Ciência das Políticas Públicas: reflexões sobre a sua diversidade analítica

The purpose of this essay is to present a review of the main analytical approaches that have characterized Policy Sciences, as well as to present a critical reflection on the analytical diversity of this discipline regarding theoretical, epistemological, methodological and even disciplinary influences. Likewise, one aims to present a reflection on the main present and future debates of the discipline. This analysis highlights the enormous diversity that characterizes this discipline, which has even given rise to different communities of analysts, with very different disciplinary backgrounds and goals of analysis. Likewise, it becomes evident that the different approaches of this discipline follow the general tendencies of Social Sciences with debates between positivists and post-positivists, as well as among theoreticians who advocate the primacy of agency or structure in explaining the change and continuity of public policies.O objetivo deste ensaio é apresentar uma revisão sobre as principais abordagens analíticas que têm caracterizado a Ciência das Políticas Públicas, bem como apresentar uma reflexão crítica sobre a diversidade analítica da disciplina em termos teóricos, epistemológicos, metodológicos e até de influências disciplinares. De igual modo, procede-se a uma reflexão sobre os principais debates presentes e futuros da disciplina. Desta análise ressalta a enorme diversidade que caracteriza esta disciplina, que tem, inclusivamente, dado origem a diferentes comunidades de analistas, com radicais disciplinares e objetivos de análise bem diversos. De igual modo, torna-se evidente que as diferentes abordagens seguem as tendências gerais das Ciências Sociais com debates entre positivistas e pós-positivistas, bem como entre teóricos defensores da primazia da agência ou da estrutura na explicação da mudança e continuidade das políticas públicas

Governação pública em rede: contributos para sua compreensão e análise (em Portugal e Brasil)

Este artigo pretende apresentar uma revisão crítica da literatura sobre a governação pública em rede, abordando as diferentes tipologias de redes, os seus benefícios e desafios, as principais abordagens teóricas e metodológicas do seu estudo e os fatores críticos para o seu sucesso, em particular nos contextos da governação pública em Portugal e no Brasil. A relevância da análise decorre de este modo de governação ser crescentemente usado em diversos países, mas ser ainda alvo de pouca atenção acadêmica e política, sobretudo em contextos com tradição de governação hierárquica, tal como acontece nesses dois países. Assim, consideram-se essenciais contributos para compreender este fenômeno e fomentar a sua análise em tais contextos.This article aims to present a critical literature review on network public governance, analysing the different typologies of networks, their benefits and challenges, the main theoretical and methodological approaches of their study and the critical factors for their success, particularly within the public governance contexts of Portugal and Brazil. The relevance of this analysis stems from this governance mode being increasingly used in several countries, although still being subject to little academic and political attention, namely in contexts with a hierarchical governance tradition, such as in these two countries. Thus, contributions to understand this phenomenon and to foster its analysis in such contexts are considered essential

Homegreens - Aquaponics System as an Educational Tool towards a Sustainable Future

Aquaponics is an integrated production practice that emerges from the combi-nation of two farming techniques: hydroponics and aquaculture. It consists in a simulation of a natural ecosystem that grows plants without soil substrate in the nutrient enriched waters recirculated from aquaculture systems. This type of production offers several advantages, namely economic and ecological ones. Homegreens is a project that aims to create small saltwater and freshwater aquaponic sys-tems, which can be installed in schools and serve as a didactic tool for introducing contents such as biology and sustainability to a juvenile audience. Implemented by a designers, biol-ogists and agronomists’ multidisciplinary team, the methodology was based on the develop-ment and quantitative validation of prototypes, and the installation and qualitative analyses of user’s interaction. These small scale aquaponic systems consists on a grow bed, an aquarium with a capacity for 45L, a protection barrier for the plant’s roots, aeration, biofilters and a thermostat. Sever-al simplified models were developed, presented and installed in two primary schools. Labor-atory tests were conducted to validate the use of a cork grow bed and a 3D printed polya-cid lactic (PLA) aeration and biofilter system. Children’s engagement and interaction with these simplified models, indicates that these systems will provide a biology and sustainability related group learning opportunity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Intra-tumor heterogeneity in TP53 null high grade serous ovarian carcinoma progression

[Background]: High grade serous ovarian cancer is characterised by high initial response to chemotherapy but poor outcome in the long term due to acquired resistance. One of the main genetic features of this disease is TP53 mutation. The majority of TP53 mutated tumors harbor missense mutations in this gene, correlated with p53 accumulation. TP53 null tumors constitute a specific subgroup characterised by nonsense, frameshift or splice-site mutations associated to complete absence of p53 expression. Different studies show that this kind of tumors may have a worse prognosis than other TP53 mutated HGSC. [Methods]: In this study, we sought to characterise the intra-tumor heterogeneity of a TP53 null HGSC consisting of six primary tumor samples, two intra-pelvic and four extra-pelvic recurrences using exome sequencing and comparative genome hybridisation. [Results]: Significant heterogeneity was found among the different tumor samples, both at the mutational and copy number levels. Exome sequencing identified 102 variants, of which only 42 were common to all three samples; whereas 7 of the 18 copy number changes found by CGH analysis were presented in all samples. Sanger validation of 20 variants found by exome sequencing in additional regions of the primary tumor and the recurrence allowed us to establish a sequence of the tumor clonal evolution, identifying those populations that most likely gave rise to recurrences and genes potentially involved in this process, like GPNMB and TFDP1. Using functional annotation and network analysis, we identified those biological functions most significantly altered in this tumor. Remarkably, unexpected functions such as microtubule-based movement and lipid metabolism emerged as important for tumor development and progression, suggesting its potential interest as therapeutic targets. [Conclusions]: Altogether, our results shed light on the clonal evolution of the distinct tumor regions identifying the most aggressive subpopulations and at least some of the genes that may be implicated in its progression and recurrence, and highlights the importance of considering intra-tumor heterogeneity when carrying out genetic and genomic studies, especially when these are aimed to diagnostic procedures or to uncover possible therapeutic strategies.This work has been supported by grants from the AECC network-2012, Telemarató 2013, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (PI13/00132 and RETIC-RD12/0036/0007), GEIS award 2013, and by the Community of Madrid (S2010/BMD-2303). AM is a predoctoral student supported by FPU fellowship (Spanish Education Ministry). PGS is founded by postdoc contracts from the AECC Scientific Foundation.Peer Reviewe

Stone-stacking as a looming threat to rock-dwelling biodiversity

Non peer reviewe

Sleep quality and chronic pain in community dwelling older adults: preliminary results

Background: The natural process of human aging causes biopsychosocial alterations, which can trigger chronic pain and poor sleep quality in older adults. Considering the high prevalence and possible association between these two clinical conditions, special attention from public health policies is necessary to provide quality aging. Objective: To verify if there is an association between chronic pain and sleep quality among older adults in the community. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study on the association of chronic pain with the sleep quality among older people in the community. Participants were evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Visual Analog Pain scale; questionnaires of sociodemographic and clinical data, assessment of cognitive impairment through the Mini Mental State Examination, and anthropometric assessments. The data were submitted to descriptive statistics. The means between the groups of older people with and without chronic pain were compared using the Student's t test for independent samples and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) was used to analyze the association of PSQI with pain intensity. Results: In total, 51 older women were included, with a mean age of 70 ± 8 years. The majority had a low level of education (52.9%), low financial income (64.7%), and chronic pain (56.9%). It was found that the older adults with chronic pain presented worse sleep quality when compared those without chronic pain and a moderate (r=0.595) and significant (p<0.01) correlation between sleep quality and the intensity of chronic pain was observed. Conclusion: Older adults in the community with chronic pain present worse sleep quality when compared to the older adults without pain. There is a strong correlation between the intensity of chronic pain and sleep quality in older adults; the greater the intensity of pain, the worse the sleep quality

Nueva citas para la flora de la provincia de Almería (Sureste Ibérico, España)

Three new floristic records are presented in this work including one new species for Andalucia (Tamarix dalmatica), one new species for the province of Almer&iacute;a (Filago hispanica) and a confirmation for this province (Orobanche ballotae).Se presentan tres citas flor&iacute;sticas que suponen, una novedad para Andaluc&iacute;a (Tamarix dalmatica), una novedad la provincia de Almer&iacute;a (Filago hispanica) y una confirmaci&oacute;n para dicha provincia (Orobanche ballotae)

Individual and combined soy isoflavones exert differential effects on metastatic cancer progression

To investigate the effects soy isoflavones in established cancers, the role of genistein, daidzein, and combined soy isoflavones was studied on progression of subcutaneous tumors in nude mice created from green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged-MDA-MB-435 cells. Following tumor establishment, mice were gavaged with vehicle or genistein or daidzein at 10 mg/kg body weight (BW) or a combination of genistein (10 mg/kg BW), daidzein (9 mg/kg BW), and glycitein (1 mg/kg BW) three times per week. Tumor progression was quantified by whole body fluorescence image analysis followed by microscopic image analysis of excised organs for metastases. Results show that daidzein increased while genistein decreased mammary tumor growth by 38 and 33% respectively, compared to vehicle. Daidzein increased lung and heart metastases while genistein decreased bone and liver metastases. Combined soy isoflavones did not affect primary tumor growth but increased metastasis to all organs tested, which include lung, liver, heart, kidney, and bones. Phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3-K) pathway real time PCR array analysis and western blotting of excised tumors demonstrate that genistein significantly downregulated 10/84 genes, including the Rho GTPases RHOA, RAC1, and CDC42 and their effector PAK1. Daidzein significantly upregulated 9/84 genes that regulate proliferation and protein synthesis including EIF4G1, eIF4E, and survivin protein levels. Combined soy treatment significantly increased gene and protein levels of EIF4E and decreased TIRAP gene expression. Differential regulation of Rho GTPases, initiation factors, and survivin may account for the disparate responses of breast cancers to genistein and daidzein diets. This study indicates that consumption of soy foods may increase metastasis