DESENVOLVIMENTO HUMANO EM TIMOR-LESTE – ASSIMETRIAS, NA QUALIDADE DE VIDA, ENTRE O RURAL E O URBANO

Timor Leste é um dos mais jovens países do mundo. É um território onde, não obstante as riquezas naturais que possui e a possibilidade de registar níveis elevados de crescimento económico, a população ainda se confronta com carências em muitos sectores fundamentais, como sejam infraestruturas básicas, acesso à saúde, à educação, ao trabalho entre outros, e ainda com uma grande desigualdade em termos de distribuição do rendimento, e que são os principais responsáveis pelas assimetrias existentes em termos de desenvolvimento humano. O combate a estas assimetrias encontra-se subjacente à construção democrática do país, envolvendo a participação da população, através de diversos mecanismos. O objetivo foi analisar as assimetrias na distribuição dos benefícios decorrentes do desenvolvimento humano, caracterizando o acesso à saúde, ao trabalho, à educação, e as infraestruturas básicas existentes. Para concretizar este objetivo, utilizou-se uma metodologia descritiva, de corte transversal, passando pela descrição da situação atual através da recolha de dados primários, obtidos a partir de inquérito por questionário especificamente elaborado para o efeito e aplicados a uma amostra, que contemplava a população urbana e a população rural. Os dados secundários necessários à pesquisa foram provenientes da revisão da literatura realizada sobre a temática em estudo. A análise dos resultados revelou diferenças significativas entre as populações rural e urbana, nomeadamente a nível do rendimento, das condições de vida, das habilitações literárias e do conhecimento do português, da ocupação profissional, identificando por isso um problema de desigualdade entre as duas populações

What's best option for fine needle aspiration in thyroid?

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Efeitos biomecânicos da evolução do colesteatoma sobre a corda do tímpano

A otite média crónica pode levar ao aparecimento de um tumor benigno do ouvido, chamado colesteatoma. Esta patologia, se não for devidamente tratada, pode ter graves consequências. Uma delas pode resultar em paralisia facial se comprimir um ramo do nervo facial que atravessa o ouvido médio. Neste trabalho foram avaliadas as tensões exercidas do tumor contra o nervo. A maior tensão foi obtida na área de contacto entre o nervo e a bigorna.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of middle ear tumours on the biomechanical behaviour of the chorda tympani

Chronic otitis media may lead to the development of a cholesteatoma, a benign middle ear tumour. If this occurs, the chorda tympani nerve, a facial nerve branch that crosses the middle ear, may be compromised. The influence of cholesteatoma development near chorda tympani nerve was studied, in order to assess the consequences of this mass in terms of possible facial paralysis. To do so, an ear model based on the finite element method was used. The chorda tympani nerve was originally discretized and assembled in the model. Two different sized tumours were created so cholesteatoma growth could be simulated. The pressure in this nerve were assessed in two moments - when the tumour first interacts with it, pushing it down, and when the tumour compresses it against the incus. Moreover, the effect of applying pressure directly on the nerve was also evaluated, so tumour geometry did not interfere in the analysis. The obtained stress allowed to infer on the consequences regarding taste disturbance and facial paralysis, although some studies report that when pressure fades away, it is possible to fully recover. The von Mises stress was higher when the chorda tympani nerve was pushed against the incus by the large tumour, in the contact area between the nerve and the ossicle.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

On the hearing effects of a cholesteatoma growing: A biomechanical study

Chronic otitis media enables the appearance of a benign middle ear tumor, known as a cholesteatoma, that may compromise hearing. To evaluate the influence of a cholesteatoma growth on the hearing function, a computational middle ear model based on the finite element method was used and three different size of cholesteatoma were modeled. The cholesteatoma solidification and the consequent degradation of the ossicles were also simulated as two condition that commonly occurs during cholesteatoma evolution. A sound pressure level of 80 dB SPL was applied in the tympanic membrane and a steady state analysis was performed for frequencies from 100 Hz to 10 kHz. The displacements of both the tympanic membrane and the stapes footplate were measured. The results were compared with a healthy case and it was shown that the cholesteatoma development leads to a decrease in the umbo and stapes displacements. The ossicles degradation simulation showed the higher difference comparing with the cholesteatoma in an initial stage, with lower displacements in the stapes footplate mainly for high frequencies. The observed displacement differences are directly connected to hearing loss, being possible to conclude that cholesteatoma evolution in the middle ear will lead to hearing problems, mainly in an advanced stage.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microbial Source Tracking as a Method of Determination of Beach Sand Contamination

This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Microbiology: Perspectives for Medicine and Public Health.Beach sand may act as a reservoir for numerous microorganisms, including enteric pathogens. Several of these pathogens originate in human or animal feces, which may pose a public health risk. In August 2019, high levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were detected in the sand of the Azorean beach Prainha, Terceira Island, Portugal. Remediation measures were promptly implemented, including sand removal and the spraying of chlorine to restore the sand quality. To determine the source of the fecal contamination, during the first campaign, supratidal sand samples were collected from several sites along the beach, followed by microbial source tracking (MST) analyses of Bacteroides marker genes for five animal species, including humans. Some of the sampling sites revealed the presence of marker genes from dogs, seagulls, and ruminants. Making use of the information on biological sources originating partially from dogs, the municipality enforced restrictive measures for dog-walking at the beach. Subsequent sampling campaigns detected low FIB contamination due to the mitigation and remediation measures that were undertaken. This is the first case study where the MST approach was used to determine the contamination sources in the supratidal sand of a coastal beach. Our results show that MST can be an essential tool to determine sources of fecal contamination in the sand. This study shows the importance of holistic management of beaches that should go beyond water quality monitoring for FIB, putting forth evidence for beach sand monitoring.Financial support came from CESAM (UID/AMB/50017-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007638) and CITAB (UID/AGR/04033/2019), via FCT/MCTES, from national funds (PIDDAC), cofounded by FEDER (PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predictors of Secondary Education Completion across Portuguese Municipalities: Evidence from the 2009–2018 Period

Our overriding goal was to understand territorial inequalities regarding secondary school completion by testing which contextual factors and educational resources are associated with their change in high- and low-density Portuguese municipalities. Our analysis covered the time between 2009 and 2018, including both the economic crisis and the economic recovery period. Drawing mostly on publicly available data from 253 municipalities and following a Linear Mixed Model approach, we found that low-density municipalities depicted significantly greater levels of secondary school attainment by 2013 compared to high-density municipalities. Moreover, growing unemployment rates were associated with a reduction in secondary school completion rates across the assessed time points. Contrary to our expectations, higher rates of permanent teachers were associated with worse rates of secondary school completion. In addition, we found a significant increase in the rates of secondary school conclusion at higher levels of preschool enrollment among high-density municipalities. Our discussion counteracts the usual overstating of vulnerable territories’ worse educational indicators. We also underline the importance of improving secondary education indicators for reducing structural inequalities in the school-to-work transition in less affluent territories and pinpoint the importance of implementing policies, such as improving access to preschool education in Portuguese high-density municipalities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Limited host availability disrupts the genetic correlation between virulence and transmission

Virulence is expected to be linked to parasite fitness via transmission. However, it is not clear whether this relationship is genetically determined, nor if it differs when transmission occurs continuously during, or only at the end of, the infection period. Here, we used inbred lines of the macroparasitic spider mite Tetranychus urticae to disentangle genetic vs. nongenetic correlations among traits, while varying parasite density and opportunities for transmission. A positive genetic correlation between virulence and the number of transmitting stages produced was found under continuous transmission. However, if transmission occurred only at the end of the infection period, this genetic correlation disappeared. Instead, we observed a negative relationship between virulence and the num ber of transmitting stages, driven by density dependence. Thus, within-host density dependence caused by reduced opportunities for transmission may hamper selection for higher virulence, providing a novel explanation as to why limited host availability leads to lower virulenceinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modelação computacional de um tumor do ouvido médio e análise biomecânica do seu impacto na audição

A otite média crónica é uma condição que pode levar ao aparecimento e crescimento de um tumor benigno do ouvido médio, um colesteatoma, o que poderá comprometer a audição [1]. De forma a avaliar a influência do crescimento de um colesteatoma na função auditiva, foi utilizado um modelo do ouvido médio desenvolvido através do método de elementos finitos. O colesteatoma foi modelado na conexão entre o martelo e a bigorna, e foram desenvolvidos três tumores de diferente tamanho [2]. Os deslocamentos da membrana timpanica e da platina do estribo foram analisados após a imposição de um nível de pressão sonora de 80dB SPL na membrana timpânica. Foi realizada uma análise entre as frequências de 100Hz a 10kHz para estado estacionário. Os resultados foram comparados com a situação saudável e a análise indica que o desenvolvimento do colesteatoma leva à diminuição dos deslocamentos das estruturas no inicio e no fim da cadeia ossicular. Outras simulações que foram realizadas incluem a atribuição de diferentes propriedades ao tumor de maiores dimensões, considerando que estas estruturas se tornam mais duras e densas ao longo do tempo. A degradação dos ossículos simulando uma situação real e atribuindo propriedades do tumor a alguns elementos ósseos também foi analisada. Nos resultados correspondentes a estas simulações foram observadas as maiores diferenças de deslocamento. É cientificamente aceite que estas diferenças no deslocamento estão relacionadas com a perda auditiva, desta forma é possível concluir que o crescimento de um tumor no ouvido médio irá conduzir a problemas auditivos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio