applied in “Quinta de Marim”. Regarding socio-economic characteristics of birdwatchers, the survey results show that the most important nationalities are: British (39%), Dutch (17%) and Portuguese (17%). The majority of birdwatchers are male (55%) and married (51%). The average age is 50 years old. They are highly educated (74% have an academic degree). Concerning profession, the most frequent answer was retired (41%). The study also analyses the willingness to pay to improve the overall conditions of the activity in “Quinta de Marim”. The results show that 92% of the birdwatchers would be willing to pay an entrance fee to fund birdwatching facilities at the location. On average they are willing to pay 4.29€. The environmental awareness of the respondents was examined using the New Environmental Paradigm scale. The results show a high environmental consciousness. Respondents are committed to the activity as they have knowledge about birds (86%), possess special equipment (70%) and do it when in vacations (85%). Moreover, it was found that there is a relationship between the nationality of the birdwatcher and the amount he is willing to pay to fund birdwatching facilities. There is also a relationship between nationality and the practice of birdwatching in other places in the Algarve. This research contributes to a better knowledge of the birdwatcher profile in the RFNP and therefore it can be used by policy-makers to enhance birdwatching tourism in the region.
- Que educadores desejamos? Que educadores formamos?Publication . Horta, Maria HelenaQue educadores desejamos? Que educadores formamos? Maria Helena Horta. Escola Superior de Educação e Comunicação da Universidade do Algarve (hhorta@ualg.pt) A comunicação que aqui se apresenta é fruto de uma reflexão que temos vindo a desenvolver e a aprofundar como resultado da nossa atividade profissional enquanto supervisora institucional e investigadora na formação de educadores de infância, numa instituição pública de ensino superior. Essa reflexão é suportada na nossa experiência, em estudos empíricos e também numa breve revisão da literatura acerca do tema. Suscitados pelas questões apresentadas no convite à participação no Seminário Formação Inicial de Professores, promovido pelo Conselho Nacional de Educação, organizámos o texto em quatro eixos, aos quais tentaremos dar resposta de forma fundamentada: 1. A necessidade de pré-requisitos no acesso à formação de educadores; 2. A necessidade de mais tempo para a iniciação à prática profissional e para a prática de ensino supervisionada na formação inicial de educadores; 3. A necessidade de ser proporcionada, por parte das instituições de ensino superior, formação contínua e pós-graduada aos orientadores cooperantes; 4. Os saberes que consideramos necessários a um bom desempenho profissional da prática docente na área da educação de infância. Convictos de que não teremos respostas diretas e/ou soluções previstas para todas estas questões, é nossa intenção apresentar e suscitar a reflexão e o diálogo em torno das mesmas.