Vantagens do ciclo combinado a gás natural face a outras tecnologias de produção de energia - estudo de caso: a Central da Tapada do Outeiro, Portugal

Seria impensável concebermos os nossos dias sem a utilização de energia eléctrica. Esta forma de energia é responsável pelo desenvolvimento económico e a sua disponibilidade é indicadora da qualidade de vida dos povos. A procura de formas de obtenção desta energia que minimizem os impactes para o ambiente tem levado à adopção de energias renováveis mas também ao desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias que permitam aumentar a eficiência de conversão de energia entre as suas várias formas. Neste sentido procedeu-se à análise de um estudo de caso da central termoeléctrica a gás natural com tecnologia de ciclo combinado da Tapada do Outeiro, Portugal. Living without electricity is nowadays unconceived. The economic growth and quality of life is strongly dependent on this source of energy. The search for new forms of producing electricity in order to minimise environmental impacts has lead to the adoption of renewable energies and to the improvement of new technologies which allow at the same time to reach high efficiency in the process of energy conversion from the chemical form to the electrical one. This article is about a case study of a natural gas turbine power plant with combined cycle, at “Tapada do Outeiro”, Portugal

Vantagens do ciclo combinado a gás natural face a outras tecnologias de produção de energia. Estudo de caso: a Central da Tapada do Outeiro, Portugal

Seria impensável concebermos os nossos dias sem a utilização de energia eléctrica. Esta forma de energia é responsável pelo desenvolvimento económico e a sua disponibilidade é indicadora da qualidade de vida dos povos. A procura de formas de obtenção desta energia que minimizem os impactes para o ambiente tem levado à adopção de energias renováveis mas também ao desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias que permitam aumentar a eficiência de conversão de energia entre as suas várias formas. Neste sentido procedeu-se à análise de um estudo de caso da central termoeléctrica a gás natural com tecnologia de ciclo combinado da Tapada do Outeiro, Portugal. Living without electricity is nowadays unconceived. The economic growth and quality of life is strongly dependent on this source of energy. The search for new forms of producing electricity in order to minimise environmental impacts has lead to the adoption of renewable energies and to the improvement of new technologies which allow at the same time to reach high efficiency in the process of energy conversion from the chemical form to the electrical one. This article is about a case study of a natural gas turbine power plant with combined cycle, at “Tapada do Outeiro”, Portugal

BENIGN TRANSIENT HYPERPHOSPHATASEMIA OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD AND CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI INFECTION

Introdução: A Hiperfosfatasemia Transitória Benigna da Infância (HTBI) caracteriza-se pelo aumento transitório da fosfatase alcalina (FA) sérica, na ausência de doença hepática ou óssea. Tem sido associada a várias entidades, nomeadamente, infeções. Caso clínico: Criança de dois anos, saudável, com episódios intermitentes de febre, dor abdominal, vómitos e dejeções de fezes moles com dois meses de evolução, sem alterações relevantes ao exame físico. Apresentava elevação da FA (2474 U/L), com função hepática, cálcio e fósforo normais. O exame bacteriológico de fezes foi positivo para Campylobacter jejuni. Efetuou tratamento com azitromicina, com resolução dos sintomas. Seis meses depois verificou-se normalização da FA. Conclusão: A idade de apresentação, a ausência de doença subjacente e a normalização posterior da FA permitem o diagnóstico de HTBI. Fica por esclarecer, de acordo com os conceitos mais recentes, se a infeção pode ser considerada fator causal ou foi apenas o motivo para a realização do estudo analítico.Introduction: Benign Transient Hyperphosphatasemia (BTH) is characterised by transient elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the absence of liver or bone disease. It has been associated to several entities, namely infections. Case report: We describe the case of a healthy two-year-old child with intermittent episodes of fever, abdominal pain, vomiting and soft stool since two months ago, with no relevant changes on physical examination. The exams revealed elevated ALP (2474 U/L), with normal liver function, calcium and phosphorus. The stool culture was positive for Campylobacter jejuni. Clinical condition was resolved after antibiotic therapy with azithromycin. Six months later serum ALP values were normal. Conclusion: The age of presentation, the absence of underlying disease and subsequent normalization of ALP allow the diagnosis of BTH. It isn´t possible, according to the available literature, to guarantee if the infection was the cause of BTH or if it was the reason to perform the analytical study

Diagnóstico laboratorial da infeção por Chlamydia trachomatis, 1991-2014

Objetivo: O presente trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar os resultados do diagnóstico laboratorial das infeções por C. trachomatis realizado no Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) entre 1991 e 2014

Generation Z: fitting project management soft skills competencies—a mixed-method approach

https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/24796Generation Z is arriving in the workforce. Do these youngsters have the skills and traits to fit project teams? This study reviews the literature concerning project management competencies and the traits that are associated with Generation Z. To deepen the understanding of its members (Gen Zers) traits, we explore the self-awareness of their profile, strengths and weaknesses with an empirical study. We used a mixed-method approach, implementing a survey on a sample of 211 college students about to enter the labor market. Comparing our survey results with the literature, we identified differences that reveal some of the lack of awareness of Gen Zers about their traits. Further analysis also revealed a significant correlation between the most highlighted Generation Z traits and essential project management soft skills, pointing to Generation Z as a promissory asset in the project management field. However, other essential project management (PM) soft skills were not grounded in personality traits. Our findings, namely the lack of awareness and association results, suggest the need for further research on educational approaches and re-thinking and targeting education and training policies that could strengthen Generation Z soft skills. Our results also suggest reflections about whether the Gen Zers traits fit the PM competencies sought by organizations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Entre a inovação e o planeamento. Novos modelos de gestão das compras hospitalares

It is easy to conclude from an assessment of the proposals currently being made for a more dynamic management of the public sector, that their normative nature provides no clear indication of a way out of the maze preventing it from innovation. Given the quick change of society, technology and the economy being experienced today, public institutions are nevertheless obliged to take the first steps away from the welfarist, paternalistic and bureaucratic management that has developed over the past decades, towards a new model, planned and managed and taking into account both demand and innovation.This article reflects on some of the above concerns and puts forward some of the fundamental principals on the basis of which a Central Purchasing System might be created for the hospitals and sub-regional health facilities that together constitute the area over which the Health Authority of Portugal’s Northern Region has jurisdiction, without undermining the interests of the main recipients and/or clients of the health services involved, being them patients or health teams. More specifically, the authors point out some of the administrative and management implications that the restructuring of the value chain would have, if such a central purchasing system was created.Quando se analisam novas propostas de dinâmicas para a gestão pública, uma das principais constatações é que a normatividade das mesmas constitui como que um labirinto, para o qual dificilmente se encontrará uma saída no campo da inovação. No entanto, face à rápida mudança da sociedade, da tecnologia e da economia actuais, as Instituições Públicas terão de dar os primeiros passos, abandonando, de alguma forma, a gestão beneficente, paternalista e burocrática que têm vindo a desenvolver, em busca de uma outra planeada em função da procura e da inovação. Este artigo reflecte algumas destas preocupações, enunciando os princípios teóricos fundamentais a considerar na criação de uma Central de Compras para as Unidades Hospitalares e Sub-Regiões de Saúde da Zona de Intervenção da Administração Regional de Saúde do Norte, sem descurar os interesses dos principais destinatários (doentes, equipes técnicas, etc.). Mais especificamente, os autores apontam algumas das implicações administrativas e de gestão decorrentes da reestruturação da cadeia de valor explícita na centralização da aquisições

Adaptive potential of hybridization among malaria vectors: Introgression at the immune locus TEP1 between Anopheles coluzzii and A. gambiae in 'Far-West' Africa

“Far-West” Africa is known to be a secondary contact zone between the two major malaria vectors Anopheles coluzzii and A. gambiae.We investigated gene-flow and potentially adaptive introgression between these species along a west-to-east transect in Guinea Bissau, the putative core of this hybrid zone. To evaluate the extent and direction of gene flow, we genotyped site 702 in Intron-1 of the para Voltage-Gated SodiumChannel gene, a species-diagnostic nucleotide position throughout most of A. coluzzii and A. gambiae sympatric range. We also analyzed polymorphismin the thioester-binding domain (TED) of the innate immunity-linked thioester-containing protein 1 (TEP1) to investigate whether elevated hybridization might facilitate the exchange of variants linked to adaptive immunity and Plasmodium refractoriness. Our results confirm asymmetric introgression of genetic material from A. coluzzii to A. gambiae and disruption of linkage between the centromeric "genomic islands" of inter-specific divergence. We report that A. gambiae from the Guinean hybrid zone possesses an introgressed TEP1 resistant allelic class, found exclusively in A. coluzzii elsewhere and apparently swept to fixation inWest Africa (i.e. Mali and Burkina Faso). However, no detectable fixation of this allele was found in Guinea Bissau, which may suggest that ecological pressures driving segregation between the two species in larval habitats in this region may be different from those experienced in northern and more arid parts of the species’ range. Finally, our results also suggest a genetic subdivision between coastal and inland A. gambiae Guinean populations and provide clues on the importance of ecological factors in intra-specific differentiation processes

The role of climate and topography in shaping the diversity of plant communities in Cabo Verde Islands

ReviewThe flora and vegetation of the archipelago of Cabo Verde is dominated by Macaronesian, Mediterranean, and particularly by African tropical elements, resulting from its southernmost location, when compared to the other islands of the Macaronesia (i.e., Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, and Canary Islands). Very likely, such a geographical position entailed higher susceptibility to extreme climatic fluctuations, namely those associated with the West African Monsoon oscillations. These fluctuations led to a continuous aridification, which is a clear trend shown by most recent studies based on continental shelf cores. Promoting important environmental shifts, such climatic fluctuations are accepted as determinant to explain the current spatial distribution patterns of taxa, as well as the composition of the plant communities. In this paper, we present a comprehensive characterization of the main plant communities in Cabo Verde, and we discuss the role of the climatic and topoclimatic diversity in shaping the vegetation composition and distribution of this archipelago. Our study reveals a strong variation in the diversity of plant communities across elevation gradients and distinct patterns of richness among plant communities. Moreover, we present an overview of the biogeographical relationships of the Cabo Verde flora and vegetation with the other Macaronesian Islands and northwestern Africa. We discuss how the distribution of plant communities and genetic patterns found among most of the endemic lineages can be related to Africa’s ongoing aridification, exploring the impacts of a process that marks northern Africa from the Late Miocene until the presentinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio