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From Desalination to Governance: A Comparative Study of Water Reuse Strategies in Southern European Hospitality
Publication . Santos, Eleonora
As climate change intensified water scarcity in Southern Europe, tourism-dependent regions such as Portugal’s Algarve faced growing pressure to adapt their water management systems. This study investigated how hotel groups in the Algarve have adopted and communicated water reuse technologies—specifically desalination and greywater recycling—under environmental, institutional, and reputational constraints. A comparative qualitative case study was conducted involving three hotel groups—Vila Vita Parc, Pestana Group, and Vila Galé—selected through purposive sampling based on organizational capacity and technology adoption stage. The analysis was supported by a supplementary mini-case from Mallorca, Spain. Publicly accessible documents, including sustainability reports, media coverage, and policy frameworks, were thematically coded using organizational environmental behavior theory and the OECD Principles on Water Governance. The results demonstrated that (1) higher organizational capacity was associated with greater maturity in water reuse implementation; (2) communication transparency increased alongside technological advancement; and (3) early-stage adopters encountered stronger financial, regulatory, and operational barriers. These findings culminated in the development of the Maturity–Communication–Governance (MCG) Framework, which elucidates how internal resources, stakeholder signaling, and institutional alignment influence sustainable infrastructure uptake. This research offered policy recommendations to scale water reuse in tourism through financial incentives, regulatory simplification, and public–private partnerships. The study contributed to the literature on sustainable tourism and decentralized climate adaptation, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 6.4, 12.6, and 13.
Collaborative Practices in Mental Health Care: A Concept Analysis
Publication . Pinheiro, Eslia; Laranjeira, Carlos; Harmuch, Camila; Graça, José Mateus Bezerra; Ali, Amira Mohammed; Fekih-Romdhane, Feten; Yıldırım, Murat; Severo, Ana Kalliny; Franco, Elisângela
Background/Objectives: Collaboration in mental health care is essential for implementing a model oriented towards the psychosocial rehabilitation of people based on multifaceted interventions involving different actors and sectors of society to respond to demands. Despite the benefits presented by the scientific evidence, there are still many barriers to collaborative care, and professionals continue to struggle in reorienting their conduct. The current situation demands organization and the framing of well-founded action plans to overcome challenges, which in turn requires a detailed understanding of collaborative practices in mental health care and their conceptual boundaries. A concept analysis was undertaken to propose a working definition of collaborative practices in mental health care (CPMHC). Methods: This paper used the Walker and Avant concept analysis method. This includes identifying the defining concept attributes, antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents. A literature search was carried out from November 2024 to February 2025 in three databases (Medline, CINAHL, and LILACS), considering studies published between 2010 and 2024. Results: The final sample of literature investigated consisted of 30 studies. The key attributes were effective communication, building bonds, co-responsibility for care, hierarchical flexibility, articulation between services, providers and community, monitoring and evaluating of care processes, and attention to the plurality of sociocultural contexts. Conclusions: This comprehensive analysis contributes to guiding future research and policy development of collaborative practices in mental health, considering the individual, relational, institutional, and social levels. Further research is possible to deepen the understanding of the production of collaborative practices in mental health in the face of the complexity of social relations and structural inequities.
CULTURAL DETOX
Publication . Matoso, Rui
Para esta edição dos cadernos Escrita Manifesto, compilámos um conjunto
de exercícios realizados por estudantes da Licenciatura em Programação e
Produção Cultural. A seleção dos trabalhos reflete a diversidade de linhas de
investigação e perspetivas acerca das interações complexas entre políticas
e práticas culturais, evidenciando a pluralidade de abordagens no campo da
gestão cultural, em sentindo amplo.
2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde fromHemidesmus indicusis antagonistic toStaphylococcus epidermidisbiofilm formation
Publication . Kannappan, Arunachalam; Durgadevi, Ravindran; Srinivasan, Ramanathan; Lagoa, Ricardo José Lucas; Packiavathy, Issac Abraham Sybiya Vasantha; Pandian, Shunmugiah Karutha; Ravi, Arumugam Veera
Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) is an opportunistic nosocomial pathogen that accounts for recalcitrant device-related infections worldwide. Owing to the growing interest in plants and their secondary metabolites targeting bacterial adhesion, this study was intended to uncover the anti-biofilm potential of Hemidesmus indicus and its major constituent 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (HMB) against SE. The minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) of H. indicus root extract and HMB were found to be 500 and 250 µg ml−1, respectively. The results of time-dependent biofilm inhibition and mature biofilm disruption assays confirmed that HMB targets initial cell adhesion. Furthermore, interference by HMB in the expression of adhesin genes (icaA, aap and bhp) and biofilm components was associated with an increased susceptibility of SE to oxidative stress and antibiotics. To conclude, this study reports for the first time HMB as a potential drug against SE biofilms.
Nanocomposites from β-Pinene and α-Pinene Copolymer: Synthesis, Characterization, and Antioxidant Evaluation
Publication . Derdar, Hodhaifa; Cherifi, Zakaria; Mitchell, Geoffrey; Mateus, Artur; Zerrouki, Meziane; Hammoudi, Naima; Bachari, Khaldoun; Chebout, Redouane; Touahra, Fouzia; Bouchama, Abdelghani; Harrane, Amine; Meghabar, Rachid
In this study, we present a novel and straightforward approach for the synthesis of copolymers and nanocomposites based on α- and β-pinene, employing an eco-friendly and cost-effective nano-reinforcing filler. The copolymers (α-co-β-P) were produced through cationic copolymerization, using AlCl3 as a catalyst. The structural characterization of the resulting copolymer was validated through FT-IR, 1H-NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The molecular weight of the obtained polymer is determined by Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) analysis and is about 4500 g/mol. Nanocomposites (α-co-β-P/Clay 2, 5, 8, and 10% by weight of nano-clay) were synthesized by combining clay and α-co-β-P copolymer in solution using ultrasonic irradiation. This ultrasound-assisted method was employed to enhance and assess the structural, morphological, and thermal properties of the pure copolymer. The morphology of the resultant nanocomposites was characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the nanocomposites exhibit a higher degradation temperature compared to the pure copolymer. The analyses provided evidence of the chemical modification of nano-clay layers and their uniform dispersion in the α-co-β-P copolymer matrix. Exfoliated structures were achieved for lower clay concentration (2% by weight), while intercalated structures and immiscible regions were observed for higher clay concentrations (5, 8, and 10% by weight). The antioxidant activity of α-pinene, β-pinene, and the obtained nanocomposites were studied using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) as a model free-radical. The results demonstrate a significant antioxidant potential of the nanocomposites, showcasing their ability to effectively neutralize free-radicals. Finally, a novel procedure was devised for the rapid synthesis of copolymers and nanocomposites using α- and β-pinene.