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Efficacy of neuromodulation techniques (TMS and tDCS) in cancer pain management: A systematic review
2025-11-26 - Peixoto, Joana; Fernandes, Sara M.; Rodrigues, Pedro F. S.; Bártolo, Ana
The global incidence of oncological disease is rising, driven by increased longevity and greater exposure to carcinogens. Pain remains one of the most prevalent and disabling symptoms among cancer patients, requiring urgent evaluation and treatment. However, selecting an effective therapeutic approach remains a challenge. Neuromodulation techniques such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) have shown promise in managing chronic pain across various conditions, but evidence in the oncological context is still limited. This study systematically reviewed the effects of rTMS and tDCS on cancer pain management. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and CENTRAL, following PRISMA guidelines, yielding 657 potentially relevant studies. Quality assessment was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist. Eight randomized controlled trials from four countries were included, involving 349 patients: three employing rTMS and five using tDCS. The studies examined diverse patient groups, cancer types, and neuromodulation protocols, producing mixed but generally short‑term reductions in pain. Indirect evidence suggests that rTMS may induce faster but shorter‑lived analgesia, whereas tDCS may be associated with modest persistence when delivered in repeated sessions. Overall, the findings provide preliminary evidence that non‑invasive brain stimulation techniques may contribute to cancer pain management. Future research should optimize stimulation parameters, conduct direct comparisons, and explore integration with pharmacological and behavioral strategies to enhance long‑term effectiveness.
Liminal Landscapes: Generative Art as a Technoshamanic Instrument in the Representation of Altered States of Consciousness [abstract]
2025-11-25 - Martinho Moura, João; Brandão, Daniel; Simão, Emília
This article proposes a theoretical and practical reflection on the capacity of generative audiovisual installations to represent and evoke altered states of consciousness (ASC), based on the artistic project Liminal Landscapes.In a historical moment marked by crises of meaning, technological alienation, and symbolic disintegration, a new sensibility emerges that seeks to resume ecstatic and spiritual experiences, now mediated by digital devices. By cross-referencing from the visionary arts, the anthropology of ritual, technoshamanism and media arts, it is argued that certain contemporary artistic creations can assume functions comparable to those of ancestral shamanic rituals, enabling the public to have immersive, introspective, and liminal experiences. The installation Liminal Landscapes develops from organic and generative processes of image and sound, symbolically focusing on the element of water as a metaphor for the unconscious, crossing, and transformation. The circular structure of the work, combined with the enveloping sound and visual dissolution, invites the viewer to enter a meditative state, breaking with linear temporality and evoking ritual practices. Based on a practical research methodology, the project analyzes how the artistic gesture can function as a mediator between the visible and the invisible, the aesthetic and the spiritual. Art, in this context, is proposed as a technoshamanic instrument and a legitimate avenue for sensitive knowledge, capable of bridging the gap between the body, technology, landscape, and consciousness.
A sucessão na união estável: União de facto face aos códigos civis Brasileiro e Português
2025-06-26 - Silva, Maria da Glória Gomes de Souza
O trabalho proposto pretende discorrer sobre o instituto da união estável/união de
facto nos ordenamentos jurídicos brasileiro e português, especificamente, quanto ao
direito sucessório dos companheiros face aos Códigos Civis de ambos os países.
Desde o seu nascimento, o homem torna-se, automaticamente, membro de uma
entidade natural denominada “família”, sendo ela o núcleo e a base fundamental do
Estado. Por essa razão, a família sempre foi objeto do direito. Com as constantes
evoluções das relações sociais, diversos modelos familiares têm surgido, decorrentes
de uniões livres, que, na grande maioria das vezes, diferem do modelo tradicional
familiar em que a sociedade está habituada, pondo por fim, assim, aos padrões
conservadores, e que, de forma gradual, foi ganhando maior relevância, conferindo
legitimidade às uniões baseadas nos sentimentos de amor, afeto, solidariedade,
cumplicidade, dentre outros. Diante dessa perspectiva e, mediante o crescente
número de uniões livres entre homens e mulheres e entre pessoas do mesmo sexo, o
Estado Democrático de Direito passou a preocupar-se com a situação dessas
pessoas. Posto isto, o legislador moderno buscou atribuir a tais uniões efeitos
jurídicos, patrimoniais e sucessórios, haja vista que, devido a sua longa duração,
estabilidade e publicidade, seria notório que o ordenamento jurídico lhes atribuísse
direitos e deveres mútuos. Nesse contexto, serão apontados os motivos pelos quais
os Estados brasileiro e português, no direito das sucessões, trataram, distintamente, o
direito sucessório dos companheiros supérstites, apresentando as dissonâncias
(obrigacionais, sucessórias, dentre outras) que envolvem a união estável/união de
facto. Por derradeiro, foram utilizadas a metodologia bibliográfica e doutrinária, além
do método hipotético-dedutivo.