RCAAP Repository

Landslides are well-known for their destructive capacity; however, risk only exists if an interaction with people, activities, structures and infrastructures occurs. When landslides affect roads and potential human losses, both road damage and road disruption can cause significant economic losses. Therefore, in the framework of spatial planning, civil protection, emergency and risk management and the evaluation of road network landslide exposure is necessary. The primary goal of this work is to assess the present road network exposure to deep-seated and shallow slides at the Grande da Pipa River basin (North of Lisbon region, Portugal), an area naturally prone to geomorphological hazards. Our approach to assessing road network exposure is sustained by two different dataset inputs: (i) three landslide susceptibility maps and (ii) one road network map. The susceptibility to landslides, computed with the Information Value method and validated with success and prediction rate curves, as well as with the estimation of the area under the curves, was individually assessed for deep-seated rotational, shallow rotational and shallow translational slides. The road network exposure to each landslide type resulted from the intersection between the two top landslide susceptibility classes and the classified road network according to its rank, allowing the critical road sections to be identified. The road network is mainly exposed to deep-seated rotational slides. However, the other landslide types can also disrupt the road functionality and affect residents and economic activities.

The following report presents findings from a scoping review of the literature and a series of expert interviews carried out between April and December 2021. The purpose of both the scoping review and the interviews was to gain an overview of recent practice in participatory governance, looking at initiatives across Europe over the past decade. By participatory governance, we refer to participatory forms of political decision-making used to improve the quality of democracy (Geißel 2009, cited in Heinelt 2019). More specifically, we were interested in understanding whether and how efforts at institutionalisation and rapid digitalisation are facilitating deeper embedding of participatory governance within politics and policymaking, by identifying and analysing innovations, new insights, and persistent barriers. Furthermore, we examined what efforts are being made to include disempowered people within analogue and digital spaces, how certain groups continue to be excluded, and which strategies are being adopted to deepen inclusion.

The incidence of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is increasing and the therapeutic arsenal available to fight it is insufficient. Brain metastases, in particular, represent a major challenge for chemotherapy as the impermeable nature of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) prevents most drugs from targeting cells in the brain. For their ability to transpose biological membranes and transport a broad spectrum of bioactive cargoes, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been hailed as ideal candidates to deliver drugs across biological barriers. A more ambitious approach is to have the CPP as a drug itself, capable of both killing cancer cells and interacting with the blood/brain interface, therefore blocking the onset of brain metastases. vCPP2319, a viral protein-derived CPP, has both properties as it: (a) is selective toward human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) and increases cell stiffness compared to breast epithelial cells (MCF 10A) hindering the progression of metastases; and (b) adsorbs at the surface of human brain endothelial cells potentially counteracting metastatic cells from reaching the brain. Overall, the results reveal the selective anticancer activity of the peptide vCPP2319, which is also able to reside at the blood–brain interface, therefore counteracting brain penetration by metastatic cancer cells.

Background: Engaging in physical activity increases energy expenditure, reducing total body fat. Time spent in sedentary behaviours is associated with overweight and obesity, and adequate sleep duration is associated with improved body composition. This systematic review aimed to analyse the relationship between compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines and obesity indicators in toddlers, children and adolescents. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched from inception to December 2021. Cross-sectional and prospective studies that analysed the relationship between 24-h movement guidelines and overweight and obesity written in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish were included. PROSPERO registration number is CRD42022298316. Results: The associations between meeting the 24-h movement guidelines and standardised body mass index were null in the two studies for toddlers. Seven studies analysed the relationship between compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines and overweight and obesity among preschool children. Of these seven studies, six found no association between compliance with 24-h movement guidelines and body composition. Among children and adolescents, 15 articles were analysed. Of these 15 studies, in seven, it was found that children and adolescents who meet the 24-h movement guidelines were more likely to have lower risks of overweight and obesity. The meta-analysis yielded a pooled OR = 0.80 (95% CI = 0.68 to 0.95, p = 0.012, I2 = 70.5%) in favour of compliant participants. Regarding participants' age groups, compliance with 24-h movement guidelines seems to exert greater benefits on overweight and obesity indicators among children-adolescents (OR = 0.62, p = 0.008) compared to participants at preschool (OR = 1.00, p = 0.931) and toddlers (OR = 0.91, p = 0.853). Conclusion: Most included studies have not observed a significant relationship between compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines and overweight and obesity in toddlers, children and adolescents.

Background: Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is the second most common cause of cognitive impairment worldwide and includes a spectrum from vascular cognitive impairment no dementia (VCIND) to vascular dementia (VaD). There is no specific pharmacological treatment approved for VCI. Physical activity has been indicated to be a promising preventive measure for cognition, with direct as indirectly benefits, while improving several modifiable vascular risk factors, so potentially effective when considering VCI. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review with a meta-analysis approaching the potential preventive role of physical activity on VCI. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in 7 databases. A total of 6786 studies were screened and assessed for eligibility, culminating in the inclusion of 9 observational prospective studies assessing physical activity impact irrespectively the type for quality assessment and qualitative and quantitative synthesis. Quantitative synthesis was performed using the reported adjusted HRs. Physical activity was handled as a dichotomous variable, with two groups created (high versus low physical activity). Subgroup analyses were done for risk of bias, VaD and length of follow-up. Results: There was considerable methodological heterogeneity across studies. Only three studies reported significant associations. The overall effect was statistically significant (HR 0.68, 95%CI 0.54-0.86, I2 6.8%), with higher levels of physical activity associated with a smaller risk of VCI overtime, particularly VaD. Conclusions: These findings suggest that physical activity is a potential preventive factor for vascular dementia. Insufficient data is available on VCIND. Randomized studies are desired to confirm these results.

Portugal tem um problema crónico de subfinanciamento da investigação científica. Apesar do investimento nacional ter vindo a aumentar nos últimos anos, este ainda é manifestamente insuficiente. A Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) financia anualmente projetos de investigação em todas as áreas científicas, limitando o valor máximo a €250 000 por projeto. Todavia, a área científica na qual a investigação clínica está incluída – “Clinical Medicine, Immunology and Infection” – financia maioritariamente projetos de matriz translacional e não tem por norma apoiar ensaios clínicos (EC) ou estudos multicêntricos epidemiológicos e de coorte da iniciativa do investigador, área onde o financiamento é hoje em dia praticamente inexistente, mesmo para estudos clínicos exploratórios e proof-of-concept. É importante salientar que o potencial de retorno do investimento em ensaios clínicos é enorme. Em Portugal, por cada €1 investido em ensaios clínicos obtém-se em média um retorno de €1,99, isto é, um retorno de praticamente 200%.

Background: Renal denervation (RDN) has emerged in recent years as a possible treatment for hypertension. The first sham-controlled trial showed a small magnitude and non-significant in the blood pressure (BP) lowering effect, also due to a substantial decrease of BP in sham arm. Considering this, we aimed to quantify the magnitude of BP decrease within the sham arm of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) with RDN in patients with hypertension. Methods: Electronic databases were searched since inception until January 2022 for randomized sham-controlled trials which assessed the efficacy in lowering BP of the sham intervention for catheter-based RDN in adult patients with hypertension. The outcomes were change in ambulatory/office systolic and diastolic BP. Results: A total of 9 RCT were included in the analysis enrolling a total of 674 patients. Sham intervention showed a decrease in all evaluated outcomes. Office systolic BP had a reduction of -5.52 mmHg [95%CI -7.91, -3.13] and office diastolic BP of -2.13 mmHg [95%CI -3.08, -1.17]. Sham procedure for RDN also showed a reduction of -3.41 mmHg [95%CI -5.08, -1.75] in ambulatory systolic BP and - 2.44 mmHg [95%CI -3.31, -1.57] in ambulatory diastolic BP. Conclusion: Despite recent data indicating that RDN might be an effective treatment for patients with resistant hypertension when compared to a sham intervention, our results indicate that the sham intervention for RDN also has a significant effect on lowering Office and Ambulatory (24-h) Blood Pressure in adult patients with hypertension. This highlights that BP itself might be sensitive to placebo-like effect and also brings further difficulties in establishing the BP lowering efficacy of invasive interventions due to the magnitude of the sham effect.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is an acute clinical manifestation ischaemic heart disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide. Infections also have an important burden worldwide, with lower respiratory infections being the worldwide leading cause of death due to communicable diseases. The relationship of MI with viral respiratory infections (including influenza and SARS-CoV-2) as a trigger has been well documented with significant associations. These infections can lead to Type 1 MI, where inflammation and vascular dysfunction, as well as the increased prothrombotic environment lead to atherothrombosis. Type 2 MI may also occur due to an imbalance of oxygen/blood supply and myocardial demand (hypoxaemia, fever, and tachycardia). The data from randomized controlled trials showing a potential benefit of influenza vaccination in coronary artery disease patients should not be ignored. This can be considered a further argument for the association of viral infections (influenza in particular) and MI.

