As neurociências ao serviço da linguagem

Human language, with the emergence of the Cognitive Sciences, contributes so decisively to the opening of the interdisciplinary area which is already transversely considered, the Neurosciences. All that concerns the processing of language information occupies now its own space in the exploitation and the interpretation of several ongoing processes, namely the acquisition and the learning, as well as processes involving injuries of the language. The brain is the center of interpretation which allows any researcher, from now on, to deepen and to understand the origin of such complex systems like, for example, reading and discourse. The present discussion should contribute to the debate of the theoretical and methodological foundations of language neuro-functional organization in the brain as well to the study of language teachin

The effect of government budget on Portuguese stock market

Government budget reflects a prevision of future expenses and revenues which will predict the economic and financial situation of the country. This paper studies the effect of the publication, approval and actions inside the Portuguese government budget on the stock market performance of Portuguese companies. Additionally, the effects of presidential and legislative elections are also tested in the stock prices. The 46 companies represented in this study are listed on the Portuguese Stock Index between 1998 and 2013. I realize that a publication of government budget to the Parliament leads to a positive and significant return on the full sample results, basic materials and consumer services sector. The same sectors react in a positive way to periods of presidential elections. This study also provides a comparison between sectors. The consumer services sector reveals to be the more volatile sector before changes in the resources invested in each ministry. The consumer services sector is predominantly affected, in a negative way, by not rational expenses in the Ministry of Health. The financial sector has negative reactions on stock returns when the investment in the Ministry of Finance is reduced by the State

Green architecture and sustainability apllied on buildings evaluation systems for"blank" smart cities and "converted" smart cities

Tese de Doutoramento em Arquitetura, com a especialização em Tecnologias e Gestão da Construção apresentada na Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Doutora.O desenvolvimento sucessivo de Cidades Inteligentes pelo mundo, tem criado uma atitude negativa e prejudicial que resulta na dificuldade de atração de habitantes para estes espaços. As novas tecnologias não são suficientemente impulsionadoras para garantir uma taxa de adoção sustentável dentro destas novas cidades. O conceito de Cidades Inteligentes Climáticas visam resolver esta questão tendo em conta aspectos relacionados na base da habitabilidade e da sustentabilidade. Enquanto o papel da arquitetura nas Cidades Inteligentes Climáticas é ainda mais importante do que Cidades Inteligentes, os princípios que se encontram subjacentes na sua concepção e, em última instância, no seu sucesso, não foram ainda sistematicamente estudados e avaliadas. Este trabalho sistematiza e valida as necessidades de Cidades Inteligentes Climáticas e propõe um conjunto de princípios para a sua planificação, concepção e manutenção. As necessidades foram validadas com os casos de estudo da cidade de ‘Songdo City’ em Incheon, na Coreia do Sul, em Ulaanbaatar na Mongólia e em Minsk na Bielorrúsia. Com a definição dos princípios orientadores subjacentes à concepção de Cidades Inteligentes Climáticas, o quadro proposto permitirá que arquitetos, engenheiros, governos, e organizações internacionais afiram soluções a serem implementadas mundialmente. Estes princípios podem ser facilmente implementados em intervenções em cidades europeias, nas cidades emergentes e, em países subdesenvolvidos que estão sujeitos a um mau planeamento estratégico.ABSTRACT: Successive deployments of Smart Cities around the world are hindered by the difficulty in attracting a critical mass of inhabitants. New technology is not enough as a driver to guarantee a sustained adoption rate within the new cities. The concept of Climate Smart City aims at solving this issue by putting aspects related to liveability and sustainability at the centre. While the role of architecture in Climate Smart Cities is even more important than in Smart Cities, the principles that underlie their design and, ultimately, their success, have never been systematically studied and assessed. This research work systematises and validates the needs of Climate Smart Cities and then proposes a framework of principles for their planning, design and maintenance. The needs are validated with field studies of Songdo City in Incheon, South Korea, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Minsk, Belarus. By defining the guiding principles underlying the design of Climate Smart Cities, the proposed framework will also enable architects, engineers, decision-makers and, international organisations to benchmark the solutions to be implemented. These principles can be readily implemented in interventions planned for European cities, emerging cities and, underdeveloped cities subject to poorly strategic planning.N/

Decolonization in, of and through the archival “moving images” of artistic practice

This essay investigates the ways in which contemporary artistic practices have been working towards an epistemic and ethico-political decolonization of the present by means of critical examinations of several sorts of colonial archives, whether public or private, familial or anonymous. Through the lens of specific artworks by the artists Ângela Ferreira, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Délio Jasse, Daniel Barroca and Raquel Schefer, this essay examines the extent to which the aesthetics of these video, photographic and sculptural practices puts forth a politics and ethics of history and memory relevant to thinking critically about the colonial amnesias and imperial nostalgias which still pervade a post-colonial condition marked by neo-colonial patterns of globalization and by uneasy relationships with diasporic and migrant communities. Attention will be paid to the histories and memories of the Portuguese dictatorship and colonial empire, the liberation wars / the “colonial” war fought in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau between 1961 and 1974, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974, the independence of Portugal’s former colonies between 1973 and 1975, and the mass “return” of Portuguese settlers from Angola and Mozambique in 1975, without losing sight of apartheid South Africa and the ways in which the Cold War played out on the African continent

Estudo descritivo do efeito farmacológico da 4-aminopiridina na neuro-reabilitação funcional de paraplegias de grau 0 e 1 em cães

Orientação : Andreia Santos ; co-orientação : Ângela MartinsNa prática clínica, as paraplegias de grau 0 e 1 em cães, podem tornar-se limitativas, quando falamos de qualidade de vida. Atualmente, os protocolos de neuro-reabilitação funcional (NRF), têm como objetivo promover uma diminuição dos défices motores e sensoriais no bípede e quadrúpede. O conceito de NRF é amplo e pode apresentar uma abordagem farmacológica, uma vez que, o treino locomotor (TL) pode não ser suficiente para promover as propriedades intrínsecas da medula, tais como, a neuroplasticidade, a neuromodulação e a memorização. O presente estudo descritivo pretende avaliar o efeito farmacológico, da 4-aminopiridina (4-AP) recorrendo a um protocolo de 0,3 a 1,1 mg/Kg com aumentos graduais, na NRF, e foi composto por 9 cães, aos quais foram implementados os mesmos protocolos de NRF, tais como TL, estimulação elétrica e agentes farmacológicos. Os resultados mostraram que a associação farmacológica a uma NRF poderá promover e/ou melhorar a locomoção voluntária (LV) e/ou fictícia funcional (LFF) possivelmente através da ação, da remielinização neurológica, induzida pela 4-AP na ativação das propriedades intrínsecas da medula e dos geradores de padrão central (GPC). Com o estudo, a NRF na medicina veterinária pode evoluir acompanhando a evolução da neurociência da medicina humana, sendo que o autor propõe a continuação numa perspetiva futura.In terms of clinical practice, paraplegias of grade 0 and 1 can reproduce limitations to a dog's quality of life. Currently, the functional neuro-rehabilitation protocols aims to promote a reduction of the motor and sensory deficits in the biped and quadruped. The concept of functional neuro-rehabilitation is wide and may present a pharmacological approach, taking into consideration that locomotor training may not be sufficient to promote intrinsic spinal cord properties, such as: neuroplasticity, neuromodulation and memorization. The present study describes the pharmacological effect of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) using a protocol of 0.3 to 1.1 mg / kg with gradual increases in the NRF and was composed of 9 dogs, which were implemented the same NRF protocols, such as TL, electrical stimulation and pharmacological agents. The results showed that a pharmacological association with a functional neuro-rehabilitation can promote and / or improve voluntary locomotion and / or functional fictive locomotion possibly through the action of 4-aminopyridine induced neurological remyelination in the activation of the intrinsic properties of spinal cord and central pattern generators. With the study, the functional neuro-rehabilitation in veterinary medicine can evolve following the neuroscience evolution of human medicine, the author proposes the continuation in a future perspective

Laboratorio de objetos arquitectónicos proyectados y usados : una aproximación dialógica a la arquitectura

¿Dónde habita la comunicabilidad del objeto arquitectónico? Esta pregunta aparentemente sencilla exige una respuesta de gran complejidad. Indiscutiblemente, la comunicabilidad se materializa en la encrucijada entre el proyecto y el uso. Y en la satisfacción de estas dos premisas fundamentales de la arquitectura, con mayor o menor acierto, estará el grado de comunicabilidad del objeto arquitectónico. Pero ¿cuáles son los elementos responsables de construir esta comunicabilidad? ¿Hasta qué punto puede controlar el arquitecto estos elementos y garantizar la comunicabilidad deseada? El compromiso de realizar un proyecto arquitectónico coherente con el mensaje que se quiera transmitir es muy complejo, porque depende de una comprensión profunda, por parte del arquitecto, de los factores que intervienen en el proceso creativo proyectual y en la relación posterior con el entorno y con el usuario.Peer Reviewe

Emotional contexts and empathic responses-what can we expect from the chimpanzee?

Tese de mestrado, Biologia (Biologia Evolutiva e do Desenvolvimento), 2009, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de CiênciasResumo alargado em português disponível no documentoAs social species, mechanisms of social cohesion must exist to secure the harmony within the group and defence of the survival of the kind. Empathy could have emerged to answer just that: an internal mechanism allowing the embodiement of emotions that ensures the efficient contagion of emotional states for the synchrony of individuals within the group. Even though understanding the actions and emotions of others is a pragmatic need of social animals, the study of empathy remained crippled through many years due to the erroneous idea of human exclusivity. The new tools brought by psychological, behavioural and neural sciences not only make it possible, but urge the redefinition of many abilities we thought until now to be exclusive to man. The present study reviews what we know so far regarding the study of empathy, and presents behavioural work towards the systematic approach to the phenomenon. With the purpose of inferring on the existence of emotional empathy in chimpanzees, presenting a method of systematic data collection and investigating further into the empathic process, the present study was carried out for the course of four months in South Africa, at Jane Goodall's Institute sanctuary, Chimp Eden. Behavioural sampling was carried out to register empathy triggers and group scans were conducted in order to obtain measures of Relationship Quality and Proximity and ascertain their possible relation to the empathic response. The present study presents results that support the existence of empathy in chimpanzees and proposes the next steps in the systematic study of the phenomenon, either in laboratory or wild conditions

In Vitro Anti-Candida Activity of Lidocaine and Nitroglycerin: Alone and Combined

The aim of this work was to study the anti-Candida activity of lidocaine and nitroglycerin alone and in combination. Ten Candida strains were included, corresponding to 1 collection type strain (ATCC 10231) and 9 clinical isolates: 4 C. albicans, 2 C. glabrata, 1 C. tropicalis, 1 C. krusei, and 1 C. parapsilosis. The CLSI reference M27-A3 micromethod was used to determine the anti-Candida activity of the drugs alone; minimal inhibitory and lethal concentrations were determined. The classic checkboard technique was used to determine the activity of combined drugs. Lidocaine fungicidal effect was dosedependent. Nitroglycerin exhibited a higher effect. The drugs combination resulted in a reduction of the inhibitory concentration, corresponding to an additive effect. In conclusion, both drugs exhibited an interesting anti-Candida activity. The combination of lidocaine with nitroglycerin was shown to have an additive effect against Candida spp., predicting the interest to include, in the future, these drugs in a new delivery system for the treatment of mucocutaneous candidosis

Perfil nutricional de crianças internadas na enfermaria geral de pediatria do Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Departamento de Pediatria, Curso de Medicina, Florianópolis, 200