Scalable Unified Transform Architecture for Advanced Video Coding Embedded Systems

A novel high throughput and scalable unified architecture for the computation of the transform operations in video codecs for advanced standards is presented in this paper. This structure can be used as a hardware accelerator in modern embedded systems to efficiently compute all the two-dimensional 4 x 4 and 2 x 2 transforms of the H.264/AVC standard. Moreover, its highly flexible design and hardware efficiency allows it to be easily scaled in terms of performance and hardware cost to meet the specific requirements of any given video coding application. Experimental results obtained using a Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA demonstrated the superior performance and hardware efficiency levels provided by the proposed structure, which presents a throughput per unit of area relatively higher than other similar recently published designs targeting the H.264/AVC standard. Such results also showed that, when integrated in a multi-core embedded system, this architecture provides speedup factors of about 120x concerning pure software implementations of the transform algorithms, therefore allowing the computation, in real-time, of all the above mentioned transforms for Ultra High Definition Video (UHDV) sequences (4,320 x 7,680 @ 30 fps).

Occupational exposure to aflatoxin B1: the case of poultry and swine production

Although there is an abundance of literature concerning the ingestion of food contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), only a small number of studies explore mycotoxin exposure in occupational settings. Taking this into consideration, our study was developed with the intention of elucidating whether there is occupational exposure to AFB1 in Portuguese poultry and swine production facilities. A specific biomarker was used to assess exposure to AFB1. A total of 45 workers (34 from poultry farms; 11 from swine production facilities) participated in this study, providing blood samples. Additionally, a control group (n=30) composed of subjects without any type of contact with agricultural activity was considered. All participants signed a consent form and were provided with the study protocol. Eighteen poultry workers (58.6%) and six workers from the swine production facilities (54.5%) showed detectable levels of AFB1. In the control group, the AFB1 values were all below 1 ng/ml. No significant differences in AFB1 levels in serum between workers from poultry and swine farms were found. Poultry workers, however, showed the highest serum levels and a significant statistical difference between this group and the control group was found. Results suggest that exposure to AFB1 by inhalation occurs in both occupational settings representing an additional risk that needs to be recognised, assessed and prevented.

An Unprovoked Attack by a Blue Shark Prionace glauca (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) on a Spear Fisherman in Terceira Island, Azores, Northeast Atlantic

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Feeding strategy and trophic ontogeny in Scorpaena maderensis (Scorpaeniformes: Scorpaenidae) from the Azores, NE Atlantic

Copyright © 2014 Société Française d'Ichtyologie.

Handgrip strength

The basic function of the human hand is the manipulation and grasping of various objects in all daily activities, including work activities. This is greatly influenced by strength and manual dexterity. However age, gender and other contexts such as work or leisure activities could influence strength. Handgrip strength, a measure of maximum voluntary force of the hand, has proved to be reliable and valid as an objective parameter to evaluate the functional integrity of the hand as part of the musculoskeletal system. It correlates highly with strength in other muscular groups and is therefore considered as a good indicator of overall muscular strength and functional stress and could be used as a predictor of physical disability. Handgrip strength assessment is simple and reliable and used commonly by several investigators and health professionals, in different contexts (medical, nutritional, rehabilitation, professional settings, engineering, etc.) and with different purposes (research, diagnostic, assessment, etc.). In clinical and rehabilitation settings is of vital importance in the determination of effectiveness of several interventions and for monitoring evolution of diseases. Various ways (methods, techniques and equipments) of collecting information on grip strength have been reported. This chapter will review basic concepts on handgrip function, methodologies of assessment, contexts of application and correlates, such as physical activity, health or nutritional status. Several populations and reference values as also the relationships between handgrip and clinical status, aging, risk of disability and diseases, will be discussed.

Análisis de la adecuación de libros de texto de E. Primaria a la enseñanza a estudiantes de altas capacidades matemáticas

Un problema al que se enfrentan los profesores de matemáticas de Enseñanza Primaria es la necesidad de hacer adaptaciones en sus programaciones para ofrecer una educación adecuada a sus alumnos de altas capacidades matemáticas. Las editoriales de libros de texto de matemáticas de estos niveles educativos ofrecen diversas soluciones que, usualmente, consisten en incluir, en el libro del alumno, algunos problemas más difíciles y, en la documentación del profesor, una propuesta de problemas de ampliación. Una cuestión que se plantea al analizar un libro de texto de matemáticas es valorar cómo de útil puede ser el material proporcionado por la editorial (libro de texto y materiales complementarios) para un profesor que necesita una programación específica para sus alumnos de altas capacidades matemáticas. En este artículo proponemos diversas variables con las que valorar el grado de adecuación a estudiantes de altas capacidades matemáticas de los documentos proporcionados a los profesores por las editoriales. Después ponemos en práctica esta propuesta analizando el tema dedicado a los cuadriláteros en 4º curso de Enseñanza Primaria de una editorial de amplia difusión en España. Las conclusiones globales son que los materiales del profesor analizados prestan poca atención a los estudiantes de altas capacidades matemáticas y que la metodología de análisis que hemos empleado permite identificar direcciones para plantear actividades interesantes para estos estudiantes.

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP): clinical features, pathophysiology and treatment

In the literature, concepts of “polyneuropathy”, “peripheral neuropathy” and “neuropathy” are often mistakenly used as synonyms. Polyneuropathy is a specific term that refers to a relatively homogenous process that affects multiple peripheral nerves. Most of these tend to present as symmetric polyneuropathies that first manifest in the distal portions of the affected nerves. Many of these distal symmetric polyneuropathies are due to toxic-metabolic causes such as alcohol abuse and diabetes mellitus. Other distal symmetric polyneuropathies may result from an overproduction of substances that result in nerve pathology such as is observed in anti-MAG neuropathy and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. Other “overproduction” disorders are hereditary such as noted in the Portuguese type of familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP). FAP is a manifestation of a group of hereditary amyloidoses; an autosomal dominant, multisystemic disorder wherein the mutant amyloid precursor, transthyretin, is produced in excess primarily by the liver. The liver accounts for approximately 98% of all transthyretin production. FAP is confirmed by detecting a transthyretin variant with a methionine for valine substitution at position 30 [TTR (Met30)]. Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy (FAP) – Portuguese type was first described by a Portuguese neurologist, Corino de Andrade in 1939 and published in 1951. Most persons with this disorder are descended from Portuguese sailors who sired offspring in various locations, primarily in Sweden, Japan and Mallorca. Their descendants emigrated worldwide such that this disorder has been reported in other countries as well. More than 2000 symptomatic cases have been reported in Portugal. FAP progresses rapidly with an average time course from symptom onset to multi-organ involvement and death between ten and twenty years. Treatments directed at removing this aberrant protein such as plasmapheresis and immunoadsorption proved to be unsuccessful. Liver transplantation has been the only effective solution as evidenced by almost 2000 liver transplants performed worldwide. A therapy for FAP with a novel agent, “Tafamidis” has shown some promise in ongoing phase III clinical trials. It is well recognized that regular physical activity of moderate intensity has a positive effect on physical fitness as gauged by body composition, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance and flexibility. Physical fitness has been reported to result in the reduction of symptoms and lesser impairment when performing activities of daily living. Exercise has been advocated as part of a comprehensive approach to the treatment of chronic diseases. Therefore, this chapter concludes with a discussion of the role of exercise training on FAP.

Traduction et invasion culturelle : Jean Echenoz en portugais et José Saramago en français

La traduction est un moyen d'invasion culturelle dont le pouvoir est souvent sous-estimé. Elle permet, pourtant, l'introduction, dans une culture nationale, d'éléments appartenant à une culture étrangère. Ce pouvoir de la traduction est toutefois potentiel. Pour qu'il y ait effectivement invasion culturelle par le biais de la traduction, il faut la contribution des entités du pays envahisseur (les organismes qui font la promotion de la littérature à l’étranger) et de celles du pays envahi (maisons d'édition, traducteurs et lecteurs). Les traductions de Je m'en vais de Jean Echenoz et de História do cerco de Lisboa de José Saramago, en portugais et en français respectivement, fonctionneront comme le point de départ pour une réflexion sur le rôle de la traduction dans le rapport entre le Portugal et la France à l'époque contemporaine.

First report of ciguatoxins in two starfish species : Ophidiaster ophidianus and Marthasterias glacialis

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a syndrome caused by the ingestion of fish contaminated with Ciguatoxins (CTXs). These phycotoxins are produced mainly by dinoflagellates that belong to the genus Gambierdiscus that are transformed in more toxic forms in predatory fish guts, and are more present in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean areas. It is estimated that CFP causes per year more than 10,000 intoxications worldwide. With the rise of water temperature and anthropogenic intervention, it is important to study the prevalence of CFP in more temperate waters. Through inter- and subtidal sampling, 22 species of organisms were collected, in Madeira and Azores archipelagos and in the northwestern Moroccan coast, during September of 2012 and June and July of 2013. A total of 94 samples of 22 different species of bivalves, gastropods, echinoderms and crustaceans where analyzed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectometry-Ion Trap-Time of Flight (UPLC-MS-IT-TOF) and Ultra Performance Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Our main aim was to detect new vectors and ascertain if there were some geographical differences. We detected for the first time putative CTXs in echinoderms, in two starfish species—M. glacialis and O. ophidianus. We detected differences regarding uptake values by organisms and geographical location. Toxin amounts were significant, showing the importance and the need for continuity of these studies to gain more knowledge about the prevalence of these toxins, in order to better access human health risk. In addition, we suggest monitoring of these toxins should be extended to other vectors, starfish being a good alternative for protecting and accessing human health risk.

Cyberbullying and students' engagement in school : a literature review

Bullying is one of today’s biggest problems. Bullying is the intentional repeated aggression directed at a target individual. There is substantial evidence of the negative psychological and health outcomes associated with bullying. It occurs very frequently, especially in adolescence, and action is needed to lessen its causes and alleviate its consequences. Research has shown that behavior problems usually interact with other risk and protection factors, as well as with factors of etiological development. This book discusses the prevalence, psychological impacts and intervention strategies of bullying.

The parasitic isopod Anilocra physodes, as a novel food source for the lizardfish Synodus saurus (Synodontidae).

Copyright © 2015 Société Française d'Ichtyologie.

Tuneable micro- and nano-periodic structures in urethane/urea networks

Micro- and nano-patterned materials are of great importance for the design of new nanoscale electronic, optical and mechanical devices, ranging from sensors to displays. A prospective system that can support a designed functionality is elastomeric polyurethane thin films with nano- or micromodulated surface structures ("wrinkles"). These wrinkles can be induced on different lengthscales by mechanically stretching the films, without the need for any sophisticated lithographic techniques. In the present article we focus on the experimental control of the wrinkling process. A simple model for wrinkle formation is also discussed, and some preliminary results reported. Hierarchical assembly of these tunable structures paves the way for the development of a new class of materials with a wide range of applications, from electronics to biomedicine.

Joining the online video conversation? Discourse and practices of European political institutions and politicians on YouTube

To mimic the online practices of citizens has been declared an imperative to improve communication and extend participation. This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of how European discourses praising online video as a communication tool have been translated into actual practices by politicians, governments and organisations. By contrasting official documents with YouTube activity, it is argued that new opportunities for European political communication are far from being fully embraced, much akin to the early years of websites. The main choice has been to use YouTube channels fundamentally for distribution and archiving, thus neglecting its social media features. The disabling of comments by many heads of state and prime ministers - and, in 2010, the European Commission - indicates such an attitude. The few attempts made to foster citizen engagement, in particular during elections, have had limited success, given low participation numbers and lack of argument exchange.

Flow-injection potentiometric method for the routine determination of chloride: application to bread analysis

Bread is consumed worldwide by man, thus contributing to the regular ingestion of certain inorganic species such as chloride. It controls the blood pressure if associated to a sodium intake and may increase the incidence of stomach ulcer. Its routine control should thus be established by means of quick and low cost procedures. This work reports a double- channel flow injection analysis (FIA) system with a new chloride sensor for the analysis of bread. All solutions are prepared in water and necessary ionic strength adjustments are made on-line. The body of the indicating electrode is made from a silver needle of 0.8 mm i.d. with an external layer of silver chloride. These devices were constructed with different lengths. Electrodes of 1.0 to 3.0 cm presented better analytical performance. The calibration curves under optimum conditions displayed Nernstian behaviour, with average slopes of 56 mV decade-1, with sampling rates of 60 samples h-1. The method was applied to analyze several kinds of bread, namely pão de trigo, pão integral, pão de centeio, pão de mistura, broa de milho, pão sem sal, pão meio sal, pão-de-leite, and pão de água. The accuracy and precision of the potentiometric method were ascertained by comparison to a spectrophotometric method of continuous segmented flow. These methods were validated against ion-chromatography procedures.

Frequency of TERT promoter mutations in human cancers

Reactivation of telomerase has been implicated in human tumorigenesis, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we report the presence of recurrent somatic mutations in the TERT promoter in cancers of the central nervous system (43%), bladder (59%), thyroid (follicular cell-derived, 10%) and skin (melanoma, 29%). In thyroid cancers, the presence of TERT promoter mutations (when occurring together with BRAF mutations) is significantly associated with higher TERT mRNA expression, and in glioblastoma we find a trend for increased telomerase expression in cases harbouring TERT promoter mutations. Both in thyroid cancers and glioblastoma, TERT promoter mutations are significantly associated with older age of the patients. Our results show that TERT promoter mutations are relatively frequent in specific types of human cancers, where they lead to enhanced expression of telomerase.