Effectiveness of aged graffiti cleaning technologies on cultural heritage granite

Graffiti paintings, as an act of vandalism, are one of the most severe threats to Cultural Heritage stone. The cleaning is expensive and may induce chemical and physical damages tom the stone. Graffiti is often executed in surfaces without anti-graffiti protection and in real practice are only removed after long periods of environmental exposure, leading to their interaction with the environmental agents and with the stone substrate. This dissertation intents to study to what extent the exposure to polluted environments will affect the graffiti removal, in order to provide relevant elements for future interventions in Cultural Heritage. Two sets of comparative studies were conducted, on unaged and on artificially aged samples (in a climatic chamber with SO2). Four graffiti aerosol paints were applied on an Iberian Peninsula granite, Rosa Porriño. Different cleaning procedures were applied: two chemical methods, four mechanical methods and a laser based-method. Microscope techniques, chemical and physical analytic techniques were used in order to firstly asses the characterization of unaged and aged paints and secondly to evaluate the cleaning performances based on the graffiti extraction level and induced harmful effects. The obtained results showed that the chemical and laser cleaning performance is associated to the binder composition of the paints (alkyd or polyethylene resins). It must also be pointed out the role of SO2 in the cleaning performance for all the cleaning methods. After ageing, the paints became more difficult to clean, presenting higher global colour changes, residue percentages and the surfaces became more water repellent. The best cleaning performances were achieved with the potassium hydroxide based chemical cleaner AGS 600® and the mechanical Hydrogommage® with silicon based abrasive. Finally, some futures research lines are pointed out

Will the Farm to Fork strategy be effective in changing food consumption behavior? : A health psychology perspective

Food production accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions; the Farm to Fork strategy aims to make food systems more sustainable and healthier to curb the rising global surface temperature. It includes several actions targeting consumer behavior, including increasing the availability of sustainable and healthy products and mandatory nutritional labeling. The actions address relevant psychological mechanisms; however, the outlined actions are vague and based on only a small number of behavioral determinants that may limit effectiveness. The implementation may furthermore benefit from concepts of implementation science to increase acceptability and feasibility to reach its ambitious goals

Identifying active ingredients in complex behavioural interventions for obese adults with obesity-related co-morbidities or additional risk factors for co-morbidities : a systematic review

Peer reviewedPostprin

Changing activity behaviours in vocational school students : the stepwise development and optimised content of the 'let's move it' intervention

Background:School-based interventions that increase physical activity (PA) in a sustainable way are lacking. Systematic and participatory, theory and evidence-based intervention development may enhance the effectiveness of complex behavioural interventions in the long term. However, detailed descriptions of the intervention development process are rarely openly published, hindering transparency and progress in the field. Aims:To illustrate a stepwise process to develop intervention targeting PA and sedentary behaviour (SB) among older adolescents, and to describe the final, optimised version of the intervention, detailing content of sessions by theoretical determinants and techniques. Methods:Two established intervention development frameworks (Intervention Mapping and Behaviour Change Wheel) were integrated, leading to a comprehensive evidence and theory-based process. It was informed by empirical studies, literature reviews, expert and stakeholder consultation, including scenario evaluation and component pre-testing. In all steps, contextual fit and potential for sustainability were ensured by stakeholder engagement. Results:As a large majority of youth opposed decreasing screen time, increasing PA and decreasing SB were defined as target behaviours, with peers and the school context including classroom practices as key social environments in influencing youth PA (problem specification, step 1). Behavioural diagnosis (step 2) identified a variety of determinants in the domains of capability (e.g. self-regulation skills), motivation (e.g. outcome expectations) and environmental opportunities. These were organised into an intervention theory integrating several formal theories, including Self-Determination Theory. Theory-aligned principles guided material design (Step 3). Feasibility RCT allowed optimisation into a final intervention protocol (step 4). Conclusions:Intervention elements target students directly, and indirectly by changing teacher behaviour and the school and wider environment. A systematic development and optimisation led to a high potential for sustainability. The detailed intervention content, with specification of the hypothesised mechanisms, allows for other researchers to replicate, adapt or refine parts or the whole intervention, considering specific target groups and (sub-)cultures.Peer reviewe

Understanding the First Chalcolithic Communities of Estremadura: Zooarchaeology of Castro de Chibanes, Portugal. Preliminary Results

This study integrates archaeological, zooarchaeological and taphonomic results from the Chalcolithic, the earliest chronological period from the excavations at Castro de Chibanes (Palmela, Portugal). Preliminary results from the “Horizonte IA” (Phase IA1 and IA2), regarding the first half of the 3rd millennium BC will be presented. The faunal assemblage consists of a total of 858 remains. These predominantly comprise of domestic mammals – particularly pigs, sheep and goats – which are interpreted as food supply. With low percentages of wild game, animal husbandry emerges as a central activity for these populations, complimented by marine fishing. In addition, small game hunting – mainly of lagomorphs and a few birds – is also identified. As at other archaeological sites in the region, the material culture suggests that Castro de Chibanes can be ascribed to the cultural domain of the pre-Bell Beaker Chalcolithic of Estremadura. Particularly comparative sites include Leceia, Zambujal and Penedo do Lexim, also fortified settlements with high rates of domestic livestock (suids and caprines) and extremely low percentages of wild game, in particular red deer.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The mediating role of pain catastrophizing in the relationship between presurgical anxiety and acute postsurgical pain after hysterectomy

The aim of this study was to examine the joint role of demographic, clinical, and psychological variables 30 as predictors of acute postsurgical pain in women undergoing hysterectomy due to benign disorders. A 31 consecutive sample of 203 women was assessed 24 hours before (T1) and 48 hours after (T2) surgery. 32 Baseline pain and predictors were assessed at T1 and postsurgical pain and analgesic consumption at 33 T2. Several factors distinguished women who had no or mild pain after surgery from those who had mod- 34 erate to severe pain, with the latter being younger, having more presurgical pain, and showing a less 35 favorable psychological profile. Younger age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.90, P < .001), presurgical pain 36 (OR = 2.50, P <.05), pain due to other causes (OR = 4.39, P = .001), and pain catastrophizing (OR = 3.37, 37 P = .001) emerged as the main predictors of pain severity at T2 in multivariate logistic regression. This 38 was confirmed in hierarchical linear regression (b = 0.187, P < .05; b = 0.146, P < .05; b = 0.136, P < .05; 39 b = 0.245, P < .01, respectively). Presurgical anxiety also predicted pain intensity at T2. Findings revealed 40 an integrative heuristic model that accounts for the joint influence of demographic, clinical, and psycho- 41 logical factors on postsurgical pain intensity and severity. In further mediation analysis, pain catastro- 42 phizing emerged as a full mediator between presurgical anxiety and postsurgical pain intensity. The 43 potential clinical implications for understanding, evaluating, and intervening in postsurgical pain are 44 discussed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Falko Sniehotta, PhD, and Justin Presseau, PhD, for suggestions. The authors also thank all of the women who agreed to participate in this study