O natural e o farmacológico: padrões de consumo terapêutico na população portuguesa

Neste artigo identificam-se os padrões de consumo terapêutico na população portuguesa, visando dar conta de um novo padrão emergente nas sociedades modernas, aqui designado de Pluralismo Terapêutico, noção com a qual se categoriza o uso conjugado ou alternado de recursos farmacológicos e naturais nas trajetórias terapêuticas dos indivíduos. O respetivo suporte empírico decorre de uma investigação, já concluída, que teve por base uma amostra nacional representativa. Os resultados mostram uma dualização dos consumos terapêuticos que é constituída por um padrão dominante de Farmacologismo – i.e., uso exclusivo de fármacos – coexistente com uma tendência crescente de pluralismo terapêutico. O efeito das fontes de informação terapêutica e dos seus usos leigos, bem como das perceções sociais de risco sobre o natural e o farmacológico, constitui neste estudo uma referência analítica central para a interpretação dos padrões encontrados. - ABSTRACT: In this article we identify patterns of therapeutic consumption, with the purpose of assessing an emerging pattern in modern societies, here designated as Therapeutic Pluralism, referring to the conjugated or alternated use of pharmacological and natural resources in the therapeutic trajectories of individuals. The empirical basis for this analysis stems from a concluded research on the topic, and is focused on a questionnaire administered to a representative sample of the Portuguese population. The results show a duality in therapeutic consumptions, expressed in the coexistence of a dominant pattern of Pharmacologism – that is, the exclusive therapeutic consumption of pharmaceuticals – and a growing trend towards therapeutic pluralism. The effects of information sources on health and its lay uses, as well as of the social perceptions of risk concerning the natural and the pharmacological, constitute key analytical references for this study’s interpretation of the identified patterns.

Mechanical performance of concrete made with aggregates from construction and demolition waste recycling plants

This research aims at analysing the mechanical performance of concrete with recycled aggregates (RA) from construction and demolition waste (CDW) from various locations in Portugal. First the characteristics of the various aggregates (natural and recycled) used in the production of concrete were thoroughly analysed. The composition of the RA was determined and several physical and chemical tests of the aggregates were performed. In order to evaluate the mechanical performance of concrete, compressive strength (in cubes and cylinders), splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and abrasion resistance tests were performed. Concrete mixes with RA from CDW from several recycling plants were evaluated, in order to understand the influence that the RA's collection point, and consequently their composition, has on the characteristics of the mixes produced. The analysis of the mechanical performance allowed concluding that the use of RA worsens most of the properties tested, especially when fine RA are used. On the other hand, there was an increase in abrasion resistance when coarse RA were used. In global terms, the use of this type of aggregates, in limited contents, is viable from a mechanical viewpoint. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of fine recycled aggregates made from concrete waste

This paper assesses the physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics of fine recycled aggregates obtained from crushed concrete waste, comparing them with two types of natural fine aggregates from different origins. A commercial concrete was jaw crushed, and the effect of different aperture sizes on the particle size distribution of the resulting aggregates was evaluated. The density and water absorption of the recycled aggregates was determined and a model for predicting water absorption over time is proposed. Both natural and recycled aggregates were characterized regarding bulk density and fines content. Recycled aggregates were additionally characterized by XRD, SEM/EDS and DTA/TG of individual size fractions. The results show that natural and recycled fine aggregates have very different characteristics. This should be considered in potential applications, both in terms of the limits for replacing amounts and of the rules and design criteria of the manufactured products. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.