O plano de deslocações urbanas e a resposta estratégica que falta aos PROTs e PDMs: A descentralização do planeamento do território e dos transportes

The sustainable urban mobility plan is the framework of planning and organisation of mobility system. It is a strategic and operational plan with consequences in the planning and organisation of territorial and transport systems. When it’s defining the principles and the objectives of sustainable development and when it’s working in the scenarios of modal shift more favourable to the alternative modes than the car, the planning and the organisation of territory will be integrated on the political of reduction of road circulation volumes, in the reduction of GEE, waste of space and time, in the improvement of quality of urban environment. The Urbanism Agencies and the Urban Transport Authorities will get their selves in the urban mobility plan, in territory scenarios development, mobility and transports, with the objective to understand the sustainable politics in the accessibilities which are available by the transportation bill. In Portugal, although the authorities are not yet working, the law (1/2009) recently approved in last December and published at the beginning of the year, they have the sustainable urban mobility plans forward in this strategy.

The role of the efflux mechanisms in multidrug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract The emergence of multi and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB and XDRTB) has increased the concern of public health authorities around the world. The World Health Organization has defined MDRTB as tuberculosis (TB) caused by organisms resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the main first-line drugs used in TB therapy, whereas XDRTB refers to TB resistant not only to isoniazid and rifampicin, but also to a fluoroquinolone and to at least one of the three injectable second-line drugs, kanamycin, amikacin and capreomycin. Resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is mainly due to the occurrence of spontaneous mutations and followed by selection of mutants by subsequent treatment. However, some resistant clinical isolates do not present mutations in any genes associated with resistance to a given antibiotic, which suggests that other mechanism(s) are involved in the development of drug resistance, namely the presence of efflux pump systems that extrude the drug to the exterior of the cell, preventing access to its target. Increased efflux activity can occur in response to prolonged exposure to subinhibitory concentrations of anti-TB drugs, a situation that may result from inadequate TB therapy. The inhibition of efflux activity with a non-antibiotic inhibitor may restore activity of an antibiotic subject to efflux and thus provide a way to enhance the activity of current anti-TB drugs. The work described in this thesis foccus on the study of efflux mechanisms in the development of multidrug resistance in M. tuberculosis and how phenotypic resistance, mediated by efflux pumps, correlates with genetic resistance. In order to accomplish this goal, several experimental protocols were developed using biological models such as Escherichia coli, the fast growing mycobacteria Mycobacterium smegmatis, and Mycobacterium avium, before their application to M. tuberculosis. This approach allowed the study of the mechanisms that result in the physiological adaptation of E. coli to subinhibitory concentrations of tetracycline (Chapter II), the development of a fluorometric method that allows the detection and quantification of efflux of ethidium bromide (Chapter III), the characterization of the ethidium bromide transport in M. smegmatis (Chapter IV) and the contribution of efflux activity to macrolide resistance in Mycobacterium avium complex (Chapter V). Finally, the methods developed allowed the study of the role of efflux pumps in M. tuberculosis strains induced to isoniazid resistance (Chapter VI). By this manner, in Chapter II it was possible to observe that the physiological adaptation of E. coli to tetracycline results from an interplay between events at the genetic level and protein folding that decrease permeability of the cell envelope and increase efflux pump activity. Furthermore, Chapter III describes the development of a semi-automated fluorometric method that allowed the correlation of this efflux activity with the transport kinetics of ethidium bromide (a known efflux pump substrate) in E. coli and the identification of efflux inhibitors. Concerning M. smegmatis, we have compared the wild-type M. smegmatis mc2155 with knockout mutants for LfrA and MspA for their ability to transport ethidium bromide. The results presented in Chapter IV showed that MspA, the major porin in M. smegmatis, plays an important role in the entrance of ethidium bromide and antibiotics into the cell and that efflux via the LfrA pump is involved in low-level resistance to these compounds in M. smegmatis. Chapter V describes the study of the contribution of efflux pumps to macrolide resistance in clinical M. avium complex isolates. It was demonstrated that resistance to clarithromycin was significantly reduced in the presence of efflux inhibitors such as thioridazine, chlorpromazine and verapamil. These same inhibitors decreased efflux of ethidium bromide and increased the retention of [14C]-erythromycin in these isolates. Finaly, the methods developed with the experimental models mentioned above allowed the study of the role of efflux pumps on M. tuberculosis strains induced to isoniazid resistance. This is described in Chapter VI of this Thesis, where it is demonstrated that induced resistance to isoniazid does not involve mutations in any of the genes known to be associated with isoniazid resistance, but an efflux system that is sensitive to efflux inhibitors. These inhibitors decreased the efflux of ethidium bromide and also reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration of isoniazid in these strains. Moreover, expression analysis showed overexpression of genes that code for efflux pumps in the induced strains relatively to the non-induced parental strains. In conclusion, the work described in this thesis demonstrates that efflux pumps play an important role in the development of drug resistance, namely in mycobacteria. A strategy to overcome efflux-mediated resistance may consist on the use of compounds that inhibit efflux activity, restoring the activity of antimicrobials that are efflux pump substrates, a useful approach particularly in TB where the most effective treatment regimens are becoming uneffective due to the increase of MDRTB/XDRTB.

Georeferencing Road Accidents with Google Earth: Transforming Information into Knowledge for Decision Support

Over the last fifty years mobility practices have changed dramatically, improving the way travel takes place, the time it takes but also on matters like road safety and prevention. High mortality caused by high accident levels has reached untenable levels. But the research into road mortality stayed limited to comparative statistical exercises which go no further than defining accident types. In terms of sharing information and mapping accidents, little progress has been mad, aside from the normal publication of figures, either through simplistic tables or web pages. With considerable technological advances on geographical information technologies, research and development stayed rather static with only a few good examples on dynamic mapping. The use of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices as normal equipments on automobile industry resulted in a more dynamic mobility patterns but also with higher degrees of uncertainty on road traffic. This paper describes a road accident georeferencing project for the Lisbon District involving fatalities and serious injuries during 2007. In the initial phase, individual information summaries were compiled giving information on accidents and its majour characteristics, collected by the security forces: the Public Safety Police Force (Polícia de Segurança Pública - PSP) and the National Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana - GNR). The Google Earth platform was used to georeference the information in order to inform the public and the authorities of the accident locations, the nature of the location, and the causes and consequences of the accidents. This paper also gives future insights about augmented reality technologies, considered crucial to advances to road safety and prevention studies. At the end, this exercise could be considered a success because of numerous consequences, as for stakeholders who decide what to do but also for the public awareness to the problem of road mortality.

New analytical methodologies for doping control – detection of anabolic androgenic steroids in human urine

Dissertation submitted to Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia - Universidade Nova de Lisboa in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Biochemistry - Biotechnology)

Strategic environmental assessment in Tróia (Portugal)

Proceedings of the First International Conference on Coastal Conservation and Management in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, p. 91-98

“Culture Stops Development!”: Bijagó Youth and the Appropriation of Developmentalist Discourse in Guinea-B

African Studies Review, Volume 52, Number 2, pp. 69–

A study in cross-cultural transmission of natural philosophy: the Kenkon Bensetsu

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em História dos Descobrimentos e da Expansão Portuguesa

FireSpotter a VGI-Based Forest Fire Reporting System

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Promoção da saúde mental em espaço urbano

RESUMO: A saúde pública deve estar atenta aos contextos e às mudanças sociais, políticas, económicas, científicas e tecnológicas com que se confrontam constantemente as comunidades, particularmente em situações de grandes transformações como o momento que a União Europeia atravessa. A urbanização é provavelmente a mudança demográfica mais importante das últimas décadas. Tendo importantes repercussões sobre a saúde mental, é importante desenvolver a investigação neste domínio, de forma multidisciplinar e integrando a compreensão dos diferentes determinantes sociais, psicológicos e físicos. As políticas de saúde mental tornaram-se uma parte importante da política social e da sociedade de bem-estar, em particular se considerarmos a urbanização das nossas comunidades. Considerar a saúde mental em espaço urbano é fundamentalmente estudar como um espaço particular pode influenciar a saúde. Baseado nesta reflexão, desenvolveu-se uma investigação participada de base comunitária, com recurso a uma metodologia de estudo de caso. Recorreu-se a dezenas de documentos de referência local, registos em arquivo, à observação direta, à observação participante e à observação in loco do espaço urbano. Foi utilizada uma amostragem em bola de neve, estratificada, para selecionar 697 habitantes de uma cidade da área metropolitana de Lisboa. Estes habitantes foram entrevistados por 42 entrevistadores, previamente formados, assim como foram enviados questionários online dirigidos aos professores (196) e aos Técnicos Superiores de Serviço Social (12) em exercício no espaço urbano em estudo, para a caraterização sociodemográfica e para avaliação de indicadores de saúde, de indicadores relacionados com a saúde e de indicadores estruturais de saúde mental. Os resultados mostraram um espaço urbano promotor de saúde estrutura-se para capacitar os seus cidadãos a se integrarem ativamente no funcionamento da sua comunidade. Foram identificadas algumas caraterísticas como 1) o início do processo de promoção da saúde mental ser o mais precoce possível; 2) a participação comunitária ativa, num sentimento de segurança individual e comunitária, envolvendo estruturas governamentais e não-governamentais; 3) a solidariedade e a inclusão, promovendo o voluntariado e a promoção do suporte social e desenvolvendo a coesão social; 4) o reconhecimento das necessidades expressas pelos habitantes; 5) a identificação de respostas para a conciliação entre vida pessoal, familiar e profissional; 6) as estruturas de acompanhamento dos grupos sociais mais desfavorecidos; 7) as estratégias de combate ao isolamento envolvendo a população sénior e outros grupos minoritários ativamente no processo de reorganização do seu funcionamento social; 8) uma efetiva governança e gestão relacional por parte dos poderes locais, centrando a vida quotidiana da comunidade nas pessoas. A investigação participada de base comunitária constitui um instrumento útil e eficaz no desenho de planos locais de promoção da saúde mental para encontrar respostas ao desafio em saúde pública: a saúde mental e a urbanização.

Hospital Efficiency: Directed internship: Deloitte & NOVA SBE

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 Economics

The influence of traditional authority on voting behavior in Mozambique

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 Economics

Effects of a monetary union on a small peripheral country: Stabilization and competitiveness in Portugal

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 Economics

Adjusting to external imbalances within the EMU, the case of Portugal

From 1995 to 2010 Portugal has accumulated a negative international asset position of 110 percent of GDP. In a developed and aging economy the number is astonishing and any argument to consider it sustainable must rely on extremely favorable forecasts on growth. Portuguese policy options are reduced in number: no autonomous monetary policy, no currency to devaluate, and limited discretion in changing fiscal deficits and government debt. To start the necessary deleveraging a remaining possible policy is a budget-neutral change of the tax structure that increases private saving and net exports. An increase in the VAT and a decrease in the employer’s social security contribution tax can achieve the desired outcome in the short run if they are complemented with wage moderation. To obtain a substantial improvement in competitiveness and a large decrease in consumption, the changes in the tax rates have to be large. While a precise quantitative assessment is difficult, the initial increase in the effective VAT rate needed to allow the social security tax to decrease by 16 percentage points (pp) is approximately 10 pp. Such a large increase in the effective VAT rate could be obtained by raising most of the reduced VAT rates to the new general VAT rate of 23 percent. The empirical analysis shows that over time the suggested tax swap could generate surpluses and improve the trade balance. A temporary version of the suggested tax-swap has the attractiveness to achieve a sharper increase in the private saving rate maintaining the short run gains in competitiveness. Finally, the temporary version of the fiscal devaluation could be the basis for an automatic stabilizer to external imbalances within a monetary union.Portugal has been running large current account deficits every year since 1995. These deficits have accumulated to an astonishing 110 percent of GDP negative external asset position. The sustainability of such a large external position is questionable and must rely on fantastic productivity growth expectations. The recent global financial crisis appears to have anticipated the international investors reality check on those future expectations with the result of a large increase in the cost of external financing. Today the rebalancing of the current account through an increase in national savings and an improvement in competitiveness must be at the top of the Portuguese authorities “to do” list as the cost of a pull out from international investors is of the order of 10% of GDP. The external rebalancing is difficult as the degrees of freedom of the Portuguese authorities are limited in number: they have no autonomous monetary policy, no currency to devaluate, and little discretion in fiscal policy as deficit limits and debt targets are set by the Stability Growth Pact and the postcrisis consensus on medium-term fiscal consolidation. One possibility that remains is to change the fiscal policy mix for a given budget deficit. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of a “fiscal devaluation”1 obtained through a tax swap between employers’ social security contributions and taxes on consumption2. The paper begins by illustrating Portugal’s current account evolution during the euro period. The second section section lays out a model to offer a qualitative assessment of the dynamic outcomes of the the tax swap. I show that the suggested tax swap can in theory achieve the desired outcomes in terms of competitiveness and consumption if complemented with moderation (stickiness) in wages. I also study the effects of a temporary version of the tax swap and show that it achieves a sharper improvement in the current account that accelerate the rebalancing. The third section moves to the empirical analysis and estimates the likely effects of the tax swap for the Portuguese economy. The fourth section concludes.

Safe reuse of treated urban wastewater in Praia, Cape Verde: a case study

Dissertação para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia e Gestão da Água

Policies to improve the lives of Slum Dwellers – from international agreements to local contexts. The Brazilian case-study

Last decades economic development induced massive international and regional migration flows directed to the urban spaces. The magnitude and swiftness of these processes determined that several cities’ authorities would fail to respond to the increasing demands of many social services. The right to an “adequate housing” emerged as a political concern, leading governments and institutions to develop housing programmes directed to improve the lives of slum dwellers. This paper presents a diachronic evolution of these specific housing policies in the paradigmatic case-study of Brazil, critically analysing the evolving roles played by the multiple levels of decision (from international institutions to local communities) in the development and implementation of such measures.