Sir Walter Raleigh and Guiana : a mysterious search, a metaphorical discovery

The essay analises Sir Walter Raleigh's report (1595) of his search for Guiana, as well as his reflection on the New World and its inhabitants, which is, in many aspects, different from his contemporaries.

Studies in search of a suitable experimental insect model for xenodiagnosis of hosts with Chagas' disease: 3 - On the interaction of vector species and parasite strain in the reaction of bugs to infection by Trypanosoma cruzi

The reaction of nine vector species of Chagas' disease to infection by seven different Trypanosoma cruzi strains; Berenice, Y, FL, CL, S. Felipe, Colombiana and Gávea, are examined and compared. On the basis of the insects' ability to establish and maintain the infection, vector species could be divided into two distinct groups which differ in their reaction to an acute infection by T. cruzi. While the proportion of positive bugs was found to be low in Triatoma infestans and Triatoma dimidiata it was high, ranging from 96.9% to 100% in the group of wild (Rhodnius neglectus, Triatoma rubrovaria)and essentially sylvatic vectors in process of adaptation to human dwellings, maintained under control following successful insecticidal elimination of Triatoma infestans (Panstrongylus megistus, Triatoma sordida and Triatoma pseudomaculata). An intermediate position is held by Triatoma brasiliensis and Rhodnius prolixus. This latter has been found to interchange between domestic and sylvatic environments. The most important finding is the strikingly good reaction between each species of the sylvatic bugs and practically all T. cruzi strains herein studied, thus indicating that the factors responsible for the excellent reaction of P.megistus to infection by Y strain, as previously reported also come into operation in the reaction of the same vector species to acute infections by five of the remaining T.cruzi strains. Comparison or data reported by other investigators with those herein described form the basis of the discussion of Dipetalogaster maximus as regards its superiority as a xenodiagnostic agent.

Parental predictors of poor visual outcome with occlusion treatment for unilateral amblyopia

Aim: Visual acuity outcome of amblyopia treatment depends on the compliance. This study aimed to determine parental predictors of poor visual outcome with occlusion treatment in unilateral amblyopia and identify the relationship between occlusion recommendations and the patient's actual dose of occlusion reported by the parents. Methods: This study comprised three phases: refractive adaptation for a period of 18 weeks after spectacle correction; occlusion of 3 to 6 hours per day during a period of 6 months; questionnaire administration and completion by parents. Visual acuity as assessed using the Sheridan-Gardiner singles or Snellen acuity chart was used as a measure of visual outcome. Correlation analysis was used to describe the strength and direction of two variables: prescribed occlusion reported by the doctor and actual dose reported by parents. A logistic binary model was adjusted using the following variables: severity, vulnerability, self-efficacy, behaviour intentions, perceived efficacy and treatment barriers, parents' and childrens' age, and parents' level of education. Results: The study included 100 parents (mean age 38.9 years, SD approx 9.2) of 100 children (mean age 6.3 years, SD approx 2.4) with amblyopia. Twenty-eight percent of children had no improvement in visual acuity. The results showed a positive mild correlation (kappa = 0.54) between the prescribed occlusion and actual dose reported by parents. Three predictors for poor visual outcome with occlusion were identified: parents' level of education (OR = 9.28; 95%CI 1.32-65.41); treatment barriers (OR = 2.75; 95%CI 1.22-6.20); interaction between severity and vulnerability (OR = 3.64; 95%CI 1.21-10.93). Severity (OR = 0.07; 95%CI 0.00-0.72) and vulnerability (OR = 0.06; 95%CI 0.05-0.74) when considered in isolation were identified as protective factors. Conclusions: Parents frequently do not use the correct dosage of occlusion as recommended. Parents' educational level and awareness of treatment barriers were predictors of poor visual outcome. Lower levels of education represented a 9-times higher risk of having a poor visual outcome with occlusion treatment.

Studies in search of a suitable experimental insect model for xenodiagnosis of hosts with Chagas' disease: 4 - The reflection of parasite stock in the responsiveness of different vector species to chronic infection with different Trypanosoma cruzi stocks

Previous studies (1982,1987) have emphasized the superiority of sylvatic vector species over domestic species as xenodiagnostic agents in testing hosts with acute or chronic infections by T. cruzi "Y" stock. The present study, which is unique in that it contains data on both infectivity rates produced by the same stock in 11 different vector species and also the reaction of the same vector species to seven different parasite stocks, establishes the general validity of linking efficiency of xenodiagnosis to the biotope of its agent. For example, infectivity rates produced by "São Felipe" stock varied from 82.5% to 98.3% in sylvatic vectors but decreased to 42.5% to 71.3% in domestic species. "Colombiana" stock produced in the same sylvatic vectors infectivity rates ranging from 12.5% to 45%. These shrank to 5%-22.5% in domestic bugs. The functional role of the biotope in the vector-parasite interaction has not been eluddated. But since this phenomenon has been observed to be stable and easy to reproduce, it leads us to believe that the results obtained are valid. Data presented also provide increasing evidence that the infectivity rates exhibited by bugs from xenodiagnosis in chronic hosts, are parasite stock specific. For example, infectivity rates produced by "Berenice", "Y", "FL" and "CL" varied in R. neglectus from 26.3% to 75%; in P. megistus from 56.3% to 83.8%; in T. sordida from 28.8% to 58.8% in T. pseudomaculata from 41.3% to 66.3% and in T. rubrovaria from 48.8% to 85%. Data from xenodiagnosis in the same hosts, carrying acute infections by the same parasite stocks, gave the five sylvatic vectors a positive rating of approximately 100%, thus suggesting that the heavy loads of parasites circulating in the acute hosts obscured the characteristic interspecific differences for the parasite stock. Nonetheless these latter were revealed in the same hosts with chronic infections stimulated by very low numbers of the same parasite stocks. Certain observations here described lead us to speculate as to the possibility of further results from other parasite stocks, allowing the association of the infectivity rates produced in bugs by different parasite stocks with the isoenzymic patterns revealed by these stocks.

Validation of a measurement scale for the relationship between the orientation to corporate social responsibility and other business strategic variables

The importance of Social Responsibility (SR) is higher if this business variable is related with other ones of strategic nature in business activity (competitive success that the company achieved, performance that the firms develop and innovations that they carries out). The hypothesis is that organizations that focus on SR are those who get higher outputs and innovate more, achieving greater competitive success. A scale for measuring the orientation to SR has defined in order to determine the degree of relationship between above elements. This instrument is original because previous scales do not exist in the literature which could measure, on the one hand, the three classics sub-constructs theoretically accepted that SR is made up and, on the other hand, the relationship between SR and the other variables. As a result of causal relationships analysis we conclude with a scale of 21 indicators, validated scale with a sample of firms belonging to the Autonomous Community of Extremadura and it is the first empirical validation of these dimensions we know so far, in this context.

Do ensino superior para o trabalho: contributo dos estágios para inserção profissional

O presente trabalho visou analisar o papel dos estágios na transição para o trabalho, entendendo-se a inserção profi ssional como um processo temporalmente alargado constituído por três fases interdependentes: a formação académica, a procura de uma actividade remunerada e a adaptação ao mundo laboral. Mais especifi camente, pretendeu-se estudar o impacto dos estágios curriculares na promoção de variáveis psicológicas centrais nesta transição – exploração vocacional, autoefi cácia e objectivos de investimento profi ssional – numa amostra de 337 fi nalistas do ensino superior português. Os resultados encontrados evidenciaram que os estudantes que tiveram a oportunidade de realizar um estágio curricular apresentaram maiores níveis de exploração vocacional, de auto-efi cácia, bem como objectivos de investimento profi ssional mais robustos, quando comparados com aqueles que não realizaram estágio. Palavras-chave: transição escola-trabalho, estágio profi ssionalizante, ensino superior, auto-efi cácia, inserção profi ssional.

Two-Higgs-doublet model in light of the standard model H -> tau(+)tau(-) search at the LHC

We study the implications of the searches based on H -> tau(+)tau-by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations on the parameter space of the two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM). In the 2HDM, the scalars can decay into a tau pair with a branching ratio larger than the SM one, leading to constraints on the 2HDM parameter space. We show that in model II, values of tan beta > 1.8 are definitively excluded if the pseudoscalar is in the mass range 110 GeV < m(A) < 145 GeV. We have also discussed the implications for the 2HDM of the recent dimuon search by the ATLAS collaboration for a CP-odd scalar in the mass range 4-12 GeV.

Programas de self-management em pacientes com DPOC: uma revisão sistemática

Introdução: Programas de self-management têm como objectivo habilitar os pacientes com estratégias necessárias para levar a cabo procedimentos específicos para a patologia. A última revisão sistemática sobre selfmanagament em DPOC foi realizada em 2007, concluindo-se que ainda não era possível fornecer dados claros e suficientes acerca de recomendações sobre a estrutura e conteúdo de programas de self-managament na DPOC. A presente revisão tem o intuito de complementar a análise da revisão anterior, numa tentativa de inferir a influência do ensino do self-management na DPOC. Objectivos: verificar a influência dos programas de self-management na DPOC, em diversos indicadores relacionados com o estado de saúde do paciente e na sua utilização dos serviços de saúde. Estratégia de busca: pesquisa efectuada nas bases de dados PubMed e Cochrane Collaboration (01/01/2007 – 31/08/2010). Palavras-chave: selfmanagement education, self-management program, COPD e pulmonary rehabilitation. Critérios de Selecção: estudos randomizados sobre programas de selfmanagement na DPOC. Extracção e Análise dos Dados: 2 investigadores realizaram, independentemente, a avaliação e extracção de dados de cada artigo. Resultados: foram considerados 4 estudos randomizados em selfmanagement na DPOC nos quais se verificaram benefícios destes programas em diversas variáveis: qualidade de vida a curto e médio prazo, utilização dos diferentes recursos de saúde, adesões a medicação de rotina, controle das exacerbações e diminuição da sintomatologia. Parece não ocorrer alteração na função pulmonar e no uso de medicação de emergência, sendo inconclusivo o seu efeito na capacidade de realização de exercício. Conclusões: programas de self-management aparentam ter impacto positivo na qualidade de vida, recurso a serviços de saúde, adesão à medicação, planos de acção e níveis de conhecimento da DPOC. Discrepâncias nos critérios de selecção das amostras utilizadas, períodos de seguimento desiguais, consistência das variáveis mensuradas, condicionam a informação disponibilizada sobre este assunto.

Ant colony search algorithm for the optimal power flow problem

To maintain a power system within operation limits, a level ahead planning it is necessary to apply competitive techniques to solve the optimal power flow (OPF). OPF is a non-linear and a large combinatorial problem. The Ant Colony Search (ACS) optimization algorithm is inspired by the organized natural movement of real ants and has been successfully applied to different large combinatorial optimization problems. This paper presents an implementation of Ant Colony optimization to solve the OPF in an economic dispatch context. The proposed methodology has been developed to be used for maintenance and repairing planning with 48 to 24 hours antecipation. The main advantage of this method is its low execution time that allows the use of OPF when a large set of scenarios has to be analyzed. The paper includes a case study using the IEEE 30 bus network. The results are compared with other well-known methodologies presented in the literature.

Estudo da percepção dos problemas de usabilidade de um software relacionados com o desempenho dos processos cognitivos

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Comunicação Social como parte dos requisitos para obtenção de grau de mestre em Audiovisual e Multimédia.

Patterns, mathematics and culture : the search for symmetry in Azorean sidewalks and traditional crafts

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, how often do we stop to pay attention to the tiny details around us, some of them right beneath our feet? Such is the case of interesting decorative patterns that can be found in squares and sidewalks beautified by the traditional Portuguese pavement. Its most common colors are the black and the white of the basalt and the limestone used; the result is a large variety and richness in patterns. No doubt, it is worth devoting some of our time enjoying the lovely Portuguese pavement, a true worldwide attraction. The interesting patterns found on the Azorean handicrafts are as fascinating and substantial from the cultural point of view. Patterns existing in the sidewalks and crafts can be studied from the mathematical point of view, thus allowing a thorough and rigorous cataloguing of such heritage. The mathematical classification is based on the concept of symmetry, a unifying principle of geometry. Symmetry is a unique tool for helping us relate things that at first glance may appear to have no common ground at all. By interlacing different fields of endeavor, the mathematical approach to sidewalks and crafts is particularly interesting, and an excellent source of inspiration for the development of highly motivated recreational activities. This text is an invitation to visit the nine islands of the Azores and to identify a wide range of patterns, namely rosettes and friezes, by getting to know different arts and crafts and sidewalks.

Clustering of variables with a three-way approach for health sciences

TPM Vol. 21, No. 4, December 2014, 435-447 – Special Issue © 2014 Cises.

Voices in search of a reader: the polyphonic writing of António Lobo Antunes

This paper aims at analysing the writing of the Portuguese author António Lobo Antunes, considered one of the major writers in European Literature with 26 books published, by focusing on the strategies deployed in his texts of creating micro-narratives within the main frame, and conveying the elements of individual and collective memory, past and present, the self and the others, using various voices and silences. Lobo Antunes incorporates in his writing his background as a psychiatrist at a Mental Hospital in Lisbon, until 1985 (when he decided to commit exclusively to writing), his experience as a doctor in the Portuguese Colonial War battlefield, but also the daily routines of the pre and post 25th of April 1974 (Portuguese Revolution) with subtle and ironic details of the life of the middle and upper class of Lisbon‘s society: from the traumas of the war to the simple story of the janitor, or the couple who struggles to keep their marriage functional, everything serves as material to develop and interweave a complex plot, that a lot of readers find too enwrapped and difficult to follow through. Some excerpts taken from his first three novels and books of Chronicles and his later novel – Ontem não te Vi em Babilónia (2006) – will be put forward to exemplify the complexity of the writing and the main difficulties of the reader, lost in a multitude of narrators‘ voices. Recently, Lobo Antunes has commented on his work stating: What I write can be read in the darkness. This paper aims at throwing some light by unfolding some of the strategies employed to defy new borders in the process of reading.

Economic, environmental and mixed objective functions in non-linear process optimization using simulated annealing and tabu search

Screening of topologies developed by hierarchical heuristic procedures can be carried out by comparing their optimal performance. In this work we will be exploiting mono-objective process optimization using two algorithms, simulated annealing and tabu search, and four different objective functions: two of the net present value type, one of them including environmental costs and two of the global potential impact type. The hydrodealkylation of toluene to produce benzene was used as case study, considering five topologies with different complexities mainly obtained by including or not liquid recycling and heat integration. The performance of the algorithms together with the objective functions was observed, analyzed and discussed from various perspectives: average deviation of results for each algorithm, capacity for producing high purity product, screening of topologies, objective functions robustness in screening of topologies, trade-offs between economic and environmental type objective functions and variability of optimum solutions.

Feature selection for clustering categorical data with an embedded modelling approach

Research on the problem of feature selection for clustering continues to develop. This is a challenging task, mainly due to the absence of class labels to guide the search for relevant features. Categorical feature selection for clustering has rarely been addressed in the literature, with most of the proposed approaches having focused on numerical data. In this work, we propose an approach to simultaneously cluster categorical data and select a subset of relevant features. Our approach is based on a modification of a finite mixture model (of multinomial distributions), where a set of latent variables indicate the relevance of each feature. To estimate the model parameters, we implement a variant of the expectation-maximization algorithm that simultaneously selects the subset of relevant features, using a minimum message length criterion. The proposed approach compares favourably with two baseline methods: a filter based on an entropy measure and a wrapper based on mutual information. The results obtained on synthetic data illustrate the ability of the proposed expectation-maximization method to recover ground truth. An application to real data, referred to official statistics, shows its usefulness.