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- Advances and practical lessons in fungal contamination exposure assessment: integrating field sampling and laboratory analysesPublication . Viegas, CarlaThe presence of microorganisms, and more specifically fungal contamination, may result from: 1) natural colonization of organic material present at the site; 2) intentional addition (e.g., in the food industry. Each collected sample is unique: its composition varies over time and space (in terms of species abundance and diversity). Assessing exposure to microbiological agents (including fungi) is a challenging task. Exposure can be estimated using a variety of sampling methods; however, each is unique and requires a specific methodology. Sampling is done to verify and quantify the presence of microorganisms in the air or contamination of materials, to identify sources of contamination, to monitor the effectiveness of implemented control measures, and to assess human exposure. Exposure assessment of microorganisms can be carried out using qualitative or quantitative methods, or a combination of both. Qualitative assessment includes visual and olfactory observations resulting from damage in indoor environments, such as damage caused by water infiltration.
- As amputações realizadas em Portugal de 2000 a 2023: análise de uma realidadePublication . Matos, José Pedro; Matos, Mariana; Ramos, M. Rosário; Ricardo, Diogo; Carolino, ElisabeteAmputation, whether surgical or traumatic, entails the loss of a body segment due to irreparable injury caused by trauma, vascular conditions, or other pathologies. Among individuals with diabetes, amputation remains one of the most feared and recognized outcomes. However, early diagnosis and timely intervention could prevent approximately 50% of diabetes-related amputations and ulcerations. This retrospective observational cross-sectional study draws on data from the Hospital Morbidity Database (BDGDH), provided by the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS) under the Ministry of Health. This study focuses on amputations in diabetic patients in Portugal, particularly from 2000 to 2023. It aims to update statistical results and projections using current data to inform health planning and optimize resource allocation. The research uses data from the Hospital Morbidity Database, analysing factors such as year, age group, gender, and diagnosis codes. Poisson regression and Negative Binomial models were applied to estimate annual amputation rates and forecast future trends. The findings will help compare national trends with international standards, guiding public health policies and supporting prevention and early diagnosis programs to reduce the socio-economic impact of amputations.
- Amputations in diabetics: statistical modelling and trends in Portugal (2000-2023)Publication . Carolino, Elisabete; Matos, José Pedro; Ricardo, Diogo; Ramos, M. RosárioAmputation, whether surgical or traumatic, entails the loss of a body segment due to irreparable injury caused by trauma, vascular conditions, or other pathologies. Among individuals with diabetes, amputation remains one of the most feared and recognized outcomes. However, early diagnosis and timely intervention could prevent approximately 50% of diabetes-related amputations and ulcerations. This retrospective observational cross-sectional study draws on data from the Hospital Morbidity Database (BDGDH), provided by the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS) under the Ministry of Health. This study focuses on amputations in diabetic patients in Portugal, particularly from 2000 to 2023. It aims to update statistical results and projections using current data to inform health planning and optimize resource allocation. The research uses data from the Hospital Morbidity Database, analysing factors such as year, age group, gender, and diagnosis codes. Poisson regression and Negative Binomial models were applied to estimate annual amputation rates and forecast future trends. The findings will help compare national trends with international standards, guiding public health policies and supporting prevention and early diagnosis programs to reduce the socio-economic impact of amputations.
- Angioplastia pulmonar e Riociguat na hipertensão pulmonar tromboembólica crónica: o Deus ou o Diabo?Publication . Araújo, Patrícia C.; Pereira, E.; Coelho, André
- Aquaponics as a potential sustainable agri-tech system in Portugal: Stakeholder attitudes, perceptions and perspectivesPublication . Dos-Santos, Maria José Palma LampreiaAquaponics is an Agri-tech frontier in agri-food production systems that synergizes aquaculture and hydroponics in a recirculating, closed system with a low environmental impact. This paper aims to analyze the potential development of commercial aquaponics in Portugal, contributing to sustainable agri-business and food security in the country. The information and data were collected through structured interviews with stakeholders to understand the potential and perspectives of the sector, as well as the regulatory constraints and strategic enablers. The methodology includes univariate methods, a restricted scoping literature review, and mainly qualitative analysis based on interviews with eleven Portuguese stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, academics, policymakers, and practitioners. Based on the information and data, content analysis, key attitudes, perceptions and limitations were identified. The findings reveal a strong perception of administrative and institutional inefficiencies of aquaponics in Portugal, low consumer awareness, and legal inconsistencies and restrictions. Despite these barriers, aquaponics is viewed as a promising and innovative technology with the potential to reduce carbon footprints and agricultural inputs, promote local food systems and short food supply chains, and foster circular economies. The conclusions of this paper highlight the importance of investing in aquaponics and developing research and development schemes to advance the Agri-Teck aquaponics sector, as well as regulatory and institutional reform, certification schemes for aquaponics production, and public engagement to facilitate the scale-up of aquaponics in Portugal.
- Arriving and already being there: phenomenology of the gaze, border, and alterity in contemporary societiesPublication . Sousa, VandaThis article proposes an interdisciplinary reflection on the relationship between migration, alterity, language, and contemporary regimes of visuality, seeking to understand how the gaze participates in the symbolic construction of the Other in contemporary societies. Drawing on a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach, the study articulates contributions from phenomenology, hermeneutics, semiotics, philosophy of language, and visual studies in order to argue that borders do not emerge solely from geography, but primarily from cultural, discursive, and perceptual processes of differentiation. Based on authors such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Martin Heidegger, Paul Ricoeur, Émile Benveniste, Algirdas Julien Greimas, Emmanuel Levinas, Hans Jonas, Marc Augé, and Jacques Rancière, the article argues that the migrant should not be understood merely as a political or territorial figure, but as a paradigmatic expression of the contemporary human condition. Migration is therefore approached not only as physical displacement, but also as an existential, narrative, and perceptual experience shaping contemporary forms of inhabiting the world. The article analyses how contemporary regimes of visuality, deeply mediated by digital platforms, algorithmic systems, and media dispositifs, participate in the symbolic production of alterity. It argues that the contemporary gaze organizes forms of recognition, exclusion, and invisibility that condition the experience of the Other in digital societies. Simultaneously, migrant alterity is understood as a mirror of the vulnerability and instability constitutive of human existence. The study concludes that contemporaneity demands an ethical and aesthetic reconfiguration of the gaze capable of overcoming the automatic mechanisms of classification and exclusion that organize the symbolic borders of the present. To inhabit the world poetically implies relearning how to welcome what arrives without immediately reducing it to category, threat, or exteriority. In this sense, perhaps we are all, in some way, migrants within our own existence.
- Aspergillus section Nigri in indoor environments: a silent sentinel for occupational and public healthPublication . Cervantes, Renata; Rodrigues, Cláudia; Pena, Pedro; Viegas, CarlaAspergillus section Nigri, a filamentous fungus within the Aspergillus genus, proliferates in organic matter-rich environments and produces dark-pigmented spores. While recognized for its metabolic versatility and industrial applications, Aspergillus section Nigri also presents significant public health concerns, particularly in environmental and occupational settings. The fungus is known to produce mycotoxins (Ochratoxin A (OTA); Fumonisins), which pose risks to human health, including respiratory disorders and allergic reactions. Its prevalence is notably elevated in occupational environments such as industrial facilities and laboratories, where favorable conditions (e.g., elevated humidity and temperature) facilitate its growth. This study aimed to assess the distribution of Aspergillus section Nigri across various indoor environments and evaluate its implications for public and occupational health. The research was conducted in eight different indoor settings, including nursing homes (n = 15), archives (n = 25), municipal waste collection vehicles (n = 168), grocery stores (n = 101), gyms (n = 67), cemeteries (n = 72), fire stations (n = 360), and coffee industry facilities (n = 58). A total of 866 samples were collected using active (Coriolis µ air sampler, Millipore) and passive (electrostatic dust collectors, surface swabs, and settled dust) methods. Fungal growth was promoted through incubation at 25 ± 2°C, and identification was performed using lactophenol cotton blue staining and microscopic analysis. The distribution of Aspergillus section Nigri will be analyzed across all sampled environments to determine prevalence and potential exposure risks. This study highlights the need for enhanced surveillance of Aspergillus section Nigri in indoor environments to mitigate occupational and public health risks. Prolonged exposure may contribute to respiratory and allergic conditions, particularly in vulnerable populations. Preventive measures should be prioritized to reduce exposure in high-risk settings.
- Backstepping sliding mode controller for MPPT in DC microgrid connected Quadratic Boost converters fed from PV systemsPublication . Monteiro, Joaquim; Silva, J. Fernando; Cordeiro, Armando; Pinto, Sónia; Pires, V. Fernão; Monteiro, Joaquim; Cordeiro, Armando; IEEEPhotovoltaic (PV) systems are crucial for harnessing solar energy; however, environmental factors and the variability of the connected load significantly influence their energy generation capacity. In this context, the effectiveness of the controller used for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to enhance efficiency relies on a thorough analysis of the nonlinear models of PV systems. Over these last decades, many control techniques have been developed to enhance the energy extraction from PV cells and improve system efficiency. Since real-world systems have real-time variations, it is difficult to continuously update both the system and the controller. The changes can produce steady state errors in the output and reduce the efficiency of the controller. As a solution to this issue, in this work a nonlinear backstepping sliding mode controller (BSMC) is proposed to improve the performance of the MPPT system. The BSMC MPPT, coupled to a DC-DC quadratic boost converter (QBC), is used as the interface between a PV array and a microgrid. Backstepping control ensures global asymptotic stability of the system by achieving the optimal power point, following Lyapunov stability criteria. Simulation and experimental results of the proposed MPPT solution are presented confirming that the system operates as expected.
- Biological agents risk assessment: how to close the gap between science, policy making and occupational health and safety practice?Publication . Colomo, Carlota Alejandre; Heussen, Henri; Van der Haar, Rudolf; Marchand, Geneviève; Madsen, Anne Mette; Viegas, CarlaWithin the Occupational Hygiene community, the risk assessment due to exposure to biological agents has received little attention compared to chemical agents. However, the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of raising awareness and prioritizing the prevention of work-related health effects caused by biological agents. However, tools for inventorying hazards, performing risk assessments, implementing control measures, and anchoring the results are rare. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, biological agents are often only referred to as infectious diseases. However, both infectious and non-infectious microorganisms may cause health effects. Workers in various sectors, such as healthcare and veterinary services, agriculture, waste, and wastewater management, and laboratories may be exposed through aerosols or contact with infected persons or materials that are contaminated by microorganisms. Furthermore, the sensitizing and toxic effects of biological agents are not considered when they are classified into biological agent risk groups. The sensitizing biological agents include fungi and certain bacteria (including thermophile actinomycetes). Toxic effects can be caused by metabolic products and cellular constituents of biological agents. Increased focus on biological exposures and health effects is therefore needed in order to improve the risk assessment for biological agents. The evaluation of workplace bioaerosol exposure risk is complex, considering the great diversity of bioaerosols and their effects, the limitations of the measurement methods available, and the lack of occupational exposure limits. In this symposium we present the concept of a tiered biological agents risk assessment, starting with a qualitative and ending with a quantitative approach.
- Characterization of 24 years of amputations performed in Portugal (2000-2023)Publication . Matos, José Pedro; Matos, Mariana; Ramos, M. Rosário; Ricardo, Diogo; Carolino, ElisabeteAmputation, whether surgical or traumatic, entails the loss of a body segment due to irreparable injury caused by trauma, vascular conditions, or other pathologies. Among individuals with diabetes, amputation remains one of the most feared and recognized outcomes. However, early diagnosis and timely intervention could prevent approximately 50% of diabetes-related amputations and ulcerations. This retrospective observational cross-sectional study draws on data from the Hospital Morbidity Database (BDGDH), provided by the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS) under the Ministry of Health. This study focuses on amputations in diabetic patients in Portugal, particularly from 2000 to 2023. It aims to update statistical results and projections using current data to inform health planning and optimize resource allocation. The research uses data from the Hospital Morbidity Database, analysing factors such as year, age group, gender, and diagnosis codes. Poisson regression and Negative Binomial models were applied to estimate annual amputation rates and forecast future trends. The findings will help compare national trends with international standards, guiding public health policies and supporting prevention and early diagnosis programs to reduce the socio-economic impact of amputations.