Vidas secas e os flagelados do vento leste: veredas da seca e da fome

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino de Português Língua Segunda / Língua EstrangeiraEste trabalho propõe-se confrontar a obra do escritor brasileiro Graciliano Ramos, Vidas Secas, com Os Flagelados do Vento Leste, do escritor cabo-verdiano Manuel Lopes, tentando encontrar nelas as idiossincrasias próprias dos espaços sociais e humanos em que se situam e que as fazem regionalistas, mas também as características que as configuram como universais, enquanto espelhos do Homem na sua essência, comum a todos os homens, combatendo contra as adversidades da seca, da fome e da exploração social numa luta pela sobrevivência que os torna eternos e intemporais

Improving access to greenspaces in the Mediterranean city of Faro

Green infrastructure has received increasing attention in urban strategies in a sustainable and resilience context, since greenspaces provide diverse ecosystem services. Green roofs can be a form of compensating the loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity in urban areas, contribute to safe access to greenspaces, which is important in times of social isolation, due to viral pandemics, and can guarantee self-reliance food. Thus, this urban measure should be integrated in urban planning and management, by using urban indicators associated with citizens access to greenspaces. Hence, we study pedestrian accessibility to green areas and propose an urban solution to improve access to greenspaces. The assessment is developed using indicators related to the citizens living in the surroundings of green areas and the residential buildings that exist in these areas; the residents living in potential green buildings or blocks with private green roofs and the potential green buildings with private green roofs. The ideal standard distances were considered to analyze the proximity of green areas to the dwellings of residents. We used GIS for the assessment of distances over the pedestrian network. The results indicate the necessity of building green roofs through the private sector. The developed indicators provide an important contribution to the municipal management in the definition of criteria for the urban location of green roofs to promote better access to ecosystem services.FCT: UID/MAR/04292/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sound levels and risk perceptions of music students during classes

It is well recognized that professional musicians are at risk of hearing damage due to the exposure to high sound pressure levels during music playing. However, it is important to recognize that the musicians’ exposure may start early in the course of their training as students in the classroom and at home. Studies regarding sound exposure of music students and their hearing disorders are scarce and do not take into account important influencing variables. Therefore, this study aimed to describe sound level exposures of music students at different music styles, classes, and according to the instrument played. Further, this investigation attempted to analyze the perceptions of students in relation to exposure to loud music and consequent health risks, as well as to characterize preventive behaviors. The results showed that music students are exposed to high sound levels in the course of their academic activity. This exposure is potentiated by practice outside the school and other external activities. Differences were found between music style, instruments, and classes. Tinnitus, hyperacusis, diplacusis, and sound distortion were reported by the students. However, students were not entirely aware of the health risks related to exposure to high sound pressure levels. These findings reflect the importance of starting intervention in relation to noise risk reduction at an early stage, when musicians are commencing their activity as students

Non-centrality parameter in STATIS interstructure

Statistical theory of STATIS interstructure relies heavily on F statistic. In this paper we show how to complete the inference working with the non centrality parameters of these statistics. Many times these statistics have very high values and there is an almost overflow of significant results. This lead us to use the non-centrality parameters as measures of relevance for effects and interactions. In the STATIS methodology, a study is a statistical triplet (Xi, Dni, Dpi), i=1,…,k, constituted by a data array and two weight matrices one for variables and the other for objects. Where Xi, n x pi, i=1,…,k denotes the data table associated to the kth point in time, n refers to the total number of individuals and pi is the number of variables in the kth data table. This methodology has two methods, the STATIS method and the STATIS Dual method and involves different steps (e.g. L’Hermier des Plantes H. (1976)). In the first step, termed interstructure, we compare globally the series of studies. In the second step, termed intrastructure, we define a common structure of individuals in all data tables. Finally, we identify which individuals contribute the most (or least) to the observed differences among the studies. In this work we will consider the inference for the interstructure which we start by defining an object for each data table as the matrix of the scalar products between individuals. The modelling of the series allows us to condensed all the information in the composed pair for the vector of structure and the sum of the squares of the residues. With this pair we can construct F tests to do inference for series of studies. These F statistics often have very high values and there is an almost overflow of significant results. The aim of this work is to complete the inference working with the non centrality parameters of these statistics

Age and sex effect on the self-Concept of preschool children

Poucas são as investigações sobre o autoconceito realizadas com crianças de idade pré-escolar. Neste estudo procuramos contribuir para uma melhor compreensão do desenvolvimento normativo do autoconceito, no período pré-escolar, nomeadamente, através da análise dos efeitos que o sexo e a idade têm no mesmo. Tratando-se de um estudo longitudinal, a amostra foi composta por 83 crianças portuguesas, avaliadas no seu autoconceito aos quatro e aos cinco anos de idade, através da Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children – PSPCSA. As crianças apresentaram resultados muito elevados em todos os domínios do autoconceito, em ambas as idades Os dados parecem indicar que os elevados valores do autoconceito começam a declinar já no fim do período pré-escolar, pelo menos em alguns domínios, sugerindo, dessa forma, um desenvolvimento diferenciado do autoconceito, consoante os diferentes domínios avaliados. Finalmente, parecem existir diferenças no autoconceito relacionadas com o sexo das crianças, favorecendo os rapazes. Os nossos resultados contribuem para uma melhor compreensão do processo de desenvolvimento do autoconceito.ABSTRACT: There are few investigations on the self-concept of preschool children. The aim of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the normative development of self-concept in preschool children, particularly by analyzing the effects of gender and age. In a longitudinal study, our sample consisted of 83 Portuguese children, and data were collected at four and five years old. Self-concept was measured by the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children - PSPCSA. Children presented very high results in all areas of self-concept at both ages. Data seem to indicate that self-concept starts to decline towards the end of the preschool period, at least in some areas. Results suggest a differentiated process of self-development, according to the different domains assessed. Finally, there seem to be differences in self-concept related to the children’s gender, favoring boys. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the developmental process of self-concept.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT

Modèles internes opérants de l’attachement et relations d’objet internalisées : L’analyse du devenir des relations «attachement par les récits à compléter»

Constituant les deux principaux domaines de la compréhension théorique et scientifique des êtres humains, la théorie de l’attachement et la psychanalyse se sont développées de façon autonome, tout en maintenant des points de contact. Cette recherche vise à les relier de façon empirique en se concentrant sur les théories psychanalytiques de la relation d’objet. L’Attachment story completion task a été administré à un échantillon de 51 enfants en âges préscolaire et scolaire. Les narratives ont été analysées de manière indépendante, sur le ton émotionnel du monde interne objectal, évaluées en fonction de la dimension de la Tonalité affective du paradigme de la Social cognition and object relations scale et en fonction de la cohérence et de la sécurité des représentations d’attachement émergentes. Nous avons également appliqué la WPPSI-R pour surveiller les effets potentiels des compétences linguistiques dans la production de récits. Nous avons trouvé une corrélation positive significative entre la qualité des représentations d’attachement et de la tonalité affective des objets internes, et les résultats sont discutés en termes de similitudes et différences entre ces deux concepts théoriques. ------ ABSTRACT ------- Constituting the two main domains of the theoretical and scientific comprehension of human beings, attachment theory and psychoanalysis have developed autonomously, maintaining contact points. This research aims to link them empirically by focusing on psychoanalytic theories of object relations. The Attachment Story Completion Task was administered to a sample of 51 children in preschool and school. The narratives were analyzed independently, the emotional tone of the internal object-world, measured according to the size of the affective tone of relationship paradigms of social cognition and object relations and the scale depending on the consistency and security of the emerging attachment representations. We have also applied the WPPSI-R to monitor the potential effects of language skills in the production of narratives. We found a significant positive correlation between quality of attachment representations and the affective tone of internal objects, and results are discussed in terms of similarities and differences between these two theoretical concepts

MedGeo 2015: book of abstracts of the 6th International Conference on Medical Geology

Resumo indisponível

Global analysis of the small RNA transcriptome in different ploidies and genomic combinations of a vertebrate complex - the Squalius alburnoides

The Squalius alburnoides complex (Steindachner) is one of the most intricate hybrid polyploid systems known in vertebrates. In this complex, the constant switch of the genome composition in consecutive generations, very frequently involving a change on the ploidy level, promotes repetitive situations of potential genomic shock. Previously in this complex, it was showed that in response to the increase in genome dosage, triploids hybrids could regulate gene expression to a diploid state. In this work we compared the small RNA profiles in the different genomic compositions interacting in the complex in order to explore the miRNA involvement in gene expression regulation of triploids. Using high-throughput arrays and sequencing technologies we were able to verify that diploid and triploid hybrids shared most of their sequences and their miRNA expression profiles were high correlated. However, an overall view indicates an up-regulation of several miRNAs in triploids and a global miRNA expression in triploids higher than the predicted from an additive model. Those results point to a participation of miRNAs in the cellular functional stability needed when the ploidy change.publishe

Biomonitoring of urinary mercury in families living in the vicinity of a chlor-alkali plant : evaluation in two successive years.

International audienc

Mercúrio em solos da área do complexo químico de Estarreja

A evolução dos níveis de mercúrio no ambiente e o conhecimento da sua toxicidade e capacidade de bioacumulação desencadearam nas últimas décadas inúmeros estudos tentando identificar e quantificar as emissões de origem antrópica e ainda avaliar o seu impacte ambiental nos mais variados meios amostrais. Com o presente trabalho pretende-se principalmente avaliar o grau de contaminação de solos afectados por uma fonte industrial pontual de mercúrio: o Complexo Químico de Estarreja. Acessoriamente, contempla-se: o reconhecimento de diferentes formas de mercúrio presentes no solo, aí se incluindo o associado à matéria orgânica, e uma avaliação geral da influência de alguns factores da sua dispersão a partir do Complexo para o solo. A zona de estudo, centrada no Complexo Químico de Estarreja, tem uma área de aproximadamente 60 Km2. Trata-se de uma região constituída essencialmente por solos arenosos, permeáveis, onde as captações de água subterrâneas são abundantes e a agro-pecuária continua a ser uma actividade marcante. Os dois tipos (ordens) de solos mais representados (podzolizados e litólicos) foram considerados. Dada a inexistência de qualquer estudo de impacte ambiental deste metal nos solos da região, começámos por estudar a distribuição vertical do mercúrio, tendo verificado que este se acumula numa fina camada superficial (0-5 cm) e na fracção <63 μm relativamente à fracção <180 μm e à amostra total. Face a estes resultados, foi efectuada uma amostragem superficial (103 amostras) segundo uma malha regular e o mercúrio total foi analisado na fracção <63 μm das amostras colhidas. Os teores obtidos variam entre 117 e 49 233 ppb, verificando-se que 25% dos locais amostrados se encontram acima de 1510 ppb, valor estabelecido como patamar de anomalia a partir de bases estatísticas e outras. Em área, os teores decrescem rapidamente com o aumento da distância ao Complexo. O fundo regional foi estimado em 275 ppb, a partir de amostras colhidas em solos do mesmo tipo, a 30 km a Norte do Complexo. Cerca de 80% dos solos estudados encontram-se acima deste valor. A aplicação de métodos geoestatísticos e outros permitiu delimitar uma zona anómala centrada no Complexo Químico de Estarreja, com um alongamento preferencial na direcção NW-SE. Este padrão de distribuição é típico de deposição atmosférica, que parece ser assim a principal forma de introdução do mercúrio nos solos. Analisando separadamente solos florestais e solos de cultivo é possível detectar nestes últimos uma anomalia que segue a vala de São Filipe. A análise do sedimento da vala da Breja bem como de solos a esta adjacentes, revela teores elevados de mercúrio. Estas anomalias evidenciam contaminação dos solos aparentemente localizada ao longo das valas de drenagem. A correlação entre os teores em mercúrio total e os teores em matéria orgânica é positiva, ainda que baixa, nas amostras superficiais bem como em profundidade, o que terá interesse na discussão do tema da retenção do elemento pela matéria orgânica e consequentemente na sua migração no perfil. Quanto às formas de mercúrio presentes, a utilização da extracção química sequencial permitiu distinguir duas formas ecologicamente importantes, a fase móvel e a fortemente retida, não permitindo, contudo, identificar a fase-suporte do mercúrio retido. Nas amostras estudadas verificou-se que as formas móveis e fitodisponíveis constituem uma pequena percentagem do mercúrio total, o que atenua o efeito negativo dos elevados teores de mercúrio presentes nestes solos.JNICTMestrado em Geoquímic