Repositório RCAAP

Este documento descreve o projecto realizado no âmbito da disciplina Projecto em Engenharia Informática do Mestrado em Engenharia Informática da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa. O User eXperience Group (UXG), da Nokia Siemens Networks Portugal, S.A. (NSN), é um grupo que dá suporte a um grande número de equipas e produz uma significante e diversa quantidade de informação (ex.: apresentações, linhas de orienta ção para interfaces com o utilizador, propostas de conceitos, entre outras). De forma a promover a reutilização dos recursos produzidos por este grupo, a documenta ção deve estar organizada e facilmente acessível a todas as equipas na unidade de negócio. Depois de analisadas, em detalhe, as necessidades do UXG, em termos de partilhar eficazmente a informação, foram identificados dois requisitos principais: um repositório para armazenar todos os documentos produzidos; e uma biblioteca para recolher e distribuir ícones de aplicações, logotipos, splash screens, etc. Como resultado, ferramentas potenciais a suportar a estas necessidades foram analisadas. Apesar de não ter sido identificada a ferramenta ideal, foi escolhida e proposta uma como o suporte base para arquivar os recursos criados pelo UXG. Durante o desenvolvimento, foi utilizada uma metodologia de desenho centrada no utilizador. Foram criados, analizados e avaliados vários protótipos de baixa fidelidade, das interfaces, por dois utilizadores experientes e membros do UXG. No final, o repositório foi publicado como uma contribuição de código aberto e é actualmente utilizado por muitos membros de equipas na NSN. Relativamente à biblioteca de desenhos gráficos, foram identificados e especificados os requisitos para a ferramenta, foram criados protótipos de baixa fidelidade e foi desenhada uma proposta inicial da arquitectura.

The daily use of sun protection is essential to prevent the damaging effect of incident solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Sunscreens are cosmetic products containing UV filters as active compounds, which are responsible for the absorption and/or reflection of UV radiation that might otherwise reach the skin surface. Sunscreen formulation has undergone a major technological transformation over the recent past, resulting in improved sunscreen efficiency and safety. In this context, nanosystems have emerged as suitable carriers of UV filters, originating from the so-called nanosunscreens. The aim of the present review is to provide a conceptual framework based on several nanosystems at the forefront of these advances, including nanoemulsions, liposomes and ultradeformable vesicles (transfersomes, ethosomes, and transethosomes), solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, polymeric nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, nanocrystals, and SunSpheres. Moreover, the beneficial effects these nanosystems impart to typical formulations are described. Finally, the potential impacts of these nanosystems on human health are discussed, and regulatory approaches by administrations around the globe are reviewed.

Hair care and treatment has evolved significantly through the years as new formulations are continuously being explored in an attempt to meet the demand in cosmetic and medicinal fields. While standard hair care procedures include hair washing, aimed at hair cleansing and maintenance, as well as hair dyeing and bleaching formulations for hair embellishment, modern hair treatments are mainly focused on circumventing hair loss conditions, strengthening hair follicle properties and treat hair infestations. In this regard, active compounds (ACs) included in hair cosmetic formulations include a vast array of hair cleansing and hair dye molecules, and typical hair treatments include anti-hair loss ACs (e.g. minoxidil and finasteride) and anti-lice ACs (e.g. permethrin). However, several challenges still persist, as conventional AC formulations exhibit sub-optimal performance and some may present toxicity issues, calling for an improved design of formulations regarding both efficacy and safety. More recently, nano-based strategies encompassing nanomaterials have emerged as promising tailored approaches to improve the performance of ACs incorporated into hair cosmetics and treatment formulations. The interest in using these nanomaterials is based on account of their ability to: (1) increase stability, safety and biocompatibility of ACs; (2) maximize hair affinity, contact and retention, acting as versatile biointerfaces; (3) enable the controlled release of ACs in both hair and scalp, serving as prolonged AC reservoirs; besides offering (4) hair follicle targeting features attending to the possibility of surface tunability. This review covers the breakthrough of nanomaterials for hair cosmetics and hair treatment, focusing on organic nanomaterials (polymer-based and lipid-based nanoparticles) and inorganic nanomaterials (nanosheets, nanotubes and inorganic nanoparticles), as well as their applications, highlighting their potential as innovative multifunctional nanomaterials towards maximized hair care and treatment. Statement of significance This manuscript is focused on reviewing the nanotechnological strategies investigated for hair care and treatment so far. While conventional formulations exhibit sub-optimal performance and some may present toxicity issues, the selection of improved and suitable nanodelivery systems is of utmost relevance to ensure a proper active ingredient release in both hair and scalp, maximize hair affinity, contact and retention, and provide hair follicle targeting features, warranting stability, efficacy and safety. This innovative manuscript highlights the advantages of nanotechnology-based approaches, particularly as tunable and versatile biointerfaces, and their applications as innovative multifunctional nanomaterials towards maximized hair care and treatment.

This thesis challenges prevailing misconceptions about mass migration induced by human caused climate change. I adopt a people-centred approach by using ethnographic field research in Guinea-Bissau to understand the reasons why individuals choose to move or stay put. I ask to what extent climate change and environmental degradation influence people’s decisions to migrate. Using a case-study across coastal, island, urban, and hinterland areas, I show that although climate and environmental related factors pose serious concerns for livelihoods, it is structural violence, the deprivation of basic and fundamental rights, and political indifference that systematically place Bissau-Guineans under precarious conditions. Overall, respondents included in this study voice opposition to the political neglect of their immediate needs and provide compelling evidence as to why viewing them as ‘poor and vulnerable’ is flawed. The unjust circumstances they experience indicate that the historical power structures and relations justify their ‘vulnerable condition’ and the need to overturn the state’s attitudes and actions. Finally, this research analyses how Judith Butler’s notion of vulnerability as resistance manifests in the lives of Bissau-Guineans. I unveil that resistance, along with communal solidarity, is a crucial mobilisation mechanism for securing people’s livelihoods and informing their decision of staying put. Although theoretical contributions on non-migration or immobility are growing, limited attention is still paid to those who voluntarily or forcefully stay put. The empirical outcome of this thesis indicates that halting the cumulative harm that places Bissau-Guineans at a disadvantage is paramount to tackling climate change locally. The counter-narratives I expose offer vital information on the intricate developmental contexts in which hazards operate or may operate in the future. By adopting a nuanced perspective rather than a deterministic one, we can better understand why people move, stay put, and how they decide to do so.

One of the exciting future directions in the 3D printing field is the development of innovative personalized smart constructions for bio-applications, including drug delivery, namely high-throughput drug screening and customized topical/oral administration of pharmaceuticals, as well as tissue engineering. In this context, hydrogels have emerged as a promising material that, when combined with extrusion 3D printing, allow the creation of soft-material structures with defined spatial locations, that can be printed at room temperature and customized by tuning the geometric design and/or the formulation components. Thus, the efficacy and quality of such vehicles is dependent on formulation, design, and printing process parameters. However, hydrogel inks are often designed and characterized using different methods and this lack of uniformity impairs. Characterization techniques are usually arbitrary and differ among research groups, challenging the inference of possible conclusions on hydrogel behaviour and potential applications. Therefore, to properly analyse the potential of a particular hydrogel ink formulation, we review, for the first time, the most frequently employed characterization procedures, from rheological approaches to printing parameters and settings, and discuss their relevance, limitations and drawbacks, and highlight future perspectives. Overall, to accelerate the development of high-quality 3D constructs, comprehensive characterization protocols for both pre-printing and printing assays should be adopted. Furthermore, their transversal adoption could serve as a boost in terms of quality requirements and regulatory aspects.

By starting our study with the Lembranças (memoirs) of D. Francisco de Portugal, Conde do Vimioso (c. 1545) as our main source and crossing-referencing it with other sixteen-century documents, we want to assess the meaning of the Court and the courtier in the 16th century. We are in the presence of a very revealing document on royal liberality in an ambiance where the sovereign is the unifying and uniting element but also a critic of the backstage constraints, namely of a game of promises not always fulfilled and of the existence of interest groups. It is a document with autobiographical data on a figure who was paramount in war, in diplomacy, and in arts, as well as in his senior functions as counselor and Vedor da Fazenda with a description of favors, posts at the palace and property, received or not, assessed in comparison with the favors distributed to others serving at the Court, both members and non-members of the nobility. In this dissertation, the truth of which has been verified, the environment in which a courtier lived is explained: the construction that the Court represents of a hierarchic and social-legal order established on Christian moral and political principles, therefore rationalized, to which the subjects of the sovereign submit themselves; the structure that the Court also embodies as a seat of prestige awakening opposing feelings of ambition and humility and causing affection and disaffection.

No século XVI em Portugal homens de bastidores, experientes no conselho político, nas finanças, na guerra ou na administração, alvitram sobre uma sociedade aberta à mobilidade social onde, contrariando uma estrutura social cristalizada e arcaizante ainda defendida por alguns e expressa em textos normativos, riqueza se confunde com prestígio, a nível individual e colectivo, e onde muitas transformações decorrem da Expansão de um império ultramarino e do concomitante desenvolvimento de mecanismos que geram redistribuição de rendimentos. Alguns desses autores já foram motivo de destaque em estudos da especialidade. É o caso de Gil Vicente, Sá de Miranda, João de Barros, Damião de Góis. Contudo, pode-se ainda alargar o campo de observação e enriquecer a problemática ao comparar perspectivas económicas de outros pensadores menos divulgados. Procuramos fazê-lo ao selecionar D. António de Ataíde, 1º Conde da Castanheira e Vedor da Fazenda de D. João III, em parecer de 1553, Francisco Pereira em pareceres de 1534 ou autores anónimos que escrevem a este monarca por volta de 1543 sobre o futuro da política expansionista (Marrocos versus India). Pode-se nesses testemunhos quinhentistas, sobretudo encontrar, de original, algumas antecipações de problemas que serão mais valorizados nos séculos seguintes e motivo de apreciações críticas sobre o auge do processo expansionista. Teremos em linha de conta, para tal comparação, olhares, aliás nem sempre coincidentes, sobre fertilidade e seu aproveitamento, crescimento populacional e forças dinâmicas da sociedade, recursos e consumo útil, técnicas, contratos e taxações, em comentários que discutem abertamente os homens e o “proveito da terra”. Iremos, pois, investigar posições assumidas no século XVI sobre estes temas tão observados no século XVII por autores como Duarte Gomes Solis, Fernão Rebelo, Manuel Severim de Faria e Luís Mendes de Vasconcelos, provando uma preocupação atempada por parte dos pensadores quinhentistas face à sua observação imparcial da realidade portuguesa. Trata-se, nos nossos objectivos, de, com isso, revisitar criticamente também uma historiografia, que no século XIX (com projecção ainda nos séculos XX e XXI) se assumiu como anti-lição utilizando pensadores anteriores (apenas excertos dos seus escritos) para provar as suas teses decadentistas sobre o período moderno. Na verdade, com objectivos de moralização da sociedade conjugam-se projectos de orientação política nos testemunhos portugueses de Quinhentos, facto que nos conduz a um olhar atento sobre perspectivas críticas na mentalidade da centúria que conectam fenómenos sociais com definições jurídicas e realidades socioeconómicas, comentando a dinâmica dos grupos sociais e a sua relação com os poderes vigentes, avaliando as funções de cada indivíduo e corpo social na “res publica”.

Emblemas de Andrea Alciato (1492-1550), divulgados por toda a Europa no período moderno e ainda na centúria de oitocentos, e orientações, em texto e imagem, plasmadas na Iconologia de Cesare Ripa (1555-1622), ilustrada desde as edições do século XVII, constituem fontes de importante informação para a avaliação das criações simbólicas e artísticas e para a história das mentalidades desses períodos. O acesso a sucessivas edições, antes em papel em arquivos e bibliotecas nacionais e estrangeiros ou eventualmente, de forma isolada, em alguma reprodução facsimile ou estudo monográfico, tornou-se na era digital facilitado. Acelera-se o acesso e aumenta-se consideravelmente a informação, evitando-se condicionalismos de horários e deslocações dispendiosas. Possui-se agora na internet não apenas edições digitalizadas na íntegra como, com grande impacto na pesquisa, bases de dados dos dois autores. Trata-se de plataformas dinâmicas das quais destacaremos duas, resultantes do meio académico, uma inglesa, https://emblems.arts.gla.ac.uk/alciato/, outra italiana, https://limes.cfs.unipi.it/allegorieripa/, que iremos comparar na primeira parte da exposição, nas suas funcionalidades, selecionando a título exemplificativo, como estudo de caso na segunda parte da exposição, a pesquisa temática sobre a paz social e as resistências à tirania. Embora o objecto de estudo possa não ser inédito, os instrumentos metodológicos de abordagem adaptaram-se aos novos recursos, acelerando o trabalho e multiplicando pistas de investigação ao estudioso no âmbito das Humanidades Digitais. Alargam-se e aprofundam-se, pois, análises e possíveis interpretações, a partir de uma melhor organização de ficheiros que, todavia, não prescinde da extensão do olhar por parte do investigador. À documentação digitalizada no formato original juntam-se dados coligidos e organizados sobre as fontes, sua localização, datas, editores e gravadores e informação bibliográfica. Em bases mais elaboradas, conectam-se temáticas e o pesquisador tem acesso a um motor de busca. Acelera-se toda a investigação embora reservando a análise comparativa e crítica a quem estuda a documentação cultural e artística. O exemplo de caso temático selecionado – paz social e resistências à tirania – poderá, assim, por via de material e recursos electrónicos, ampliar a análise da intertextualidade e das variantes contextuais, levando o pesquisador a comparações com realidades históricas concretas, vislumbradas em outros materiais como moedas, medalhas e jetons, cujas colecções se podem investigar na internet, obtendo, com saber e sorte, artefactos numismáticos digitalizados. É o caso dos símbolos de resistência e de revolta dos Países Baixos, ou melhor, da união que conduzirá à independência da República das Províncias Unidas dos Países Baixos, contra o Império espanhol (1581). O processo condutor deste estudo conduzirá a reflexões finais sobre as Humanidades Digitais, particularmente no campo da História, seus benefícios para a investigação, a preservação de materiais, e para o ensino, sem contudo deixar de notar a persistência de condicionalismos infraestruturais e as melhorias que poderão ainda desenvolver-se neste âmbito.

We performed synthesis of new nitrofuranyl amides and investigated their anti-TB activity and primary genetic response of mycobacteria through whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of spontaneous resistant mutants. The in vitro activity was assessed on reference strain Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The most active compound 11 was used for in vitro selection of spontaneous resistant mutants. The same mutations in six genes were detected in bacterial cultures grown under increased concentrations of 11 (2×, 4×, 8× MIC). The mutant positions were presented as mixed wild type and mutant alleles while increasing the concentration of the compound led to the semi-proportional and significant increase in mutant alleles. The identified genes belong to different categories and pathways. Some of them were previously reported as mediating drug resistance or drug tolerance, and counteracting oxidative and nitrosative stress, in particular: Rv0224c, fbiC, iniA, and Rv1592c. Gene-set interaction analysis revealed a certain weak interaction for gene pairs Rv1592–Rv1639c and Rv1592–Rv0224c. To conclude, this study experimentally demonstrated a multifaceted primary genetic response of M. tuberculosis to the action of nitrofurans. All three 11-treated subcultures independently presented the same six SNPs, which suggests their non-random occurrence and likely causative relationship between compound action and possible resistance mechanism.

Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) bacteria are an increasing threat to public health and represent one of the most concerning pathogens involved in life-threatening infections and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To understand the epidemiology of AMR of Kp in Portugal, we analysed whole genome sequencing, susceptibility testing and other meta data on 509 isolates collected nationwide from 16 hospitals and environmental settings between years 1980 and 2019. Predominant sequence types (STs) included ST15 (n = 161, 32%), ST147 (n = 36, 7%), ST14 (n = 26, 5%) or ST13 (n = 26, 5%), while 31% of isolates belonged to STs with fewer than 10 isolates. AMR testing revealed widespread resistance to aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins and carbapenems. The most common carbapenemase gene was blaKPC-3. Whilst the distribution of AMR linked plasmids appears uncorrelated with ST, their frequency has changed over time. Before year 2010, the dominant plasmid group was associated with the extended spectrum beta-lactamase gene blaCTX-M-15, but this group appears to have been displaced by another carrying the blaKPC-3 gene. Co-carriage of blaCTX-M and blaKPC-3 was uncommon. Our results from the largest genomics study of Kp in Portugal highlight the active transmission of strains with AMR genes and provide a baseline set of variants for future resistance monitoring and epidemiological studies.

Homem de grande cultura e experiência militar, foi Luís Mendes de Vasconcelos autor de obras como Do Sítio de Lisboa. Diálogo, publicada em 1608, Arte Militar, publicada em 1612, e ainda, entre outras, de duas intervenções que permaneceram manuscritas, Conquista da Índia oferecida a El-Rei, mencionada no Diálogo acima referido, e um Tratado de la Conservacion de la Monarchia da España, oferecido ao Duque de Lerma. Na primeira obra, desejaria ele que ela fosse passada de mão em mão até que alguém a comentasse junto do monarca, na altura Filipe III de Espanha, II de Portugal. Luís Mendes de Vasconcelos virá a obter a função de governador colonial, em Angola. No seu pensamento ocorre uma ponderação sobre a conceptualização de Império, propondo uma orgânica mais marítima e comercial que, claramente, se distingue da concepção territorial espanhola. Nas suas reflexões, valoriza-se uma maior intimidade do poder (sob diversas perspectivas) com os seus subordinados, tendo em vista a conservação e prosperidade da res publica. Os alvitres de Luís Mendes de Vasconcelos, ora sobre a excelência de Lisboa para capital do Império espanhol, ora sobre as mudanças necessárias para uma renovada utilidade da Índia à monarquia (à semelhança do bom proveito advindo do Brasil e das Ilhas), situam-no em grupos de opinião, inclusive de arbitristas: Poderemos considerá-lo como tal? Propomo-nos discorrer sobre o assunto, considerando outros testemunhos epocais (da época em que publica Do Sítio de Lisboa e de tempos anteriores, em que situa o seu Diálogo) e as suas, bem entusiastas e entusiasmantes propostas de reforma.

Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are synthesized in the cell nucleus and transported through nuclear pores to the cytoplasm for protein synthesis. Reporting in Nature Cell Biology, Mor et al. now track in living cells in real time the journey of single mRNA molecules as they transit from nucleus to cytoplasm.

The majority of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) infections are nosocomial, but a growing number of community-acquired infections are caused by hypervirulent strains (hvKp) characterised by liver invasion and rapid metastasis. Unlike nosocomial Kp infections, hvKp are generally susceptible to antibiotics. Due to the rapid progression of hvKp infections, timely and accurate diagnosis is required for effective treatment. To identify potential drivers of the hypervirulent phenotype, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis on single nucleotide variants and accessory genome loci across 79 publicly available Kp isolates collected from patients’ liver and a diverse global Kp dataset (n = 646). The GWAS analysis revealed 29 putative genes (P < 10–10) associated with higher risk of liver phenotype, including hypervirulence linked salmochelin iro (odds ratio (OR): 29.8) and aerobactin iuc (OR: 14.1) loci. A minority of liver isolates (n = 15, 19%) had neither of these siderophores nor any other shared biomarker, suggesting possible unknown drivers of hypervirulence and an intrinsic ability of Kp to invade the liver. Despite identifying potential novel loci linked to a liver invasive Kp phenotype, our work highlights the need for large-scale studies involving more sequence types to identify further hypervirulence biomarkers to assist clinical decision making.

The emergence of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains has triggered the use of old antibiotics such as colistin. This is driving the emergence of colistin resistance in multidrug-resistant strains that underlie life-threatening infections. This study analyses the mutational diversity of 22 genes associated with colistin resistance in 140 K. pneumoniae clinical isolates integrated in a high-resolution phylogenetic scenario. Colistin susceptibility was accessed by broth microdilution. A total of 98 isolates were susceptible and 16 were resistant, 10 of which were carbapenemase producers. Across the 22 genes examined, 171 non-synonymous mutations and 9 mutations associated with promoter regions were found. Eighty-five isolates had a truncation and/or deletion in at least one of the 22 genes. However, only seven mutations, the complete deletion of mgrB or insertion sequence (IS)-mediated disruption, were exclusively observed in resistant isolates. Four of these (mgrB Ile13fs, pmrB Gly207Asp, phoQ His339Asp and ramA Ile28Met) comprised novel mutations that are potentially involved in colistin resistance. One strain bore a ISEcp1-blaCTX-M-15::mgrB disruption, underlying co-resistance to third-generation cephalosporins and colistin. Moreover, the high-resolution phylogenetic context shows that most of the mutational diversity spans multiple phylogenetic clades, and most of the mutations previously associated with colistin resistance are clade-associated and present in susceptible isolates, showing no correlation with colistin resistance. In conclusion, the present study provides relevant data on the genetic background of genes involved with colistin resistance deeply rooted across monophyletic groups and provides a better understanding of the genes and mutations involved in colistin resistance.

The synthesis of 20 arylidenecamphors and 15 pyrimidines with camphane skeleton is described in the current report. A modified method for preparation of sterically hindered 2-aminopyrimidines in two steps was demonstrated. The evaluation of their in vitro activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv showed different MIC values (up to 0.91 μM for ketone 39). Compound 35 demonstrated moderate (8.23 μM), but sustainable activity toward a collection of drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains. Many of the compounds (especially among 2-aminopyridines 42–56) exhibited good to excellent activity against different strains of pathogenic bacteria and fungi (MIC up to 0.60 μM for compound 50), compared with reference antibiotics. Many of the newly designed compounds possess also in vitro cytotoxicity.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is able to establish a chronic colonization of lung macrophages in a controlled replication manner, giving rise to a so-called latent infection. Conversely, when intracellular bacteria undergo actively uncontrolled replication rates, they provide the switch for the active infection called tuberculosis to occur. Our group found that the pathogen is able to manipulate the activity of endolysosomal enzymes, cathepsins, directly at the level of gene expression or indirectly by regulating their natural inhibitors, cystatins. To provide evidence for the crucial role of cathepsin manipulation for the success of tuberculosis bacilli in their intracellular survival, we used liposomal delivery of saquinavir. This protease inhibitor was previously found to be able to increase cathepsin proteolytic activity, overcoming the pathogen induced blockade. In this study, we demonstrate that incorporation in liposomes was able to increase the efficiency of saquinavir internalization in macrophages, reducing cytotoxicity at higher concentrations. Consequently, our results show a significant impact on the intracellular killing not only to reference and clinical strains susceptible to current antibiotic therapy but also to multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Mtb strains. Altogether, this indicates the manipulation of cathepsins as a fine-tuning strategy used by the pathogen to survive and replicate in host cells.

Selenium (Se) is a micronutrient with essential physiological functions achieved through the production of selenoproteins. Adequate Se intake has health benefits and reduces mercury (Hg) toxicity, which is important due to its neurotoxicity. This study determined the Se status and redox enzyme, including selenoproteins’, activity in pregnant women highly exposed to Hg (between 1 to 54 µg Hg/L blood) via fish consumption. A cross-sectional study enrolling 513 women between the first and third trimester of pregnancy from Madeira, Portugal was conducted, encompassing collection of blood and plasma samples. Samples were analyzed for total Se and Hg levels in whole blood and plasma, and plasma activity of redox-active proteins, such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and thioredoxin (Trx). Enzyme activities were related to Se and Hg levels in blood. Se levels in whole blood (65.0 ± 13.1 µg/L) indicated this population had a sub-optimal Se status, which translated to low plasma GPx activity (69.7 ± 28.4 U/L). The activity of TrxR (12.3 ± 5.60 ng/mL) was not affected by the low Se levels. On the other hand, the decrease in Trx activity with an increase in Hg might be a good indicator to prevent fetal susceptibility.

De diversos ângulos são observados os descendentes de europeus e índias em livros ou artigos de revistas científicas, decorrentes sobretudo da área da História ou da Antropologia. Contamos com diferentes contribuições mas nem sempre de perspectivas amplas ou revelando a diversidade do mundo social em questão. Procuramos, assim, destrinçar algumas chaves de interpretação em observações realizadas a partir de documentação coeva das diferentes fases de povoamento, atribuição de ofícios, definição jurídica, desses agentes mestiços, os mamelucos. A sua identidade ou identidades (plurais) relacionam-se antes de mais com a miscigenação, mas explicam-se sobretudo pela sua funcionalidade em e com mundos culturais diferenciados. Concluindo, explicam-se, assim, por traços residuais e pela intermediação ou pela interacção, enquanto agentes sociais, com colonizadores, colonos, ameríndios e mão-de-obra escrava, dependendo qualquer definição ou redefinição identitária da complexidade de contextos epocais e espaciais.

Objectives The study aimed to determine how eHealth was adopted in pharmaceutical care (PC), the outcome reported and the contextual factors. Design Systematic literature review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Data sources Literature was searched in six databases including PubMed, Scopus, Medline, Web of Science, Science Direct and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Eligibility criteria Studies which reported the usage experiences of eHealth in any aspects of PC by pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic, written in English or Chinese, and published in peer-reviewed journals between December 2019 and March 2022 were included. Opinion articles, conference abstracts, correspondence, letters and editorials were excluded. Data extraction and synthesis The literature search was completed on 15 April 2022. Two researchers independently conducted the literature search and extracted the data into an Excel table informed by the logic model with the key components of goals, input, activities, output and contextual factors. Results Forty-three studies were included in this review. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital pharmacists, community pharmacists and specialist pharmacists in 17 countries continued to educate, consult, monitor and manage the patients and the general public via phone calls, videoconferences, mobile applications, social media, websites and/or enhanced interoperability of electronic medical records. Assuring the continuity of pharmacy care, reduced need for hospital visits, and improved work accuracy and efficiency were the benefits of eHealth mostly reported. Contextual factors affecting the adoption of eHealth were multifaceted, prompting supporting actions at the levels of government, hospital/pharmacy, pharmacists and patients. Conclusion This study revealed the wide adoption of eHealth in PC during the pandemic and the emerging evidence for its importance. Proper adoption of eHealth will help reshape the mode of pharmacy services to ensure continuity, quality and efficiency of care amid the challenges of the pandemic. PROSPERO registration number CRD42022299812.

Background Although women’s participation is relatively high in the pharmacist workforce, women remain underrepresented in executive positions. The rate of executive female pharmacists in diversified pharmaceutical areas, from education and research to politics, is recognized as being disproportionately low. Objectives In this study, we aimed to explore female executive pharmacists’ roles and identify reasons for their being underrepresented in such executive positions in Turkey. Methods Semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted from a feminist standpoint with female executive delegates working in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, pharmacy chambers, and public pharmacy faculties. A thematic data analysis of transcriptions was conducted using MAXQDA 2020 software and was reported according to Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Results The researchers interviewed 19 participants. Three primary themes emerged: gender roles, being an executive, and being a pharmacist. Eight roles came to the surface: mother, child, wife, pharmacist, manager, homemaker, cook, and planner. Taking the responsibility for an executive position involves a continued and simultaneous performance of all other roles as well. Conclusion In this context, female pharmacists’ views on gender roles in relation to motherhood, inequalities, and their dedication to their profession came to the fore. This study can be considered as a starting point for studying the underlying causes of the limited representation of female pharmacists in executive positions.