Life Cycle Assessment as a tool to promote sustainable Thermowood boards: a Portuguese case study

The present work aims to develop the Life Cycle Assessment study of thermo-modified Atlanticwood® pine boards based on real data provided by Santos & Santos Madeiras company. Atlanticwood® pine boards are used mainly for exterior decking and cladding facades of buildings. The LCA study is elaborated based on ISO 14040/44 standard and Product Category Rules for preparing an environmental product declaration for Construction Products and Construction Services. The inventory analysis and, subsequently, the impact analysis have been performed using the LCA software SimaPro8.0.4. The method chosen for impact assessment was EPD (2013) V1.01. The results show that more than ¾ of ‘Acidification’, ‘Eutrophication’, ‘Global warming’ and ‘Abiotic depletion’ caused by 1 m3 of Atlanticwood® pine boards production is due to energy consumption (electricity + gas + biomass). This was to be expected since the treatment is based on heat production and no chemicals are added during the heat treatment process.

Life cycle assessment of residual forestry biomass chips at a power plant: a Portuguese case study

The residual forest biomass (RFB) sector has been experiencing strong development at European level and particularly in Portugal mainly due to the increase of energy production from renewable sources. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of eucalyptus RFB chips production chain in Portugal. The environmental and economic impact comparison of the processes included in the production chain is presented as well. The environmental impacts were calculated by the life cycle assessment approach described in the ISO 14040 series of standards. The production chain assessed included all processes from eucalyptus forest until the delivery of RFB chips at the power plant. The main conclusion of this study is that eucalyptus wood production is the process that presents the greatest environmental impact through the product life cycle.

Quality of life and chronic disease in patients receiving primary health care

Problem Statement: Chronic disease entails physical, psychological and social issues with a decrease in the quality of life. The assessment of QoL has been applied as indicator in patients with chronic diseases. Research Questions: What is the quality of life in patients with chronic disease? What are the socio-demographic variables that influence the quality of life in patients? Purpose: To assess the quality of life in patients suffering from chronic disease and identify socio-demographic variables which influence the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic disease. Research Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study using a sample composed of 228 users (134 females) from a Family Health Unit in the municipality of Viseu. Data collection was made by means of a questionnaire, consisting of sociodemographic variables, the SF-12 scale and the existence of chronic disease was assessed through the questions – “Do you currently suffer from any chronic disease?”; “If so, which one(s)?”. Findings: The most common chronic diseases were hypertension (59.9%). Female patients with a chronic disease reported worse physical functioning, role-physical and role-emotional; increased bodily pain and better quality of life regarding general health. Male patients showed worse role-physical, increased bodily pain and vitality. Sociodemographic variables which were associated with quality of life were area of residence, academic qualifications and work situation. Conclusion: Chronic disease affects quality of life negatively. Quality of life in both patients groups was associated with socio-demographic variables. Health-related quality of life is an essential issue and should be considered as a priority in health policies.

What Is a Firm’s Life Expectancy? Empirical Evidence in the Context of Portuguese Companies

It is a fact that the uncertainty about a firm’s future has to be measured and incorporated into a company’s valuation throughout the explicit analysis period – in the continuing or terminal value within valuation models. One of the concerns that can influence the continuing value of enterprises, which is not explicitly considered in traditional valuation models, is a firm’s average life expectancy. Although the literature has studied the life cycle of a firm, there is still a considerable lack of references on this topic. If we ignore the period during which a company has the ability to produce future cash flows, the valuations can fall into irreversible errors, leading to results markedly different from market values. This paper aims to provide a contribution in this area. Its main objective is to construct a mortality table for non-listed Portuguese enterprises, showing that the use of a terminal value through a mathematical expression of perpetuity of free cash flows is not adequate. We provide the use of an appropriate coefficient to perceive the number of years in which the company will continue to operate until its theoretical extinction. If well addressed regarding valuation models, this issue can be used to reduce or even to eliminate one of the main problems that cause distortions in contemporary enterprise valuation models: the premise of an enterprise’s unlimited existence in time. Besides studying the companies involved in it, from their existence to their demise, our study intends to push knowledge forward by providing a consistent life and mortality expectancy table for each age of the company, presenting models with an explicitly and different survival rate for each year. Moreover, we show that, after reaching a certain age, firms can reinvent their business, acquiring maturity and consequently postponing their mortality through an additional life period.

Situação de risco com impacto em toda a família: gravidez na adolescência

Introdução: A gravidez na adolescência constitui uma situação de risco com impacto em toda a família, podendo gerar crises não apenas na jovem que engravida - em virtude da inexperiência e consequente dificuldade que surge para cuidar de um filho - , como do ponto de vista transgeracional. Objetivos: Aplicar o Modelo Dinâmico de Avaliação e Intervenção Familiar (MDAIF) Figueiredo (2009) e avaliar o impacto dos cuidados de enfermagem numa família em contexto clínico. Métodos: Estudo de caso qualitativo realizado com base no MDAIF em contexto clínico nos Cuidados de Saúde Primários. Este estudo focou-se no processo de intervenção familiar desenvolvido com uma família de uma adolescente de 16 anos que engravida, fruto de uma relação fugaz com um rapaz 9 anos mais velho que conheceu através das redes sociais (Facebook). Instrumentos: Genograma, Ecomapa, Apgar familiar e Escala de Graffar. Resultados: Família extensa, com diferentes subsistemas e limites rígidos. A família encontra-se na etapa do ciclo vital – família com filhos adolescentes, segundo Duvall (1977). Família de classe média. Com a gravidez não desejada da adoelscente, e apesar da relação conflituosa com a sua mãe, esta torna-se um apoio importante no percurso da vida da adolescente e no desenvolvimento do recém-nascido. Conclusões: A utilização do MDAIF permitiu o desenvolvimento das habilidades dos enfermeiros para uma abordagem familiar, contribuindo assim para dar resposta às necessidades da família, enquanto unidade alvo de cuidados. Além disto, permitiu à adolescente prosseguir com a realização do seu projeto de vida, com o apoio familiar e social. Sugere-se a continuidade da utilização do MDAIF.