The importance of the program for the promotion of physical activity in perceived fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis

The aims of the study is to examine for intervention program of physical activity in the perception of fatigue, in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Implication of an intervention program for the promotion of physical activity in the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis

The aims of this study is to examine the interest for quality of life of an implementation of program physical activity, with patients of multiple sclerosis.

Estudo da qualidade organizacional da unidade de rastreio da retinopatia diabética do Alentejo central: projecto de intervenção comunitária em saúde

Mestrado em Intervenção Sócio-Organizacional na Saúde - Área de especialização: Políticas de Gestão e Administração dos Serviços de Saúde.

General Insights into Word Choice in Business Communication

Words are the smallest units of messages. Attention should be given to each word used to be sure it is the most effective one. An effective word is one that the receiver will understand and that will elicit the wanted response. The ability to choose words by (a) using a dictionary and a thesaurus and (b) following some of the principles of business communication described in this text can be improved.

Augmented LDPC Graph for Distributed Video Coding with Multiple Side Information

The advances made in channel-capacity codes, such as turbo codes and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, have played a major role in the emerging distributed source coding paradigm. LDPC codes can be easily adapted to new source coding strategies due to their natural representation as bipartite graphs and the use of quasi-optimal decoding algorithms, such as belief propagation. This paper tackles a relevant scenario in distributedvideo coding: lossy source coding when multiple side information (SI) hypotheses are available at the decoder, each one correlated with the source according to different correlation noise channels. Thus, it is proposed to exploit multiple SI hypotheses through an efficient joint decoding technique withmultiple LDPC syndrome decoders that exchange information to obtain coding efficiency improvements. At the decoder side, the multiple SI hypotheses are created with motion compensated frame interpolation and fused together in a novel iterative LDPC based Slepian-Wolf decoding algorithm. With the creation of multiple SI hypotheses and the proposed decoding algorithm, bitrate savings up to 8.0% are obtained for similar decoded quality.

A entrada na profissão do educador de infância: percursos singulares

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Educação - Especialidade Supervisão em Educação

Environmental and track perturbations on multiple pantograph interaction with catenaries in high-speed trains

The top velocity of high-speed trains is generally limited by the ability to supply the proper amount of energy through the pantograph-catenary interface. The deterioration of this interaction can lead to the loss of contact, which interrupts the energy supply and originates arcing between the pantograph and the catenary, or to excessive contact forces that promote wear between the contacting elements. Another important issue is assessing on how the front pantograph influences the dynamic performance of the rear one in trainsets with two pantographs. In this work, the track and environmental conditions influence on the pantograph-catenary is addressed, with particular emphasis in the multiple pantograph operations. These studies are performed for high speed trains running at 300 km/h with relation to the separation between pantographs. Such studies contribute to identify the service conditions and the external factors influencing the contact quality on the overhead system. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Os programas de matemática do ensino básico de 1990 e de 2007 e o processo de implementação do programa de 2007, no 1º ciclo do Ensino Básico

Mestrado em Educação Matemática na Educação Pré – Escolar e nos 1.º e 2.º Ciclos do Ensino Básico

Decisions with multiple simultaneous goals and uncertain causal effects

A key aspect of decision-making in a disaster response scenario is the capability to evaluate multiple and simultaneously perceived goals. Current competing approaches to build decision-making agents are either mental-state based as BDI, or founded on decision-theoretic models as MDP. The BDI chooses heuristically among several goals and the MDP searches for a policy to achieve a specific goal. In this paper we develop a preferences model to decide among multiple simultaneous goals. We propose a pattern, which follows a decision-theoretic approach, to evaluate the expected causal effects of the observable and non-observable aspects that inform each decision. We focus on yes-or-no (i.e., pursue or ignore a goal) decisions and illustrate the proposal using the RoboCupRescue simulation environment.

Implications of the Intervention Program for Physical Activity (IPPA) in the perception of illness and wellbeing in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the IPPA in the perception of illness and wellbeing in MS patients. Methods - This is a quasi experimental study non-randomized study with 24 MS patients diagnosed at least 1 year before, and with an EDSS score of under 7. We used the IPPA in 3 groups of eight people in 3 Portuguese hospitals (Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto). The sessions were held once a week for 90 minutes, over a period of 7 weeks. The instruments used were: We asked the subjects the question “Please classify the severity of your disease?” and used the Personal Wellbeing Scale (PWS) at the beginning (time A) and end (time B) of the IPPA. We used the SPSS version 20. A non-parametric statistical hypothesis test (Wilcoxon test) was used for the variable analysis. The intervention followed the recommendations of the Helsinki Declaration. Results – The results suggest that there are differences between time A and B, the perception of illness decreased (p<0.08), while wellbeing increased (p<0.01). Conclusions: The IPPA can play an important role in modifying the perception of disease severity and personal wellbeing.

Pedagogia diferenciada no 1º ciclo do Ensino Básico

Mestrado (PES II), Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, 3 de Julho de 2014, Universidade dos Açores.

Diversity and characterisation of coagulasenegative staphylococci isolated from healthy individuals in Portugal

In the past few years the interest in coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) has significantly increased in human medicine. CoNS are common commensal colonisers of the human skin, although now also recognised as major nosocomial pathogens. Over the last decades, several studies have been carried out in order to understand the pathogenicity mechanisms of CoNS. The well known determinants in the pathogenesis of CoNS infections are their ability to form biofilms and an exceptional resistance to several antibiotics. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies regarding the commensal lifestyle of these microorganisms. Additionally, it is now hypothesised that commensal bacteria might be a reservoir of pathogenic determinants. Therefore, the work described throughout this thesis was aimed to perform a phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of different CoNS species isolated from healthy Portuguese individuals. A total of 61 CoNS isolates, comprising 7 different species, were obtained and characterised at the level of biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibility profiles. According to the results, biofilm formation ability and presence of biofilm-associated genes were commonly found features, highlighting their pivotal role in the colonising lifestyle of CoNS. This study also addressed the correlation between phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of biofilm formation, corroborating and raising questions about the importance of some genes in this process. Moreover, it was observed a great proportion of isolates with decreased susceptibility and multiple resistances to some important antibiotics. A significant association between antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation was also demonstrated, and some hypotheses about the nature of such association were provided. Lastly, the expression patterns of two biofilm-associated genes at two distinct biofilm developmental stages were determined, confirming their importance in the accumulative stage of biofilm formation. Overall, the results presented in this thesis indicate that staphylococcal skin flora might be an important reservoir of potentially pathogenic bacteria and, simultaneously, bring to light new perceptions about the molecular basis of staphylococcal biofilm formation, and the nature of the association between antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation.

Desenvolvimento de uma plataforma SIG para apoio ao estudo da sismicidade em Portugal

Trabalho Final de Mestrado elaborado no Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC) para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil pelo Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa no âmbito do protocolo de cooperação entre o ISEL e o LNEC

Perfil de risco do investidor: diferenças entre homens e mulheres

Mestrado em Contabilidade

Interactions between physical and psychosocial demands of work associated to low back pain

OBJECTIVE: To examine the interaction between physical and psychosocial demands of work associated to low back pain. METHODS: Cross-sectional study carried out in a stratified proportional random sample of 577 plastic industry workers in the metropolitan area of the city of Salvador, Northeast Brazil in 2002. An anonymous standard questionnaire was administered in the workplace by trained interviewers. Physical demands at work were self-rated on a 6-point numeric scale, with anchors at each end of the scale. Factor analysis was carried out on 11 physical demand variables to identify underlying factors. Psychosocial work demands were measured by demand, control and social support questions. Multivariate analysis was performed using the likelihood ratio test. RESULTS: The factor analysis identified two physical work demand factors: material handling (factor 1) and repetitiveness (factor 2). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that factor 1 was positively associated with low back pain (OR=2.35, 95% CI 1.50;3.66). No interaction was found between physical and psychosocial work demands but both were independently associated to low back pain. CONCLUSIONS: The study found independent effects of physical and psychosocial work demands on low back pain prevalence and emphasizes the importance of physical demands especially of material handling involving trunk bending forward and trunk rotation regardless of age, gender, and body fitness.