Repositório RCAAP

Esta investigação surge não somente por nossa experiência docente no trato da leitura instrumental em língua espanhola como também pela necessidade de incentivar o estudo deste idioma de maneira mais dinâmica e inovadora. Diante disso, esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal propor uma modelo que serve de base para a elaboração de Plataforma de Ensino Adaptativo na Área de Espanhol como Língua Estrangeira Moderna (E/LEM) orientada a questões do Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (ENEM) do Brasil. Para isso, discorremos sobre o papel da escola como espaço multiplicador de educação e cultura, e refletimos criticamente sobre os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais do Ensino Médio (PCNEM) e a Base Nacional Comum Curricular a fim de retratar o contexto sócio político do E/ELEM. Além do mais, discorremos sobre o papel da avaliação com valor diagnóstico, formativo e somativo e sobre a Teoria de Resposta ao Item. Refletimos ainda sobre a Matriz de Referência ENEM, suas Competências e Habilidades na área de E/LEM. A partir disso, identificamos os elementos-chave para a elaboração de uma Plataforma online de Ensino Adaptativo, apontando orientações para a construção do processo de registo, perfilagem, visibilização da aprendizagem de cada usuário e criação de reports de utilização.

Embeddings have gained traction in the social sciences in recent years. Existing work focuses on text-as-data to estimate word embeddings. In this paper, we turn to graph embeddings as a tool whose use has been overlooked in the analysis of social networks. Graph embeddings have two primary uses. First, to encode users and their interactions onto a single vector. Second, graph embeddings can be used as inputs for machine-learning classifiers. In this paper, we use the British political Twitter to illustrate both uses of graph embeddings. We encode users’ partisanship. Furthermore, we use an SVM and a NN to estimate the partisan proximity of Twitter users. Results suggest that graph embeddings yield high precision predictions.

Legislative committees usually combine legislative and oversight functions. Most research has focused on the former. The British House of Commons offers an opportunity to shed light on MPs’ motivations to engage in the neglected oversight aspects of committee work, because its committee system separates lawmaking from investigatory functions. In this article, we examine the politics of assignment to the investigatory select committees. Using an original data set for the 2005–10 and 2010–15 Parliaments, we find that MPs’ long-standing policy interests are a strong and consistent predictor for select-committee assignments, especially when committees’ desirability increases. Our results are largely incompatible with partisan models predicting party loyalty to be a decisive factor in select-committee assignments. Evidence suggests that the “Wright reforms” have consolidated the self-selection mechanism operating in committee assignments. Against expectations of partisan motivations driving committee assignments, our evidence suggests that models based on informational concerns offer the most convincing rationale.

Legislative debates are a thriving field in comparative politics. They make representation work by offering legislators the opportunity to take the floor and represent their constituents. In this paper, we review the key theoretical concepts and empirical findings in a maturing field. We begin by addressing what legislative debates are and why we should study them to learn about inter- and intra-party politics. Next, we look at the contributions springing from Proksch and Slapin's ground-breaking model. In so doing, our review suggests that recent work extends the original model to include further dimensions of legislative debates. Third, we examine the role of legislative debates as mechanisms of representation, focusing on gender. Four, we examine the challenges of the comparative analysis of legislative debates. Finally, we map the road ahead by discussing four avenues of future research and some key questions that remain unanswered.

Democratic societies increasingly look into gender quotas as a means to increase women’s representation in politics. Yet even as women occupy more seats, meaningful barriers may remain to their incorporation in the legislature. Our paper draws on quantitative and interview data from Portugal to explore patterns in women’s legislative participation before and after the adoption of a gender quota. While the gender gap in floor time decreases post-quota, important gender imbalances remain. After the quota, women remain underrepresented in the most politically salient legislative debates and are subject to stigmatization in floor access. Our findings suggest that gender quotas chip away at, but do not shatter, glass ceilings for women in politics.

The FLAGSHIP project addresses forward-looking methodologies in relation to Grand Societal Challenges and aims to develop tools and model frameworks beyond the state of the art. For a discussion of Grand Societal Challenges and their impacts on Europe’s future development, Europe’s territorial diversity needs to be taken into consideration because different regions and cities are affected by different challenges and the degree to which they are affected differs. This report therefore discusses interdependencies between Grand Societal Challenges and territorial governance. It presents the work conducted for work package 7 of the FLAGSHIP project and intends to answer the following questions: - Which trends will affect the future development of Europe’s cities and regions? - What will the European territory look like in 2050 under the assumptions of the Perseverance and the Metamorphosis Visions? - How can territorial governance respond to the various challenges and their impacts? - How much can territorial governance contribute to Europe’s ability to better cope with the main challenges and their impacts?

Groundwater is an indispensable resource for humankind and sustainable biomes functioning. Anthropogenic disturbance threatens groundwater ecosystems globally, but to which extent groundwater organisms respond to stressors remains poorly understood. Groundwater animals are rare, with small populations, difficult to find and to breed in the lab, which poses a main challenge to the assessment of their responses to pollutants. Despite the difficulties, assessing the toxicity of a large spectrum of stressors to groundwater organisms is a priority to inform towards appropriate environmental protection of these ecosystems. We tested the sensitivity to CuSO4, diclofenac, and NaCl of a groundwater population of the copepod Diacyclops crassicaudis crassicaudis and compared its sensitivity with the model organism Daphnia magna. We ranked its sensitivity using a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach using the feasible data available for groundwater and surface crustaceans. Our results show that the most toxic compound was CuSO4 for which higher amount of data was recorded and wider variability in response was observed. It was followed by diclofenac, largely lacking data for groundwater-adapted organisms, and the least toxic compound was NaCl. The differential sensitivity between D. crassicaudis and D. magna was contaminant-dependent. As a general trend D. crassicaudis was always distributed in the upper part of the SSD curves together with other groundwater-adapted organisms. Our results highlight that the widespread groundwater populations of the D. crassicaudis species complex, which can be successfully breed in the lab, may provide a reasonable approach to assess the ecological effects of anthropogenic stressors in groundwater ecosystems.

Diplura is the sister group to insects and one of the three basal hexapod groups with unique entognathan mouthparts. The order is divided into 10 families, which include 1008 species in 141 genera, with a high proportion of monotypic genera. They are ubiquitous in soils and subsurface terrestrial habitats, as well as have an important role in overall biogeochemical cycles. We present the first comprehensive review of the global biodiversity and ecology of Diplura. We highlight four aspects of this basal hexapod group: diversity in morphological body plans and sizes; ecology in terrestrial environments from soil to caves; food preference and trophic levels, and their biogeographical and paleobiogeographical significance. Diplura depends on high humidity and moderate temperatures. They are presumably very sensitive to anthropogenic pressures and climate change, and therefore are a suitable model for ecophysiological studies and evident priority targets for conservation. We conclude that the future efforts should focus on establishing a molecular phylogeny to clarify the relationships between and within families, as well as to reveal global biogeographical patterns. This will require an increase in sampling effort in several regions of the globe, especially in tropical regions.

The mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) can act as a climatic refuge for invertebrates, as a biogeographic corridor to deeper substrates or as a permanent habitat for some species. This study characterizes the seasonal invertebrate diversity and abundance of MSS ecosystems in central Portugal focusing on Diplopoda, Diplura, Orthoptera and Coleoptera during one year. Sampling was performed with standard MSS pitfalls in scree slopes (colluvial MSS) of karst areas and environmental parameters (temperature, pH, conductivity, water content, organic carbon, nitrate, phosphate and ammonium) were quantified. Our results show that winter was the season with the highest arthropod abundance and that the MSS acts as a permanent habitat for chordeumatidan millipedes and as a climatic refuge for orthopterans and most beetles. All Diplura collected belong to a single species known previously from surface habitats in the Iberian Peninsula, which does not seem to use the Portuguese MSS as a refuge. MSS habitats in central Portugal, classified as western Mediterranean and thermophile deposits protected by the Natura 2000 network based on plant communities and geology, revealed an abundant and diverse invertebrate community that urges characterization and protection.

Diplurans (Hexapoda) are considered the ‘ideal cavernicolous animal’ having one of the highest ratios of cave-adapted vs. non-cave-adapted species. They are successful colonizers of subterranean habitats, thriving in all cryptic, dark, terrestrial environments. Diplurans play an important role in the decomposition of organic matter below the ground and are sensitive to anthropogenic pressures. We present the first comprehensive review about cave Diplura diversity, ecology, evolution, distribution and biogeography. We provide a roadmap for research questions regarding the ecology, aimed at stimulating the pursuit of new studies on this fascinating group. Filling these current knowledge gaps will contribute to conservation efforts for cave ecosystems.

Current standardized laboratory test protocols use model species that have limitations to accurately assess native species responses to stressors. We developed and tested a novel acute in situ protocol for testing field-collected organisms. We used Asellus aquaticus and NaCl as a reference toxicant to test for the effects of location (laboratory vs. in situ), medium (synthetic vs. field water), substrate (presence vs. absence), and protocol replicability. We further tested the protocol using groundwater-adapted isopods: Proasellus assaforensis for the effect of location, P. cavaticus of medium and P. lusitanicus of substrate. Our results showed that A. aquaticus’ lethality obtained with the novel acute in situ protocol did not significantly differ from those from laboratory testing. However, laboratory tested P. assaforensis showed a higher sensitivity, suggesting that its acclimation to laboratory conditions might have pernicious effects. A. aquaticus and P. cavaticus showed a higher mortality using synthetic medium in situ and under laboratory conditions, which overestimated the stressor’s effect. Besides, substrate use had no significant effect. The novel acute in situ protocol allows the use of native species under realistic scenarios. It is particularly well adapted for assessing the risk of groundwater ecosystems but it can be applied to a wide range of ecosystems.

Fire is a key driver of natural ecosystems in Africa. However, human activity and climate change have altered fire frequency and severity, with negative consequences for biodiversity conservation. Angola ranks among the countries with the highest fire activity in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal trends of the annual burnt area in Angola, from 2001 to 2019, and their association with terrestrial ecoregions, land cover, and protected areas. Based on satellite imagery, we analyzed the presence of significant trends in burnt area, applying the contextual Mann–Kendall test and the Theil–Sen slope estimator. Data on burnt areas were obtained from the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) burnt area product and the analyses were processed in TerrSet. Our results showed that ca. 30% of the country’s area burned every year. The highest percentage of annual burnt area was found in northeast and southeast Angola, which showed large clusters of decreasing trends of burnt area. The clusters of increasing trends were found mainly in central Angola, associated with savannas and grasslands of Angolan Miombo woodlands. The protected areas of Cameia, Luengue-Luiana, and Mavinga exhibited large areas of decreasing trends of burnt area. Conversely, 23% of the Bicuar National Park was included in clusters of increasing trends. Distinct patterns of land cover were found in areas of significant trends, where the clusters of increasing trends showed a higher fraction of forest cover (80%) than the clusters of decreasing trends (55%). The documentation of burnt area trends was very important in tropical regions, since it helped define conservation priorities and management strategies, allowing more effective management of forests and fires in countries with few human and financial resources.

We present an updated bird checklist for the oceanic islands of the Gulf of Guinea. Their avifauna comprises 146 confirmed species, an increase of 19% in 15 years. Of these, 66 are resident landbird species (32 on Príncipe, 50 on São Tomé and 11 on Annobón), including 29 endemic species, 17 endemic subspecies and 17 possibly non-native species. The remaining avifauna consists of six breeding seabird species, four non-breeding migrants, 62 vagrants and eight species of uncertain status. An additional 51 species have been reported but lack confirmation. Most recent changes reflect increases in observer activity and involve vagrant and unconfirmed species, but a few result from previously overlooked historical records and taxonomic changes. Of the three islands, most changes affected the avifauna of Príncipe, whereas little new information has come from Annobón. Future changes are predicted to arise from new reports and confirmation of vagrants, but also from further taxonomic revision of residents.

Mangroves are some of the most productive coastal systems on the planet and provide valuable ecosystem services (ES). They are especially important in threatened ecosystems and developing countries, where they are likely to have direct impacts on local communities. An approach based on ES allows assessing ecosystems across the domains of ecology, sociology and economy. This study focused on the evaluation of ES in mangroves and started by creating a comprehensive global list of mangrove ES based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. These services were then quantified using the best available indicators for mangrove systems. The mangroves of Diogo Nunes, São João dos Angolares and Malanza, located in the São Tomé Island, were used to illustrate the challenges in applying ES indicators in this type of ecosystems. The obtained results confirmed that mangroves can provide important and diverse services. However, the high variability among mangrove systems affects their ability to deliver ES, requiring caution for the extrapolation across regions. This assessment emphasizes how the ES framework can be used as a tool to develop management plans that integrate conservation goals and human wellbeing.

Se presenta un panorama historiográfico del estudio de las villae romanas en Portugal, desde las primeras excavaciones y estudios, donde Abel Viana es excepción en un panorama general pobre de agenda de investigación y método, hasta el cambio mayor que supuso el proyecto de S. Cucufate / Vidigueira. Con el proyecto de S. Cucufate / Vidigueira comienza un nuevo tiempo, donde el espacio (estudios de territorio) y el tiempo (reconocimiento de dinámicas de poblamiento) se vuelven centrales, con particular destaque para los comienzos de la colonización de los campos y para los cambios de la Tarda Antigüedad. Finalmente, se hace un breve repaso por algunas de las más novedosas líneas de investigación, como la circulación monetaria (también una herencia del proyecto de S. Cucufate / Vidigueira) y los estudios arqueozoológicos, relevantes para el conocimiento del paisaje, de la explotación económica, pero también de los hábitos culturales de los propietarios.

Esta Newsletter (NL) resulta de uma parceria entre o Instituto de Saúde Baseada na Evidência e a Cochrane Portugal, e tem como objectivo disponibilizar informação sobre áreas interessantes para a prática clínica, com base na melhor evidência científica. São incluídos estudos relevantes, criticamente avaliados pela sua validade, importância dos resultados e aplicabilidade prática, resumidos numa óptica de suporte à decisão. É dada prioridade a estudos de causalidade incluindo-se ainda, quando justificado, estudos qualitativos e metodológicos, assim como revisões científicas. O conteúdo da NL é da exclusiva responsabilidade do(s) seu(s) autor(es).

Os incêndios florestais são fenómenos frequentes em Portugal e a sua grande incidência a partir de 2003 tem levado a uma maior consciencialização pública devido, principalmente, aos impactos que causam, entre os quais as consequências que podem ter na saúde da população, através dos poluentes presentes nas plumas de fumo. Viseu é um distrito fortemente fustigado pelos incêndios, destacando-se os anos de 2005 e 2013 pelo elevado número de incêndios registados, e consequentemente, de plumas de fumo, estando as freguesias mais afetadas localizadas a Oeste do distrito. A partir da análise de imagens de satélite MODIS foram identificadas 55 plumas de fumos que afetaram o distrito de Viseu, no período de 2005 e 2015, assim como as massas de ar que influenciam a dispersão do fumo através de trajetórias HySplit. Foi analisada a qualidade do ar em dias quando ocorreram plumas tendo em conta os limiares definidos na diretiva 120/2010, comparando com dias sem incêndios. Para além disso, foi avaliado o nível de risco de inalação de fumo nas freguesias de Viseu, através da análise da população exposta, da frequência de plumas e da análise da vulnerabilidade social. Os poluentes libertados no fumo dos incêndios possuem prazos de vida curtos a médios e podem espalhar-se por muitos quilómetros, afetando não só os locais de origem dos incêndios, mas também as áreas circundantes. Através da comparação dos limiares de poluentes, nomeadamente material particulado (PM), Ozono(O3) e Óxidos de Azoto (NOx), verifica-se que na região de Viseu Dão Lafões, entre os anos de 2005 até 2015, os limites de qualidade do ar pré-estabelecidos pela Comissão Europeia foram ultrapassados, na maioria das situações, devido a incêndios. A libertação destes poluentes com tanta regularidade, devido à ocorrência de incêndios com emissão de plumas, provocam efeitos nocivos na saúde respiratória da população. Viseu não é exceção, levando ao aumento dos internamentos e afetando a população mais vulnerável, como os idosos (com idades superior a 65 anos) e as crianças (idade inferior a 4 anos), nomeadamente nos homens, provocando patologias como bronquites, doenças do aparelho respiratório e com maior frequência pneumonias. A partir da frequência de plumas observadas através de imagens de satélite, e tendo em consideração o número de residentes por freguesia, constata-se que em Viseu a exposição da população à inalação de fumo é elevada, uma vez que todas as freguesias foram afetadas várias vezes entre os anos 2005 e 2015, no mínimo 8 vezes ao longo destes 10 anos em estudo.

Organotypic slice cultures have been widely used to model brain disorders and are considered excellent platforms for evaluating a drug's neuroprotective and therapeutic potential. Organotypic slices are prepared from explanted tissue and represent a complex multicellular ex vivo environment. They preserve the three-dimensional cytoarchitecture and local environment of brain cells, maintain the neuronal connectivity and the neuron-glia reciprocal interaction. Hippocampal organotypic slices are considered suitable to explore the basic mechanisms of epileptogenesis, but clinical research and animal models of epilepsy have suggested that the rhinal cortex, composed of perirhinal and entorhinal cortices, play a relevant role in seizure generation. Here, we describe the preparation of rhinal cortex-hippocampus organotypic slices. Recordings of spontaneous activity from the CA3 area under perfusion with complete growth medium, at physiological temperature and in the absence of pharmacological manipulations, showed that these slices depict evolving epileptic-like events throughout time in culture. Increased cell death, through propidium iodide uptake assay, and gliosis, assessed with fluorescence-coupled immunohistochemistry, was also observed. The experimental approach presented highlights the value of rhinal cortex-hippocampus organotypic slice cultures as a platform to study the dynamics and progression of epileptogenesis and to screen potential therapeutic targets for this brain pathology.

Clinical guidelines are “statements that include recommendations, intended to optimize patient care, that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options”. Clinical guidelines are increasingly becoming a part of neurology clinical practice, most probably because they may improve patient clinical outcomes. Methods and strategies intended to increase guideline availability include electronic and computable guidelines integrated into process-oriented information systems with clinical decision support tools. The increased availability and the possibility of continuous update (living guidelines) will likely contribute to promoting compliance with guideline recommendations and to the overarching success of guidelines in improving the quality of care in the near future.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected patients with cancer show worse outcomes compared with patients without cancer. The humoral immune response (HIR) of patients with cancer against SARS-CoV-2 is not well characterized. To better understand it, we conducted a serological study of hospitalized patients with cancer infected with SARS-CoV-2. Materials and methods: This was a unicentric, retrospective study enrolling adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 admitted to a central hospital from March 15 to June 17, 2020, whose serum samples were quantified for anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain or spike protein IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies. The aims of the study were to assess the HIR to SARS-CoV-2; correlate it with different cancer types, stages, and treatments; clarify the interplay between the HIR and clinical outcomes of patients with cancer; and compare the HIR of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with and without cancer. Results: We included 72 SARS-CoV-2-positive subjects (19 with cancer, 53 controls). About 90% of controls revealed a robust serological response. Among patients with cancer, a strong response was verified in 57.9%, with 42.1% showing a persistently weak response. Treatment with chemotherapy within 14 days before positivity was the only factor statistically shown to be associated with persistently weak serological responses among patients with cancer. No significant differences in outcomes were observed between patients with strong and weak responses. All IgG, IgM, IgA, and total Ig antibody titers were significantly lower in patients with cancer compared with those without. Conclusion: A significant portion of patients with cancer develop a proper HIR. Recent chemotherapy treatment may be associated with weak serological responses among patients with cancer. Patients with cancer have a weaker SARS-CoV-2 antibody response compared with those without cancer. Implications for practice: These results place the spotlight on patients with cancer, particularly those actively treated with chemotherapy. These patients may potentially be more vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, so it is important to provide oncologists further theoretical support (with concrete examples and respective mechanistic correlations) for the decision of starting, maintaining, or stopping antineoplastic treatments (particularly chemotherapy) not only on noninfected but also on infected patients with cancer in accordance with cancer type, stage and prognosis, treatment agents, treatment setting, and SARS-CoV-2 infection risks.