Study of the urban heat island (UHI) using remote sensing data/techniques: a systematic review.

Urban Heat Islands (UHI) consist of the occurrence of higher temperatures in urbanized areas when compared to rural areas. During the warmer seasons, this effect can lead to thermal discomfort, higher energy consumption, and aggravated pollution effects. The application of Remote Sensing (RS) data/techniques using thermal sensors onboard satellites, drones, or aircraft, allow for the estimation of Land Surface Temperature (LST). This article presents a systematic review of publications in Scopus andWeb of Science (WOS) on UHI analysis using RS data/techniques and LST, from 2000 to 2020. The selection of articles considered keywords, title, abstract, and when deemed necessary, the full text. The process was conducted by two independent researchers and 579 articles, published in English, were selected. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed. Cfa climate areas are the most represented, as the Northern Hemisphere concentrates the most studied areas, especially in Asia (69.94%); Landsat products were the most applied to estimates LST (68.39%) and LULC (55.96%); ArcGIS (30.74%) was most used software for data treatment, and correlation (38.69%) was the most applied statistic technique. There is an increasing number of publications, especially from 2016, and the transversality of UHI studies corroborates the relevance of this topic.This work was funded by National Funds through the FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology and FEDER, under the projects UIDB/04683/2020 and PT2020 Program for financial support to CIMO UIDB/00690/2020. This work was funded by National Funds through the FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology and FEDER, under the projects UIDB/04683/2020 and PT2020 Program for financial support to CIMO UIDB/00690/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Remote sensing image-based analysis of the urban heat island effect in Bragança, Portugal

Urban Heat Islands increase surface temperatures which impact the health and well-being of urban populations. Radiative forcing is impacted by changes to the land surface associated with urbanization that are particularly significant immediately after sunset. This paper aimed to analyze the behavior of UHI in different Local Climate Zones (LCZ) in Bragança city (Portugal), using Air Temperature (Ta), satellite images (Landsat 8), and on-site data. The methodology included a seasonal approach, integrating data with different scales (spatial, radiometric, and spectral) and qualitative and quantitative analyses. Google Earth Engine (GEE) optimized the processing time and computation requirement to generate the Land Surface Temperature (LST) maps. The integration of data with different scales corroborated the complementation of information/analysis and detected the correlation between the Ta and LST. However, the identification of the UHI was compromised due to the time of the passage of Landsat 8, and it was identified as the Urban Cool Island (UCI), a complementary effect of UHI, supporting the results of previous studies and for the use of Remote Sensing (RS) for thermal effects analysis.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER for financial support through national funds under the projects UIDB/04683/2020, FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Projeto cinoterapia: forma de intervenção nas necessidades de saúde especiais

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction as well as by restricted patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. In kynotherapy, a dog it acts as a facilitator of the therapeutic process. This pilot-project has as main objective to study the effectiveness of the  kynotherapy in the improvement of the behaviors of self-regulation, communication and socialization of children with ASD, in a school context. Of the pilot project, 16 children with a diagnosis of ASD, were evaluated in a preand post-intervention phase. In the control group the educational method of the Structured Teaching is the Treatment and Educacion of Autistic and Related Communications Handicapped Children (TEACH) model and in the experimental group the educational method is the same, however with there is the support of a dog during the 40 sessions, that have the duration of 30 minutes. In the experimental group, it is expected significant improvements in the measures of irritability and hyperactivity, as well as in the processes of socialization, social cognition and social communication.A Perturbação do Espectro do Autismo (PEA) é uma perturbação neurodesenvolvimental caraterizada por défices persistentes na comunicação social e na interação social e por padrões restritos de comportamentos, interesses e atividades. A cinoterapia pode ser definida como uma terapia assistida pelo cão, em que o mesmo exerce a função de facilitador do processo terapêutico. O principal objetivo deste projeto é verificar a eficácia da cinoterapia na melhoria dos comportamentos de autorregulação, comunicação e socialização de crianças com PEA, em contexto escolar. Participam 16 crianças com diagnóstico de PEA, que foram avaliadas numa fase pré e pós intervenção. No grupo de controlo o método educativo da Unidades de Ensino Estruturado para a Educação de Alunos com Perturbações do Espetro do Autismo é o modelo Treatment and Educacion of Autistic and Related Communications Handicapped Children (TEACH) e no grupo experimental o método educativo é o mesmo, con tudo com o apoio do cão ao longo das 40 sessões que têm a duração de 30 minutos. No grupo experimental espera-se que existam melhorias significativas nas medidas de irritabilidade e hiperatividade, nos processos de socialização, cognição social e na comunicação social

A LCT pegmatite spectral library of the aldeia spodumene deposit: contributes to mineral exploration

Several methodologies can be employed in the prospection of Lithium (Li) in hard-rock (pegmatites). Spectrometry analysis, a Remote Sensing (RS) technique, can be applied to understand the surface spectral response of a sample, both to identify the rock-forming or alteration minerals in its composition and to validate the data collected in situ (by sensors onboard satellites/drones, for example). This paper aims to make available for public use the information acquired on the spectral composition of rock samples from the Barroso pegmatite field in Portugal, within the scope of the INOVMINERAL4.0 project. As a result, a spectral library was created with 47 spectra, collected from 11 different samples. All data is made available in a universal format, thus contributing to open science, corroborating the validation of local spectral data, and stimulating the creation of other databases, in other locations.The authors acknowledge the support provided by Portuguese National Funds through the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (Portugal) projects UIDB/04683/2020 and UIDP/04683/2020 (Institute of Earth Sciences); through ANI and COMPETE 2020 as well as European funds through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with POCI-01-0247-FEDER- 046083 INOVMINERAL project. The authors also thank Savannah Resources PLC for access to the Aldeia pegmatite and for providing the samples used in this study. Cátia Rodrigues de Almeida and Douglas Santos were financially supported by Portuguese national funds through FCT (Grant: PRT/BD/153518/2021, Grant: UI/BD/154412/2023, respectively).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Padronização da conferência de materiais, equipamentos e medicamentos de emergência nas unidades de saúde de Ribeirão Preto / Standardization of emergency materials, equipment and medicine conference in health units of Ribeirao Preto

Introdução: A assistência às urgências e emergências tem impacto na atenção à saúde e nos indicadores de morbimortalidade. A montagem, conferência e manutenção do carro de emergência pode ser um problema periódico na assistência às emergências. O objetivo deste estudo é descrever a experiência de padronização da conferência do carro/caixa de emergência, com a finalidade de garantir o funcionamento adequado do monitor/desfibrilador e a manutenção do controle dos materiais e medicamentos padronizados. Método: Estudo descritivo, do tipo relato de experiência, acerca da padronização da conferência do carro/caixa de urgência nas Unidades de Saúde da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde – SMS de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil. Resultados e discussão: Foi realizado o diagnóstico dos materiais e medicamentos de emergência e da conferência destes, posteriormente houve reuniões da equipe para estabelecer os materiais, medicamentos e equipamentos necessários para cada modelo de assistência. Também foram adquiridos materiais não padronizados e elaborado o Procedimento Operacional Padrão – POP Conferência de carro/caixa de urgência, que descreve e sistematiza as ações de conferência diária e mensal. O processo realizado possibilitou prestação de assistência padronizada e em conformidade com parâmetros técnico-científicos instituídos e acatados pela comunidade científica. Conclusão: A padronização dos materiais de urgência e emergência e a elaboração do POP com os “check lists” possibilitaram nortear a reorganização do processo do atendimento de urgência e emergência nas diversas unidades de saúde da rede, desencadeando movimento de mudança na prática de saúde, contribuindo para aprimorar normas e rotinas na assistência

Microglia dysfunction caused by the loss of Rhoa disrupts neuronal physiology and leads to neurodegeneration

© 2020 The Author(s). Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)Nervous tissue homeostasis requires the regulation of microglia activity. Using conditional gene targeting in mice, we demonstrate that genetic ablation of the small GTPase Rhoa in adult microglia is sufficient to trigger spontaneous microglia activation, producing a neurological phenotype (including synapse and neuron loss, impairment of long-term potentiation [LTP], formation of β-amyloid plaques, and memory deficits). Mechanistically, loss of Rhoa in microglia triggers Src activation and Src-mediated tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production, leading to excitotoxic glutamate secretion. Inhibiting Src in microglia Rhoa-deficient mice attenuates microglia dysregulation and the ensuing neurological phenotype. We also find that the Rhoa/Src signaling pathway is disrupted in microglia of the APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer disease and that low doses of Aβ oligomers trigger microglia neurotoxic polarization through the disruption of Rhoa-to-Src signaling. Overall, our results indicate that disturbing Rho GTPase signaling in microglia can directly cause neurodegeneration.The authors acknowledge the support of the following i3S Scientific Platforms: Animal Facility, Translational Cytometry Unit (TraCy), BioSciences Screening (BS) and Advanced Light Microscopy (ALM), and members of the national infrastructure PPBI-Portuguese Platform of BioImaging (supported by POCI-01–0145-FEDER-022122). FCT Portugal ( PTDC/MED-NEU/31318/2017-031318 ) supported work in the J.B.R. lab. FCT Portugal , PEst ( UID/NEU/04539/2013 ), COMPETE-FEDER ( POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440 ), Centro 2020 Regional Operational Programme ( CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000008 : BrainHealth 2020), and Strategic Project UIDB/04539/2020 and UIDP/04539/2020 (CIBB) supported work in the A.F.A. lab. C.C.P. and R.S. hold employment contracts financed by national funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P.) in the context of the program contract described in paragraphs 4, 5, and 6 of article 23 of law no. 57/2016, of August 29th, as amended by law no. 57/2017 of July 19th.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Checklist of the dipterofauna (Insecta) from Roraima, Brazil, with special reference to the Brazilian Ecological Station of Maracá

