Repositório da Universidade dos Açores
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Assessing Temperature-Induced Changes in Arthropod Communities over One Year: A Comparative Analysis
Publication . Wallon, Sophie; Pozsgai, Gabor; Borges, P.A.V.; Pires Bento da Silva Elias, Rui Miguel; Villa, María
ABSTRACT: Understanding how rising temperatures driven by climate change affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is particularly relevant in fragile island environments. Terceira Island, part of the Azorean Archipelago (Portugal) in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, was selected for an in situ experiment to assess the effects of simulated warming on arthropod diversity and grass productivity in intensively managed pastures. Over one year, we examined the influence of a simulated increase in temperature via Open Top Chambers (OTCs) on ground-dwelling arthropod assemblages and plant biomass. We used several statistical methods to analyze both individual variables and overall community patterns to explore the relationships between treatments, grass biomass, and arthropod community structure. Although the OTC treatment did not result in any significant changes to the analyzed variables, an increase in diversity indices was observed over the course of the experiment. Distance-based redundancy analysis revealed significant effects of both OTC treatment and altitude on arthropod community composition. Models showed that the analyzed variables only partially explained the observed changes. Nevertheless, additional factors, such as vegetation structure and microclimatic variation, may also contribute to the observed patterns and warrant further investigation. These results underscore the importance of long-term, multifactorial approaches to understanding interactions between warming, plant productivity, and arthropod diversity.
A divulgação de ciência através das vidas dos seus agentes: biografias de cientistas
Publication . Alves, Ana Teresa; Coordenação e edição de Ana Teresa Alves (FCSH-UAc)
A divulgação de ciência pode ser e é, de facto, feita de muitas formas: através de artigos que os cientistas escrevem para revistas especializadas, através de comunicações que apresentam em congressos e outros eventos científicos, através de livros de divulgação que escrevem para públicos menos especializados, através de rubricas publicadas em jornais, como esta que estás a ler, entre muito outras possibilidades. Uma delas é através das biografias de cientistas. As biografias são textos que relatam a vida de uma pessoa, geralmente desde a sua infância até, se escritas depois de a pessoa em causa já tiver morrido, à sua morte.
Advanced practice nursing in Portugal – Where do we stand?
Publication . Nunes, Patrícia Fonseca; Almeida, Armando; Tavares, Márcio; Gomes, Luís; Soares, Hélia
A força de trabalho na saúde em Portugal tem sido descrita como uma combinação ineficiente de recursos, impactando a produtividade e o acesso aos serviços de saúde. Para resolver estas questões, diversos intervenientes têm defendido a implementação da Prática Avançada de Enfermagem (PAE) para fortalecer o papel dos enfermeiros e melhorar a prestação de cuidados. Objetivo: Analisar a relevância, pertinência, viabilidade, principais barreiras e facilitadores da implementação da PAE em Portugal. Métodos: Foi realizada uma scoping review nas bases de dados CINAHL, MEDLINE Complete, PubMed e ScienceDirect para artigos revistos por pares, em inglês e português, publicados após 2000, sobre configurações de recursos humanos na saúde e expansão do papel dos enfermeiros em Portugal. A pesquisa foi complementada com uma revisão de literatura cinzenta. Resultados: Foram analisados 59 artigos, 31 relatórios técnicos, sete artigos de imprensa e duas teses. Os resultados foram agrupados nos temas de conceptualização da PAE, regulamentação, barreiras e facilitadores, e financiamento. A implementação da PAE depende de consenso sobre conceptualização, regulamentação e âmbito de atuação. As principais barreiras incluem oposição médica, compromisso político limitado e falta de dados abrangentes sobre o impacto social e financeiro da PAE em Portugal. Conclusões: A implementação da Prática Avançada de Enfermagem em Portugal é relevante e necessária, embora a sua viabilidade dependa de uma liderança forte, compromisso político e consenso entre stakeholders. São necessários mais estudos para avaliar os impactos sociais e económicos da PAE no sistema de saúde português.
Exploring Professional Practice Environments and Organisational Context Factors Affecting Nurses’ Adoption of Evidence-Based Practice: A Scoping Review
Publication . Luís Furtado; Fábio Alexandre Dinis Coelho; Natália Mendonca; Helia Soares; Luís Gomes; Joana Pereira Sousa; Hugo Miguel Santos Duarte
ABSTRACT: This scoping review, conducted within the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework, analysed the recent literature (January 2018 to March 2023) addressing factors inherent to professional practice environments and organisational contexts influencing nurses’ adoption of evidence-based practice (EBP). This review included studies involving nurses regardless of sector, practice setting, and scope of practice. A systematic search was undertaken across the PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and MEDLINE databases, as well as the EThOS, OATD, and RCAAP platforms. The extracted textual elements underwent a content analysis, resulting in a coding structure established through an inductive approach that categorised information into main categories and subcategories linked by similarity and thematic affinity. Forty-one studies were included, revealing four main categories of factors impacting EBP adoption by nurses: (1) organisational dynamics, (2) management and leadership, (3) teamwork and communication, and (4) resources and infrastructure. The study’s limitations acknowledge the subjective nature of categorisation, recognising potential variations based on individual perspectives despite adopting procedures to minimise the risk of bias. The results provide a substantial foundation for developing interventions to cultivate environments conducive to EBP adoption by nurses, thereby enhancing the integration of evidence into nurses’ professional practice contexts. This review was prospectively registered on the Open Science Framework (registration no. osf.io/e86qz)
Depression and Anxiety of Portuguese University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study about Prevalence and Associated Factors
Publication . Pedro Amaro; César Fonseca; Anabela Afonso; Gonçalo Jacinto; Luís Gomes; Hélder Pereira; Helena José
ABSTRACT: The mental health of university students has worsened over time, and it is young people who have suffered the most from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health. Anxiety and depression are the most common symptoms reported by university students and are often the cause of disabilities, either in academic performance or in other spheres of life. Aim. The aim of this study was to both assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in Portuguese university students and analyze the factors associated with these symptoms. Methods. A quantitative cross-sectional study with a sample of 3,399 university students from seven Portuguese higher education institutions was conducted. The following questionnaires were used: the generalized anxiety disorder assessment scale (GAD-7), the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), and a study-created sociodemographic questionnaire. The Kendall correlation coefficient, chi-square test of independence, Spearman correlation coefficient, Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann–Whitney-Wilcoxon test, and Kruskall-Wallis test were used to analyze the association between variables. The statistical analysis was done using the software R Statistics (Version 4.0.4), using a significance level of 0.05. Results. Mild to severe anxiety symptoms were reported by 75% of the participants, and 61.2% described mild to severe depressive symptoms. Of the sample, 19.5% reported a previous diagnosis of a mental disorder, with 38.7% diagnosed after the pandemic began. Additionally, 23% reported taking medication for mental health issues, and 26.7% had considered self-harm or harbored thoughts of being “better off dead.” The study found lower anxiety and depressive symptoms (p < 0 05) among men, students with higher socioeconomic status, those who frequently traveled home, individuals without prior mental health diagnoses, those with better academic performance, and those who avoided substances like coffee, tobacco, cannabis, and other illegal psychoactive substances. Interestingly, students in romantic relationships exhibited more anxiety symptoms (p < 0 05).
Moreover, participants who believed they had experienced moral or sexual harassment displayed higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms (p < 0 001). Conclusions. There was a decrease in the mental health of university students after the pandemic compared to prepandemic studies, and the proportion of students with anxiety and depressive symptoms was alarming. There is an urgent need to implement programs in universities to promote students’ mental health.