Regeneração urbana : 'O diálogo entre os espaços públicos e espaços sobrantes na cidade'

A dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Arquitetura, realizada e apresentada na Universidade Lusófona do Porto (ULP), assenta no domínio da regeneração do património urbano, refletindo particularmente no impacto dos viadutos na malha urbana, expondo o potencial dos espaços que este deixa para traz como solução para a recuperação e requalificação de espaços urbanos que entraram em degradação por via destas estruturas. Esta reflexão é materializada numa proposta de requalificação urbana e arquitetónica de uma área da cidade do Porto, em que se implanta o viaduto da Rua Duque de Loulé. É feito, uma breve descrição do que é designado como espaço sobrante e os elementos que levaram ao seu desenvolvimento. Isto permite que tenhamos um melhor domínio sobre estes vazios urbanos, de forma a poder intervir neles de uma maneira consciente. Este processo, é apoiado por uma breve abordagem e análise a quatro casos de estudo, que serviram de enriquecimento e compreensão de métodos válidos de intervenção nos vazios urbanos. As propostas dispõem soluções práticas, sólidas e válidas que servem de inspiração base, para a integração, expansão e consolidação dos espaços sobrantes na malha urbana do Porto.A Master´s thesis in Architecture, written and presented at the Lusófona University of Porto (ULP), based on the regeneration of urban heritage, particularly reflecting on the impacts of viaducts in the urban network, exposing the potential the spaces that it leaves behind as solutions for the recovery and requalification of the urban spaces that have degraded through these structures. This reflection is materialised in the proposal made for the urban and architectural requalification of the section in the city of Oporto, in which the Duque de Loulé viaduct is implanted. A brief description of what is defined as surplus spaces is made, including the elements that led to the development of such spaces. This allows us to have a better dominion over these urban voids, so as to allow us to intervene in these in a conscious manner. This process is supported by a brief approach and analysis of four case studies that have served as the bases to enrich and understand the best methods of intervention in urban voids. The proposals provide practical, solid and valid solutions that serve as the inspirational bases for the integration, expansion and consolidation of these void spaces in the Oporto urban networkOrientação: José Manuel dos Santos Gigante ; co-orientação: João Nuno P. B. Moreira Gome

The Stock Genetic Structure of Two Sparidae Species, Diplodus vulgaris and Lithognathus mormyrus, in the Mediterranean Sea.

Polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of allozymes was used to investigate the intraspecies genetic variation and the genetic stock structure of Diplodus vulgaris and Lithognathus mormyrus captured from eight localities in the Mediterranean Sea. Twenty-two and 20 putative enzyme-coding loci were examined, respectively, in D. vulgaris and L. mormyrus. Polymorphic loci at the 95% level were used to assess the allozyme variability in D. vulgaris (AAT-2, EST-1, GLDH, PEPB-2, PGI-2, PGM, SDH) and L. mormyrus (AAT-2, EST-1, GLDH, MDH-2, PGI-2, PGM). The proportion of polymorphic loci in both species ranged from 0.31 (D. vulgaris) to 0.30 (L. mormyrus), and the observed and expected mean heterozygosity varied between 0.082 and 0.093 (D. vulgaris) and between 0.069 and 0.072 (L. mormyrus). The mean value of observed heterozygosity in D. vulgaris showed a deficit of heterozygosites, thereby indicating a Wahlund effect in the samples examined. Significant genetic differentiation (mean value of θ = 0.013, p < 0.005) was found in D. vulgaris indicating an intraspecific genetic substructure among the samples examined, whereas the mean value of θ = 0.001, p > 0.05 found in L. mormyrus showed a high degree of genetic homogeneity. The results showed the presence of distinct subpopulations of D. vulgaris among the sampled sites, and suggested that analysis of allozymes may provide important information on the genetic stock structure of these two sparids to ensure sustainable management of these species

Groundwater mixing in a heterogeneous multilayer aquifer driven by geogenic CO2 fluxes: Evidence from chemical and isotopic composition of Ferrarelle waters (Riardo Plain, southern Italy)

The successful management of carbon in the Earth's crust is critical for mitigating the increase of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) requires an understanding of the behavior of carbon in the crust and the development of robust monitoring techniques to constrain the movement, mechanisms, and pathways for any potential CO2 leakage. Here, we examine an aquifer from the Riardo Plain (Campania Region, southern Italy), which serves as a suitable natural analogue for CO2 migration to the critical zone (i.e., shallow crust and aquifers) and as a case study to evaluate the geochemical processes that occur when CO2-saturated fluids mix with freshwater in shallow aquifers. We investigate the behavior of various geochemical constituents (major and trace elements, δ18O–H2O, δ13C-DIC, and Rn content). Water from this area has a high degree of mineralization (EC 2500–3000 μS/cm), high HCO3- (~2.5 g/L), is saturated with respect to CaCO3, and is enriched in alkali ions (e.g., Na+ + K+). The high degree of mineralization occurs in groundwater that discharges from the basal aquifer of the Roccamonfina volcanic edifice (~6 km NW), with vast CO2 inputs that promote host rock leaching. Superficial volcanic aquifers are recharged by fresh meteoric precipitation when groundwater flows from carbonates at the edge of the plain to aquifers hosted in the southeastern slope of the Roccamonfina volcano. The presence of normal faults in this area permits natural upwelling of CO2-rich groundwater, which locally mixes with shallow freshwater present within the upper volcanic succession. Significant (R > 0.8) linear correlations between conservative elements suggest that groundwater geochemistry is dominated by a mixture of two main endmembers: (i) deep/mineralized waters and (ii) shallow/diluted waters. The intrusion of freshwater to volcanic aquifers induces oxidation, leading to adsorption of select elements (e.g., As and Ba) onto Fe-oxyhydroxide precipitates within these aquifers. Geochemical modeling suggests that CO2 saturation approaches 3 g/L, which agrees with direct measurements of CO2 flux. We conclude that our conceptual geochemical model helps to constrain mixing of CO2 with freshwater and to diagnose the secondary geochemical processes that influence aqueous geochemistry within CO2-influenced groundwater

Methodological study to evaluate the psychometric properties of FACIT-CD in a sample of Brazilian women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Background: The occurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is associated with changes in health-related quality of life, including psychological factors, such as fear and shame, and changes in sexuality and sexual satisfaction, such as decreased sexual desire and frequency of sexual intercourse. Personal relationships are the most affected because CIN is sexually transmitted and many women tend to blame their partner for disease transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the FACIT-CD questionnaire in Brazilian women diagnosed with CIN. Methods: The properties of the FACIT-CD questionnaire were tested on a sample of 439 women seen at the Department of Prevention of Barretos Cancer Hospital, including 329 patients who were diagnosed with CIN and 110 women who were not diagnosed with the disease. The analysed parameters included internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient), structural validity, convergent validity (correlation with the SF-12 and EORTC QLQ-CX24 questionnaires), discriminant validity (according to disease status, and self-rating of health), sensitivity, and responsiveness. Results: The Cronbach alpha values of the FACIT-CD scales were higher than 0.70 with the exception of the relationship scale (0.66). The FACIT-CD reproducibility was satisfactory, with variation in the intraclass correlation coefficients ranging between 0.50 and 0.83, although the 95% confidence interval (CI) was lower than 0.40 (0.33-0.64) on the treatment satisfaction scale. Regarding structural validity, only one item on the physical well-being scale was not kept in the original domain. The expected correlations between the FACIT-CD and SF-12 were not confirmed, whereas the correlations between the FACIT-CD and EORTC QLQ-CX24 were confirmed. The questionnaire was able to discriminate the groups according to disease status and self-rating of health. The sensitivity was low for the relationship scale and moderate for the other scales. The responsiveness of the FACIT-CD questionnaire varied between the groups that denominate the self-perception of health as no change, improvement or worsening. Conclusion: Our results are encouraging and indicate that the FACIT-CD questionnaire is a promising tool for the analysis of the quality of life of women with CIN.The postdoctoral fellowship was supported by Sao Paulo Research Foundation (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo - FAPESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil). Process number: FAPESP 2014/10158-3. The funding body had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Secukinumab shows high efficacy irrespective of HLA-Cw6 status in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis: SUPREME study

Background: Understanding genetic variations is important in predicting treatment response and forms the basis for identifying new pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic targets for psoriasis treatment. There are limited data on the efficacy of secukinumab in relation to genetic markers. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of secukinumab 300 mg in HLA-Cw6-positive (Cw6-POS) and HLA-Cw6-negative (Cw6-NEG) patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque-type psoriasis. Methods: SUPREME was a 24-week, phase IIIb study with an extension period up to 72 weeks. Primary end point was Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) 90 response rate after 16 weeks. Results: In total, 434 patients were recruited: 185 (42\ub76%) were Cw6-POS and 246 (56\ub77%) were Cw6-NEG (three not assessed). Mean \ub1 SD age was 45\ub72 \ub1 13\ub72 years (Cw6-POS 42\ub77 \ub1 13\ub71; Cw6-NEG 47\ub72 \ub1 12\ub79). The baseline PASI score was comparable between the cohorts [Cw6-POS 20\ub77 \ub1 8\ub799; Cw6-NEG 21\ub75 \ub1 9\ub799 (P = 0\ub7777)]. At week 16, PASI 90 was achieved in 80\ub74% of Cw6-POS and 79\ub77% of Cw6-NEG patients (difference 0\ub776; 95% confidence interval 127\ub704 to 8\ub723). No differences in absolute PASI at week 16 (Cw6-POS 1\ub736 \ub1 3\ub758; Cw6-NEG 1\ub718 \ub1 2\ub729) were observed. The overall safety profile of secukinumab was consistent with that previously reported. No statistically significant difference was detected in the rate of treatment-emergent adverse events [Cw6-POS 42\ub77%; Cw6-NEG 49\ub76% (P = 0\ub7295)]. A high PASI 90 response was achieved with secukinumab with a fast reduction in absolute PASI. Conclusions: Determination of HLA-Cw6 status for secukinumab therapy is unnecessary, as it is highly effective regardless of HLA-Cw6 status

Sedimentary processes and biofacies of Late Cretaceous carbonate low-energy ramp systems (southern Italy).

This paper characterizes a low-energy, open-shelf setting by focusing on the sedimentary processes and biofacies of a Late Cretaceous, temperate-type open shelf in the southern Apennine nappes of Italy. The facies evolution of the related rudist-rich limestones takes into account the macrofossil characteristics and the microfaunal assemblages. The open-shelf depositional setting is interpreted by facies analysis. The facies are gradually transitional and the facies belts are broad, but wave-resistant biogenic frameworks are absent. Presumably the sea floor was characterized by a low bathymetric slope on which the wave energy was dissipated across a wide shelf, resulting in low-energy environments. Storm waves were damped by the wide, shallow bottom, and the fine fraction was not winnowed. Many rudists are in growth position, and those reworked are well preserved and commonly articulated. Different bathymetries and hydrodynamic conditions in two study areas, the Sorrento Peninsula and the northern Cilento, resulted in different biofacies and stratal geometries. In the Cilento area, high-energy currents such as tidal currents created a network of small channel-like depressions. Different rudist species colonized these channels and their margins. Rudists in growth position are rare, although reworked bivalves are commonly conjoined and the shells are pristine. In this subtidal facies key foraminifer species vary in abundance. The presence of marine open-shelf agglutinate forms supports the interpretation of a marine, high-energy shelf. In the Sorrento area, ephemeral subaerial exposure surfaces and pedogenic deposits indicate intertidal conditions and rudist facies indicate subtidal sandy shelf. The rudists formed monospecific to paucispecific assemblages. The foraminiferal assemblages are much more diversified than those in the Cilento successions, indicating small but meaningful oscillations in sub-environments. The rudist shell beds exhibit great taphonomic variability. The foraminiferal assemblages are characterized by distinct taxa such as abundant conical and discoidal agglutinate forms (Cuneolina and Dicyclina), thick-shelled evoluted Soritidae (Murgella, Scandonea, and Pseudorhapydionina), and larger, thicker ovoidal or subspherical Rotaliidae that indicate well-lit depositional environments with open water circulation and normal salinity, characterized by medium values of the hydrodynamic energy with scarce or no evidence of traction currents