Seasonal photosynthesis, respiration, and calcification of a temperate Maërl bed in southern Portugal

Rhodolith (maerl) beds are biodiversity hotspots with a worldwide distribution. Maerl is the general term for free-living non-geniculate rhodoliths or coralline red algae. In southern Portugal, maerl beds are mainly composed of Phymatolithon lusitanicum, recently identified as a new species and commonly misidentified as Phymatolithon calcareum. Photosynthesis, respiration, and growth rates of the algae were measured seasonally, as well as the photosynthetic pigment composition. To characterize the seasonal and interannual patterns of key abiotic conditions in the largest described maerl bed of the Portuguese coast, temperature, irradiance, and dissolved oxygen were continuously monitored over a 2-year period. At the bed depth (22 m), temperature ranged between 14 degrees C in winter and 24 degrees C in summer, irradiance varied from 5 to 75 mu.mol m(-2) s(-1) , and dissolved oxygen from 5.8 to 7.25 mg O-2 L-1. We found a strong linear relationship (r(2) = 0.95) between gross primary production (GPP) and relative electron transport rates (rETRs). Both methods led to similar results and an average molar ratio of 0.24. Photosynthesis and respiration increased in summer and decreased in autumn and winter. In the summer of 2013, the growth rates were twofold higher (1.34 mu.mol CaCO3 g(-1) day(-1)) than in the other seasons. In winter and spring, to compensate for light deprivation and low temperature, algae increased their chlorophyll a and carotenoid concentrations while also decreasing their phycobilin concentration, in this case probably due to nutrient limitation. To isolate the role of temperature on the algae's metabolism, the photosynthetic and respiration rates of individual thalli were measured at eight different temperatures in the laboratory (from 12 degrees C to 26 degrees C). Phymatolithon lusitanicum photosynthesis increased twofold after a threshold of 18 degrees C (from 2.2 at 18 degrees C to 3.87 mu mol O-2 m(-2) s(-1) at 20 degrees C), whereas respiration increased fourfold with temperature after a threshold of 22 degrees C (from -0.38 at 18 degrees C to -1.81 (mu mol O-2 m(-2) s(-1) at 24 degrees C). The significant increases on respiration, photosynthetic rates, and maximum growth with temperature reveal that the metabolic rates of P. lusitanicum are highly sensitive to ocean warming.UIDB/04326/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Decolonial Epistemologies for Energy Planning in Brazil

This thesis opens up theoretical pathways for decolonial epistemologies for energy planning in Brazil. The critical analysis is verticalized from the 2015–2024 Brazilian Decennial Energy Expansion Plan (DEEP) to better highlight the epistemological problems in energy planning. Epistemological challenges demand a critical understanding of the ethical system we live in – the ethics of exhaustion – to enable a comprehensive radical transformation of the consideration of energy futures, since epistemology is part of the formalization of ethics. This thesis argues that energy planning in Brazil is based on the ethics of exhaustion to epistemically impose the colonial agenda of power. Energy futures are planned as necessary harm to achieve the fetishized good, normalized as the ethical intersubjective and human–environment relationships. Critically analysing the ethical system enables understanding the epistemologies for energy planning in Brazil as the formal moment of the ethics of exhaustion, which can only be challenged in an intersectional manner by framing the multilateral and collateral aspects of the violence consistent in planning energy futures regardless and to the detriment of the existence of life. Epistemic diversity is the first step towards decolonizing energy planning. It comprises: the inclusion of indigenous and communal perspectives when elaborating the energy plans; having persons directly affected by energy enterprises as the majority of the personnel involved in the activity of planning; setting the priority of energy planning as the production and reproduction of all lives in a non-hierarchized manner; recognizing the necessary balance in the human–environment relationship; privileging local needs in relation to transnational markets; and intentionally de-hierarchizing the benefits of energy exploitation by delinking energy studies, production, and distribution from financial capital. This work challenges colonial epistemologies, based on the ethics of exhaustion, from the standpoint of the colonial difference, proposing epistemic diversity as the impulse for decolonial energy planning in Brazil. It is an urgent academic task to perceive epistemic decolonization to transform the present in order to stop condemning the future to social and environmental catastrophes

Dual consent? Donors' and recipients' views about involvement in decision-making on the use of embryos created by gamete donation in research

Background Reasonable disagreement about the role awarded to gamete donors in decision-making on the use of embryos created by gamete donation (EGDs) for research purposes emphasises the importance of considering the implementation of participatory, adaptive, and trustworthy policies and guidelines for consent procedures. However, the perspectives of gamete donors and recipients about decision-making regarding research with EGDs are still under-researched, which precludes the development of policies and guidelines informed by evidence. This study seeks to explore the views of donors and recipients about who should take part in consent processes for the use of EGDs in research. Methods From July 2017 to June 2018, 72 gamete donors and 175 recipients completed a self-report structured questionnaire at the Portuguese Public Bank of Gametes (response rate: 76%). Agreement with dual consent was defined as the belief that the use of EGDs in research should be consented by both donors and recipients. Results The majority of participants (74.6% of donors and 65.7% of recipients) were willing to donate embryos for research. Almost half of the donors (48.6%) and half of the recipients (46.9%) considered that a dual consent procedure is desirable. This view was more frequent among employed recipients (49.7%) than among non-employed (21.4%). Donors were less likely to believe that only recipients should be involved in giving consent for the use of EGDs in research (25.0% vs. 41.7% among recipients) and were more frequently favourable to the idea of exclusive donors' consent (26.4% vs. 11.4% among recipients). Conclusions Divergent views on dual consent among donors and recipients indicate the need to develop evidence-based and ethically sustainable policies and guidelines to protect well-being, autonomy and reproductive rights of both stakeholder groups. More empirical research and further theoretical normative analyses are needed to inform people-centred policy and guidelines for shared decision-making concerning the use of EGDs for research

Tratamento das cefaleias autonômicas refratárias em pacientes submetidos à neurocirurgia para tumor de hipófise

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, 2012.A incidência de cefaleia em pacientes com adenomas hipofisários é alta, e a fisiopatologia deste sintoma não é completamente conhecida. Embora a maioria dos pacientes tenha seu sintoma de cefaleia resolvido com o tratamento da lesão hipofisária, uma minoria de pacientes persiste com dor de forte intensidade, não responsiva aos tratamentos medicamentosos convencionais. No presente trabalho, nós testamos a eficácia do bloqueio percutâneo do gânglio de gasser e da rizotomia trigeminal como tratamento das cefaleias de padrão autonômico/trigeminal associada a adenomas hipofisários. Onze pacientes previamente tratados cirurgicamente para tumores hipofisários e que desenvolveram cefaleia autonômica de padrão intratável foram selecionados para participar do estudo, após serem submetidos à análise funcional com SPECT ictal. Inicialmente, todos os pacientes foram submetidos a um período de seis meses de tratamento clínico medicamentoso supervisionado. Os pacientes que não responderam a este tratamento após análise seriada de severidade da cefaleia, utilizando o Teste de Impacto de Cefaleia (Headache Impact Test – HIT-6), foram selecionados para realizar o procedimento de bloqueio percutâneo do gânglio de gasser. Dois pacientes foram posteriormente submetidos à rizotomia do gânglio trigeminal por cateter balão de Fogarty. Dos 11 pacientes estudados, seis não obtiveram melhora nos padrões da escala HIT-6 após seis meses de tratamento conservador, e foram submetidos ao bloqueio do gânglio de gasser. Após o bloqueio, significativa melhora foi verificada em três pacientes, com resposta positiva em longo prazo em um deles. Os outros dois, que obtiveram resposta transitória ao bloqueio ganglionar, foram submetidos à rizotomia trigeminal, com excelente resposta ao procedimento. O SPECT cerebral mostrou aumento da captação em região talâmica/hipotalâmica nos pacientes que responderam à manipulação do sistema trigemino-hipotalâmico. Em conclusão, o bloqueio percutâneo do gânglio de gasser e a rizotomia trigeminal por uso de cateter-balão de Fogarty parecem ser alternativas promissoras no tratamento das cefaleias severas, em pacientes selecionados, portadores de tumores hipofisários. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe incidence of headache in patients with pituitary adenomas is high, and the underlying pathological mechanisms are not completely understood. Although most of the patients have their headache aborted after treatment of the pituitary tumor, a minority of patients persists with severe pain, and do not respond to conventional medication regimens. We tested the efficacy of percutaneous ganglion block and trigeminal rhizotomy on the treatment of severe trigeminal/autonomic headache associated with pituitary tumors. 11 patients treated surgically for pituitary adenomas who developed intractable trigeminal headaches were enrolled in the study, and submitted to ictal cerebral SPECT before starting treatment. Initially, all patients were submitted to a 6-month medical treatment trial. Patients who did not experience improvement in the headache severity, addressed by the Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6) scale, underwent trigeminal percutaneous ganglion blockade. Two patients were subsequently submitted to trigeminal balloon rhizotomy. Among the 11 patients, 6 did not have their HIT-6 scores improved after 6 months of treatment with medications, and underwent trigeminal ganglion blockade. Significant improvement in the headache severity was noted in three of them. Long-term response was obtained in one patient, and the other two, in whom the response was transient, were then successfully treated with trigeminal rhizotomy. Cerebral SPECT showed increased uptake in the thalamus/hypothalamus region, in patients who responded well to manipulation of the trigeminal-hypothalamic system. Percutaneous ganglion blockade and trigeminal rhizotomy may be promising alternative options for the treatment of severe headache, in selected patients with pituitary adenomas

