Resolving cryptic species complexes in Diplodia

Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaWhile the taxonomy and pathology of Botryosphaeria and Neofusicoccum has been studied intensively, Diplodia has several taxonomic problems that need to be resolved. This genus contains well-known plant pathogens including D. pinea (blight on pine trees), D. corticola (canker and dieback of cork oak) and D. mutila and D. seriata, which occur on a wide range of hosts. This suggests that these two species may in fact represent species complexes. The aim of this work was to resolve these cryptic species complexes - species that are morphologically indistinguishable and can be only separated at the phylogenetic level. Isolates were characterized on the basis of their micromorphology, including conidial dimensions, shape, pigmentation and septation, colony morphology and mycelial growth rate. Phylogenetic relationships were determined, firstly by microsatellite fingerprinting and then through analysis of ITS nucleotide sequences, supplemented with partial sequences of the translation elongation factor 1-α and β-tubulin genes. By integrating morphological characters with phylogenetic data several species were resolved within the Diplodia mutila complex, two new species (D. bulgarica and D. intermedia) were described, the status of D. fraxini and D. malorum was clarified and it was revealed that the D. pinea group may also be a complex of species

Força e fraqueza da Imagem - A versão platónica de La Trahison des Images

Este estudo procura ganhar alguma compreensão das teses de Platão sobre as imagens – e em especial sobre a força e a fraqueza da imagem. A ideia fundamental é que as teses de Platão sobre esta matéria diferem tanto a) da maior parte das teses defendidas por outros (em relação à natureza – e à força e fraqueza – das imagens) quanto b) da própria leitura convencional de Platão. Tentamos construir uma parte do puzzle dos enunciados platónicos sobre as imagens e reconstituir o essencial das teses de Platão como um instrumento vivo e poderoso para compreender as imagens enquanto tais.The present study tries to gain some insight into Plato’s view of images – and in particular into his doctrine on the strength and weakness of images. The point is that Plato’s claims about images differ both a) from most other views about their nature (viz. their strength and weakness) and b) from the conventional reading of Plato’s views. We try to piece together part of the jigsaw puzzle of Plato’s remarks about images and to reconstruct some main aspects of his views as a very insightful tool for understanding what images are all about

Geopolítica e migrações internacionais no mediterrâneo no século XXI: a crise do Mediterrâneo

O estudo “Geopolítica e Migrações Internacionais no Mediterrâneo no Século XXI – A Crise do Mediterrâneo” considera a geopolítica e a problemática das migrações internacionais no Mediterrâneo no século XXI (até 2018), analisa a pressão dos fluxos de refugiados na Europa e os desafios e efeitos que comporta a diferentes níveis do sistema internacional e pondera eventuais desenvolvimentos futuros. O presente estudo visa dar uma contribuição para a promoção de melhor compreensão da génese – tensões, guerras e conflitos, entre outras causas – da deslocação forçada de grandes contingentes humanos (migrantes e refugiados) no Mediterrâneo no início do século XXI (até 2018). A crise dos refugiados do Mediterrâneo tem uma dimensão humanitária pelo elevado número de mortes e desaparecimentos detetados nas rotas de travessia do Mediterrâneo utilizadas por refugiados e migrantes para chegarem à Europa. A crise dos refugiados tem consequências regionais e globais, nomeadamente a nível da segurança dos Estados, das políticas de migração e integração das populações deslocadas e comporta desafios para os países das fachadas do Mediterrâneo, quer para os Estados emissores quer para os Estados recetores de migrantes e de refugiados e tem uma dimensão prospetiva. A presente investigação examina as políticas desenhadas pela União Europeia para dar resposta à crise dos refugiados e pondera desafios futuros. Na presente investigação, Geopolítica e Migrações Internacionais no Mediterrâneo no Século XXI (até 2018) – a Crise do Mediterrâneo, adota-se uma abordagem pluridisciplinar com contributos de várias disciplinas – Economia, Direito Internacional, História, Sociologia, Demografia – e confere-se relevo à Geopolítica na análise da geopolítica do Mediterrâneo, a Teorias das Migrações Internacionais no estudo dos fluxos de refugiados no Mediterrâneo, à concetualização teórica da Segurança Internacional e Segurança Humana e a teorias das Relações Internacionais. O presente estudo engloba três ângulos de análise – Geopolítica do Mediterrâneo, Migração Internacional no Século XXI (até 2018) e Segurança Regional e Global no Mediterrâneo – e uma visão prospetiva

The moderating effect of parenting styles on the relationship between social anxiety and depressive symptomatology in adolescents

Intruduction: The comorbidity between depression and social anxiety is high in adolescence. Parental emotion socialization behaviors have been associated with the development of social skills and depressive symptomatology. Objectives: This study aims to explore the moderating effect of parenting styles on the relationship between social anxiety and depression, to study the associations between them, and to analyze the relationship between parenting styles, social anxiety and depressive symptomatology in adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of 122 parents and their children. Self-report instruments were used to assess social anxiety, depressive symptomatology and parenting styles. Results: It was found that social anxiety is significantly associated to depression and that the former has a predictive effect on the latter. The parenting styles revealed no significant associations with either depressive symptomatology or with social anxiety, but a moderating effect of explorer parenting style was found in the relationship between social anxiety (public performance) and depressive symptomatology. Conclusions: The present investigation confirmed the existence of a significant association between social anxiety and depressive symptomatology in adolescence and suggests an effect of parental practices of emotional socialization in this relation, which, however, should be replicated in future research. It will also be important to study the effect of parenting styles on children's emotional regulation skills and their possible mediating effect on the relationship between social anxiety and depression.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of social adversity on perceived health status and depressive symptoms among portuguese older people

This study aims to investigate how exposure to poverty, food insecurity, and abuse at older ages relates to health outcomes. A questionnaire collecting data on sociodemographic and economic characteristics, health status, depressive symptoms, food insecurity, and abuse was administered to a sample of 677 older adults. Logistic regression was used to quantify the association of poverty, food insecurity, and abuse with perceived health status and depressive symptoms. If the older person only reported experiences of abuse, it was more likely to report the presence of depressive symptoms, even after adjustment for covariates. If it was only reported the experience of food insecurity, it was more likely to report a worse health status. Older people exposed to at least two factors of vulnerability were significantly more likely to report (very) poor perceived health status (OR: 7.11, 95% CI: 2.77-18.25) and the presence of relevant depressive symptoms (OR: 4.34; 95% CI: 2.04-9.22). Thus, the combined effect of vulnerabilities was significantly associated with worse health among older people. Public health policies to mitigate these adverse exposures should be developed to promote health and well-being in this population

Neural gliding and neural tensioning differently impact flexibility, heat and pressure pain thresholds in asymptomatic subjects: a randomized, parallel and double-blind study

Objective: To compare the effect of neural gliding and tensioning on hamstring flexibility, nerve function (heat and cold thresholds) and pain sensitivity (pain intensity and pressure pain threshold) of the mobilized and non-mobilized lower limbs at post-intervention and 24 h follow up. Design: Randomized, parallel and double blinded trial. Setting/participants: Forty-eight asymptomatic participants. Intervention(s): Participants received neural gliding (n ¼ 23) or tensioning (n ¼ 25). Main Outcome Measures e Straight leg raising (SLR; in degrees), heat and cold threshold (ºC), pressure pain threshold (PPT; in Kgf) and pain intensity (visual analogue scale), taken at baseline, post- intervention and at 24 h follow up. Results: There was a significant interaction between time, intervention and limb for SLR (F2,45 ¼ 3.83; p ¼ 0.029). A significant interaction between time and intervention for PPT (F2,45 ¼ 3.59; p ¼ 0.036) and heat threshold (F2,45 ¼ 5.10; p ¼ 0.01). A significant effect of time (F2,45 ¼ 9.42; p < 0.001) and of limb (F1,46 ¼ 4.78; p ¼ 0.035) for pain intensity during SLR, and a significant effect of time (F2,45 ¼ 3.65; p ¼ 0.034) for pain intensity during PPT. Conclusion: Gliding and tensioning had similar and positive effects for flexibility in the mobilized limb, but tensioning was superior for the non-mobilized limb. Gliding was superior to tensioning for pressure pain and heat thresholds.publishe

First-Principles Model to Evaluate Quantitatively the Long-Life Behavior of Cellulose Acetate Polymers

UIDB/04028/2020 UIDP/04028/2020 UID/QUI/50006/2019A deep understanding of the degradation of cellulose diacetate (CDA) polymer is crucial in finding the appropriate long-term stability solution. This work presents an investigation of the reaction mechanism of hydrolysis using electronic density functional theory calculations with the B3LYP/6-31++G*∗ level of theory to determine the energetics of the degradation reactions. This information was coupled with the transition-state theory to establish the kinetics of degradation for both the acid-catalyzed and noncatalyzed degradation pathways. In this model, the dependence on water concentration of the polymer as a function of pH and the evaporation of acetic acid from the polymer is explicitly accounted for. For the latter, the dependence of the concentration of acetic acid inside the films with the partial pressure on the surrounding environment was measured by sorption isotherms, where Henry's law constant was measured as a function of temperature. The accuracy of this approach was validated through comparison with experimental results of CDA-accelerated aging experiments. This model provides a step forward for the estimation of CDA degradation dependence on environmental conditions. From a broader perspective, this method can be translated to establish degradation models to predict the aging of other types of polymeric materials from first-principles calculations.publishersversionpublishe

A GESTÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA NA PROMOÇÃO DO COMÉRCIO JUSTO: UMA ANÁLISE COMPARATIVA

A gestão universitária brasileira enfrenta muitos desafios, um deles consiste na importância da gestão universitária em promover ações de Comércio Justo como forma de estabelecer mecanismos de desenvolvimento que desfaçam as injustas estruturas comerciais, promovendo iniciativas de Comércio Justo em seu campus, estimulando a discussão acerca dos fatores de equidade, justiça e inclusão social. O presente artigo objetiva evidenciar a possibilidade de implementar o Comércio Justo no ambiente universitário brasileiro, sob perspectiva da realidade latino americana. A pesquisa foi realizada sob base lógica indutiva. Quanto ao objeto consistiu em uma pesquisa jurídico-teórica e descritiva. A coleta de dados foi bibliográfica e documental, enquanto a abordagem foi qualitativa. Os dados foram apresentados em forma de textos. Ao final, concluiu-se que na atualidade, nenhuma universidade brasileira participa dessa iniciativa, embora se reconheçam centros de estudos espalhados pelo território nacional que começam a se debruçar sobre a temática. Defende-se, portanto, uma proposta inovadora na esfera das universidades brasileiras que possam inseri-las em políticas de inclusão social, não exclusivamente voltadas para a educação, mas também ligadas aos aspectos de comércio, como é o caso do Comércio Justo

Clinical performance of an infliximab rapid quantification assay

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)-based algorithms can be used to guide infliximab (IFX) adjustments in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. This study aimed to explore a rapid IFX-quantification test from a clinical perspective. Methods: This manuscript describes a prospective cohort study involving 110 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients on the maintenance phase of IFX. IFX trough levels were quantified using a rapid quantification assay and a commonly-used reference kit. Results: Irrespective of the assay used to measure IFX, its through levels were statistically different between patients with and without endoscopic remission (Mayo endoscopic score = 0), as well as between patients stratified by their faecal calprotectin (FC) levels. Despite the fact that the two methods correlated well with each other [Spearman's rank correlation coefficient = 0.843, p < 0.001; intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.857, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.791-0.903], there was a discernible systematic variation; values obtained with the reference kit were on average 2.62 units higher than those obtained with the rapid assay. Notwithstanding, 3 mu g/ml was shown to be an acceptable cut-off to assess endoscopic status and inflammatory burden levels using both assays. The percentage of patients that had a positive outcome when the IFX concentration measured by the rapid assay ranked above 3 mu g/ml was 88% both for a Mayo endoscopic score <= 1 and for an FC concentration <250 mu g/g. Conclusions: Based on this study, we concluded that using the rapid IFX assessment system with a 3 mu g/ml threshold is a reliable alternative to the time-consuming enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in patients on the maintenance phase of IFX.Portuguese IBD Group (GEDII, Grupo de Estudo da Doenca Inflamatoria Intestinal)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio