Papers by Beatriz Couto Pereira
Obesity Facts, May 1, 2015
Healthy eating habits are essential to reduce children · s risk of health problems. The prevalenc... more Healthy eating habits are essential to reduce children · s risk of health problems. The prevalence of obesity continues to increase and is growing concern in Portugal and Europe (Wijnhoven et ai., 2014). This study aims to describe the characteristics of a successful program to decrease BMI and LNED intake among school children. 464 children (239 female, 6 to 12 years) from seven schools participated in this randomized triaL ln Portugal children from elementary schools have only one teacher who teaches a range of subjects. The intervention program was based on healtl\ promotion model (Pender, 1996) and the social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) and aimed to promete healthier active lifestyles by encouraging children to be more active and make better food selection. The training sessions were approved by the Minister of Education with 72 hours oí duration. The program was implemented over two terms: teachers' training delivered by researchers and intervention delivered to children by trained teachers. Intervened teachers had 12 sessions of 3 hours each with the researchers, according to the topics of nutrition and healthy eating for children and family (sessions 1-4); importance of water (sessionS); strategies to increase fruit and vegetable intake (session 6-8); strategie~ to improve physical activity and reduce screen time (sessions 9-10) and healthy cooking activities. After each session, teachers were encouraged to develop activities in the class according to the learned to pies. This intervention program decreased the consumption ofLow-nutrition, energy dense (LNED) foods and the Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score among the intervened children and offers promise to yield best practices in the prevention of overweight and obesity
Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Centro de Investigacao em Estudos da Crianca (CIEC... more Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Centro de Investigacao em Estudos da Crianca (CIEC), UM (UI 317)
RESUMO:Uma versão modificada do questionário de Olweus (1989) para a língua portuguesa sobre o bu... more RESUMO:Uma versão modificada do questionário de Olweus (1989) para a língua portuguesa sobre o bullying no contexto escolar foi aplicada a uma amostra de 3891 alunos, com idades compreendidas os 5 e os 16 anos, pertencentes a um conjunto de treze Agrupamentos de escolas do ensino básico do Distrito de Bragança, no Nordeste de Portugal. O objectivo do estudo foi o de analisar a prevalência do bullying nos alunos com sucesso ou insucesso escolar, nos diferentes níveis do ensino básico (do 1º ao 6º anos), através da diferenciação e caracterização dos grupos «não envolvidos», «vítimas», «agressores», «vítimas e agressores» e «não respondeu». Os resultados manifestaram uma maior prevalência de agressores (18,8%), embora com valores próximos das vítimas e agressores (17,8%) e das vítimas (11,1%). Os alunos com insucesso escolar apresentam maior envolvimento em episódios de vitimação e agressão, comparativamente, aos alunos com sucesso escolar. Os alunos com insucesso educativo, registaram valores relativos superiores nos agressores (19,7%), nas vítimas e agressores (18,9%) e por fim as vítimas (16%), pelo que a condição do insucesso escolar constitui um sinal de alerta no tocante às práticas agressivas e de intimidação (bullying) em contexto escolar.
BioEnergy Research, 2013
Penicillium echinulatum was evaluated as a cellulolytic enzyme producer in shaking flasks and bio... more Penicillium echinulatum was evaluated as a cellulolytic enzyme producer in shaking flasks and bioreactor submerged culture using sugarcane bagasse as carbon source. Sodium hydroxide delignified steam-exploded pretreated bagasse (SDB) and hydrothermal pretreated bagasse had a maximum filter paper activity (FPase) of 2.4 and 2.6 FPU/mL, respectively. Delignified acid pretreated bagasse and Celufloc 200TM (CE) carbon sources displayed maximum FPase of 1.3 and 1.6 FPU/mL while in natura bagasse (INB) provided the lowest enzyme activity, ca. 0.4 FPU/mL. Measurement of surface specific area of lignocellulosic material and scanning electron microscopic images showed a possible correlation between fungal mycelia accessibility to lignocellulosic particles and obtained cellulolytic enzyme activity of fermentation broth. Fed-batch experiments performed in a controlled bioreactor attained the highest value of FPase of 3.7 FPU/mL, enzyme productivity of 25.7 FPU/L h, and enzyme yield from cellulose equal to 134 FPU/g with SDB. Enzyme hydrolysis of steampretreated bagasse accomplished with the obtained supernatant of fermentation broth (10 FPU/g of biomass and 5 % w/v) performed better than commercial cellulose complex. The results showed that P. echinulatum has potential to be used as an on-site enzyme platform aiming second bioethanol production from sugarcane lignocellulosic residue.
Cultura y Educación, 2002
... Estos profesores se encar-gan de supervisar desde uno a ocho grupos de alumnos, y esta superv... more ... Estos profesores se encar-gan de supervisar desde uno a ocho grupos de alumnos, y esta supervisión, debi-do al reducido número de profesores, proporciona el conocimiento mutuo entre todos los alumnos y profesores del centro escolar. ...
Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia, 2009
O objectivo deste estudo foi compreender como é que os adolescentes escolares percebem a violênci... more O objectivo deste estudo foi compreender como é que os adolescentes escolares percebem a violência em suas diferentes formas e expressões e em que medida cada uma destas dimensões é percebida como factor de vulnerabilidade. O estudo é de natureza qualitativa e os dados foram colhidos por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas aplicadas a adolescentes dos 12 a 18 anos. A análise dos dados foi realizada por meio da análise de conteúdo temática baseando-se em princípios hermenêutico-dialéticos. A violência social, em particular a delinqüência juvenil, comunitária e escolar é apontada enquanto um factor de vulnerabilidade o que nos leva a considerar que para impedirmos a sua (re) produção, as iniciativas sóciopolíticas devem procurar responder aos desafios de tirá-la da clandestinidade; compreender melhor o seu processo de produção e formar profissionais da saúde e da educação comprometidos na sua resolução.
A violência escolar (bullying) não constitui nenhum problema novo, no entanto, ainda se sabe muit... more A violência escolar (bullying) não constitui nenhum problema novo, no entanto, ainda se sabe muito pouco sobre a real prevalência e a sua evolução (Olweus, 1993). Com o intuito de conhecer melhor o fenómeno, protagoniza-se o desenvolvimento de um estudo minucioso sobre as múltiplas formas de vitimação entre pares no contexto dos sétimos anos do Ensino Básico. O presente estudo pretende descrever e analisar a prevalência das múltiplas formas de vitimação ocorridos entre pares, utilizando uma amostra de 360 alunos do 7º ano do Ensino Básico, 168 (46,7%) do género feminino e 192 (53,3%) do masculino, com idades compreendidas entre os 11 e os 16 anos, sendo a média de idades de 12,36 com desvio padrão de 0,773. O inquérito foi aplicado durante o mês de Dezembro de 2010, em três Agrupamentos de escolas dos concelhos de Braga e Vila Nova de Famalicão. Caracterizou-se a frequência das múltiplas formas de vitimação com base na aplicação de uma versão digital adaptada (Costa & Pereira, 2010) do questionário de auto-relato (Olweus, 1989; Pereira, 2008), sobre o bullying no contexto escolar, tendo-se seleccionado para o efeito as percentagens somadas resultantes das acções de natureza física, verbal, relacional e de carácter sexual. Relativamente à frequência e às múltiplas formas das situações de comportamentos de vitimação, observa-se que em termos globais o género feminino apresenta maior envolvimento comparativamente ao masculino. Quando a analise recai sobre a frequência intermédia, o género feminino apresenta valores relativos superiores ao masculino, durante o 1º período lectivo escolar (Setembro a Dezembro). As formas ou tipos de vitimação mais frequente ao nível do género apresentaram uma tendência semelhante aos resultados globais da população em estudo, destacando-se para ambos os géneros, as situações de vitimação verbal, constituindo a forma mais frequente para o feminino «Andaram a falar mal de mim e disseram segredos» e para o masculino «Chamaram-me nomes ou gozaram-me de forma desagradável». Conhecer o fenómeno em profundidade, e numa perspectiva contextualizada, é uma necessidade de primeira ordem aos agentes educacionais, para evitar, quer seja a banalização ou, a sobre valorização de comportamentos agressivos entre pares no território escolar Palavras-chave: bullying; Crianças; Vitimação; Frequência; Múltiplas formas.
