Evaluation of atmospheric deposition and patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fa��ades of historic monuments of Oporto (Portugal)

Atmospheric pollution by motor vehicles is considered a relevant source of damage to architectural heritage. Thus the aim of this work was to assess the atmospheric depositions and patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fa��ades of historical monuments. Eighteen PAHs (16 PAHs considered by US EPA as priority pollutants, dibenzo[a,l]pyrene and benzo[j]fluoranthene) were determined in thin black layers collected from fa��ades of two historical monuments: Hospital Santo Ant��nio and Lapa Church (Oporto, Portugal). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for morphological and elemental characterisation of thin black layers; PAHs were quantified by microwave-assisted extraction combined with liquid chromatography (MAE-LC). The thickness of thin black layers were 80���110 ��m and they contained significant levels of iron, sulfur, calcium and phosphorus. Total concentrations of 18 PAHs ranged from 7.74 to 147.92 ng/g (mean of 45.52 ng/g) in thin black layers of Hospital Santo Ant��nio, giving a range three times lower than at Lapa Church (5.44��� 429.26 ng/g; mean of 110.25 ng/g); four to six rings compounds accounted at both monuments approximately for 80���85% of ��PAHs. The diagnostic ratios showed that traffic emissions were significant source of PAHs in thin black layers. Composition profiles of PAHs in thin black layers of both monuments were similar to those of ambient air, thus showing that air pollution has a significant impact on the conditions and stone decay of historical building fa��ades. The obtained results confirm that historical monuments in urban areas act as passive repositories for air pollutants present in the surrounding atmosphere.

Perspectives on access to in vitro fertilization in Portugal

OBJECTIVE: To analyze users' reasons for choosing in vitro fertilization treatment in public or private services and to identify their suggestions for improving fertility treatment. METHODS: A qualitative study using an interpretative approach was conducted. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment (nine women, one man and five couples) at home or at their workplace in the districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto and Lisbon, Portugal, between July 2005 and February 2006. RESULTS: Users evaluated access to in vitro fertilization treatment in public and private services based mainly on their individual experiences and called for more access to less costly, faster and friendlier care with suitable facilities, appropriate time management and caring medical providers. These perceptions were also associated with views on the need for fighting stigmatization of infertility, protecting children's rights and guaranteeing sustainability of health care system. Interviewees sought to balance reduced waiting time and more attentive care with costs involved. The choice of services depended on the users' purchase power and place of residence and availability of attentive care. CONCLUSIONS: Current national policies on in vitro fertilization treatment meet user's demands of promoting access to, and quality, availability and affordability of in vitro fertilization treatment. However, their focus on legal regulation and technical-scientific aspects contrasts with the users' emphasis on reimbursement, insurance coverage and focus on emotional aspects of the treatment. The study showed these policies should ensure insurance coverage, participation of user representatives in the National Council for Assisted Reproductive Technology, promotion of infertility research and certification of fertility laboratories.

Tradu����o, valida����o e aplica����o dos sistemas de pontua����o de alerta precoce 'ViEWS' e 'NEWS' em Portugal

Mestrado em Gest��o e Avalia����o de Tecnologias da Sa��de

Legal and political regulation of higher education in Portugal: an evolutionary perspective on the current policy issues and the problem of order

The higher education system in Europe is currently under stress and the debates over its reform and future are gaining momentum. Now that, for most countries, we are in a time for change, in the overall society and the whole education system, the legal and political dimensions have gained prominence, which has not been followed by a more integrative approach of the problem of order, its reform and the issue of regulation, beyond the typical static and classical cost-benefit analyses. The two classical approaches for studying (and for designing the policy measures of) the problem of the reform of the higher education system - the cost-benefit analysis and the legal scholarship description - have to be integrated. This is the argument of our paper that the very integration of economic and legal approaches, what Warren Samuels called the legal-economic nexus, is meaningful and necessary, especially if we want to address the problem of order (as formulated by Joseph Spengler) and the overall regulation of the system. On the one hand, and without neglecting the interest and insights gained from the cost-benefit analysis, or other approaches of value for money assessment, we will focus our study on the legal, social and political aspects of the regulation of the higher education system and its reform in Portugal. On the other hand, the economic and financial problems have to be taken into account, but in a more inclusive way with regard to the indirect and other socio-economic costs not contemplated in traditional or standard assessments of policies for the tertiary education sector. In the first section of the paper, we will discuss the theoretical and conceptual underpinning of our analysis, focusing on the evolutionary approach, the role of critical institutions, the legal-economic nexus and the problem of order. All these elements are related to the institutional tradition, from Veblen and Commons to Spengler and Samuels. The second section states the problem of regulation in the higher education system and the issue of policy formulation for tackling the problem. The current situation is clearly one of crisis with the expansion of the cohorts of young students coming to an end and the recurrent scandals in private institutions. In the last decade, after a protracted period of extension or expansion of the system, i. e., the continuous growth of students, universities and other institutions are competing harder to gain students and have seen their financial situation at risk. It seems that we are entering a period of radical uncertainty, higher competition and a new configuration that is slowly building up is the growth in intensity, which means upgrading the quality of the higher learning and getting more involvement in vocational training and life-long learning. With this change, and along with other deep ones in the Portuguese society and economy, the current regulation has shown signs of maladjustment. The third section consists of our conclusions on the current issue of regulation and policy challenge. First, we underline the importance of an evolutionary approach to a process of change that is essentially dynamic. A special attention will be given to the issues related to an evolutionary construe of policy analysis and formulation. Second, the integration of law and economics, through the notion of legal economic nexus, allows us to better define the issues of regulation and the concrete problems that the universities are facing. One aspect is the instability of the political measures regarding the public administration and on which the higher education system depends financially, legally and institutionally, to say the least. A corollary is the lack of clear strategy in the policy reforms. Third, our research criticizes several studies, such as the one made by the OECD in late 2006 for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, for being too static and neglecting fundamental aspects of regulation such as the logic of actors, groups and organizations who are major players in the system. Finally, simply changing the legal rules will not necessary per se change the behaviors that the authorities want to change. By this, we mean that it is not only remiss of the policy maker to ignore some of the critical issues of regulation, namely the continuous non-respect by academic management and administrative bodies of universities of the legal rules that were once promulgated. Changing the rules does not change the problem, especially without the necessary debates form the different relevant quarters that make up the higher education system. The issues of social interaction remain as intact. Our treatment of the matter will be organized in the following way. In the first section, the theoretical principles are developed in order to be able to study more adequately the higher education transformation with a modest evolutionary theory and a legal and economic nexus of the interactions of the system and the policy challenges. After describing, in the second section, the recent evolution and current working of the higher education in Portugal, we will analyze the legal framework and the current regulatory practices and problems in light of the theoretical framework adopted. We will end with some conclusions on the current problems of regulation and the policy measures that are discusses in recent years.

Master's in autonomous systems: an overview of the robotics curriculum and outcomes at ISEP, Portugal

Robotics research in Portugal is increasing every year, but few students embrace it as one of their first choices for study. Until recently, job offers for engineers were plentiful, and those looking for a degree in science and technology would avoid areas considered to be demanding, like robotics. At the undergraduate level, robotics programs are still competing for a place in the classical engineering graduate curricula. Innovative and dynamic Master���s programs may offer the solution to this gap. The Master���s degree in autonomous systems at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal, was designed to provide a solid training in robotics and has been showing interesting results, mainly due to differences in course structure and the context in which students are welcomed to study and work

Adapta����o transcultural Portugal-Brasil do Invent��rio de Burnout de Maslach para estudantes

OBJETIVO: Realizar a adapta����o transcultural da vers��o em portugu��s do Invent��rio de Burnout de Maslach para estudantes e investigar sua confiabilidade, validade e invari��ncia transcultural. M��TODOS: A valida����o de face envolveu participa����o de equipe multidisciplinar. Foi realizada valida����o de conte��do. A vers��o em portugu��s foi preenchida em 2009, pela internet, por 958 estudantes universit��rios brasileiros e 556 portugueses da zona urbana. Realizou-se an��lise fatorial confirmat��ria utilizando-se como ��ndices de ajustamento o &#967;��/df, o comparative fit index (CFI), goodness of fit index (GFI) e o root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). Para verifica����o da estabilidade da solu����o fatorial conforme a vers��o original em ingl��s, realizou-se valida����o cruzada em 2/3 da amostra total e replicada no 1/3 restante. A validade convergente foi estimada pela vari��ncia extra��da m��dia e confiabilidade composta. Avaliou-se a validade discriminante e a consist��ncia interna foi estimada pelo coeficiente alfa de Cronbach. A validade concorrente foi estimada por an��lise correlacional da vers��o em portugu��s e dos escores m��dios do Invent��rio de Burnout de Copenhague; a divergente foi comparada �� Escala de Depress��o de Beck. Foi avaliada a invari��ncia do modelo entre a amostra brasileira e a portuguesa. RESULTADOS: O modelo trifatorial de Exaust��o, Descren��a e Efic��cia apresentou ajustamento adequado (&#967;��/df = 8,498; CFI = 0,916; GFI = 0,902; RMSEA = 0,086). A estrutura fatorial foi est��vel (&#955;: &#967;��dif = 11,383, p = 0,50; Cov: &#967;��dif = 6,479, p = 0,372; Res��duos: &#967;��dif = 21,514, p = 0,121). Observou-se adequada validade convergente (VEM = 0,45;0,64, CC = 0,82;0,88), discriminante (&#961;�� = 0,06;0,33) e consist��ncia interna (&#945; = 0,83;0,88). A validade concorrente da vers��o em portugu��s com o Invent��rio de Copenhague foi adequada (r = 0,21;0,74). A avalia����o da validade divergente do instrumento foi prejudicada pela aproxima����o do conceito te��rico das dimens��es Exaust��o e Descren��a da vers��o em portugu��s com a Escala de Beck. N��o se observou invari��ncia do instrumento entre as amostras brasileiras e portuguesas (&#955;:&#967;��dif = 84,768, p < 0,001; Cov: &#967;��dif = 129,206, p < 0,001; Res��duos: &#967;��dif = 518,760, p < 0,001). CONCLUS��ES: A vers��o em portugu��s do Invent��rio de Burnout de Maslach para estudantes apresentou adequada confiabilidade e validade, mas sua estrutura fatorial n��o foi invariante entre os pa��ses, apontando aus��ncia de estabilidade transcultural.

Implementa����o da IMRT para tumores de pr��stata em Portugal: vantagens, desvantagens e obst��culos

Com o constante avan��o tecnol��gico na ��rea da radioterapia torna-se imperativo investir no melhoramento cont��nuo dos tratamentos administrados. Desta forma, deve-se procurar vencer todos os obst��culos que impe��am ou dificultam a implementa����o de tecnologias de ponta, como a IMRT. Com o presente estudo pretende-se proceder ao levantamento das vantagens e desvantagens cl��nicas da IMRT no tratamento de tumores de pr��stata e dos obst��culos que t��m impedido a sua implementa����o como rotina nos servi��os de radioterapia de Portugal.

Argamassas e bet��es geopolim��ricos: estado da arte e potencial de industrializa����o em Portugal

Disserta����o para obten����o do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil

O panorama do audiovisual infantil em Portugal: a problem��tica da surdez equacionada na concep����o de filmes de anima����o

Disserta����o apresentada �� Escola Superior de Comunica����o Social como parte dos requisitos para obten����o de grau de mestre em Audiovisual e Multim��dia.

Agentes criativos de m��sica electr��nica experimental em Portugal : um estudo de casos particulares

Disserta����o apresentada �� Escola Superior de Comunica����o Social como parte dos requisitos para obten����o de grau de mestre em Audiovisual e Multim��dia.

Pol��ticas de descentraliza����o da educa����o no Brasil e em Portugal: avan��os e recuos da desconcentra����o de poderes

Este artigo visa estabelecer paralelos comparativos em torno da descentraliza����o da educa����o no Brasil e em Portugal, a partir da d��cada de 1990, com base na revis��o da literatura pertinente e dos marcos jur��dicos que vieram regul��-la, procurando problematizar as rela����es institucionais e sociopol��ticas que medeiam este processo, no Brasil, sob a ��tica do regime de colabora����o e, em Portugal, segundo as rela����es estabelecidas entre os poderes central e local. Como conclus��o mais geral, constata que, apesar de o poder central vir difundindo o discurso da descentraliza����o nestes pa��ses, j�� h�� algum tempo, tudo leva a crer que o plano da ret��rica n��o logrou ser efetivamente superado, pois entre avan��os e recuos deste processo as tentativas v��m se constituindo em movimentos de alguma desconcentra����o de poderes, ainda marcados pela mesma l��gica centralizadora, heran��a hist��ricosocial, em ambos os casos, dos seus respectivos per��odos ditatoriais, agora tamb��m sob a modula����o de pol��ticas econ��micas neoliberalizantes.

Princ��pios orientadores da forma����o, ao n��vel do 1�� ciclo: a coopera����o Portugal/P.A.L.O.P.'s

Os Pa��ses Africanos de L��ngua Oficial Portuguesa (P.A.L.O.P.'s), tal como a grande maioria de todo o continente africano, apresentam graves defici��ncias quanto a alfabetiza����o das suas popula����es, tomando-se, assim, o ensino prim��rio uma prioridade absoluta. De entre todas as limita����es que existem ao n��vel dos respectivos sistemas educativos, talvez, a mais grave seja a fraca prepara����o cient��fica e pedag��gica que a maioria dos professores apresenta, para al��m, evidentemente, do seu reduzido n��mero. Assim, a forma����o de professores tornou-se numa das apostas mais fortes dos P.A.L.O.P.'s, no campo da educa����o. Portugal, na ��rea da coopera����o com estes pa��ses, participa num Projecto de Consolida����o dos Sistemas Educativos, no ��mbito do qual desenvolve um programa de Ac����es de Forma����o de Formadores.

A evolu����o do d��fice tarif��rio em Portugal

Segundo as previs��es da Entidade Reguladora dos Servi��os Energ��ticos (ERSE), o d��fice tarif��rio dever�� atingir em finais do 2013 um valor acumulado de 3,7 mil milh��es de Euros. Na comunica����o social, o d��fice tarif��rio (DT) �� considerado como mais uma ���renda��� a alguns grupos de interesse. Na realidade o DT �� justificado por uma acumula����o sucessiva de diversos tipos de sobrecustos do sistema el��trico que n��o foi considerada nas tarifas e pre��os da eletricidade nos anos anteriores aos respetivos consumidores el��tricos. O trabalho aqui apresentado corresponde a uma primeira tentativa de analisar as raz��es pol��ticas e econ��micofinanceiras para a exist��ncia do d��fice tarif��rio. Nesse sentido ser��o abordadas: as origens e justifica����es dos diferentes sobrecustos (CAE���s, CMEC���s, Garantia de Pot��ncia, Produ����o em Regime geral (PRE), converg��ncia tarif��ria com as regi��es aut��nomas dos A��ores (RAA) e da Madeira (RAM), entre outros); a an��lise dos diferentes tipos de mecanismos; os par��metros no c��lculo dos sobrecustos bem como as poss��veis solu����es e medidas j�� implementadas para reduzir os efeitos do d��fice tarif��rio nas tarifas nos consumidores.

Retratos de uma musa do s��culo XXI: a figura feminina na GQ Portugal

Relat��rio de est��gio apresentado �� Escola Superior de Comunica����o Social como parte dos requisitos para obten����o de grau de mestre em Jornalismo.