30 resultados para Project 2002-043-B : Smart Building For Healthy and Sustainable Workplaces – Scoping Study
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Eukaryotic Cell, Vol.8, N3
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RESUMO: Os biomarcadores tumorais permitem identificar os doentes com maior risco de recorrncia da doena, predizer a resposta tumoral teraputica e, finalmente, definir candidatos a novos alvos teraputicos. Novos biomarcadores so especialmente necessrios na abordagem clnica dos linfomas. Actualmente, esses tumores so diagnosticados atravs de uma combinao de caractersticas morfolgicas, fenotpicas e moleculares, mas o prognstico e o planeamento teraputico esto quase exclusivamente dependentes de caractersticas clnicas. Estes factores clnicos so, na maioria dos linfomas, insuficientes numa proporo significativa dos doentes, em particular, aqueles com pior prognstico. O linfoma folicular (LF) , globalmente, o segundo subtipo mais comum de linfoma. tipicamente uma doena indolente com uma sobrevida mdia entre os 8 e 12 anos, mas geralmente fatal quando se transforma num linfoma agressivo de alto grau, habitualmente o linfoma difuso de grandes clulas B (LDGCB). Morfologicamente e funcionalmente, as clulas do LF recapitulam as clulas normais do centro germinativo na sua dependncia de sobrevivncia do microambiente no-tumoral, especialmente das clulas do sistema imunolgico. Biomarcadores preditivos de transformao no existem pelo que um melhor conhecimento da biologia intrnseca de progresso do LF poder revelar novos candidatos. Nesta tese descrevo duas abordagens distintas para a descoberta de novos biomarcadores. A primeira, o estudo da expresso global de genes ('genomics') obtidos por tcnicas de alto rendimento que analisam todo o genoma humano sequenciado, permitindo identificar novas anomalias genticas que possam representar mecanismos biolgicos importantes de transformao. So descritos novos genes e alteraes genmicas associados transformao do LF, sendo especialmente relevantes as relacionadas com os eventos iniciais de transformao em LDGCB. A segunda, baseou-se em vrias hipteses centradas no microambiente do LF, rico em vrios tipos de clulas nomalignas. Os estudos imunoarquitectural de macrfagos, clulas T regulatrias e densidade de microvasos efectuado em biopsias de diagnstico de doentes com LF tratados uniformemente correlacionaram-se significativamente, e independentemente dos critrios clnicos, com a evoluo clnica e, mais importante, com o risco de transformao em LDGCB. Nesta tese, foram preferencialmente utilizadas (e optimizadas) tcnicas que permitam o uso de amostras fixadas em parafina e formalina (FFPET). Estas so facilmente acessveis a partir das biopsias de diagnstico de rotina presentes nos arquivos de todos os departamentos de patologia, facilitando uma transio rpida dos novos marcadores para a prtica clnica. Embora o FL fosse o tema principal da tese, os novos achados permitiram estender facilmente hipteses semelhantes a outros subtipos de linfoma. Assim, so propostos e validados vrios biomarcadores promissores e relacionados com o microambiente no tumoral, sobretudo dependentes das clulas do sistema imunolgico, como contribuintes importantes para a biologia dos linfomas. Estes sugerem novas opes para a abordagem clnica destas doenas e, eventualmente, novos alvos teraputicos.------------- ABSTRACT: Cancer biomarkers provide an opportunity to identify those patients most at risk for disease recurrence, predict which tumours will respond to different therapeutic approaches and ultimately define candidate biomarkers that may serve as targets for personalized therapy. New biomarkers are especially needed in the management of lymphoid cancers. At present, these tumours are diagnosed using a combination of morphologic, phenotypic and molecular features but prognosis and overall survival are mostly dependent on clinical characteristics. In most lymphoma types, these imprecisely assess a significant proportion of patients, in particular, those with very poor outcomes. Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the second most common lymphoma subtype worldwide. It is typically an indolent disease with current median survivals in the range of 8-12 years, but is usually fatal when it transforms into an aggressive high-grade lymphoma, characteristically Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Morphologically and functionally it recapitulates the normal cells of the germinal center with its survival dependency on non-malignant immune and immunerelated cells. Informative markers of transformation related to the intrinsic biology of FL progression are needed. Within this thesis two separate approaches to biomarker discovery were employed. The first was to study the global expression of genes (genomics) obtained using high-throughput, wholegenome-wide approaches that offered the possibility for discovery of new genetic abnormalities that might represent the important biological mechanisms of transformation. Gene signatures associated with early events of transformation were found. Another approach relied on hypothesis-driven concepts focusing upon the microenvironment, rich in several non-malignant cell types. The immunoarchitectural studies of macrophages, regulatory T cells and microvessel density on diagnostic biopsies of uniformly treated FL patients significantly predicted clinical outcome and, importantly, also informed on the risk of transformation. Techniques that enabled the use of routine formalin fixed paraffin embedded diagnostic specimens from the pathology department archives were preferentially used in this thesis with the goal of fulfilling a rapid bench-to-beside translation for these new findings. Although FL was the main subject of the thesis the new findings and hypotheses allowed easy transition into other lymphoma types. Several promising biomarkers were proposed and validated including the implication of several non-neoplastic immune cells as important contributors to lymphoma biology, opening new options for better treatment planning and eventually new therapeutic targets and candidate therapeutics.
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A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
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HERITAGE 2008 - World Heritage and Sustainable Development. Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development, Vol. 2, p. 571-579
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RESUMO: Os circuitos fronto-estriatais constituem um sistema em ansa fechada que une diversas regies do lobo frontal aos gnglios da base, participando, com outras reas cerebrais, no controlo do movimento, cognio e comportamento. As Distonias Primrias, a Doena de Parkinson e a Hidrocefalia de Presso Normal, so doenas do movimento caracterizadas por disfuno do circuito fronto-estriatal motor. A conectividade funcional entre as diversas ansas do sistema fronto-estriatal, permite prever que as doenas do movimento possam tambm acompanhar-se de sintomas da esfera cognitiva e comportamental, cuja avaliao seria importante no manejo diagnstico e teraputico dos doentes. Objectivos Os nossos objectivos foram avaliar, por estudos clnicos, a relao entre sintomas motores, cognitivos e comportamentais em trs doenas do movimento com fisiopatologias diversas - distonias Primrias, Doena de Parkinson e Hidrocefalia de Presso Normal - analisando os dados sob a perspectiva terica fornecida pelo conhecimentos dos vrios circuitos frontoestriatais. Os nossos objectivos especficos para cada doena foram: a) Distonias Primrias: avaliao de disfuno executiva em doentes com Distonia Primria e relao com a gravidade dos sintomas motores b) Doena de Parkinson: 1. avaliao breve das funes mentais nas fases iniciais da doena, incluindo anlise longitudinal para determinao de factores preditivos para declnio cognitivo; 2. relao entre a funo motora e cognitiva e a Perturbao do Comportamento do sono REM, incluindo anlise longitudinal; 3.avaliao de sintomas psiquitricos, de um ponto de vista global e especificamente com incidncia sobre as Perturbaes do Controlo do Impulso (PCI). c) Hidrocefalia de Presso Normal: 1. caracterizao das alteraes da marcha, incluindo comparao com a Doena de Parkinson; 2. caracterizao das alteraes cognitivas e da relao entre estas e a disfuno da marcha; 3. estudo evolutivo das alteraes da marcha e cognitiva em doentes submetido a cirurgia e doentes no submetidos a cirurgia. Mtodos: A Distonia Primria, a Doena de Parkinson e a Hidrocefalia de Presso Normal foram diagnosticadas segundo critrios clnicos validados. Sempre que justificado, foram recrutados grupos de controlo, com indivduos sem doena, emparelhados para idade, sexo e grau de escolaridade. Os doentes foram avaliados com instrumentos de aplicao clinica directa, incluindo escalas de funo motora, testes neuropsicolgicos globais e dirigidos s funes executivas e escalas de avaliao psiquitrica. Testes aplicados nas Distonias Primrias: Unified Dystonia Rating Scale, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, teste de Stroop, teste de cubos da WAIS, Teste de Reteno Visual de Benton; na Doena de Parkinson: Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), REM-sleep behaviour disorder Questionnaire; Symptom Chek-list 90-R, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, FAS (fluncia verbal lexical) Nomeao de Animais (Fluncia verbal semntica), prova de repetio de dgitos (WAIS), Rey auditory verbal learning test, teste de Stroop, matrizes progressivas de Raven, Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders; na HPN: prova cronometrada de marcha,MMSE, prova de memria imediata da WAIS, prova de repetio de dgitos (WAIS), FAB, desenho complexo de Rey, teste de Stroop, cancelamento de letras, teste Grooved Pegboard. Os doentes com HPN foram tambm submetidos a estudo imagiolgico. A avaliao estatstica foi adaptada s caractersticas de cada um dos estudos.Resultados Distonias Primrias: encontrmos dfices de funo executiva, envolvendo dificuldade na mudana entre sets cognitivos, bem como correlao significativa entre as pontuaes nos testes cronometrados e a gravidade dos sintomas motores. Doena de Parkinson: os doentes com DP obtiveram pontuaes significativamente inferiores na FAB e em sub-testes do MMSE (memria e funo visuo-espacial). A pontuao no MMSE encontrava-se significativamente correlacionada com itens da funo motora no relacionados com o tremor. A disfuno da marcha, a disartria, o fentipo no tremorgeno, a presena de alucinaes e pontuao abaixo do ponto de corte na MMSE, foram factores preditivos de demncia na avaliao longitudinal. A rigidez e a disartria foram factores preditivos de declnio nas funes frontais. A disfuno frontal foi factor preditivo de declnio na pontuao do MMSE. Encontrmos uma prevalncia elevada de RBD nas fases iniciais da DP, que o estudo longitudinal mostrou ser factor preditivo de declnio motor, nomeadamente por agravamento da bradicinsia. Encontrmos tambm uma prevalncia elevada de sintomas psiquitricos, nomeadamente psicose, depresso, ansiedade, somatizao e sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos. As PCI no se encontravam relacionadas com o fentipo motor, com as complicaes motoras do tratamento dopaminrgico ou com a disfuno cognitiva. HPN: os doentes com HPN e os DP apresentaram um padro disfuno da marcha semelhante, caraterizado por passos curtos, lentido e dificuldades de equilbrio, sendo os sintomas mais graves na HPN. Os doentes de Parkinson com maior durao de doena, maior dose de dopaminrgicos e fentipo motor acintico-rgido apresentaram um padro de disfuno da marcha de gravidade semelhante ao encontrado na HPN. As alteraes vasculares da substncia branca, em particular as encontradas na regio frontal, encontravam-se negativamente correlacionadas com a melhoria da marcha aps PL. O estudo das funes cognitivas mostrou um padro de atingimento global, com valores mais baixos na cpia do desenho complexo de Rey. Os resultados nas provas de funo cognitiva no se encontravam significativamente correlacionados com os resultados na prova da marcha. A progresso na disfuno da marcha encontrava-se relacionada com o tratamento no cirrgico, idade superior na primeira avaliao, presena de leses da substncia branca, e presena de factores de risco vascular, ao passo que no foram encontrados factores que predissessem de modo significativo o agravamento da funo cognitiva. Concluses: Os resultados dos diversos estudos, evidenciam a presena de alteraes cognitivas e comportamentais nas trs doenas de movimento. O padro destas alteraes e o modo como estas se relacionaram com os sintomas motores variou de doena para doena. Nas Distonias primrias, a perseverao cognitiva poder ser o sintoma correspondente perseverao motora prpria da doena, sugerindo disfuno no circuito dorso-lateral frontoestriatal. A correlao entre a gravidade motora da doena e o resultado nos testes cognitivos cronometrados, poder ser o efeito da relao entre bradicinsia e bradifrenia. Na Doena de Parkinson, o espectro de alteraes mais acentuado, espelhando a disseminao do processo degenerativo no SNC. Para alm dos sintomas de disfuno executiva, sugerindo disfuno das ts ansas no motoras, existem sinais de disfuno cognitiva global, estas com uma influncia mais significativa no desenvolvimento da demncia. A relao entre os diferentes sintomas motores e cognitivos tambm complexa, embora se evidencie uma dissociao significativa entre o tremor, sem relao com os sintomas no motores, e os sintomas motores no tremorgenos, relacionados com o declnio cognitivo. Enquanto que a presena de RBD parece ser um factor preditivo de agravamento motor, os sintomas psiquitricos, tambm muito frequentes, apresentam uma relao menos clara com a funo motora. Destes, os sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos so aqueles que com mais frequncia se atribuem a disfuno do sistema fronto-estriatal, nomeadamente da ansa orbito-frontal. As PCI tambm no mostraram ter relao com os sintomas motores ou cognitivos. Na HPN, patente o carcter fronto-estriatal das alteraes da marcha, demonstrado tanto na sua caracterizao quanto no efeito deletrio das leses vasculares da substncia branca do lobo frontal na recuperao da marcha aps PL. As alteraes cognitivas parecem ter um padro mais difuso, o que talvez explique a falta de correlao com os sintomas motores - esta dissociao pode ser causada quer por diferena nos mecanismos fisiopatolgicos quer por presena de comorbilidades cognitivas. --------- ABSTRACT: Fronto-striatal circuits constitute a closed loop system which connects different parts of the frontal lobes to the basal ganglia. They are engaged in motor, cognitive and behavioural control. Primary Dystonia, Parkinson's Disease and Normal-Pressure Hydrocephalus are movement disorders caused by disturbance of the motor fronto-striatal circuit. The existence of cognitive and behavioural dysfunction in these movement disorders is predictable, given the functional connectivity between the several distinct loops of the circuit. Evaluation of cognitive and behavioural dysfunction in these three disorders is thus both of clinical and theoretical relevance. Objectives Our objectives were to evaluate, by clinical means, the relation between motor, cognitive and behavioural symptoms in three movement disorders with different pathophysiological backgrounds - Primary Dystonia, Parkinson's Disease and Normal-Pressure Hydrocephalus - and to analyse the study results under the theoretical framework formed by present knowledge of the fronto-estriatal system. Specific objectives: a) Primary Dystonia: executive dysfunction assessment and correlation analysis with motor dysfunction severity; b) Parkinson's Disease: 1. brief cognitive assessment in the early stages of disease, including a longitudinal analysis for determination of predictive factors for cognitive decline; 2. to investigate the relation between RBD and cognitive and motor dysfunction, including a longitudinal analysis; 3. psychiatric symptom assessment, with particular incidence on Impulse Control Disorders; c) Normal-Pressure Hydrocephalus: 1. gait dysfunction characterization and comparison with Parkinson's Disease patients; 2. determination of cognitive dysfunction profile and its relation with gait dysfunction; 3. follow-up study of cognitive and motor outcome in patients submitted and not submitted to shunt surgery. Methods: Primary Dystonia, Parkinson's Disease and Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus were diagnosed according to clinically validate criteria. Where warranted, we recruited control groups formed by healthy individuals, matched for age, sex and educational level. Patients were evaluated with instruments of direct clinical application, including motor function scales, neuropsychological tests aimed at global and executive functions and psychiatric rating scales. Tests used in Primary Dystonia: Unified Dystonia Rating Scale, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Test, Cube Assembly test (WAIS), Bentons Visual Retention Test; in Parkinson's Disease: Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) , Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), REM-sleep behavior disorder Questionnaire, Symptom Check-list 90- R, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, FAS (phonetic verbal fluency), semantic verbal fluency test, digit span test (WAIS), auditory verbal learning test,Stroop test, Raven's progressive Matrices, Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders; in NPH: timed walking test, MMSE, immediate memory task (WAIS), digit span test (WAIS), FAB, Reys Complex Figure test, Stroop test, letter cancellation test, Perdue Pegboard test. NPH patients were also subjected to an imaging study. Statistics were adapted to the characteristics of each study.Results: Primary Dystonia: we found set-shifting deficits as well as significant correlation between timed neuropsychological tests and dystonia severity. Parkinson's Disease: PD patients had significantly lower scores on the FAB and on the memory and visuo-spatial tests of the MMSE; MMSE scores were significantly correlated to non-tremor motor scores; gait dysfunction and speech scores, non-tremor motor phenotype, hallucinations and scores bellow cut-off on the MMSE were predictive of dementia at follow-up; speech and rigidity scores were predictive of frontal type decline; frontal dysfunction was predictivy of decline in MMSE scores; RBD bradykinesia worsening; psychiatric symptoms were prevalent, particularly Psychosis, Depression, Anxiety, Somatisation and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms; Impulse Control Disorders were unrelated to motor phenotype,motor side effects of dopamine treatment and executive function; NPH: gait dysfunction was worse in NPH when compared to PD patients, although the pattern was similarly characterized by slowness, short steps and disequilibrium; PD patients whose gait disturbance was as severe as that of NPH patients were characterized by longer disease duration, predominance of non-tremor motor scores, more advanced disease stage and higher dopamine dose; frontal white matter lesions correlated negatively with improvement after LP; cognitive function assessment revealed wide spread deficits, with lower results on the drawing of the complex figure of Rey, which were not significantly correlated to gait dysfunction; older age, white matter lesions and the presence of vascular risk factors were predictive factors for motor but not cognitive function worsening. Conclusion: Results from our studies highlight the presence of cognitive and behavioural dysfunction in all three movement disorders. Symptom pattern and the relation with ovement derangement varied according to the disease. In Primary Dystonia, set-shifting difficulties could be the cognitive counterpart of motor perseveration characteristic of this disorder, suggesting dysfunction of the dorso-lateral circuit. The relation between timed tests and dystonia severity could suggest a relation between bradyphrenia and bradykinesia in Primary Dystonia. In Parkinson's Disease patients, the spectrum of non-motor symptoms is wider, probably reflecting the spread of neurodegeneration beyond the fronto-striatal circuits. While frontal type deficits predominate, suggestive of dorso-lateral and orbito-frontal dysfunction, non-frontal deficits were also apparent in the initial stages of disease, and were predictive of dementia at follow-up. The relationship between cognitive and motor symptoms is complex, although the results strongly suggest a dissociation between tremor symptoms, which bore no relation with non-motor symptoms, and non-tremor symptoms,whichwas frequent, and a predictive factor for which were related with cognitive decline. While RBD was found to be a predictive factor for bradykinesia worsening, psychiatric symptoms, which were also frequent, showed no apparent relation with motor dysfunction. Relevant to our theoretical consideration was the high prevalence of OCS, which have been attributed to orbito-frontal dysfunction. As to the particular case of ICD, we found no relation either with motor or cognitive dysfunction. The fronto-striatal nature of gait dysfunction in NPH is suggest by the clinical characterization study and by the effects of frontal white matter lesions on gait recovery after LP, whereas cognitive dysfunction presented a more diffuse pattern, which could explain the lack or relation with gait assessment results and also the different outcome on the longitudinal study - this dissociation could be caused by a real difference in pathophysiological mechanisms or, in alternative, be due to the existence of cognitive comorbidities.
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RESUMO: A cognio social encontra-se frequentemente alterada na esquizofrenia. Esta alterao relaciona-se com a diminuio do funcionamento social,caracterizando-se quer por dfices quer por vieses cognitivos sociais. No entanto, existem poucos instrumentos fiveis e vlidos para avaliar a cognio social na esquizofrenia, nomeadamente capazes de medir os vieses cognitivos sociais e a cognio social auto-relevante. Adicionalmente, as bases biolgicas da disfuno social no esto totalmente esclarecidas. Evidncias recentes sugerem que o peptdeo oxitocina (OXT) influencia o funcionamento social, e que esta relao poder ser mediada pela cognio social. Este Trabalho de Projecto descreve a contribuio do autor para o desenvolvimento e avaliao psicomtrica inicial de um novo instrumento de avaliao da cognio social, e a utilidade desta escala na investigao das associaes entre a OXT e a capacidade e vieses cognitivos sociais. A Waiting Room Task (WRT), uma escala constituda por 26 vdeos sequenciais que simulam a experincia de observar outra pessoa numa sala de espera, foi administrada num estudo transversal com 61 doentes com esquizofrenia e 20 controlos saudveis. Observou-se uma menor capacidade cognitiva social e um aumento dos vieses cognitivos sociais nos doentes com esquizofrenia, comparativamente aos controlos. Nos controlos e doentes com delrios, o desempenho na WRT correlacionou-se significativamente com os nveis de OXT. Esta correlao no se observou nos doentes sem delrios, sugerindo que o papel da OXT na cognio social poder encontrar-se atenuado neste grupo. Estes achados fornecem suporte inicial para a adequao da WRT como instrumento de avaliao da cognio social na esquizofrenia, podendo ainda ser til na investigao da sua base biolgica. ------------ ABSTRACT: Social cognition is often impaired in schizophrenia. This impairment is related to poor social functioning and is characterized by both social cognitive deficits and biases. However, there are few reliable and valid measures of social cognition in schizophrenia, particularly measures of social cognitive bias and of self-relevant social cognition. Also, the biological bases of social dysfunction are not well understood. Emerging evidence suggests that the peptide oxytocin (OXT) influences social functioning, and that this relationship may be mediated by social cognition. This Research Project describes the authors contribution to the development and initial psychometric testing of a new measure of social cognition, and the utility of this instrument to examine associations between OXT and social cognitive capacity and bias. The Waiting Room Task WRT), a video-based test comprising 26 sequential videos simulating the experience of facing another person in a waiting room, was administered in a cross-sectional study involving 61 patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls. Social cognitive capacity was lower and social cognitive bias was increased in patients with schizophrenia compared with controls. Among controls and patients with delusions, performance on the WRT was significantly correlated with OXT level. This correlation was not found in patients without delusions suggesting that OXTs role in social cognition may be blunted in this group. These findings provide initial support for the adequacy of the WRT as a measure for assessing social cognition in schizophrenia that may also be useful in understanding its biological underpinnings.
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A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
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A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
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Dissertao para a obteno do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Biomdica
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Double Degree. A Work Project presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters in Management from Nova School of Business and Economics and Maastricht University.
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Currently, Angola portrays a notorious economic growth and due to recent innovative legislations, it has become the major investment attracting pole, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, having, thus, an extraordinary potentiality for a rapid and sustainable development, likely to place her in outstanding positions in the world economic ranking. Yet, such economic growth entails demanding levels of intensive investment in infrastructure, what has been reported of the Angolan Government to be unable to respond to, save if recurring to very high index of external debt, poisoning, in this way, the future budgeting of the country. Due to these infrastructure investment shortages, the cost of production remains highly onerous and the cost of life extremely unaffordable. On this account, the current study disserts about the contract of Project Finance; an alternative finance resource given as a viable solution for the private financing of infrastructure, aiming to demonstrate that such contractual figure, likewise the experience of several emerging economies and others, is a contract bid framework to take into account in todays world. It refers to a financing technique – through which the Government may satisfy a common need (for example, the construction of a public domain or public servicing), without having to pay neither offer any collateral – based on a complex legal-financial engineering, arranged throughout a coalition of typical and atypical agreements, whereby it is mandatory to look back at the basic concepts of corporate law. More than just a simple financial study, the dissertation at stake analyses the nature and legal framework of Project Finance, which is a legally atypical and innominate contract, concluding that there is a relevant need for regulating and devoting a special legal regime in the Angolan jurisdiction for this promising legal form in the contemporary corporate finance world.
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The main purpose of the research is to present a proposal for a methodology to support the rehabilitation project of renders of old buildings in Portugal. To achieve the objective it was considered essential to define the main types of participants and aspects to integrate the proposal. The research methodology consists in an inquiry presented to professional participants in rehabilitation, a market study of materials and products available in Portugal, the design of a methodology proposal and its application to a case study. The inquiry sample totals 24 answers from the targeted professionals. A sequence of relevant supporting procedures consists in the proposal, which aims to provide a supporting methodology to decide and project in this context and also to be tested with its application to the building. This proposal was applied to an old building with load-bearing stone masonry walls and air-lime based renders. It was concluded that the assessment of the building and external renderings condition, its diagnosis and of the supporting walls, the definition of intervention, the specification of materials to be used and performance requirements to comply, and also plans for conservation and periodic maintenance, are crucial. From the inquiry, compatibility between materials and complementary roles and points of view of different types of participants in rehabilitation must be highlighted. A proposal for a methodology to support the project could provide useful guidance particularly for architects and construction engineers, and improve the understanding of direct participants on site, therefore contributing for the correct implementation of intervention.
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The main purpose of the research is to present a proposal for a methodology to support the rehabilitation project of renders of old buildings. To achieve the objective it was considered essential to define the main types of participants and aspects to integrate the proposal. The research methodology consists in an inquiry presented to several professional participants in rehabilitation, a market study of materials and products available in Portugal, the design of a methodology proposal and its application to a case study. The inquiry sample totals 24 answers from the targeted professionals. A sequence of relevant supporting procedures consists in the proposal, which aims to provide a supporting methodology to decide and project in this context and also to be tested with its application to the building. This proposal was applied to an old building with load-bearing stone masonry walls and air-lime based renders. It was concluded that the assessment of the building and external renderings condition, its diagnosis and of the supporting walls, the definition of intervention, the specification of materials to be used and performance requirements to comply, and also plans for conservation and periodic maintenance, are crucial. From the inquiry, compatibility between materials and complementary roles and points of view of different types of participants in rehabilitation must be highlighted. A proposal for a methodology to support the project could provide useful guidance particularly for architects and construction engineers, and improve the understanding of direct participants on site, therefore contributing for the correct implementation of the intervention.
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Clayish earth-based mortars can be considered eco-efficient products for indoor plastering since they can contribute to improve important aspects of building performance and sustainability. Apart from being products with low embodied energy when compared to other types of mortars used for interior plastering, mainly due to the use raw clay as natural binder, earth-based plasters may give a significant contribution for health and comfort of inhabitants. Due to high hygroscopicity of clay minerals, earth-based mortars present a high adsorption and desorption capacity, particularly when compared to other type of mortars for interior plastering. This capacity allows earth-based plasters to act as a moisture buffer, balancing the relative humidity of the indoor environment and, simultaneously, acting as a passive removal material, improving air quality. Therefore, earth-based plasters may also passively promote the energy efficiency of buildings, since they may contribute to decreasing the needs of mechanical ventilation and air conditioning. This study is part of an ongoing research regarding earth-based plasters and focuses on mortars specifically formulated with soils extracted from Portuguese Barrocal region, in Algarve sedimentary basin. This region presents high potential for interior plastering due to regional geomorphology, that promote the occurrence of illitic soils characterized by a high adsorption capacity and low expansibility. More specifically, this study aims to assess how clayish earth and sand ratio of mortars formulation can influence the physical and mechanical properties of plasters. For this assessment four mortars were formulated with different volumetric proportions of clayish earth and siliceous sand. The results from the physical and mechanical characterization confirmed the significantly low linear shrinkage of all the four mortars, as well as their extraordinary adsorption-desorption capacity. These results presented a positive correlation with mortars clayish earth content and are consistent with the mineralogical analysis, that confirmed illite as the prevalent clay mineral in the clayish earth used for this study. Regarding mechanical resistance, although the promising results of the adhesion test, the flexural and compressive strength results suggest that the mechanical resistance of these mortars should be slightly improved. Considering the present results the mortars mechanical resistance improvement may be achieved through the formulation of mortars with higher clayish earth content, or alternatively, through the addition of natural fibers to mortars formulation, very common in this type of mortars. Both those options will be investigated in future research.
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RESUMO - Introduo: Os distrbios osteomioarticulares envolvem diversas condies donde se destacam a lombalgia e a escoliose, a primeira considerando o fato que a sua prevalncia tem vindo a aumentar em adolescentes consistindo num problema crescente de sade pblica que envolve custos indiretos e a escoliose pela ausncia de estudos nacionais. Diversos fatores fsicos, genticos, mecnicos, comportamentais e ambientais podem estar envolvidos na patognese das lombalgias e escolioses. O ambiente escolar, incluindo as posturas adotadas pelos alunos e o transporte das mochilas escolares, e alguns hbitos de estilos de vida constituem fatores que podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento destes distrbios osteomioarticulares. Este estudo tambm aborda o estado ponderal, nomeadamente o excesso de peso e a obesidade, pois este referido frequentemente como um potencial fator de risco destes distrbios osteomioarticulares (apesar de ainda apresentar controvrsia na literatura), alm de ser, por si s, atualmente considerado como um dos mais graves problemas de sade pblica a nvel mundial. Objetivos do estudo: (1) determinar a prevalncia pontual, anual e ao longo da vida de lombalgia, assim como a prevalncia de escoliose em adolescentes da regio do Algarve; (2) identificar os fatores associados ao desenvolvimento destes distrbios osteomioarticulares; (3) determinar a prevalncia de excesso de peso e de obesidade e explorar a sua eventual associao com a prevalncia de lombalgia e escoliose em adolescentes; (4) comparar os resultados obtidos nos diferentes mtodos antropomtricos (ndice de massa corporal - IMC, medio das pregas cutneas e circunferncia abdominal) e verificar a sua concordncia. Material e mtodos: O desenho deste estudo foi de natureza observacional, analtico e transversal. O estudo foi aprovado pela Comisso de tica da Administrao Regional de Sade do Algarve, pela Direo Regional de Educao do Algarve, pela Direo-Geral de Inovao e de Desenvolvimento Curricular, Ministrio da Educao e Cincia, e pelas Direes dos Agrupamentos de Escolas que participaram do projeto. A amostra incluiu 966 adolescentes da regio do Algarve, sul de Portugal, com idades compreendidas entre os 10 e 16 anos (12,241,53 anos), sendo 437 (45,2%) do sexo masculino e 529 (54,8%) do feminino. O mtodo de amostragem foi aleatrio estratificado, com base nos concelhos da regio do Algarve, assumindo que poderia existir heterogeneidades geogrficas. Os instrumentos de medida foram aplicados num nico momento (2011/2012) e incluram o Questionrio de Lombalgia e Hbitos Posturais para caracterizar a presena de lombalgia e os hbitos posturais adotados pelos alunos em casa e na escola, o escolimetro para avaliar a presena de escoliose, a balana, o estadimetro (sendo posteriormente calculado o IMC), o adipmetro e a fita mtrica. A anlise dos dados incluiu tcnicas de estatstica descritiva, grficas e analticas aplicadas todas as variveis em estudo. Para determinar a associao entre as variveis do estudo foi utilizada a estatstica inferencial, nomeadamente o teste de independncia do Qui-quadrado. Para analisar as correlaes entre as medidas obtidas com os mtodos antropomtricos (na sua forma quantitativa), foi utilizado o coeficiente de Spearman. A influncia das diversas variveis na presena de lombalgia foi aferida atravs de regresses logsticas binrias, sendo os resultados apresentados como odds ratios brutos e ajustados e respetivos intervalos de confiana. Resultados: O presente estudo revelou uma elevada prevalncia de lombalgia (anual: 47,2%; pontual: 15,7%; ao longo da vida: 62,1%). As raparigas apresentaram 2,05 de probabilidade de apresentar lombalgia comparativamente aos rapazes (IC 95%: 1,58-2,65; p<0,001), assim como os alunos com idades mais avanadas (13-16 anos) comparativamente aos mais novos (10-12 anos) que tiveram 1,54 de chances (IC 95%: 1,19-1,99; p=0,001). Os alunos que indicaram adotar uma postura de sentado com a coluna vertebral posicionada incorretamente apresentaram 2,49 de probabilidade de revelar lombalgia (IC 95%: 1,91-3,24; p<0,001), os alunos que afirmaram se posicionar de forma inadequada para assistir televiso ou jogar videojogos tiveram a probabilidade de 2,01 (IC 95%: 1,55- 2,61; p<0,001) e aqueles que adotaram a postura de p incorretamente tiveram 3,39 de chance de apresentar lombalgia (IC 95%: 2,19-5,23; p<0,001). A escoliose esteve presente em 41 (4,2%) alunos. As raparigas apresentaram a maior prevalncia (4,5% versus 3,9%) do que os rapazes e o mesmo foi observado nas raparigas que apresentaram a menarca tardia (8,6% versus 3,3%) e os que foram classificados como magros (7,1%), no sendo no entanto estas diferenas estatisticamente significativas. Relativamente prevalncia de excesso de peso e obesidade, os valores variaram de 31,6%, 61,4% e 41,1% de acordo com a medio do IMC, pregas cutneas e circunferncia abdominal, respetivamente. Os valores obtidos com a avaliao dos trs mtodos antropomtricos apresentaram um elevado alto grau de correlao entre o IMC e as pregas cutneas (p<0,001; r=0,712), entre o IMC e circunferncia abdominal (p<0,001; r=0,884) e entre a circunferncia abdominal e as pregas cutneas (p<0,001; r=0,701). Concluses: O presente estudo revelou valores de prevalncia de lombalgia semelhante a estudos anteriores sendo que os alunos com idade mais avanada, ou do sexo feminino ou aqueles que adotavam a postura sentada e de p de forma inadequada ou os que transportavam indevidamente a mochila escolar apresentaram a maior prevalncia. Quanto presena de escoliose, observou-se uma baixa prevalncia no sendo verificada nenhuma associao significativa com os fatores analisados. Relativamente ao estado ponderal, verificou-se uma elevada prevalncia de excesso de peso e obesidade, com a utilizao dos trs mtodos antropomtricos: IMC, medio das pregas cutneas e circunferncia abdominal, tendo sido verificado um elevado grau de correlao entre estes trs mtodos antropomtricos. Este estudo contribuiu para determinar a magnitude destes distrbios osteomiarticulares nesta populao especfica, assim como seus possveis fatores associados. De acordo os resultados obtidos no presente estudo, torna-se necessrio aes de interveno nas escolas, envolvendo no somente os alunos, mas toda a comunidade escolar, com o objetivo de preveno destes distrbios osteomioarticulares atravs da promoo de hbitos de vida saudvel.
