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O Festival Eurovisão da Canção: unidade e diversidade cultural europeia
Get PDFO Festival Eurovisão da Canção é uma das competições internacionais mais reconhecidas
pela sua projeção mundial e pelo encontro de diferentes culturas, que teve o seu início no
século XX. Esta manifestação cultural é composta por diferentes povos, com passados e
tradições distintas, favorecendo um melting pot de elementos díspares, e uma conjugação
de aspetos culturais distintos, mas também com semelhanças entre si. A
multiculturalidade é levada ao seu expoente máximo pela comunicação e convivência
entre os integrantes desta competição. Contudo, é na diversidade que se centra o foco
desta investigação, isto é, de que forma um concurso musical pode permitir um
sentimento de unidade e/ou diversidade dentro de um determinado espaço de influência,
sendo ele, o espaço europeu. Devemos refletir que, atualmente, o Festival Eurovisão da
Canção não se encontra circunscrito à Europa, tendo sido o seu raio de influência alargado
além-fronteiras. Este estudo apresenta ainda um inquérito realizado via online. As
respostas permitem-nos afirmar que existe um sentimento de unidade e diversidade no
continente europeu, onde os elementos artísticos e culturais, tais como a língua, as
melodias, o vestuário, entre outros, contribuem para a identificação de um povo, mas
também facilitam e promovem o olhar que reflete na diversidade e na promoção da união.The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most recognized international competitions
due to its worldwide projection and the meeting of different cultures, which began in the
20th century. This cultural event is made up of different peoples, with different pasts and
traditions, favoring a melting pot of disparate elements, and a combination of distinct
cultural aspects, but also with similarities between them. Multiculturalism is brought to
its peak by the communication and coexistence between the members of this competition.
However, it is in diversity that the focus of this research is centered, that is, in what way
a music contest can allow a feeling of unity and/or diversity within a certain area of
influence, which is the European sphere. We should bear in mind that the Eurovision
Song Contest is no longer confined to Europe, but has extended its radius of influence
across borders. This study also includes an online survey. The responses allow us to
affirm that there is a feeling of unity and diversity on the European continent, where
artistic and cultural elements such as language, melodies, clothing, among others,
contribute to the identification of a people, but also facilitate and promote a view that
reflects on diversity and the promotion of unity
Master of Doom. The Hero in the Classical Epics, Tolkien, and Zelensky
Get PDFHeroes never die! They are kept alive through times by tales forged from the
conflict of fate and character. Wherein their actions are upheld by people not due to their
perfection but as examples of virtuous acts to follow and as warnings of those ill acts to
avoid.
It is the aim of this dissertation to look at the archetype of the hero in three
different spheres: Classical Epic; John R. R. Tolkien’s fiction; and modern rhetoric,
namely in Volodymyr Zelensky’s speeches on the war in Ukraine, in order to analyse the
evolution of the concept of heroism and its validity within modern culture.
A more focussed view will be given to the role of fate, which can fall anywhere
along a spectrum between determinism and free will, in order to define if the main
features of a hero – whether he is a mythological, a literary, or a political character – are
identical or not. To this end, we will consider the main heroic characters of Classical
Epics (Achilles, Hektor, Aeneas, and Turnus), the heroes in two books by Tolkien The
Silmarillion, and The Children of Húrin), and the notion of heroism in Zelensky’s
speeches on war between February and March 2022. We expect to show how some of
these characters’ features constitute what we still expect of the conduct of some high
standing individuals. Nevertheless, as we can see, for instance in the “Roman” Aeneas,
the hero has at times moments of weakness and despair. This reminds us that the
perception of heroism is more complex than it may seem and subject to cultural and moral
contexts
Ionization layer with collision-free atoms at the edge of partially to fully ionized plasmas
Get PDFAbstract
When a hot arc spot has just formed on the cathode surface, e.g. in the course of arc ignition on a cold cathode, a significant part of the current still flows in the glow-discharge mode to the cold surface outside the spot. The near-cathode voltage continues to be high at all points of the cathode surface. The mean free path for collisions between the atoms and the ions within the plasma ball near the spot is comparable to, or exceeds, the thickness of the ionization layer, which is a part of the near-cathode non-equilibrium layer where the ion current to the cathode is generated. The evaluation of the ion current to the cathode surface under such conditions is revisited. A fluid description of the ion motion in the ionization layer is combined with a kinetic description of the atom motion. The resulting problem admits a simple analytical solution. Formulas for the evaluation of the ion current to the cathode for a wide range of conditions are derived and the possibilities of using these formulas to improve the accuracy of existing methods for modeling high-pressure arc discharges in relation to glow-to-arc transitions are discussed.</jats:p
The allergenic potential of green urban areas in the Macaronesian islands: the case of Funchal City (Madeira)
Get PDFPublic gardens are elements that constitute the urban green infrastructure. Such units provide
ecosystem services that are becoming a key concern in urban planning strategies.
In this survey the allergenic potential of two public gardens in Funchal, a city exhibiting sub tropical and Mediterranean climatic features, was assessed. Different allergenic risk scenarios
were considered, and the Allergenicity Indexes recalculated. Results show that the Municipal
Garden exhibits an IUGZA (Index of Urban Green Zone Allergenicity) of 0,39 and Santa Catarina
Park an IUGZA of 0,16, which are considered spaces of moderate and low allergenicity level,
respectively. Among the tested scenarios that could aggravate the IUGZA values, the worst would
be an extension of the pollen season for all species. This might represent an issue considering the
overall trend towards an earlier start and later end of the pollen season from important allergenic
plants in Europe. The assessment of the IUGZA should include all plant biotypes of an urban green
area in subtropical regions as they allow us to infer more precisely on the real risk population is
exposed to. It seems that increasing species diversity can improve the allergenic indexes, but
novel invasive species should be studied to assess their allergenicity level
The relationship between healthcare satisfaction after miscarriage and perinatal grief symptoms: a cross-sectional study on Portugal residents
Get PDFObjective: 15–20% of identified pregnancies result in miscarriage, which may lead to persistent symptoms of
psychological morbidities in some women. Healthcare satisfaction is among the factors believed to influence such
negative psychological responses. Here, we present the results of a study conducted in Portugal that analyzes the
relationship between healthcare satisfaction, information and support provision and perinatal grief symptoms.
Methods: In a cross-sectional study, symptoms of perinatal grief, degree of satisfaction with healthcare received,
and information and support provision data were collected through an online survey aimed at women in Portugal
who suffered a miscarriage. 873 were considered eligible. Correlations were performed between perinatal grief
scores and healthcare satisfaction rates. Finally, the proportions of information and support received were
compared after distributing the sample in groups according to their perinatal grief levels.
Results: Healthcare satisfaction correlated significantly with perinatal grief scores, the latter increasing as
satisfaction levels decreased. 61.1% of our sample received information about the physical consequences of
miscarriage and showed a significantly lower rate of above-threshold perinatal grief symptoms in this group.
18.2% received information about its mental health consequences, with no significant differences in above threshold symptom rates. 11.7% were offered or recommended mental health support, but no significant dif ferences in above-threshold symptom rates were found.
Conclusion: Healthcare satisfaction and information on after-miscarriage physical changes correlated significantly
with reduced perinatal grief rates after miscarriage. However, any effects of mental health information and
psychological support provision need further studies. Training for healthcare providers dealing with pregnancy
loss, implementing national guidelines that include follow-up on the parents’ physical and psychological health,
and including a specialized area in medical structures are advised
What are we eating? Surveying the presence of toxic molecules in the food supply chain using chromatographic approaches
No full textConsumers in developed and Western European countries are becoming more aware of the impact of food on their health, and they demand clear, transparent, and reliable information from the food industry about the products they consume. They recognise that food safety risks are often due to the unexpected presence of contaminants throughout the food supply chain. Among these, mycotoxins produced by food-infecting fungi, endogenous toxins from certain plants and organisms, pesticides, and other drugs used excessively during farming and food production, which lead to their contamination and accumulation in foodstuffs, are the main causes of concern. In this context, the goals of this review are to provide a comprehensive overview of the presence of toxic molecules reported in foodstuffs since 2020 through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal and use chromatography to address this challenge. Overall, natural toxins, environmental pollutants, and food-processing contaminants are the most frequently reported toxic molecules, and liquid chromatography and gas chromatography are the most reliable approaches for their control. However, faster, simpler, and more powerful analytical procedures are necessary to cope with the growing pressures on the food chain supply.</jats:p
Plant-derived terpenoids: a plethora of bioactive compounds with several health functions and industrial applications: a comprehensive overview
Get PDFTerpenoids are a large class of natural secondary plant metabolites which are highly diverse in structure, formed from isoprene units (C-5), associated with a wide range of biological properties, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, anticancer, antimetastatic, antiangiogenesis, and apoptosis induction, and are considered for potential application in the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. In plants, terpenoids exert a variety of basic functions in growth and development. This review gives an overview, highlighting the current knowledge of terpenoids and recent advances in our understanding of the organization, regulation, and diversification of core and specialized terpenoid metabolic pathways and addressing the most important functions of volatile and non-volatile specialized terpenoid metabolites in plants. A comprehensive description of different aspects of plant-derived terpenoids as a sustainable source of bioactive compounds, their biosynthetic pathway, the several biological properties attributed to these secondary metabolites associated with health-promoting effects, and their potential industrial applications in several fields will be provided, and emerging and green extraction methods will also be discussed. In addition, future research perspectives within this framework will be highlighted. Literature selection was carried out using the National Library of Medicine, PubMed, and international reference data for the period from 2010 to 2024 using the keyword “terpenoids”. A total of 177,633 published papers were found, of which 196 original and review papers were included in this review according to the criteria of their scientific reliability, their completeness, and their relevance to the theme considered.</jats:p
Secondary bioactive metabolites from foods of plant origin as theravention agents against neurodegenerative disorders
Get PDFNeurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) such as Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s (PD) are on the rise, robbing people of their memories and independence. While risk factors such as age and genetics play an important role, exciting studies suggest that a diet rich in foods from plant origin may offer a line of defense. These kinds of foods, namely fruits and vegetables, are packed with a plethora of powerful bioactive secondary metabolites (SBMs), including terpenoids, polyphenols, glucosinolates, phytosterols and capsaicinoids, which exhibit a wide range of biological activities including antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anti-Alzheimer’s, antiproliferative, and antimicrobial properties, associated with preventive effects in the development of chronic diseases mediated by oxidative stress such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and NDDs. This review explores the potential of SBMs as theravention agents (metabolites with therapeutic and preventive action) against NDDs. By understanding the science behind plant-based prevention, we may be able to develop new strategies to promote brain health and prevent the rise in NDDs. The proposed review stands out by emphasizing the integration of multiple SBMs in plant-based foods and their potential in preventing NDDs. Previous research has often focused on individual compounds or specific foods, but this review aims to present a comprehensive fingerprint of how a diet rich in various SBMs can synergistically contribute to brain health. The risk factors related to NDD development and the diagnostic process, in addition to some examples of food-related products and medicinal plants that significantly reduce the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and β-site amyloid precursor protein (APP) cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), are highlighted.</jats:p
Valorization of agri-food waste and by-products in cheese and other dairy foods: an updated review
Get PDFFood waste and by-products have attracted attention in recent years due to the reduction of food resources and
the negative impact on the environment of current production and consumption systems. However, food waste
and by-products can be transformed into new products that can be useful for human consumption because they
represent a source of nutritional and technological (e.g., preservative, colorant, fibres) added-value compounds.
Those compounds of interest can be extracted using several advanced and/or emerging extraction techniques,
which follow the green chemistry principles, and incorporated into food products. This is true for many types of
foods; even dairy products of which cheese is one of the most appreciated and consumed worldwide. Therefore,
cheese and dairy products can be effective vehicles for food waste and food by-products valorization.
This review focuses on the opportunities for valuing various food wastes in the dairy sector, especially in
cheese. It also highlights the contributions of recovered bioactive added-value compounds in enhancing the
nutritional, technological, and sensory properties of dairy products. It is expected that food wastes could be used
to improve functionalities of dairy products in the future, leading to innovative functional dairy food products to
decrease the environmental footprint and simultaneously contribute to improve sustainability in the food sector