Educational inequality in the occurrence of abdominal obesity:Pró-Saúde Study

OBJECTIVE To estimate the degree of educational inequality in the occurrence of abdominal obesity in a population of non-faculty civil servants at university campi.METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we used data from 3,117 subjects of both genders aged 24 to 65-years old, regarding the baseline ofPró-Saúde Study, 1999-2001. Abdominal obesity was defined according to abdominal circumference thresholds of 88 cm for women and 102 cm for men. A multi-dimensional, self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate education levels and demographic variables. Slope and relative indices of inequality, and Chi-squared test for linear trend were used in the data analysis. All analyses were stratified by genders, and the indices of inequality were standardized by age.RESULTS Abdominal obesity was the most prevalent among women (43.5%; 95%CI 41.2;45.9), as compared to men (24.3%; 95%CI 22.1;26.7), in all educational strata and age ranges. The association between education levels and abdominal obesity was an inverse one among women (p < 0.001); it was not statistically significant among men (p = 0.436). The educational inequality regarding abdominal obesity in the female population, in absolute terms (slope index of inequality), was 24.0% (95%CI 15.5;32.6). In relative terms (relative index of inequality), it was 2.8 (95%CI 1.9;4.1), after the age adjustment.CONCLUSIONS Gender inequality in the prevalence of abdominal obesity increases with older age and lower education. The slope and relative indices of inequality summarize the strictly monotonous trend between education levels and abdominal obesity, and it described educational inequality regarding abdominal obesity among women. Such indices provide relevant quantitative estimates for monitoring abdominal obesity and dealing with health inequalities.

Application of robust fixed point transformations for technological operation of robots

A robot’s drive has to exert appropriate driving forces that can keep its arm and end effector at the proper position, velocity and acceleration, and simultaneously has to compensate for the effects of the contact forces arising between the tool and the workpiece depending on the needs of the actual technological operation. Balancing the effects of a priori unknown external disturbance forces and the inaccuracies of the available dynamic model of the robot is also important. Technological tasks requiring well prescribed end effector trajectories and contact forces simultaneously are challenging control problems that can be tackled in various manners.

Forest cover monitoring in the Bara district (Nepal) with remote sensing and geographic information systems

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies

Genus for knots and links in renormalizable templates with several branch nodes

We apply kneading theory to describe the knots and links generated by the iteration of renormalizable nonautonomous dynamical systems with reducible kneading invariants, in terms of the links corresponding to each factor. As a consequence we obtain explicit formulas for the genus for this kind of knots and links.

Physical layer aware network architecture for the future internet

In this article, physical layer awareness in access, core, and metro networks is addressed, and a Physical Layer Aware Network Architecture Framework for the Future Internet is presented and discussed, as proposed within the framework of the European ICT Project 4WARD. Current limitations and shortcomings of the Internet architecture are driving research trends at a global scale toward a novel, secure, and flexible architecture. This Future Internet architecture must allow for the co-existence and cooperation of multiple networks on common platforms, through the virtualization of network resources. Possible solutions embrace a full range of technologies, from fiber backbones to wireless access networks. The virtualization of physical networking resources will enhance the possibility of handling different profiles, while providing the impression of mutual isolation. This abstraction strategy implies the use of well elaborated mechanisms in order to deal with channel impairments and requirements, in both wireless (access) and optical (core) environments.

Sistema de Torre de Refrigeração

Mestrado em Engenharia Química - Ramo Optimização Energética na Indústria Química

Como incluir as crianças na avaliação diária

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

Sistema Multi-Agente de prestação de serviços de seguimento adaptados aos requisitos do utilizador

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores - Área de Especialização de Telecomunicações

Estudo prévio para a realização de manual de iniciação ao cravo: relatório de estágio:

Mestrado em Ensino da Música.

Multi-agent system for personalization of location-based services

The current ubiquitous network access and increase in network bandwidth are driving the sales of mobile location-aware user devices and, consequently, the development of context-aware applications, namely location-based services. The goal of this project is to provide consumers of location-based services with a richer end-user experience by means of service composition, personalization, device adaptation and continuity of service. Our approach relies on a multi-agent system composed of proxy agents that act as mediators and providers of personalization meta-services, device adaptation and continuity of service for consumers of pre-existing location-based services. These proxy agents, which have Web services interfaces to ensure a high level of interoperability, perform service composition and take in consideration the preferences of the users, the limitations of the user devices, making the usage of different types of devices seamless for the end-user. To validate and evaluate the performance of this approach, use cases were defined, tests were conducted and results gathered which demonstrated that the initial goals were successfully fulfilled.

Observations sedimentologiques sur les depots du Neogene post-nappe dans la region de Moulay Yacoub (NW de Fes- Maroc)

Proceedings of the I" R.C.A.N.S. Congress, Lisboa, October 1992

LADAR based mapping and obstacle detection system for service robots

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

The thickness of the transport layer in stratified geomorphic flows

River Flow 2010

TRFS: desenvolvimento de um protótipo para simulação microscópica de tráfego

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização de Vias de Comunicação e Transportes

Determinantes do sucesso das iniciativas empresariais apoiadas pelo microcrédito

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Contabilidade e Finanças sob orientação de: Amélia Ferreira da Silva “Esta versão contém as críticas e sugestões dos elementos do júri”