The quality of online survey data is sometimes seen as inferior compared to probabilistic face-to-face surveys. Extending existing research beyond the commonly studied cases, we analyse six European countries, comparing data from a representative online survey fielded for the 2019 EP elections to the European Social Survey 9 and EB 91.5. We assess the effects of survey mode in terms of representativeness compared to validated benchmarks, as well as with inferences about party identification and vote choice. While we do find some differences in the marginal distributions compared to sociodemographic and electoral benchmarks, the inferential models when using online survey data as compared to face-to-face surveys are not substantially different.

We investigated the impactof microsatellite instability (MSI) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status in gastric cancer (GC), regarding response to perioperative chemotherapy (POPChT), overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS). We included 137 cases of operated GC, 51 of which were submitted to POPChT. MSI status was determined by multiplex PCR and EBV status by EBV-encoded RNA in situ hybridization. Thirty-seven (27%) cases presented as MSI-high, and seven (5.1%) were EBV+. Concerning tumor regression after POPChT, no differences were observed between the molecular subtypes, but females were more likely to respond (p = 0.062). No significant differences were found in OS or PFS between different subtypes. In multivariate analysis, age (HR 1.02, IC 95% 1.002-1.056, p = 0.033) and positive lymph nodes (HR 1.82, IC 95% 1.034-3.211, p = 0.038) were the only prognostic factors for OS. However, females with MSI-high tumors treated with POPChT demonstrated a significantly increased OS compared to females with MSS tumors (p = 0.031). In conclusion, we found a high proportion of MSI-high cases. MSI and EBV status did not influence OS or PFS either in patients submitted to POPChT or surgery alone. However, superior survival of females with MSI-high tumors suggests that sex disparities and molecular classification may influence treatment options in GC.

Este trabalho de projecto foca-se na formação de adultos pouco escolarizados, no âmbito do processo de Reconhecimento, Validação e Certificação de Competências de nível secundário, e especificamente, nas actividades dos formadores dos Formadores de RVC. A primeira parte consiste essencialmente na revisão da leitura focalizada na perspectiva histórica das principais tendências das políticas educativas de adultos pouco escolarizados, a nível internacional e a nível nacional, para melhor compreensão dos princípios orientadores da educação dos dias de hoje e das actividades profissionais emergentes com principal focalização no papel dos Formadores de RVC. A segunda parte centra-se nas minhas experiências pessoais e profissionais na área da formação de adultos, na minha experiência enquanto Profissional de Reconhecimento e Validação de Competências (RVC) e no meu conhecimento sobre as funções dos Formadores de RVC. Na terceira parte, será apresentado o trabalho empírico. Este trabalho foi realizado numa tentativa de conhecer as estratégias ou técnicas utilizadas, na prática, pelos formadores do RVC para motivar e estimular para os adultos para a reflexão sobre as suas aprendizagens de vida. Será apresentado um diagnóstico resultante da informação recolhida e analisada e, por fim, um plano de intervenção com orientações que poderá se útil para o desempenho dos formadores de RVC.

Koutsakos et al. have recently published an article showing that SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection results in robust naïve and memory T cell activation, and the activity of CD8 T cells strongly correlates with viral clearance.

A 14‐year‐old girl is admitted in the emergency room for fever, cough, and dyspnea (oxygen saturation of 82%). Analytically she presented (Table 1). The polymerase chain reaction was negative for influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus and positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. Blood, bronchial secretions, and urine cultures were negative.

A investigação é iterativa e depende de perguntas cada vez mais complexas ou novas, cujas respostas, por sua vez, desenvolvem perguntas ou linhas de investigação adicionais em qualquer campo.

A informação possui várias dimensões de valor, inclusive como mercadoria, como meio de educação, de influência, de negociação e de compreensão do mundo. Interesses jurídicos, políticos e socioeconómicos influenciam a produção e disseminação da informação.

A informação pode ser produzida e transmitida sob qualquer formato ou método. O processo iterativo de pesquisar, criar, rever e divulgar informação varia e o produto resultante reflete essas diferenças.

Os recursos de informação refletem a experiência e a credibilidade dos seus criadores e são avaliados com base na necessidade de informação e no contexto em que a informação será usada. A autoridade é construída na medida em que várias comunidades podem reconhecer diferentes tipos de autoridade. É contextual na medida em que a necessidade de informação pode ajudar a determinar o nível de autoridade necessário.

In defense of the School Library as a cultural center of the school and a space for mediation between it and external institutions such as Museums and Art Centers, a framework is made based on successful experiences and documents that guide the structures involved. A small list of articulation activities carried out with Museums and Art Centers, between 2014 and 2020, is presented as an argument for the idea presented, with special focus on a large project of two 2nd year classes at Escola Básica António Torrado, Cascais, developed with the Educational Service of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in the academic year 2015-2016. Then, the action research project with fieldwork divided into two school groups, during the academic year 2021-2022, is exposed at the Escola Básica José Jorge Letria School Library, Agrupamento de Escolas da Cidadela, in Cascais. The project focuses on the use of the School Library collection as a cultural object and the creation of new artistic objects (books, illustration, dance) from its collection, rich in traditional literary heritage. Subsequently, a work proposal is made to continue to develop articulation projects within the scope of Art Education with the School Library, on a triangular basis Library - Gallery - Workshop.

Abstract: Aerial frames and satellite imagery are widely recognized data sources from which to produce maps. For volcanoes, maps enable the quantification of erupted ash and the destruction caused. The last eruptive sequence on Deception Island was endured from 1967 to 1970. Analogue maps were produced via classical photogrammetric methods with a high degree of human intervention mainly to analyse the volcanic-centres areas only. However, historical aerial frames cover the whole of Deception Island. Structure from motion photogrammetry, a near-automated compilation of digital image processing strategies, minimizes the degree of human intervention to produce orthographic mosaics and digital elevation models from digital aerial frames. Orthographic mosaics were produced from historical aerial frames of 1956 and 1968, and a Kompsat-3 image of 2020. Their shared rootmean-square deviation was 1.8 m and 1.7 m in easting and northing, respectively, at ground control points measured with phase-differential global navigation satellite systems. The digital elevation models were processed with a root-mean-square deviation of 2.3 m and 3.6 m from 1956 and 1968 aerial frames, respectively. As the first application, erupted ashfall and the subsequent destruction, mainly at the former Chilean and British bases, were identified, and the volume of erupted ash was assessed to be over 0.16 km3 within the area mapped by these new digital cartographic products.

Background Coastal areas in Guinea-Bissau and elsewhere in West Africa are bordered by mangrove forests. In several of these places, swaths of mangrove forest have been removed and the landscape has been technologically adapted for the production of mangrove rice–a regionally important staple. However, the effects of global warming, in particular sea-level rise, pose challenges to these socioecological environments. In this context, knowledge appears as an important resource and knowing what knowledge has been produced and which perspectives have guided that production may inform future responses to climate change. We have developed a systematic literature review protocol focusing on the main question: “How have mangrove forest and mangrove rice spaces been represented in the literature on Guinea-Bissau?” The main hypothesis is that although they occupy contiguous, interrelated and interactant spaces in coastal environments, mangrove forests and mangrove rice have been studied and analyzed independently in the literature. Methods This is a protocol for conducting a systematic review that will include academic and non-academic literature in Portuguese, English and French. The academic literature will be retrieved from both Web of Science and Scopus using Boolean expressions. The non-academic literature will be accessed from relevant institutions, specialized libraries, and reference lists of previously selected items. Data extraction will follow a standard procedure based on an information sheet. Our analysis will be both qualitative (inductive and deductive coding, content analysis) and quantitative (word clouds, descriptive statistics and statistical testing). Discussion This systematic review will provide information about the conceptual framework that has been produced through research, policymaking, and conservation and development programs in the management of coastal areas. This study will identify the limitations of previous approaches and contribute to both future research and strategies for planning adaptation to climate change. Finally, the outputs will add to broader debates about people-nature coexistence and climate change adaptation and mitigation.