Fractional dynamics in the trajectory control of redundant manipulators

Under the pseudoinverse control, robots with kinematical redundancy exhibit an undesirable chaotic joint motion which leads to an erratic behavior. This paper studies the complexity of fractional dynamics of the chaotic response. Fourier and wavelet analysis provides a deeper insight, helpful to know better the lack of repeatability problem of redundant manipulators. This perspective for the study of the chaotic phenomena will permit the development of superior trajectory control algorithms.

Obama's law : analysis of a breakthrough law on healthcare access and lessons for the Portuguese health system management

ABSTRACT - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act shook the foundations of the US health system, offering all Americans access to health care by changing the way the health insurance industry works. As President Obama signed the Act on 23 March 2010, he said that it stood for “the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care”. Unlike the U.S., the Article 64 of the Portuguese Constitution provides, since 1976, the right to universal access to health care. However, facing a severe economic crisis, Portugal has, under the supervision of the Troika, a tight schedule to implement measures to improve the efficiency of the National Health Service. Both countries are therefore despite their different situation, in a conjuncture of reform and the use of new health management measures. The present work, using a qualitative research methodology examines the Affordable Care Act in order to describe its principles and enforcement mechanisms. In order to describe the reality in Portugal, the Portuguese health system and the measures imposed by Troika are also analyzed. The intention of this entire analysis is not only to disclose the innovative U.S. law, but to find some innovative measures that could serve health management in Portugal. Essentially we identified the Exchanges and Wellness Programs, described throughout this work, leaving also the idea of the possibility of using them in the Portuguese national health system.

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.

Foresight exercises as a tool for decision-making: the example of two case studies in health

Based on the report for the unit “Foresight Methods Analysis” of the PhD programme on Technology Assessment at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. António B. Moniz

Modulation of electrical stimulation applied to human physiology and clinical diagnostic

The use, manipulation and application of electrical currents, as a controlled interference mechanism in the human body system, is currently a strong source of motivation to researchers in areas such as clinical, sports, neuroscience, amongst others. In electrical stimulation (ES), the current applied to tissue is traditionally controlled concerning stimulation amplitude, frequency and pulse-width. The main drawbacks of the transcutaneous ES are the rapid fatigue induction and the high discomfort induced by the non-selective activation of nervous fibers. There are, however, electrophysiological parameters whose response, like the response to different stimulation waveforms, polarity or a personalized charge control, is still unknown. The study of the following questions is of great importance: What is the physiological effect of the electric pulse parametrization concerning charge, waveform and polarity? Does the effect change with the clinical condition of the subjects? The parametrization influence on muscle recruitment can retard fatigue onset? Can parametrization enable fiber selectivity, optimizing the motor fibers recruitment rather than the nervous fibers, reducing contraction discomfort? Current hardware solutions lack flexibility at the level of stimulation control and physiological response assessment. To answer these questions, a miniaturized, portable and wireless controlled device with ES functions and full integration with a generic biosignals acquisition platform has been created. Hardware was also developed to provide complete freedom for controlling the applied current with respect to the waveform, polarity, frequency, amplitude, pulse-width and duration. The impact of the methodologies developed is successfully applied and evaluated in the contexts of fundamental electrophysiology, psycho-motor rehabilitation and neuromuscular disorders diagnosis. This PhD project was carried out in the Physics Department of Faculty of Sciences and Technology (FCT-UNL), in straight collaboration with PLUX - Wireless Biosignals S.A. company and co-funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology.

Impact of an intervention in the use of sequential antibiotic therapy in a Brazilian university hospital

INTRODUCTION: Sequential antibiotic therapy (SAT) is safe and economical. However, the unnecessary use of intravenous (IV) administration usually occurs. The objective of this work was to get to know the effectiveness of an intervention to implement the SAT in a teaching hospital in Brazil. METHODS: This was a prospective and interventional study, historically controlled, and was conducted in the Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a high complexity teaching hospital having 503 beds. In each of the periods, from 04/04/05 to 07/20/05 (pre-intervention) and from 09/24/07 to 12/20/07 (intervention), 117 patients were evaluated. After the pre-intervention period, guidelines were developed which were implemented during the intervention period along with educational measures and a reminder system added to the patients' prescription. RESULTS: In the pre-intervention and intervention periods, the IV antibiotics were used as treatment for a average time of 14.8 and 11.8 days, respectively. Ceftriaxone was the antibiotic most prescribed in both periods (23.4% and 21.6% respectively). Starting from the first prescription of antibiotics, the average length of hospitalization time was 21.8 and 17.5 days, respectively. The SAT occurred only in 4 and 5 courses of treatment, respectively, and 12.8% and 18.8% of the patients died in the respective periods. CONCLUSIONS: Under the presented conditions, the evaluated intervention strategy is ineffective in promoting the exchange of the antibiotic administration from IV to oral treatment (SAT).

A study of risk-aware program transformation

In the trend towards tolerating hardware unreliability, accuracy is exchanged for cost savings. Running on less reliable machines, functionally correct code becomes risky and one needs to know how risk propagates so as to mitigate it. Risk estimation, however, seems to live outside the average programmer’s technical competence and core practice. In this paper we propose that program design by source-to-source transformation be risk-aware in the sense of making probabilistic faults visible and supporting equational reasoning on the probabilistic behaviour of programs caused by faults. This reasoning is carried out in a linear algebra extension to the standard, `a la Bird-Moor algebra of programming. This paper studies, in particular, the propagation of faults across standard program transformation techniques known as tupling and fusion, enabling the fault of the whole to be expressed in terms of the faults of its parts.

The relation of the concentration of macronutrients in the substrate and in the foliage to cell wall thickness and cellulose concentration in the xylem of slash pine (Pinus elliotti)

Sand culture experiments, using a sub-irrigation technique, were installed in order to find out the effects of the macronutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S on growth, aspect, mineral composition, length of fibers, thickness of cell wall and cellulose concentration in slash pine. The aim was to obtain, under controlled conditions, basic information which could eventually lead to practical means designed to increase the rate of growth and to make of slash pine a richer source of cellulose. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium Experiment A 3 x 3 x 3 factorial design with two replicates was used. Nitrogen was supplied initially at the levels of 25, 50 and 100 ppm; phosphorus was given at the rates of 5, 10 and 20 ppm; potassium was supplied at the rates of 25, 50 and 100 ppm; six months after the experiment was started the first level for each element was dropped to zero. Others macro and all micronutrients were supplied at uniform rates. Fifteen hours of illumination per day were provided. The experimental technique for growing the slash pine seedlings proved quite satisfactory. Symptoms of deficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were observed, described and recorded in photographs and water colors. These informations will help to identify abnormalities which may appear under field conditions. Chemical analysis of the several plant parts, on the other hand, give a valuable means to assess the nutritional status of slash pine, thus confirming when needed, the visual diagnosis. The correctness of manurial pratices, on the other hand, can be judged with the help of the analytical data tabulated. Under the experimental conditions nitrogen caused the highest increases on growth, as measured by increments in height and dry weights, whereas the effects of phosphorus and potassium were less marked. Cellulose concentration was not significantly affected by the treatments used. Higher levels of N seemed to decrease both length of fiber elements and the thickness of cell wall. The effects of P and K were not well defined. Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur Experiment A 3 x 3 x 3 factorial design with two replicates was used. Calcium was supplied initially at the levels of 12.5, 25 and 50 ppm; magnesium and sulfur were given at the rates of 6, 12.5 and 25 ppm. Other macro and micronutrients were supplied at uniform rates, common to all treatments. Three months after starting the experiment the first level for each element was dropped to zero. Symptoms of deficiency of calcium, magnesium and sulfur were observed, described and recorded as in the case of the previous experiment. Chemical analysis were made, both for mineral content and cellulose concentration. Length of fibers and thickness of cell wall were measured. Both calcium and magnesium increase height, sulfur failing to give significant response. Dry weight was beneficially affected by calcium and sulfur. The levels of calcium, magnesium and sulfur in the needles associated with deficiency and maximum growth are comparable with those found in the literature. Cellulose concentration increased when the level of sulfur in the substrate was raised. The thickness of cell wall was negatively affected by the treatments; no effect was observed with regards to length of fibers.

The phosphate fixing capacities of two soils from the Piracicaba municipality: latosol and sands

An essay was carried out under laboratory conditions in order to know the phosphate fixing capcity of a Latosol and a Sands from the municipality of Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The results showed that they were able to fix about 1,588 and 274 kg/ha of P2O5> respectively.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support after heart explantation: a proposal on how to deal with hyperacute rejection of heart transplant

Purpose: In extreme situations, such as hyperacute rejection of heart transplant or major bleeding per-operating complications, an urgent heart explantation might be the only means of survival. The aim of this experimental study was to improve the surgical technique and the hemodynamics of an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support through a peripheral vascular access in an acardia model. Methods: An ECMO support was established in 7 bovine experiments (59±6.1 kg) by the transjugular insertion to the caval axis of a self-expanded cannula, with return through a carotid artery. After baseline measurements of pump flow and arterial and central venous pressure, ventricular fibrillation was induced (B), the great arteries were clamped, the heart was excised and right and left atria remnants, containing the pulmonary veins, were sutured together leaving an atrial septal defect (ASD) over the cannula in the caval axis. Measurements were taken with the pulmonary artery (PA) clamped (C) and anastomosed with the caval axis (D). Regular arterial and central venous blood gases tests were performed. The ANOVA test for repeated measures was used to test the null hypothesis and a Bonferroni t method for assessing the significance in the between groups pairwise comparison of mean pump flow. Results: Initial pump flow (A) was 4.3±0.6 L/min dropping to 2.8±0.7 L/min (P B-A= 0.003) 10 minutes after induction of ventricular fibrillation (B). After cardiectomy, with the pulmonary artery clamped (C) it augmented not significantly to 3.5±0.8 L/min (P C-B= 0.33, P C-A= 0.029). Finally, PA anastomosis to the caval axis was followed by an almost to baseline pump flow augmentation (4.1±0.7 L/min, P D-B= 0.009, P D-C= 0.006, P D-A= 0.597), permitting a full ECMO support in acardia by a peripheral vascular access. Conclusions: ECMO support in acardia is feasible, providing new opportunities in situations where heart must urgently be explanted, as in hyperacute rejection of heart transplant. Adequate drainage of pulmonary circulation is pivotal in order to avoid pulmonary congestion and loss of volume from the normal right to left shunt of bronchial vessels. Furthermore, the PA anastomosis to the caval axis not only improves pump flow but it also permits an ECMO support by a peripheral vascular access and the closure of the chest.

On the fate of sexual traits under asexuality.

Environmental shifts and life-history changes may result in formerly adaptive traits becoming non-functional or maladaptive. In the absence of pleiotropy and other constraints, such traits may decay as a consequence of neutral mutation accumulation or selective processes, highlighting the importance of natural selection for adaptations. A suite of traits are expected to lose their adaptive function in asexual organisms derived from sexual ancestors, and the many independent transitions to asexuality allow for comparative studies of parallel trait maintenance versus decay. In addition, because certain traits, notably male-specific traits, are usually not exposed to selection under asexuality, their decay would have to occur as a consequence of drift. Selective processes could drive the decay of traits associated with costs, which may be the case for the majority of sexual traits expressed in females. We review the fate of male and female sexual traits in 93 animal lineages characterized by asexual reproduction, covering a broad taxon range including molluscs, arachnids, diplopods, crustaceans and eleven different hexapod orders. Many asexual lineages are still able occasionally to produce males. These asexually produced males are often largely or even fully functional, revealing that major developmental pathways can remain quiescent and functional over extended time periods. By contrast, for asexual females, there is a parallel and rapid decay of sexual traits, especially of traits related to mate attraction and location, as expected given the considerable costs often associated with the expression of these traits. The level of decay of female sexual traits, in addition to asexual females being unable to fertilize their eggs, would severely impede reversals to sexual reproduction, even in recently derived asexual lineages. More generally, the parallel maintenance versus decay of different trait types across diverse asexual lineages suggests that neutral traits display little or no decay even after extended periods under relaxed selection, while extensive decay for selected traits occurs extremely quickly. These patterns also highlight that adaptations can fix rapidly in natural populations of asexual organisms, in spite of their mode of reproduction.

Driving under the influence of cocaine or therapeutic administration of cocaine?

Introduction: In forensic toxicology, cocaine is better known for its powerful stimulating effects of nervous system and its high potential for recreational abuse, than for his therapeutic use. However, cocaine is still use as a topical anesthetic and peripheral vasoconstrictor in surgeries of eye, ear, nose and throat. Last decade, an increase of the presence of cocaine and metabolites in blood samples of drivers suspected to drive under the influence of drugs (DUID) was observed in Switzerland (Augsburger et al., Forensic Sci Int 153 (2005) 11-15; Senna et al., Forensic Sci Int 198 (2010) 11-16). Observed blood concentration ranges of cocaine and benzoylecgonine were 10-925 μg/L and 20-5200 μg/L, respectively. Since 2005, zero-tolerance approach was introduced in the Swiss legislation for different substances, especially cocaine (analytical cutoff: 15 μg/L). Thus, the interpretation often amounts to determine if the concentration is situated above or under the limit. However, it is important for the interpretation to take into account the context and to be critical with the obtained results, at the risk of ending in erroneous conclusions. Methods: Systematical toxicological analyses were performed on blood and urine, if available, for 5 DUID cases, as already published (Augsburger et al., Forensic Sci Int 153 (2005)). Positive results were confirmed and drugs were quantified in biological samples by GCMS, GC-MS/MS or LC-MS/MS. Results: Administration of cocaine after traffic accident was identified in five cases. All people were admitted to the emergency room because of severe trauma. Maxillofacial surgery was done shortly after admission to the emergency room, involving use of nasal application of cocaine (swab). For all cases, use of cocaine swab was not mentioned in the document filled by the police and by medical staff requested for blood and urine sampling. The information was obtained retrospectively after consultation of the medical records, without precise indication of the application time or dose. Case 1. A 83-year old man (pedestrian) was hit by a car. Blood (+11h after the accident): cocaine (16 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (370 μg/L). Urine: cocaine (1700 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (560 μg/L). Case 2. A 84-year old woman (pedestrian) was hit by a car. Blood (+1.5h after the accident): cocaine (230 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (370 μg/L). Urine was not available. Hair (+4 months after the accident): segment 1 (0-2 cm), cocaine not detected; segment 2 (2-4 cm), cocaine: <0.5 ng/mg. Case 3. A 66-year old man was involved in a car/car accident. He died 2 hours and 5 minutes after the crash. Blood (+1.5h after the accident): cocaine and metabolites not detected. Blood (+2h after the accident): cocaine (1750 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (460 μg/L). Blood (post-mortem): cocaine (370 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (200 μg/L). Urine (+1.5h after the accident): cocaine not detected. Case 4. A 57-year old woman on a motor scooter was hit by a car. She died 2 hours and 10 minutes after the crash. Blood (+0.5h after the accident): cocaine and metabolites not detected. Urine (post-mortem): cocaine (<20 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (120 μg/L). Case 5. A 30-year old man was involved in a car accident. Blood (+4h after the accident): cocaine (29 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (< 20 μg/L). Urine (+4h after the accident): cocaine and metabolites not detected. Ethanol (1,32 g/kg) and cannabinoids (THC (2,0 μg/L), THCCOOH (38 μg/L)) were also detected in blood. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first description of DUID cases involving therapeutic use of cocaine after an accident. These results indicate that even if a per se law is effective for prosecution case of DUID, a critical interpretation of the results is always needed, especially if a medical intervention occurs after an accident.

STRATEGIES TO SURPASS THE VULNERABILITY OF THE SMALL ISLAND STATES WITH FEW RESOURCES: THE CASE OF CAPE VERDE

The problem of small Island Developing States (SIDS) is quite recent, end of the 80s and 90s, still looking for a theoretical consolidation. SIDS, as small states in development, formed by one or several islands geographically dispersed, present reduced population, market, territory, natural resources, including drinkable water, and, in great number of the cases, low level of economic activity, factors that together, hinder the gathering of scale economies. To these diseconomies they come to join the more elevated costs in transports and communications which, allies to lower productivities, to a smaller quality and diversification of its productions, which difficult its integration in the world economy. In some SIDS these factors are not dissociating of the few investments in infrastructures, in the formation of human resources and in productive investments, just as it happens in most of the developing countries. In ecological terms, many of them with shortage of natural resources, but integrating important ecosystems in national and world terms, but with great fragility relatively to the pollution action, of excessive fishing, of uncontrolled development of tourism, factors that, conjugated and associated to the stove effect, condition the climate and the slope of the medium level of the sea water and therefore could put in cause the own survival of some of them. The drive to the awareness of the international community towards its problems summed up with the accomplishment by the United Nations in the Barbados’s Conference, 1994 where the right to the development was emphasized, through the going up the appropriate strategies and the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of the SIDS. The orientation of the regional and international cooperation in that sense, sharing technology (namely clean technology and control and administration environmental technology), information and creation of capacity-building, supplying means, including financial resources, creating non discriminatory and just trade rules, it would drive to the establishment of a world system economically more equal, in which the production, the consumption, the pollution levels, the demographic politics were guided towards the sustainability. It constituted an important step for the recognition for the international community on the specificities of those states and it allowed the definition of a group of norms and politics to implement at the national, regional and international level and it was important that they continued in the sense of the sustainable development. But this Conference had in its origin previous summits: the Summit of Rio de Janeiro about Environment and Development, accomplished in 1992, which left an important document - the Agenda 21, in the Conference of Stockholm at 1972 and even in the Conference of Ramsar, 1971 about “Wetlands.” CENTRO DE ESTUDOS AFRICANOS Occasional Papers © CEA - Centro de Estudos Africanos 4 Later, the Valletta Declaration, Malta, 1998, the Forum of Small States, 2002, get the international community's attention for the problems of SIDS again, in the sense that they act to increase its resilience. If the definition of “vulnerability” was the inability of the countries to resist economical, ecological and socially to the external shocks and “resilience” as the potential for them to absorb and minimize the impact of those shocks, presenting a structure that allows them to be little affected by them, a part of the available studies, dated of the 90s, indicate that the SIDS are more vulnerable than the other developing countries. The vulnerability of SIDS results from the fact the they present an assemblage of characteristics that turns them less capable of resisting or they advance strategies that allow a larger resilience to the external shocks, either anthropogenic (economical, financial, environmental) or even natural, connected with the vicissitudes of the nature. If these vulnerability factors were grouped with the expansion of the economic capitalist system at world level, the economic and financial globalisation, the incessant search of growing profits on the part of the multinational enterprises, the technological accelerated evolution drives to a situation of disfavour of the more poor. The creation of the resilience to the external shocks, to the process of globalisation, demands from SIDS and of many other developing countries the endogen definition of strategies and solid but flexible programs of integrated development. These must be assumed by the instituted power, but also by the other stakeholders, including companies and organizations of the civil society and for the population in general. But that demands strong investment in the formation of human resources, in infrastructures, in investigation centres; it demands the creation capacity not only to produce, but also to produce differently and do international marketing. It demands institutional capacity. Cape Verde is on its way to this stage.

The investigation of deaths in custody: a qualitative analysis of problems and prospects.

The right to be treated humanely when detained is universally recognized. Deficiencies in detention conditions and violence, however, subvert this right. When this occurs, proper medico-legal investigations are critical irrespective of the nature of death. Unfortunately, the very context of custody raises serious concerns over the effectiveness and fairness of medico-legal examinations. The aim of this manuscript is to identify and discuss the practical and ethical difficulties encountered in the medico-legal investigation following deaths in custody. Data for this manuscript come from a larger project on Death in Custody that examined the causes of deaths in custody and the conditions under which these deaths should be investigated and prevented. A total of 33 stakeholders from forensic medicine, law, prison administration or national human rights administration were interviewed. Data obtained were analyzed qualitatively. Forensic experts are an essential part of the criminal justice process as they offer evidence for subsequent indictment and eventual punishment of perpetrators. Their independence when investigating a death in custody was deemed critical and lack thereof, problematic. When experts were not independent, concerns arose in relation to conflicts of interest, biased perspectives, and low-quality forensic reports. The solutions to ensure independent forensic investigations of deaths in custody must be structural and simple: setting binding standards of practice rather than detailed procedures and relying on preexisting national practices as opposed to encouraging new practices that are unattainable for countries with limited resources.

Active civic participation of immigrants in Portugal

Portugal’s historical past strongly influences the composition of the country’s immigrant population. The main third-country foreign nationals in Portugal originate traditionally from Portuguese-speaking African countries (namely Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea Bissau, and S. Tomé e Príncipe) and Brazil. In 2001, a newly created immigrant status entitled “permanence” authorization uncovered a quantitative and a qualitative change in the structure of immigrant population in Portugal. First, there was a quantitative jump from 223.602 foreigners in 2001 to 364.203 regularized foreigners in 2003. Secondly, there was a substantial qualitative shift in the composition of immigrants. The majority of the new immigrants began coming from Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine, Moldavia, Romania, and the Russian Federation. Thus, European countries outside the E.U. zone now rank second (after African countries) in their contribution of individuals to the stocks of immigrant population in Portugal. The differences between the new and traditional immigration flows are visible in the geographical distribution of immigrants and in their insertion into the labour market. While the traditional flows would congregate around the metropolitan area of Lisbon and in the Algarve, the new migratory flows tend to be more geographically dispersed and present in less urbanized areas of Portugal. In terms of insertion in the labour market, although the construction sector is still the most important industry for immigrant labour, Eastern European workers may also be found in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The institutional conditions that encourage immigrants’ civic participation are divided at three different levels: the state, the local, and the civil society levels. At the state level, the High Commissioner for Migrations and Ethnic Minorities is the main organizational structure along with a set of interrelated initiatives operating under specific regulatory frameworks, which act as mediators between state officials and the Portuguese civil society, and more specifically, immigrant communities. At the local level, some municipalities created consultative councils and municipal departments aiming at encouraging the participation and representation of interests from immigrant groups and association in local policies. In the civil society sphere, the main actors in Portugal spurring immigrants civic participation are immigrant associations, mainstream associations directed toward immigration topics, and unions. The legal conditions framing immigrants’ access to social housing, education, health, and social security in Portugal are also considered to be positive. Conditions restricting immigrants’ civic participation are mainly normative and include the Portuguese nationality law, the regulations shaping the political participation of immigrants, namely in what concerns their right to vote, and employment regulations restricting immigrants’ access to public administration positions. Part II of the report focuses on the active civic participation of third country immigrants. First, reasons for the lack of research on this issue in Portugal are explained. On the one hand, the recent immigration history and the more urgent needs regarding school and economic integration kept this issue out of the research spotlight. On the other hand, it was just in the beginning of the 1990s that immigrants took the very first steps toward collective mobilisation. Secondly, the literature review of Portuguese bibliography covers research on third country immigrants’ associative movement, research on local authorities’ policies and discussion about ethnic politics and political mobilisation of immigrants in Portugal. As political mobilisation of these groups has been made mainly through ethnic and/or migrant organisations, a brief history of immigrants' associative movement is given. Immigrant associations develop multiple roles, covering the social, the cultural, the economic and the political domains. Political claiming for the regularisation of illegal immigrants has been a permanent and important field of intervention since the mid-1990s. Research results reveal the com5 plex relations between ethnic mobilisation and the set of legal and institutional frameworks developed by local and national governmental authorities targeted to the incorporation of minority groups. Case studies on the Oeiras district and on the Amadora district are then presented. Conclusions underline that the most active immigrant groups are those from Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau, since these groups have constituted a higher number of ethnic associations, give priority to political claiming and present a more politicised discourse. Reflecting on the future of research on civic participation of third country immigrants in Portugal, the authors state that it would be interesting and relevant to compare the Portuguese situation with those of other European countries, with an older immigration history, and analyse how the Portuguese immigrants’ associative movement will be affected by a changing legal framework and the emergence of new opportunities within the set of structures regarding the political participation of minority groups.