População activa e população na vida religiosa em Trás-os-Montes nos fins do século XVIII

Abordada a estrutura demográfica 1 da população trasmontana, procuraremos agora determinar como é que ela se distribuía pelas diferentes actividades económicas. Quanto a este aspecto, os dados fornecidos pela Descripção..., de Columbano Pinto Ribeiro de Castro, são de grande valor, pois se não conhece outra fonte sobre Trás-os-Montes, ou até sobre qualquer outra província portuguesa, da mesma época, que se lhe possa comparar pela riqueza da informação. Toda a análise subsequente será, fundamentalmente, baseada nesses dados.publishersversionpublishe

A Dietary Cholesterol-Based Intestinal Inflammation Assay for Improving Drug-Discovery on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Funding: This work was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT; PTDC/BTM-SAL/29377/2017 to CC and AJ. Zebrafish were reproduced and maintained by the CEDOC Fish Facility, supported by Congento LISBOA-01-0145- FEDER-022170, co-financed by FCT (Portugal) and Lisboa2020, under the PORTUGAL2020 agreement (European Regional Development Fund).Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) with chronic infiltration of immune cells in the gastrointestinal tract are common and largely incurable. The therapeutic targeting of IBD has been hampered by the complex causality of the disease, with environmental insults like cholesterol-enriched Western diets playing a critical role. To address this drug development challenge, we report an easy-to-handle dietary cholesterol-based in vivo assay that allows the screening of immune-modulatory therapeutics in transgenic zebrafish models. An improvement in the feeding strategy with high cholesterol diet (HCD) selectively induces a robust and consistent infiltration of myeloid cells in larvae intestines that is highly suitable for compound discovery efforts. Using transgenics with fluorescent reporter expression in neutrophils, we take advantage of the unique zebrafish larvae clarity to monitor an acute inflammatory response in a whole organism context with a fully functional innate immune system. The use of semi-automated image acquisition and processing combined with quantitative image analysis allows categorizing anti- or pro-inflammatory compounds based on a leukocytic inflammation index. Our HCD gut inflammation (HCD-GI) assay is simple, cost- and time-effective as well as highly physiological which makes it unique when compared to chemical-based zebrafish models of IBD. Besides, diet is a highly controlled, selective and targeted trigger of intestinal inflammation that avoids extra-intestinal outcomes and reduces the chances of chemical-induced toxicity during screenings. We show the validity of this assay for a screening platform by testing two dietary phenolic acids, namely gallic acid (GA; 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) and ferulic acid (FA; 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid), with well described anti-inflammatory actions in animal models of IBD. Analysis of common IBD therapeutics (Prednisolone and Mesalamine) proved the fidelity of our IBD-like intestinal inflammation model. In conclusion, the HCD-GI assay can facilitate and accelerate drug discovery efforts on IBD, by identification of novel lead molecules with immune modulatory action on intestinal neutrophilic inflammation. This will serve as a jumping-off point for more profound analyses of drug mechanisms and pathways involved in early IBD immune responses.publishersversionpublishe

Identification of clusters of asthma control: A preliminary analysis of the inspirers studies

This work was funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI- -01-0145-FEDER-029130 (“mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases - generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies”) co-funded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).© 2020, Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica. All rights reserved. Aims: To identify distinct asthma control clusters based on Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) and to compare patients’ characteristics among these clusters. Methods: Adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with persistent asthma were recruited at 29 Portuguese hospital outpatient clinics, in the context of two observational studies of the INSPIRERS project. Demographic and clinical characteristics, adherence to inhaled medication, beliefs about inhaled medication, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and asthma control (CARAT, >24 good control) were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using CARAT total score (CARAT-T). Results: 410 patients (68% adults), with a median (percentile 25–percentile 75) age of 28 (16-46) years, were analysed. Three clusters were identified [mean CARAT-T (min-max)]: cluster 1 [27(24-30)], cluster 2 [19(14-23)] and cluster 3 [10(2-13)]. Patients in cluster 1 (34%) were characterised by better asthma control, better quality of life, higher inhaler adherence and use of a single inhaler. Patients in clusters 2 (50%) and 3 (16%) had uncontrolled asthma, lower inhaler adherence, more symptoms of anxiety and depression and more than half had at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Further-more, patients in cluster 3 were predominantly female, had more unscheduled medical visits and more anxiety symp-toms, perceived a higher necessity of their prescribed inhalers but also higher levels of concern about taking these inhalers. There were no differences in age, body mass index, lung function, smoking status, hospital admissions or specialist physician follow-up time among the three clusters. Conclusion: An unsupervised method based on CARAT--T, identified 3 clusters of patients with distinct, clinically meaningful characteristics. The cluster with better asthma control had a cut-off similar to the established in the validation study of CARAT and an additional cut-off seems to distinguish more severe disease. Further research is necessary to validate the asthma control clusters identified.publishersversionpublishe

Development of zebrafish chemical screens to identify new modifiers of intestinal neutrophilic inflammation

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) with chronic infiltration of immune cells in thegastrointestinal tract are common and largely incurable. The therapeutic targeting ofIBD has been hampered by the complex causality of the disease, with environmentalinsults like cholesterol-enriched Western diets playing a critical role. In fact, current therapies are still far from optimal and have significant side effects. This encouragedus to look for alternative approaches like the use of dietary (poly)phenols (PP). PP are known for their anti-inflammatory properties in several chronic inflammatory disordersand are associated with low or absent side effects. However, due to the systemic processing of PP, the most representative molecules that reach the tissues and circulation are low-molecular-weight PP metabolites (LMWPM). Thus, the reported beneficial effects of PP are most likely due to these bioavailable molecules. Yet, the potential for LMWPM in IBD is still unexplored; and the identification of the most potent anti-inflammatory ones can constitute a lead for novel drug development and nutraceutical applications.We developedan easy-to-handle dietary cholesterol-basedin vivoassay that allows the screening of immune-modulatory therapeutics in transgeniczebrafish (ZF) models.ZF larvaewere fed with a highcholesterol diet(HCD),selectively inducingarobust and consistent infiltration of myeloid cells in larvaeintestines that is highly suitable for compound discovery efforts. The use of transgenicswith fluorescent reporter expression in neutrophils, allowedus tomonitor an acute inflammatory response in a whole organismcontext with a fully functional innate immune system. Moreover,semi-automatedimage acquisitionandquantitative image analysis allowedto categorizeanti-or pro-inflammatory compounds based on a leukocytic inflammationindex. Our HCD gut inflammation (HCD-GI) assayis simple, cost-and time-effective aswell as highly physiological.Moreover, analysisof common IBD therapeutics (Prednisolone and Mesalamine) proved the fidelity and clinical relevance of ourIBD-like intestinal inflammation model.Therefore, we took advantage of the HCD-GI assay and implemented a discovery platform to screen a portfolio of 30 LMWPMfor their immune-modulatory properties.We found 4 LMWPM with potent anti-inflammatory properties that strongly halted HCD-induced intestinal inflammation at physiologically relevant concentrations. One, ferulic acid, has been previously reported to have protective and anti-inflammatory functions in animalmodels of IBD.Finally, we developed tools to investigate intestinal functionality under chronic inflammatory states. Specifically, we developed an assay to quantify intestinal motility and peristalsis in ZF larvae after long-term HCD exposure, and a microgavageassay that can be used to investigate the effect of promising metabolites on intestinal barrier function.In conclusion, the HCD-GI discovery platform can facilitate and accelerate drug discovery efforts on IBD, by the identification of novel lead molecules with immune modulatory action on intestinal neutrophilic inflammation. We identified 4 LMWPM with anti-inflammatory potential,whose action is ready tobe investigated in functional assays underchronic feeding settings (out of the current thesis scope). These molecules constitute highly attractive and physiologicallyrelevant strategies worth it to be explored in the future for the nutritional and pharmacological management of IBD

Traveling through my land

Relatório de Estágio do Mestrado em Ensino de História no 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico e no Ensino Secundário apresentado à Faculdade de LetrasEste trabalho foi desenvolvido no contexto das unidades curriculares do segundo ano do Mestrado em Ensino de História no 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico e no Ensino Secundário e da prática pedagógica com alunos daqueles níveis de ensino, bem como do desenvolvimento de um estudo de natureza científico-didática, cujo tema central foram as visitas de estudo em contexto presencial e em contexto virtual, enquadradas num âmbito de História Local e Regional, aplicadas ao ensino da História com alunos do ensino secundário. Enquanto atividades de carácter prático, mas promotoras de uma consolidação de conhecimentos mais teóricos, as visitas de estudo, quer reais, mais comuns e realizadas com maior frequência, quer virtuais, repletas de potencialidades, mas, ainda assim pouco dinamizadas, requerem um conjunto de etapas fundamentais de planificação, conceção, dinamização e avaliação, de forma a conduzirem os alunos para momentos de descoberta, observação, exploração, interpretação e, consequentemente, de aquisição de conhecimentos e de competências, adequadas às suas características e à legislação mais recente. Como o ensino das disciplinas associadas à História é desenvolvido com base em conteúdos, quase sempre, de uma História geral, neste caso, ajustados ao ensino da disciplina de História da Cultura e das Artes, numa turma do 10º ano de escolaridade, tentámos adequar, tanto quanto possível, os temas à História Local e Regional, como forma de integração dos alunos no meio em que vivem, fomentando a excelência, defesa, preservação e divulgação dos contextos patrimoniais que os rodeiam, incutindo e reforçando atitudes de cidadania, sentimentos de pertença e identitários. Deste modo, não só tem um grande peso, neste nosso trabalho, a História Local e Regional, como as visitas de estudo presenciais, as visitas de estudo virtuais e, associadas a estas últimas, as tecnologias de informação e comunicação, em suportes fixos ou móveis e em plataformas de ambientes virtuais tridimensionais, símbolos da contemporaneidade e dos “novos mundos” que os alunos tão bem conhecem e que se traduzem em ferramentas importantes para o desenvolvimento da prática da docência da área disciplinar da História. As visitas de estudo presenciais possibilitam aos alunos a verdadeira saída do espaço escolar e as visitas de estudo virtuais, ainda que não permitam essa saída, dotam os alunos de uma capacidade de pensamento abstrato, percebendo que também podem viajar sem sair do espaço físico concreto. Ambas possibilitam, portanto, a descoberta e exploração do contexto histórico e patrimonial local (neste caso o do concelho de Miranda do Corvo) e regional (neste caso as NUT III do Baixo Mondego e do Pinhal Interior Norte), conduzindo os alunos ao aprofundamento dos seus conhecimentos sobre o contexto que os rodeia, ao desenvolvimento de competências e ao enraizamento das suas origens. Para além disso, tanto umas, como outras dependem do professor para planeamento, preparação, desenvolvimento e avaliação, assim como os alunos esperam que, para além de professor, este se torne um verdadeiro entusiasta das visitas, um guia. Para a dinamização de atividades de carácter virtual, como as visitas de estudo virtuais, é necessário recorrer a um conjunto de métodos, equipamentos tecnológicos e plataformas virtuais, contudo é importante perceber quais os equipamentos que se adequam às características das plataformas e quais os métodos a ter em conta em cada situação para que as visitas, ainda que planeadas e testadas, decorram de forma correta e eficaz. Os participantes deste trabalho valorizaram o estudo da História local e regional, enquadrado pela participação em visitas de estudo presenciais, todavia as visitas de estudo virtuais mereceram a atenção daqueles, pela novidade e utilização da tecnologia nas aulas de História da Cultura e das Artes. Umas não se sobrepuseram às outras, antes possibilitaram, no conjunto, o desenvolvimento de Viagens pela minha terra.This work was developed in the context of the curricular units of the second year of the Master's degree in history teaching in the 3rd cycle of basic education and secondary education and pedagogical practice with students of those levels, as well as the development of a study of a scientific-didactic nature, whose central theme was the field trips on site and in a virtual context, framed in a Local and Regional history, applied to the teaching of history with secondary school students. As activities of a practical nature, while promoting a consolidation of more theoretical knowledge, the study visits – whether real, more common and performed more frequently, or virtual, full of potentialities –, require a set of fundamental stages of planning, design, practice and evaluation, in order to lead students to moments of discovery, observation, exploration, interpretation and, consequently, acquisition of knowledge and skills, suitable to their characteristics and to the latest legislation. Because the teaching of the subjects associated with history is frequently developed on the basis of general history contents (in this case, adjusted to the teaching of the subject of History of Culture and Arts, in a class of the 10th grade), we tried to adapt, as much as possible, the themes to Local and Regional history, as a way of integrating students in the environment in which they live, focusing on values as excellence, defense, preservation and dissemination of the patrimonial contexts that surround them, inspiring and reinforcing attitudes of citizenship, feelings of belonging and identity. Thus, in our work, not only the Local and Regional history assumes a main role, through the field trips and the virtual ones, but also its association with the information and communication technologies, through fixed or mobile media and platforms of threedimensional virtual environments, which symbolize contemporaneity and the so well-known "new worlds" by students, that can become essential tools for the development of teaching practice in History as a disciplinary area. The field trips allow students the true output of the school space and virtual field trips, even if they do not allow this exit, they provide students with an abstract thinking capacity, realizing that they can also travel without leaving the concrete physical space. Both allow the discovery and exploration of the local (in this case the municipality of Miranda do Corvo) and regional (in this case the NUT III Baixo Mondego and the Pinhal Interior Norte) historical and patrimonial context, leading the students to the deepening of their knowledge of the surrounding context, the development of competencies and the rooting of their origins. In addition, both depend on the teacher for planning, preparation, development and evaluation, as well as the students hope that, in addition to teacher, he becomes a true enthusiast of visitors, a true guide. For the dynamization of virtual activities, such as virtual field trips, it is necessary to resort to a set of methods, technological equipment and virtual platforms, but it is important to understand which equipment is suitable for the platforms characteristics and which methods are to be taken into each situation so that the visits, even if planned and tested, are correctly and effectively fulfilled and successful. The participants of this work valued the study of local and regional history, framed by participation in field trips, however the virtual field trips deserved the attention of those, for the novelty and use of technology in the History of Culture and Arts classes. Some did not overlap the others, but allowed, as a whole, Traveling through my land

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biochar production from a circular economy perspective

Climate change and environmental sustainability are among the most prominent issues of today. It is increasingly fundamental and urgent to develop a sustainable economy, capable of change the linear paradigm, actively promoting the efficient use of resources, highlighting product, component and material reuse. Among the many approaches to circular economy and zero-waste concepts, biochar is a great example and might be a way to push the economy to neutralize carbon balance. Biochar is a solid material produced during thermochemical decomposition of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment. Several authors have used life cycle assessment (LCA) method to evaluate the environmental impact of biochar production. Based on these studies, this work intends to critically analyze the LCA of biochar production from different sources using different technologies. Although these studies reveal differences in the contexts and characteristics of production, preventing direct comparison of results, a clear trend appears. It was proven, through combining life cycle assessment and circular economy modelling, that the application of biochar is a very promising way of contributing to carbon-efficient resource circulation, mitigation of climate change, and economic sustainability.This work was co-financed by Compete 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund—FEDER within the scope of the project WAST’AWARENESS—Technology Transfer in Waste Valorization and Sustainability (POCI-01-0246- FEDER-181304)