Roraima is a Brazilian state located in the northern portion of the Amazon basin, with few studies regarding its biodiversity. The Ecological Station of Maracá (Brazil, state of Roraima) harbors the third largest Brazilian pluvial island and is composed of a transitional landscape of savanna and Amazon rainforest components. Despite its ecological importance and strategic localization, few studies covered the dipterofauna of this locality. An updated checklist addressing 41 families of true flies (Diptera) occurring in Roraima is presented based on the literature and the specimens collected during a field expedition that occurred in 2015. This checklist brings several improvements such as new records of 165 taxa to the state of Roraima, 29 taxa to Brazil, and 259 morphotypes, mostly likely representing undescribed species

Study of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Using Remote Sensing Data/Techniques: A Systematic Review

Urban Heat Islands (UHI) consist of the occurrence of higher temperatures in urbanized areas when compared to rural areas. During the warmer seasons, this effect can lead to thermal discomfort, higher energy consumption, and aggravated pollution effects. The application of Remote Sensing (RS) data/techniques using thermal sensors onboard satellites, drones, or aircraft, allow for the estimation of Land Surface Temperature (LST). This article presents a systematic review of publications in Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) on UHI analysis using RS data/techniques and LST, from 2000 to 2020. The selection of articles considered keywords, title, abstract, and when deemed necessary, the full text. The process was conducted by two independent researchers and 579 articles, published in English, were selected. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed. Cfa climate areas are the most represented, as the Northern Hemisphere concentrates the most studied areas, especially in Asia (69.94%); Landsat products were the most applied to estimates LST (68.39%) and LULC (55.96%); ArcGIS (30.74%) was most used software for data treatment, and correlation (38.69%) was the most applied statistic technique. There is an increasing number of publications, especially from 2016, and the transversality of UHI studies corroborates the relevance of this topic

Novas perspetivas terapêuticas no combate ao melanoma

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2015O melanoma cutâneo é o tipo de cancro de pele mais agressivo e que apresenta maiores taxas de mortalidade, sendo responsável por aproximadamente 75% das mortes por cancro da pele. Quando o seu diagnóstico é precoce e a remoção adequada, o melanoma é potencialmente curável. No entanto, em estadios avançados, como o melanoma metastático, a mortalidade é elevada, em parte devido à falta de opções terapêuticas eficazes. Embora nas últimas décadas o conhecimento sobre a biologia das células cancerígenas tenha tido grandes progressos, os resultados terapêuticos não sofreram grandes alterações. Este facto deve-se não só às reações adversas, mas também às reduzidas concentrações de fármaco no microambiente tumoral e ao desenvolvimento de resistências. Até 2011, os únicos fármacos aprovados pela Food and Drug Administration (FDA), para o tratamento do melanoma metastático, eram doses elevadas de Interleucina-2 (IL-1) e a Dacarbazina, ambos com taxas de resposta entre 10-20%. Contudo, o reconhecimento de que o melanoma se trata de uma doença geneticamente heterogénea, permitiu que consideráveis avanços terapêuticos fossem feitos nos últimos 5 anos, com a aprovação de anticorpos bloqueadores de checkpoints imunológicos, como o Ipilimumab, e, simultaneamente, terapêuticas molecularmente dirigidas, como o Vemurafenib. Embora estas novas abordagens sejam promissoras continuam a apresentar limitações na prática clínica uma vez que as taxas de resposta são baixas e a sua duração é curta. Com o objetivo de ultrapassar estas limitações surgiram, recentemente, combinações terapêuticas associando fármacos com alvos terapêuticos distintos. Assim, esta revisão pretende abordar alguns dos fármacos atualmente disponíveis no tratamento do melanoma e os que se encontram em desenvolvimento para terapêuticas futuras