Jovens e Forças Armadas ? contornos de uma nova relação.

Jovens e Forças Armadas ? contornos de uma nova relação

Jovens e Forças Armadas: contornos de uma nova relação num contexto de profissionalização

Nas sociedades actuais qualquer instituição, entre elas a militar, não é mais julgada pelo que se propõe fazer, mas pelo que efectivamente faz. Tratadas pela sociedade e pelo mercado como qualquer outra instituição, as Forças Armadas estão, assim, mais sujeitas ao escrutínio e controlo social. Cultivar a legitimidade tornou-se cada vez mais uma necessidade, tendo em vista a prevenção de possíveis situações de banalização institucional. Além desta atitude de cariz pró-activo, os pressupostos da profissionalização, enquanto novo modelo de organização, também lhes exigem uma permanente capacidade para conseguir obter os recursos humanos necessários ao desenvolvimento das suas missões. Para contribuir para a construção de estratégias solidificadas de intervenção neste domínio, torna-se necessário recolher elementos que permitam traçar um diagnóstico da situação, o que implica, forçosamente, considerar como objecto de análise as inter-relações estabelecidas entre as Forças Armadas e a sociedade envolvente. É neste quadro que se insere este estudo, que, a coberto da realização do Dia da Defesa Nacional, procura apreender e caracterizar o que pensa das Forças Armadas e das suas ofertas de emprego um dos segmentos populacionais mais importantes no contexto da profissionalização, ou seja, a população jovem.In current society, any institution, including the military, is not judged by what they intent to do, but by what they actually do. Judged by the society and job market like any other institution, the Armed Forces are under an exhaustive evaluation and social control. In this context, in order to prevent any situations of institutional trivialization is essential that Armed Forces promote their social legitimacy. In addition to this proactive approach of maintaining the legitimacy, the assumptions inherent to professionalization as a model of military organization, it also requires a permanent ability to attract sufficient human resources to develop and accomplish their missions.To develop and implement intervention strategies in this domain is essential to analyse and understand the reality, considering the conceptual interplay between the Armed Forces and the involving society. Based on this theoretical conceptualization, the present study aims to collect and understand the perceptions of the young people who attended the National Defence Day regarding the Armed Forces and their job opportunities

A profissionalização das Forças Armadas: um olhar sobre o seu pilar de sustentação – os militares do regime de voluntariado e de contrato

A realidade internacional em que as estruturas de defesa das nações ocidentais tradicionalmente operavam sofreu uma mudança paradoxal com o fim da Guerra Fria. Instalou-se uma nova realidade geoestratégica pautada pela incerteza e pelo carácter multipolar e global dos conflitos, que as confrontou com a incapacidade de resposta dos seus tradicionais exércitos de massas, cuja vocação se baseava essencialmente na defesa territorial e que eram alimentados, essencialmente, através de mecanismos de conscrição. Um sistema de forças de dimensão mais reduzida, tecnologicamente mais desenvolvido e adaptável, quer na sua integração em forças multinacionais, quer na sua capacidade de tradução e adaptação aos contextos em que é chamado a intervir, implica necessariamente umas Forças Armadas compostas de efectivos altamente preparados e totalmente profissionais na sua acção.O que se apresenta neste artigo é uma reflexão sobre a forma como este processo de profissionalização tem sido vivido e desenvolvido pelas Forças Armadas Portuguesas, dando especial ênfase aos seus verdadeiros protagonistas: os militares. Quem são, porque ingressam, e quais as suas expectativas são as perguntas a que tentamos dar uma hipótese de resposta.After the end of the Cold War the international reality in which the structures of defence of Western nations have traditionally operated in suffered a paradoxical change. Inserted in a new geo-strategic reality ruled by uncertainty and multiple and global conflicts, the military organizations confronted themselves with the inability of their traditional mass armies – whose task was based primarily on territorial defence and were fed primarily through mechanisms of conscription, to respond to this new adversities and conflicts. A smaller, more technologically and developed system of forces, both in terms of their integration in the multinational forces and in its ability to translate and adapt to new contexts, is required to face this new reality. This new challenges mean that the Armed Forces should employ highly skilled and trained professionals to perform their missions.The purpose of this article is to make a reflection about the professionalization process developed by the Portuguese Armed Forces, with special emphasis on their real protagonists: the military. Specifically, this study aims to characterize the young people who join the Armed Forces, their motivations and expectations

Prognostic value of MGMT promoter methylation in glioblastoma patients treated with temozolomide-based chemoradiation : a Portuguese multicentre study

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor. The identification of novel molecular prognostic markers of GBM has recently been an area of great interest in neuro-oncology. The methylation status of the MGMT gene promoter is currently a promising molecular prognostic marker, but some controversial data have precluded its clinical use. We analyzed MGMT methylation by methylation-specific PCR in 90 GBM patients from four Portuguese hospitals, uniformly treated with radiotherapy combined with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (Stupp protocol). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to construct survival curves, and the log-rank test and a Cox-regression model were used to analyze patient survival. The methylation status of MGMT was successfully determined in 89% (80/90) of the tumors. The frequency of tumoral MGMT promoter methylation was 47.5%. The median overall survivals (OSs) were 16 months (95% CI 12.2-19.8) and 13 months (95% CI 13.3-18.7) for patients whose tumors had a methylated or unmethylated MGMT, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses did not show any statistically significant association between MGMT methylation status and patient OS (P=0.583 by the log-rank test; P=0.617 by the Cox-regression test) or progression-free survival (P=0.775 by the log-rank test; P=0.691 by the Cox-regression test). None of the patient clinical features were significantly correlated with survival. This is the first study to report the frequency of MGMT methylation among Portuguese GBM patients. Our data did not show statistically significant associations between MGMT promoter methylation and the outcome of GBM patients treated with temozolomide. Additional robust prospective studies are warranted to clarify whether the MGMT status should be used in clinical decisions.This project was sponsored, in part, by Schering-Ploug Farma (Portugal). B.M.C. and O.M. are recipients of fellowships from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (SFRH/BPD/33612/2009 and SFRH/BD/36463/ 2007). The funding institutions had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of the results, the preparation of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication

Dementia in Latin America : paving the way towards a regional action plan

Regional challenges faced by Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs) to fight dementia, such as heterogeneity, diversity, political instabilities, and socioeconomic disparities, can be addressed more effectively grounded in a collaborative setting based on the open exchange of knowledge. In this work, the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD) proposes an agenda for integration to deliver a Knowledge to Action Framework (KtAF). First, we summarize evidence-based strategies (epidemiology, genetics, biomarkers, clinical trials, nonpharmacological interventions, networking and translational research) and align them to current global strategies to translate regional knowledge into actions with transformative power. Then, by characterizing genetic isolates, admixture in populations, environmental factors, and barriers to effective interventions and mapping these to the above challenges, we provide the basic mosaics of knowledge that will pave the way towards a KtAF. We describe strategies supporting the knowledge creation stage that underpins the translational impact of KtAF

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Reuse of wooden utility poles through the combination of new and old elements

Wooden utility poles are crucial in supporting overhead telecommunication lines in Portugal. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) is the most common wood species used for this purpose. The durability of the poles is typically determined by the deterioration observed in their ground line. Aiming to reduce the use of new sound wooden poles, reducing the economic costs involved, and the environmental impacts, the reuse of those old wooden poles by removing the degraded part is one possible solution. This study aimed to develop and validate solutions with composed poles, specifically for the connections between the wood members, so that it is possible to more efficiently incorporate used parts into the remanufactured poles. Two types of connections were used: members joined by a cylindrical steel tube, and members joined by finger joints. The static bending moduli of elastic and rupture were tested. The mechanical properties of the reused wooden utility poles showed to be in line with the values of new sound wooden poles made of different wood species. Finally, both proposed solutions proved to be practical for use in the production of reused utility poles, which are mostly made from old timber poles

Reuse of Wooden Utility Poles Through the Combination of New and Old Elements

Wooden utility poles are crucial in supporting overhead telecommunication lines in Portugal. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) is the most common wood species used for this purpose. The durability of the poles is typically determined by the deterioration observed in their ground line. Aiming to reduce the use of new sound wooden poles, reducing the economic costs involved, and the environmental impacts, the reuse of those old wooden poles by removing the degraded part is one possible solution. This study aimed to develop and validate solutions with composed poles, specifically for the connections between the wood members, so that it is possible to more efficiently incorporate used parts into the remanufactured poles. Two types of connections were used: members joined by a cylindrical steel tube, and members joined by finger joints. The static bending moduli of elastic and rupture were tested. The mechanical properties of the reused wooden utility poles showed to be in line with the values of new sound wooden poles made of different wood species. Finally, both proposed solutions proved to be practical for use in the production of reused utility poles, which are mostly made from old timber poles