Redes Interorganizacionais: um estudo sobre partilha e utilização do conhecimento em organizações da Rede Associativa Empresarial da Região Centro de Portugal

Tese de doutoramento em Psicologia, na especialidade de Psicologia das Organizações, do Trabalho e dos Recursos Humanos

The disappearing of palheiros in Aveiro lagoon

Palheiros are traditional timber constructions existing in the littoral centre region of Portugal. This is particularly the case of the Aveiro lagoon region where for many years many such constructions have existed. They were originally built to store working tools related with lagoon activity (fishing and sea salt extraction) and to give shelter for the fishermen during the fishing season. These constructions were built with superimposed veneers in vertical or horizontal directions. Since they are mostly located near the sea, they have started to be used as holiday houses and are often painted in vivid colours. Most of these buildings are being replaced by concrete constructions, since their preservation state is rather unsatisfactory or simply because there is a need to increase their size. Additionally, little knowledge about the possibilities of maintenance and building in timber structures exists. In some cases, although the structures were changed from timber to concrete, the exterior appearance of the palheiros remains the same, which might be interesting from the pictorial point of view but it isn’t certainly from a heritage preservation perspective. However in many other situations, they are being substituted by “modern” constructions that were not valuable in any of the previous viewpoints. Fortunately, there are also cases where palheiros have been preserved and remain in good condition. For how long these examples will remain is certainly the major question that must be answered since these are only on the dependence of owner’s will and not based on local authorities concern. A consciousness of local authorities and citizens is mandatory in order to preserve this heritage because it is perfectly possible to preserve the traditional constructions offering all the comfort of modern houses. Keywords: timber construction, vernacular construction, preservation.

Plutonismo granítico varisco no Centro Norte de Portugal

O complexo batolítico das Beiras está localizado na Zona Centro Ibérica (ZCI), no centro norte de Portugal. É predominantemente composto por rochas granitóides instaladas em metassedimentos de idade Neoproterozóica - Câmbrica Inferior, Ordovícica e Carbonífera Superior, durante ou após a última fase de deformação dúctil varisca (D3). No seu conjunto, as rochas granitóides do Batólito das Beiras cobrem um amplo espectro de idades (sin-, tardi- e tardi-pós-D3) e tipologias (tipo S e transicionais I-S). Neste trabalho apresentam-se dados petrográficos, mineralógicos, geoquímicos e isotópicos para estas intrusões e discutem-se os principais processos envolvidos na sua génese.

Chemical characterization and evaluation of biological activity of Cynara cardunculus extractable compounds

The Mediterranean species Cynara cardunculus L. is recognized in the traditional medicine, for their hepatoprotective and choleretic effects. Biomass of C. cardunculus L. var. altilis (DC), or cultivated cardoon, may be explored not only for the production of energy and pulp fibers, but also for the extraction of bioactive compounds. The chemical characterization of extractable components, namely terpenic and phenolic compounds, may valorize the cultivated cardoon plantation, due to their antioxidant, antitumoral and antimicrobial activities. In this study, the chemical composition of lipophilic and phenolic fractions of C. cardunculus L. var. altilis (DC), cultivated in the south of Portugal (Baixo Alentejo region) was characterized in detail, intending the integral valorization of its biomass. The biological activity of cultivated cardoon extracts was evaluated in terms of antioxidant, human tumor cell antiproliferative and antibacterial effects. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the chemical analysis of lipophilic compounds. Sixty-five lipophilic compounds were identified, from which 1 sesquiterpene lactone and 4 pentacyclic triterpenes were described, for the first time, as cultivated cardoon components, such as: deacylcynaropicrin, acetates of β- and α-amyrin, lupenyl acetate and ψ-taraxasteryl acetate. Sesquiterpene lactones were the major family of lipophilic components of leaves (≈94.5 g/kg), mostly represented by cynaropicrin (≈87.4 g/kg). Pentacyclic triterpenes were also detected, in considerably high contents, in the remaining parts of cultivated cardoon, especially in the florets (≈27.5 g/kg). Taraxasteryl acetate was the main pentacyclic triterpene (≈8.9 g/kg in florets). High pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was utilized for the chemical analysis of phenolic compounds. Among the identified 28 phenolic compounds, eriodictyol hexoside was reported for the first time as C. cardunculus L. component, and 6 as cultivated cardoon components, namely 1,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, naringenin 7-O-glucoside, naringenin rutinoside, naringenin, luteolin acetylhexoside and apigenin acetylhexoside. The highest content of the identified phenolic compounds was observed in the florets (≈12.6 g/kg). Stalks outer part contained the highest hydroxycinnamic acids abundance (≈10.3 g/kg), and florets presented the highest flavonoids content (≈10.3 g/kg). The antioxidant activity of phenolic fraction was examined through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Stalks outer part, and receptacles and bracts extracts demonstrated the highest antioxidant effect on DPPH (IC50 of 34.35 μg/mL and 35.25 μg/mL, respectively). (cont.) abstract (cont.) The DPPH scavenging effect was linearly correlated with the total contents of hydroxycinnamic acids (r = -0.990). The in vitro antiproliferative activity of cultivated cardoon lipophilic and phenolic extracts was evaluated on a human tumor cells line of triple-negative breast cancer (MDA-MB-231), one of the most refractory human cancers to conventional therapeutics. After 48 h of exposition, leaves lipophilic extract showed higher inhibitory effect (IC50 = 10.39 μg/mL) than florets lipophilic extract (IC50 = 315.22 μg/mL), upon MDA-MB-231 cellular viability. Pure compound of cynaropicrin, representative of the main compound identified in leaves lipophilic extract, also prevented the cell proliferation of MDA-MB-231 (IC50 = 17.86 μM). MDA-MB-231 cells were much more resistant to the 48 h- treatment with phenolic extracts of stalks outer part (IC50 = 3341.20 μg/mL) and florets (IC50 > 4500 μg/mL), and also with the pure compound of 1,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (IC50 = 1741.69 μM). MDA-MB-231 cells were exposed, for 48 h, to the respective IC50 concentrations of leaves lipophilic extract and pure compound of cynaropicrin, in order to understand their ability in modelling cellular responses, and consequently important potentially signaling pathways for the cellular viability decrease. Leaves lipophilic extract increased the caspase-3 enzymatic activity, contrarily to pure compound of cynaropicrin. Additionally, leaves lipophilic extract and pure compound of cynaropicrin caused G2 cell cycle arrest, possibly by upregulating the p21Waf1/Cip1 and the accumulation of phospho-Tyr15-CDK1 and cyclin B1. The inhibitory effects of leaves lipophilic extract and cynaropicrin pure compound, against the MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation, may also be related to the downregulation of phospho-Ser473-Akt. The antibacterial activity of cultivated cardoon lipophilic and phenolic extracts was assessed, for the first time, on two multidrug-resistant bacteria, such as the Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and the Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), two of the main bacteria responsible for health care-associated infections. Accordingly, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined. Lipophilic and phenolic extracts of florets did not have antibacterial activity on P. aeruginosa PAO1 and MRSA (MIC > 2048 μg/mL). Leaves lipophilic extract did not prevent the P. aeruginosa PAO1 growth, but pure compound of cynaropicrin was slightly active (MIC = 2048 μg/mL). Leaves lipophilic extract and pure compound of cynaropicrin blocked MRSA growth (MIC of 1024 and 256 μg/mL, respectively). The scientific knowledge revealed in this thesis, either by the chemical viewpoint, or by the biological viewpoint, contributes for the valorization of C. cardunculus L. var. altilis (DC) biomass. Cultivated cardoon has potential to be exploited as source of bioactive compounds, in conciliation with other valorization pathways, and Portuguese traditional cheeses manufacturing.

A imagem percebida e projetada de Portugal como destino turístico

O caráter competitivo dos mercados na área do turismo tem-se acentuado nas últimas décadas e, por conseguinte, cada vez mais os destinos têm de conseguir demonstrar a sua diferenciação. Ao desempenhar um papel fundamental no comportamento dos consumidores e, em particular, na tomada de decisão sobre os destinos a visitar, a imagem do destino na mente dos consumidores finais e dos intermediários que os comercializam é fundamental para o sucesso dos destinos. Desta forma, a imagem dos destinos turísticos tem sido alvo de extensa investigação, uma vez que a compreensão da imagem percebida dos destinos e também da imagem projetada através dos diversos canais de promoção poderá permitir a identificação de aspetos a melhorar nas suas estratégias de marketing, uma maior eficiência dos recursos financeiros investidos no estímulo da procura turística e uma maior eficácia na atração dos turistas que, consecutivamente, avaliam potenciais novos destinos a visitar. A presente dissertação tem como objeto de estudo o destino turístico Portugal e debruça-se sobre a análise da imagem percebida, na perspetiva dos intermediários turísticos dos cinco países que mais enviam turistas para Portugal, e da imagem projetada no portal oficial de promoção deste destino. Os seus objetivos centrais prendem-se com a comparação destas duas vertentes da imagem, no sentido de apurar as suas diferenças e semelhanças e, assim, apurar contributos relevantes para as estratégias de promoção do destino Portugal, e ainda a identificação dos fatores determinantes da imagem percebida de Portugal pelos intermediários turísticos analisados e das suas consequências ao nível da lealdade atitudinal. De uma forma global, conclui-se que a imagem percebida e a imagem projetada de Portugal como destino turístico apresentam semelhanças em alguns aspetos e diferenças noutros. Além disso, verifica-se que um conjunto de fatores determinantes exerce influência sobre a imagem percebida de Portugal como destino turístico e que esta tem efeito sobre a lealdade atitudinal dos intermediários turísticos, traduzida nas intenções de recomendação do destino.

The +Contigo Project in the Voice of Eight-Grade Students

The +Contigo Project is a longitudinal research project based on a multilevel network intervention aimed at promoting mental health and well-being and preventing suicidal behaviors. Students participate in social skills training sessions on the stigma of mental disorders, adolescence, self-esteem, problem-solving skills, and wellbeing. Problem statement: To identify the qualitative impact of the +Contigo Project. Objectives: To identify the importance of the project for students, the problem situations which it helped to solve, and its impact on an individual level. Research methods: Content analysis (Bardin, 2009) with a posteriori categorical identification. Semi-structured interview guide with 5 questions. A convenience sample of 16 students, from three schools of one school cluster in the Center Region of Portugal, was used. The ethical aspects of parental consent, voluntary participation and data confidentiality were addressed. Findings: Fourteen categories emerged from the data analysis. The answers to Question 4 'How was this project important to you?' were particularly relevant. Students mentioned that it improved their self-esteem by increasing self-confidence and interpersonal skills, and that it increased their reflection and awareness on problems with which they learned how to cope during the sessions. Conclusions: All interviewees considered that the +Contigo project helped them to solve problems, improve their interpersonal skills and cope with the adolescence period. Students improved their self-esteem and self-knowledge, and were able to apply what they had learned in the sessions in their daily lives. We concluded that the project had a positive impact on the students' mental health.

Obstruction and infiltration: a proposal of a quality indicator.

Background The quest for continuous improvement of the quality of provided care is the objective of nursing care. However, the insertion and permanence of a peripheral venous catheter has been associated to complications, thus making a systematic evaluation of the performance of professionals and the management of health services important. Objective: Analyse complications that caused removal of intravenous catheters. Methods A prospective study with 64 patients of a health service of Portugal, from July to September/2015. Included patients with age 18 years, with a peripheral venous catheter. Descriptive analysis using SPSS. Ethical requirements were met. Results Two hundred three (203) intravenous catheters, in 64 patients, most elderly (section 95.3 %), with mean age of 80 years were evaluated. The catheters remained inserted between one and 12 days (mean 2 days), 66 % of the devices were removed because of complications, such as: removal by the patient (17.7 %), obstruction (17.2 %), infiltration (14.8 %), phlebitis (9.4 %) and fluid exiting the insertion site (6.4 %). The prevalence of obstruction and infiltration per patient was respectively 36 % and 39 %. Conclusions Obstruction and infiltration were the complications of higher prevalence that led to the removal and reinsertion of a new peripheral venous catheter with the possibility of increased pain, infection and hospital costs. Faced with the risk of compromising patient safety and being able to contribute to the improvement of health care, we suggest the inclusion of obstruction and infiltration in the indicators of quality of care, in order to have systematic evaluation of results, (re)plan and implement preventive measures.

O enoturismo e o mercado chinês: Portugal como destino

O objetivo principal desta dissertação é relacionar o enoturismo com o maior mercado emissor de turistas do mundo – a China, nomeadamente no que diz respeito às potencialidades de Portugal como destino enoturístico para este mercado. Para o efeito, estruturou-se o trabalho de forma a dedicar um capítulo à caracterização do enoturismo, um segundo capítulo à caracterização do mercado emissor de turistas chinês com destaque para a caracterização do enoturismo na China e do enoturista chinês. Reservou-se um terceiro capítulo para proceder à caracterização de Portugal como destino de enoturismo, fazendo a caracterização da oferta e da procura, com particular enfoque para a procura chinesa. A metodologia de pesquisa desta dissertação assentou em revisão bibliográfica e na análise de dados fornecidos por fontes secundárias e terciárias, como estudos já conduzidos sobre o tema ou temas relacionados e dados quantitativos recolhidos junto das principais instituições nacionais e internacionais de referência. Apresentou-se a caracterização do enoturismo, em termos concetuais, mas sobretudo no contexto dos seus principais mercados de oferta. Com base na análise da oferta nestes mercados procedeu-se à recolha e apresentação de uma série de boas práticas internacionais, tanto no que toca ao enoturismo, como no que diz respeito a iniciativas de captação do turismo emissor chinês. Procedeu-se à caracterização do desenvolvimento do turismo emissor na China, da realidade do enoturismo na China e construiu-se um perfil do enoturista chinês.

Vegetables production in NW Portugal, agriculture practices and groundwater quality

In NW of Portugal, the region between Esposende and Vila do Conde was established into a unique system called masseiras; masseiras are small fields that were created at the beginning of XX century by removing sand from dunes. Since the 80’s sand between closed masseiras has been removed giving way for larger fields, the “enlarged masseira with greenhouses”. This region is part of vulnerable zone nº1 (VZ1). Nowadays, the masseiras have almost disappeared; they had been replaced by “enlarged masseiras with plastic greenhouses” exploited by a new generation of growers. As water quality is an indicator of agriculture practices, 8 wells were selected and water samples were collected on four dates from September 2009 to May 2010. Laboratorial analysis was performed on nitrates and 28 pesticides. The results confirm that water in VZ1 is contaminated with nitrates (as it was expected) and also with pesticides. The water was contaminated in both dug wells and drilled wells all year round. Masseiras’ wells have more nitrates than greenhouses’ wells, probably due to poor agricultural practices used by growers who still employ high quantities of fertilizers and water. Pesticides detected in water samples include some that have been sprayed in the field and others that have not. Some forbidden substances were found. Our results confirm that, in VZ1, there is a diffusion contamination, which origin is unknown. In this communication, we put in picture the history of masseiras fields: how masseiras fields have been created and how they have disappeared; what trends exist in pest management strategies and the use of fertilizers, pesticides and water resources. These results reinforce the need to change the agricultural system in this region of traditional vegetable production.

Multi-residue analysis of 39 pesticides in surface waters of Ria de Aveiro

A multi-residue gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed in order to evaluate the presence of 39 pesticides of different chemical families (organophosphorus, triazines, imidazole, organochlorine), as well as some of their transformation products, in surface water samples from Ria de Aveiro. Ria de Aveiro is an estuarine coastal lagoon, located in the northern west region of Portugal, which receives inputs from agriculture, urban and industrial activities. The analytical method was developed and validated according international guidelines and showed good linearity, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9949 for all compounds, adequate precision and accuracy, and high sensitivity. Pesticides were chosen from the priority pollutants list of the Directive 2008/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy), or were selected due their common use in agricultural practices. Some of these 39 pesticides are, or are suspected to be, endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs), being capable of altering the endocrine system of wildlife and humans, causing form malfunction and ultimately health problems. Even those pesticides which are not EDCs, are known to be awfully toxic and have a recognised impact in human health. The aquatic environment is particularly susceptible to pollution due to intentional and accidental release of chemicals to water [3]. Pesticide contamination of surface water is a national issue as it is often used as drinking water. This concern is especially important in rural agricultural areas where population uses small private water supplies, regularly without any laboratory surveillance. The study was performed in seven sampling points and the results showed a considerable concern pesticide contamination of all samples.

A formação dos educadores de infância: estratégias e práticas. Estudo realizado num agrupamento de escolas na zona Norte de Portugal

Trabalho de Projeto apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Ciências da Educação - Especialização em Supervisão Pedagógica

Impact of using solar heat pumps for domestic hot water in Portuguese residential buildings

In recent years, we have seen an improvement of existing facilities in dwellings in Portugal. Within the heat pumps systems, there is a special type known as direct expansion heat pump assisted by Solar Collector (DX-SAHP). It was calculate the SPF indicator for 30 regions of Portugal. It was analyses the potential of reductions of CO2 and primary energy use for the retrofitting of DHW preparation systems. It was found that the performances of this type of equipment are benefiting from the Portuguese climate conditions, especially in the South and in the Autonomous Regions. Best SPF was obtained for Beja. It was found in all regions of the high potential for reducing CO2 emissions and verifying a potential significant reduction of primary energy consumption.

REGIONAL CONVERGENCE AND R&D INVESTMENT: APPLIED INVESTIGATION IN PORTUGAL

R&D investments are seen has having an enormous potential impact on the competitive position of regions and perhaps on regional convergence (or divergence) too. The aim of the paper is to study both the localization of R&D investments and regional income distribution among the NUTs 3 regions of Portugal to conclude if these variables are related or not. To study the spatial convergence (approximation) of per capita income (GDPpc) and R&D investments in the regions of Portugal, we use a standard methodology of spatial econometrics. We conclude that regions with higher GDPpc are not the same with the highest concentration of R&D investments, with the exception of the northern coastline. The R&D investments are geographically linked to the network of higher education institutions, especially in the interior regions of the country. The northern regions reveal more dynamic in terms of R&D, which apparently is not felt in the population's standard of living measured by GDPpc.

Manganese toxicity in Portuguese Cambisols derived from granite: causes, limitations of soil analyses and possible solutions

Cambisols are the major soil type in Portugal. The yield of annual crops in these soils is generally poor, and the situation is aggravated in wet winters. In the south of Portugal, manganese toxicity has been identified as the major cause of poor growth and leaching as the main reason for the negative effect of rainfall observed in Cambisols derived from granite Manganese toxicity also appears to be present in the Cambisols in other regions of Portugal. Manganese toxicity is cross-related to the magnesium concentration, either in the soil solution or in plant shoots. Therefore soil amendment using dolomitic limestone is needed to overcome the problem. Current soil test methods are unable to predict the level of Mn toxicity. However, new approach using the extraction of soil solution is proposed, although further work is needed to fully implement the method.

Hydric behavior of earth materials and the effects of their stabilization with cement or lime: study on repair mortars for historical rammed earth structures

Earthen building materials bear interesting environmental advantages and are the most appropriate to conserve historical earth constructions. To improve mechanical properties, these materials are often stabilized with cement or lime, but the impact of the stabilizers on the water transport properties, which are also critical, has been very rarely evaluated. We have tested four earth-based repair mortars applied on three distinct and representative rammed earth surfaces. Three mortars are based on earth collected from rammed earth buildings in south of Portugal and the fourth mortar is based on a commercial clayish earth. The main objective of the work was over the commercial earth mortar, applied stabilized and not stabilized on the three rammed earth surfaces to repair, to assess the influence of the stabilizers. The other three earth mortars (not stabilized) were applied on each type of rammed earth, representing the repair only made with local materials. The four unstabilized earth materials depicted nonlinear dependence on t1/2 during capillary suction. This behaviour was probably due to clay swelling. Stabilization with any of the four tested binders enabled the linear dependence of t1/2 expected from Washburn's equation, probably because the swelling did not take place in this case. However, the stabilizers also increased significantly the capillary suction and the capillary porosity of the materials. This means that, in addition to increasing the carbon footprint, stabilizers like cement and lime have functional disadvantages that discourage its use in repair mortars for raw earth construction.