Modeling nature-based and cultural recreation preferences in mediterranean regions as opportunities for smart tourism and diversification

The tourism and recreational o er of Mediterranean destinations involves, essentially, the promotion of mass tourism, based on the appeal of the sun and beach, and the quality of its coastal assets. Alongside the impacts of climate change, poor tourism diversification represents a threat to the resilience of the territory. Thus, heterogenization of noncoastal tourism products presents an opportunity to strengthen regional resilience to present and future challenges, hence the need to study, comparatively, the complementary preferences of tourists and residents of these regions in order to unveil their willingness to diversify their recreational experience, not only in coastal spaces, but also—and especially—in interior territories with low urban density. Consequently, this strategic option may represent a way of strengthening resilience and sustainability through diversification. In this context, a survey was conducted among 400 beach tourists and 400 residents of a case study—namely, three municipalities of the Algarve region in southern Portugal—in order to analyze their degree of preference for activities besides the sun and beach, such as nature-based and cultural tourism activities, and to probe the enhancement potential of each tourism and recreational activity through the various landscape units considered by experts, stakeholders, and tour operators. The respective degree of preference and enhancement potential were indexed to the area of each landscape unit. Subsequently, respecting the existing recreational structure and constraints, a suitability map for territory enhancement and the implementation of smart tourism practices for each tourism activity and landscape unit is presented. Results show a significant preference for noncoastal outdoor recreational activities.FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia: SFRH/BD/102328/2014; PTDC/GES-URB/31928/2017info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL AND SUBJECTIVITY

The discretionally and the appraisers’ subjectivity that characterize traditional real estate valuation are still allowed to take part in the formation of the asset price even when respecting international standards (EVS, IVS) or Appraisal Institution´s regulations (TEGOVA, RICS, etc.). The application of econometric and statistical methods to real estate valuation (especially on mass appraisals that comprehend a huge amount of data) aims at the elimination of subjectivity on the appraisal process. But the unanswered questions underneath this subject are the following: In what consists the subjective component on real estate appraisal value formation? How much is the value presented by the appraiser influenced by the economic environment or by the building or neighborhood social status? What are the inherent and exterior factors that concur to the enhancement of the subjective component on real estate price formation? In this study an overview across appraisal’s bibliography is made in order to determine which real estate inherent and exterior factors are more important on price formation

Cibersegurança e Ransomware no Governo Brasileiro

The increasing reliance on digital services and the lack of a solid cybersecurity infrastructure and framework have made Brazil one of the biggest targets for cyberattacks in the world. One increasingly common type of attack is known as ransomware, in which perpetrators lock systems and databases and demand money to unlock them. The essay aims to provide an overview of ransomware as a threat to cybersecurity in the public sector, with special attention to the Brazilian context. Therefore, the Brazilian institutional and legal framework for cybersecurity and ransomware control is examined. From a methodological point of view, the study is limited to a literature review composed of academic scholarship and official documents (international and national) on the subject. As a partial result, it was found that the issue of cybersecurity and ransomware has been gradually included in the government's agenda through strategic documents, new organizational structures, legislative reforms, and international cooperation measures.A confiança crescente nos serviços digitais e a falta de uma infraestrutura e de um framework sólido de cibersegurança fizeram do Brasil um dos maiores alvos de ciberataques do mundo. Um tipo de ataque cada vez mais comum é conhecido como ransomware, em que os perpetradores bloqueiam sistemas e bases de dados e exigem dinheiro para o desbloqueio. O ensaio tem como objetivo fornecer uma visão geral do ransomware como uma ameaça à cibersegurança no sector público, com especial atenção para o contexto brasileiro. Sendo assim, é examinado o framework institucional e jurídico brasileiro para a cibersegurança e o controle de ransomware. De um ponto de vista metodológico, o estudo limita-se a uma revisão bibliográfica composta por pesquisas acadêmicas e documentos oficiais (internacionais e nacionais) sobre o tema. Como resultado parcial, verificou-se que as questões de cibersegurança e de ransomware foram gradualmente incluídos na agenda do governo por meio de documentos estratégicos, novas estruturas organizacionais, reformas legislativas, e medidas de cooperação internacional

Estratégia espacial e a ascensão das forças espaciais

This essay discusses the importance of space for military operations and the formation of new military forces in space. It is based on the recent national security and space strategy documents of several countries and is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on the historical development of the military use of space systems, the second on theories of space strategy and anti-satellite weapons, and the third examines the emergence of space forces from a comparative perspective. The creation of space forces is nothing new or unique to the United States. However, the United States is the country that has the most developed military strategy and doctrine for space, possibly inspired by the work of space strategists. The other countries, including Russia and China, do not yet have a clear definition of their strategic goals or a space-focused doctrine, at least not publicly.Este ensaio discute a importância do espaço para as operações militares e a formação de novas forças militares no espaço. Baseia-se em documentos recentes de segurança nacional e de estratégia espacial de vários países e está dividido em três secções. A primeira secção centra-se no desenvolvimento histórico da utilização militar dos sistemas espaciais, a segunda nas teorias da estratégia espacial e nas armas antissatélite, e a terceira examina a emergência das forças espaciais numa perspectiva comparativa. A criação de forças espaciais não é algo novo ou exclusivo dos Estados Unidos, porém este é o país que possui uma estratégia e uma doutrina militar para o espaço mais desenvolvida, possivelmente inspirada no trabalho dos estrategistas espaciais. Os demais países, incluindo Rússia e China, ainda não possuem uma definição clara de seus objetivos estratégicos ou uma doutrina focada no espaço como os Estados Unidos, pelo menos não publicamente

Brazilian and German perspectives : a study on perception, interculturality and foreign language and culture teaching

This article aims to present a comparative study of the perception of multimodal texts, more specifically, advertisements printed in Brazilian and German magazines, by Brazilian learners of GFL (German as a Foreign Language) and German learners of PFL (Portuguese as a Foreign Language ), with special attention to the intercultural dimension involved in this process. Through the analysis developed in the study, it was possible to identify not only cultural aspects strictly related to language phenomena (as the use of personal pronouns and forms of treatment, for instance), but also more subjective cultural aspects (such as emotional states, the view about work, among others). This study also discusses the implications of the link between culture and language choices for the area of teaching and learning foreign languages/cultures.O presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar um estudo comparativo da percepção de textos multimodais, mais especificamente, anúncios publicitários impressos em revistas brasileiras e alemãs, por aprendizes brasileiros de ALE (Alemão como Língua Estrangeira) e por aprendizes alemães de PLE (Português como Língua Estrangeira), com especial atenção para a dimensão intercultural envolvida neste processo. Através da análise desenvolvida no estudo, puderam ser identificados tanto os aspectos culturais mais diretamente relacionados a usos linguísticos (uso de pronomes pessoais e formas de tratamento, por exemplo), quanto de aspectos culturais mais subjetivos (a percepção de estados emocionais, a visão de trabalho, entre outros). Este estudo também discute as implicações do vínculo entre as escolhas linguísticas e a cultura para o ensino de LCE (Língua/Cultura Estrangeira)

Staying True to NSMIA: A Roadmap for Successful State Fiduciary Rules After Reg BI

(Excerpt) As Americans, there is hardly anything we value more than freedom. Being “free to choose” is the core guarantee through which we pursue our livelihood and succeed at happiness. The more choices, the better. But what if we we are supposed to choose blindly? In our postindustrial society, we often feel overwhelmed by the myriad choices we must make simply to get through our daily lives. To inform our choices, we rely on assumptions. More importantly, we rely on each other. Reliance is central in the world of financial investments. Financial products are increasingly complex, and investors need specialized information to choose suitable investments. In our current economy, more than half of all families own stocks either directly or indirectly as part of a fund, and many resort to the services of a financial services professional. Americans place their hopes for economic progress and stability on financial advisers, who can be broker dealers (“BDs”), investment advisers (“IAs”), money managers, investment consultants, financial planners, general partners of hedge funds, and many others who get paid for giving personalized securities advice. However, investors largely ignore that most of these professionals are not required to disclose all conflicts of interest, or to put their own interests aside when making recommendations. Only registered investment advisers must adhere to this fiduciary standard, and the consequences to investors can be devastating

Development of a tumour-selective self-immolative system: umbelliferone probe and triazene prodrugs

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, 2020, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia.O conhecimento que temos sobre o cancro tem evoluído, desde a sua primeira definição por Hipócrates, em 400 AC. Atualmente, o cancro é compreendido a um nível molecular, o que permite o desenvolvimento de meios de diagnóstico e terapêuticas. Apesar de muito se conhecer, problemas com os atuais métodos de diagnóstico e terapêuticas ainda subsistem. Um destes problemas é a falta de seletividade dos fármacos ou sondas utilizadas, o que frequentemente leva a diagnósticos ou tratamentos ineficazes, ao aparecimento de efeitos sistémicos e ao desenvolvimento de resistência aos fármacos. Para combater estes problemas diversas estratégias têm sido desenvolvidas. Uma destas estratégias é a fotofarmacologia, a qual permite um controlo preciso e seletivo de onde e quando é libertado um fármaco ou sonda. Outra estratégia é o desenvolvimento de pró-fármacos que apenas possam ser ativados na presença de um estímulo (pró-fármacos auto-imolativos) fornecido pelas células cancerígenas ou pelo seu ambiente. Com base na literatura, o grupo 6-nitroveratrilo suscitou interesse por permitir explorar ambas as estratégias ao funcionar tanto como grupo fotoprotetor como grupo auto-imolativo. Neste trabalho, primeiro foi explorada a fotofarmacologia, ao ser sintetizado um composto que liberta um grupo fluorescente após ser exposto a luz UV de um comprimento de onda específico (funcionando como sonda). A sua síntese e purificação foram otimizadas, e o composto foi caracterizado (espectroscopia de ressonância magnética nuclear de hidrogénio e carbono, espetroscopia ultravioleta, e ponto de fusão). Foi realizado um estudo de fotoativação deste composto, sendo demonstrada a libertação do grupo fluorescente após exposição à luz UV. Em segundo lugar, sabendo que o grupo era capaz de libertar a função acoplada, foram explorados os pró-fármacos auto-imolativos. Foram sintetizados conjugados de arilmonometiltriazenos (espécies ativas de medicamentos usados no cancro) com o grupo 6-nitroveratrilo e foram feitas tentativas de otimizar a sua síntese e purificação (ao testar diferentes técnicas de purificação e misturas de eluentes). Um destes conjugados foi sintetizado com sucesso. Durante estas tentativas, ao usarmos a espetroscopia de massa para analisar os produtos da reação, obtivemos informação sobre os compostos que se formam durante a reação e sobre a possível influência do substituinte do arilmonometiltriazeno (no anel aromático) no produto da reação.Knowledge about cancer has evolved since its first denomination by Hippocrates around 400 BC. Nowadays, cancer is understood even at the molecular level which allows for the development of therapies and diagnosis tools. Even tough so much is known, there are still problems with the current treatments and diagnosis tools. One of these problems is the lack of selectivity to the cancer cells of the used drugs or probes, which often leads to ineffective diagnosis or treatment, to the appearance of systemic effects and to the development of drug resistance. To overcome these problems, scientists have long been developing strategies. Photopharmacology is one of these strategies, which allows the precise and selective control of when and where a drug or probe is released. Another strategy is the development of prodrugs which can only be activated in the presence of a stimulus (self-immolative prodrugs) provided by the cancer cells or their environment. Searching the literature, we found that the 6-nitroveratryl group works both as a photoprotecting group and a self-immolative moiety, being suitable to explore both strategies. In this work, the photopharmacology strategy was first explored, by synthesizing a compound which releases a fluorescent moiety after being exposed to UV light of a specific wavelength (functioning as probe). Its synthesis and purification were optimized, and the compound was characterized (Hydrogen and Carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy, and melting point). A photoactivation study of this compound was executed and showed the release of the fluorescent moiety after the exposure of the compound to UV light of a specific wavelength. Secondly, knowing that the 6-nitroveratryl group was suitable for the release of a linked moiety, we aimed at the self-immolative prodrug strategy. Conjugates of arylmonomethyltriazenes (active species of marketed cancer drugs) with the 6-nitroveratryl group were synthesized and we attempted to optimize their synthesis and purification (by testing different eluent mixtures and purification techniques). We were able to successfully synthesize and isolate one conjugate. During these attempts, by utilizing mass spectroscopy to analyse the reaction products we were able to obtain insights about the compounds that formed during the reaction and the possible influence of the substituent of the arylmomomethyltriazene (in the aromatic ring) in the product of the reaction.Com o patrocínio da Faculdade de Farmácia da UL e da FCT

Plasma Treatment on Root Canal Sealers' Adhesion to Intraradicular Dentin - A Systematic Review

This investigation aimed to assess, through a systematic review, the effect of non-thermal plasma treatments on root canal sealers’ adhesion to dentin. This study followed the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was undertaken without limits on time or language, until May 2023, in PubMed–MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, OpenGrey, and three endodontic journals. The included studies underwent quality assessment and data extraction. Out of an initial 188 articles, 4 studies were included. Three of these studies based the adhesion ability on the push-out test in human extracted teeth, while the other used bovine dentin samples to measure the contact angle with the sealer (wettability). While there was no consensus about the effect of non-thermal plasma (NTP) on the AH Plus sealer’s adhesion to radicular dentin, NTP seemed to positively influence the adhesion ability of BioRoot RCS and Endosequence BC. The findings of the present review should be interpreted cautiously due to the scarcity of studies on the topic. The NTP parameters should be optimized to obtain a stronger evidence base in endodontics on its role as an adjuvant tool to increase sealers’ adhesion to dentin.This article was supported by National Funds through the FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within CINTESIS, R&D Unit (reference UIDP/4255/2020)

Tuberculous Tonsillitis in a Patient Treated with an Anti-TNF Ag

Tuberculosis remains a concern in patients receiving anti-TNF therapy as these individuals have a higher incidence of extrapulmonary and disseminated tuberculosis. Tuberculous tonsillitis is an unusual presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, which is diagnosed mostly in immunodeficient patients. We report the case of a 33-year-old woman, diagnosed with Behçet’s syndrome, immunosuppressed with adalimumab, cyclosporine and prednisolone. She had odynophagia for 2 weeks, fever and a hypertrophied, ulcerated left tonsil. A tonsil biopsy revealed a granulomatous inflammatory process. Ziehl-Neelsen staining was positive for acid-fast bacilli. The chest x-ray revealed a milliary pattern. Gastric juice was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA. A diagnosis of tonsillar and pulmonary tuberculosis was established. This case report highlights the low threshold for a tuberculosis diagnosis in unusual locations in patients treated with anti-TNF therapy