Numerical simulation of the structural behaviour of concrete since its early ages

Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Civil. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto, School of Enegineering. University of Tokyo. 200

Socioemotional competencies and behaviour management at school: An exploratory socio-educational intervention

Socioemotional competencies are based on self-knowledge, self-regulation, social awareness, relational skills and responsible decision-making, presenting a close relationship with the efficient management of behaviours in the classroom. In collaboration with 3 schools in the interior of Portugal, an exploratory socio-educational intervention project was developed over a period of 3 months, with the purpose of promoting the socioemotional competencies of 41 primary school children, as a basis for building classroom behaviour management strategies that would facilitate the teachers’ educational action. The intervention involved a process based on collaborative work between teachers, psychologists and educologists, having been able to produce 8 activities that promote socioemotional competencies. Ethnographic procedures, namely, the use of participant observation, field notes and informal interviews, were used to produce scientifically valid and socially useful knowledge. The results show that each activity works on more than one socioemotional skill. The data allowed to outline 6 efficient strategies to manage classroom behaviour. This exploratory project, besides contributing to enriching the educational project of these schools, proved to be a production of knowledge capable of contributing to filling the gap in terms of guidelines for socioemotional education in Portugal based on field evidence

A Single-Center Experience

Publisher Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.Background: Surgery often leads to bleeding associated with hypofibrinogenemia. Supplementation with fibrinogen concentrate appears to be effective and safe, although findings from studies are inconsistent. The primary aim of this study was to assess the safety of fibrinogen concentrate during the perioperative period. Methods: This single-centre, prospective, observational study included adult patients undergoing scheduled or emergency surgery related to bleeding coagulopathy and the administration of fibrinogen concentrate. Patients were followed until their discharge from the institution. Comprehensive data were collected, including age, sex, type of surgery, associated comorbidities, anticoagulant and/or anti-aggregating therapy, and the number of blood transfusions. Laboratory data on plasma fibrinogen concentration, haemoglobin, and platelet count before and after surgery were also collected. The primary outcomes were the mortality rate at discharge and any reported thrombotic or thromboembolic events, including deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and myocardial infarction. Results: The study included 91 adult patients who had undergone surgery, with 29 surgeries (32%) conducted in an emergency setting. The mean age was 59.2 years, and 53.8% were male. Major bleeding occurred in 29 cases, mainly in older males and those on anticoagulant therapy. The pre-operative fibrinogen level averaged 161 mg/dL, and the average dosage of fibrinogen concentrate administered was 2.7 g. Eight patients died (8.8%), mostly due to septic or cardiogenic shock, with deaths being more frequent in emergency settings. Thromboembolic events occurred in eight patients, none of whom died. No additional adverse events directly related to the administration of fibrinogen concentrate were reported. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a favourable safety profile for fibrinogen concentrate in surgical patients, as evidenced by a low incidence of deaths and thromboembolic events, which were primarily attributed to other factors. Future research should strive to increase statistical robustness to further illuminate clinically significant patient safety measures.publishersversionpublishe

Uma revisão crítica e mista da literatura em torno da relação entre direitos de cidadania e saúde - Propondo a healthenship: "Fui para o hospital com medo de perder o meu emprego"

A relação entre (direitos de) cidadania e saúde tem vindo a ser marcada por transformações sociopolíticas, como o surgimento de regimes políticos autoritários e diversos movimentos sociais que reivindicam o acesso ao direito à saúde, e debates científicos em torno do desenvolvimento da cidadania em saúde e do seu significado. Aliado a estas ideias, uma reflexão em torno do significado das palavras direitos, cidadania e saúde, e do seu lugar nos documentos normativos internacionais revela a miríade de perspetivas em torno destes conceitos, assim como a panóplia de práticas políticas à volta do acesso ao direito à saúde. Nesta linha, identificar o conhecimento produzido em torno da relação entre direitos de cidadania e saúde apresenta-se crucial para compreender as transformações sociopolíticas e clarificar os debates científicos ocorridos nas últimas décadas, bem como para contribuir para a construção e expansão de ideias em torno da profissionalidade das/os educólogas/os no contexto da prevenção, promoção e educação em saúde. Assente nesta esteira, abraçou-se o desafio de responder a três questões: Como se estrutura a relação entre direitos de cidadania e saúde? Como se processa a evolução desta relação ao longo do tempo? Quais são as principais tensões e continuidades na relação entre direitos de cidadania e saúde? Nesta linha, levou-se a cabo uma revisão crítica e mista de literatura, onde se procurou agregar conhecimento em torno da relação entre direitos de cidadania e saúde, bem como se procurou construir metateoria em torno das considerações alcançadas com a revisão. Assente neste referencial metodológico, a meta-análise, -síntese e -interpretação de 92 artigos permitiu caracterizar a relação entre direitos de cidadania e saúde em torno de cinco categorias (cidadania e direitos, participação cidadã, saúde física e mental, pessoas migrantes, refugiadas e imigrantes, e sexualidade[s] e relações de intimidade), e contribuiu para elaborar uma proposta em torno da área da cidadania em saúde: a healthenship. A healthenship caracteriza-se pela reclamação da saúde como uma condição para a construção da cidadania vista como um estatuto sociocultural e político que se transforma ao longo da vida, incorporando as subjetividades humanas que subjazem à participação nos processos de construção da cidadania por meio da reivindicação do direito à saúde enquanto conjunto de condições necessárias para a realização efetiva de uma vida digna. Por último, os contributos desta pesquisa têm o potencial de influenciar a prática profissional das/os educólogas/os em contextos de saúde, na medida em que elucidam acerca dos mapas de significado subjacentes aos contextos sociopolítico, comunitário e individual que obstruem e promovem o desenvolvimento dos processos de educação, mediação e empoderamento individual, social, organizacional e comunitário que estes profissionais integram. Palavras-chave: Revisão crítica e mista; Direitos de cidadania e saúde; Cidadania em saúde; Healthenship; Ciências da educação.The relationship between (rights of) citizenship and health has been marked by socio-political transformations, such as the emergence of authoritarian political regimes and various social movements demanding access to the right to health, and scientific debates around the development of citizenship in health and its meaning. Allied to these ideas, a reflection around the meaning of the words rights, citizenship and health, and their place in international normative documents reveals the myriad of perspectives around these concepts, as well as the panoply of political practices around the access to the right to health. Therefore, identifying the knowledge produced on the relationship between citizenship rights and health is crucial to understanding the socio-political transformations and clarifying the scientific debates that have taken place in recent decades, as well as contributing to the construction and expansion of ideas on the professionalism of educologists in the context of prevention, promotion and health education. On this basis, the challenge of answering three questions was embraced: How is the relationship between citizenship rights and health structured? How has this relationship evolved over time? What are the main tensions and continuities in the relationship between citizenship rights and health? In this line, a critical and mixed literature review was carried out, where we sought to aggregate knowledge around the relationship between citizenship rights and health, as well as to build metatheory around the considerations reached with the review. Based on this methodological framework, the meta-analysis, -synthesis and -interpretation of 92 articles allowed to characterise the relationship between citizenship rights and health around five categories (citizenship and rights, citizen participation, physical and mental health, migrant, refugee and immigrant people, and sexuality[s] and intimacy relationships), and contributed to elaborate a proposal around the area of health citizenship: healthenship. Healthenship is characterised by the claim of health as a condition for the construction of citizenship seen as a sociocultural and political status that is transformed throughout life, incorporating the human subjectivities that underlie the participation in the processes of citizenship construction through the claim of the right to health as a set of necessary conditions for the effective realisation of a life with dignity. Finally, the contributions of this research have the potential to influence the professional practice of educologists in health contexts, as they elucidate the maps of meaning underlying the sociopolitical, community and individual contexts that obstruct and promote the development of the processes of education, mediation and individual, social, organizational and community empowerment that these professionals integrate. Keywords: Critical and mixed studies review; Citizenship and health rights; Health citizenship; Healthenship; Education Sciences

Leitura de livros em Portugal e na Europa: Tendências recentes numa perspetiva comparada

A presente investigação pretende produzir novos contributos para compreender a evolução recente das práticas de leitura, em particular da leitura de livros, em Portugal. Numa primeira análise, efetua-se uma comparação entre Portugal e outros países da União Europeia, evidenciando a posição relativa dos portugueses leitores de livros face aos congéneres europeus, e verificando se a tendência de leitura de livros no nosso país acompanha a desses países. De seguida, e tendo como conceito nuclear o de leitura como prática cultural, ou seja, perspetivando a leitura de livros como uma atividade realizada em tempos de lazer, procura-se através de uma análise diacrónica caracterizar a população portuguesa leitora de livros, em termos do perfil sociodemográfico e socioprofissional. São realizadas ainda duas análises centradas apenas no último ano de que dispomos dados para Portugal (2016), uma tendo em conta o número de livros lidos, outra, multivariada, relacionando a leitura de livros com outras dimensões. A estratégia metodológica seguida é quantitativa incidindo em inquéritos transnacionais à população, cujo foco principal não é a leitura, mas que contêm perguntas sobre a leitura de livros.This research aims to produce new contributions to understand the recent evolution of reading practices, particularly book reading, in Portugal. In a first analysis, a comparison is made between Portugal and other European Union countries, showing the relative position of Portuguese book readers vis-à-vis their European counterparts, and checking whether the trend of book reading in our country follows that of those countries. Next, and based on the core concept of reading as a cultural practice, i.e., considering the reading of books as an activity carried out in leisure time, we seek to characterise the Portuguese book-reading population through a diachronic analysis, in terms of the sociodemographic and socio-professional profile. Two analyses are also carried out focusing only on the last year for which we have data for Portugal (2016), one taking into account the number of books read, the other multivariate, relating the reading of books with other dimensions. The research strategy followed is quantitative and focuses on transnational population surveys, the main focus of which is not reading, but which contain questions on book reading

Análise e melhoria dos processos e implementação do CONWIP numa empresa industrial

Atualmente, com a globalização, as organizações têm sido cada vez mais exigentes, as empresas veem-se obrigadas a evoluir cada vez mais, devido ao aumento da procura do consumidor, e às condições e benesses que lhes são dadas na hora de adquirir o produto ou serviço. Desta forma, obriga as organizações muitas vezes a reinventarem-se para diferenciarem-se das restantes. Assim o projeto realizado na Amorim Revestimentos teve como principais objetivos a redução do WIP e otimização do processo produtivo dos produtos de Acabamentos Finais 1 e 3. Uma das ferramentas Lean Manufacturing utilizadas para reduzir o WIP, os desperdícios e melhorar o rendimento das linhas de produção é o sistema Pull, e mais concretamente o mecanismo de controlo CONWIP. O sistema CONWIP, juntamente com o Mizusumashi, foi implementado em Acabamento Finais 1, caracterizada pela falta de controlo sobre o material em processo, problemas de abastecimento das linhas de produção e dos muitos desperdícios existentes em todo o processo produtivo, destacando-se os tempos de espera movimentos desnecessários, elevado WIP e lead times desajustados. Outro dos grandes problemas encontrados foi as elevadas paragens registadas na Colagem 9 devido ao pouco controlo de stock, desenvolvendo-se assim uma ferramenta de controlo de stock e produção. Para que fosse possível a implementação, foi necessário um estudo profundo de todo o processo produtivo dos produtos, a movimentação feita pela matéria prima desde que era iniciada até ser designado por produto acabado no Armazém e uma consulta aos dados históricos de produção dos produtos em questão. Para a resolução de todos os problemas identificados, foi desenvolvida uma heurística de roteamento para o Mizusumashi, e implementando o CONWIP, no principal produto da empresa, o Hydrocork. Através deste projeto, a empresa conseguiu obter uma redução entre 18 e 31 % do WIP e de 21 % do lead time de todos as gamas operatórias do Hydrocork, eliminar os movimentos desnecessários realizados pelo empilhador no abastecimento e libertação das linhas de produção e um maior controlo de stock na linha de produção inicial do processo produtivo, permitindo um aumento de 2 %na disponibilidade do OEE.Nowadays, with globalization, organizations have been increasingly demanding. Companies are forced to evolve more and more, due to the increase in consumer demand, and the conditions and benefits they are given when purchasing the product or service. Therefore, it forces organizations to often reinvent themselves to differentiate themselves from the rest. Thus, the project carried out in Amorim Revestimentos, had as main objectives the reduction of the WIP and optimization of the production process of the Finishing Touches 1 and 3. One of the Lean Manufacturing tools used to reduce the WIP, the wastes and to improve the yield of the production lines is the Pull system, and more specifically the CONWIP control mechanism. The CONWIP system, along with Mizusumashi, was implemented in Finishing Touches 1, characterized by a lack of control over the material in process, supply problems of the production lines and the many wastes existing throughout the production process, highlighting the waiting times, unnecessary movements, high WIP and mismatched lead times. Another of the major problems encountered, was the number of stops recorded at Collage 9 due to poor stock control, thus developing a stock control and production tool. In order to implement it, an in-depth study was necessary of the entire production process of the products, the movement of the raw material from the beginning of the process until it was designated as finished product in the Warehouse, and a consultation with the historical production data of the products in question. To solve all identified problems, a routing heuristic was developed for Mizusumashi, and CONWIP was implemented in the company's main product, Hydrocork. Through this project, the company was able to achieve a reduction 18%-31% in the WIP and 21% in lead time of all Hydrocork operating ranges, eliminate the unnecessary movements made by the stacker in the supply and release of the production lines, and a greater control of stock in the initial production line of the productive process, allowing a 2% increase in OEE availability

The Quest for Biomarkers from Acute Disease to Disease Resolution

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas with incompletely known pathogenic mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the temporal changes in serum cytokines in patients with AP and to assess the association of these changes with disease severity. Methods: Fifty patients hospitalized with AP were enrolled, and their serum cytokine levels were analyzed at four different time points. A healthy control (HC) group of 30 outpatients was included. Results: AP patients showed increased levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 at admission when compared with HC. IL-6, VEGF, and EGF remained elevated 1 month after hospitalization and 6 months after discharge. Conclusions the Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP) and severity classification of the revised Atlanta classification system, IL-6 and VEGF, determined 48 h after hospitalization, were the two cytokines consistently elevated in the most severe patients. Increased levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-alpha at admission and MCP-1 48 h after admission are also related to the length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Our study highlights the role cytokines play in the pathogenesis of AP and can be useful in the development of future drug trials for AP.publishersversionpublishe

A reconciled version of the cork oak tree genome-scale metabolic model

Quercus suber, commonly known as cork oak tree, is an evergreen tree which produces a thick bark (also known as cork) with multiple (a)biotic stress resistance properties (1). Due to corks natural characteristics, such as the low weight, excellent insulation and low permeability, the cellular structure has a significant economic value as it has multiple applications. For instance, it can be used as a wine bottle sealant and insulation boards (2,3). Additionally, cork is harvested periodically throughout the trees lifetime (4). Nevertheless, the corks quality can only be properly assessed after 40 years of tree growth, which makes the identification of metabolic traits, associated to high-quality cork, of the utmost importance (5). Genome-Scale Metabolic (GSM) models comprise both genomic and metabolic information and can predict the phenotypic behavior of an organism when subjected to distinct environmental conditions (6). Therefore, a reconstructed GSM model of the cork oak tree can point to metabolic properties related to cork quality. Additionally, in silico metabolic engineering strategies could lead to the development of metabolically enhanced trees. The current Quercus suber leaf model, reconstructed within merlin (7), contains 3126 reactions, 2648 metabolites, 7258 genes and was subjected to extensive manual curation, while the biomass and energy requirements were revamped. In silico simulations, using Flux Balance Analysis (8), accurately predict the phenotypic behavior of the leaf cell when exposed to phototrophic and heterotrophic conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Serum markers of B cell activation in pregnant women with atopic asthma

PROBLEM: As maternal atopy represents a risk factor for the development of atopy in offspring, we aimed to assess how pregnancy affects B cell activation markers in women with atopic asthma and whether they correlate with risk manifestations for allergy in newborns from mothers with atopic asthma. METHOD OF STUDY: Pregnant women with atopic asthma (AP) in the third trimester of gestation and nonpregnant women with atopic asthma (ANP) were prospectively recruited and compared to respective healthy counterparts (HP and HNP). All pregnant women were also assessed during the postpartum period until 6 weeks after delivery (HP/PP and AP/PP). Newborns were clinically evaluated at the age of 6 months. Peripheral blood samples were taken from each woman at each time point. Soluble CD23 (sCD23), B cell activating factor (BAFF), IgA, IgG, IgM, kappa (κ) and lambda (λ) free light chains (FLC) were quantified in serum samples. RESULTS: The AP group presented increased sCD23 (P <0.05) and BAFF (P <0.001) levels compared to the ANP group and even higher levels of sCD23 during the postpartum period (P <0.001). Moreover, the cut-offs of 6.74 g/L for IgG (sensitivity 90.9%, specificity 77.8%) and of 11.30 mg/L for λ FLC (sensitivity 81.8%, specificity 88.9%) in the AP group were predictive factors for the manifestation of allergy in their offspring. CONCLUSIONS: After delivery, the dynamics of sCD23 and BAFF changed significantly in the AP group. Furthermore, we found novel predictive factors for allergy manifestations in the children of these women, with potential clinical application.publishersversionpublishe

B Cells and Double-Negative B Cells (CD27−IgD−) Are Related to Acute Pancreatitis Severity

Funding Information: This research was funded by the Learning Health Hospital da Luz. LH.INV.F2019002. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an increasingly frequent disease in which inflammation plays a crucial role. Fifty patients hospitalized with AP were included and peripheral blood samples were analyzed for B and T cell subpopulations at the time of hospitalization and 48 h after diagnosis. The Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP) and length of hospital stay were also recorded. A healthy control (HC) group of 15 outpatients was included. AP patients showed higher neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratios and higher percentages of B cells than the HC group. The total B cell percentages were higher in patients with moderate/severe AP than in patients with mild AP. The percentages of B cells as well as the percentages of the CD27−IgD− B cell subset decreased from admission to 48 h after admission. The patients with higher BISAP scores showed lower percentages of peripheral lymphocytes but higher percentages of CD27−IgD− B cells. Higher BISAP scores, N/L ratios, and peripheral blood B cell levels emerged as predictors of hospital stay length in AP patients. Our findings underscore the importance of early markers for disease severity. Additionally, the N/L ratio along with the BISAP score and circulating B cell levels form a robust predictive model for hospital stay duration of AP patients.publishersversionpublishe