Browsing by Author "Almeida, Rita"
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- Attachment and mother-infant interactions in dyads with infants born full-term, moderate-to-late preterm, and very-to-extreme pretermPublication . Fuertes, Marina; Martelo, Inês; Almeida, Rita; Gonçalves, Joana L.; Barbosa, MiguelBackground: The impact of prematurity status on attachment quality remains indeterminate. Some studies found no differences between infants born preterm (PT) and infants born full-term (FT), while other investigations present opposite results. Aims: We aim to contribute to this body of research by studying mother-infant interactive behaviors and quality of attachment in 3 independent samples: Full-Term (FT), Moderate-to-Late Preterm (MLPT) and Very-to-Extreme Preterm (VEPT). Study design: This is a longitudinal laboratory study conducted from 3 to 12 months of age (corrected-age in the case of infants born PT). Subjects: The participants are 213 Portuguese infants (FT =105; MLPT =52; VEPT =56) and their mothers. Outcome measures: Mother-infant interactive behavior was observed in free-play at 3 and 9 months (corrected- age). Infant attachment was observed in Strange Situation at 12 months. Results: Secure attachment is more prevalent in infants born FT, and ambivalent attachment is more prevalent in infants born VEPT. Infants with a secure attachment have higher gestational age and weight at birth. Infant and maternal interactive behavior quality is associated with attachment patterns and varies according to infant prematurity status. Last, the results indicate changes in maternal sensitivity and infant difficult behavior from 3 to 9 months of infant’s age. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that prematurity status impacts attachment quality. Changes in maternal and infant behavior from 3 to 9 months suggest a period of rapid non-linear development, supporting a transactional multilayered approach to the study of mother-infant relationship.
- Evaluation of a low-cost COTS bio radar for vital signs monitoringPublication . Silva, Fábio; Almeida, Rita; Pinho, Pedro; Marques, Paulo; Lopes, Sérgio IvanWith the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a need for the Health Care Workers (HCW) to pay more attention to the vital signs of their patients. One way for this to happen, while respecting the social distance, is using contactless technologies, e.g. the bio radar. This way, the HCW will be able to monitor the respiration and heart rates of the patient, without getting close to him. For this to be possible, the best radar configurations were studied, as well as other important aspects that should be taken into consideration while monitoring a patient, for the results obtained to be reliable.
- A minha escola fará diferença? influência da qualidade do contexto educativo no desenvolvimento infantilPublication . Guerreiro, Inês; Domingos, M. Alice; Almeida, Rita; Casimiro, Rute; Fuertes, Marina; Rosa, JoãoA investigação indica que a frequência de creche e JI podem promover o desenvolvimento infantil (revisão em Bairrão, 1998). Contudo, a educação de infância só terá consequências positivas se fornecermos um serviço educativo de qualidade (Formosinho, 1996; Oliveira-Formosinho, 2004, 2008, revisão em Fuertes, 2010).
- Patterns of regulatory behavior in the still-face paradigm at 3 months: A comparison of Brazilian and Portuguese infantsPublication . Fuertes, Marina; Ribeiro, Camila; Barbosa, Miguel; Gonçalves, Joana; Teodoro, Ana Teresa; Almeida, Rita; Beeghly, Marjorie; Lopes dos Santos, Pedro; Lamônica, DionísiaThree infant regulatory behavior patterns have been identified during the Face-to-Face Still- Face paradigm (FFSF) in prior research samples: a Social-Positive Oriented pattern (i.e., infants exhibit predominantly positive social engagement), a Distressed-Inconsolable pattern (i.e., infants display conspicuous negative affect that persists or increases across FFSF episodes), and a Self-Comfort Oriented pattern (e.g., infants primarily engage in self-comforting behaviors such as thumb-sucking). However, few studies have examined these patterns outside US and European countries or evaluated potential cross-country differences in these patterns. In this study, we compared the regulatory behavior patterns of 74 Brazilian and 124 Portuguese infants in the FFSF at 3 months of age, and evaluated their links to demographic and birth variables. The prevalence of the three regulatory patterns varied by country. The most frequent pattern in the Portuguese sample was the Social-Positive Oriented, followed by the Distressed-Inconsolable and the Self-Comfort Oriented. However, in the Brazilian sample, the Distressed-Inconsolable pattern was the most prevalent, followed by the Social- Positive Oriented and the Self-Comfort Oriented. Moreover, in the Brazilian sample, familial SES was higher among infants with a Social-Positive pattern whereas 1st-minute Apgar scores were lower among Portuguese infants with a Distressed-Inconsolable Oriented pattern of regulatory behavior. In each sample, Social Positive pattern of regulatory behavior was associated with maternal sensitivity, Self-Comfort Oriented pattern of regulatory behavior with maternal control, and Distressed-Inconsolable pattern with maternal unresponsivity.
- A self‐comfort oriented pattern of regulatory behavior and avoidant attachment are more likely among infants born moderate‐to‐late pretermPublication . Fuertes, Marina; L. Gonçalves, Joana; Barbosa, Miguel; Almeida, Rita; Lopes‐dos‐Santos, Pedro; Beeghly, MarjorieInfants born preterm (<37 gestational weeks, GW) are at increased risk for regulatory difficulties and insecure attachment. However, the association between infants' regulatory behavior patterns and their later attachment organization is understudied in the preterm population. We addressed this gap by utilizing a Portuguese sample of 202 mother-infant dyads. Specifically, we compared the regulatory behavior patterns of 74 infants born moderate-to-late preterm (MLPT, 32-36 GW) to those of 128 infants born full-term (FT, 37-42 GW) and evaluated the associations of these regulatory patterns with later attachment. Infants' regulatory behavior patterns (Social-Positive Oriented, Distressed-Inconsolable, or Self-Comfort Oriented) were evaluated in the Face-to-Face-Still-Face paradigm at 3 months, and their attachment organization (secure, insecure-avoidant, or insecure-ambivalent) was evaluated in the Strange Situation at 12 months corrected age. In both samples, the Social-Positive-Oriented regulatory pattern was associated with secure attachment; the Distressed-Inconsolable pattern with insecure-ambivalent attachment; and the Self-Comfort-Oriented pattern with insecure-avoidant attachment. However, compared to FT infants, infants born MLPT were more likely to exhibit a Self-Comfort-Oriented pattern and avoidant attachment. Most perinatal and demographic variables were not related to infant outcomes. However, infants with a higher 1-min Apgar were more likely to exhibit the Social-Positive-Oriented regulatory pattern and secure attachment.
- Textile rectenna for RF energy harvestingPublication . Silva, Fábio; Almeida, Rita; Gouveia, Carolina; Loss, Caroline; Pinho, Pedro; Belo, DanielWearable devices are part of many people’s lives, however the batteries they need are a major limitation. In order to solve this problem, an energy harvesting system was studied and implemented, to replace the battery usage and thus enhance the device portability. It is composed by two antennas, one for transmitting and the other for receiving, and a rectifier circuit. The system was completely developed in textile, allowing the integration into the user’s clothing.