The Development of the Asylum Law and Refugee Protection Regimes in Portugal, 1975–2017

This article examines the development of the legislation on asylum law and refugee policies in Portugal. The assessment begins in 1975, the year when democracy was re-established in the country, following the 1974 Carnation Revolution, and ends in 2015, the year the European asylum crisis started. We want to discuss whether, during this period, the policies established indicate an open regime, with an integrationist perspective, or whether they proclaim a closed regime with an exclusivist position; in other words, whether the asylum system promoted an active policy of receiving and integrating refugees, or whether the policies pursued intended to limit the access of refugees to the borders of the state. In order to understand these developments, we analyze asylum application figures and asylum laws, trying to understand the main circumstantial contexts that influence them, namely Portugal’s integration in the European Union.Cet article examine l’élaboration, au Portugal, de la législation concernant les politiques relatives au droit d’asile et aux réfugiés. Cet examen débute en 1975, année du rétablissement de la démocratie dans le pays à la suite de la Révolution des Œillets en 1974, et s’arrête en 2015, année où débute la crise européenne de l’asile. Il s’agit pour nous de discuter si, au cours de cette période, les politiques établies signent un régime d’ouverture, dans une perspective intégrationniste, ou si elles déclarent un régime fermé, signant une position exclusiviste ; en d’autres termes, si le système d’asile promeut une politique active d’accueil et d’intégration des réfugiés, ou si les politiques poursuivies ont pour objectif de limiter l’accès des réfugiés aux frontières de l’État. Pour comprendre l’élaboration de ces politiques, nous analysons les chiffres de demandes d’asile et les lois sur l’asile en essayant de comprendre les principales circonstances contextuelles qui les infuencent, en l’occurrence l’intégration du Portugal à l’Union européenne.&nbsp

DNA-psoralen: single-molecule experiments and first principles calculations

The authors measure the persistence and contour lengths of DNA-psoralen complexes, as a function of psoralen concentration, for intercalated and crosslinked complexes. In both cases, the persistence length monotonically increases until a certain critical concentration is reached, above which it abruptly decreases and remains approximately constant. The contour length of the complexes exhibits no such discontinuous behavior. By fitting the relative increase of the contour length to the neighbor exclusion model, we obtain the exclusion number and the intrinsic intercalating constant of the psoralen-DNA interaction. Ab initio calculations are employed in order to provide an atomistic picture of these experimental findings.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures in re-print format 3 pages, 4 figures in the published versio

A biophysical insight of Camptothecin biodistribution: towards a molecular understanding of its pharmacokinetic issues

Camptothecin (CPT) is a potent anticancer drug, and its putative oral administration is envisioned although difficult due to physiological barriers that must be overcome. A comprehensive biophysical analysis of CPT interaction with biointerface models can be used to predict some pharmacokinetic issues after oral administration of this or other drugs. To that end, different models were used to mimic the phospholipid composition of normal, cancer, and blood–brain barrier endothelial cell membranes. The logD values obtained indicate that the drug is well distributed across membranes. CPT-membrane interaction studies also confirm the drug’s location at the membrane cooperative and interfacial regions. The drug can also permeate membranes at more ordered phases by altering phospholipid packing. The similar logD values obtained in membrane models mimicking cancer or normal cells imply that CPT has limited selectivity to its target. Furthermore, CPT binds strongly to serum albumin, leaving only 8.05% of free drug available to be distributed to the tissues. The strong interaction with plasma proteins, allied to the large distribution (VDSS = 5.75 ± 0.932 L·Kg−1) and tendency to bioaccumulate in off-target tissues, were predicted to be pharmacokinetic issues of CPT, implying the need to develop drug delivery systems to improve its biodistribution.This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding [UID/FIS/04650/2019], and by the project CONCERT [POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-032651 and PTDC/NAN-MAT/326512017], co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through COMPETE 2020, under Portugal 2020, and FCT I.P. The authors thank Elettra Sincrotone and Sigrid Bernstorff, Trieste, Italy, for beam time and support through the project 20155321. Marlene Lúcio thanks FCT and ERDF for doctoral position [CTTI-150/18-CF (1)] in the ambit of the project CONCERT. Andreia Almeida (SFRH/BD/118721/2016) and Eduarda Fernandes (SFRH/BD/147938/2019) grants are supported by FCT, POPH and FEDER/COMPETE

Local delivery of doxorubicin nanocrystals from electrospun nanofibers

The objective of this study is to develop a novel system for local application of DOX either in surgical loci or in a topical application device enabling a controlled release of the drug. The developed system involves the encapsulation of DOX into electrospun polymeric nanofibers. Chosen polymers were polyoxyethilene (PEO) and polycaprolactone (PCL).This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013. Marlene Lúcio acknowledges the exploratory project funded by FCT with the reference IF/00498/2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Flow injection analysis using carbon film resistor electrodes for amperometric determination of ambroxol

Flow injection analysis (FIA) using a carbon film sensor for amperometric detection was explored for ambroxol analysis in pharmaceutical formulations. The specially designed flow cell designed in the lab generated sharp and reproducible current peaks, with a wide linear dynamic range from 5 × 10-7 to 3.5 × 10-4 mol L-1, in 0.1 mol L-1 sulfuric acid electrolyte, as well as high sensitivity, 0.110 A mol-1 L cm-2 at the optimized flow rate. A detection limit of 7.6 × 10-8 mol L-1 and a sampling frequency of 50 determinations per hour were achieved, employing injected volumes of 100 [mu]L and a flow rate of 2.0 mL min-1. The repeatability, expressed as R.S.D. for successive and alternated injections of 6.0 × 10-6 and 6.0 × 10-5 mol L-1 ambroxol solutions, was 3.0 and 1.5%, respectively, without any noticeable memory effect between injections. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of ambroxol in pharmaceutical samples and the results obtained were compared with UV spectrophotometric and acid-base titrimetric methods. Good agreement between the results utilizing the three methods and the labeled values was achieved, corroborating the good performance of the proposed electrochemical methodology for ambroxol analysis.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6THP-4RW434G-1/1/d40a3f00a2eaccb84817b064f601d0f

Lipid nanocarriers for anti-HIV therapeutics: a focus on physicochemical properties and biotechnological advances

Since HIV was first identified, and in a relatively short period of time, AIDS has become one of the most devastating infectious diseases of the 21st century. Classical antiretroviral therapies were a major step forward in disease treatment options, significantly improving the survival rates of HIV-infected individuals. Even though these therapies have greatly improved HIV clinical outcomes, antiretrovirals (ARV) feature biopharmaceutic and pharmacokinetic problems such as poor aqueous solubility, short half-life, and poor penetration into HIV reservoir sites, which contribute to the suboptimal efficacy of these regimens. To overcome some of these issues, novel nanotechnology-based strategies for ARV delivery towards HIV viral reservoirs have been proposed. The current review is focused on the benefits of using lipid-based nanocarriers for tuning the physicochemical properties of ARV to overcome biological barriers upon administration. Furthermore, a correlation between these properties and the potential therapeutic outcomes has been established. Biotechnological advancements using lipid nanocarriers for RNA interference (RNAi) delivery for the treatment of HIV infections were also discussed.This research was funded by FCT/MCTES—Foundation for Science and Technology I.P. from the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education (PIDDAC) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the COMPETE—Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC) through the project CONCERT [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032651 and PTDC/NANMAT/326512017] and the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2019 and “Contrato-Programa” UIDB/ 04469/2020 (CF-UM-UP and CBMA). Marlene Lúcio thanks FCT and ERDF for the doctoral position [CTTI-150/18-CF (1)] in the scope of the project CONCERT. Maria João Faria thanks FCT for PhD grant [2020.06561.BD]

Numerical simulation of Double Skin Facade used to produce energy in buildings

This article introduces a numerical model to project and construct a Double Skin Facade (DSF) in windows facing south, in order to be used on thermal energy generation in winter conditions. The DSF system is applied to a virtual chamber similar to a real experimental chamber and it is connected to a mixing ventilation system. The thermal energy generated by this DSF system is used to further indoor air quality and thermal comfort for occupants. The numerical simulation is done by a software that simulates the virtual chamber and the DSF thermal response. This software uses energy and mass balance integral equations for the opaque surfaces, transparent surfaces and internal air. It also considers the solar radiation simulator, the glass radiative properties and the assessment of radiative and convective coefficients. The results show that the proposed DSF system, using solar radiation, contributes to having acceptable conditions of thermal comfort, during most of the occupation cycle, and indoor air quality.publishedVersio

“Um Bando de Idéias Novas na Arqueologia”

The aim of this paper is to discuss the articulation of the Imperial Archaeology related to knowledge and power. From this articulation some matters are raised about the relationship between the archaeological practice, the Imperial political scheme and the Evolutionism.O objetivo deste artigo é o de discutir a articulação da Arqueologia Imperial com um campo de saber e de poder. A partir desta articulação, levanto algumas questões sobre as relações entre a prática arqueológica, o projeto político Imperial e o Evolucionismo

EPIC-PHASE: a model to explore irrigation strategies

bstract The erosion productivity impact calculator phase (EPIC-PHASE) model has been used to simulate, using 1972 to 1994 climatic date, two irrigation strategies with a non-limited water supply: (1) a standard strategy based on simple decision rules advisable for moderately deep soils of the Lauragais region (France) and in the Alentejo region (Portugal); and (2) a model strategy based on the daily development of soil water depletion and daily water stress intensity predicted by the model. At Lauragais, the results show that for the same level of yield it would have been possible with the model to save 73 mm on average, equivalent of two irrigations per year, compared to the standard strategy. These savings are due to an increased soil water contribution during the cycle and to an earlier end of the irrigation supply. At Alentejo, the results show that for the same level of yield as obtained with the standard strategy, it would have been possible with EPIC-PHASE model to save 100 mm of water on average, equivalent of two irrigations per year due to an increased use of soil water during the cycle. Although the results are from simulations it is proved that the standard strategy is inadequate. Regarding the environmental impact, the model management allows for an increase in the level of water depletion at harvest, delaying the risk of percolation and nitrogen losses during the refill period. The EPIC-PHASE model proved to be a tool capable of defining an irrigation schedule better adapted to the Mediterranean region

Innovative structural systems for industrial buildings using fiber reinforced concrete and material nonlinear FEM-Based models

Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC) can be very effective in precast pre-stressed high strength concrete structures, since shear reinforcement and passive longitudinal bars can be totally replaced by fibre reinforcement. To simulate adequately the fibre reinforcement benefits, material constitutive models, able of capturing the crack initiation and crack propagation need to be used, under the frame-work of FEM-based analysis. In the present work, the use of FRC was explored for the development of innovative structural systems for industrial buildings. The connections between structural precast elements were also simulated. The numerical simulations are described and the results are analyzed and discussed