O planeamento civil de emergência no novo paradigma da segurança

Dissertação de Mestrado em EstratégiaA Proteção Civil é uma atividade emergente para gestão de emergências operando num ciclo de gestão constituído pelas fases da prevenção, preparação, resposta e recuperação face à manifestação ou probabilidade de ocorrência de riscos coletivos por origem natural ou tecnológica, com diminuta representatividade dos riscos por ameaça intencional externa (ou interna). Este reconhecimento encontra-se plasmado na Avaliação Nacional de Risco elaborada pela Autoridade Nacional de Proteção Civil em 2014. Numa sociedade crescentemente complexa e policêntrica, com dispersão do poder das sociedades ocidentais, projetado internacionalmente na hegemonia em fase dissipativa dos Estados Unidos da América, e ressurgimento do poder da potência continental, materializado na ação de anexação da península da Crimeia pela Federação Russa, poderá um pequeno Estado como Portugal (Almeida, 2012), face à necessidade de forjamento de alianças internacionais, desconsiderar os riscos por ameaça intencional de origem interna e/ou externa, materializada ou difusa por meios e formas regulares ou irregulares? E se no quadro das alianças forjadas os parceiros internacionais se sentirem igualmente constrangidos na capacidade de auxílio mútuo? Quais são os pilares da Segurança cujas competências suscitam um esforço permanente de prospetiva e manutenção de capacidades dissuasoras? A presente investigação, atenta às novas atribuições da Autoridade Nacional de Proteção Civil, estendidas ao Planeamento Civil de Emergência, derivado do quadro da Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte (Civil Emergency Planning Committee) realiza uma pesquisa com revisão de literatura, complementada por entrevistas exploratórias, sob o paradigma interpretativista com recurso ao método indutivo, tentando caracterizar um novo paradigma de segurança, que não atendendido poderá ser geratriz de riscos coletivos com potencial derivação sobre a segurança do estado (soberania, espaço geográfico e população) e da atividade da proteção civil, enquanto área sectorial da segurança interna, com apresentação dos conceitos (organizacionais) da propetiva estratégica, processo de planeamento estratégico enquadrado na sua matriz teórica, sugerindo a adoção de uma metodologia de Avaliação Nacional de Risco Global (All Hazards Approach) que reflita um espectro alargado dos riscos e ameaças que impendem sobre o Estado Português, permitindo nesta sequência, a produção de cenários operacionalizáveis pelos distintos atores que compõem os Pilares da Segurança Nacional.Civil Protection is an emergent activity for emergency management operating in the management cycle composed by prevention, preparation, response and recovery phases in sequence of collective risks manifestations ou probability of ocorrence due to natural or technological hazards, with low representativity of risks by intentional treaths (external/internal). This recognition is detected in the National Risk Assessment developed by Portuguese National Civil Protection Authority in 2014. In a growing complexed and polycentric society, with dispersion of western powers, internationally projected by a dissipative hegemony of the United States of America, and the resurgence of power from the continental potency, materialized by the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russian Federation, can a small state like Portugal (Almeida, 2012), in the face of need to forge internationally alliances, disregard the risks posed by intentional threats of internal and/or external sources, materialized or difused by means and regular or irregular forms? And what if in the framework of international alliances, our international partners fell equaly constrained in their capacity for mutual support? Wich are the security pillars whose competences raises permanent needs for prospective efforts and maintainance of dissuasive capacity. The present investigation, regarding the new National Authority for Civil Protection attributions, newly extended to Civil Emergency Planning, conducts a research with revision of literature, complemented by exploratory interviews under the interpretivist paradigm recurring to the inductive method, characterizing a new security paradigm that if not attended can act has generator of collective risks with derivative potential upon state security (sovereignty, geographical space and population) and civil protection activity, considered has a sectorial area of internal security, proposing a strategic prospective model, a process for strategic planning framed by its own theoric matrix, suggesting the adoption of a Global National Risk Assessment for reflection of a large spectrum of risks and treaths pending upon the Portuguese State, allowing in that sequence, the production of operational scenarios for the institutional players composing the National Security Pilars

The impact of normalization and segmentation on resting state brain networks

Graph theory has recently received a lot of attention from the neuroscience community as a method to represent and characterize brain networks. Still, there is a lack of a gold standard for the methods that should be employed for the preprocessing of the data and the construction of the networks, as well as a lack of knowledge on how different methodologies can affect the metrics reported. We used graph theory analysis applied to resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI) to investigate the influence of different node-defining strategies and the effect of normalizing the functional acquisition on several commonly reported metrics used to characterize brain networks. The nodes of the network were defined using either the individual FreeSurfer segmentation of each subject or the FreeSurfer segmented MNI (Montreal National Institute) 152 template, using the Destrieux and sub-cortical atlas. The functional acquisition was either kept on the functional native space or normalized into MNI standard space. The comparisons were done at three levels: on the connections, on the edge properties and on the network properties levels. Our results reveal that different registration and brain parcellation strategies have a strong impact on all the levels of analysis, possibly favoring the use of individual segmentation strategies and conservative registration approaches. In conclusion, several technical aspects must be considered so that graph theoretical analysis of connectivity MRI data can provide a framework to understand brain pathologies.(undefined

Physical ergonomic improvement and safe design of an assembly workstation through collaborative robotics

One of the key interesting features of collaborative robotic applications is the potential to lighten the worker workload and potentiate better working conditions. Moreover, developing robotics applications that meets ergonomic criteria is not always a straightforward endeavor. We propose a framework to guide the safe design and conceptualization of ergonomic-driven collaborative robotics workstations. A multi-disciplinary approach involving robotics and ergonomics and human factors shaped this methodology that leads future engineers through the digital transformation of a manual assembly (with repetitive and hazardous operations) to a hybrid workstation, focusing on the physical ergonomic improvement. The framework follows four main steps, (i) the characterization of the initial condition, (ii) the risk assessment, (iii) the definition of requirements for a safe design, and (iv) the conceptualization of the hybrid workstation with all the normative implications it entails. We applied this methodology to a case study in an assembly workstation of a furniture manufacturing company. Results show that the methodology adopted sets an adequate foundation to accelerate the design and development of new human-centered collaborative robotic workstations.This work has been supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018, integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF)

Towards an ergonomic assessment framework for industrial assembly workstations - a case study

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are one of the main occupational health problems. The best strategy to prevent them lies on ergonomic interventions. The variety of industrial processes and environments, however, makes it difficult to define an all-purpose framework to guide these ergonomic interventions. This undefinition is exacerbated by recurrent introduction of new technologies, e.g., collaborative robots. In this paper, we propose a framework to guide ergonomics and human factors practitioners through all stages of assessment and redesign of workstations. This framework was applied in a case study at an assembly workstation of a large furniture enterprise. Direct observation of work activity and questionnaires were applied to characterize the workstations, the process, and the workers’ profiles and perceptions. An ergonomic multi-method approach, based on well-known and validated methods (such as the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment), was applied to identify the most critical risk factors. We concluded that this approach supports the process redesign and tasks’ allocation of the future workstation. From these conclusions, we distill a list of requirements for the creation of a collaborative robot cell, specifying which tasks are performed by whom, as well as the scheduling of the human-robot collaboration (HRC).This work has been supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018, integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF). This work has been also supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Lean manufacturing and ergonomics integration: defining productivity and wellbeing indicators in a human–robot workstation

Lean Manufacturing (LM), Ergonomics and Human Factors (E&HF), and Human–Robot Collaboration (HRC) are vibrant topics for researchers and companies. Among other emergent technologies, collaborative robotics is an innovative solution to reduce ergonomic concerns and improve manufacturing productivity. However, there is a lack of studies providing empirical evidence about the implementation of these technologies, with little or no consideration for E&HF. This study analyzes an industrial implementation of a collaborative robotic workstation for assembly tasks performed by workers with musculoskeletal complaints through a synergistic integration of E&HF and LM principles. We assessed the workstation before and after the implementation of robotic technology and measured different key performance indicators (e.g., production rate) through a time study and direct observation. We considered 40 postures adopted during the assembly tasks and applied three assessment methods: Rapid Upper Limb Assessment, Revised Strain Index, and Key Indicator Method. Furthermore, we conducted a questionnaire to collect more indicators of workers’ wellbeing. This multi-method approach demonstrated that the hybrid workstation achieved: (i) a reduction of production times; (ii) an improvement of ergonomic conditions; and (iii) an enhancement of workers’ wellbeing. This ergonomic lean study based on human-centered principles proved to be a valid and efficient method to implement and assess collaborative workstations, foreseeing the continuous improvement of the involved processes.This work has been supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018; integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming at the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF). This work has been also supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Terão os adolescentes portugueses uma alimentação adequada? : resultados do estudo HBSC de 2018

Revista de Psicologia da Criança e do Adolescente. - ISSN 1647-4120. - V. 10, n. 1 (Janeiro-Dezembro 2019). - p. 139-148.O objetivo do estudo foi caracterizar os hábitos alimentares e perceções relativas ao corpo dos adolescentes portugueses. Participaram no estudo, integrado no Health Behaviour in School aged Children, 6997 adolescentes portugueses (51,7% meninas) do 6º, 8º e 10º ano. Os adolescentes foram inquiridos acerca do seu peso, altura, hábitos alimentares e perceção de imagem corporal. Cerca de 70% dos adolescentes apresenta peso normal/saudável. Mais meninas do que rapazes considera a sua cintura “larga” e o seu corpo “gordo”. Cerca de 45% e 33% dos adolescentes reportaram consumir diariamente frutas e vegetais respetivamente. O consumo de doces e colas apresentou uma tendência crescente ao longo da escolaridade e as meninas referiram consumir estes alimentos com mais frequência que os rapazes. O consumo excessivo de açúcar juntamente com o consumo escasso de frutas e vegetais revelam fragilidades na alimentação dos adolescentes portugueses.The aim of this study was to characterize the eating habits and body image perceptions of Portuguese young people. A total of 6997 Portuguese young people (51.7% girls) attending the 6th, 8th and 10th grades participated in the study, integrated in the Health Behaviour in School aged Children. Young people were asked about their weight, height, eating habits and body image perception. About 70% of the adolescents presented normal/healthy weight. More girls than boys considered their waist “large” and that their body “fat”. Approximately 45% and 33% of the adolescents reported daily consumption of fruits and vegetables respectively. Consumption of sweets and soft drinks showed an increasing tendency between the 6th and 10th grades and girls reported consuming these foods more frequently than boys. Excessive consumption of sugar together with the scarce consumption of fruits and vegetables reveals frailties in the diet of Portuguese young

Beyond new neurons in the adult hippocampus: imipramine acts as a pro-astrogliogenic factor and rescues cognitive impairments induced by stress exposure

Depression is a prevalent, socially burdensome disease. Different studies have demonstrated the important role of astrocytes in the pathophysiology of depression as modulators of neurotransmission and neurovascular coupling. This is evidenced by astrocyte impairments observed in brains of depressed patients and the appearance of depressive-like behaviors upon astrocytic dysfunctions in animal models. However, little is known about the importance of de novo generated astrocytes in the mammalian brain and in particular its possible involvement in the precipitation of depression and in the therapeutic actions of current antidepressants (ADs). Therefore, we studied the modulation of astrocytes and adult astrogliogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of rats exposed to an unpredictable chronic mild stress (uCMS) protocol, untreated and treated for two weeks with antidepressants—fluoxetine and imipramine. Our results show that adult astrogliogenesis in the DG is modulated by stress and imipramine. This study reveals that distinct classes of ADs impact differently in the astrogliogenic process, showing different cellular mechanisms relevant to the recovery from behavioral deficits induced by chronic stress exposure. As such, in addition to those resident, the newborn astrocytes in the hippocampal DG might also be promising therapeutic targets for future therapies in the neuropsychiatric field.ARMS: ELC, NDA, PP, AMP, JSC, MM, AJR, JFO, and L.P. received fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (IF/00328/2015 to J.F.O.; 2020.02855.CEECIND to LP). This work was funded by FCT (IF/01079/2014, PTDC/MED-NEU/31417/2017 Grant to JFO), BIAL Foundation Grants (037/18 to J.F.O. and 427/14 to L.P.), “la Caixa” Foundation Health Research Grant (LCF/PR/HR21/52410024) and Nature Research Award for Driving Global Impact—2019 Brain Sciences (to L.P.). This was also co-funded by the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), and by FEDER, through the Competitiveness Internationalization Operational Program (POCI), and by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020. Moreover, this work has been funded by ICVS Scientific Microscopy Platform, member of the national infrastructure PPBI—Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122; by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020; “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434 to A.J.R.), under the agreement LCF/PR/HR20/52400020; and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 101003187 to A.J.R.)

Digitalization of musculoskeletal risk assessment in a robotic-assisted assembly workstation

The ergonomic assessment of adopted working postures is essential for avoiding musculoskeletal risk factors in manufacturing contexts. Several observational methods based on external analyst observations are available; however, they are relatively subjective and suffer low repeatability. Over the past decade, the digitalization of this assessment has received high research interest. Robotic applications have the potential to lighten workers’ workload and improve working conditions. Therefore, this work presents a musculoskeletal risk assessment before and after robotic implementation in an assembly workstation. We also emphasize the importance of using novel and non-intrusive technologies for musculoskeletal risk assessment. A kinematic study was conducted using inertial motion units (IMU) in a convenience sample of two workers during their normal performance of assembly work cycles. The musculoskeletal risk was estimated according to a semi-automated solution, called the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) report. Based on previous musculoskeletal problems reported by the company, the assessment centered on the kinematic analysis of functional wrist movements (flexion/extension, ulnar/radial deviation, and pronation/supination). The results of the RULA report showed a reduction in musculoskeletal risk using robotic-assisted assembly. Regarding the kinematic analysis of the wrist during robotic-assisted tasks, a significant posture improvement of 20–45% was registered (considering the angular deviations relative to the neutral wrist position). The results obtained by direct measurements simultaneously reflect the workload and individual characteristics. The current study highlights the importance of an in-field instrumented assessment of musculoskeletal risk and the limitations of the system applied (e.g., unsuitable for tracking the motion of small joints, such as the fingers).This work was supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018, integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF). This work was also supported by FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

TECNOLOGIA E INOVAÇÃO AO SERVIÇO DO EXERCÍCIO E SAÚDE. Exercício. Pandemia COVID-19. Tecnologia Vs. Isolamento Social

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