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In the contemporary context, where cultural flows intensify, studies on images of otherness can play an important role in reflecting on imaginary dimensions of social representations, as well as in contesting the multiple axes of exclusion. Cinema can be a privileged arena for such studies, as it is situated between the plural universes of media and art, reflecting and often anticipating the trends of its time. In this paper, we analyse the role of cinema as a space for the construction, reproduction, and (re)construction of social representations of identity and migratory experiences. We performed an exploratory analysis of all publicly funded film production in Portugal from 2018 to 2022. In the 359 film synopses analysed, the absence of important terms such as “racism” or “social discrimination” stands out, even in films that address displacement experiences and inclusion difficulties. However, we identified counter-hegemonic images and narratives among the productions, especially considering identity representations. Three films were selected for in-depth analysis: Fruit of Thy Womb, by Fábio Silva (2021); Bustarenga, by Ana Maria Gomes (2019) and Nha Sunhu, by José Magro (2021). In the analyses, we discussed the “language of images” and how the productions portray issues such as intercultural and intergenerational dialogue, gender stereotypes and racism, considering factors such as distance, angle, and gaze. We highlight the importance of greater visibility for films like these, capable of expanding the discussion of important social issues and combating the asymmetric circulation of stories and memories, a crucial factor for social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, internal audit procedures are increasingly supported by the use of technological tools, such as integrated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, aiming to improve the performance of internal auditors, as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. In fact, the adoption of these systems, together with a good implementation strategy, enhances the strengths of a business, while mitigating its weaknesses. This study, through a questionnaire, aims to understand the impact of ERP systems on internal audit work in Portugal. Starting by understanding which systems, modules and functionalities are most used, the study also aims to assess how these systems influence the effectiveness and efficiency of audit work and also the level of satisfaction of internal auditors in their use. The main findings show that there is a wide variety of ERP systems used by internal auditors in Portugal, the most used being SAP ERP, and the Financial Accounting, Treasury and Purchasing modules. It is also concluded that internal auditors agree that the use of ERP functionalities positively influences the effectiveness and efficiency of their work, and they are generally satisfied with the use of these functionalities in their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the lack of a general drought definition, water users and managers have developed and used different indices. Many studies using drought indices have been made so as to detect drought events or just to compare their results and assess their advantages and disadvantages. In Portugal, these studies have been done for common drought indices; however, an integrated evaluation and comparison using recent data is needed. Therefore, this study is intended to give an updated overview of the behaviour of the proposed indices. This study proposes the usage of PDSI, scPDSI, SPI and SPEI. With the exception of the PDSI, all indices have been calculated through R packages. The results for the studied regions in mainland Portugal suggest that the drought situations are, in general, most significant and frequent than the wet periods. From our results, we can conclude that the SPI model is more sensitive to extreme drought events and can detect them earlier. The PDSI, scPDSI and SPEI are more reliable for drought monitorization at medium and long spells, which might represent the environmental interactions more closely to the reality. Also, the scPDSI tends to reduce the importance of short period recovering. It is then advisable that impact and scientifical studies consider all of these indices or at least some of them to have a broader and complete understanding of the drought situations to be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Integrated Coastal Zone Management / Revista de Gestão Costeira Integrada is the property of Associacao Portuguesa dos Recursos Hidricos 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.)

Urban parks have been increasingly important for people living in urban areas. There has been a growing need to be in contact with nature and to have a safe space to exercise and do recreational activities with family. These parks have proven to have positive health effects both physical and mentally. Furthermore, they contribute to better air quality and less pollution in cities. In addition to these recreational benefits, several parks have historic and cultural relevance. In this study, we examine the total economic value of an urban park with historic relevance, Quinta do Castelo, in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal. We applied the contingent valuation method using a questionnaire to obtain three values: the willingness to pay (WTP) for park entrance, readiness to engage in guided and well-being activities, and the willingness to donate (WTD) an annual value with the aim of preserving the park. The average WTP (per visit) is 0.66€ to enter the park, 3.13€ for guided activities, and 2.53€ for well-being activities. These values reflect the use value of the park. The average WTD (per donor) is 6.73€/year, which translates into a relevant non-use value. Total Economic Values (TEVs) achieve considerable values that range from an estimated 1.2 million euros for guided visits, 1.3 million euros for the entrance value, 1.4 million euros for well-being activities, and 1.1 million euros for the annual donation to preserve the park. Hence, our study highlights the importance of maintaining Quinta do Castelo Park, and of considering not only use value, but also non-use value when estimating total economic value of urban parks with historical relevance. • Urban parks have been increasingly important for people living in urban areas. • We study the economic value of an urban park with historic relevance. • We applied the contingent valuation method to obtain the relevant willingness to pay. • Use value ranges from 0.66€ to 3.13€ per visitor. • Non-use value is 6.73€ per donor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. The common waxbill Estrilda astrild was first introduced to Portugal from Africa in 1964, and has spread across much of the country and into Spain. We modelled the expansion of the common waxbill on a 20 × 20 km UTM grid in 4-year periods from 1964 to 1999. The time variation of the square root of the occupied area shows that this expansion process is stabilizing in Portugal, and reasons for this are discussed. Several methods used to model biological expansions are not appropriate for the present case, because little quantitative data are available on the species ecology and because this expansion has been spatially heterogeneous. Instead, colonization on a grid was modelled as a function of several biophysical and spatio-temporal variables through the fitting of a multivariate autologistic equation. This approach allows examination of the underlying factors affecting the colonization process. In the case of the common waxbill it was associated positively with its occurrence in adjacent cells, and affected negatively by altitude and higher levels of solar radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this initial study of a research project, this paper seeks to understand the thermal conditions in the cities of Lisbon and Munich, specifically focusing on Urban Heat Island intensity and on thermal comfort using the Universal Thermal Climate Index modeling data at the Local Climate Zone scale. Based on these datasets, Munich has exhibited more unfavourable thermal conditions than Lisbon. In terms of UHII, both cities have shown that low, medium, and high rise compact urban areas and bare rock or paved areas have the highest values, while sparsely built areas have the lowest. These results differ from the UTCI, which indicates that in Lisbon and Munich, these sparsely built areas as well as areas with low plants and vegetation are the most uncomfortable. In Munich, the population was exposed to very strong heat stress, while Lisbon experienced strong heat stress conditions. Conversely, low, medium, and high rise compact urban areas and densely wooded areas in Munich, and scattered trees areas and large low-rise urban areas in Lisbon, have demonstrated the lowest monthly mean and average maximum values. These results will be further explored in future studies in the city of Lisbon and cross-checked with data obtained from roving missions. This will enable a more detailed temporal and local analysis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare and severe manifestation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of children with MIS-C admitted to a pediatric tertiary hospital in Portugal., Material and Methods: Observational descriptive study of MIS-C patients admitted between April 2020 and April 2021. Demographic and clinical characteristics, diagnostic tests, and treatment data were collected. The diagnosis of MIS-C was based on the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria., Results: We reported 45 children with MIS-C. The median age was seven years (IQR 4 - 10 years) and 60.0% were previously healthy. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in 77.8% by RT-PCR or antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2, and in 73.3%, an epidemiological link was confirmed. All the patients had a fever and organ system involvement: hematologic (100%), cardiovascular (97.8%), gastrointestinal (97.8%), mucocutaneous (86.7%), respiratory (26.7%), neurologic (15.6%), and renal (13.3%) system. Neurological (p = 0.035) and respiratory (p = 0.035) involvement were observed in patients with a more severe presentation. There was a significant difference of medians when comparing disease severity groups, namely in the values of hemoglobin (p = 0.015), lymphocytes (p = 0.030), D-dimer (p = 0.019), albumin (p < 0.001), NT-proBNP (p = 0.005), ferritin (p = 0.048), CRP (p = 0.006), procalcitonin (p = 0.005) and IL-6 (p = 0.002). From the total number of children, 93.3% received intravenous immunoglobulin, 91.1% methylprednisolone, and one patient (2.2%) received anakinra. Thirteen patients (28.8%) required intensive care and there were no deaths. Of the 21 patients evaluated, 90.4% had reduction of exercise capacity and of the 15 patients who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance, 53.3% had sequelae of cardiac injury., Conclusion: We observed a large spectrum of disease presentation in a group of patients where most were previously healthy. A small percentage of patients (28.9%) had a severe presentation of the disease. MIS-C is a challenge in current clinical practice and its diagnosis requires a high level of clinical suspicion as the timely initiation of therapy is essential to prevent complications. However, there is no scientific consensus on the treatment and follow-up of these patients.

Objective: To describe the demographic, clinical, laboratory and imaging features of the first 300 SARS-CoV-2-infected children presenting to a tertiary paediatric centre in Portugal., Design: Single-centre, retrospective, descriptive study of paediatric patients who had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 7 March to 20 September 2020., Setting: Tertiary paediatric referral centre (Hospital Dona Estefânia, Lisbon, Portugal)., Patients: 18 years or younger., Main Outcome Measures: Incidence, mortality, age of infection, clinical characteristics, treatment prescribed and outcome., Results: Three hundred patients with confirmed COVID-19 presented to the centre. One hundred and seventeen (39%) patients were admitted to the hospital: 69 with COVID-19 and 48 for other reasons. The most common symptoms in children admitted with COVID-19 were fever (49) and cough (38). Six patients required intensive care. Two children died and seven reported short-term sequelae., Conclusions: COVID-19 is usually a mild disease in children, but a small proportion of patients develop severe and critical disease. Fatal outcomes were rare and only occurred in children with severe previous medical conditions., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The prevalence of heart failure has increased over the past decades and is a major social and economic burden on healthcare services. Patient quality of life is severely impaired and heart failure is one of the main causes of death in Portugal. The functional organization of multidisciplinary teams engaged in the treatment of these patients is essential to improve health care provision and outcomes, specifically reducing mortality, hospital admissions, and improving quality of life. We describe current approaches to heart failure management and discuss the organization of heart failure units and cooperation among these units and also with other healthcare professionals., (Copyright © 2020 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Both transposition of the great arteries (TGA) previously submitted to a Senning/Mustard procedure and congenitally corrected TGA (cc-TGA) have the systemic circulation supported by the morphological right ventricle, thereby rendering these patients to heart failure events risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters for stratifying the risk of heart failure events in TGA patients., Methods: Retrospective evaluation of adult TGA patients with systemic circulation supported by the morphological right ventricle submitted to cardiopulmonary exercise test in a tertiary centre. Patients were followed up for at least 1 year for the primary endpoint of cardiac death or heart failure hospitalisation. Several cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters were analysed as potential predictors of the combined endpoint and their predictive power were compared (area under the curve)., Results: Cardiopulmonary exercise test was performed in 44 TGA patients (8 cc-TGA), with a mean age of 35.1 ± 8.4 years. The primary endpoint was reached by 10 (22.7%) patients, with a mean follow-up of 36.7 ± 26.8 months. Heart rate at anaerobic threshold had the highest area under the curve value (0.864), followed by peak oxygen consumption (pVO2) (0.838). Heart rate at anaerobic threshold ≤95 bpm and pVO2 ≤20 ml/kg/min had a sensitivity of 87.5 and 80.0% and a specificity of 82.4 and 76.5%, respectively, for the primary outcome., Conclusion: Heart rate at anaerobic threshold ≤95 bpm had the highest predictive power of all cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters analysed for heart failure events in TGA patients with systemic circulation supported by the morphological right ventricle.

The aim of this paper was to assess the validity and reliability of the touch-screen standard Portuguese version of the following patient-reported outcomes (PROs), compared with paper format, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life scale (ASQoL), Short-Form 36 (SF-36), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and visual analogue scales (VAS) measuring pain and burden of disease. Adult patients with RA and spondyloarthritis attending the Portuguese Institute of Rheumatology were recruited from March 2013 to January 2014. Patients filled the paper and touch-screen formats of the standard Portuguese versions of the PROs. Two groups of VAS were used, RA and psoriatic arthritis (Global VAS) and another specific for spondyloarthrites (Spa-VAS). Paper questionnaires were filled 15 min before touch-screen formats. Agreement between formats (validity) was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), while internal consistency of scales (reliability) was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. Overall, 134 patients were included with a mean age of 51 years, 74.6 % female and 57.5 % presenting RA. BASDAI, BASFI, HAQ and ASQoL showed high ICC between paper and touch-screen formats (0.977, 0.958, 0.974 and 0.940, respectively). ICC for Global VAS ranged from 0.906 to 0.921, while Spa-VAS ranged from 0.867 to 0.943. The mean ICC for all SF-36 domains was 0.889 (ICC for each domain ranged from 0.781 to 0.944). Touch-screen standard Portuguese formats of these PROs may be valid and reliable tools for PRO measurement in rheumatology.

The present work presents a mixed study that evaluates the factors related to the basic formation in sexuality for Portuguese nurses of primary health care. 1735 nurses working in the 18 Health Sub-Regions of the Continent and the 2 Health Regional Secretaries of the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and Azores, corresponding to 226 Health Centers, were studied between March 2004 and July 2005. The profile of the Portuguese primary health care nurse with basic training on sexuality is between 22/30 years of age, 1/7 years of professional exercise, single, resident in Madeira or Azores, with bachelor degree and from a private nursing school. The nurses with special training in sexuality are essentially nurses with more than 38 years of age, with more than 13 years of professional exercise, seaside or Azores resident, specialists in one nursing branch, a masters degree and from public nursing schools. It was found that the 31-37 age group shows a deficit either in basic or specific training about sexuality.