School Psychology International, 2004
A modified version of the Olweus school bullying questionnaire was administered to a sample of 40... more A modified version of the Olweus school bullying questionnaire was administered to a sample of 4092 pupils, mainly aged 10–12, in ten middle schools, six in the north (Braga) and four in the south of Portugal (Lisbon). We present and discuss the results of this survey on the following topics: frequencies of being bullied and bullying others; types of bullying; places where bullying occurs and children’s opinions about the playground. These variables were analysed in terms of factors such as school grades, under-achievement, social class, gender and school location (north or south of the country). Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for bullying behaviour. For being bullied, an increased risk was found for male and low social class students. After multivariable adjustment, factors remaining significantly associated with bullying others were gender, school grade, social class and years of under-achievement. The results are compared to the results of other studies in ...
PLoS ONE, 2012
Plant feedstocks are at the leading front of the biofuel industry based on the potential to promo... more Plant feedstocks are at the leading front of the biofuel industry based on the potential to promote economical, social and environmental development worldwide through sustainable scenarios related to energy production. Penicillium echinulatum is a promising strain for the bioethanol industry based on its capacity to produce large amounts of cellulases at low cost. The secretome profile of P. echinulatum after grown on integral sugarcane bagasse, microcrystalline cellulose and three types of pretreated sugarcane bagasse was evaluated using shotgun proteomics. The comprehensive chemical characterization of the biomass used as the source of fungal nutrition, as well as biochemical activity assays using a collection of natural polysaccharides, were also performed. Our study revealed that the enzymatic repertoire of P. echinulatum is geared mainly toward producing enzymes from the cellulose complex (endogluganases, cellobiohydrolases and b-glucosidases). Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family members, important to biomass-to-biofuels conversion strategies, were identified, including endoglucanases GH5, 7, 6, 12, 17 and 61, b-glycosidase GH3, xylanases GH10 and GH11, as well as debranching hemicellulases from GH43, GH62 and CE2 and pectinanes from GH28. Collectively, the approach conducted in this study gave new insights on the better comprehension of the composition and degradation capability of an industrial cellulolytic strain, from which a number of applied technologies, such as biofuel production, can be generated.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2012
The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a six-months' nutrition program, delivered... more The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a six-months' nutrition program, delivered and taught by classroom teachers with in-service nutrition training, on the prevention of overweight and obesity among children in grades 1 to 4. In this randomized trial, four hundred and sixty four children from seven elementary schools were allocated to a nutrition educational program delivered by their own teachers. Intervened teachers had 12 sessions of three hours each with the researchers throughout six months, according to the topics nutrition and healthy eating, the importance of drinking water and healthy cooking activities. After each session, teachers were encouraged to develop activities in class focused on the learned topics. Sociodemographic, anthropometric,
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 2011
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or s... more This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Aggressive Behavior, 2004
Research suggests that the relationship between school bullying and its various risk factors shou... more Research suggests that the relationship between school bullying and its various risk factors should be clearer among girls than boys, and should become stronger with age, as roles within the peer group stabilise. This paper tests this theory by comparing sex, school type, and bully/victim status differences in friendships and playground social interactions, using data from nine surveys in seven countries: China, England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, and Spain. A total of approximately 48,000 children completed various translations of the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire. Small but generally consistent main effects were found for sex and school type (boys and primary pupils enjoyed playtimes more and had more friends, but were also more likely to spend playtimes alone). Larger effects were consistently found for bully/victim status (victims were significantly worse off on all the measures in all the samples where a difference was found, while bullies and neutrals did not differ consistently), but the interactions between these factors varied widely between samples and there were few consistent patterns. It is concluded that bullying is a universal phenomenon with many negative correlates for victims and few (if any) for bullies, but that there are cultural variations in the way that bullying is related to sex, age, and social support.
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Papers by Beatriz Couto Pereira