Achados metálicos de cobre no baixo Vouga (Centro-Norte de Portugal)

O objetivo deste trabalho é o de dar a conhecer dois objetos metálicos, à base de cobre, encontrados em contextos arqueológicos distintos do curso inferior do rio Vouga e desta forma contribuir para o estudo das primeiras produções metalúrgicas na fachada ocidental do Centro-Norte português. O primeiro artefacto, um punhal com chanfraduras na zona de encaixe, foi detetado no sítio da Tapada do Espinheiro, freguesia de Sepins, concelho de Cantanhede, num terraço localizado a NW da plataforma de Murtede-Cordinhã, sobranceira à Vala Real (rio da Tapada ou da Ponte), tributária do rio Cértima, afluente da margem sul do Vouga. O achado, detetado em trabalhos de prospeção, inseria-se numa área com cerca de 1 000 m2 onde ocorriam manchas de terra escura, concentração de cerâmica, de artefactos em pedra polida e talhada e alguns calhaus e blocos calcários resultantes da destruição de estruturas pétreas. A segunda peça, um machado plano, foi encontrado no topo da referida plataforma, a norte da freguesia de Sepins, concelho de Cantanhede, numa estação arqueológica de grandes dimensões sobranceira ao rio da Ponte, afluente do Cértima. Em ambos os contextos há fragmentos cerâmicos profusamente decorados com decorações incisas metopadas de tipo Penha, típicos do Calcolítico do Noroeste português, assim como decorações penteadas e espinhadas, comuns no Calcolítico do Nordeste e no Calcolítico e Inícios da Idade do Bronze do Alto Douro e da Beira Alta, balizas cronológicas onde estas peças se poderão inserir. Ao contrário do acervo cerâmico que indicia contactos com o Noroeste Peninsular e áreas mais interiores da bacia do Mondego, o punhal de chanfradura, de tradição meridional calcolítica, permite admitir que o curso inferior da bacia do Vouga foi uma zona charneira no encontro de diferentes tradições culturais, durante o III milénio a.C. A composição química dos objetos metálicos, determinada por espectrometria de fluorescência de raios X, contribui para a caraterização das primeiras produções metalúrgicas na fachada ocidental Centro – Norte do país, bem como a sua contextualização na arqueometalurgia peninsular.The aim of this work is to present two metallic objects found in archaeological contexts in the lower course of the Vouga river contributing to the study of the first metallurgical productions at the western façade of the Central-North of Portugal. The first artefact, an early dagger, was found at the site of Tapada do Espinheiro, in the Sepins surroundings, county of Cantanhede, at a terrace of the NW side of the Sepins plateau, overlooking the Vala Real (Ponte river), tributary of Cértima river, a tributary of the Vouga basin. The finding was recovered during field work, in an area of about 1 000 m2 , within which occurs patches of dark earth, concentrations of pottery, carved and polished stone artefacts and some pebbles and blocks that result from the destruction of stone structures. The second object, a flat axe, was found in Pedrulhais, in the Sepins surroundings, county of Cantanhede, at a large archaeological site or enclusure located in the Sepins plateau overlooking the Ponte river, a tributary of Cértima, about 1.5 km East of the first. In both contexts there are pottery fragments of the “Penha type” profusely decorated, typical of the Chalcolithic of the Northwest of Portugal, as well as pottery with combed and spines decorations, common in the Chalcolithic of the Northeast of Portugal and in the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age in Alto Douro and Beira Alta regions, chronological milestones where these pieces could be inserted. Although the ceramic collection suggests contacts with the Northwest of Iberian Peninsula and areas further inland of the Mondego river, the dagger finds similarities to the Chalcolithic Southern tradition. This might be an indication that the lower course of the Vouga basin could have been an area where different cultural traditions meet during the III millennium BC. The chemical composition of the metallic objects, determined by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, contributes to the characterization of the first metal productions in the west façade of the Central-North of Portugal, allowing the contextualization of these findings among the Iberian ancient metallurgy.Este trabalho foi realizado no âmbito dos projetos Metalurgia Primitiva no Território Português – EARLYMETAL (PTDC/HIS-ARQ/110442/2008) e Paisagens da Idade do Bronze no Ocidente Peninsular (SFRH/BSAB/986/10), financiados pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), e a bolsa SFRH/BPD/73245/2010, também financiada pela FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Intervenção em estimulação multissensorial e snoezelen

The intervention in multisensory stimulation and Snoezelen, in addition to being used as a promoter of relaxation and leisure with children, is also used at other ages and has a great impact on the quality of life of those who experience them. During the period of confinement, due to Covid-19 in the months of January, February and March, as a special education teacher, my intervention was at the level of multisensory therapy Snoezelen with a student who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Spectrum Disorder (PEA) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by difficulties in communication and social interaction, associated with repetitive behaviors. This technique also uses various materials for therapeutic and pedagogical purposes that are of great importance and benefits in terms of the intervention of special education and in other contexts of the inclusive school. A intervenção em estimulação multissensorial e Snoezelen, além de ser utilizada como promotora de relaxamento e lazer com as crianças, é também usada noutras idades e tem um grande impacto na qualidade de vida de quem as vivencia. Durante o período de confinamento, devido ao Covid-19 nos meses de janeiro, fevereiro e março, como docente de educação especial a minha intervenção foi ao nível da terapia multissensorial Snoezelen com um aluno que sofre de Perturbação do Espectro do Autismo. A Perturbação do Espectro do Autismo (PEA) é uma perturbação do neurodesenvolvimento que se caracteriza por dificuldades na comunicação e interação social, associadas a comportamentos repetitivos. Esta técnica usa ainda vários materiais para efeitos terapêuticos e pedagógicos que tem grande importância e benefícios ao nível da intervenção da educação especial e noutros contextos da escola inclusiva

Inclusão de crianças com NEE no ensino regular: análise numa perspetiva de trabalho colaborativo entre o docente de educação especial e o docente do ensino regular

Currently, Education, which intends to be inclusive, struggles with the need to expand pedagogical performance, in a work model that aims to be dynamic, cooperative and collaborative, in an educational process that is wanted from everyone, for everyone. A growing number of students identified with special educational needs receive their education, or at least part of it, in regular education classrooms, causing an increasing need for regular education teachers to be prepared to meet the needs. interests and needs of all students, aiming at their educational and social success.Atualmente, a Educação, que se pretende inclusiva, debate-se com a necessidade de ampliar a atuação pedagógica, num modelo de trabalho que se ambiciona dinâmico,cooperativo ecolaborativo, num processo educativo que se quer de todos, para todos. Um crescente número de alunos identificados com necessidades educativas especiais recebem a sua educação, ou pelo menos parte dela, em salas de aula de educação regular fazendo com que haja uma necessidade cada vez maior que os docentes do ensino regular estejam preparados para irem ao encontro dos interesses e necessidades de todos os alunos, visando o seu sucesso educativo e social

Ethics issues experienced in HBM within Portuguese health surveillance and research projects

Background: In keeping with the fundamental practice of transparency in the discussion and resolution of ethics conflicts raised by research, a summary of ethics issues raised during Portuguese biomonitoring in health surveillance and research is presented and, where applicable, their resolution is described. Methods: Projects underway aim to promote the surveillance of public health related to the presence of solid waste incinerators or to study associations between human exposure to environmental factors and adverse health effects. The methodological approach involves biomonitoring of heavy metals, dioxins and/or other persistent organic pollutants in tissues including blood, human milk and both scalp and pubic hair in groups such as the general population, children, pregnant women or women attempting pregnancy. As such, the projects entail the recruitment of individuals representing different demographic and health conditions, the collection of body tissues and personal data, and the processing of the data and results. Results: The issue of autonomy is raised during the recruitment of participants and during the collection of samples and data. This right is protected by the requirement for prior written, informed consent from the participant or, in the case of children, from their guardian. Recruitment has been successful, among eligible participants, in spite of incentives rarely being offered. The exception has been in obtaining guardians' consent for children's participation, particularly for blood sampling. In an attempt to mitigate the harm-benefit ratio, current research efforts include alternative less invasive biomarkers. Surveys are currently being conducted under contract as independent biomonitoring actions and as such, must be explicitly disclosed as a potential conflict of interests. Communication of results to participants is in general only practised when a health issue is present and corrective action possible. Concerning human milk a careful approach is taken, considering breast-feeding's proven benefits. Conclusion: No national legislation currently accounts for the surveillance component of biomonitoring as distinct from research. Ethics issues arising within the domain of research are resolved according to available regulations. For issues encountered during surveillance, the same principles are used as guidance, completed by the authors' best judgement and relevant ethics committees' findings.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia with participation by FEDER, under POCI2010; ref. POCI/ SAU-ESP/58298/2004 (VAEDA) and POCI/SAU-ESP/62115/2004 (FEXHEBIO

ABIETANE DITERPENOIDS FROM PLECTRANTHUS GRANDIDENTATUS

The acetone extract of the whole plant of Plectranthus grandidentatus provided the already known abietanes royleanone, 6,7-dehydroroyleanone, horminone, 6β-hydroxyroyleanone, 7α-acetoxy-6β-hydroxyroyleanone and the abietane dimers grandidone C, grandidone D and 7-epigrandidone D, together with a mixture of fatty acid esters of 7α-acyloxy-6β,12-dihydroxy-abieta-8,12-diene-11,14-dione. Some of these compounds showed moderate antibacterial activity

Pesquisa das actividades antioxidante e antimicrobiana em extractos de plantas do género Plectranthus

The use of medicinal plants is a widespread tendency in folk medicine. The Lamiaceae family contains several genera such as sage (Salvia), basil (Ocimum) and mint (Mentha) with a rich diversity of ethnobotanical uses. This study presents the in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activities evaluation of five species extracts of the Plectranthus genus: P. hadiensis (vr), P. madagascarensis, P. neochilus, P. verticillatus e P. barbatus. Aqueous and acetonic extracts were obtained by five different methods: infusion, decoction, ultrasounds, microwave and maceration (10% w / v of dry plant). The highest amount of dry extract was obtained by the infusion method for Plectranthus barbatus (22,0 ± 1,0 to 33,0 ± 3,0 mg/mL). The extracts obtained were tested for their antimicrobial activity against three Gram-positive bacteria and two Gram-negative bacteria using the well diffusion method. Only the acetonic extracts of P. madagascarensis, P. hadiensis (vd) and P. verticillatus showed antibacterial activity and this was exclusively against Gram-positive bacteria. The highest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by P. madagascarensis extract with inhibition zones ranging from 23 to 36 mm. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was qualitatively determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay in tlc and yielded positive results for the majority of the extracts studied

Antimicrobial screening of Plectranthus madagascariensis and P. neochilus extracts

Natural products are widely used as traditional medicines and are a common source of bioactive molecules for the treatment of bacterial infections. In particular, some plants of the genus Plectranthus (Lamiaceae) have demonstrated several applications, including the treatment of various infections. In this work, aqueous, acetonic and methanolic extracts of P. madagascariensis and P. neochilus were prepared using several extraction methods (infusion, decoction, maceration, microwave- and ultrasoundassisted and supercritical fluids). All extracts were screened for their antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Mycobacterium smegmatis) and Gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli) and two yeast (Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) strains. The P. madagascariensis acetonic extracts obtained using ultrasound and maceration methods and P. neochilus acetonic extract obtained by ultrasound technique showed activity against the five tested Gram positive bacteria (5‒24 mm of inhibition zone using the well diffusion test). The antimicrobial activity was further evaluated by the microdilution method (MIC values were between 250‒0.49 μg/mL) and the bioautography assay against S. aureus. The P. madagascariensis ultrasound acetonic extract was the most active extract against all the tested Gram positive bacteria (MIC values ranged between 31.25 - 0.49 μg/mL). It was also active against resistant MRSA and VRE strains (MIC values ranged between 31.25-0.98 μg/mL). The S. aureus bioautography assay showed that the more polar compounds were the responsible for the antimicrobial activity

Erratum To: Quality Of Sweat Test (st) Based On The Proportion Of Sweat Sodium (na) And Sweat Chloride (cl) As Diagnostic Parameter Of Cystic Fibrosis: Are We On The Right Way?

During production of the original article [1] the Methods section included an incorrect sentence. The following sentence "For the analysis of variables with numerical distribution, Fisher's exact test and one-way analysis of variance were used" should be corrected as "For the analysis of variables with numerical distribution, Student's t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used". © The Author(s).12