Introdução às noções de essência, necessidade e predicação em Aristóteles

O presente trabalho trata-se de uma breve introdução que tem por escopo a relação que se estabelece em Gama 4 entre as noções de essência e necessidade diante da teoria da predicação apresentada ali por Aristóteles. Uma vez que entendemos que a noção de linguagem presente em Aristóteles possui um forte vínculo com sua ontologia, sendo estruturada a partir de uma distinção fundamental entre tipos de predicados e tipos de predicação, e que essa distinção implica a validade do princípio da não-contradição. Cabe entender qual é o fundamento ontológico que concede a essa distinção sua efetividade ao descrever o mundo das coisas entre aquilo que é essencial e necessário e aquilo que é apenas concomitante

Anonymous Panda: preserving anonymity and expressiveness in online mental health platforms

Digital solutions that allow people to seek treatment, such as online psychological interventions and other technology-mediated therapies, have been developed to assist individuals with mental health disorders. Such approaches may raise privacy concerns about the use of people’s data and the safety of their mental health information. This work uses cutting-edge computer graphics technology to develop a novel system capable of increasing anonymity while maintaining expressiveness in computer-mediated mental health interventions. According to our preliminary findings, we were able to customize a realistic avatar using Live Link, Metahumans, and Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) with the same emotional depth as a real person. Furthermore, these findings showed that the virtual avatars’ inability to express themselves through hand motion gave the impression that they were acting in an unnatural way. By including the hand tracking feature using the Leap Motion Controller, we were able to improve our comprehension of the prospective use of ultra-realistic virtual human avatars in video conferencing therapy, i.e., both studies helped us understand how vital facial and body expressions are and how problematic their absence is in communicating with others.Soluções digitais que permitem às pessoas procurar tratamento, tais como terapias psicológicas online e outras terapias com recurso à tecnologia, foram desenvolvidas para ajudar indivíduos com distúrbios de saúde mental. Tais abordagens podem suscitar preocupações sobre a privacidade na utilização dos dados das pessoas e a segurança da informação sobre a sua saúde mental. Este trabalho utiliza tecnologia de ponta em computação gráfica para desenvolver um sistema inovador capaz de aumentar o anonimato, mantendo simultaneamente a expressividade nas inter venções de saúde mental mediadas por computador. Segundo os nossos resultados preliminares, conseguimos personalizar um avatar realista usando Live Link, Metahumans, e Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) com a mesma profundidade emocional que uma pessoa real. Além disso, os resultados mostraram que a incapacidade dos avatares virtuais de se expressarem através do movimento das mãos deu a impressão de que estavam a agir de uma forma pouco natural. Ao incluir a função de rastreio das mãos utilizando o Leap Motion Controller, conseguimos melhorar a nossa compreensão do uso prospetivo de avatares humanos virtuais e ultrarrealistas na terapia de videoconferência, ou seja, os estudos realizados ajudaram-nos a compreender como as expressões faciais e corporais são vitais e como a sua ausência é problemática na comunicação com os outros