Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2019-02"
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- Using time-lapse omics correlations to integrate toxicological pathways of a formulated fungicide in a soil invertebratePublication . Simões, Tiago; Novais, Sara C.; Natal-da-Luz, Tiago; Devreese, Bart; de Boer, Tjalf; Roelofs, Dick; Sousa, José P.; Van Straalen, Nico M.; Lemos, Marco F. L.The use of an integrative molecular approach can actively improve the evaluation of environmental health status and impact of chemicals, providing the knowledge to develop sentinel tools that can be integrated in risk assessment studies, since gene and protein expressions represent the first response barriers to anthropogenic stress. This work aimed to determine the mechanisms of toxic action of a widely applied fungicide formulation (chlorothalonil), following a time series approach and using a soil model arthropod, Folsomia candida. To link effects at different levels of biological organization, data were collected on reproduction, gene expression and protein levels, in a time series during exposure to a natural soil. Results showed a mechanistic mode of action for chlorothalonil, affecting pathways of detoxification and excretion, immune response, cellular respiration, protein metabolism and oxidative stress defense, causing irregular cell signaling (JNK and NOD ½ pathways), DNA damage and abnormal cell proliferation, leading to impairment in developmental features such as molting cycle and reproduction. The omics datasets presented highly significant positive correlations between the gene expression levels at a certain time-point and the corresponding protein products 2e3 days later. The integrated omics in this study has provided useful insights into pesticide mechanisms of toxicity, evidencing the relevance of such analyses in toxicological studies, and highlighting the importance of considering a time-series when integrating these datasets.
- Terapia Ocupacional I: Compreender a Perturbação do Espetro do AutismoPublication . Reis, HelenaAs perturbações do espetro do autismo caracterizam-se como o grupo de perturbações desenvolvimentais mais difíceis com que os profissionais têm de lidar, dadas as suas dificuldades ao nível da interação, comunicação e comportamento. Importa conhecer esta perturbação, a sua evolução histórica suas características, especificidades e toda a sua evolução histórica desde a "psicoce infantil" até à atual perturbação neurodesenvolvimental.
- Preventing falls in hospitalized elderly: design and validation of a team interventionPublication . Cunha, Luís Filipe Correia da; Baixinho, Cristina Lavareda; Henriques, Maria AdrianaThe objective of the present study was the design and validation, by a panel of experts, of a team intervention to manage the risk of falls in the hospitalized elderly.
- Mineralization of Sialoliths Investigated by Ex Vivo and In Vivo X-ray Computed TomographyPublication . Nolasco, Pedro; Coelho, Paulo V.; Coelho, Carla; Angelo, David F.; Dias, J. R.; Alves, Nuno M.; Maurício, António; Pereira, Manuel F.C.; Matos, António P. Alves de; Martins, Raul C.; Carvalho, Patrícia A.The fraction of organic matter present affects the fragmentation behavior of sialoliths; thus, pretherapeutic information on the degree of mineralization is relevant for a correct selection of lithotripsy procedures. This work proposes a methodology for in vivo characterization of salivary calculi in the pretherapeutic context. Sialoliths were characterized in detail by X-ray computed microtomography (μCT) in combination with atomic emission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Correlative analysis of the same specimens was performed by in vivo and ex vivo helical computed tomography (HCT) and ex vivo μCT. The mineral matter in the sialoliths consisted essentially of apatite (89 vol%) and whitlockite (11 vol%) with average density of 1.8 g/cm3. In hydrated conditions, the mineral mass prevailed with 53 ± 13 wt%, whereas the organic matter, with a density of 1.2 g/cm3, occupied 65 ± 10% of the sialoliths' volume. A quantitative relation between sialoliths mineral density and X-ray attenuation is proposed for both HCT and μCT.
- O impacto do conflito trabalho-família no engagement, desempenho e intenção de turnover dos colaboradoresPublication . Oliveira, Ana Rita; Ribeiro, NeuzaA incompatibilidade entre a esfera do trabalho e da família é uma realidade que assola muitos trabalhadores na atualidade. A difícil articulação destes dois domínios conduz à vivência do fenómeno designado por Conflito Trabalho-Família (CTF). O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar o impacto que o CTF poderá ter no engagement e no desempenho dos colaboradores, bem como, na sua intenção de turnover. Pretende-se também testar o efeito mediador do engagement na relação entre o CTF e o desempenho, e entre o CTF e a intenção de turnover. Foram inquiridos 105 colaboradores de várias organizações. Os resultados revelaram que os colaboradores que sentem maior CTF apresentam menores níveis de engagement e maior intenção de sair da organização. O CTF não revelou relação com o desempenho. O engagement assume o papel mediador (mediação parcial) na relação entre o CTF e a intenção de turnover. A relevância deste estudo prende-se com as implicações que poderá trazer para as empresas no âmbito da implementação de estratégias de conciliação trabalho-família de forma a reduzir o referido conflito.
- A systematic review on dry-land strength and conditioning training on swimming performancePublication . Amaro, N.M.; Morouço, P.G.; Marques, M.C.; Batalha, N.; Neiva, Henrique P.; Marinho, D.A.Objectives. — The objective of this review was to examine the effects of dry-land strength and conditioning (S&C) training on swimming, and starts and turns performances. News. — S&C training is a common practice in swimming aiming to enhance performance or to prevent injuries. However, studies regarding the effects of S&C on swimming performance are scarce; the influence of age, gender or competitive level is even scarcer. Prospects and projects. — After a structured literature search, sixteen studies were included in the current review. Of those, seven did not report any positive or negative effects on swimming performance. Contrarily, most studies with positive effects were conducted with older swimmers whereas maximal strength was the most effective methodology for improving swimming performance. S&C plyometric training is suggested to be the most effective method to improve starts and turns. Future Randomized Controlled Trials should be conducted to explorethe effects of S&C induced by age and gender, on different swimming distances and techniques,and long-term training effects.Conclusion. — It is recommended that S&C training should be based on maximal strength, rangingfrom six to twelve weeks of 2 to 4 sessions per week (approximately 24 sessions altogether). Ineach session, coaches should vary from 2 to 3 sets and 3 to 5 repetitions, according to prescribedintensity. Rest intervals should range between 2 to 5 minutes and the intensity should be from 80to 90% of 1RM. Particularly regarding improving starts and turns, a S&C training regime rangingfrom 6 to 8 weeks and with 2 sessions per week is suggested. In each session, swimmers shouldperform between 1 and 6 sets and 1 and 10 repetitions, according to the established intensity.Rest between sets should range from 60 to 90 seconds. The swimmers in the included studiesare mostly men which do not allow to say if the recommendations made are gender-dependent.© 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
- Recognition of human activity based on sparse data collected from smartphone sensorsPublication . Gordalina, Goncalo; Correia, Pedro; Pires, Gabriel; Oliveira, Luis; Figueiredo, Maria João; Martinho, Ricardo; Rijo, Rui, Rui Pedro Charters Lopes; Assunção, Pedro; Seco, Maria Alexandra Abreu Henriques; Fonseca-Pinto, RuiThis paper proposes a method of human activity monitoring based on the regular use of sparse acceleration data and GPS positioning collected during smartphone daily utilization. The application addresses, in particular, the elderly population with regular activity patterns associated with daily routines. The approach is based on the clustering of acceleration and GPS data to characterize the user’s pattern activity and localization for a given period. The current activity pattern is compared to the one obtained by the learned data patterns, generating alarms of abnormal activity and unusual location. The obtained results allow to consider that the usage of the proposed method in real environments can be beneficial for activity monitoring without using complex sensor networks.
- Other subjects in the family-school relationship: the role of grandparents in the educational process of grandchildrenPublication . Coutrim, Rosa; Carvalho da silva, PedroThe current article intends to present the results of a research done in Portugal and in Brazil, a research whose main purpose was to better understand how grandparents relate to their grandchildren and offer support in their education. The research followed a qualitative approach; in order to better understand the routine of the relation between grandparents and grandchildren, there were 14 interviews with grandfathers and grandmothers in the city of Mariana–Brazil, and 7 in Leiria-Portugal. The data revealed that, in spite of the socioeconomic differences among the interviewed, in both cities the grandparents (most of whom had a low level of education) do not act directly on the process of education of the grandchildren. However, they offer important support to the children ́s education, whether by managing the schedules of the in-school and out-of-school activities, or by transmitting values appreciated by the school. They are, therefore, important agents in the care for grandchildren so that they have the necessary conditions for a good performance at school.
- Structure tensor-based depth estimation from light field imagesPublication . Lourenço, Rui Miguel Leonel; Assunção, Pedro António Amado de; Távora, Luís Miguel de Oliveira Pegado de Noronha eThis thesis presents a novel framework for depth estimation from light eld images based on the use of the structure tensor. A study of prior knowledge introduces general concepts of depth estimation from light eld images. This is followed by a study of the state-of-the art, including a discussion of several distinct depth estimation methods and an explanation of the structure tensor and how it has been used to acquire depth estimation from a light eld image. The framework developed improves on two limitations of traditional structure tensor derived depth maps. In traditional approaches, foreground objects present enlarged boundaries in the estimated disparity map. This is known as silhouette enlargement. The proposed method for silhouette enhancement uses edge detection algorithms on both the epipolar plane images and their corresponding structure tensor-based disparity estimation and analyses the di erence in the position of these di erent edges to establish a map of the erroneous regions. These regions can be inpainted with values from the correct region. Additionally, a method was developed to enhance edge information by linking edge segments. Structure tensor-based methods produce results with some noise. This increases the di culty of using the resulting depth maps to estimate the orientation of scenic surfaces, since the di erence between the disparity of adjacent pixels often does not correlate with the real orientation of the scenic structure. To address this limitation, a seed growing approach was adopted, detecting and tting image planes in a least squares sense, and using the estimated planes to calculate the depth for the corresponding planar region. The full framework provides signi cant improvements on previous structure tensorbased methods. When compared with other state-of-the-art methods, it proves competitive in both mean square error and mean angle error, with no single method proving superior in every metric.
- Improved image rendering for focused plenoptic cameras with extended depth-of-fieldPublication . Filipe, José Nunes dos Santos; Távora, Luís Miguel Oliveira Pegado de Noronha e; Faria, Sérgio Manuel Maciel deThis dissertation presents a research work on rendering images from light elds captured with a focused plenoptic camera with extended depth of eld. A basic overview of the 7 dimensional plenoptic function is rst given, followed by a description of the Two-Plane Parametrisation. Some of the various methods used for sampling the plenoptic functions are then described, namely those equivalent to acquisition functions implemented by the camera gantry, the unfocused plenoptic camera and the focused plenoptic camera. State-of-the-art image rendering algorithms have also been studied both for focused and unfocused plenoptic cameras. A comprehensive study of the behaviour of focus metrics when applied to images rendered form a focused plenoptic camera is presented, including 34 of the most widely used metrics in the literature. Due to high frequency artefacts, caused by the rendering process, it was found that the currently available focus metrics yield in ated values for this kind of images, leading to misindication, where worse-focused images have better focus measures. Subjective tests were carried out, in order to corroborate these results. Then, methods for minimizing the rendering artefacts are proposed. An algorithm for choosing the maximum patch size for each micro-image was designed, in order to minimize the distortions caused by the vignetting e ect of the micro-lens. Then an inpainting algorithm, based on anisotropic di usion inpainting, is used to minimize the remaining artefacts present in the borders between adjacent micro-images. Finally, a method to deal with the redundant information generated by a plenoptic camera with extended depth of eld is presented. Three di erent views of the same scene are rendered, with the three di erent types of lenses. Then, it is proven that making any linear combination of the images always results in worse focus than selecting the better focused one. Thus, a multi-focus image fusion algorithm is proposed to merge the three images captured by a extended depth-of- eld camera into a single one, which presents higher focus level than any of the three individual images.