Cell division and chromosome segregation in Staphylococcus aureus

Dissertação para a obtenção do grau de doutor em Biologia pelo Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica. Universidade Nova de LisboaBacterial cell division by binary fission involves several essential steps. Initially, the mother cell duplicates in size and replicates its DNA, in preparation for division. As the new sister chromosomes are synthesized, they are progressively segregated to the future daughter cells and once the division site is cleared of the majority of chromosomal DNA, the division septum starts assembling. The complete septum then constricts and, ultimately, the mother cell splits into two identical daughters. The generation of equal, viable progeny is strictly dependent on the regulation and coordination of these processes, both in space and in time. It is particularly important that the division septum is properly positioned at midcell and that chromosome segregation and cell division are synchronized, to prevent fragmentation of the genome by septum closure over the nucleoid

Perfil dos observadores de aves no Parque Natural da Ria Formosa

In the Algarve the potential for birdwatching tourism is widely recognized, especially in the Ria Formosa Natural Park (RFNP). This study aims to describe birdwatchers' profile in the RFNP. For this purpose, a survey was applied. The results show that the most frequent nationalities of birdwatchers are: British (39%), Dutch (17%) and Portuguese (17%). The majority of birdwatchers are male (55%) and married (57%). The average age is 50 years old. They are highly educated (74% have an academic degree). Concerning profession, the most frequent answer was retired (41%). Respondents are committed to the activity as the majority possess special equipment and practice birdwatching in vacations. This study also tests if nationality is related to other characteristics of the birdwatchers, by using the Kruskal-Wallis and the Chi-square tests. Overall, the results of this study highlight that regional management organizations should invest in developing birdwatching in the RFNP.O potencial para o turismo de birdwatching é vastamente reconhecido, especialmente no Parque Natural da Ria Formosa (PNRF). Este estudo tem como objetivo descrever o perfil dos observadores de aves que visitam o PNRF. Para esse propósito, foi aplicado um questionário. Os resultados mostram que as nacionalidades mais frequentes dos observadores de aves são: britânica (39%), holandesa (17%) e portuguesa (17%). A maioria dos observadores de aves é do sexo masculino (55%), sendo o seu estado civil casado (57%). A idade média é de 50 anos. O seu nível educacional é elevado (74% têm um grau académico). Quanto à profissão, a resposta mais frequente foi aposentado (41%). Os inquiridos estão comprometidos com a atividade, pois a maioria possui equipamentos especiais e pratica observação de aves nas férias. Este estudo também testa se a nacionalidade está relacionada com outras características dos observadores de aves, através de testes Kruskal-Wallis e Qui-quadrado. Os resultados deste estudo indicam que as organizações de gestão regional devem investir no desenvolvimento do birdwatching no PNRF.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Natural variability of lotic Mediterranean ecosystems or wildfire perturbations: who will win?

This study evaluates the impacts of wildfires in lotic Mediterranean ecosystems. It was carried out at Monchique ridge after big wildfires occurred during 2002 and 2003. Deferential impacts were evaluated comparing historical results obtained before the wildfires (1999 and 2001), with the post fire ones (2006 and 2007). Physical and chemical parameters of the water, habitat morphology, diatoms, macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fishes were evaluated at 10 collecting places, before and after wildfires. High recovering rates were observed to the vegetation, but it is still possible to found fire impacts over macrophytes and river morphology. Wildfires, contributed to canopy decrease and, consequently to the growth of plants that usually are controlled by shadow. As a result, vegetation biodiversity tend to increase. River banks tend also to be invaded by terrestrial plants. Higher post fires recover rates were observed to the more aquatic communities (diatoms, macroinvertebrates and fishes). For those communities, comparing spring situations before and after the fires no substantial differences were observed. Sometimes differences between consecutive years are even higher. So it can be concluded that magnitude of wildfire impacts is less than the natural inter-annual variability of Mediterranean rivers. Long-term effects of forest fires, resulting from large woody debries, were also detected by morphological alterations, like debries dams. Habitat diversity increase and impacts on aquatic communities are expected

Facing the challenge of a borderless world. Are you ready to go?

[Intro] "The Jack Welch of the future cannot be like me. I spent my entire career in the U.S. The next head of General Electric will be somebody who spent time in Bombay, in Hong Kong, in Buenos Aires. We have to send our best and brightest overseas and make sure they have the training that will allow them to be the global leaders who will make GE flourish in the future." Jack Welch (1999), Global Explorers. This quotation epitomizes invaluable lessons. First, globalization is one of the most salient features of the current world economy and will not fade. Most companies are currently impelled to act in a world without borders to remain competitive. For many of them, internationalization has become a way to survive, instead of a strategy for expansion and growth. In this context, both scholars and practitioners face the challenge of identifying the factors that promote international expansion and organizational survival. (...

Assessing music ontologies for the development of a complex database

UID/EAT/00472/2019The increasing volume and diversity of musical information has been creating a challenge for the uniform creation, reuse and sharing of this kind of information. As part of addressing this challenge there has been a growing interest in musical ontologies, as a technique to support the sharing of heterogeneous musical information, both for commercial and cultural dissemination purposes. Motivated by a specific objective, in the context of the development of an information system on musicians and respective artistic production and professional career, existing ontologies for the music domain, in general, were surveyed. The purpose of this study is to support the hypothesis that this approach can not only support the specific requirement of that objective, but also facilitate the interoperability with other existing systems, with databases and catalogs built with multiple technical solutions. So far, three ontologies that were found closer to the study object of the project were analyzed, reflecting three different models: (1) The Musical Ontology framework, developed by the Center for Digital Music of Queen Mary University, London, under the direction of Prof Mark Sandler, within the scope of the projects OMRAS - Online music recognition and searching (NSF / JISC Digital Libraries Initiative, 1999-2002) and OMRAS2 - A Distributed Research Environment for Music Informatics and Computational Musicology (EPSRC grant EP / E017614 / 1, 2007-2010), and that uses the FRBR model as a reference; (2) the DOREMUS ontology, which resulted from the DOREMUS project, funded in 2014 by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche, France and that brought together three major cultural institutions: the National Library of France, the Philharmonie de Paris and Radio France, and that is based on the FRBRoo model; and (3) the Performed Music Ontology, an extension of the BIBFRAME ontology, first released in April 2017, as a result of a project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for Linked Data for Production (LD4P), led by the Stanford University Libraries, in collaboration with five other libraries: Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton and the Library of Congress. This paper presents the purpose of the motivating project for the research, aggregation and consolidation of information on musicians and respective artistic production and professional career, and the assessment of these three significant music ontologies as relevant sources of inspiration for the design of the knowledge base for that project.publishersversionpublishe

Identificação de necessidades de intervenção psicológica: um estudo-piloto no ensino superior português

Cette étude vise à explorer le besoin d’intervention psychologique des élèves qui fréquentent la Faculté des Sciences Humaines de l’Université Catholique Portugaise. Ont participé 157 étudiants lesquels ont été évalués sur leurs besoins et préoccupations personnelles, de carrière et d’apprentissage, ainsi que sur leur préférences concernant le support désiré et déjà reçu, à travers The Survey of Student Needs. Les résultats indiquent que les participants ont besoin de plus d’information et d’un appui dans les domaines suivants: (i) gérer l’anxiété et la nervosité, (ii) la peur de l’échec, (iii) les stratégies de recherche d’emploi, (iv) le choix d’une carrière, et (v) des compétences pour la gestion du temps. On remarque une préférence pour le conseil individuel et les cours de courte durée . On remarque des différences selon le sexe, le grade universitaire, la régularité du contact avec la famille et la satisfaction avec la vie universitaire et la vie en général. Les résultats évoquent la création des systèmes, stratégies et activités de soutien psychologique, qui puissent répondre à les différentes préoccupations des étudiants.This study aims to explore the psychological intervention needs of the students attending the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Portuguese Catholic University. 157 students were evaluated on their personal, career and learning needs and concerns, as well as on their possible support preferences, through the questionnaire of identification of psychological intervention needs. The results indicate that participants need more information or support in the following areas: (i) management of anxiety and nervousness, (ii) fear of failure, (iii) job search, (iv) career choice and (v) time management skills. There is a preference for individual counseling and workshops. There are differences according to sex, academic grades, regularity of family contact and academic and global life satisfaction. Implications are drawn for the availability of systems, strategies and activities of psychological support for students that can respond appropriately to their different needs.Este estudio tiene como objetivo explorar las necesidades de intervención psicológica de los estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas de la Universidad Católica Portuguesa. Participaron 157 estudiantes, se les evaluaron sus necesidades y preocupaciones, así como las preferencias relacionadas con el apoyo deseado y previamente recibido de la carrera y del aprendizaje, a través del cuestionario de identificación de las necesidades de intervención psicológica. Los resultados indican que los participantes necesitan más información o ayuda en las siguientes áreas: (i) manejo de la ansiedad y del nerviosismo, (ii) miedo al fracaso, (iii) estrategias de búsqueda de empleo, (iv) elección de una carrera y (v) habilidades de gestión del tiempo. Hay una preferencia por asesoramiento individual y cursos cortos. Existen diferencias en función del sexo, grado académico, regularidad de contacto con la familia y satisfacción con la vida académica y global. De los resultados provienen implicaciones para la disponibilidad de sistemas, estrategias y actividades de apoyo psicológico para que los estudiantes puedan contestar adecuadamente a sus diferentes intereses.Este estudo analisa as necessidades de intervenção psicológica dos estudantes da Faculdade de Ciências Humanas da Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Participaram 157 alunos, avaliados nas suas preocupações e necessidades pessoais, de carreira e de aprendizagem, bem como nas preferências relativas ao apoio, por meio do questionário de identificação de necessidades de intervenção psicológica. Os resultados indicam necessidade de apoio nas áreas: (i) controlo de ansiedade e nervosismo, (ii) medo de falhar, (iii) estratégias de procura de emprego, (iv) escolha de uma carreira e (v) competências de gestão do tempo. Verifica-se uma preferência, no apoio pretendido, pelas modalidades de aconselhamento individual e cursos breves. Registram-se diferenças em função do sexo, da média no curso, da regularidade de contato com a família e dos níveis de satisfação acadêmica e satisfação global com a vida. Retiram-se implicações para a disponibilização de sistemas, estratégias e atividades de apoio psicológico que possam responder às preocupações dos estudantes

Os professores e o desenvolvimento vocacional dos estudantes

A influência dos professores no desenvolvimento vocacional dos estudantes, reconhecida pelos diversos agentes educativos, não tem sido objecto de investigação sistemática no País. Dados obtidos através de um inquérito aplicado a 46 professores e a 42 estudantes, tratados segundo uma metodologia qualitativa de grounded analysis, permitem identificar três temas fundamentais para aprofundar o papel dos professores nesse processo de desenvolvimento. São eles: a influência geral do professor nos alunos, em termos pessoais, cientificos e pedagógicos; a acção mais específica do professor no âmbito da sua disciplina; a cooperação do professor com outros agentes educativos e comunitários. Apresenta-se e comenta-se a análise dos dados, na vertente das suas implicações para a formação dos professores

ONG de mulheres e a luta contra a violência contra as mulheres e crianças no seio da família: o contributo da UMAR

Galvão Walnice Nogueira. Patrick Chabal et al., The postcolonial literature of Lusophone Africa. In: Lusotopie, n°6, 1999. Dynamiques religieuses en lusophonie contemporaine. p. 532