A 44 year-old male with asthma and allergic to grass pollen came to our Emergency Department with dyspnea, productive cough, paresthesia, dysaesthesia and dysphonia. He was admitted with a diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. An acute axonal polyneuropathy has developed preventing the patient from walking becoming totally dependent on others. In spite of exhaustive investigation the aetiology was not ascertained. Peripheral blood eosinophilia and P-ANCA positivity with myeloperoxidase specificity led to the diagnostic hypothesis of ANCA associated vasculitis, namely Churg-Strauss syndrome. Treatment with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide achieved significant improvement, albeit a disabling neuropathy persisting and not responding well to intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progressively impairs motor function, compromising speech and limiting communication. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is essential to maintain autonomy, social participation, and quality of life for people with ALS (PALS). This review map technological developments in AAC, from low-tech tools to advanced brain–computer interface (BCI) systems. Methods: We conducted a scoping review following the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews. PubMed, Web of Science, SciELO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were screened for studies published up to 31 August 2025. Peer-reviewed RCT, cohort, cross-sectional, and conference papers were included. Single-case studies of invasive BCI technology for ALS were also considered. Methodological quality was evaluated using JBI Critical Appraisal Tools. Results: Thirty-seven studies met inclusion criteria. High-tech AAC—particularly eyetracking systems and non-invasive BCIs—were most frequently studied. Eye tracking showed high usability but was limited by fatigue, calibration demands, and ocular impairments. EMG- and EOG-based systems demonstrated promising accuracy and resilience to environmental factors, though evidence remains limited. Invasive BCIs showed the highest performance in late-stage ALS and locked-in syndrome, but with small samples and uncertain long-term feasibility. No studies focused exclusively on low-tech AAC interventions. Conclusions: AAC technologies, especially BCIs, EMG and eye-tracking systems, show promise in supporting autonomy in PALS. Implementation gaps persist, including limited attention to caregiver burden, healthcare provider training, and the real-world use of low-tech and hybrid AAC. Further research is needed to ensure that communication solutions are timely, accessible, and effective, and that they are tailored to functional status, daily needs, social participation, and interaction with the environment.

In a context where brands are increasingly expected to take a stand on issues such as diversity, inclusion, and social justice, advertising has emerged as a key space for symbolic dispute. This article examines how woke culture and political correctness have reconfigured advertising communication. To this end, it explores three core dimensions: the shift in representational criteria, the consolidation of inclusive discourses and brand activism, and the escalation of public controversies, including allegations of opportunism and polarized audience reception. The paper´s primary contribution lies in demonstrating that this transformation cannot be viewed simply as progress or a threat. While it has increased the visibility of historically marginalized groups, it has also made brand legitimacy more heavily dependent on the alignment between discourse and practice.

The aim of the research was to identify the profile and decision-making style of adapted sports coaches and recent IPCB graduates. The sample consisted of 16 recent IPCB graduates and 31 Special Olympics Portugal coaches. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, the Coach Profile Questionnaire and the Sport Coach Decision Style were used as data collection instruments. The results relating to the predominant coach profile in adapted sport were the ‘innovative’ profile. The predominant decision-making style centred on ‘Democratic’. The results did not show significant differences in the adoption of the profile and decision-making style, thus bringing recent IPCB graduates closer to sporting success and coaches with experience in adapted sport.

The industrial sector is an important energy consumer, which accounted for 29% of the world’s final energy consumption in 2015 [1]. In the European Union this share is slightly lower, 25% in 2016, and in Portugal 27% [2]. Moreover, its energy consumption is still dominated by fossil fuels and industry is therefore an important contributor to the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. Looking at the penetration of renewable energies in the industrial sector, in 2016 in the EU28, only 8% of the final industrial energy consumption was supplied by renewable energies, being biomass presently the only renewable energy source with some expression and mainly in the biomass residue generating industries. This paper focuses on the cork industry, a sub-sector where Portugal is an important player worldwide. Many industrial units already use biomass as an energy source; however, part of it could be replaced by solar energy, freeing biomass for other uses. The use of solar energy is technically possible, and for some of the industrial processes can be provided with commercially available solar collector. However, this is not done. One of the reasons is that the solar systems are costly and the industry has energy systems with a long life and is sensitive to costs. According to [3], the implementation of solar systems in the industry requires the installation of pilot plants with the help of public funds or incentives. This work presents a techno-economic viability study for the implementation of a hybrid solar-biomass systems to provide process heat for the boiling of cork. As expected, for the proposed scenario, the implementation of the system is not profitable. The critical incentives in terms of CAPEX that would be required to implement the system with no financial losses are identified. Although the study focuses on a particular industrial sub-sector, it sheds light on the required incentives for the promotion of renewable process heat in industry.

Considerando o atual impacto que a vida profissional representa para o indivíduo da nossa sociedade, tem-se dado cada vez mais importância à nova problemática relacionada com o stress no trabalho, o burnout. Este é um tema de crescente preocupação para as organizações pois, as suas consequências podem ser severas e de alto risco, quer para os profissionais enquanto indivíduos, quer para a própria organização/instituição (Rosa et al., 2015).

As pontes têm desde sempre um papel preponderante no desenvolvimento das sociedades e das economias, tendo em conta as necessidades crescentes de mobilidade por parte de pessoas e de bens. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho de investigação contribui para um maior aprofundamento sobre os métodos utilizados na construção de pontes de betão armado e/ou pré-esforçado betonados “in situ”, segundo uma perspectiva mais prática da utilização dos mesmos. Na fase inicial deste trabalho identificam-se e descrevem-se de forma teórica os diferentes métodos construtivos mais correntes de tabuleiros de pontes e as respectivas estruturas provisórias do tipo cimbres, nomeadamente o cimbre ao solo, o cimbre autolançável, o cimbre de avanços sucessivos e o cimbre relativo ao processo construtivo de deslocamentos sucessivos. De seguida, aprofunda-se o estudo sobre os cimbres autolançáveis e sobre os cimbres de avanços sucessivos (carros de avanço), para a construção de pontes tramo-a-tramo e para a construção de pontes segundo o método de avanços sucessivos, respectivamente. Este estudo visa alcançar uma melhor compreensão sobre os cimbres e sobre os métodos utilizados na construção de tabuleiros de pontes, para posterior acompanhamento das diferentes fases construtivas em obra. Por fim é efectuada uma descrição detalhada das diferentes fases construtivas dos tabuleiros de duas pontes correspondentes aos casos de estudo desta dissertação de mestrado. Uma das pontes é construída tramo-a-tramo com recurso a um cimbre autolançável superior, e a outra ponte é construída segundo o método dos avanços sucessivos e com recurso a carros de avanço. Este acompanhamento em obra da construção das pontes permitiu uma melhor compreensão do funcionamento dos cimbres, da sua interacção com a obra de arte e ao mesmo tempo das diferentes fases construtivas dos tabuleiros das pontes.