Level In Portugal Research Articles

Reading comprehension in primary school: textbooks, curriculum, and assessment

This study describes the reading comprehension processes present in the most widely sold textbooks at the fourth grade level in Portugal and discusses how they compare to international assessments of reading literacy. We adopted the Progress of International Reading Literacy Study framework to categorize the questions in the textbooks. Our analyses revealed that they focus heavily on the retrieval of explicitly stated information to the detriment of higher level comprehension skills. Portuguese fourth grade textbooks rarely challenge students to make connections between their knowledge and the ideas in the texts and to adopt a critical and evaluative reading stance. This is in sharp contrast to what students are asked to do in the Progress of International Reading Literacy Study, conducted every five years since 2001, and it may help explain the poor results Portuguese students have in national assessment and in PISA. The findings are discussed in light of the curriculum frameworks currently adopted in Portugal and suggestions are made as to how we can improve reading literacy achievement.

Prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli isolates in faecal samples of broilers

Seventy-six faecal samples were obtained from broilers at slaughterhouse level in Portugal. Samples were inoculated on cefotaxime-supplemented Levine agar plates. Cefotaxime-resistant Escherichia coli isolates were recovered from 32 samples (42.1%), obtaining a total of 34 E. coli isolates (one or two isolates per sample). Susceptibility to 16 antibiotics was studied by disk diffusion method, and 85% of the isolates presented a phenotype of multi-resistance that included antimicrobial agents of at least four different families. Extended-spectrum-beta-lactamases (ESBL) of the TEM and CTX-M groups were detected in 31 ESBL-positive E. coli isolates. Twenty-six isolates harboured the bla TEM-52 gene and two of them also harboured bla TEM-1b. The bla CTX-M-14 gene was identified in three isolates (in association with bla TEM-1b in one of them), and bla CTX-M-32 was demonstrated in two additional isolates. Three of the 34 cefotaxime-resistant isolates (9%) did not produce ESBLs, and two of them presented mutations at positions −42 (C → T), −18 (G → A), −1 (C → T), and +58(C → T) of the promoter/attenuator region of ampC gene. tet(A) and/or tet(B) genes were detected in all 34 tetracycline-resistant isolates, aadA in all 26 streptomycin-resistant isolates; cmlA in 3 of 6 chloramphenicol-resistant isolates, and aac(3)-II or aac(3)-I + aac(3)-IV genes in all 4 gentamicin-resistant isolates. Different combinations of sul1, sul2 and sul3 genes were demonstrated among the 22 trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole-resistant isolates. Amino acid changes in GyrA and ParC proteins were identified in all 18 ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates. The results of this study indicate that the intestinal tract of healthy poultry is a reservoir of ESBL-positive E. coli isolates.

Prevalence of human cytomegalovirus congenital infection in Portuguese newborns

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is considered the most frequent cause of congenital infection, occurring in 0.2 to 2.2% of all live births. Since this is a wide range of prevalences observed in different studies, it would be desirable to investigate the prevalence of this infection at national level. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the national prevalence of HCMV congenital infection. We analysed a total of 3,600 Guthrie cards collected from Portuguese newborns during a period of 14 months (August 2003 to September 2004). The cards covered all regions of Portugal and were proportional to the number of births in each region. A heat DNA extraction method was used, followed by DNA amplification by nested PCR. Sensitivity and specificity of this method were evaluated as 93% and 100%, respectively, using 28 cards from HCMV-positive and 280 cards from HCMV-negative children. The national prevalence of congenital HCMV was determined as 1.05% (95% confidence interval: 0.748-1.446). This is the first study of the prevalence of HCMV congenital infection at national level in Portugal. It suggests that Portugal may have one of the highest prevalences of congenital HCMV infection in Europe.

Labour market outliers: Lessons from Portugal and Spain

Iberian labour markets Why Spain and portugal are OECD outliers Spain has the highest unemployment rate (22.2%) of any European Union country, Portugal one of the lowest (7.3%). Superficially, these countries share many labour market features: the toughest job security rules in the OECD, an apparently similar architecture of wage bargaining, and comparable generosity of their unemployment insurance systems, at least since 1989. We address the puzzle by examining Portuguese and Spanish labour market institutions, in particular job security, unemployment benefits and the system of wage bargaining. We then conduct empirical analysis of Spanish and Portuguese unemployment outflows and wage distributions, using micro data. We find differences in unemployment benefits (non-existent in Portugal until 1985, and less generous nowadays), differences in wage flexibility (wage floors by category established by collective agreements are set at a lower relative level in Portugal), and, in practice, higher firing costs in Spain. A key explanation of the difference in Portuguese and Spanish unemployment rates is the wage adjustment process. Generous benefit levels may have been necessary for the path Spanish unions took, but this was not the sole explanation of different wage setting in Spain and Portugal. — Olympia Bover, Pilar Garcia-Perea and Pedro Portugal

Secular trends in male adult height 1904-1996 in relation to place of residence and parent's educational level in Portugal

The records of height of 22841 18-year-old Portuguese males were analysed as well as their parents educational level and localities of subject's residence (districts). The sample includes all the Portuguese 18-year-old males, born in 1978 and examined in 1996, in central and southern Portugal, representing all the social strata. Statistically significant differences (p 0.001) among the districts were found: males from Setubal (172.75 cm) and Lisboa (172.64 cm), the most developed districts, are the tallest, and those from C. Branco (170.79 cm) and Coimbra (171.19 cm) are the shortest. Comparing to published data from 1904, a positive secular trend in height was found. The average increase was 8.99 cm, which yields a rate of 0.99 cm per decade. This positive trend must be related to the general improvement in the population's standard living conditions, as the striking drop of post-neonatal mortality rate shows after the 1960s and 1970s. Despite this positive trend, great social difference still exists: the gap between the two extremes of parents' educational level is almost 4 cm for height. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant effects of father's and mother's educational level as well as subject's locality of residence, but the influence of parents' educational level was stronger than that of geographic residence. These results suggest that the secular trend in height will continue for the Portuguese population in the future decade.

Aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacities of elite middle‐distance runners after two weeks of training at moderate altitude

The effect of short‐term altitude training on sea‐level physiological characteristics in elite runners was investigated. Seven middle‐distance runners (6 men, 1 woman) belonging to the Swedish national team (mean age 23 years) spent 2 weeks of training at 2000 m above sea level in Kenya. Treadmill tests were performed before and 6 and 12 d after the altitude sojourn. Six other runners (4 men, 2 women) had a corresponding training sojourn at sea level in Portugal (control group). Ro of the runners (1 man, 1 woman) in the Kenya group were omitted from the study because of gastroenteritis. The maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max; pretravel: Kenya group 212 and control group 188 ml · kg−0.75 ‐ min−1), maximal treadmill time and oxygen cost of running were unchanged in both groups. The maximal oxygen deficit increased in all subjects after the Kenya sojourn (mean 19±6%). Heart rates during running at specified submaximal running velocities were lower post‐altitude (Kenya group), but tended to be higher after sea‐level training (control group). Maximal heart rate was unchanged in both groups. Perceived exertion (Borg) during submaximal running was lower post‐altitude. Submaximal and maximal blood lactate and plasma catecholamine concentrations were not altered in any of the groups. Post‐exhaustive plasma ammonia levels were decreased 12 d after altitude descent in the Kenya group. The results suggest an unchanged aerobic capacity in elite middle‐distance runners after short‐term training at moderate altitude. However, a change in the circulatory regulation during submaximal exercise was observed. Furthermore, anaerobic capacity improved but this bore no clear relation to lactate or ammonia metabolism.

The Teaching of Astronomy at University Level in Portugal

In 1984, the University of Porto started a program for the first degree in astronomy in a Portuguese university. Jointly offered by the Physics and Applied Mathematics Departments at the School of Sciences, the degree is strongly marked by the interdisciplinary character essential for the teaching of modern astronomy. It includes 37 per cent in physics, 32 per cent in mathematics, 25 per cent in astronomy, and 6 per cent in chemistry, geology, mathematics, or physics. Its structure in course units comprises: