Responsabilidade Criminal por Dinheiros Públicos, Branqueamento de Capitais/Lavagem de Dinheiro e Direitos Sociais

Em termos de dinheiros públicos, devemos ter em consideração a necessidade de ter que existir uma boa governança. É importante a participação. Também a transparência. E se os direitos e deveres sociais fundamentais estão interligados, não é menos verdade que é preciso a apresentação de boas contas à população. E aqui temos que falar também em plena responsabilidade pública. Num sentido lato, podemos falar num princípio geral de anticorrupção. O mau uso dos dinheiros públicos pode conduzir à responsabilidade de índole criminal. O crime de branqueamento/lavagem, um crime secundário, pode ter por origem ilícitos e/ou crimes que se relacionam com a utilização indevida de dinheiros públicos. A responsabilidade financeira e criminal pode aliás constituir um incremento na boa gestão dos dinheiros públicos. Deste modo – não tendo o direito penal finalidades de promoção ou de “combate”, mas ainda assim retributivos, preventivos gerais e especiais positivos e restaurativos -, podemos estar a caminhar para uma melhor concretização dos direitos, e dos deveres, que são garantidos do ponto de vista constitucional-constitucional. Afinal, todas as áreas do direito, são peças do mesmo jogo de xadrez. O Tribunal Constitucional em Portugal, o Supremo Tribunal Federal no Brasil, o Supremo Tribunal de Justiça em Portugal, o Superior Tribunal de Justiça no Brasil, os Tribunais de Contas em ambos os países. § In terms of public money, we should take into account the need to have to be good governance. It is important to participate. Also transparency. And if fundamental rights and social duties are interrelated, it is also true that we need to present good accounts to the population. And here we must also speak in full public accountability. In a broad sense, we can speak of a general principle of anti-corruption. The misuse of public funds can lead to criminal nature of responsibility. The crime of money laundering, a secondary crime, may have as illicit origin and / or crimes that relate to the misuse of public funds. The financial and criminal liability may in fact be an increase in the sound management of public funds. Thus - not having the criminal law purposes of promotion or "combat", but still remunerative, general and special preventive and restorative positive - we may be heading for a better realization of the rights, and duties, which are guaranteed the constitutional-constitutional point of view. After all, all areas of the law are parts of the same game of chess. The Constitutional Court in Portugal, the Supreme Court in Brazil, the Supreme Court in Portugal, the Superior Court of Justice in Brazil, the Audit Courts in both countries.

Pouchitis: extracolonic manifestation of ulcerative colitis?

Pouchitis is the most frequent complication of ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for treatment of ulcerative colitis. There are several possible explanations. Among them, we focus on the one that considers pouchitis as an extracolonic manifestation of ulcerative colitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between pouchitis and extra-intestinal manifestations (EIM), which are frequent in these patients. Sixty patients underwent restorative proctocolectomy with an ileal J pouch (IPAA) from September 1984 to December 1998. Pouchitis was defined by clinical, endoscopic, and histologic criteria. The following extra-intestinal manifestations were studied: articular, cutaneous, hepatobiliary, ocular, genitourinary, and growth failure. Thirteen patients, of which 10 were female (76.9%), developed one or more episodes of pouchitis. Twelve patients of this group (92.3%) presented some kind of extra-intestinal manifestation, 4 pre-operatively (exclusively), 2 post-operatively (exclusively), and 6 both pre- and post-operatively (1.7 per patient). Twenty patients (42.7%) of the 47 without pouchitis did not present extra-intestinal manifestations; 10/35 (28.5%) of females had pouchitis, compared to 3/35 (12.0%) of men. Pouchitis was more frequent among females, though not statistically significant. EIM increases the risk of pouchitis. Pouchitis is related to EIM in 92.3 % of cases, corroborating the hypothesis that it could be an extracolonic manifestation of ulcerative colitis.

Aortofemoral thromboendarterectomy

PURPOSE: To study whether endarterectomy is feasible in all patients with aortofemoral atherosclerotic obstruction, considering early and late results. METHODS: A clinical, prospective, and descriptive study carried out in a university hospital. Inclusion criteria were atherosclerotic aortofemoral obstructive disease, clinical status compatible with major surgery, and absence of prior restorative procedure. Exclusion criteria were aneurysm, inflammatory arterial disease, and prior restorative procedure found during surgery. Eighty patients entered the protocol, but 9 were excluded (11.2%). Seventy-one patients, mean age of 57.3 years, underwent endarterectomy. Operative indications were intermittent claudication and critical ischemia. A ring-stripper endarterectomy technique was employed in all patients. Results were related to age, gender, symptoms, presence of diabetes mellitus, extension of endarterectomy, and extent of obstructive disease. Chi square or Fisher exact tests were used when appropriate, and the Wilkoxon (Gehan) test was used to compare survival curves. RESULTS: Sixty-eight (100%) endarterectomies were patent at discharge. The mortality rate was 4.2%. The amputation rate (4.3%) was higher in diabetic patients and when there was associated femoropopliteal obstruction. The 5-year survival rate was 83.3%, and late deaths were mostly cardiovascular. Diabetes mellitus, age above 65 years, and associated femoropopliteal obstruction lowered the survival rate. The 5-year patency rate was 87.0%. Critical ischemia and less extensive endarterectomies were associated with a lower patency rate. There were no anastomotic aneurysms or deep infections. CONCLUSIONS: Aortofemoral thromboendarterectomy is feasible in 90% of patients, early mortality rate is low, diabetic patients and those with associated femoropopliteal obstructive disease have a higher mortality rate, amputation rate is low, late deaths are mostly cardiovascular, and late patency rate is high, and even higher in the intermittent claudication group.

A violência sexual e de género nos campos de população refugiada: análise e enquadramento legal

Dissertação de mestrado em Direitos Humanos

Wear of PEEK-Ti6Al4V systems under micro-abrasion and linear sliding conditions

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica

Correlation of wear in vivo and six laboratory wear methods.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the correlation between clinical wear rates of restorative materials and enamel (TRAC Research Foundation, Provo, USA) and the results of six laboratory test methods (ACTA, Alabama (generalized, localized), Ivoclar (vertical, volumetric), Munich, OHSU (abrasion, attrition), Zurich). METHODS: Individual clinical wear data were available from clinical trials that were conducted by TRAC Research Foundation (formerly CRA) together with general practitioners. For each of the n=28 materials (21 composite resins for intra-coronal restorations [20 direct and 1 indirect], 5 resin materials for crowns, 1 amalgam, enamel) a minimum of 30 restorations had been placed in posterior teeth, mainly molars. The recall intervals were up to 5 years with the majority of materials (n=27) being monitored, however, only for up to 2 years. For the laboratory data, the databases MEDLINE and IADR abstracts were searched for wear data on materials which were also clinically tested by TRAC Research Foundation. Only those data for which the same test parameters (e.g. number of cycles, loading force, type of antagonist) had been published were included in the study. A different quantity of data was available for each laboratory method: Ivoclar (n=22), Zurich (n=20), Alabama (n=17), OHSU and ACTA (n=12), Munich (n=7). The clinical results were summed up in an index and a linear mixed model was fitted to the log wear measurements including the following factors: material, time (0.5, 1, 2 and 3 years), tooth (premolar/molar) and gender (male/female) as fixed effects, and patient as random effect. Relative ranks were created for each material and method; the same was performed with the clinical results. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 40 (±12) years. The materials had been mostly applied in molars (81%) and 95% of the intracoronal restorations were Class II restorations. The mean number of individual wear data per material was 25 (range 14-42). The mean coefficient of variation of clinical wear data was 53%. The only significant correlation was reached by OHSU (abrasion) with a Spearman r of 0.86 (p=0.001). Zurich, ACTA, Alabama generalized wear and Ivoclar (volume) had correlation coefficients between 0.3 and 0.4. For Zurich, Alabama generalized wear and Munich, the correlation coefficient improved if only composites for direct use were taken into consideration. The combination of different laboratory methods did not significantly improve the correlation. SIGNIFICANCE: The clinical wear of composite resins is mainly dependent on differences between patients and less on the differences between materials. Laboratory methods to test conventional resins for wear are therefore less important, especially since most of them do not reflect the clinical wear.

Neues aus Diagnostik und Therapie der spinalen Erkrankungen [Novel aspects of diagnostics and therapy of spinal cord diseases].

BACKGROUND: Both non-traumatic and traumatic spinal cord injuries have in common that a relatively minor structural lesion can cause profound sensorimotor and autonomous dysfunction. Besides treating the cause of the spinal cord injury the main goal is to restore lost function as far as possible. AIM: This article provides an overview of current innovative diagnostic (imaging) and therapeutic approaches (neurorehabilitation and neuroregeneration) aiming for recovery of function after non-traumatic and traumatic spinal cord injuries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An analysis of the current scientific literature regarding imaging, rehabilitation and rehabilitation strategies in spinal cord disease was carried out. RESULTS: Novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based techniques (e.g. diffusion-weighted MRI and functional MRI) allow visualization of structural reorganization and specific neural activity in the spinal cord. Robotics-driven rehabilitative measures provide training of sensorimotor function in a targeted fashion, which can even be continued in the homecare setting. From a preclinical point of view, defined stem cell transplantation approaches allow for the first time robust structural repair of the injured spinal cord. CONCLUSION: Besides well-established neurological and functional scores, MRI techniques offer the unique opportunity to provide robust and reliable "biomarkers" for restorative therapeutic interventions. Function-oriented robotics-based rehabilitative interventions alone or in combination with stem cell based therapies represent promising approaches to achieve substantial functional recovery, which go beyond current rehabilitative treatment efforts.

És el conferencing una eina útil per als programes de mediació en l’àmbit penal del Departament de Justícia?

L'estudi té per objectiu valorar la conveniència d'implementar la pràctica del conferencing en els programes de mediació i reparació penal, tant en la jurisdicció penal juvenil com en la jurisdicció ordinària. La recerca inclou dos estudis: el primer és una anàlisi dels programes i models de conferencing desenvolupats en 4 països: Nova Zelanda, Austràlia, Irlanda del Nord i Bèlgica; el segon recull les percepcions dels mediadors de l'àmbit penal a Catalunya pel que fa a l'assoliment dels objectius dels programes, la inclusió espontània de més persones en el procés de mediació, el coneixement sobre el conferencing, l'opinió en relació amb la implementació d'aquesta pràctica, les necessitats formatives i els interessos de futur. La metodologia de la recerca combina aproximacions qualitatives i quantitatives, i inclou l'anàlisi de la documentació dels programes dels països estudiats, la creació, validació i passació a càrrec d’experts d'un qüestionari, i la realització de dos grups de discussió i d’una entrevista als professionals dels programes de mediació penal. Els mediadors consultats consideren que el conferencing és una eina útil per als programes de mediació en l'àmbit penal. L'estudi dels models implementats en d'altres països aporta elements útils per a l'adaptació del conferencing a la realitat i les especificitats de Catalunya. Així, es concreten aspectes que cal tenir en compte per a la definició d'un programa pilot.

Clinical performance of cervical restorations: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To carry out a meta-analysis in order to assess the influencing factors on retention loss and marginal discoloration of cervical restorations made of composites and glass ionomer (derivates). METHODS: The literature was searched for prospective clinical studies on cervical restorations with an observation period of at least 18 months. RESULTS: Fifty clinical studies involving 40 adhesive systems matched the inclusion criteria. On average, 10% of the cervical fillings were lost and 24% exhibited marginal discoloration after 3 years. The variability ranged from 0% to 50% for retention loss and from 0% to 74% for marginal discoloration. Hardly any secondary caries was detected. When linear mixed models with a study and experiment effect were used, the analysis revealed that the adhesive/restorative class had the most significant influence, with 2-step self-etching adhesive systems performing best and 1-step self-etching adhesive systems performing worst; 3-step etch-and-rinse systems, glass ionomers/resin-modified glass ionomers, 2-step etch-and-rinse systems and polyacid-modified resin composites were ranked in between. Restorations placed in teeth whose dentin/enamel had been prepared/roughened showed a statistically significant higher retention rate than those placed in teeth with unprepared dentin (p<0.05). Beveling of the enamel and the type of isolation used (rubberdam/cotton rolls) had no significant influence. SIGNIFICANCE: The clinical performance of cervical restorations is significantly influenced by the type of adhesive system used and/or the adhesive class to which the system belonged and whether the dentin/enamel is prepared or not. 2-Step self-etching- and 3-step etch&rinse systems shall be chosen over 1-step self-etching systems and glass ionomer derivates. The dentin (and enamel) surface shall be roughened before placement of the restoration.

¿Es el conferencing una herramienta útil para los programas de mediación en el ámbito penal del Departamento de Justicia?

El estudio analiza la práctica del conferencing en 4 países (Nueva Zelanda, Australia, Irlanda del Norte y Bélgica), y efectúa un estudio empírico que recoge las percepciones de los mediadores sobre si esta práctica restaurativa puede ser una herramienta útil para los programas de mediación en el ámbito penal.

Avaluació de l’aplicació de l’experiència pilot de mediació i reparació en la jurisdicció penal ordinària (novembre de 1998 a novembre de 1999)

Des de l’entrada en vigor del nou Codi Penal de 1995, la Direcció General de Mesures Penals Alternatives i Justícia Juvenil ha realitzat un nombre reduït de mediacions. Al novembre de 1998, es va iniciar un programa pilot en alguns jutjats penals i d’instrucció de Catalunya, basat en l’anàlisi de les possibilitats d’aplicació de la reparació a la víctima. També s’estudiaven les primeres experiències de mediació i les tècniques de mediació adquirides pels professionals de la Direcció General en els àmbits de la mediació penal juvenil i la mediació familiar. En aquest estudi, s’avaluen els objectius respecte de l’infractor (responsabilització de les accions i reparació), la víctima (participació en la resolució, sentir-se reparada...), la justícia (promoure la responsabilització, la reparació i la pau social, garantir la resolució...) i la comunitat (apropar la justícia als ciutadans). Els resultats mostren la rellevància que està adquirint la justícia restauradora i la necessitat de facilitar eines perquè es pugui desenvolupar, tot i que de moment el nombre de casos derivats ha estat baix. S’ha demostrat la necessitat de flexibilitat en el tractament dels casos a causa de la diversitat de conflictes. També s’ha vist la necessitat de promoure la formació dels professionals que hi intervenen i d’impulsar reformes legislatives.

Pharmacological blockade of either cannabinoid CB1 or CB2 receptors prevents both cocaine-induced conditioned locomotion and cocaine-induced reduction of cell proliferation in the hippocampus of adult male rat.

Addiction to major drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, has recently been linked to alterations in adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. The endogenous cannabinoid system modulates this proliferative response as demonstrated by the finding that pharmacological activation/blockade of cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors not only modulates neurogenesis but also modulates cell death in the brain. In the present study, we evaluated whether the endogenous cannabinoid system affects cocaine-induced alterations in cell proliferation. To this end, we examined whether pharmacological blockade of either CB1 (Rimonabant, 3 mg/kg) or CB2 receptors (AM630, 3 mg/kg) would affect cell proliferation [the cells were labeled with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU)] in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricle and the dentate subgranular zone (SGZ). Additionally, we measured cell apoptosis (as monitored by the expression of cleaved caspase-3) and glial activation [by analyzing the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Iba-1] in the striatum and hippocampus during acute and repeated (4 days) cocaine administration (20 mg/kg). The results showed that acute cocaine exposure decreased the number of BrdU-immunoreactive (ir) cells in the SVZ and SGZ. In contrast, repeated cocaine exposure reduced the number of BrdU-ir cells only in the SVZ. Both acute and repeated cocaine exposure increased the number of cleaved caspase-3-, GFAP- and Iba1-ir cells in the hippocampus, and this effect was counteracted by AM630 or Rimonabant, which increased the number of BrdU-, GFAP-, and Iba1-ir cells in the hippocampus. These results indicate that the changes in neurogenic, apoptotic and gliotic processes that were produced by repeated cocaine administration were normalized by pharmacological blockade of CB1 and CB2. The restorative effects of cannabinoid receptor blockade on hippocampal cell proliferation were associated with the prevention of the induction of conditioned locomotion but not with the prevention of cocaine-induced sensitization.

Correlation between microtensile bond strength data and clinical outcome of Class V restorations.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the results of resin-dentin microtensile bond strength (µTBS) is correlated with the outcome parameters of clinical studies on non-retentive Class V restorations. METHODS: Resin-dentin µTBS data were obtained from one test center; the in vitro tests were all performed by the same operator. The µTBS testing was performed 8h after bonding and after 6 months of storing the specimens in water. Pre-test failures (PTFs) of specimens were included in the analysis, attributing them a value of 1MPa. Prospective clinical studies on cervical restorations (Class V) with an observation period of at least 18 months were searched in the literature. The clinical outcome variables were retention loss, marginal discoloration and marginal integrity. Furthermore, an index was formulated to be better able to compare the laboratory and clinical results. Estimates of adhesive effects in a linear mixed model were used to summarize the clinical performance of each adhesive between 12 and 36 months. Spearman correlations between these clinical performances and the µTBS values were calculated subsequently. RESULTS: Thirty-six clinical studies with 15 adhesive/restorative systems for which µTBS data were also available were included in the statistical analysis. In general 3-step and 2-step etch-and-rinse systems showed higher bond strength values than the 2-step/3-step self-etching systems, which, however, produced higher values than the 1-step self-etching and the resin modified glass ionomer systems. Prolonged water storage of specimens resulted in a significant decrease of the mean bond strength values in 5 adhesive systems (Wilcoxon, p<0.05). There was a significant correlation between µTBS values both after 8h and 6 months of storage and marginal discoloration (r=0.54 and r=0.67, respectively). However, the same correlation was not found between µTBS values and the retention rate, clinical index or marginal integrity. SIGNIFICANCE: As µTBS data of adhesive systems, especially after water storage for 6 months, showed a good correlation with marginal discoloration in short-term clinical Class V restorations, longitudinal clinical trials should explore whether early marginal staining is predictive for future retention loss in non-carious cervical restorations.

A comparison of the dental status and treatment needs of older adults with and without chronic mental illness in Sevilla, Spain

Objectives: To study the dental status and treatment needs of institutionalized older adults with chronic mental illness compared to a non-psychiatric control sample. Study Design: The sample size was 100, in which 50 were psychogeriatric patients (study group; SG) classified according to DSM-IV, with a mean age of 69.6 ± 6.7 years, and 50 non-psychiatric patients (control group; CG), with a mean age of 68.3 ± 6.9 years. Clinical oral health examinations were conducted and caries were recorded clinically using the Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth Index (DMFT). Results were analyzed statistically using the Student"s t-test or analysis of variance. Results: Caries prevalence was 58% and 62% in SG and CG, respectively. DMFT index was 28.3 ± 6.6 in SG and 21.4 ± 6.07 in CG (p < 0.01). Mean number of decayed teeth was higher in SG (3.1) compared to CG (1.8) (p=0.047). Mean number of missing teeth were 25.2 and 16.4 in SG and CG respectively (p<0.05). DMFT scores were higher in SG in all the age groups (p < 0.01). Mean number of teeth per person needing treatment was 3.4 in SG and 1.9 in CG (p= 0.037). The need for restorative dental care was significantly lower in the SG (0.8 teeth per person) than in the CG (1.7 teeth per person) (p = 0.043). Conclusions: Institutionalized psychiatric patients have significantly worse dental status and more dental treatment needs than non-psychiatric patients.