Studying the impact of co-authorship with external researchers:the case of research community in Portugal using social network analysis.

Project work presented as a partial requirement to obtain a Master Degree in Information Management

Compliance with ESPGHAN Position on Complementary Feeding in a Multicultural European Community. Does Ethnicity Matter?

Introduction: In 2008, ESPGHAN published a position paper on complementary feeding providing recommendations to health care professionals. Cultural and socio-economic factors might affect the compliance to these orientations. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of inadequacies during complementary feeding (ESPGHAN, 2008) and its association with different ethnic backgrounds. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of caretakers of children up to 24 months of age in a single community health centre in Greater Lisbon, through a volunteer, self-applied questionnaire. Results: From a sample of children with wide cultural diversity, 161 valid questionnaires were obtained (median child’s age 9 months, median mother’s age 32 years). The prevalence rate of at least one complementary feeding inadequacy was 46% (95%CI: 38.45-53.66). The commonest inadequacies were: avoiding lumpy solid foods after 10 months of age (66.7%), avoidance or delayed introduction of foods beyond 12 months (35.4%), introduction of gluten beyond 7 months (15.9%) or salt before 12 months (6.7%). For each increase of 1 month in the age of the child, the odds of inadequacies raised 36.7% (OR = 1.37; 95%CI: 1.20-1.56; p < 0.001). The odds for inadequacies in children of African or Brazilian offspring was three times higher that of Portuguese ancestry (OR = 3.31; 95%CI: 0.87-12.61; p = 0.079). The influence of grandparents was related to an increase in the odds of inadequacies (OR = 3.69; 95%CI: 0.96-14.18; p = 0.058).Conclusion: Inadequacies during complementary feeding are frequent and may be influenced by the cultural background.

Label-free detection of biomolecules with Ta2O5-based field effect devices

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Nanotecnologias e Nanociências

Pro poor tourism for community development on Atauro Island, Timor-Leste

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Sensitivity of Gomez-Nuñez boxes for the detection of household infestation with Panstrongylus megistus

Four methods for detecting household infestations with Panstrongylus megistus were compared: 1) manual collection; 2) collection after pyrethrum application; 3) search viable eggs; and 4) Gomez-Nuñez boxes. Manual collection was the most sensitive method (23% infested), followed by pyrethrum (21%), Gomez-Nuñez boxes (15%) and viable eggs (12%). About 10% of infested houses were positive exclusively on the Gomez-Nuñez box test. More over, 6 out of the 7 houses positive exclusively on the Gomez-Nuñez method were located in a recently sprayed area, where P. megistus density was low. Inspection of Gomez-Nuñez boxes at 12 weekspost-application was twice as effective as inspection at 6 weekspost-application. Triatomine feces was the most common evidencefor thepresence of P. megistus found within Gomez-Nuñez boxes. Gomez-Nuñez boxes area a useful adjunct to manual collection in detecting domestic infestations with P. megistus, especially in areas where bug densities are low. However, the utility of Gomez-Nuhez boxes must be weighed against the time and labor they require.

A CSR communication strategy for Continente: Improving brand image and reinforcing local community bonds

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Time series morphological analysis applied to biomedical signals events detection

Dissertation submitted in the fufillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master in Biomedical Engineering

Two competitive enzyme immunoassays for the detection of IgG class antibodies to hepatitis a antigen

Two competitive enzyme immunoassays (EIA) techniques were developed: in the first (COMP-1), test sera were added together with HAV antigen on anti-HAV IgG-coated wells followed by an anti-HA VHRP conjugate; in the second (COMP-2), test sera and anti-HA VHRP conjugate competed for HAV epitopes previously adsorbed to anti-HA V IgG-coated wells. Both procedures used tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) as a substrate. Both competitive tests were shown to be reproducible and suitable for routine diagnosis and research purposes.

The impact of online brand community on electronic word-of-mouth communications

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Gold nanoprobes for the detection of mutations associated with antibiotic resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Genética Molecular e Biomedicina

The impact of Ireland’s current Mental Health Policy on the profile of community mental Health Services

RESUMO: Em 2006, foi aprovada uma nova política governamental para a saúde mental intitulada “Uma Visão para a Mudança”, a qual está neste momento no sétimo ano de implementação. A política descreve um enquadramento para o desenvolvimento e promoção da saúde mental positiva para toda a Comunidade e para a prestação de serviços acessíveis, baseados na comunidade, serviços especializados para pessoas com doença mental. A implementação da política e o tornar a “Vision for Change” uma realidade têm sido problemáticos, com críticas consideráveis por parte dos intervenientes, relativas à lenta e desconexa implementação. Este estudo fornece informação sobre as características dos serviços de três importantes tipos de instituições de saúde mental comunitária a nível nacional, nomeadamente Hospitais de Dia, Centros de Dia e residências comunitárias operantes 24 horas. A pesquisa analisa objetivos e funções, perfis dos pacientes, atividades terapêuticas, a eficácia das redes de comunicação e beneficia da perspectiva dos funcionários sobre o que mudou no terreno ao longo dos últimos sete anos. As questões identificadas a partir das características dos três serviços dizem respeito a todos. Os participantes indicaram que o ethos da recuperação parece ter alcançado um papel mais central no tratamento do paciente na comunidade mas reconheceram que o desafio de integrar os princípios de recuperação na prática clínica se mantém presente. Parece ser reconhecida a importância da planificação do cuidado individual nos serviços comunitários e os entrevistados indicaram que existe um empenho para garantir o envolvimento do usuário do serviço. Há diferenças entre os „pontos de vista do pessoal‟ e os „pontos de vista dos representantes‟ sobre uma série de aspetos da prestação de serviços. Este é o primeiro estudo irlandês deste género a examinar a prestação de serviços das três principais instituições comunitárias de saúde mental num só estudo. Estes serviços representam um enorme investimento em recursos, quer a nível monetário, quer humano. O estudo examinou os desafios e as questões fundamentais que lhe são aplicáveis e que têm impacto nestes três tipos de prestação de serviços. Também forneceu informações sobre os elementos de mudança positiva, os quais se começam a focar lentamente na prestação do serviço, assim como na importância da centralidade do utilizador do serviço e na promoção de um ethos da recuperação.----------ABSTRACT: In 2006, a new Government policy for mental health “A Vision for Change” was endorsed and is currently in the seventh year of implementation. The policy describes a comprehensive framework for building and fostering positive mental health across the entire community and for providing accessible, community based, specialist services for people with mental illness. The implementation of the policy and turning “Vision for Change” into reality has been problematic with considerable criticism from stakeholders concerning slow and disjointed implementation. This study provides information on three key community mental health service settings, namely Day Hospitals, Day Centres and 24 Hour Community Residences at a national level. The research looks at aims and functions, patient profiles, therapeutic activities, effectiveness of key communication networks and gains an insight from staff on what has changed on the ground over the past seven years. Issues identified from the three service settings pertain to all. Participants indicated that the recovery ethos appears to have moved to a more central role in patient care in the community but acknowledged that the challenge of integrating recovery principles in clinical practice remains present. The importance of individual care planning appears to be recognised in community services and respondents indicated that efforts are being made to ensure service user involvement. There were differences between „staff views‟ and „advocate views‟ on a number of aspects of service provision. This is the first Irish study of its kind to examine service provision across the three main community mental health settings in one study. These services represent a huge investment in resources both on a monetary and human level. This study has examined the challenges and key issues which are applicable and impacting on all three types of service provision. It has also provided information on the elements of positive change, which are slowly embedding themselves in service provision such as the importance of the centricity of the service user and the promotion of a recovery ethos.

Studies on the wine spoilage yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis: 4-ethylphenol production and improved detection

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Biotecnologia

A low-voltage RF-CMOS receiver front-end for a wireless fall detection microsystem

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores, pela Universidade Nova de Ciências e Tecnologia

Detection of HTLV-IIa in blood donors in an urban area of the Amazon Region of Brazil (Belém, PA)

The human lymphotropic viruses type I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II) are members of a group of mammalian retroviruses with similar biological properties, and blood transfusion is an important route of transmission. HTLV-I is endemic in a number of different geographical areas and is associated with several clinical disorders. HTLV-II is endemic in several Indian groups of the Americas and intravenous drug abusers in North and South America, Europe and Southeast Asia. During the year of 1995, all blood donors tested positive to HTLV-I/II in the State Blood Bank (HEMOPA), were directed to a physician and to the Virus Laboratory at the Universidade Federal do Pará for counselling and laboratory diagnosis confirmation. Thirty-five sera were tested by an enzyme immune assay, and a Western blot that discriminates HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection. Two HTLV-II positive samples were submitted to PCR analysis of pX and env genomic region, and confirmed to be of subtype IIa. This is the first detection in Belém of the presence of HTLV-IIa infection among blood donors. This result emphasizes that HTLV-II is also present in urban areas of the Amazon region of Brazil and highlights the need to include screening tests that are capable to detect antibodies for both types of HTLV.

Detection of enteroviral sequence in endomyocardial tissues from patients with cardiac diseases in Northern Brazil

In the present report we describe the results from a pilot study aimed at detecting enterovirus sequence in cardiac tissues, obtained through endomyocardial biopsies, from patients suffering from cardiac diseases in the Amazon region. Six samples that were collected from three patients were analysed by RT-PCR showing 3 positive and 3 negative results. These preliminary findings suggest the participation of enteroviruses in the etiology of cardiac diseases, mainly myocarditis, and warrant further and broader local studies on this subject.