Evaluation of the susceptibility of Portuguese autochthonous flora to the pine wilt nematode (Bursaphelenchus xilophylus)

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Comparison between Eurocodes and UK standards (BDs) for structural assessment. The Case Study of Ashworth Viaduct

Within the scope of safety and preservation of historical memory of existing bridges, maintenance of bridges has become one of the most important issues to the economy, society and public interest. To achieve this objective, an efficient management of bridges is needed, being implied in the process, periodic inspections and structural assessments, followed by repair, rehabilitation or strengthening, if necessary. However, drastic actions, such as demolition and/or substitution have to be considered when the structure does not accomplish the minimum requirements of the new standards or it is not economically viable for any other intervention. This work concentrates on an essential aspect within the process of maintenance, which is the structural assessment of existing bridges. Therefore, an approach regarding this subject is carried out using two different methods of assessment, one based in the Eurocodes and the other one guided by the UK standards for structural assessments, having as the main aim the comparison of these two standards. To better understand the evolution of bridges in the United Kingdom, a historical approach is developed as first contact, highlighting the beginning of great constructions in history, using as material construction, steel, concrete and steel-concrete composite. It is known that bridges have been through great changes in traffic load over time affecting thus, their maintenance and the need for structural assessment. On one side’ this came to encourage the UK in creating unique standards made specifically for structural assessment (BDs) of bridges. On the other side, the Eurocodes, despite having been created specifically for design of new bridges, are adapted to the assessment of existing bridges, being used in many other countries around Europe. Throughout this work, the main differences between these two standards, mentioned above, are described taking into account the actions applied on bridges, the used partial safety factors, the properties and capacity of construction materials and the effects of the actions observed in the structural members. To support this comparison, it is also introduced a composite viaduct existing in the UK, where it is possible to take the distinct results from the different models of forces acting on the structure. In conclusion, an analysis of the two results is carried out in order to register the difference between both codes and discuss main features for future structural assessment works. BDs has been registered to be more conservative than Eurocodes although the results between them do not show a high discrepancy

Influence of bacteria in Bursaphelechus xylophilus infection mechanisms

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Adaptation and validation of five scales to measure determinants of binge drinking in adolescents

Fundamento. Validar cinco escalas, basadas en un marco teórico para la adopción de comportamientos, que fueron diseñadas para evaluar los factores implicados en el consumo episódico excesivo de alcohol (CEEA) en adolescentes, concretamente: actitud, influencia social (Modelo, Norma y Presión) y autoeficacia. Material y métodos. Estudio observacional, transversal y multicéntrico. Mediante muestreo por conveniencia se incluyeron 397 adolescentes de 15 a 18 años escolarizados en institutos de Educación Secundaria de Sevilla y Huelva. Tras la traducción y revisión del instrumento por un panel de expertos se obtuvo un cuestionario en español que fue administrado a una muestra piloto para valorar la comprensibilidad y, posteriormente, los participantes completaron las cinco escalas para comprobar la validez estructural (análisis factorial y fiabilidad) y la validez de constructo. Resultados. En las cinco escalas, el primer factor explicó al menos el 28% de la varianza y la varianza total explicada fue siempre mayor que 60%. Tras la rotación, las cargas factoriales de los ítems fueron mayores a 0,40 para su factor de pertenencia. El alfa de Cronbach osciló desde 0,62 hasta 0,91. El coeficiente de Spearman fue menor a 0,7 al correlacionar las subdimensiones de las escalas, salvo en la escala de Autoeficacia, asumiendo multidimensionalidad con ciertas limitaciones. Conclusiones. Se presentan cinco escalas con indicios de fiabilidad y validez, cuyos ítems reflejan el marco teórico de referencia y que pueden evaluar los determinantes del CEEA. En el futuro se debería continuar con la validación para determinar su reproducibilidad, su validez de criterio con un “gold estándar” o medida objetiva.Background. The aim of this study was to validate five scales, based on a theoretical framework for the adoption of behaviours, designed to assess the determinants in binge drinking in adolescents, namely: attitude, social influence (model, norm and pressure) and self-efficacy. Methods. Observational, cross-sectional and multicentre study. Through convenience sampling, 397 adolescents between 15 to 18 years old enrolled in secondary schools in Seville and Huelva were included. After translation and review of the original instrument by a panel of experts, a questionnaire was obtained in Spanish that was administered to a pilot sample to assess comprehensibility and, subsequently, the participants completed the five scales to check the structural validity (factor analysis and reliability) and construct validity. Results. On the five scales, the first factor explained at least 28% of the variance and the total variance explained was always greater than 60%. After rotation, all items had weights >0.40 for the factor to which they belonged. Cronbach´s alpha ranged from 0.62 to 0.91. Spearman’s coefficient was lower than 0.7 when correlating the sub dimensions of the scales, except on the self-efficacy scale, assuming multidimensionality with certain limitations Conclusions. Five scales are presented with indications of reliability and validity, their items reflect the theoretical frame of reference and can evaluate the determinants of binge drinking. In the future, validation could be continued to determine its reproducibility, its criterion validity with a “gold standard” or objective measure.V Plan Propio de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevill

Non-pharmacological interventions to reduce anxiety in pregnancy, labour and postpartum: A systematic review

Background: The anxiety mothers experience during pregnancy is well known and may have negative consequences for the emotional, psychological, and social development of newborns. Anxiety must therefore be reduced using different strategies. Objective: To determine published non-pharmacological interventions to reduce anxiety during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. Methods: A systematic peer-review of experimental and quasi-experimental studies was conducted using the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and CINAHL databases. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Spanish version of the PEDro scale. Two researchers participated independently in the data selection and extraction process. Findings: 587 articles were identified, of which 21 met the eligibility criteria. In eleven studies the intervention was performed during pregnancy, in three of them during labour, in four of them during the postpartum period, and in three of them during pregnancy and postpartum. During pregnancy, the most effective interventions were behavioural activation, cognitive behavioural therapy, yoga, music therapy, and relaxation; during childbirth: aromatherapy; during pregnancy and postpartum: antenatal training, massage by partners, and self-guided book reading with professional telephone assistance. Conclusion and Implications: The most effective interventions to reduce anxiety were performed either during pregnancy or during the postpartum period, not during labour. Most of the interventions were performed on the women, with few of them being performed on both partners. Non-pharmacological interventions may be applied by nurses and midwives to reduce anxiety during pregnancy, labour and postpartum

Comparative analysis: public and private school management systems

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThe Portuguese educational system has counted, for many years, with the co-existence of both public and private schools. In fact, the country’s growth and development led, in the past, to an increasing demand for free of charge public education that could only be matched through the creation of “publicly-subsidized and privately owned and managed schools”. Still, the demographic evolution of Portugal recently generated a decrease on the demand for public educational services. This situation has raised doubts about the true contribution of this type of school for the public education system. This paper aims at answering this question by isolating the impact of different property and management schemes on the performance of students, resorting to cross-section data on 9th grade students from 2010. The results corroborate the well known result on the relevance of the family socio-economic background for students’ performance, but do also sustain the existence of a significant positive impact of private ownership and management schemes on the overall performance of students. These results suggest that there might be gains associated with the expansion of such schemes within the public education system

The integration of non-conventional therapeutic modalities in nursing as a motivating factor for Nursing care

Evidence of the utilization of non-conventional therapeutic modalities by nurses and the outcomes for clients was scarce in Portugal in 2011, when one of the author’s primary study took place (Santos, 2011). Data analysis did not address the deep reasons why nurses used complementary/alternative therapies. Objectives: Thus, a new research question: What are nurse’s motivations to integrate non-conventional therapeutic modalities in their practice? Method: Interview transcripts and observation records of fifteen nurses, working in Portuguese hospitals, from all types of units of care; and ten nurses and seventeen patients at the pain unit of the Cancer Oncology Institute, was analyzed. Secondary qualitative analysis, using analytic expansion (Thorn, 2013), was conducted. Simplified theoretical model (Burtson and Stichler, 2010) was used as Theoretical Framework. Results: Three themes were identified: Nursing care values; Knowledge base; Acting according to values and knowledge base. There is also evidence of the impact of promoters (compassion satisfaction and nurse job satisfaction) of nurse caring. Discussion: The meanings of action and the need for a trusting relationship are key elements of nursing care. Nurses are motivated to care by the satisfaction they derive from caregiving, as Burston & Strichler (2010) state. Interaction opportunities, praise and recognition, and compassion satisfaction, all of them are promoter’s factors of nursing job satisfaction. Further research is needed to confirm the impact of care promoters in different cultures and measure the factors of nursing care, to support changes in nursing practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio