An integrated remote-sensing and GIS approach for mapping past tin mining landscapes in northwest Iberia

This is the final version. Available from MDPI via the DOI in this record. Data Availability Statement: Restrictions apply to the availability of the presented data.Northwest Iberia can be considered as one of the main areas where tin was exploited in antiquity. However, the location of ancient tin mining and metallurgy, their date and the intensity of tin production are still largely uncertain. The scale of mining activity and its socio-economical context have not been truly assessed, nor its evolution over time. With the present study, we intend to present an integrated, multiscale, multisensor and interdisciplinary methodology to tackle this problem. The integration of airborne LiDAR and historic aerial imagery has enabled us to identify and map ancient tin mining remains on the Tinto valley (Viana do Castelo, northern Portugal). The combination with historic mining documentation and literature review allowed us to confirm the impact of modern mining and define the best-preserved ancient mining areas for further archaeological research. After data processing and mapping, subsequent ground-truthing involved field survey and geological sampling that confirmed cassiterite exploitation as the key feature of the mining works. This non-invasive approach is of importance for informing future research and management of these landscapes.European CommissionFEDERFCTFCT/ES

Tin and Bronze Production at the Outeiro de Baltar Hillfort (NW Iberia)

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: Restrictions apply to the availability of the presented data.Findings of Iron Age metallurgical activities related to tin metal and mining are very rare. In the present work, we present a detailed study of the Outeiro de Baltar hillfort, dated to the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period, located in a place where 20th century tin mining work took place. Elemental and microstructural analysis by portable, micro and wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF, micro-XRF and WDXRF) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersion spectrometer (SEM-EDS) showed that metallurgical debris found at the archaeological site is related to tin smelting and binary and ternary bronze productions. Analysis of the artefacts of diverse typologies found at the site showed that a variety of metals and alloys were in circulation and use. Samples of tin ores (cassiterite) from the region were analyzed for comparison with an archaeological tin slag from the site. The analytical results point to the production of tin metal using local cassiterite and the production of bronze by directly adding cassiterite into a smelting process. Furthermore, data of remote sensing (airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and historical aerial imagery) and Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping were combined with archival mining documentation and maps to retrieve a landscape context for the site. The study showed that the place of the Outeiro de Baltar hillfort (NW Iberia) was mined periodically over time.European Union Horizon 2020COMPETE 2020 ProgrammeLisboa Regional ProgrammeEuropean Regional Development FundFCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

Teacher performance evaluation: conflict, uncertainties and the search for meaning(s)

O texto que propomos parte de uma pesquisa longitudinal, realizada em Portugal entre 2008 e 2010, com professores do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico. Procura evidenciar os conflitos e incertezas que a avaliação do desempenho docente tem produzido e a busca de sentido(s) para esta avaliação e para o ‘ser professor/a’. A implementação de sistemas de avaliação do desempenho dos professores insere-se na procura de soluções para esta inquietação. Foi o que aconteceu em Portugal, em Janeiro de 2007, com a publicação em Diário da República do novo Estatuto da Carreira Docente e o Decreto que regulamentava a Avaliação do Desempenho Docente. As tensões emergiram entre docentes e Ministério da Educação, agudizaram-se com a tomada de consciência da problemática da avaliação do desempenho dos docentes com impacto na carreira profissional e provocaram incertezas e desmotivação face ao sentido do trabalho docente com impacto na identidade profissional dos professores.This article stems from a longitudinal research carried out with primary school teachers in Portugal between 2008 and 2010. The research sought to identify the conflicts and uncertainties, which have been caused by the evaluation of teacher performance, as well as to search for meaning(s) related to that evaluation and to ‘being a teacher’. The implementation of systems for the evaluation of teacher performance fits into the search for solutions to that concern. This is what happened in Portugal, in January 2007, when the new Statute of the Teaching Profession and the law to regulate Teacher Performance Assessment were published in Diário da República – the official government publication. Tensions arose between teachers and the Ministry of Education and they were aggravated by an awareness of how the problem of teacher performance evaluation would impact on the professional career of teachers and how it would cause uncertainties and demotivation concerning the vocation of teaching and its subsequent impact on the professional identity of teachers

Neutralising antibodies for West Nile virus in horses from Brazilian Pantanal

Despite evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) activity in Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina, this virus has not been reported in most South American countries. In February 2009, we commenced an investigation for WNV in mosquitoes, horses and caimans from the Pantanal, Central-West Brazil. The sera of 168 horses and 30 caimans were initially tested using a flaviviruses-specific epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (blocking ELISA) for the detection of flavivirus-reactive antibodies. The seropositive samples were further tested using a plaque-reduction neutralisation test (PRNT90) for WNV and its most closely-related flaviviruses that circulate in Brazil to confirm the detection of specific virus-neutralising antibodies. Of the 93 (55.4%) blocking ELISA-seropositive horse serum samples, five (3%) were seropositive for WNV, nine (5.4%) were seropositive for St. Louis encephalitis virus, 18 (10.7%) were seropositive for Ilheus virus, three (1.8%) were seropositive for Cacipacore virus and none were seropositive for Rocio virus using PRNT90, with a criteria of > four-fold antibody titre difference. All caimans were negative for flaviviruses-specific antibodies using the blocking ELISA. No virus genome was detected from caiman blood or mosquito samples. The present study is the first report of confirmed serological evidence of WNV activity in Brazil

Intraoperative transfusion practices in Europe

BACKGROUND: Transfusion of allogeneic blood influences outcome after surgery. Despite widespread availability of transfusion guidelines, transfusion practices might vary among physicians, departments, hospitals and countries. Our aim was to determine the amount of packed red blood cells (pRBC) and blood products transfused intraoperatively, and to describe factors determining transfusion throughout Europe. METHODS: We did a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 5803 patients in 126 European centres that received at least one pRBC unit intraoperatively, during a continuous three month period in 2013. RESULTS: The overall intraoperative transfusion rate was 1.8%; 59% of transfusions were at least partially initiated as a result of a physiological transfusion trigger- mostly because of hypotension (55.4%) and/or tachycardia (30.7%). Haemoglobin (Hb)- based transfusion trigger alone initiated only 8.5% of transfusions. The Hb concentration [mean (sd)] just before transfusion was 8.1 (1.7) g dl(-1) and increased to 9.8 (1.8) g dl(-1) after transfusion. The mean number of intraoperatively transfused pRBC units was 2.5 (2.7) units (median 2). CONCLUSION: Although European Society of Anaesthesiology transfusion guidelines are moderately implemented in Europe with respect to Hb threshold for transfusion (7-9 g dl(-1)), there is still an urgent need for further educational efforts that focus on the number of pRBC units to be transfused at this threshold. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT 01604083

Polar marine biology science in Portugal and Spain: Recent advances and future perspectives

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