Browsing by Author "Almeida, S."
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- Balanced Scorecard as a management model in the waste sectorPublication . Mendes, Paula; Almeida, S.; Santos, Ana Carina; Ribau Teixeira, Margarida; Murta, E.; Silva, L.All Organizations recognize that internal methodologies and frameworks are very important to have a thorough knowledge of their potential, simultaneous increase competitiveness and, correspondingly, enhance and optimize the performance of their service. Waste management is a challenge of modern society, and there is awareness that responsibility of waste management should be shared by all community, to cooperate and ensure a sustainable development with the best principles and best management practices. It is a citizenship issue, where citizens contribute adopting preventative behaviours in the production of waste, as well as practices that facilitate waste recycling, reuse and recovery, which contribute to reduce the waste life cycle. This concern and the service improvement involve the minimization of the environmental impacts, the conservation of the natural resources, the reduction of pollutant emissions, as well as the design of the solutions for the collection, transfer and transport, treatment and waste final deposition, and the allocation of human and financial resources. The need for a sustainable management of resources has led to the design and development of management models in waste systems to assess in what extent the various tasks or activities are (or are not) carried out in accordance with the objectives established in advance and the efforts, decisions and operational actions developed by organisations to improve the quality of its work. Thus, given the problems and requirements of the waste sector, it is necessary to outline and plan sustainable strategies for the management system. Therefore, the objective of the present work is the application and study of key concepts related to design and implementation of a management model, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). This is a management method based on critical success factors, which propose is to translate through a systemic approach, the mission and strategy of Organizations (private or public / nonprofit) in operational objectives, arranged into perspectives interconnected in a cause-effect relation. It connects the strategic objectives to measurable measures (performance indicators) that indicate the success or failure of the adopted strategy, contributing to a review. The BSC is a very useful and simple management tool, which perfectly suits the needs of the waste sector. It works as a measurement and management system, and a basis for the strategy communication to all elements of the system, and through a joint analysis, demonstrates of the importance of all stakeholders to the overall management, encouraging their involvement and motivation.
- Functional study of DAND5 variant in patients with congenital heart disease and laterality defects. Insights for the control of cardiomyocyte proliferation in disease and regenerative medicinePublication . Inacio, J. M.; Cristo, Fernando; Almeida, S.; Mendes, P.; Martins, D. S.; Maio, J.; Anjos, R.; Belo, José A.Background: Perturbations on the Left-Right axis establishment lead to laterality defects, with frequently associated Congenital Heart Diseases (CHDs). Indeed, in the last decade, it has been reported that the etiology of isolated cases of CHDs or cases of laterality defects with associated CHDs is linked with variants of genes involved in the Nodal signaling pathway. Methods: With this in mind, we analyzed a cohort of 38 unrelated patients with Congenital Heart Defects that can arise from initial perturbations in the formation of the Left-Right axis and 40 unrelated ethnically matched healthy individuals as a control population. Genomic DNA was extracted from buccal epithelial cells, and variants screening was performed by PCR and direct sequencing. A Nodal-dependent luciferase assay was conducted in order to determine the functional effect of the variant found. Results: In this work, we report two patients with a DAND5 heterozygous non-synonymous variant (c.455G > A) in the functional domain of the DAND5 protein (p.R152H), a master regulator of Nodal signaling. Patient 1 presents left isomerism, ventricular septal defect with overriding aorta and pulmonary atresia, while patient 2 presents ventricular septal defect with overriding aorta, right ventricular hypertrophy and pulmonary atresia (a case of extreme tetralogy of Fallot phenotype). The functional analysis assay showed a significant decrease in the activity of this variant protein when compared to its wild-type counterpart. Conclusion: Altogether, our results provide new insight into the molecular mechanism of the laterality defects and related CHDs, priming for the first time DAND5 as one of multiple candidate determinants for CHDs in humans.
- Improving vector-borne disease control in AlbufeiraPublication . Sá, R.; Dinis, V.; Edmundo, A.; Costa, I. Carvalho; Figueiredo, V.; Almeida, S.; Fonseca, A.; Lopes, C.; Rodrigues, V.; Correia, M.The Albufeira Health Centre (CSA) comprises various functional units within primary healthcare. Recognizing the limited awareness of colleagues regarding the Vector Surveillance Network (REVIVE), responsible for entomological surveillance of mosquitoes, ticks, and sandflies, the Public Health Unit (USP) initiated a project to improve coordination and knowledge sharing. Implemented in April 2023, the project involved a multidisciplinary team. Informational materials on vector surveillance and control, clinical guidance for common vector-borne diseases (VBDs), tick collection protocols, and specimen registration forms were distributed. A video highlighting entomological surveillance and strategies for prevention and control was disseminated. To date, the project has recorded 45 views of the video (51%). A questionnaire distributed among the target population revealed that only 20% had knowledge of the epidemiological importance of vectors in the Algarve region. None were familiar with REVIVE or its work. Furthermore, participants were not acquainted with the Aedes albopictus mosquito species. Regarding ticks, 20% felt confident in tick removal, but none were aware of the tick genera in the Algarve region. Only 20% were aware of notifiable vector-borne diseases through SINAVE. Training sessions on this topic were suggested. The project emphasized the significance of communication and collaboration among healthcare professionals in the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases. It highlighted the need for continuous education on VBDs, surveillance techniques, and control measures. This innovative project can serve as a model for healthcare centres and countries, contributing to global efforts to improve the response to vector-borne diseases. The project's outreach extended to the Municipal Albufeira Animal Welfare Centre. A new questionnaire will be distributed to gather additional insights and enhance the impact of the project.
- Prediction of overwash in alongshore variable barrier islands [Previsão da ocorrência de galgamentos em ilhas barreira com variabilidade longilitoral]Publication . Matias, Ana Catarina; Carrasco, A. Rita; Loureiro, Carlos; Almeida, S.; Ferreira, OscarOverwash prediction is very important for coastal zone management. This work intends to identify alongshore variations in storm impact and evaluate the role of sub-aerial and submerged morphologies in overwash occurrence. For this study, 24 cross-shore topo-bathymetric profiles were set on Barreta Island (Ria Formosa barrier island system, Portugal). Pre- and post-overwash surveys were made between August 2012 and April 2013. During overwash events, tidal levels and wave parameters at breaking were obtained. Overwash occurred under storm and non-storm conditions, the latter coincident with spring high-tide. Beach morphology was spatially variable, and changeable from one overwash episode to the next. Predictions of overwash occurrence were made using the Overwash Potential, defined as the difference between runup and barrier elevation. Several runup equations were tested, and the results compared to the actual observations. The selected predictor provided an accuracy of 88% for the identification of the locations where overwash occurred. This study proves that nearshore and foreshore morphologies have a major impact on the longshore distribution of overwash.