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We present the main findings of a case study focusing on the digital literacy practices of a Portuguese early childhood teacher known for her innovative pedagogical methods. Data was collected through an in-depth interview centred on the teacher's perceptions about her digital literacy practices and on the professional development underpinning such practices. The thematic content analysis of the data was based on core principles of early childhood pedagogy, multiliteracies and professional development theories. It revealed that, from this teacher's perspective, the application of digital literacy practices has both enhanced and challenged her pedagogy. Moreover, the analysis showed that her innovative practices combine functional professional learning with attitudinal dispositions such as professionalism, professional identity, resilience and commitment. Overall, our research highlights the importance of combining both functional and attitudinal dimensions in professional development initiatives aiming to enhance renewed integration of digital literacy practices in early childhood education.

Language is widely recognized as an inescapable mediating tool for professional learning, and with this text we want to contribute to a better understanding of the particular role that guided writing can play in in-service professional reflective learning. We analysed one pre-school teacher's written portfolio, the construction of which was guided to scaffold deep thinking about (and the transference of theory into) practice during participation in an in-service program about language education. Our case study shows that the writing process sustained robust learning about professional knowing, doing and learning itself: The teacher elaborated an integrative ethical understanding of the discussed theory, fully experienced newly informed practices and assessed her own learning by using theory to confront her previous knowledge and practices. Throughout the portfolio, the learning stance revealed by her voice varied accordingly. The study illustrates the potential of guided writing to scaffold reflective learning in in-service contexts.

Over the last decades, the establishment of new fast‐growing forest plantations has been prospering. Although the European continent has the lowest share worldwide of forest plantations out of its total forest area, the Portuguese reality contrasts this. Since the last century, eucalypt plantations have increased widely in Portugal, and nowadays, it represents 36% of the total country's forests. Consequently, the soils of these plantations are commonly targeted with intensive soil mobilization by heavy machinery before planting, which in the case of sloped areas, frequently results in bench terracing. This study aims to quantify the widespread bench terracing implementation over the last 20 years in the Caramulo Mountains in north central Portugal. To do so, an analysis of satellite imagery was performed with Google Earth Pro, which allowed determining the coverage of forest areas where new terraces have been implemented, and their respective temporal dynamics. These results were then compared with additional spatiotemporal databases on land cover, topography, and bedrock, in order to understand the drivers of terrace implementation. Till date, 15% of the forest area in the mountains of Caramulo is under terraces, and over the last 20 years, the construction rate of new terraced land decreased in time, from 4% between 2000 and 2004 to 2% between 2015 and 2019. Among the two bedrock types existent in the area, terracing was found nearly exclusive over schist bedrock type (97%), while few areas were implemented over granites (3%). Their distribution was found limited above 30° of slope angle while 39% were found implemented below 15° of slope angle, conflicting with literature recommendations. Terracing was also found to be a driver of land cover change in 12% of the newly constructed terraces, whereas 8% were constructed over previous pine plantations and 4% on shrublands. This study allowed identifying several knowledge gaps associated with terracing implementation. Therefore, the authors of this work suggest a multidisciplinary approach when planning new terraces for a better assessment of the benefits and impacts of such land management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) negatively impact cancer patients' quality of life and treatment outcomes. This study evaluated the achievement of complete response to CINV prophylaxis during the first five days after chemotherapy in adult outpatient cancer clinics with solid malignant tumours receiving Moderate or Highly Emetogenic Chemotherapy (MEC or HEC) in Portugal. During the study, patients completed three evaluations, and nausea severity and CINV impact on patients' daily life was assessed. A complete response (no emetic episodes, no use of rescue antiemetic medication, and no more than mild nausea) was observed in 72% of the cycles (N = 161) throughout the five days after chemotherapy. Amongst the patient population, 25% classified their CINV episodes as severe. Though more than half of the patients achieved a complete response, suggesting that a therapeutic effort is being made to minimise this side effect, the overall scenario is barely optimistic. Significantly, new CINV-control measures in MEC/HEC patients should be adopted, specifically avoiding the single use of dexamethasone and 5-HT3 and raising awareness of using NK1-RAs. Thus, it is critical to improve CINV prophylactic treatment and implement practical international antiemetic guidelines in Portuguese clinical practice, envisaging the improvement of supportive care for cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rev Rene is the property of Rev Rene and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Wildfires are a recurrent and increasing threat in mainland Portugal, where over 4.5 million hectares of forests and scrublands have burned over the last 38 years. These fire-affected landscapes have suffered an intensification of soil erosion processes, which can negatively affect soil carbon storage, reduce fertility and forest productivity, and can become a source of pollutants. The main objective of the present study is to produce a post-fire soil erosion risk map for the forest and shrubland areas in mainland Portugal and assess its reliability. To this end, the semi-empirical Morgan–Morgan–Finney erosion model was used to assess the potential post-fire soil erosion according to distinct burn severity and climate scenarios, and the accuracy of the predictions was verified by an uncertainty analysis and validated against independent field datasets. The proposed approach successfully allowed mapping post-fire soil erosion in Portugal and identified the areas with higher post-fire erosion risk for past and future climate extremes. The outcomes of this study comprise a set of tools to help forest managers in their decision-making for post-fire emergency stabilization, ensuring the adequate selection of areas for mitigation to minimize the economic and environmental losses caused by fire-enhanced soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the role of the oral language for the development of reading and communicative competence is unquestionable. However, the promotion of the oral communication competence has not been obtaining the same attention from investigation as reading. This study concisely describes a programme to promote the development of the oral communicative competence (CCO) - Communication and oral expression: speaking, listening, and reading in middle school - aimed for the 7th grade, and presents the results of the empirical study which analysed the impact of its implementation throughout one schoolyear in two public schools of Northern Portugal. The design used was quasi-experimental, involving a sample of 122 participants. The effects of the programme were assessed using GOAOCC - Grid for observation and assessment of the oral communicative competence, which assesses the verbal, paraverbal and non-verbal skills comprised in CCO, based on a Likert scale of 5 points (from 1=poor to 5=excellent). The results of the statistical analysis (MANCOVA and ANCOVA) show that the experimental group presents considerable high gains compared with those in the control group, not only on the three areas that are part of the CCO, but also on the total score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In current management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), cardiovascular and renal prevention have become important targets to be achieved. In this context, a joint panel of four endocrinology societies from Brazil and Portugal was established to develop an evidence-based guideline for treatment of hyperglycemia in T2DM. Methods: MEDLINE (via PubMed) was searched for randomized clinical trials, meta-analyses, and observational studies related to diabetes treatment. When there was insufficient high-quality evidence, expert opinion was sought. Updated positions on treatment of T2DM patients with heart failure (HF), atherosclerotic CV disease (ASCVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and patients with no vascular complications were developed. The degree of recommendation and the level of evidence were determined using predefined criteria. Results and conclusions: In non-pregnant adults, the recommended HbA1c target is below 7%. Higher levels are recommended in frail older adults and patients at higher risk of hypoglycemia. Lifestyle modification is recommended at all phases of treatment. Metformin is the first choice when HbA1c is 6.5–7.5%. When HbA1c is 7.5–9.0%, dual therapy with metformin plus an SGLT2i and/or GLP-1RA (first-line antidiabetic agents, AD1) is recommended due to cardiovascular and renal benefits. If an AD1 is unaffordable, other antidiabetic drugs (AD) may be used. Triple or quadruple therapy should be considered when HbA1c remains above target. In patients with clinical or subclinical atherosclerosis, the combination of one AD1 plus metformin is the recommended first-line therapy to reduce cardiovascular events and improve blood glucose control. In stable heart failure with low ejection fraction (< 40%) and glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) > 30 mL/min/1.73 m2, metformin plus an SGLT-2i is recommended to reduce cardiovascular mortality and heart failure hospitalizations and improve blood glucose control. In patients with diabetes-associated chronic kidney disease (CKD) (eGFR 30–60 mL/min/1.73 m2 or eGFR 30–90 mL/min/1.73 m2 with albuminuria > 30 mg/g), the combination of metformin and an SGLT2i is recommended to attenuate loss of renal function, reduce albuminuria and improve blood glucose control. In patients with severe renal failure, insulin-based therapy is recommended to improve blood glucose control. Alternatively, GLP-1RA, DPP4i, gliclazide MR and pioglitazone may be considered to reduce albuminuria. In conclusion, the current evidence supports individualizing anti-hyperglycemic treatment for T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat waves (HW) can have devastating social, economic and environmental impacts. Together with long-term drought, they are the main factors contributing to wildfires. Surprisingly, the quantitative and objective analysis leading to the identification and characterization of HW in current and future climate conditions as well as its influence on the occurrence of extreme wildfires (EW) has never been performed for Portugal and are the main objectives of this study. For this reason, we assess HW in recent past and future climate based on a consistent high resolution meteorological database and have compared their occurrence with long and reliable, precise and detailed information about Portuguese fire events. Results include the characterization of HW frequency, duration, seasonality and intensity for current and different future climate conditions and their relationship with EW occurrence. We detected 130 HW between 1981 and 2010, concentrated between May and October and highest values in July and August. The highest HW number and duration is found over the Northeast corner and the south of the country while highest amplitudes are typically located in central area. HW characteristics present high inter-annual variability but are clearly associated to the temporal and spatial distribution of EW: 97% of total number of EW were active during an HW, 90% of total EW days were also HW days; 82% of the EW had duration completely contained in the duration of an HW; and, 83% of EW occurred during and in the area affected by HW. Our results also show that HW should increase in number, duration and amplitude, more significantly for RCP 8.5, and for the 30-year periods near the end of the 21st century. Findings of this study will support the definition of climate change adaptation strategies for fire danger and risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wildland-/rural-urban interface (WUI/RUI) is a particularly important aspect of the fire regime. In Mediterranean basin most of the fires in this pyro region are caused by humans and the risk and consequences are particularly high due to the close proximity to population, human infrastructures and urban areas. Population increase, urban growth and the rapid changes in land use incurred in Europe over the last 30 years has been unprecedented, especially nearby the metropolitan areas, and some of these trends are expected to continue. Associated to high socioeconomic development, Portugal experienced in the last decades significant land cover/land use changes (LCLUC), population dynamics and demographic trends in response to migration, rural abandonment, and ageing of rural population. This study aims to assess the evolution of RUI in Portugal, from 1990 to 2012, based on LCLUC providing also a quantitative characterization of forest fires dynamics in relation to the burnt area. Obtained results disclose important LCLUC which spatial distribution is far from uniform within the territory. A significant increase in artificial surfaces is registered nearby the main metropolitan communities of the northwest and littoral-central and southern regions, whilst the abandonment of agricultural land nearby the inland urban areas leads to an increase of uncultivated semi-natural and forest areas. Within agricultural areas, heterogeneous patches suffered the greatest changes and are the main contributors to the increase of urban areas. Moreover these are among the LCLU classes with higher burnt area, reasons why heterogeneous agricultural areas have been included in the definition of RUI. Finally, the mapped RUI's area, burnt area and burnt area within RUI allow to conclude that, form 1990 to 2012 in Portugal, RUI increased more than two thirds and total burnt area decreased one third. Nevertheless, burnt area within RUI doubled, which emphasize the significance of RUI for land and fire managers. This research provides a first quantitative global assessment of RUI in Portugal and presents an innovative analysis on the impact of land use changes on burnt areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial and temporal distribution of forest fires displays a complex pattern which strongly influences the forest landscape and the neighbouring anthropogenic development. Statistical methods developed for spatio-temporal stochastic point processes can be employed to find a structure, detect over-densities and trends in forest fire risk and address towards prevention and forecasting measures. The present study considers the Portuguese mapped burnt areas official geodatabase resulting from interpreted satellite measurements, covering the period 1990-2013. The main goal is to detect whether space and time act independently or whether, conversely, neighbouring events are also closer in time, interacting to generate clusters. To this purpose, the following statistical methods were applied: (1) the geographically weighted summary statistics, to explore how the average burned area vary locally through the investigated region; (2) the bivariate K-function, to test the space-time interaction and the spatial attraction/independency between fires of different size; and (3) the space-time kernel density, allowing elaborating smoothed density surfaces and representing over-densities of large versus medium versus small fires and on north versus south region. The proposed approach successfully allowed finding and mapping spatio-temporal patterns within this large data series. Specifically, medium fires tend to aggregate around small fires, while large fires aggregate at a larger distance and longer times, indicating that the return time following these events is longer than for small and medium fires. The density maps shows that hot spots are present almost each year in the northern region, with a higher concentration in the northern areas, while the southern half of the country counts lower surface densities of fires, which are mainly concentrated in the central period (2000-2007). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is focused in mapping the structural fire risk in the vegetated area of Portugal using a deterministic approach based on the concept of fire risk currently accepted by the scientific community which consists in the combination of the fire hazard and the potential economic damage. The fire susceptibility map of Verde and Zêzere (2010) was adopted and updated by the use of a higher resolution digital terrain model, longer burnt area perimeter dataset (1975–2013) and the entire set of Corine land cover inventories. The susceptibility was mapped with five classes to be in accordance with the Portuguese law and the results confirms the good performance of this model not only in the favourability scores but also in the predictive values. Three different scenarios of (maximum, mean, and minimum annual) burnt area were consider to estimate the fire hazard which allow to estimate the likelihood of a pixel to burn (ranging between 0% and 20%) depending on the class to which it belongs and on the future burnt area scenario. The potential economic damage was estimated with the vulnerability scores and monetary values of species defined in the literature and by law. The obtained fire risk map identifies the areas more prone to be affected by fires in the future and provides an estimate of the economic damage of the fire which will be a valuable tool for forest and fire managers and to minimize the economic and environmental consequences of vegetation fires in Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper provides a reflection about the usefulness of the concept of social entrepreneurship to Portuguese third sector organizations (TSOs) with the purpose of understanding the paths undertaken by the latter. Departing from a theoretical synthesis inspired by different approaches to social entrepreneurship, the purpose of this paper is to offer an operative view of the concept in light of the problematics of social innovation and organizational innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis focuses on the intervention models and management models of these organizations. It uses a sequential methodological approach that combines extensive and intensive analyses. Findings – The author has concluded that Portuguese TSOs show a fragile form of social entrepreneurship. This includes, among others, state dependency both in terms of models of financial management and the definition and regulation of activities, recipients and social intervention. This leads the author to claim, even though cautiously, that management models influence intervention models. Originality/value – The originality of this paper lies on the use of an analytic framework that offers an eclectic approach to social entrepreneurship. This approach goes beyond some hidden contradictions between Anglo-Saxon schools of thought, namely, the earned income school of thought, and the school of social innovation, as well as the European perspective on social enterprises, and the Latin-American school of solidarity economy. These schools have been reconciled for the purposes of this analysis, which attempts to operationalize the notion of social entrepreneurship in the Portuguese TSOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal and sustainable allocation of equipment in earthwork tasks is a complex problem that requires the study of several different aspects, as well as the knowledge of a large number of factors. In truth, earthworks are comprised by a combination of repetitive, sequential, and interdependent activities based on heavy mechanical equipment (i.e., resources), such as excavators, dumper trucks, bulldozers and compactors. In order to optimally allocate the available resources, knowledge regarding their specifications (e.g., capacity, weight, horsepower) and the work conditions to which they will be subjected (e.g., material types, required and available volumes in embankment and excavation fronts, respectively) is essential. This knowledge can be translated into the productivity (i.e., work rate) of each piece of equipment when working under a specific set of conditions. Moreover, since earthwork tasks are inherently sequential and interdependent, the interaction between the allocated equipment must be taken into account. A typical example of this is the need for matching the work rate of an excavator team with the capacity of a truck team to haul the excavated material to the embankment fronts. Given the non-trivial characteristics of the earthwork allocation problem, conventional Operation Research (e.g., linear programming) and blind search methods are infeasible. As such, a potential solution is to adopt metaheuristics – modern optimization methods capable of searching large search space regions under a reasonable use of computational resources. While this may address the issue of optimizing such a complex problem, the lack of knowledge regarding optimization parameters under different work conditions, such as equipment productivity, calls for a different approach. Bearing in mind the availability of large databases, including in the earthworks area, that have been gathered in recent years by construction companies, technologies like data mining (DM) come forward as ideal tools for solving this problem. Indeed, the learning capabilities of DM algorithms can be applied to databases embodying the productivity of several equipment types when subjected to different work conditions. The extracted knowledge can then be used to estimate the productivity of the available equipment under similar work conditions. Furthermore, as previously referred, since earthwork tasks include the material hauling from excavation to embankment fronts, it also becomes imperative to analyze and optimize the possible transportation networks. In this context, the use of geographic information systems (GIS) provides an easy method to study the possible trajectories for transportation equipment in a construction site, ultimately allowing for a choice of the best paths to improve the workflow. This paper explores the advantages of integrating the referred technologies, among others, in order to allow for a sustainable management of earthworks. This is translated in the form of an evolutionary multi-criteria optimization system, capable of searching for the best allocation of the available equipment that minimizes a set of goals (e.g., cost, duration, environmental impact). Results stemming from the validation of the resulting system using real-world data from a Portuguese construction site demonstrate the potential and importance of using this kind of technologies for a sustainable management and optimization of earthworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the professional situations of higher education degree holders in Portugal, five years after their graduation. Topics discussed include an examination of the relationship between the Portuguese educational system and the labor market, characteristics of graduates' professional transition, and the finding that majority of graduates perform professional activities that are adequate to their educational level, with adequate earnings, work hours, and employment contracts.

This article analyses the structural changes of youth employment between 15 and 24 years of age, with compulsory basic education (ISCED 0-2) in 1988, 1998 and 2007 based on the unpublished data from Quadros de Pessoal (Labour Census - Public sector excluded) of the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity. The exploration of variables such as contract, seniority, working hours and remuneration, allows configuring an autonomous labour market of juvenile manpower with regard to the general labour market. It concludes by arguing that schooling is a key differentiator of the employment relation of less educated young people towards higher educated one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to present and discuss the perspectives of social entrepreneurship conveyed by third sector organizations in Portugal in the context of the main international theoretical approaches. As part of a research project on social entrepreneurship in Portugal, the article analyses the content of 20 semi-structured interviews with key actors within the Portuguese third sector. It is assumed that the roles these actors play are a clear indicator of the importance their views can hold in defining the social entrepreneurship field in Portugal. This analysis enables us to conclude that heterogeneous views and blurred defined boundaries frame the debate on social entrepreneurship's processes and definitions, with some actors even rejecting it in favour of other concepts such as "social economy" or "solidarity economy". Nevertheless, the central issues that arose are associated with the individual qualities of the entrepreneur, as well as the sustainability of the initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Type - Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4 What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Until now, the transvaginal approach has been the only method of removing larger specimens from the abdominal cavity using natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery. There has been no means of extracting larger specimens in men and the means are restricted even in women, particularly in young women. The present study shows that the difficulty of large specimen retrieval can be overcome, irrespective of the diameter of the chosen port, through natural orifices using morcellation. OBJECTIVE To show, in a porcine model, the feasibility of a complete transvesical natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) nephrectomy with kidney extraction after morcellation through the same port., MATERIALS AND METHODS Transvesical nephrectomy and morcellation were performed in six pigs at Minho University, Braga, Portugal after institutional review board approval., The transvesical port and the cystotomy were created under the guidance of a ureteroscope, while the remaining steps were done under the guidance of an operating telescope., Dissection of the renal vessels and kidney was performed using dissection grasping forceps and a vessel sealing system (LigaSure™; Covidien, Mansfield, MA, USA) and morcellation was done using a Piranha™ morcellator (Richard Wolf, Knittlingen, Germany)., RESULTS There were no complications related to the creation of transvesical access., The image provided by the telescope was superior to that of the ureteroscope, especially underwater. Morcellation was quick and effective, with the support of a fixing needle through the abdominal wall, designed to fix the kidney, after laceration of a bowel loop occurred in the first experiment., It was found that technical improvements are needed to ensure safety of NOTES morcellation., CONCLUSIONS Kidney morcellation after nephrectomy, using a natural orifice exclusively, is feasible., Despite technical limitations, this proof of concept study can be regarded as a potential step towards the application of NOTES in urology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Departing from regulation theories and varieties of capitalism school this article focuses on employment in the third sector. We start by discussing the emergence of the new third sector in the western world. In the second part of the article, we provide an overview of the third sector in Portugal today. The ideal values of the organizations of the third sector, namely the principles of democratic and participative management, the primacy of people and work over capital, and the centrality of social capital, frame the discussion of empirical data regarding the wage relation that characterizes the University of Porto (UP) graduates currently working in the third sector. We end with a critical discussion of the optimistic expectations and projections that loom over the third sector regarding the construction of an alternative model of social and economic development based on justice and equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. In patients with nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) stage IIIB/IV treatment with chemotherapy plus bevacizumab led to significant improvements in progression-free and median overall survival (OS). Aim: To report the experience of five Portuguese centers in treating patients with nonsquamous NSCLC in stage IIIB or IV with bevacizumab and chemotherapy regarding survival and toxicity outcomes. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective, multicenter study on patients with nonsquamous stage IIIB/IV NSCLC treated with bevacizumab and chemotherapy from November 2007 to August 2010 through special use permits. We reviewed the medical records, registry of demographic characteristics, treatments provided, treatment responses, adverse events, and dates of death. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS statistics software. Median OS and event-free survival (EFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: From an eligible population of 41 patients, 37 participants were registered. Study participants were predominantly male (78.4%) with a median age of 53 years (29-75 years). In total, 83.8% patients had stage IV disease (TNM, 6th Ed.). The OS was 21.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.6-30.5] and median EFS was 9.4 months (95% CI9: 7.1-11.7). Hematologic toxicity grade 3/4 occurred in 35.1% of patients, and nonhematologic toxicity in 24.3% patients. One fatal thromboembolic event was recorded (2.7%). Conclusions: The results of chemotherapy plus bevacizumab treatment for nonsquamous NSCLC obtained from the daily clinical practice of the centers involved in this study were similar to those of published clinical trials. Collaboration between the different Portuguese centers is crucial for this kind of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas is the property of Centro de Investigacao e Estudos de Sociologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas is the property of Centro de Investigacao e Estudos de Sociologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Knowledge of the characteristic parameters which are best correlated with the catch per unit effort (CPUE) is essential for the estimation of fishing power and fishing effort of a given fishing fleet. A multiple linear regression was carried out between the CPUE and a set of variables including the year of construction, gross registered tonnage (GRT), engine power (MCO), depth (D), length overall (Loa) and breadth (B), for the active vessels of the Portuguese coastal seine fleet in 1997, operating within the same fishing area between Peniche and Matosinhos. The gross registered tonnage and engine power were found to be the significant predictors of CPUE, probably due to the relationship between these parameters and the seine net dimensions. The determination of the relative fishing power was carried out based on a principal component analysis (PCA) of vessel characteristic parameters. This method allowed the estimation of the relative fishing power and standard fishing effort of each vessel of the fleet aiming at balancing fleet capacity with the available resource. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Portugal is located in the transition zone between subtropical and medium latitude types of climate, strongly affected by droughts and heat waves, which are expected to increase in duration, frequency and intensity in the different future scenarios of climate change. These extreme climatic events can have great impacts on human and natural systems, including: hydrological losses affecting human consumption and activities, agroforestry and energy production; the increase in mortality, human morbidity and, fire risk.Rural wildfires can be seen as natural agents, ecologically desirable and essential agents in many ecosystems as well as natural hazards and critical components of terrestrial ecosystem and the climate system. In the last three decades, Portugal was the European country with the highest number of rural wildfires and the third highest value of burnt area. These events are closely associated with the type of climate, occurrence of extreme summer weather events, type of vegetation, and human activities, which are the main fire ignition cause. The main objectives of this study are: (i) identification and characterization of droughts and heat waves for recent past climate conditions; (ii) identification of the relationship between large rural wildfires (burnt area above 5 000 ha), droughts and heat waves.The study benefits from the use of two detailed datasets, namely: (a) ERA-Interim dataset, which provide meteorological data with high spatial resolution for the 1981 – 2017 period, namely the daily precipitation, daily air temperature and maximum air temperature; and, (b) a wildfire dataset, which comprises detailed spatial-temporal information about the selected wildfire events. The methodology adopted is based on the heat wave definition of Fischer and Schär (2010), the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Geographic information systems techniques and statistical analyses were used to assess the relationship between large rural wildfires, droughts and heat waves. The results include: (i) the characterization of heat waves and droughts for recent past climate conditions, in terms of frequency, duration, seasonality and intensity; and, (ii) the characterization of the spatial-temporal relationship between large rural wildfires, droughts and heat waves. The results allows us to conclude that: heat waves is a summer problem; Central Portugal was the region most affected in terms of heat wave number and intensity; the spatial and temporal patterns of large rural wildfires are in good agreement with the spatial and temporal distribution of the climatic extremes; and, the probability of having a wildfire during an heat wave or a drought is 89% and 94%, respectively.The authors strongly believe these results are a valuable contribution towards a better forest and fire risk management, especially in the regions affected by droughts and heat waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, Portugal registered substantial land use and land cover changes (LULCC) driven by the abandonment of rural areas, fast urbanization, and expansion of metropolitan areas and costal touristic centers motivated by the significant socio-economic development. These LULCC included the homogenization of the fuel bands, which increased the extension and complexity of fire risk areas. In fact, Portugal was particularly affected by forest fires (FF) with more than 18,000 FF/year and annual burnt area (BA) of 107,000 ha/year since 1980. In addition, the average size of such events has increased from 4 ha to 13 ha in the last 10 years. The main objective of this study assess the LULCC and relate these changes with the FF occurrence in Continental Portugal The study will cover the 1990 – 2018 period and will focus on: (i) the assessment of global LULCC; (ii) and the assessment of regional differences/similarities in LULCC and fire regime; (iii) the role of FF on LULCC; (iii) a better understanding (identification and characterization) of space-time cluster distribution of FF. The study benefits from the use of (i) land use land cover inventories from CORINE; and, (ii) the National Burned Area Cartography (NMBA), which is an official Portuguese fire dataset, comprising detailed information of the size and shape of the wildfire scars, on the annual time scale. A geospatial methodological approach, based on GIS analyses, was developed to identify LULCC, and to characterize the impact of FFs on these changes; then, cluster analyses were performed to examine patterns in FFs distribution and, finally, to discover how landscape factors control FF clusters. This research provides a quantitative assessment of the relationship between LCC and FFs in Portugal. These results will contribute to (i) characterize the LULCC in Portugal; (ii) assess the relationship between FFs and LULCC; and, (iii) a better landscape management to reduce related losses of life, property and assets.AcknowledgementsThis work was funded by the R&D Project FIREXTR - Prevent and prepare society for extreme fire events: the challenge of seeing the "forest" and not just the "trees", with reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016702 and PTDC/ATP-GEO/0462/2014, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE 2020 - Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) and by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was also supported by : (i) the INTERACT project – "Integrative Research in Environment, Agro-Chains and Technology", no. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, in it line of research entitled BEST, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through NORTE 2020 (North Regional Operational Program 2014/2020); and (ii) National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several Fire Weather products available to assess fire weather danger In Portugal, namely: Ceasefire danger, Ceasefire FWI, IPMA FWI, EFFIS, Global ECMWF Fire Forecast. Those products are based on the Canadian Fire Weather Index, FWI, which was developed according to meteorological and fire intensity measurements on a standard fuel type (Pinus banksiana and Pinus contorta var. latifolia). However, it is not clear which of these FWI is more related to fire occurrence and size. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are: (i) analysis of the different existent/available Fire Weather products in Portugal; (ii) identification of which is the most adequate Fire Weather product for the current weather conditions in Portugal and in each of the 5 NUTS II regions. This study benefits from the existence of two official wildfire datasets available for Portugal, namely: (a) the Portuguese Rural Fire Database (PRFD), which comprises the location, date and time of ignition and extinction, the burnt area (BA) for each wildfire event assessed on the ground; and, (b) the National Burned Area Cartography (NMBA), which is based on satellite imagery information and provides the size and shape of individual BA events at the annual scale. The methodology adopted is based in several performance statistics usually used in the validation processes of this type of products. The results include the evaluation of the spatial-time performance of each of the indices under study to estimate the number of ignitions and burnt area in mainland Portugal. The authors strongly believe that these results are a valuable contribution towards a better forest and fire risk management.AcknowledgementsThis work was funded by the R&D Project FIREXTR - Prevent and prepare society for extreme fire events: the challenge of seeing the "forest" and not just the "trees", with reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016702 and PTDC/ATP-GEO/0462/2014, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE 2020 - Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI) and by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was also supported by : (i) project BONFIRE - Global-scale analysis and modelling of fire behaviour potential, PTDC/AAG-MAA/2656/2014; (ii) the INTERACT project – "Integrative Research in Environment, Agro-Chains and Technology", no. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, in it line of research entitled BEST, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through NORTE 2020 (North Regional Operational Program 2014/2020); and (iii) National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Delirium is an acute disturbance of consciousness and cognition that has been shown to be associated with poor outcomes, including increased mortality. We aimed to evaluate outcome after postoperative delirium in a cohort of surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients.Methods: This prospective study was conducted over a 10-month period in a SICU. Postoperative delirium was diagnosed in accordance with the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC). The primary outcome was mortality at 6-month follow-up. Hospital mortality and becoming dependent were considered as secondary outcomes, on the basis of the evaluation of the patient's ability to undertake both personal and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL) before surgery and 6 months after discharge from the SICU. For each dichotomous outcome - hospital mortality, mortality at 6-month follow-up, and becoming dependent - a separate multiple logistic regression analysis was performed, which included delirium as an independent variable. Another outcome analyzed was changes in health-related quality of life, as determined using short-form 36 (SF-36), which was administered before and 6 months after discharge from the SICU. Additionally, for each SF-36 domain, a separate multiple linear regression model was used for each SF-36 domain, with changes in the SF-36 domain as a dependent variable and delirium as an independent variable.Results: Of 775 SICU-admitted adults, 562 were enrolled in the study, of which 89 (16%) experienced postoperative delirium. Delirium was an independent risk factor for mortality at the 6-month follow-up (OR = 2.562, P <0.001) and also for hospital mortality (OR = 2.673, P <0.001). Delirium was also an independent risk factor for becoming dependent for personal ADL (P-ADL) after SICU discharge (OR = 2.188, P <0.046). Moreover, patients who experienced postoperative delirium showed a greater decline in SF-36 domains after discharge, particularly in physical function, vitality, and social function, as compared to patients without postoperative delirium.Conclusions: Postoperative delirium was an independent risk factor for 6-month follow-up mortality, hospital mortality, and becoming independent in P-ADL after SICU discharge. It was also significantly associated with a worsening in the quality of life after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the indirect teaching strategies adopted by a coach educator in terms of promoting studentcoaches' engagement in a positive and active learning environment. The participants were an expert coach educator and seven student-coaches from an academic coaching setting. A mix method approach was used to collect data. Whilst videorecording and participant observations were used to collect data from the lessons, focus groups were adopted to recall the perceptions of student-coaches. The results showed that indirect teaching strategies (i.e., asking questions, showing signs of autonomy by monitoring the pace at which they completed tasks and actively engaging in the search for solutions to tasks) implemented by the coach educator promoted a supportive and challenging learning environment which, in turn, encouraged student-coaches to be more actively involved in the lessons. Additionally, the affective aspects of the relationship established with student-coaches (tone of voice, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, physical contact and humor) led them to feel confident in exposing their doubts and opinions, and in learning in a more autonomous manner. Moreover, the practical lessons proved to be crucial in helping student-coaches to reach broader and deeper forms of understanding by allowing the application of theory to coaching practice. In conclusion, this study reinforces the value of indirect teaching strategies to stimulate an active learning environment. It further highlights the value of practical learning environments to better prepare neophyte coaches for dealing with the complex and dynamic nature of their professional reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The bottom trawl fishery in Portuguese continental waters is a multi-species fishery where a large number of commercial species are landed by a fleet composed of about 100 trawlers. This paper presents the results obtained from applying ordination and classification methods to the 2002–2004 monthly landings per vessel with the purpose of defining landing profiles (LPs) and associated fleet components (FCs). Six different LPs emerged from the analysis, each defined by the relative importance of target and by-catch species. A correspondence between these LPs and groups of trawlers was established, suggesting the existence of three main fleet components, or groups of trawlers involved in the same fishing pattern over time. The crustacean fleet, targeting the deep-water crustaceans, Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, rose shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris, and red shrimp, Aristeus antennatus, and comprising two different LPs, is composed of the most recent and technologically advanced vessels. The ‘fish’ fleet, mainly targeting semi-pelagic species such as the horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus, the Atlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus, and the Chub mackerel, Scomber japonicus, constitutes a diversified group in terms of their technical characteristics and LPs. A small number of trawlers have the Octopodidae, the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis and benthic fish species as their most important landings, constituting a well individualized, and previously unsuspected, fleet component. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]