In vitro SCREENING ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF Bidens pilosa LINNÉ AND Annona crassiflora MART. AGAINST OXACILLIN RESISTANT Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) FROM THE AERIAL ENVIRONMENT AT THE DENTAL CLINIC

Currently multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus is one common cause of infections with high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide, which directs scientific endeavors in search for novel antimicrobials. In this study, nine extracts from Bidens pilosa (root, stem, flower and leaves) and Annona crassiflora (rind fruit, stem, leaves, seed and pulp) were obtained with ethanol: water (7:3, v/v) and their in vitro antibacterial activity evaluated through both the agar diffusion and broth microdilution methods against 60 Oxacillin Resistant S. aureus (ORSA) strains and against S. aureus ATCC6538. The extracts from B. pilosa and A. crassiflora inhibited the growth of the ORSA isolates in both methods. Leaves of B. pilosa presented mean of the inhibition zone diameters significantly higher than chlorexidine 0.12% against ORSA, and the extracts were more active against S. aureus ATCC (p < 0.05). Parallel, toxicity testing by using MTT method and phytochemical screening were assessed, and three extracts (B. pilosa, root and leaf, and A. crassiflora, seed) did not evidence toxicity. On the other hand, the cytotoxic concentrations (CC50 and CC90) for other extracts ranged from 2.06 to 10.77 mg/mL. The presence of variable alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and saponins was observed, even though there was a total absence of anthraquinones. Thus, the extracts from the leaves of B. pilosa revealed good anti-ORSA activity and did not exhibit toxicity.

FACTORS RELATED TO ORAL CANDIDIASIS IN ELDERLY USERS AND NON-USERS OF REMOVABLE DENTAL PROSTHESES

This study examined the association between oral candidiasis in elderly users and nonusers of prosthesis and its predisposing factors. To this end, we performed a cross-sectional study where saliva samples from 48 patients were collected they used prosthesis and 43 patients (control group) who did not use. Among the 91 patients, Candida spp were isolated in 40 (83.3%) who used prosthesis and in 23 (53.5%) in the control group. A statistically significant association was determined between the two groups, the isolation of yeasts and dental prosthesis (p < 0.05, OR = 4.3). The most common etiological agent was Candida albicans (37 isolates), with 23 (62.2%) in the denture group and 14 (37.8%) (control group). Among patients who presented clinical manifestations of oral candidiasis (n = 24), 83.3% (n = 20) belonged to the group that wore dentures, while only 16.7% (n = 4) belonged to the control group. Elderly patients with diabetes had 4.4 times higher estimated risk of developing oral candidiasis when compared with individuals without this condition. There was no statistically significant association between being user prostheses and have diabetes with the onset of candidiasis. No statistically significant association was determined between xerostomia, use of prosthesis and oral candidiasis. The use of prosthetics and poor oral hygiene in elderly patients predisposes to the development of oral candidiasis.

Designing and implementing a performance: The case of Estomeo – Dental Industry

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

Lawyers, judges, and judicial reform: A conceptual framework and a quantitative exploration

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

A afirmação do poder judicial como poder soberano na era da comunicação

Dissertação de Mestrado em Comunicação, Media e Justiça

Making connections: engineering and language issues in teaching english for specific purposes

Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Línguas, Literaturas e Culturas

Atividade antimicrobiana, antiaderente e antifúngica in vitro de plantas medicinais brasileiras sobre microrganismos do biofilme dental e cepas do gênero Candida

Avaliou-se in vitro a atividade antimicrobiana, antifúngica e antiaderente da aroeira-do-sertão, malva e goiabeira sobre microrganismos do biofilme dental e candidose oral. Os extratos mostraram-se eficazes, inibindo o crescimento das bactérias do biofilme dental e fungos da candidose oral, sugerindo a utilização dessas plantas como meio alternativo na terapêutica odontológica.

Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Issues and Solutions for the 21st Century

A producer of 5.4 M bbl/d, totalling almost half of the consumption of the entire European Union, the Gulf of Guinea is a fundamental lifeline and maritime link between Europe, the Americas and Africa. Geographically positioned as a staging post for transit originating in Latin America and coupled with its relatively porous borders, the region is also the perfect stepping stone for contraband heading to European shores. While blessed with an enviable wealth of marine and mineral resources, the region is also plagued by an ever-increasing spectre of maritime piracy; accounting for around 30% of incidents in African waters from 2003 to 2011. It is for these reasons that this research centres around the issues of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, with a particular focus on the first two decades of the 21st century. This research looks to examine the overall picture of the present state of play in the area, before going on to provide an analysis of potential regional developments in maritime security. This research begins with the analysis of concepts/phenomena that have played a notable role in the shaping of the field of maritime security, namely Globalisation and security issues in the post-Cold War era. The ensuing chapter then focuses in on the Gulf of Guinea and the issues dominating the field of maritime security in the region. The penultimate chapter presents a SWOT analysis, undertaken as part of this research with the aim of correlating opinions from a variety of sectors/professions regarding maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. The final chapter builds upon the results obtained from the abovementioned SWOT analysis, presenting a series of potential proposals/strategies that can contribute to the field of maritime security in the region over the coming years. This research draws to a close with the presentation of conclusions taken from this particular investigation, as well as a final overview of the earlier presented proposals applicable to the field of maritime security during the second decade of the 21st century.

Nota prévia à obra «Os conceitos jurídicos fundamentais aplicados na argumentação judicial» de Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld

Nota prévia à tradução, da autora, para a língua portuguesa, da obra de Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld «Os conceitos jurídicos fundamentais aplicados na argumentação judicial», publicada pela Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian em 2008. Original: «Fundamental legal conceptions as applied in judicial reasoning and other legal essays», New Haven 1923.

Cumprimento de ordens, obediência hierárquica e disciplina militar versus perpetração (in)voluntária de crimes

Following orders, hierarchical obedience and military discipline are essential values for the survival of the armed forces. Without them, it is not possible to conceive the armed forces as an essential pillar of a democratic state of law and a guarantor of national independence. As issuing orders as well as receiving and following them are inextricably linked to military discipline, and as such injunctions entail the workings of a particular obedience regime within the specific kind of organized power framework which is the Armed Forces, only by analysing the importance of such orders within this microcosm – with its strict hierarchical structure – will it be possible to understand which criminal judicial qualification to ascribe to the individual at the rear by reference to the role of the front line individual (i.e. the one who issues an order vs the one who executes it). That is, of course, when we are faced with the practice of unlawful acts, keeping in mind the organizational framework and its influence over the will of the executor. One thing we take as read, if the orders can be described as unlawful, the boundary line of the duty of obedience, which cannot be overstepped, both because of a legal as well as a constitutional imperative, will have been crossed. And the military have sworn an oath of obedience to the fundamental law. The topic of hierarchical obedience cannot be separated from the analysis of current legislation which pertains to the topic within military institutions. With that in mind, it appeared relevant to address the major norms which regulate the matter within the Portuguese military legal system, and, whenever necessary and required by the reality under analysis, to relate that to civilian law or legal doctrine.

O poder judicial na Constituição de Angola de 2010

A revista História: Debates e Tendências - HDT é uma publicação semestral do Programa de Pós-Graduação em História da Universidade de Passo Fundo (PPGH/UPF). A revista tem como objetivo publicar, por meio de textos inéditos, resultados de pesquisas nas áreas de História e afins . HDT destina-se à comunidade de pesquisadores das áreas de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, vinculados a instituições de ensino superior e a centros de pesquisa do país e do exterior. HDT está indexada em: The History Journals Guide, Sumários, Diadorin (IBICT), LivRe, Latindex.

A equidade na indeminização dos danos não patrimoniais

This study examines the quantification of compensation for non-pecuniary damage, awarded by means of judicial decisions based on equity, and seeks to verify whether such calculation safeguards legal certainty and predictability when applying the law, as well as whether it observes the principles of proportionality and equality. Firstly, the limits for discretionary judgment permitted to the judge were determined, by evaluating the criteria established under the law. Then, by examining the grounds of the judicial decisions in cases that had been selected beforehand, this study sought to detect operation modes in concrete considerations of equity used by judges. The examination of the grounds on which these judicial decisions are based permitted the comprehension of the calculation method used in each case and the observation that the criteria of compensatory nature, such as the extent of the damage and the respective consequences, assumed a primary role. Despite discrepancies in viewpoints with regard to certain issues of law, the jurisprudence examined reveals that great care is taken to consider the solutions reached in similar cases, in an attempt to ensure that the different criteria applied in the quantification of compensation are given uniform relevance. The comparison of decisions, reported to cases with similar legal contours, did not reveal relevant discrepancies in the calculation criteria used, nor are they disproportionate regarding the amount of compensation awarded, which means that resorting to equity, in determining the compensation to be awarded due to nonpecuniary damage, does not jeopardize legal certainty or predictability when applying the law, and observes the principle of proportionality, which is anchored in the constitutional principle of equality. The study performed, led to the conclusion that the grounds on which judicial decisions are based, by itemising the elements which are taken into account and the criteria adopted by the judge, allow these to be taken into consideration in similar cases, contributing towards uniform interpretation and application of the law, ensuring legal certainty and predictability when resorting to equity while quantifying compensation.

O sigilo bancário e a fraude fiscal

Tax evasion and fraud threaten the economic and social objectives of modern tax systems, precluding the state funding for the satisfaction of collective needs and the fair distribution of wealth, being a violation of basic principles and values of our society. In tax law, to give tax administration the necessary powers to supervise and control the information provided by taxpayers and combat tax evasion and fraud, over the last years the grounds for a derogation of bank secrecy without judicial authorization have been extended, which raises some constitutional compatibility issues. Similarly, this tendency of making this legal regime more flexible and increasing automatic exchange of information has been followed by the European Union and the international community. Banking secrecy, as a professional secrecy, is an instrument to protect the right to privacy but also appears as an anti-abuse and repressive mechanism of evasive and fraudulent behaviors. Because of the conflict of interests will always be necessary to make a practical agreement between them, ensuring the legality and the due guarantees of the taxpayers but also an effective way to combat tax evasion and fraud. Bank secrecy cannot be one method to, behind the right to privacy, taxpayers practice illegal activities. But the practice of these irregular conducts also does not justify a total annihilation of the right to banking secrecy, uncovering all documents and bank information’s. Although considering the legislative changes, the administrative derogation of bank secrecy will always be what the tax administration does of it.

Relatório de estágio no departamento central de investigação e acção penal

The means of obtaining evidence, the amount of evidence obtained, the number of defendants related to each criminal case and the gravity of the crimes for which the magistrates of the Department are holders of penal action, define its real importance to the Rule of Law. I have deeply studied the subject of the institution of hierarchical intervention required by the assistant and the application of an opening statement by the defendant, starting from a hypothetical case, provided when the query of an investigation with the subject of the crime of active corruption, where this institution was called as a reaction to the archiving dispatch delivered by the Public Ministry. I have study about the implementation of the institution of provisional suspension of the process, specifically in the scope of fiscal criminality, analyzing the effective satisfaction of the purposes of the sentences in two slopes: general prevention and special prevention. I went for my first time to a Central Court of Criminal Instruction, where I attended the measures of inquiry and instructive debate of a process that culminated with the prosecution and pronunciation of the defendants. In addition to this criminal experience, I have deepened and consolidated the academic knowledge with the study of various criminal cases from various fields in the scope of criminality investigated by the Department. I could therefore check the basis of procedural delays, regarding to our legal system, especially in this type of crime, raising issues that I analyzed and discussed, always in a critical and academic way. I had the opportunity to attend and witness a seminar in the Lisbon Directorate of Finance as well of entering the Centre for Judicial Studies to attend a conference on the International Anti-Corruption Day. Focus on the investigatory importance of the international judicial cooperation, through the various organs, with special interest to EUROJUST. I comprehended the organization and functioning of these communitarian organs and means of communication of procedural acts, in particular, the rogatory letters and european arrest warrants. This involvement is motivated by the moratorium factor of the investigations where rogatory letters are necessary for the acquisition of evidence or information relevant to the good continuation of the process. For this reason the judicial cooperation through the relevant communitarian organs, translates a streamlined response between the competent judicial authorities of the Member States, through the National Member that integrates EUROJUST. This report aims to highlight some of the difficulties and procedural issues that Public Prosecutors of DCIAP and criminal police bodies that assist them, face in combating violent and organized crime, of national and transnational nature, of particular complexity, according to the specifics of criminal types.

Dental and facial characteristics of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

OBJECTIVE: It has been shown that the temporomandibular joint is frequently affected by juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and this degenerative disease, which may occur during facial growth, results in severe mandibular dysfunction. However, there are no studies that correlate oral health (tooth decay and gingival diseases) and temporomandibular joint dysfunction in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the oral and facial characteristics of the patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis treated in a large teaching hospital. METHOD: Thirty-six patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (26 female and 10 male) underwent a systematic clinical evaluation of their dental, oral, and facial structures (DMFT index, plaque and gingival bleeding index, dental relationship, facial profile, and Helkimo's index). The control group was composed of 13 healthy children. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis was 10.8 years; convex facial profile was present in 12 juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients, and class II molar relation was present in 12 (P = .032). The indexes of plaque and gingival bleeding were significant in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients with a higher number of superior limbs joints involved (P = .055). Anterior open bite (5) and temporomandibular joint noise (8) were present in the juvenile idiopathic arthritis group. Of the group in this sample, 94% (P = .017) had temporomandibular joint dysfunction, 80% had decreased mandibular opening (P = 0.0002), and mandibular mobility was severely impaired in 33% (P = .015). CONCLUSION: This study confirms that patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis a) have a high incidence of mandibular dysfunction that can be attributed to the direct effect of the disease in the temporomandibular joint and b) have a higher incidence of gingival disease that can be considered a secondary effect of juvenile idiopathic arthritis on oral health.