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Mapping the landscape of Voluntary Biodiversity Credits: A systematic analysis and typology of schemes
Get PDFMestrado de dupla diplomação com a UTFPR, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do ParanáGrowing recognition of the economic risks associated with biodiversity loss is driving demand for new conservation financing mechanisms including Voluntary Biodiversity Credits (VBCs). However, the methodologies developed or used by VBC schemes are diverse and lack comprehensive characterization. This dissertation aims to systematically identify, characterize, and classify the schemes proposed by VBC organizations and initiatives in order to establish a typology of existing approaches. The 39 identified schemes were qualitatively analyzed based on 21 aspects, and a subset of 15 variables was used in a multivariate statistical analysis involving a Chi-Square test and k-Medoids clustering. The results indicate a market at different stages of maturity, with a notable geographic discrepancy between the headquarters of the organizations (Global North) and their predominant areas of operation (Global South). The typological analysis revealed five groupings of identified VBC schemes and methodologies with distinct developmental stages and approaches, concluding that schematic robustness is associated with assessments across multiple ecological domains, considering off-site impacts (leakage), avoiding double counting, and ensuring long-term monitoring with a retroactive baseline period. As the VBC market is emerging in the wake of skepticism from other nature
markets, it would be expected that the organizations design their schemes and frameworks with high levels of transparency and methodological rigor, however, as our research indicates, the observed lack of transparency and the heterogeneity in the available data are particularly concerning. This suggests that these challenges may be systemic and inherent to voluntary nature markets, pointing to a disconnect between the proclaimed objectives of high integrity and the pressures of a market that demand simplicity and scalability with ecological rigor in the assessment. Fundamentally, the current scenario of the Voluntary Biodiversity Credits market faces uncertainties and the risks of greenwashing, requiring all actors to make a genuine effort to ensure high integrity, transparency and effectiveness in their biodiversity measurement.O crescente reconhecimento dos riscos económicos associados à perda de biodiversidade impulsiona a procura por mecanismos de financiamento, incluindo os créditos
voluntários de biodiversidade (VBCs – sigla em inglês). Contudo, as metodologias desenvolvidas pelas organizações e esquemas de VBCs são diversas e carecem de
caracterização abrangente. Esta dissertação visa sistematicamente identificar, caracterizar e classificar os esquemas propostos pelas organizações e iniciativas de VBCs, a fim de estabelecer uma tipologia das abordagens existentes. Os 39 esquemas identificados foram analisados qualitativamente com base em 21 aspectos, e um subconjunto de 15 variáveis foi usado em uma análise estatística multivariada envolvendo o teste Qui-quadrado e o agrupamento k-Medoids. Os resultados indicam um mercado em diferentes estágios de maturidade, com uma notável discrepância geográfica entre as sedes das organizações (Norte Global) e as suas predominantes áreas de operação (Sul Global). A análise tipológica revelou cinco agrupamentos de esquemas e metodologias de VBC identificados com distintos estágios de desenvolvimento e abordagens, concluindo que a robustez esquemática está associada a avaliações em múltiplos domínios ecológicos, considerando impactos externos a área do
projeto, evitando dupla contagem de outros créditos naturais e garantindo monitoramento de longo prazo com um período retroativo para a avaliação da linha de base. Como o mercado de VBC está emergindo na esteira do ceticismo de outros mercados de natureza, seria esperado que as organizações projetassem seus esquemas e estruturas com altos níveis de transparência e rigor metodológico, no entanto, como nossa pesquisa indica, a falta de transparência observada e a heterogeneidade nos dados disponíveis são particularmente preocupantes. Isso sugere que esses desafios podem ser sistêmicos e inerentes aos mercados de natureza voluntários, apontando para uma desconexão entre os objetivos proclamados de alta integridade e as pressões de um mercado que exige simplicidade e escalabilidade com rigor ecológico na
avaliação. Fundamentalmente, o cenário atual do mercado de Créditos Voluntários de Biodiversidade enfrenta incertezas e os riscos de greenwashing, exigindo que todos os atores façam um esforço genuíno para garantir alta integridade, transparência e eficácia em suas medições de biodiversidade.This research has been supported by the Horizon Europe project - Sustainable Management models and valUe chains foR small Forest (SMURF project) funded by the European Union through
the grant Nº 101135516
Tecnologias digitais e ensino do Português Língua Não Materna
Get PDFNeste trabalho, preconiza-se a tecnologia ao serviço da aprendizagem de Português Língua Não Materna (PLNM), dado que as tecnologias digitais constituem recursos que favorecem o ensino e a
aprendizagem do Português como Língua Não Materna. Nesse sentido, apresentaremos o recurso
computacional Nooj (disponível on-line em www.Nooj-association.org) como uma ferramenta promotora da competência lexical dos estudantes de Português Língua Não Materna, através da análise linguística da lista de palavras mais frequentes na obra “A Cidade e as Serras”, de Eça de Queirós.
A lista de palavras mais frequentes fornecida pelo Nooj remete-nos para fenómenos de ambiguidade
potencial, que caracterizam a maioria das formas linguísticas. Deste modo, recorrendo ao uso do
concordanciador do Nooj e ao dicionário (https://www.infopedia.pt/), os estudantes, orientados pelo/a
professor/a, analisam casos de homonímia e de polissemia. A análise das palavras-tema nas linhas
de concordâncias do Nooj, bem como a consulta das definições das palavras no dicionário permitem
aceder às aceções das palavras-tema na obra “A Cidade e as Serras” e construir campos temáticos.
Delimitaram-se onze campos temáticos de diferentes domínios: o campo temático do domínio de vida
rural foi delimitado através das palavras-tema serra, terra, ar, sol, água, cor, bom, grão, dia, silêncio,
pobre, doce, murmurou, ser, vida, pedra, chuva e meio; o campo temático do domínio de vida urbana
foi construído a partir das palavras-tema cidade, pressa, Civilização, negro, mal, sombra, noite, livros,
ter e grande; o campo temático do domínio de hierarquia social foi formado através das palavras-tema
Príncipe, Madame, senhor, duque e Excelência; o campo temático do domínio de habitação foi criado
a partir das palavras-tema casa, porta, mesa, quarto, janela e sala; o campo temático do domínio de
corpo foi concebido através das palavras-tema olhos, face, mão, mãos, ombros e braços; o campo
temático do domínio de metafísica foi contruído a partir das palavras-tema alma e Deus; o campo
temático do domínio de humanidade foi delimitado a partir das palavras-tema homem, amigo, tia e
rapaz; o campo temático do domínio de tradicional foi constituído através da palavra-tema velho; o
campo temático do domínio de moderno foi organizado a partir da palavra-tema novo; o campo temático
do domínio de materialismo foi composto a partir das palavras-tema ouro, tem e coisas; o campo
temático do domínio de tempo foi formado através das palavras-tema tarde, anos, manhã e vezes. A
proposta didática que pretendemos apresentar para o estudo lexical da obra literária “A Cidade e as
Serras”, de Eça de Queirós, poderá ser concretizada com alunos dos níveis de proficiência linguística
C1 e C2, promovendo, de forma atrativa e enriquecedora, o conhecimento de uma obra de um notável
autor da história literária portuguesa, utilizando o recurso tecnológico Nooj, e, simultaneamente, acedendo ao uso contextualizado da língua portuguesa, que o concordanciador do Nooj possibilita. O encontro com práticas pedagógicas potenciadoras do envolvimento e da aprendizagem dos estudantes, favorecidas por metodologias ativas, com o recurso a ferramentas tecnológicas, permite conceber a aula de Português Língua Não Materna como um espaço multidimensional que envolve um processo de incorporação das tecnologias digitais com propósitos pedagogicamente fundamentados
Portable system and user interface for ECG and EMG acquisition, conditioning, and parameters extraction
Get PDFElectrical signals from the human body are constantly the focus of research, searching for a better understanding of physiological events, discovering early signs of disease, and improving life quality. Developing devices that allow research beyond the usual requirements and allow easy adaptation regarding the system's acquisition, conditioning,
and processing parts could be a step toward better understanding some behaviours. Therefore, this work focused on designing a system that goes from the discrete components to a graphical interface, allowing user control of parameters to set the acquisition in a way that favours the specific signal of interest. The resulting system allows the user to change parameters regarding the analogue and digital filtering, sampling frequency and events detection, namely R-peaks, in the electrocardiogram, to estimate heart rate and its frequency fluctuation, and muscle contraction in electromyogram, to analyse contraction strength and muscle fatigue. The system also allows the data to be stored, aiming to generate datasets to further process the data in AI-based algorithms.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CeDRI, UIDB/05757/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/05757/2020) and UIDP/05757/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/05757/2020) and SusTEC, LA/P/0007/2020 (DOI:10.54499/LA/P/0007/2020), and also grateful for the funding granted by the project NanoStim - Nanomaterials for wearable-based integrated biostimulation (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-045908).
The authors also thank the support of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq and the Foundation for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel – CAPES
Utilização de wearables e smartphones no pós-operatório de pessoas submetidas a artroplastia total do joelho: scoping review
Get PDFA artroplastia total do joelho (ATJ) é uma intervenção cirúrgica amplamente utilizada no tratamento da osteoartrose avançada do joelho, proporcionando alívio da dor, recuperação da mobilidade e melhoria da qualidade de vida. A eficácia da ATJ está fortemente dependente do sucesso da reabilitação pós-operatória, a qual tem vindo a beneficiar dos avanços tecnológicos, nomeadamente através da utilização de wearables (dispositivos vestíveis) e smartphones. Estas tecnologias emergem como ferramentas inovadoras que permitem uma monitorização contínua, personalizada e, potencialmente, mais acessível para os utentes. A enfermagem de reabilitação tem um papel central na adaptação e implementação destas soluções, exigindo um conhecimento atualizado sobre a sua eficácia e aplicabilidade.
Objetivo: Mapear as principais evidências científicas disponíveis sobre a utilização de wearables e smartphones na reabilitação pós-operatória de utentes submetidos a artroplastia total do joelho, identificando os seus benefícios, limitações e implicações para a prática da enfermagem de reabilitação.
Métodos: Foi realizada uma scoping review, segundo a metodologia recomendada pelo Joanna Briggs Institute, com base na estratégia PI[C]OD. A pesquisa foi conduzida nas bases de dados Medline (via PubMed) e Web of Science, de publicações entre março de 2021 e março de 2024. Foram incluídos estudos qualitativos, quantitativos e revisões, envolvendo adultos submetidos a ATJ, com intervenções de reabilitação utilizando wearables e/ou smartphones em contexto domiciliário. A análise dos estudos selecionados foi realizada através de leitura integral, extração de dados e síntese descritiva.
Resultados: Foram incluídos oito estudos que cumpriam os critérios de elegibilidade. A maioria dos estudos indicou que a utilização de tecnologias móveis contribui positivamente para a recuperação funcional, promovendo maior adesão à reabilitação, redução das visitas presenciais, melhoria na comunicação entre utente e equipa de saúde e recolha de dados objetivos em tempo real. Alguns estudos demonstraram equivalência ou superioridade em relação à reabilitação convencional, nomeadamente na melhoria da amplitude de movimento e na contagem de passos diários. No entanto, outros estudos
apontaram limitações, como a menor eficácia a longo prazo ou a ausência de diferenças estatisticamente significativas face às abordagens tradicionais. A heterogeneidade dos dispositivos e protocolos de reabilitação utilizados dificultou a comparação direta entre os estudos.
Conclusão: A utilização de wearables e smartphones na reabilitação após ATJ apresentasse como uma alternativa viável e inovadora, com potencial para complementar os métodos convencionais. Estas tecnologias promovem uma abordagem mais centrada no utente, favorecendo a autonomia e a continuidade dos cuidados. Contudo, são necessários mais estudos com maior rigor metodológico e seguimento prolongado, de forma a avaliar a sua real eficácia clínica e impacto económico. A enfermagem de reabilitação desempenha um papel estratégico na integração destas soluções digitais nos
cuidados de saúde, contribuindo para a construção de modelos de reabilitação mais eficientes, personalizados e sustentáveis.Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a surgical intervention widely used in treating advanced knee osteoarthritis, providing pain relief, recovery of mobility, and improvement in quality of life. The effectiveness of TKA is strongly dependent on the success of postoperative rehabilitation, which has benefited from technological advances, namely wearables and smartphones. These technologies emerge as innovative tools that enable continuous, personalized, and potentially more accessible user monitoring. Rehabilitation nursing plays a central role in adapting and implementing these solutions, requiring up-to-date knowledge about their effectiveness and applicability.
Aim: To map the primary scientific evidence available on the use of wearables and smartphones in the postoperative rehabilitation of users undergoing total knee arthroplasty, identifying their benefits, limitations, and implications for the practice of rehabilitation nursing.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the methodology recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute, based on the PI[C]OD strategy. The search was conducted in the Medline (via PubMed) and Web of Science databases of publications between March 2021 and March 2024. Qualitative, quantitative studies, and reviews were included, involving adults undergoing TKA, with rehabilitation interventions using wearables and/or smartphones in a home context. The selected studies were analyzed through
complete reading, data extraction, and descriptive synthesis.
Results: Eight studies that met the eligibility criteria were included. Most studies have indicated that mobile technologies contribute positively to functional recovery, promoting greater adherence to rehabilitation, reducing in-person visits, improving communication between users and healthcare teams, and collecting objective data in real time. Some studies have demonstrated equivalence or superiority of conventional rehabilitation, namely improving range of motion and daily step count. However, other studies have
pointed out limitations, such as lower long-term effectiveness or the absence of statistically significant differences between traditional approaches. The heterogeneity of the rehabilitation devices and protocols used made direct comparison between studies difficult.
Conclusion: The use of wearables and smartphones in rehabilitation after TKA presents a viable and innovative alternative, with the potential to complement conventional methods. These technologies promote a more user-centered approach, favoring autonomy and continuity of care. However, further studies with greater methodological rigor and prolonged follow-up are needed to assess their real clinical efficacy and economic impact. Rehabilitation nursing plays a strategic role in integrating these digital solutions into
healthcare, contributing to constructing more efficient, personalized, and sustainable rehabilitation models
The interrelation between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and transparency: a bibliometric analysis
No full textSustainability has been a central issue in recent decades, leading to the formal integration of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions by the United Nations in 2004. Although ‘CSR’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘ESG’ are often used interchangeably, ESG provides criteria for assessing sustainability progress. Transparent disclosure of ESG information is crucial to attracting investment and building trust, despite challenges such as gaming and greenwashing. In this context, this paper aims to analyse the evolution of research on ESG and transparency and identify trends. The study reveals an exponential publication growth using a bibliometric analysis of 497 articles from the SCOPUS database between 2011 and 2025. Europe and China lead the way in publications, influenced by EU regulations and international pressures/domestic standards. There is strong collaboration between the US, Europe, and China about academic production
Impact of pouch packages on olive oil shelf-life stored at 30 and 40 ºC
No full textOlive oil is highly prone to oxidation, so proper storage and packaging are crucial to preserve its quality. This study evaluated the effectiveness of pouch packaging (like bag-in-box) in protecting extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) stored at 30 °C and 40 °C in darkness for 15 months, compared to glass packaging. EVOOs, classified as “soft” or “intense” based on aroma intensity, were analysed every three-months for free acidity, peroxide value, extinction coefficients (K232, K268) and total phenols. Except the latter, all parameters increased over time, especially at 40 ºC. Pseu
do-kinetic models (zero, first, and second order) accurately described the degradation (R²: 0.9025–0.9973) and estimated shelf life (SL) based on legal EVOO thresholds. K268 gave the shortest SLs: 17/12 months for soft EVOO and 15/9 months for intense EVOO at 30 °C/40 °C. Despite the higher phenolic content, intense EVOO showed shorter SLs. Pouch packaging proved effective and comparable to traditional glass packaging.Work funded by the Project “Agenda VIIAFOOD – Platform for Agri-Food Valorization, Industrialization and Commercial Innovation (No. C644929456-00000040) financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The authors also thank FCT for its support to CIMO, UIDB/00690/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/00690/2020) and UIDP/00690/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/00690/2020); and to SusTEC, LA/P/0007/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0007/2020). FCT, Foundation for Science and Technology, within the scope of the scientific employment program contract with Nuno Rodrigues and of the doctoral scholarship (2022.10072.BD) of Nuno Ferreiro
Relevance of the Spatiotemporal Behavior of Tourists and Residents to Tourism Planning and Marketing of Successful Destinations
No full textIn the contemporary tourism landscape, the integration of advanced technologies into planning and marketing strategies is becoming increasingly vital for the success and sustainability of destinations. This paper explores the critical role of spatiotemporal behavior analysis—tracking the movements and patterns of tourists and residents over time and space—in enhancing tourism planning and marketing. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as GPS tracking, mobile phone data, and social media geotagging, destinations can gain unprecedented insights into visitor
User-generated content’s influence on tourist destination image: a generational perspective
No full textPurpose– This study aims to examine the moderating role of generational identity in the relationship between user-generated content (UGC) and tourist destination image. It seeks to unveil the differential impact of UGC on the cognitive and affective dimensions of tourist destination image across generational cohorts: Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X.
Design/methodology/approach– This study has an experimental design. It used online surveys to gather data from 317 participants recruited through social media channels. Participants were presented with both positive and negative UGC, and their responses were measured using cognitive and affective scales. Findings– This study reveals that UGC significantly affects both the cognitive and affective dimensions of the destination image. However, the impact on the cognitive aspect is moderated by generational differences, with distinct variations observed across Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X. No significant generational moderation was found for the affective dimension, indicating a universal influence of UGC on emotional perceptions of destinations.
Practical implications– The findings suggest that marketers should tailor their communication strategies to the generational characteristics of their target audience, especially concerning the cognitive aspects of destination marketing. However, for affective appeals, a uniform strategy could be applied across generations, simplifying the approach for emotional marketing content.
Originality/value– This research contributes to the extant literature by highlighting the importance of generational segmentation in the strategic marketing of tourism destinations. It extends the discourse to generational analysis, providing a more granular understanding of the interactions between tourists and UGC
Impacts of climate-induced drought on lake and reservoir biodiversity and ecosystem services: a review
Get PDFIntensifying extreme droughts are altering lentic
ecosystems and disrupting services provisioning.
Unfortunately, drought research often lacks a holistic and
intersectoral consideration of drought impacts, which can
limit relevance of the insights for adaptive management.
This literature review evaluated the current state of lake
and reservoir extreme drought research in relation to
biodiversity and three ecosystem services. The study
findings demonstrated that few articles linked or
discussed drought implications with one or more
ecosystem services, instead focusing primarily on
biodiversity. Drought effects on biodiversity varied
among species and taxonomic groups. In the limited
literature that included ecosystem service provisioning,
droughts had a general negative effect. Drinking water
supply can decrease and become more costly. Decreasing
water flow and volume can reduce hydropower generation.
Degraded water quality can also impact recreation. Future
intersectoral collaborations and research on intensifying
droughts should support adaptive management efforts in
mitigating drought impacts.XS was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC; RGPIN-2019–04315) and U.S.
National Science Foundation (NSF) Macrosystems Biology Program
(EF #1638679). MA, HPG and EM were financially supported by the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 722518
(MANTEL). MA was supported by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences.
RB was supported by Cleveland State University (Start-up).
AMAG are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology
(FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/
MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/
2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). KK acknowledges support from
grant PRG 1266 of Estonian Research Council. SSM was supported by
the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund
JPMEERF20232002 of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation
Agency of Japan. The ideas for this work were initiated at a Global
Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) all hands’ meeting,
which was supported, in part, by U.S. NSF grant (#1702991).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Literature Review on Single and Twin-Screw Extruders Design for Polymerization Using CFD Simulation
Get PDFThis work presents a comprehensive review of the evolution in modeling reactive
extrusion (REx), tracing developments from early analytical models to advanced computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Additionally, it highlights the key challenges
and future directions in this field. Analytical models to describe the velocity profiles were
proposed in the 1950s, involving certain geometrical simplifications. However, numerical
models of melt polymeric flow in extruders have proven to be crucial for optimizing screw
design and predicting process characteristics. The state-of-the-art CFD models for single
and twin-screw extruders design address the impact of geometry (type of mixing elements
and geometrical simplifications of CFD geometries), pressure and temperature gradients,
and quantification of mixing. Despite the extensive work conducted, modeling reactive
extrusion using CFD remains challenging due to the intricate interplay of mixing, heat
transfer, chemical reactions, and non-Newtonian fluid behavior under high shear and temperature
gradients. These challenges are further intensified by the presence of multiphase
flows and the complexity of extruder geometries. Future advancements should enhance
simulation accuracy, incorporate multiphase flow models, and utilize real-time sensor data
for adaptive modeling approaches.This work was supported by BioShoes4All (PRR–000011), supported by PRR—Plano
de Recuperação e Resiliência—Bioeconomia. This research was also supported by national funds
through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC): LSRE-LCM-UIDB/50020/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/50020/2020)
and UIDP/50020/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/50020/2020); and ALiCE—LA/P/0045/2020 (DOI:
10.54499/LA/P/0045/2020), CIMO UIDB/00690/2020 (DOI:10.54499/UIDB/00690/2020) and
UIDP/00690/2020 (DOI:10.54499/UIDP/00690/2020); SusTEC LA/P/0007/2020 (DOI:10.54499/LA/
P/0007/2020). Elham Delvar acknowledges her PhD scholarship supported by Fundação para
a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (2023.01245.BD). Margarida S.C.A. Brito acknowledges her contract
(2023.06416.CEECIND) supported by the FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus—
6th Edition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio