Modelação do crescimento da árvore em povoamentos de sobreiro (Quercus suber L.): desenvolvimento de modelo de crescimento espacial parametrizado para a região de Coruche

No presente trabalho desenvolve-se um modelo de crescimento de árvore espacial para o sobreiro (Quercus suber L.) cujos povoamentos se localizam na região nordeste de Coruche. Os dados foram obtidos em parcelas permanentes instaladas de acordo com um desenho experimental que visou obter informação de toda a gama de graus de coberto com peso equivalente. Este desenho visou a pesquisa dos efeitos da competição no processo crescimento primário e secundário dos sobreiros e permitiu a selecção dos melhores conjuntos de variáveis explanatórias para a construção do modelo. O modelo de crescimento é constituído por sub-modelos de crescimento em altura total, área de projecção horizontal das copas e em área seccional (lenho e cortiça) tipo função potencial x função modificadora ajustado por regressão não linear pelo método dos mínimos quadrados ordinários. Um modelo logístico de sobrevivência ajustado pelo método de máxima verosimilhança. Um modelo gerador de estrutura ajustado para os ingressos baseado num processo de Poisou modificado. ABSTRACT - In the present work it is developed a spatial single tree growth model to cork oak (Quercus suber L.) whose stands are localized in north east o Coruche region. The data set was collected in permanent plots installed according a experimental design that sampled trees in a large span of crown cover. This dataset permitted the analysis of competition effects in primary and secondary growth of cork oak trees and permitted to select the sets of explanatory variables used in the construction of the model. The growth model is composed by sub models for growth in height, crown projection area, and sectional area of the stem at 1.3 m (wood and cork) based on the potential modifier approach adjusted by non-linear regression by the ordinary least square method. A survival sub model, based on logistic function was fitted by logistic regression with the maximum likelihood method. A structure generator adjusted for ingrowth was created based in ruled based Poison process

Identification of clusters of asthma control: A preliminary analysis of the inspirers studies

This work was funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI- -01-0145-FEDER-029130 (“mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases - generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies”) co-funded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).© 2020, Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica. All rights reserved. Aims: To identify distinct asthma control clusters based on Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) and to compare patients’ characteristics among these clusters. Methods: Adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with persistent asthma were recruited at 29 Portuguese hospital outpatient clinics, in the context of two observational studies of the INSPIRERS project. Demographic and clinical characteristics, adherence to inhaled medication, beliefs about inhaled medication, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and asthma control (CARAT, >24 good control) were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using CARAT total score (CARAT-T). Results: 410 patients (68% adults), with a median (percentile 25–percentile 75) age of 28 (16-46) years, were analysed. Three clusters were identified [mean CARAT-T (min-max)]: cluster 1 [27(24-30)], cluster 2 [19(14-23)] and cluster 3 [10(2-13)]. Patients in cluster 1 (34%) were characterised by better asthma control, better quality of life, higher inhaler adherence and use of a single inhaler. Patients in clusters 2 (50%) and 3 (16%) had uncontrolled asthma, lower inhaler adherence, more symptoms of anxiety and depression and more than half had at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Further-more, patients in cluster 3 were predominantly female, had more unscheduled medical visits and more anxiety symp-toms, perceived a higher necessity of their prescribed inhalers but also higher levels of concern about taking these inhalers. There were no differences in age, body mass index, lung function, smoking status, hospital admissions or specialist physician follow-up time among the three clusters. Conclusion: An unsupervised method based on CARAT--T, identified 3 clusters of patients with distinct, clinically meaningful characteristics. The cluster with better asthma control had a cut-off similar to the established in the validation study of CARAT and an additional cut-off seems to distinguish more severe disease. Further research is necessary to validate the asthma control clusters identified.publishersversionpublishe

Socioeconomic Aspects of the Forests in Portugal: Recent Evolution and Perspectives of Sustainability of the Resource

Portuguese forests have always played an essential role in the socioeconomic development of national rural areas, but also in several forest-based industrial sectors, such as the cork, pulp and paper, and wood panels industries. In addition to these dominant sectors, there are also several other uses for forest timber, such as being the major raw materials to the production of furniture or devoted to the growing biomass pellets production industry. This review article presents the evolution of the forest industrial sector throughout the recent past, and its impact on the development of the rural environment, from a socioeconomic perspective, namely concerning the jobs and value-added creation, as well as the importance of the forest in national industrial development. It shows the importance of sustainable forest management for the development of the rural environment, as an essential sector for the creation of wealth and for the establishment of populations in the interior regions of the country

Evaluation of Strength and Muscle Activation Indicators in Sticking Point Region of National-Level Paralympic Powerlifting Athletes

BACKGROUND The sticking region is considered an intervening factor in the performance of the bench press with high loads. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the strength indicators in the sticking point region in Powerlifting Paralympic athletes. METHODS Twelve Brazilian Powerlifting Paralympic athletes performed maximum isometric force (MIF), rate of force development (RFD), time at MIF, velocity, dynamic time in sticking, and surface electromyography in several distances from the bar to the chest. RESULTS For velocity, there was a difference between the pre-sticking and sticking region (1.98 ± 0.32 and 1.30 ± 0.43, p = 0.039) and dynamic time between the pre-sticking and the sticking region (0.40 ± 0.16 and 0.97 ± 0.37, p = 00.021). In static test for the MIF, differences were found between 5.0 cm and 15.0 cm (CI 95% 784; 1088; p = 0.010) and between 10.0 cm and 5.0 cm (CI 95% 527; 768; p < 0.001). Regarding the RFD, differences were found (CI 95% 938; 1240; p = 0.004) between 5.0 cm and 25.0 cm and between 10.0 cm and 25.0 cm (CI 95% 513; 732; p < 0.001). In relation to time, there were differences between 5.0 cm and 15.0 cm (CI 95% 0.330; 0.515; p < 0.001), 5.0 cm, and 25.0 cm (CI 95% 0.928; 1.345; p = 0.001), 10.0 cm and 15.0 cm (p < 0.05) and 15.0 cm and 25.0 cm (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between the muscles in electromyography, although the triceps showed the highest muscle activation values. CONCLUSIONS The maximum isometric force, rate of force development, time, velocity, and dynamic time had lower values, especially in the initial and intermediate phases in the sticking region

Evaluation of Strength and Muscle Activation Indicators in Sticking Point Region of National-Level Paralympic Powerlifting Athletes

Background: The sticking region is considered an intervening factor in the performance of the bench press with high loads. Objective: To evaluate the strength indicators in the sticking point region in Powerlifting Paralympic athletes. Methods: Twelve Brazilian Powerlifting Paralympic athletes performed maximum isometric force (MIF), rate of force development (RFD), time at MIF, velocity, dynamic time in sticking, and surface electromyography in several distances from the bar to the chest. Results: For velocity, there was a difference between the pre-sticking and sticking region (1.98 ± 0.32 and 1.30 ± 0.43, p = 0.039) and dynamic time between the pre-sticking and the sticking region (0.40 ± 0.16 and 0.97 ± 0.37, p = 00.021). In static test for the MIF, differences were found between 5.0 cm and 15.0 cm (CI 95% 784; 1088; p = 0.010) and between 10.0 cm and 5.0 cm (CI 95% 527; 768; p &lt; 0.001). Regarding the RFD, differences were found (CI 95% 938; 1240; p = 0.004) between 5.0 cm and 25.0 cm and between 10.0 cm and 25.0 cm (CI 95% 513; 732; p &lt; 0.001). In relation to time, there were differences between 5.0 cm and 15.0 cm (CI 95% 0.330; 0.515; p &lt; 0.001), 5.0 cm, and 25.0 cm (CI 95% 0.928; 1.345; p = 0.001), 10.0 cm and 15.0 cm (p &lt; 0.05) and 15.0 cm and 25.0 cm (p &lt; 0.05). No significant differences were observed between the muscles in electromyography, although the triceps showed the highest muscle activation values. Conclusions: The maximum isometric force, rate of force development, time, velocity, and dynamic time had lower values, especially in the initial and intermediate phases in the sticking region

O inventário nacional do património geológico : abordagem metodológica e resultados = The national inventory of geological heritage : methodological approach and results

A existência de um inventário nacional de património geológico é fundamental para se poderem implementar estratégias de geoconservação. Este trabalho apresenta a metodologia usada no desenvolvimento do mais completo inventário de geossítios. realizado até ao momento em Portugal, assim como os principais resultados obtidos. O inventário vai integrar o Sistema de Informação do Património Natural e o Cadastro Nacional dos Valores Naturais Classificados, ambos geridos pelo Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade