Estratégias do sector público no combate à pobreza

Comunicação apresentada no XV Congresso Internacional do CLAD "La participación protagónica de la ciudadanía en el tránsito hacia un gobierno más democrático en Iberoamérica", em Santo Domingo, República Dominicana de 9-12 de novembro de 2010.Para aumentar a coesão social e garantir a participação de todos os cidadãos e cidadãs na construção social das políticas públicas, devem existir as condições e mecanismos apropriados. Neste sentido, deve ser dada especial atenção às populações mais vulneráveis, entre elas, as pessoas em situação de exclusão social e pobreza. O presente trabalho tem por objectivo efectuar uma reflexão das políticas públicas no combate à pobreza em Portugal. Para tal, em primeiro lugar são analisadas as principais estratégias políticas, através de quatro modelos explicativos básicos, a saber: modelo de oferta, modelo de procura, modelo histórico-materialista e modelo histórico-institucional. Em segundo lugar, é abordada a questão da medição da pobreza e de quais são os indicadores mais adequados para estimar a incidência, a intensidade e a severidade da pobreza, bem como para desenhar políticas públicas mais efectivas para a redução da mesma. A seguir, identificam-se os principais modelos de intervenção no combate à pobreza. Por último, é analisada a Estratégia Nacional para a Protecção Social e a Inclusão Social 2008-2010, que está ser implementada em Portugal, assinalando os aspectos positivos das medidas políticas adoptadas e algumas fragilidades identificadas

Structural Diversity in Galactans From Red Seaweeds and Its Influence on Rheological Properties

Galactans are important components of many plant cell walls. Besides, they are the major polysaccharides in extracellular matrixes from different seaweeds, and other marine organisms, which have an acidic character due to the presence of sulfate groups in their structures. In particular, most of the red seaweeds biosynthesize sulfated galactans with very special linear backbones, constituted by alternating (1→3)-β-d-galactopyranose units (A-unit) and (1→4)-α-galactopyranose residues (B-unit). In the industrially significant seaweeds as source of hydrocolloids, B-units belong either to the d-series and they produce carrageenans (as in the order Gigartinales), or to the l-series, and they are sources of agarose and/or structurally related polymers (i.e., Gelidiales, Gracilariales). In both cases, the latter units appear as cyclized 3,6-anhydro-α-galactose in certain amounts, which can be increased by alkaline cyclization of α-galactose 6-sulfate units. Besides, it has been clearly shown that some red algae produce different amounts of both galactan structures, known as d/l-hybrids. It is not yet clear if they comprise both diasteromeric types of units in the same molecule, or if they are mixtures of carrageenans and agarans that are very difficult to separate. It has been reported that the biosynthesis of these galactans, showing that the nucleotide transport for d-galactopyranose units is UDP-d-Gal, while for l-galactose, it is GDP-l-Gal, so, there is a different pathway in the biosynthesis of agarans. However, at least in those seaweeds that produce carrageenans as major galactans, but also agarans, both synthetic pathways should coexist. Another interesting characteristic of these galactans is the important variation in the sulfation patterns, which modulate their physical behavior in aqueous solutions. Although the most common carrageenans are of the κ/ι- and λ-types (with A-units sulfated at the 4- and 2-positions, respectively) and usually in agarans, when sulfated, is at the 6-position, many other sulfate arrangements have been reported, greatly influencing the functional properties of the corresponding galactans. Other substituents can modify their structures, as methyl ethers, pyruvic acid ketals, acetates, and single stubs of xylose or other monosaccharides. It has been shown that structural heterogeneity at some extent is essential for the proper functional performance of red algal galactans.Fil: Ciancia, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono; ArgentinaFil: Matulewicz, Maria Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono; ArgentinaFil: Tuvikene, Rando. Tallinn University; Estoni

A database and digital signal processing framework for the perceptual analysis of voice quality

Bermúdez de Alvear RM, Corral J, Tardón LJ, Barbancho AM, Fernández Contreras E, Rando Márquez S, Martínez-Arquero AG, Barbancho I. A database and digital signal processing framework for the perceptual analysis of voice quality. Pan European Voice Conferenc: PEVOC 11 Abstract Book. Aug. 31-Sept.2, 2015.Introduction. Clinical assessment of dysphonia relies on perceptual as much as instrumental methods of analysis [1]. The perceptual auditory analysis is potentially subject to several internal and external sources of bias [2]. Furthermore acoustic analyses which have been used to objectively characterize pathological voices are likely to be affected by confusion variables such as the signal processing or the hardware and software specifications [3]. For these reasons the poor correlation between perceptual ratings and acoustic measures remains to be a controversial matter [4]. The availability of annotated databases of voice samples is therefore of main importance for clinical and research purposes. Databases to perform digital processing of the vocal signal are usually built from English speaking subjects’ sustained vowels [5]. However phonemes vary from one language to another and to the best of our knowledge there are no annotated databases with Spanish sustained vowels from healthy or dysphonic voices. This work shows our first steps to fill in this gap. For the aim of aiding clinicians and researchers in the perceptual assessment of voice quality a two-fold objective was attained. On the one hand a database of healthy and disordered Spanish voices was developed; on the other an automatic analysis scheme was accomplished on the basis of signal processing algorithms and supervised learning machine techniques. Material and methods. A preliminary annotated database was created with 119 recordings of the sustained Spanish /a/; they were perceptually labeled by three experienced experts in vocal quality analysis. It is freely available under Links in the ATIC website (www.atic.uma.es). Voice signals were recorded using a headset condenser cardioid microphone (AKG C-544 L) positioned at 5 cm from the speaker’s mouth commissure. Speakers were instructed to sustain the Spanish vowel /a/ for 4 seconds. The microphone was connected to a digital recorder Edirol R-09HR. Voice signals were digitized at 16 bits with 44100 Hz sampling rate. Afterwards the initial and last 0.5 second segments were cut and the 3 sec. mid portion was selected for acoustic analysis. Sennheiser HD219 headphones were used by judges to perceptually evaluate voice samples. To label these recordings raters used the Grade-Roughness-Breathiness (GRB) perceptual scale which is a modified version of the original Hirano’s GRBAS scale, posteriorly modified by Dejonckere et al., [6]. In order to improve intra- and inter-raters’ agreement two types of modifications were introduced in the rating procedure, i.e. the 0-3 points scale resolution was increased by adding subintervals to the standard 0-3 intervals, and judges were provided with a written protocol with explicit definitions about the subintervals boundaries. By this way judges could compensate for the potential instability that might occur in their internal representations due to the perceptual context influence [7]. Raters’ perceptual evaluations were simultaneously performed by means of connecting the Sennheiser HD219 headphones to a multi-channel headphone preamp Behringer HA4700 Powerplay Pro-XL. The Yin algorithm [8] was selected as initial front-end to identify voiced frames and extract their fundamental frequency. For the digital processing of voice signals some conventional acoustic parameters [6] were selected. To complete the analysis the Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) were further calculated because they are based on the auditory model and they are thus closer to the auditory system response than conventional features. Results. In the perceptual evaluation excellent intra-raters agreement and very good inter-raters agreement were achieved. During the supervised machine learning stage some conventional features were found to attain unexpected low performance in the classification scheme selected. Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients were promising for assorting samples with normal or quasi-normal voice quality. Discussion and conclusions. Despite it is still small and unbalanced the present annotated data base of voice samples can provide a basis for the development of other databases and automatic classification tools. Other authors [9, 10, 11] also found that modeling the auditory non-linear response during signal processing can help develop objective measures that better correspond with perceptual data. However highly disordered voices classification remains to be a challenge for this set of features since they cannot be correctly assorted by either conventional variables or the auditory model based measures. Current results warrant further research in order to find out the usability of other types of voice samples and features for the automatic classification schemes. Different digital processing steps could be used to improve the classifiers performance. Additionally other types of classifiers could be taken into account in future studies. Acknowledgment. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Project No. TIN2013-47276-C6-2-R has been done in the Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, Universidad de Málaga. References [1] Carding PN, Wilson JA, MacKenzie K, Deary IJ. Measuring voice outcomes: state of the science review. The Journal of Laryngology and Otology 2009;123,8:823-829. [2] Oates J. Auditory-perceptual evaluation of disordered voice quality: pros, cons and future directions. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica 2009;61,1:49-56. [3] Maryn et al. Meta-analysis on acoustic voice quality measures. J Acoust Soc Am 2009; 126, 5: 2619-2634. [4] Vaz Freitas et al. Correlation Between Acoustic and Audio-Perceptual Measures. J Voice 2015;29,3:390.e1 [5] “Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) Model 5105. Software Instruction Manual”, Kay PENTAX, A Division of PENTAX Medical Company, 2 Bridgewater Lane, Lincoln Park, NJ 07035-1488 USA, November 2007. [6] Dejonckere PH, Bradley P, Clemente P, Cornut G, Crevier-Buchman L, Friedrich G, Van De Heyning P, Remacle M, Woisard V. A basic protocol for functional assessment of voice pathology, especially for investigating the efficacy of (phonosurgical) treatments and evaluating new assessment techniques. Guideline elaborated by the Comm. on Phoniatrics of the European Laryngological Society (ELS). Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2001;258:77–82. [7] Kreiman et al. Voice Quality Perception. J Speech Hear Res 1993;36:21-4 [8] De Cheveigné A, Kawahara H. YIN, a fundamental frequency estimator for speech and music. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 202; 111,4:1917. [9] Shrivastav et al. Measuring breathiness. J Acoust Soc Am 2003;114,4:2217-2224. [10] Saenz-Lechon et al. Automatic Assessment of voice quality according to the GRBAS scale. Eng Med Biol Soc Ann 2006;1:2478-2481. [11] Fredouille et al. Back-and-forth methodology for objective voice quality assessment: from/to expert knowledge to/from automatic classification of dysphonia. EURASIP J Appl Si Pr 2009.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, Universidad de Málaga. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Projecto No. TIN2013-47276-C6-2-R

The Phubbing Scale (PS-8) in the Portuguese population: psychometric properties

Phubbing is defined as ignoring other individuals by using a mobile phone during a face-to-face conversation. The Phubbing Scale (PS) was developed to assess this practice. In this study, we analyze the psychometric properties of the 8-item version of the PS (PS-8) in the Portuguese population, providing validity evidence based on internal structure and on relationships with other variables, and examining item properties, reliability, and measurement invariance across gender. Participants were 391 Portuguese adults (132 men, 259 women) who completed a battery of questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices for the two-factor structure (communication disturbance and phone obsession), which was invariant across gender. Item homogeneity and reliability of factor scores (McDonald’s omega) were satisfactory. Validity evidence based on relationships with other variables was provided by positive associations with time spent on the Internet on weekdays and at the weekend, time spent on social networking sites, number of social networks used, Internet addiction, problematic mobile phone use, Facebook intrusion, fear of missing out, and depression. These associations show the addictive component of phubbing and its relationship with mental health. The PS-8 is a short and easy-to-administer scale with adequate psychometric properties for measuring phubbing in the Portuguese population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sheep α-globin gene sequences: Implications for their concerted evolution and for the down-regulation of the 3' genes

In sheep as in man and most other mammals, there are two α-globin genes (Iα and IIα), which are expressed at different levels, the upstream gene being the most efficient. In α-globin gene triplication and quadruplication, this trend is confirmed, i.e., the α-chain output of the downstream genes progressively decreases. In this study, we have determined the complete sequence of the cDNAs and of both the introns in a triple-α haplotype in which each gene could be recognized for the presence of distinct alleles. The sequence analysis reveals that the bodies of the three α-globin genes are essentially identical (99.9% homology) and moreover indicates that the down-regulation of additional α-globin genes in sheep is not the effect of sequence variation from the Cap to the Poly(A) addition sites. This striking similarity among α-genes is higher than that seen in other mammals and is probably sustained by particularly efficient mechanisms of gene conversion and cross-over fixation

Characterization of an extinct seabird colony on the island of Santa Luzia (Cabo Verde) and its potential for future recolonizations

Islands worldwide have sufered seabird extinctions after the arrival of humans and the alien species they introduced. On Santa Luzia (Cabo Verde), an uninhabited island of 35 km2 ,the presence of an impressive quantity of petrel bones in coastal dunes suggested the previous existence of an important seabird colony. Yet, these remains had not been identifed and no seabird extinctions have been reported for the island. This paper characterizes the extinct seabird colony of Santa Luzia and discusses the chronology and possible causes of its demise. A total of 130 grid points in a 5 km2 area and 38 supplementary points within and outside the main study area were excavated to collect bone remains. A total of 1318 anatomical elements, identifed as White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina eadesorum (85.3% of the minimum number of individuals, MNI), Boyd’s Shearwater Pufnus lherminieri boydi (11.8% MNI) and Cape Verde Storm Petrel Hydrobates jabejabe (2.9% MNI), were found in 18% of the sampling points, within 1.25 km2 . Neither of the two former species currently breeds on Santa Luzia. In addition, two bones of the Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris edwardsii and Pterodroma sp. were detected in the supplementary points. Radiocarbon dating of White-faced Storm Petrel (n=10) and Boyd’s Shearwater bones (n=13) suggests that the colony probably went extinct during the frst half of the twentieth century. The recent extinction of these species on Santa Luzia might be consequent on the arrival of humans and their domestic animals on the island. We estimate that the extinct seabird populations must have been at least hundreds of thousand strong, far larger than current populations of the same species in Cabo Verde. We suggest that, following feral cat eradication, Santa Luzia has a signifcant potential for seabird restorationFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dental caries and treatment needs in adolescents from the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of dental caries and treatment needs in 12-year-olds and adolescents. METHODS: Cross-sectional study based on results from the epidemiological surveys: Oral Health Conditions in the State of Sao Paulo, 2002 and the Brazilian Oral Health Survey (SBBrasil) 2010. Secondary data for 5,782 (2002) and 369 (2010) 12-year-olds and 880 (2002) and 300 (2010) 15- to 19-year-olds were analyzed. Dental caries attack was evaluated using the DMFT (decayed, missing or filled teeth) index and the need for treatment verified using the criteria proposed by the World Health Organization. The Significant Caries Index was used to measure the severity of the decay in the tercile of the group with the highest prevalence of the disease. In order to analyze the results, the Chi-squared and Mann-Whitney tests were used, with a 5% significance. RESULTS: There was a decrease of 39.3 percentage points in the DMFT index for 12-year-olds (p &lt; 0.001) and of 41.1 percentage points for the adolescents (p &lt; 0.001) between 2002 and 2010, and an increase of around 161.0 and 303.0 percentage in the group which was free from dental caries respectively. The percentage of restored teeth decreased in both age groups, although the prevalence of dental caries did not change in the group more affected by dental caries. In the group with few dental caries, there was a decrease in the component &#8216;tooth loss&#8217; for adolescents and increase in the component &#8216;decayed teeth&#8217; for the 12-years-old and the adolescents. There was an increase in the need for dental treatment in the group as a whole and in the group of 12-year-olds more affected by dental caries; and among the adolescents, the need for restoration on two or more surface decreased in the group as a whole and also in the group which suffered least from dental caries. CONCLUSIONS: The decreasing need for non-complex treatment in adolescents suggests that promotion and prevention activities are having a positive effect on this group. Moreover, the two epidemiological surveys in the state of Sao Paulo show improvements in oral health conditions in both age groups studied and calls for monitoring aimed also at the group least affected by dental caries.OBJETIVO: Estimar a prevalência de cárie dentária e necessidades de tratamento em crianças de 12 anos e adolescentes. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com base nos resultados dos levantamentos epidemiológicos Condições de Saúde Bucal no Estado de São Paulo em 2002 e Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde Bucal (SBBrasil) 2010. Foram analisados os dados secundários de 5.782 crianças (2002) de 12 anos e outras 369 (2010); e para a faixa de 15 a 19 anos foram analisados 880 jovens (2002) e 300 jovens em 2010. A experiência de cárie foi avaliada pelo índice CPOD (dentes cariados, perdidos e obturados) e foram verificadas as necessidades de tratamento odontológico segundo os critérios propostos pela Organização Mundial da Saúde. O índice Significant Caries Index foi empregado para medir a severidade da cárie no terço do grupo que apresentou maior prevalência da doença. Para a análise dos resultados utilizaram-se os testes de Qui-quadrado e Mann-Whitney, com nível de 5% de significância. RESULTADOS: Houve diminuição de 39,3 pontos percentuais no índice CPOD aos 12 anos (p < 0,001) e de 41,1 pontos percentuais nos adolescentes (p < 0,001) entre 2002 e 2010, e aumento de aproximadamente 161,0 pontos percentuais e 303,0 pontos percentuais no grupo livres de cárie, respectivamente. A porcentagem de dentes restaurados diminuiu nos dois grupos etários, mas a prevalência de dentes cariados não se alterou para o grupo de alta experiência de cárie. No grupo de baixa experiência de cárie ocorreu diminuição do componente perdido para os adolescentes e aumento do componente cariado aos 12 anos e adolescentes. Houve aumento da necessidade de tratamento endodôntico no grupo total e no de alta experiência de cárie aos 12 anos; e entre os adolescentes a necessidade de restauração de duas ou mais faces diminuiu no grupo todo e também no de baixa experiência. CONCLUSÕES: A diminuição da necessidade de tratamento de baixa complexidade entre adolescentes sugere que as ações de promoção e prevenção estão afetando positivamente esse grupo. Além disso, os dois levantamentos epidemiológicos no estado de São Paulo mostram melhorias na condição de saúde bucal dos grupos etários estudados e que se faz necessário o monitoramento direcionado também para o grupo de baixa experiência de cárie.OBJETIVO: Estimar la prevalencia de caries dentaria y necesidades de tratamiento en ni&#241;os de 12 a&#241;os y adolescentes. M&#201;TODOS: Estudio transversal con base en los resultados de las pesquisas epidemiol&#243;gicas de las Condiciones de Salud Bucal en el Estado de Sao Paulo en 2002 y Proyecto SBBrasil2010. Se analizaron los datos secundarios de 5.782 ni&#241;os (2002) de 12 a&#241;os y 369 (2010); y para el grupo etario de 15 a 19 a&#241;os se analizaron 880 j&#243;venes (2002) y 300 j&#243;venes en 2010. La experiencia de caries fue evaluada por el &#237;ndice CPOD (dientes cariados, perdidos y obturados) y se verificaron las necesidades de tratamiento odontol&#243;gico seg&#250;n los criterios propuestos por la Organizaci&#243;n Mundial de la Salud. El &#237;ndice Significant Caries Index fue empleado para medir la severidad de la caries en el tercio del grupo que present&#243; mayor prevalencia de la enfermedad. Para el an&#225;lisis de los resultados se utilizaron las pruebas de Chi-cuadrado y Mann-Whitney, con nivel de 5% de significancia. RESULTADOS: Hubo disminuci&#243;n de 39,3 puntos porcentuales en el &#237;ndice CPOD a los 12 a&#241;os (p&lt;0,001) y de 41,1 puntos porcentuales en los adolescentes (p&lt;0,001) entre 2002 y 2010 y aumento de aproximadamente 161,0 puntos porcentuales y 303,0 puntos porcentuales en el grupo libres de caries, respectivamente. El porcentaje de dientes restaurados disminuy&#243; en los dos grupos etarios, pero la prevalencia de dientes cariados no se alter&#243; para el grupo con alta experiencia de caries. En el grupo con baja experiencia de caries ocurri&#243; disminuci&#243;n del componente perdido para los adolescentes y aumento del componente cariado para los de 12 a&#241;os y adolescentes. Hubo aumento de la necesidad de tratamiento endod&#243;ntico en el grupo total y en el de alta experiencia de caries a los 12 a&#241;os; y entre los adolescentes la necesidad de restauraci&#243;n de dos o m&#225;s faces disminuy&#243; en el grupo todo y tambi&#233;n en el de baja experiencia. CONCLUSIONES: La disminuci&#243;n de la necesidad de tratamiento de baja complejidad entre adolescentes sugiere que las acciones de promoci&#243;n y prevenci&#243;n est&#225;n afectando positivamente este grupo. As&#237; mismo, las dos pesquisas epidemiol&#243;gicas en el estado de Sao Paulo muestran mejor&#237;as en la condici&#243;n de salud bucal de los grupos etarios estudiados y que se hace necesario el monitoreo direccionado para el grupo de baja experiencia de caries.505

La inserción laboral del discapacitado intelectual.

Los discapacitados intelectuales son un colectivo que se encuentra en riesgo de exclusión social, uno de los motivos es el alto desempleo que se da entre ellos. Políticas de responsabilidad social corporativa y un marco legal favorable son vitales para que se produzca una inserción laboral. Esta inserción laboral es un proceso difícil, son muchas las barreras con las que se encuentran las asociaciones de discapacitados que ejercen también de agencias de colocación, una suerte de departamento de recursos humanos, en la que las asociaciones buscan empresas para emplear a las personas con discapacidad y que así, puedan lograr un grado de autonomía suficiente que les permita valerse por sí mismos. La integración en un mercado laboral ordinario es clave para que este colectivo se integre socialmente.<br /

Dental caries trends among preschool children in Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil

AIM:To evaluate caries experience and associated factors in 5-year-old preschool children in the city of Indaiatuba, SP, Brazil.METHODS:This was a cross-sectional, representative study, conducted from an epidemiological oral health survey (2010) with 303 children. The sample was established by the systematic probabilistic method, in public and private schools, in accordance with WHO criteria. The sample was checked for caries experience (dmft) by four trained and calibrated dentists, reaching acceptable levels of agreement for data collection. Parents or guardians answered questions related to their education and monthly income, and the children answered questions related to dental care and pain. Descriptive and bivariate analyses of independent variables were performed. Variables with p&lt;0.20 were included in the model (Poisson regression analysis).RESULTS:The sample consisted of 151 boys and 152 girls, with a mean dmft of 1.46. The reasons for visiting a dentist due to pain or need for treatment were associated with dmft &gt; 0 (PR=3.76, 95%CI=2.06-6.84) after adjustment of the regression model.CONCLUSIONS:Among the preschool children of this study, pain or need for treatment due to caries disease in the primary dentition and the reason to visit the dentist due pain emphasizing the importance of the professional not only in curative actions, but as a health promoter at the first contact with the child.1

Perspective Chapter: Functional Sol–Gel Based Coatings for Innovative and Sustainable Applications

Alkoxysilanes represent a class of molecules widely employed to achieve the preparation of plenty of functional surfaces by easy, cost-effective and eco-friendly sol–gel methods. In this regard, the advancements of research activities include the proper design of film/patterns/brushes, by starting from opportune alkoxysilane and/or other metal/metalloid precursors, in order to obtain efficient innovative and homogenous functional surfaces showing implemented properties by means of the simple and eco-friendly sol–gel method. Therefore, in light of these aspects, the employment of opportune functional alkoxysilanes, either in combination with other nanofillers or molecules, is a key step for the design, and development of sol–gel based nanohybrid or nanocomposite coatings suitable for different surface properties implementation and applications, spanning from blue-growth sector to smart and technical textiles, from biomedicine to building and cultural heritages, from environmental remediation to catalysis. Some of the most relevant and explicative examples of these innovative and sustainable sol–gel based coatings will be described in this chapter