A note from the editors and the guest editor

PEst-OE/EAT/UI0693/2014 SFRH/BPD/79759/2011publishersversionpublishe

Teología africana para tiempos de crisis. Cristianismo y reconstrucción de África. [Reseña]

Reseña de KA MANA, Teología africana para tiempos de crisis. Cristianismo y reconstrucción de África, Verbo Divino, Estella (Navarra) 2000, 216 pp., 14*22, ISBN 84-8169-420-

Vivir en libertad. Las teologías de la liberación del continente asiático. [Reseña]

Reseña de Michael AMALADOSS, Vivir en libertad. Las teologías de la liberación del contienente asiático, Verbo Divino, Estella, Navarra 2000, 263 pp., 14*22, ISBN 84-8169-364-

A cosumaçao do homem e do mundo. [Reseña]

Reseña de Maria Manuela CARVALHO, A cosumaçao do homem e do mundo. Universidad Católica Edistora ("Colecçao Estudios Teológicos"), Lisboa 2002, 212 pp., 15*23, ISBN 972-54-0033-

Vivir en libertad. Las teologías de la liberación del continente asiático. [Reseña]

Reseña de Michael AMALADOSS, Vivir en libertad. Las teologías de la liberación del contienente asiático, Verbo Divino, Estella, Navarra 2000, 263 pp., 14*22, ISBN 84-8169-364-

A cosumaçao do homem e do mundo. [Reseña]

Reseña de Maria Manuela CARVALHO, A cosumaçao do homem e do mundo. Universidad Católica Edistora ("Colecçao Estudios Teológicos"), Lisboa 2002, 212 pp., 15*23, ISBN 972-54-0033-

Conversas em Português: estratégia de interação oral entre estudantes Erasmus e portugueses em tempo de pandemia/COVID-19

During the 2nd semester of the academic year 2019-2020, under COVID-19, Erasmus students who attended the various colleges of the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon found themselves deprived of the possibility that an international academic experience promotes, namely social contact and immersion in the living language in the country in which they are studying. The social isolation to which we were obliged thus prevented the natural acquisition of a language in the context of immersion. For that reason, it would be of utmost importance to provide these students with the opportunity to develop their communicative competence in Portuguese. Bearing in mind the goals presented i) to minimize the social isolation of higher education students; ii) to promote the linguistic enrichment in Portuguese language, in an informal context, of Erasmus students and iii) to contribute to the intercultural awareness  of students, a strategy was carried out that brought dialogue between Erasmus and Portuguese students, in four oriented informal conversations, which culminated in a stakeholder reflection process, based on a questionnaire survey. The results testify to the advantages of this experience, namely with regard to the intercultural component and the development of oral communication in Portuguese.No 2º semestre do ano letivo 2019-2020, por força da COVID-19, os estudantes Erasmus que frequentavam as várias unidades orgânicas do Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa viram-se privados da possibilidade que uma experiência académica internacional promove, nomeadamente o contacto social e em imersão linguística no país escolhido para estudar. O isolamento social a que nos vimos obrigados impediu, desta forma, a natural aquisição de uma língua em contexto de imersão, motivo pelo qual se pensou que seria de máxima importância proporcionar a estes estudantes a oportunidade de desenvolverem a sua competência comunicativa em português. Tendo como objetivos i) minimizar o isolamento social dos estudantes do ensino superior; ii) favorecer o enriquecimento linguístico em língua portuguesa, em contexto informal, dos estudantes Erasmus e iii) contribuir para a valorização intercultural dos estudantes, foi levada a cabo uma estratégia que pôs em diálogo estudantes Erasmus e portugueses, em quatro conversas informais orientadas, que culminou num processo de reflexão dos intervenientes, com base num inquérito por questionário. Os resultados testemunham as vantagens desta experiência, nomeadamente no que se refere à componente intercultural e ao desenvolvimento da expressão oral em português

Understanding COPD: A Vision on Phenotypes, Comorbidities and Treatment Approach

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) phenotypes have become increasingly recognized as important for grouping patients with similar presentation and/or behavior, within the heterogeneity of the disease. The primary aim of identifying phenotypes is to provide patients with the best health care possible, tailoring the therapeutic approach to each patient. However, the identification of specific phenotypes has been hindered by several factors such as which specific attributes are relevant, which discriminant features should be used for assigning patients to specific phenotypes, and how relevant are they to the therapeutic approach, prognostic and clinical outcome. Moreover, the definition of phenotype is still not consensual. Comorbidities, risk factors, modifiable risk factors and disease severity, although not phenotypes, have impact across all COPD phenotypes. Although there are some identified phenotypes that are fairly consensual, many others have been proposed, but currently lack validation. The on-going debate about which instruments and tests should be used in the identification and definition of phenotypes has contributed to this uncertainty. In this paper, the authors review present knowledge regarding COPD phenotyping, discuss the role of phenotypes and comorbidities on the severity of COPD, propose new phenotypes and suggest a phenotype-based pharmacological therapeutic approach. The authors conclude that a patient-tailored treatment approach, which takes into account each patient's specific attributes and specificities, should be pursued