Portugal e Arquitetura de Segurança da África Austral e a Globalização da Guerra Fria (1949-1975)

Esta investigação em Relações Internacionais (RI), na vertente de Estudos de Segurança e Estratégia, analisa o resultado de uma dialética de vontades, materializada pela resistência portuguesa à descolonização na África Austral, entre 1949 e 1975, à qual se opôs, em reação, um conjunto crescente de atores, estatais e não-estatais, e com influência regional ou global. Do confronto, com Portugal ao centro, resultou uma arquitetura de segurança sistémica e de geometria variável, que “arrastou” a Guerra Fria para o espaço austral, globalizando-a. Para o efeito, fazendo uso de uma estratégia qualitativa e de um raciocínio dedutivo, ancorado nos conceitos de estratégia, arquitetura de segurança e Guerra Fria, analisam-se três subperíodos. Um primeiro (1949-1960), designado de “mobilização”, no qual Portugal procurou capacitar, holisticamente, os seus instrumentos de poder. Um segundo (1961-1969), intitulado de “confronto”, moldado pela guerra em dois (Angola e Moçambique) dos três teatros de operações e que atraiu um amplo leque de atores, que, direta e indiretamente, uniram os níveis estatal, regional e global, lançando as bases para uma aliança defensiva entre Portugal, a África do Sul e a Rodésia. O terceiro subperíodo (1970-1975), denominado de “queda e consequências”, dá corpo aos efeitos sistémicos de uma oposição de vontades, prolongada no tempo e internacionalizada, conduzindo à formalização do Exercício ALCORA. A lassidão da resistência precipitou a queda do regime, reconfigurando uma arquitetura securitária que expôs as “amarras” regionais e da Guerra Fria. Portugal moldou, assim, a Guerra Fria, sendo, desde o início, uma extensão ocidental em África e um “elemento deixando em contacto”, no esforço secundário do conflito entre blocos. Da investigação resultam 14 contributos para o conhecimento, no campo teórico e de aplicação. Ao nível teórico, destaca-se a abordagem às RI através da guerra, em desalinhamento com o mainstream. No campo de aplicação, sublinha-se a criação do Modelo de Arquitetura de Segurança @plicado à África Austral Portuguesa (MAS@AAP). A guerra do Ultramar foi muito mais do que uma guerra em África. Foi uma parte da Guerra Fria.This research in International Relations (IR), in the field of Security Studies and Strategy, analyzes the result of a dialectic of wills, materialized by the Portuguese resistance to decolonization in Southern Africa, between 1949 and 1975, to which a growing set of actors, state and non-state, and with regional or global influence were opposed in reaction. From the confrontation, centered in Portugal, has resulted an architecture of systemic security and variable geometry, which “dragged” the Cold War into Southern Africa, globalizing it. For this purpose, making use of a qualitative strategy and deductive approach, anchored in the concepts of strategy, security architecture and the Cold War, three sub-periods are analyzed. The first (1949-196), called “mobilization”, in which Portugal sought to, holistically, prepare and adapt its instruments of power. A second (1961-1969), entitled “confrontation”, shaped by the war in two of the three theaters of operations (Angola and Mozambique) and which attracted a wide range of actors who directly and indirectly linked state, regional, and global levels, laying the foundations for a defensive alliance between Portugal, South Africa and Rhodesia. The third subperiod (1970-1975), called “fall and consequences”, embodies the systemic effects of an opposition of wills, prolonged in time and internationalized, leading to the formalization of the ALCORA Exercise. Lassitude precipitated the fall of the regime, reconfiguring a security architecture that, due to Angola, exposed the regional and Cold War “ties”. Thus, Portugal shaped the Cold War, being, since the beginning, a western extension in Africa and an “element left in contact”, in the secondary effort of the conflict between blocks. The research resulted in 14 contributions to knowledge in the theoretical and also the application field. At the theoretical level, one highlights the creation of the Model of Security Architecture @applied to Portuguese Southern Africa (MAS@AAP) and the approach to IR through war, in misalignment with the mainstream. In the field of application, it is stressed that Colonial War was much more than a war. It was part of the Cold War

A General Hybrid Modeling Framework for Systems Biology Applications: Combining Mechanistic Knowledge with Deep Neural Networks under the SBML Standard

This work was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry—LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020). This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement number 870292 (BioICEP project). J.P. acknowledges a PhD grant (SFRD/BD14610472019), Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and R.S.C. the contract CEECIND/01399/2017In this paper, a computational framework is proposed that merges mechanistic modeling with deep neural networks obeying the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) standard. Over the last 20 years, the systems biology community has developed a large number of mechanistic models that are currently stored in public databases in SBML. With the proposed framework, existing SBML models may be redesigned into hybrid systems through the incorporation of deep neural networks into the model core, using a freely available python tool. The so-formed hybrid mechanistic/neural network models are trained with a deep learning algorithm based on the adaptive moment estimation method (ADAM), stochastic regularization and semidirect sensitivity equations. The trained hybrid models are encoded in SBML and uploaded in model databases, where they may be further analyzed as regular SBML models. This approach is illustrated with three well-known case studies: the Escherichia coli threonine synthesis model, the P58IPK signal transduction model, and the Yeast glycolytic oscillations model. The proposed framework is expected to greatly facilitate the widespread use of hybrid modeling techniques for systems biology applications.publishersversionpublishe

Enrichment of IFN- producing cells in different murine adipose tissue depots upon infection with an apicomplexan parasite.

Here we report that lean mice infected with the intracellular parasite Neospora caninum show a fast but sustained increase in the frequency of IFN-γ-producing cells noticeable in distinct adipose tissue depots. Moreover, IFN-γ-mediated immune memory could be evoked in vitro in parasite antigen-stimulated adipose tissue stromal vascular fraction cells collected from mice infected one year before. Innate or innate-like cells such as NK, NK T and TCRγδ(+) cells, but also CD4(+) and CD8(+) TCRβ(+) lymphocytes contributed to the IFN-γ production observed since day one of infection. This early cytokine production was largely abrogated in IL-12/IL23 p40-deficient mice. Moreover, production of IFN-γ by stromal vascular fraction cells isolated from these mice was markedly lower than that of wild-type counterparts upon stimulation with parasite antigen. In wild-type mice the increased IFN-γ production was concomitant with up-regulated expression of genes encoding interferon-inducible GTPases and nitric oxide synthase, which are important effector molecules in controlling intracellular parasite growth. This increased gene expression was markedly impaired in the p40-deficient mice. Overall, these results show that NK cells but also diverse T cell populations mediate a prompt and widespread production of IFN-γ in the adipose tissue of N. caninum infected mice

Um estudo das representações sociais da pessoa em situação crítica

Foi realizado um estudo exploratório, com uma amostra constituída por 175 enfermeiros que exercem funções em serviços de cuidados intensivos e intermédios com os objectivos de apreender as representações sociais da pessoa em situação crítica, construídas por enfermeiros e explorar as dimensões estruturais das representações sociais da pessoa em situação crítica, elaboradas por enfermeiros

Artificial intelligence applied to flavonoid data in food matrices

Increasing interest in constituents and dietary supplements has created the need for more efficient use of this information in nutrition-related fields. The present work aims to obtain optimal models to predict the total antioxidant properties of food matrices, using available information on the amount and class of flavonoids present in vegetables. A new dataset using databases that collect the flavonoid content of selected foods has been created. Structural information was obtained using a structural-topological approach called TOPological Sub-Structural Molecular (TOPSMODE). Different artificial intelligence algorithms were applied, including Machine Learning (ML) methods. The study allowed us to demonstrate the effectiveness of the models using structural-topological characteristics of dietary flavonoids. The proposed models can be considered, without overfitting, effective in predicting new values of Oxygen Radical Absorption capacity (ORAC), except in the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) algorithm. The best optimal model was obtained by the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. The in silico methodology we developed allows us to confirm the effectiveness of the obtained models, by introducing the new structural-topological attributes, as well as selecting those that most influence the class variableThis research received no external funding and the APC was funded by the Universidad Estatal Amazónica The authors thank the Belgian Development Cooperation for funding through VLIR-UOS (Flemish Interuniversity Council - University Cooperation for Development) in the context of the TEAM VLIR CU2017TEA433A102 Project: “Installation of a center of excellence in the central region-Eastern Cuba for the development of research and the production of plant bioactives”, between the University of Antwerp and Camagüey “Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz”, and Xunta da Galicia and Galician Plan of research, innovation and growth 2011–2015 (Plan I2 C, ED481B 2014/086–0 and ED481B 2018/007S

Influence of dietary supplementation with an amino acid mixture on inflammatory markers, immune status and serum proteome in LPS-Challenged Weaned Piglets

Research Areas: Agriculture ; Veterinary Sciences ; ZoologyIn order to investigate the effect of a dietary amino acid mixture supplementation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged weaned piglets, twenty-seven 28-day-old (8.2 ± 1.0 kg) newly weaned piglets were randomly allocated to one of three experimental treatments for five weeks. Diet 1: a CTRL treatment. Diet 2: an LPS treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS (25 μg/kg) on day 7. Diet 3: an LPS+MIX treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS on day 7 and fed a diet supplemented with a mixture of 0.3% of arginine, branched-chain amino acids (leucine, valine, and isoleucine), and cystine (MIX). Blood samples were drawn on day 10 and day 35, and serum was analysed for selected chemical parameters and proteomics. The LPS and LPS+MIX groups exhibited an increase in haptoglobin concentrations on day 10. The LPS group showed an increased cortisol concentration, while this concentration was reduced in the LPS+MIX group compared to the control group. Similarly, the LPS+MIX group showed a decreased haptoglobin concentration on day 35 compared to the two other groups. Immunoglobulin concentrations were affected by treatments. Indeed, on day 10, the concentrations of IgG and IgM were decreased by the LPS challenge, as illustrated by the lower concentrations of these two immunoglobulins in the LPS group compared to the control group. In addition, the supplementation with the amino acid mixture in the LPS+MIX further decreased IgG and increased IgM concentrations compared to the LPS group. Although a proteomics approach did not reveal important alterations in the protein profile in response to treatments, LPS-challenged piglets had an increase in proteins linked to the immune response, when compared to piglets supplemented with the amino acid mixture. Overall, data indicate that LPS-challenged piglets supplemented with this amino acid mixture are more protected against the detrimental effects of LPS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The socio-economic impact of a Polytechnic Institution in a local economy : some insights of field research

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are considered important mechanisms of regional development. However, due to the current economic recession and budget constraints, HEIs need to demonstrate the impact that their activities have on the surrounding community that contributes for its economic development. Hence, the aim of this paper is to present the results of a model to estimate the economic impact of different HEIs that are located in regions with different socio-economic development. Moreover, the common framework of analysis, whilst considering the different socio-economic realities, allows the comparisons of the results for the different HEIS

EAIR 35th Annual Forum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands 28-31 August 2013

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are considered important mechanisms of regional development. However, due to the current economic recession and budget constraints, HEIs need to demonstrate the impact that their activities have on the surrounding community that contributes for its economic development. Hence, the aim of this paper is to present the results of a model to estimate the economic impact of different HEIs that are located in regions with different socio-economic development. Moreover, the common framework of analysis, whilst considering the different socio-economic realities, allows the comparisons of the results for the different HEIS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mitochondrial haplogroup H1 is protective for ischemic stroke in Portuguese patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genetic contribution to stroke is well established but it has proven difficult to identify the genes and the disease-associated alleles mediating this effect, possibly because only nuclear genes have been intensely investigated so far. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been implicated in several disorders having stroke as one of its clinical manifestations. The aim of this case-control study was to assess the contribution of mtDNA polymorphisms and haplogroups to ischemic stroke risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We genotyped 19 mtDNA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) defining the major European haplogroups in 534 ischemic stroke patients and 499 controls collected in Portugal, and tested their allelic and haplogroup association with ischemic stroke risk.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Haplogroup H1 was found to be significantly less frequent in stroke patients than in controls (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.45–0.83, p = 0.001), when comparing each clade against all other haplogroups pooled together. Conversely, the pre-HV/HV and U mtDNA lineages emerge as potential genetic factors conferring risk for stroke (OR = 3.14, 95% CI = 1.41–7.01, p = 0.003, and OR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.13–7.28, p = 0.021, respectively). SNPs m.3010G>A, m.7028C>T and m.11719G>A strongly influence ischemic stroke risk, their allelic state in haplogroup H1 corroborating its protective effect.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggests that mitochondrial haplogroup H1 has an impact on ischemic stroke risk in a Portuguese sample.</p