Challenges for Higher Education in Crisis Stricken Times – The Effects of Covid-19 in Preparing Universities for Future

تحلل وجهة النظر هاته وضعيةَ وتحولات مؤسسات التعليم العالي خلال الأزمات غير المتوقعة من قبيل جائحة كوفيد-19 الحالية، التي أدت إلى اضطراب غالبية اقتصادات العالم. إن التغيرات التي تواجه التعليم العالي ليست جديدة؛ إذ إنها حصلت في كل المجالات، لكن المتوقع أن النقلات ستكون أعمق، وأسرع بعد الجائحة. يُظهِر البحث كيف يمكن لمؤسسات التعليم العالي أن تتكيف وتتحول خلال الجائحة، كما تناقش كيف لتلك المؤسسات أن تخرج من الأزمة أقوى وتصبح قادرة على تحقيق الاستدامة طويلة الأمد، التي يمكن من خلالها، الإسهام في المجتمع بنظام أكثر رشاقة وفاعلية، تحركه سياسات مرنة ومهام محددة تسدي خدمة للمجتمع، مدفوعة برسالتها في الوقت نفسه. يجب على الجامعات أن تتسم ببعد نظر، ولا تفوت فرصة إعادة تقييم فائدتها للمجتمع، وإعادة تركيز المعنى في الحاجة إليها. نرى أن مؤسسات التعليم العالي تلعب دورًا بارزًا في تحقيق جدول أعمال 2030 للتنمية المستدامة، وتسهم بشكل فاعل في أهداف التنمية المستدامة (SDGs)، كما نعتقد أن الاتجاه الاستراتيجي للجامعات يجب أن يرتكز على مبادئ مسؤوليات شركاء المصلحة، المعروفة بالحوكمة البيئية والاجتماعية وحوكمة الشركات (ESG). أخيرًا، نجادل في أن بُعد الحوكمة - تحديدًا - أساسيٌ لمؤسسات التعليم العالي؛ لتحقيق الكفاءة والاستدامة والأهداف طويلة الأمد.This viewpoint analyses the status and transformation of Higher Education institutions during unpredicted great challenges such as the current Covid-19, which disrupted most of the economies on the planet. The changes facing Higher Education are not new, transformation has been seen in different areas, but shifts are expected to be deeper and faster after the pandemic. We show how the Higher Education institutions can resist and transform during the pandemic and we also discuss how these institutions can come out of the recession stronger and become capable of achieving long-term sustainability. For that aim, a leaner and more effective institution system with modified flexible policies that contribute to society and, at the same time, are mission-driven, is expected to be achieved. Universities in their recovery efforts must look far ahead and should not miss the opportunity to reassess their usefulness to society, nor to refocus their sense of purpose. We suggest that institutions of Higher Education play a more important role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and contribute decisively to the several SDGs. In addition, we argue that the strategic direction of universities must be focused on stakeholder responsibility principles known as Environmental, Social, and Governance – ESG. Finally, we argue that the governance dimension is particularly critical for Higher Education institutions if they want to achieve long-term efficiency, sustainability and purpose

Scattering from supramacromolecular structures

We study theoretically the scattering imprint of a number of branched supramacromolecular architectures, namely, polydisperse stars and dendrimeric, hyperbranched structures. We show that polydispersity and nature of branching highly influence the intermediate wavevector region of the scattering structure factor, thus providing insight into the morphology of different aggregates formed in polymer solutions.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures To appear in PR

Displasia Torácica

Os autores descrevem um caso clínico referente a uma criança que apresentava ao nascer uma marcada desproporção toraco-abdominal,por diminuição do diâmetro torácico. O Recém-nascido (RN) fez um Síndrome de Dificuldade Respiratória (SDR) precoce com necessidade de ventilação mecânica, tendo-se verificado dificuldade na entubação traqueal. Após a extubação manteve crises frequentes de polipneia e cianose. Na sequência da investigação etiológica, verificou-se que tinha uma estenose sub glótica importante. Associando os achados clínicos verificamos tratar-se de um síndrome de Barnes, forma rara de displasia torácica

Coloboma: Chave Ocular Para Patologia Sistémica

Introdução: Um coloboma é uma anomalia do desenvolvimento que se caracteriza, na maioria dos casos, por um deficiente encerramento da fissura embrionária na 6ª semana da gestação. Trata-se de um defeito que pode afectar diferentes estruturas do globo ocular, nomeadamente, a íris, corpo ciliar, coróide, retina ou nervo óptico. A eventual associação com patologia sistémica e alterações genéticas faz com que o diagnóstico oftalmológico seja fundamental para a orientação e seguimento dos doentes. Material e métodos:Estudo retrospectivo de 26 doentes da Consulta de Oftalmologia Pediátrica do Hospital de São José, do Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central, através da consulta do processo, exames complementares de diagnóstico e registo fotográfico. Foram caracterizados os doentes de acordo com o sexo, idade, antecedentes familiares de anomalias oculares, antecedentes gestacionais, tipo de coloboma, localização, lateralidade, melhor acuidade visual corrigida, presença de outras anomalias oculares concomitantes e associação com doenças sistémicas. Com este estudo pretendemos avaliar e comparar o perfil dos doentes portadores de colobomas, comparando-o com o descrito na literatura, bem como salientar a importância para o seu seguimento, despiste de doenças sistémicas associadas e tratamento das complicações. Resultados: Dos 26 doentes avaliados, 14 (54%) eram do sexo feminino, e 12 (46%) do sexo masculino. A idade variou entre 1 e 25 anos, com média de 11,23 anos. A média da idade do diagnóstico foi de 2,6 anos, variando entre 1 mês até 8 anos de idade. Nenhum doente apresentava história familiar de coloboma, existindo história de prematuridade em 2 casos (8%). Quanto à localização, 16 casos (62%) apresentavam coloboma do disco óptico, 14 (54%) da íris e 13 (50%) colobomas coriorretinianos. Em 13 casos (50%) o coloboma atingia mais do que uma estrutura anatómica e era bilateral em 11 casos (42%). As acuidades visuais variaram entre ausência de percepção luminosa e 20/20. Apenas 3 casos (12%) apresentavam um coloboma isolado, sendo os restantes associados a outras alterações oftalmológicas, nomeadamente estrabismo em 13 casos (50%), microftalmia em 8 casos (31%), catarata em 3 casos (12%), descolamento de retina em 3 casos (12%) e nistagmus em 4 casos (15%). Da série de 26 doentes, 19 (73%) não apresentavam doenças sistémicas associadas ao coloboma. 4 doentes (15%) foram classificados como tendo síndrome CHARGE, 1 aguardando confirmação molecular (4%), 1 síndrome de Joubert, 1 síndrome de Kabuki e 1 síndrome de DiGeorge. Foram detectadas anomalias do desenvolvimento psicomotor em 8 casos (31%). Conclusões:O exame oftalmológico completo é importante no diagnóstico, prognóstico e vigilância de doentes com coloboma. O coloboma é frequentemente o primeiro achado diagnóstico nestas crianças, sendo que a referenciação pela Oftalmologia a outras especialidades é fundamental, devendo incluir o despiste das várias anomalias sistémicas que podem estar associadas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hygienic quality of dehydrated aromatic herbs marketed in Southern Portugal

Dehydrated aromatic herbs are highly valued ingredients, widely used at home level and by food processing industry, frequently added to a great number of recipes in the Mediterranean countries. Despite being considered low-moisture products and classified as GRAS, during pre and post-harvesting stages of production they are susceptible of microbial contamination. In Europe an increasing number of food recalls and disease outbreaks associated with dehydrated herbs have been reported in recent years. In this study the microbial quality of 99 samples of aromatic herbs (bay leaves, basil, coriander, oregano, parsley, Provence herbs, rosemary and thyme) collected from retails shops in the region of Algarve (Southern Portugal) was assessed. All the samples were tested by conventional methods and were assayed for the total count of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci and filamentous fungi. Almost 50 % of the herbs did not exceed the aerobic mesophilic level of 104 CFU/g. The fungi count regarded as unacceptable (106 CFU/g) was not found in any of the tested herbs, while 84 % of the samples ranged from ≤102 to 104 CFU/g. No sample was positive for the presence of Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and staphylococci. The results are in compliance with the European Commission criteria although they point out to the permanent need of surveillance on the good standards of handling/cooking practices as well as the importance of avoiding contamination at production, retailing and distribution. The microbiological hazards associated with the pathogenic and toxigenic microbiota of dried herbs remain as a relevant public health issue, due to the fact that they are added to foods not submitted to any following lethal procedure. Control measures should be adopted in order to ensure that all phases of their supply chain respect the food safety standards.FCT: UID/BIA/04325/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The characterisation of the craniofacial morphology of infants born with Zika virus:Innovative approach for public health surveillance and broad clinical applications

Background: This study was carried out in response to the Zika virus epidemic which constituted a public health emergency and to the 2019 WHO calling for strengthened surveillance for the early detection of related microcephaly. The main aim of the study was to phenotype the craniofacial morphology of microcephaly using novel approach and new measurements, relate the characteristics to brain abnormalities in Zika infected infants in Brazil to improve clinical surveillance. Methods: We captured 3D images of the face and the cranial vault of 44 Zika infected infants and matched healthy controls using 3D camera. The CT scans of the brain of the infected infants were analysed. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to characterise the craniofacial morphology. In addition to the head circumference (HC), we introduced a new measurement, head height (HH) to measure the cranial vault. The level of brain abnormality present in the CT scans was assessed, the severity of parenchymal volume loss and ventriculomegaly was quantified. Findings: The PCA identified a significant difference (p <0.001) between the cranial vaults and the face of the Zika infants and that of the controls. Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficients show that the head height (HH) has a strong correlation (0.87 in Zika infants; 0.82 in Controls) with the morphology of the cranial vaults which are higher than the correlation with the routinely used head circumference (HC). Also, the head height (HH) has a moderate negative correlation (-0.48) with the brain abnormalities of parenchymal volume loss. Interpretation: We discovered that head height (HH), the most sensitive and discriminatory measure of the severity of cranial deformity which should be used for clinical surveillance of Zika syndrome, evaluation of other craniofacial syndromes and assessment of various treatment modalities

Feocromocitoma: estudo retrospetivo multicêntrico

Objetivo: O feocromocitoma é um tumor raro com origem no tecido cromafim. Para avaliar a epidemiologia característica e abordagem destes tumores, foi efetuado um estudo multicêntrico retrospetivo em doentes com feocromocitoma. Material e métodos: Estudo retrospetivo, desenvolvido em 12 centros, incluiu 176 doentes tratados entre 1986-2011. Efetuado um questionário que incluiu dados epidemiológicos, clínicos, doseamentos laboratoriais, exames de localizac¸ ão, estudo genético, preparac¸ ão pré-operatória e cirurgia. De acordo com a data de diagnóstico, os doentes foram divididos em 2 períodos de tempo, 1986-2000 e 2001-2011, e alguns dados foram comparados. Resultados: Cento e cinco mulheres e 70 homens, idade média 51,9 ± 15,2 anos. Em 172 doentes, a apresentac¸ ão clínica foi: 31% incidentalomas, 10% paroxismos típicos, 18% hipertensão persistente e 5% detetados durante rastreio genético. Onze por cento tinham outros sintomas clínicos de feocromocitoma e 25% uma mistura de 2 ou mais quadros clínicos. Os exames laboratoriais mais frequentes foram as catecolaminas urinárias e seus metabolitos urinários. Em 154 doentes, foi localizado por TAC em 84%, RMN em 41% e a cintigrafia com MIBG em 55%. A dimensão média do tumor foi 55,3 ± 33,7 mm, 56% na suprarrenal direita e 7% bilateral. O tratamento pré-operatório em 126 casos foi: fenoxibenzamina em 65% dos doentes e associada a um betabloqueador em 29,3%. Em 170 doentes, 91 efetuaram laparotomia (54%) e 74 laparoscopia (44%). Cinco doentes não efetuaram cirurgia. Em 9 doentes foi diagnosticado feocromocitoma maligno, 3 na altura do diagnóstico inicial e 6 durante o seguimento (após 6-192 meses). Em 19 doentes foi efetuado o diagnóstico de uma síndrome genética. Conclusões: Trinta e um por cento dos tumores foram detetados como incidentalomas. A suprarrenal direita foi mais atingida. Observou-se um aumento do n ◦ de diagnósticos de feocromocitoma e um melhor estudo e estadiamento nos doentes diagnosticados entre 2001 e 2011 comparativamente com os diagnosticados entre 1986 e 2000. Dado que a malignidade se pode manifestar tardiamente, o seguimento destes doentes deve ser para toda a vida.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Direito e administração pública: estudos em homenagem a Maria Sylvia Zanella Di Pietro

Divulgação dos SUMÁRIOS das obras recentemente incorporadas ao acervo da Biblioteca Ministro Oscar Saraiva do STJ. Em respeito à lei de Direitos Autorais, não disponibilizamos a obra na íntegra.Localização na estante: 35(81) D598a

Particle separation in surface acoustic wave microfluidic devices using reprogrammable, pseudo-standing waves

We report size and density/compressibility-based particle sorting using on-off quasi-standing waves based on the frequency difference between two ultrasonic transducers. The 13.3 MHz fundamental operating frequency of the surface acoustic wave microfluidic device allows the manipulation of particles on the micrometer scale. Experiments, validated by computational fluid dynamics, were carried out to demonstrate size-based sorting of 5–14.5 lm diameter polystyrene (PS) particles and density/compressibility-based sorting of 10 lm PS, iron-oxide, and poly(methyl methacrylate) particles, with densities ranging from 1.05 to 1.5 g/cm3 . The method shows a sorting efficiency of >90% and a purity of >80% for particle separation of 10 lm and 14.5 lm, demonstrating better performance than similar sorting methods recently published (72%–83% efficiency). The sorting technique demonstrates high selectivity separation of particles, with the smallest particle ratio being 1.33, compared to 2.5 in previous work. Density/compressibility-based sorting of polystyrene and iron-oxide particles showed an efficiency of 97 6 4% and a purity of 91 6 5%. By varying the sign of the acoustic excitation signal, continuous batch acoustic sorting of target particles to a desired outlet was demonstrated with good sorting stability against variations of the inflow rate