A arte da fuga: um estudo sobre Walden de Henry David Thoreau

Tese de mestrado, Teoria da Literatura, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2010A partir da definição de um movimento de fuga do mundo para dentro do homem, descrito por Hanna Arendt em A Condição Humana, a presente tese propõe-se analisar o livro Walden, de Henry David Thoreau, procurando identificar as motivações, estratégias e intenções que conduziram o seu autor através desse complexo e idiossincrático tratado sobre a emancipação do indivíduo em relação ao colectivo, buscando também compreender, no âmbito das ambições e das ambiguidades do texto, quais os limites razoáveis de tal ruptura. Para ilustrar aquilo a que podemos chamar um sentimento de exílio dentro do vocabulário do seu tempo, que Walden tão exemplarmente manifesta, esta tese pretende analisar as razões apresentadas pelo seu autor para justificar a necessidade de desobediência à sociedade como condição necessária para o auto-conhecimento, procurando identificar e esclarecer durante o processo as noções de leitura, de leitor, de literatura e de conhecimento defendidas por Thoreau, assim como enfatizar a dificuldade que o livro sugere em traçar uma linha divisória clara entre razões e inclinações .Beginning with Hannah Arendt's definition of an escape movement from the world into the man as described in The Human Condition , this thesis analyses Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. The motivations, strategies and intentions are examined which carried Thoreau through the complex and idiosyncratic treatise about the individual's emancipation from society. An understanding is developed as to what the reasonable limits of such a break from society might be, taking the ambitions and ambiguities of the text into consideration. To illustrate what we might call a a sentiment of exile within the vocabulary of its time , of which Walden is an exemplary expression; this thesis develops an analysis of the reasons that Thoreau presents to justify the need to disobey society as a necessary means to achieve self-knowledge. The notions of reading, literature and knowledge that Thoreau stood for will be indentified and examined, as well as placing emphasis on the difficulty that the book suggests in drawing a clear line between reasons and inclinations

Decorações "in-glaze" de alto relevo para aplicação em porcelana doméstica, por processos serigráficos : perspectivar a criação de novos modelos

Mestrado em Engenharia de MateriaisO presente trabalho pretende ser um contributo para a constante necessidadede evolução da porcelana, nomeadamente a porcelana de hotel decorada,visando conseguir melhorar algumas das propriedades da decoração serigráfica. Foram criadas formulações de brancos de relevo impressas através de ecrãs de malha 43 a 77 fios por cm, de elevado recorte e definição. Para tal afinaram-se as características das emulsões e astécnicas de emulsionamento com secagem incorporada. O resultado foi a obtenção de decalques em relevo com espessuras superiores a 200 microns para aplicação e cozedura “in-glaze”entre 1180 e 1250 ºC. A necessidade de aumentar a resistência das superfícies decoradas à abrasão, conduziu à utilização de fritas dopadas com partículas de reforço (alumina, mulite ou zircão, em teores ponderais entre 5 e 10%), mas esta solução originouum considerável aumento da ocorrência de marcas por contacto com peçasmetálicas (“metal marking”). Na tentativa de minimizar aquele defeito foram criadas superfícies de menor rugosidade, mediante a cobertura da decoração por fritas à base de B2O3. O resultado foi confirmado por microscopia de força atómica, que confirmoumáxima rugosidade superficial da ordem dos 32 nm, resultando numadecoração mais resistente ao “metal marking”. ABSTRACT: The current work aims to contribute to the constant need of innovation in porcelain production, in particular the decoration, by screen printing, of hotel ware products. Paste formulas showing raised bright whitish colour were developedand printed though high definition screens of 43 and 77 lines per cm. The correct application required the adjustment of drying characteristics of emulsions. Resulting decals show white relief of more than 200 microns height once fired inglaze at1180 to 1250°C. The need to increase the abrasion resistance of ceramic decoration required the addition of Al2O3, mulite or SiZrO4 reinforcing particles (5-10 wt%) to the glaze,results in a deleterious effect on the resistance to metal marking. As a consequence, new attempts to reduce the surface roughness wereimplemented by using B2O3 rich glazes that where printed out on the top of the relief. This was confirmed by atomic force microscopy that revealed maximum roughness of about 32 nm in the final decoration. By this way, resistance tometal marking was strongly improved

Epidemiology and genetic diversity of invasive Neisseria meningitidis strains circulating in Portugal from 2003 to 2020

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) continues to be a public health problem due to its epidemic potential, affecting mostly children. We aimed to present a detailed description of the epidemiology of IMD in Portugal, including insights into the genetic diversity of Neisseria meningitidis strains. Epidemiological analysis included data from the Portuguese National Reference Laboratory of Neisseria meningitidis during 2003 to 2020. Since 2012, N. meningitidis isolates have also been assessed for their susceptibility to antibiotics and were characterized by whole genome sequencing. During 2003–2020, 1392 confirmed cases of IMD were analyzed. A decrease in the annual incidence rate was observed, ranging from 1.99 (2003) to 0.39 (2020), with an average case fatality rate of 7.1%. Serogroup B was the most frequent (69.7%), followed by serogroups C (9.7%), Y (5.7%), and W (2.6%). Genomic characterization of 329 isolates identified 20 clonal complexes (cc), with the most prevalent belonging to serogroup B cc41/44 (26.3%) and cc213 (16.3%). Isolates belonging to cc11 were predominantly from serogroups W (77.3%) and C (76.5%), whereas cc23 was dominant from serogroup Y (65.7%). Over the past 4 years (2017–2020), we observed an increasing trend of cases assigned to cc213, cc32, and cc11. Regarding antimicrobial susceptibility, all isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and 61.8% were penicillin-nonsusceptible, whereas 1.4% and 1.0% were resistant to ciprofloxacin and rifampicin. This is the first detailed study on the epidemiology and genomics of invasive N. meningitidis infections in Portugal, providing relevant data to public health policy makers for a more effective control of this disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Epidemiology and genetic diversity of invasive Neisseria meningitidis strains circulating in Portugal from 2003 to 2020

Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) continues to be a public health problem due to its epidemic potential, affecting mostly children. We aimed to present a detailed description of the epidemiology of IMD in Portugal, including insights into the genetic diversity of Neisseria meningitidis strains. Epidemiological analysis included data from the Portuguese National Reference Laboratory of Neisseria meningitidis during 2003 to 2020. Since 2012, N. meningitidis isolates have also been assessed for their susceptibility to antibiotics and were characterized by whole genome sequencing. During 2003–2020, 1392 confirmed cases of IMD were analyzed. A decrease in the annual incidence rate was observed, ranging from 1.99 (2003) to 0.39 (2020), with an average case fatality rate of 7.1%. Serogroup B was the most frequent (69.7%), followed by serogroups C (9.7%), Y (5.7%), and W (2.6%). Genomic characterization of 329 isolates identified 20 clonal complexes (cc), with the most prevalent belonging to serogroup B cc41/44 (26.3%) and cc213 (16.3%). Isolates belonging to cc11 were predominantly from serogroups W (77.3%) and C (76.5%), whereas cc23 was dominant from serogroup Y (65.7%). Over the past 4 years (2017–2020), we observed an increasing trend of cases assigned to cc213, cc32, and cc11. Regarding antimicrobial susceptibility, all isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone and 61.8% were penicillin-nonsusceptible, whereas 1.4% and 1.0% were resistant to ciprofloxacin and rifampicin. This is the first detailed study on the epidemiology and genomics of invasive N. meningitidis infections in Portugal, providing relevant data to public health policy makers for a more effective control of this disease.publishersversioninpres

Projectos educativos : elaboração, monitorização e avaliação : guião de apoio

O presente guião de apoio à elaboração, implementação, monitorização, divulgação e avaliação de projetos educativos é o resultado de um trabalho coletivo coordenado por uma equipa técnica multidisciplinar e com diferentes experiências no contexto do sistema educativo e formativo

Some observations on the influence of particle size and size distributionon stratification in pneumatic jigs

Particle size variation plays a key role in jigging performance, and despite extensive research in the area, very little attention has been given in the case of pneumatic jigging. The aim of this study was to look into particle stratification in a pilot-scale pneumatic jig when varying the particle size and the range of the particle size distribution in ternary mixtures of aggregates. Jigging tests were especially designed to reduce contamination of jig products and a stratification index was elaborated to evaluate stratification efficiency. Experimental results provided compelling evidences that widening the particle size distribution of the system or using beds composed of particles of smaller sizes can enhance stratification by density. Similarly, smaller particles showed a remarkable tendency to concentrate in the upper zones of the stratified bed, whereas larger particles tended to concentrate more in lower zones. The obtained results suggest that particular operating features of pneumatic jigging together with differential packing effects should play a decisive role in the stratification extent of beds formed by particles of different sizes. Experimental results are of practical importance since, among other benefits, they point to the possibility to increase pneumatic jigging performance in some cases by using wider size distributions of the feed, thus reducing the need of prior stages of narrow size classification

Legionella pneumophila strain associated with the first evidence of person-to-person transmission of Legionnaires’ disease: a unique mosaic genetic backbone

A first strong evidence of person-to-person transmission of Legionnaires' Disease (LD) was recently reported. Here, we characterize the genetic backbone of this case-related Legionella pneumophila strain ("PtVFX/2014"), which also caused a large outbreak of LD. PtVFX/2014 is phylogenetically divergent from the most worldwide studied outbreak-associated L. pneumophila subspecies pneumophila serogroup 1 strains. In fact, this strain is also from serogroup 1, but belongs to the L. pneumophila subspecies fraseri. Its genomic mosaic backbone reveals eight horizontally transferred regions encompassing genes, for instance, involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis or encoding virulence-associated Dot/Icm type IVB secretion system (T4BSS) substrates. PtVFX/2014 also inherited a rare ~65 kb pathogenicity island carrying virulence factors and detoxifying enzymes believed to contribute to the emergence of best-fitted strains in water reservoirs and in human macrophages, as well as a inter-species transferred (from L. oakridgensis) ~37.5 kb genomic island (harboring a lvh/lvr T4ASS cluster) that had never been found intact within L. pneumophila species. PtVFX/2014 encodes another lvh/lvr cluster near to CRISPR-associated genes, which may boost L. pneumophila transition from an environmental bacterium to a human pathogen. Overall, this unique genomic make-up may impact PtVFX/2014 ability to adapt to diverse environments, and, ultimately, to be transmitted and cause human disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Probable Person-to-Person Transmission of Legionnaires’ Disease

Correspondence to the Editor.Legionnaires’ disease is an often severe form of pneumonia that is typically acquired by susceptible persons (e.g., elderly persons and smokers) through inhalation of aerosols that contain legionella species.1-4 A cluster of cases of this disease occurred in Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal, in 2014

Testing drivers of acoustic divergence in cicadas (Cicadidae: Tettigettalna )

Divergence in acoustic signals may have a crucial role in the speciation process of ani-mals that rely on sound for intra-specific recognition and mate attraction. The acous-tic adaptation hypothesis (AAH) postulates that signals should diverge according to the physical properties of the signalling environment. To be efficient, signals should maximize transmission and decrease degradation. To test which drivers of divergence exert the most influence in a speciose group of insects, we used a phylogenetic ap-proach to the evolution of acoustic signals in the cicada genus Tettigettalna, inves-tigating the relationship between acoustic traits (and their mode of evolution) and body size, climate and micro-/macro- habitat usage. Different traits showed different evolutionary paths. While acoustic divergence was generally independent of phyloge-netic history, some temporal variables’ divergence was associated with genetic drift. We found support for ecological adaptation at the temporal but not the spectral level. Temporal patterns are correlated with micro- and macro- habitat usage and tempera-ture stochasticity in ways that run against the AAH predictions, degrading signals more easily. These traits are likely to have evolved as an anti- predator strategy in conspicuous environments and low-density populations. Our results support a role of ecological selection, not excluding a likely role of sexual selection in the evolution of Tettigettalna calling songs, which should be further investigated in an integrative approach.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A scoping review

Structured intervention programs are an important resource for supporting people with substance addiction. Although evi dence suggests that they improve health outcomes, such as specifc symptoms, less is known about their impact on patients’ ability to self-manage the consequences of substance addiction. The aim of this review is to scope outpatient intervention programs focused on the self-management of substance addiction consequences. Approach. This review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews. MEDLINE and CINAHL (through Ebsco), Psychology & Behav ioral Sciences Collection (including PsycINFO) and Web of Science were screened to identify articles published in the last 10 years. Only primary research was included. Out of 891 records, 19 were eligible for this review—12 randomized con trolled trials (RCT), 6 quasi-experimental study and 1 observational study. Those studies reported group interventions (10), individual interventions (8) and 1 mixed approach. The most common interventions were based on motivational strategies, relapse prevention and defnition of active plans for risky situations. 10 studies reported positive efects. The identifcation of structured programs may support the development of new approaches focused on empowerment and quality of life of people with substance addiction. Programs to empower patients for self-management of substance addiction consequences are often complex and rely on health professionals’ commitment. Nevertheless, they are a feasible approach that seems to beneft patients managing chronic conditions associated with substance addiction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio