David Negro : un judío cortesano en la coyuntura portuguesa de 1383-1385

Aportación al estudio de los judíos cortesanos portugueses, en especial, el caso de Don David Negro. Consejero y funcionario regio del Rey Don Fernando y, más tarde, rabí de Castilla, en el reinado de Juan I. Don David participó en la rebelión política de 1383 - 1385 que culminó en la ascensión al trono de Mestre de Avis, Don João I de Portugal.Contribution to the study of Portuguese Judaic courtiers, in particular of Don David Negro. King Fernando's councilor and royal servant, and the later rabbi in Castilla, during the reign of Juan I. Don David took part in the political rebellion of 1383 - 1385 which resulted in the rise of the Master of Avis to the throne of Portugal - D. João I

Regucalcin as one of the guardians of the male reproductive function

Male reproductive function is highly sensitive to extrinsic testicular damage or intrinsic modifications, which consequently affects spermatogenesis leading to declined sperm quality and compromised fertility. These reproductive modifications can represent a collateral effect, for example from an oncological therapy, or a natural consequence of living, such as ageing. Currently, due to early diagnostic and high survival rate, young cancer patients are living longer. Nevertheless, approaches to successfully restrain the undesirable secondary effects of oncological therapies are still missing. Furthermore, until recently, the decline in male reproductive function with the advance of age was frequently neglected. Lately, given the trend of modern society to delay the conception of a biological child, the decrease in sperm quality in older subjects has been drawing attention from the scientific community. Indeed, these problems are emerging topics on male fertility. Oxidative stress (OS) is known to be for itself associated with male infertility cases. Also, OS is implicated in radiotherapy and ageing. In this doctoral thesis, we aimed to disclose the potential of regucalcin (RGN) protein to counteract the damaging effects of testicular radiotherapy as well as to attenuate the ageing-associated changes in male reproductive tract. In recent years, RGN protein has been showing to be an important player in spermatogenesis and male fertility, managing the suppression of pro-oxidant and chemical apoptotic stimulus in seminiferous tubules. RGN is a protein widely expressed in testicular cells, and its biological function seems to be vast. Moreover, RGN is also known as Senescence Marker Protein-30 (SMP-30) as a result of its decreased expression with ageing. Recently, high levels of RGN prevented ageing-associated changes in the prostate. Using an in vivo approach, we studied the role of RGN by comparing transgenic rats overexpressing RGN (Tg-RGN) with their wild-type (Wt) counterparts. Ten weeks after rats were subjected to radiotherapy, we verified that RGN was able to mitigate radiation-induced testicular damage because Tg-RGN animals presented less affected sperm parameters as well as lower rate of testicular apoptosis in comparison with Wt rats. Moreover, Tg-RGN animals also presented unaffected sperm parameters in spite of the ageing concomitantly with lower OS levels. Interestingly, we detected an enhanced expression of RGN in irradiated testis as well as in senescent sperm both in Wt and Tg-RGN rats, reinforcing the involvement of RGN in response to stimuli or modifications that can negatively impact male reproduction. Overall, our results are strong evidence about the beneficial role of RGN as a guardian of male reproductive function, suggesting that RGN protein has great potential to be included in strategies to improve, protect, and/or recover male fertility in men undergoing oncological treatment or with advanced age who still intend to have biological descent.A função reprodutora masculina é altamente sensível quer a danos externos quer a modificações internas que, consequentemente, afetam a espermatogénese levando ao declínio da qualidade espermática e ao comprometimento da fertilidade. Estas alterações a nível reprodutor podem ser devidas a um efeito colateral resultante, por exemplo, de um tratamento oncológico, ou ser uma consequência natural da vida, como o envelhecimento. Devido ao atual diagnóstico precoce e à alta taxa de sobrevivência, os doentes oncológicos jovens têm vidas mais longas. No entanto, é necessária a identificação de estratégias que diminuam com sucesso os efeitos secundários indesejáveis provocados pelos tratamentos oncológicos. Além disso, até há pouco tempo, o declínio da função reprodutora masculina com o avançar da idade era frequentemente negligenciado. Ultimamente, dada a tendência da sociedade moderna para adiar a conceção de um filho biológico, a diminuição da qualidade espermática em indivíduos mais velhos tem vindo a atrair a atenção da comunidade científica. Portanto, estes são assuntos emergentes na área da fertilidade masculina. Sabe-se que o stresse oxidativo (OS) está, por si só, associado a casos de infertilidade masculina. Além disso, sabe-se ainda que o OS está também implicado na radioterapia e no envelhecimento. Nesta tese de doutoramento, pretendeu-se desvendar o potencial da proteína regucalcina (RGN) para contrariar os efeitos nefastos da radioterapia testicular, bem como para atenuar as alterações relacionadas com a idade que ocorrem no tracto reprodutor masculino. Nos últimos anos, a proteína RGN tem vindo a mostrar ser importante na espermatogénese e na fertilidade masculina, estando envolvida na supressão quer de estímulos pró-oxidantes quer da apoptose induzida quimicamente nos túbulos seminíferos. A RGN está amplamente presente nas células testiculares, e diversos estudos apontam-lhe inúmeras funções biológicas. Para além disso, a RGN é também conhecida como Proteína Marcadora da Senescência-30 (SMP-30), resultado da diminuição da sua expressão com o envelhecimento. Recentemente, elevados níveis de RGN amenizaram alterações associadas ao envelhecimento na próstata. Recorrendo a uma abordagem in vivo, na presente tese estudou-se o papel da RGN comparando ratos transgénicos que sobre-expressam a RGN (Tg-RGN) com os seus homólogos selvagens (Wt). Dez semanas após os ratos terem sido sujeitos a radioterapia testicular, verificou-se que a RGN foi capaz de mitigar o dano testicular induzido pela radiação, visto que os animais Tg-RGN apresentaram parâmetros espermáticos menos afetados, bem como uma menor taxa de apoptose testicular comparando com os ratos Wt. Além disso, os animais Tg-RGN apresentaram também parâmetros espermáticos não afetados e níveis mais baixos de OS apesar do envelhecimento. Curiosamente, detetou-se uma expressão aumentada da RGN no testículo irradiado e no espermatozoide senescente quer nos ratos Wt quer nos Tg-RGN, o que reforça o envolvimento da RGN na resposta a estímulos ou modificações que possam afetar negativamente a reprodução masculina. De forma geral, estes resultados representam uma forte evidência relativamente ao papel benéfico da RGN como uma guardiã da função reprodutora masculina, sugerindo que esta proteína tem elevado potencial para ser incluída em estratégias para melhorar, proteger e/ou recuperar a fertilidade masculina em homens submetidos a tratamento oncológico ou com idade avançada que pretendam ainda ter descendência biológica

Filipa de Lancáster en Portugal (1387-1415): ¿las raíces de una nueva religiosidad?

The only English Queen of Portugal (February 1378-July 1415), Philippa of Lancaster is considered to have had some responsibility in the changes that took place in the fifteenth-century Portuguese court, especially in the cultural arena. This assumption, however, has lacked all empirical support until now. One of the least-known facets of the queen’s personality concerns the kind of spirituality that she practiced, and which she could have passed on to her own children and imposed on the Portuguese court. By delving into the origins of this spirituality, into the queen’s education and her performance as a queen, we have been able to prove the truth behind some of these assumptions and the lack of support for others. Our study of the queen’s education and religious practices is based on our tracing of sporadic allusions in different texts, our reading of the chronicles of her husband’s reign, and of her eldest son’s writings, which present her as an exemplary queen with a pure and untainted behavior. The perpetuation of this image of the queen is now more easily understood.Reina de Portugal entre febrero de 1387 y julio de 1415, la única en origen inglesa, Filipa de Lancáster viene siendo considerada desde hace tiempo la responsable indirecta de varios de los cambios, especialmente culturales, que tuvieron lugar en el siglo XV en la corte portuguesa. Con todo, ello se ha basado más en premisas que en la presentación de pruebas cabales que demuestren su autoría o su acción inspiradora en muchas de estas novedades. Una de las facetas menos conocidas de la reina es la espiritual, y las prácticas asociadas a ella, que podría haber transmitido a sus hijos e impuesto en la corte. El estudio de sus orígenes, de su educación y de su ejercicio del oficio de reina ha permitido comprobar algunas de las suposiciones; pero también ha llevado a poner en duda bastantes de las ideas que se le asocian. A partir de alusiones esporádicas, de los testimonios de los cronistas que narraron el reinado de su esposo y de los escritos de su hijo mayor, quien la presentó como paradigma de reina ejemplar, de comportamiento intachable y modélico, se han analizado su educación y sus prácticas religiosas; y también se ha podido comprender el porqué de la perpetuación de esa imagen de la reina

Cartografia Tátil e Geografia Escolar: Proposições Metodológicas para a aprendizagem de fusos horários

This writing is within the scope of the extension action entitled Teaching Practices in School Cartography (UNEB / Campus IV), which fostered the construction of pedagogical practices that enhance teaching-learning through the mediation of cartographic language. In the meantime, we have developed, based on the inclusion in the teaching of Geography, through Tactile Cartography, the proposition of building tactile maps for blind and low vision students, with a view to apprehending the concept of time zone. Therefore, the objective of this work is to analyze the potential of tactile maps in the construction of geographical reasoning for blind and low vision students, through the abstraction of the concept of time zones and; for this, we traced a methodological path anchored in qualitative research, bearing in mind the proximity of researchers with the object in question. Therefore, we highlight the need to think about the construction of tactile maps in the context of the classroom to assist in the reading of geographic space, in the understanding of its forms and limits, in the analysis of territorial contours, but also, in the case of the concept in question, enabling a better perception of imaginary lines, the dimension of time zones and how these influence our daily lives.Esta redacción se enmarca en la acción de ampliación titulada Prácticas Docentes en Cartografía Escolar (UNEB / Campus IV), que impulsó la construcción de prácticas pedagógicas que potenciaran la enseñanza-aprendizaje a través de la mediación del lenguaje cartográfico. Entre tanto, hemos desarrollado, a partir de la inclusión en la enseñanza de la Geografía, a través de la Cartografía Táctil, la propuesta de construir mapas táctiles para estudiantes ciegos y con baja visión, con miras a aprehender el concepto de zona horaria. Por tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el potencial de los mapas táctiles en la construcción del razonamiento geográfico de estudiantes ciegos y con baja visión, a través de la abstracción del concepto de husos horarios y; para ello, trazamos un camino metodológico anclado en la investigación cualitativa, considerando la proximidad de los investigadores con el objeto en cuestión. Por ello, destacamos la necesidad de pensar en la construcción de mapas táctiles en el contexto del aula para ayudar en la lectura del espacio geográfico, en la comprensión de sus formas y límites, en el análisis de los contornos territoriales, pero también, en la caso del concepto en cuestión, para permitir una mejor percepción de las líneas imaginarias, la dimensión de los husos horarios y cómo estos influyen en nuestra vida diaria.Este escrito constitui-se no âmbito da ação extensionista intitulada Práticas de Ensino em Cartografia Escolar (UNEB / Campus IV), a qual fomentou a construção de práticas pedagógicas que potencializassem o ensino-aprendizagem a partir da mediação da linguagem cartográfica. Neste ínterim, desenvolvemos, tendo como base a inclusão no ensino de Geografia, através da Cartografia Tátil a proposição da construção de mapas táteis para alunos/as cegos/as e com baixa visão, tendo em vista a apreensão do conceito de fuso horário. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar as potencialidades dos mapas táteis na construção do raciocínio geográfico de alunos/as cegos/as e com baixa visão, através da abstração do conceito de fusos horários e; para isso, traçamos um percurso metodológico ancorado na pesquisa qualitativa, tendo em vista a proximidade dos pesquisadores com o objeto em questão. Portanto evidenciamos a necessidade de pensar a construção de mapas táteis no contexto da sala de aula para auxiliar na leitura do espaço geográfico, na compreensão de suas formas e limites, na análise dos contornos territoriais, mas também, no caso do conceito em questão possibilitar uma melhor percepção das linhas imaginárias, a dimensão dos fusos horários e como estes têm influência no nosso cotidiano

Apple by-products transformation into flours

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Carrot by-products' flour: development and characterization

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From carrot by-products to carrot flour: production process and flour characterization

This work was performed in a framework of a PhD project that aims to develop new breakfast cereal products rich in rich by application of fruit and vegetable by-products flours. Among food industry wastes, fruits and vegetables incur higher levels of losses due to their highly perishable nature. More than 20% of the fruits and vegetables produced worldwide are lost from post-harvest up to, but excluding, the retail level (FAO, 2019). Nevertheless, the scientific community have been found that these by-products may be transformed into flours that are rich in fibre and bioactive compounds, thus bringing value to several food industries. The goal of this work was to produce and analyse flours from carrot by-products. By-products were dried at 55 °C and ground to powder. The resulting carrot flour had a moisture content of 8.4±0.1%; low-fat content (1.89±0.01%) and high total carbohydrates content (74.4±0.1%), of which total dietary fibre (DF) content of 51.6±0.0%; 36.4±0.3% of insoluble DF and 15.1±0.3%soluble DF. Carrot flour presented three simple sugars molecules: sucrose, glucose and fructose, and total sugar content of 302.23±19.12mg sugars/g of flour. Antioxidant activity was measured using ABTS and DPPH methods and showed higher antioxidant activity for the carrot flour than for the fresh carrot byproducts( dry basis). Total phenolic content(measured by Folin–Ciocalteu assay) followed a similar behaviour: higher in carrot flour (0.91±0.01 mg GAE/g of DW) than in fresh carrot by-products (0.70±0.07mg GAE/gof DW) and in carrot pomace (0.43±0.04 mg GAE/g of DW). Tocopherols and carotenoids were quantified by HPLC analysis after saponification of samples and hexane extraction. Carrot flour presented two vitamin E isomers, α-and β-tocopherols, by 5.77±0.14 and 3.64±0.06 μg/g of flour, respectively. As well as several carotenoids, namelyα- carotene (345.92±19.56 μg/g of flour),lutein (12.16±1.49 μg/g of flour), β-cryptoxanthin(2.53±0.25 μg/g of flour)and β-carotene (1.52±0.09 μg/g of flour).This work showed that carrot by-products’ transformation into flour is an effective way to create added-value ingredients that are rich in fibre and, thus can be applied in the development of the intended breakfast cereal products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Noise Reduction and Control in Hospital Environment: Design of the NeoNoise Project

The “NeoNoise Project: Integrated Approach to Minimize Sound Pressure Levels in Neonatal Intensive Care Units” is being conducted by the Research Group on Occupational and Environmental Health of the Research Center on Health and Environment in neonatal intensive care units, since exposure to sound pressure levels in these spaces has been recognized as a factor that influences the quality and well‐being of the occupants (workers and others), as well as the recovery of premature infants who are hospitalized. This work reports the rationale and the design of the NeoNoise project as well as the methods used for data collection. A brief review on the results published and available for the scientific community is also made. In general, NeoNoise project intends to make an integration of all relevant factors, with the intention of presenting a guiding document to change the working practices and occupant\u27s behaviors. So far, this study provided data on sound pressure levels by objective and subjective approaches, as well as information about the exposure factors and sensitivity of the occupants to noise

Cyanobacteria in freshwater: influence in liver morbidity in expose Alentejo’s population between 2000 and 2010

Taking nutrients from the water column, phytoplankton can present high levels of growth and blooms arise if growth rates reach densities over 2.000 cells/ml. Cyanobacteria (prokaryotic, photosynthetic microorganism) is one group of this community and can produce toxins responsible for human injury after the acute or systematic exposition. The main goal of this work is to correlate cyanobacteria blooms in Alentejo reservoirs and liver morbidity (cancer disease) in the human exposed population, through direct or indirect water consumption. In Portugal, seven reservoirs used to produce drinkable water located in the Alentejo region were selected and studied between 2000 and 2008. Reservoirs were characterized in physical and chemical aspects, as well as phytoplanktonic communities, through identification and counting of main present groups along the study period. In expressive blooms circumstances, liver toxin producers were founded, namely Microcystis aeruginosa, Aphanizomenon SPP and Oscillatoria, and liver condition indicators showed the highest levels in exposed populations. Liver cancer incidence was also more expressive in the exposed population, compared to nonexposed population. It was concluded that cyanotoxins' systematic exposition promotes liver morbidity in the exposed population, attested by high levels of liver enzymes, cancer disease incidence and relative and attributable risks values, compared to non-exposed population's values.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio