Immune cell changes in response to a swimming training session during a 24-h recovery period

Understanding the impact of training sessions on the immune response is crucial for the adequate periodization of training, to prevent both a negative influence on health and a performance impairment of the athlete. This study evaluated acute systemic immune cell changes in response to an actual swimming session, during a 24-h recovery period, controlling for sex, menstrual cycle phases, maturity, and age group. Competitive swimmers (30 females, 15 ± 1.3 years old; and 35 males, 16.5 ± 2.1 years old) performed a high-intensity training session. Blood samples were collected before, immediately after, 2 h after, and 24 h after exercise. Standard procedures for the assessment of leukogram by automated counting (Coulter LH 750, Beckman) and lymphocytes subsets by flow cytometry (FACS Calibur BD, Biosciences) were used. Subjects were grouped according to competitive age groups and pubertal Tanner stages. Menstrual cycle phase was monitored. The training session induced neutrophilia, lymphopenia, and a low eosinophil count, lasting for at least 2 h, independent of sex and maturity. At 24 h postexercise, the acquired immunity of juniors (15-17 years old), expressed by total lymphocytes and total T lymphocytes (CD3+), was not fully recovered. This should be accounted for when planning a weekly training program. The observed lymphopenia suggests a lower immune surveillance at the end of the session that may depress the immunity of athletes, highlighting the need for extra care when athletes are exposed to aggressive environmental agents such as swimming pools

Intelligent behavior in a Cyber-Ambient training system for control center operators

This paper deals with the application of an intelligent tutoring approach to delivery training in diagnosis procedures of a Power System. In particular, the mechanisms implemented by the training tool to support the trainees are detailed. This tool is part of an architecture conceived to integrate Power Systems tools in a Power System Control Centre, based on an Ambient Intelligent paradigm. The present work is integrated in the CITOPSY project which main goal is to achieve a better integration between operators and control room applications, considering the needs of people, customizing requirements and forecasting behaviors.

Training control centers' operators in incident diagnosis and power restoration using intelligent tutoring systems

The activity of Control Center operators is important to guarantee the effective performance of Power Systems. Operators’ actions are crucial to deal with incidents, especially severe faults like blackouts. In this paper, we present an Intelligent Tutoring approach for training Portuguese Control Center operators in tasks like incident analysis and diagnosis, and service restoration of Power Systems. Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) approach is used in the training of the operators, having into account context awareness and the unobtrusive integration in the working environment. Several Artificial Intelligence techniques were criteriously used and combined together to obtain an effective Intelligent Tutoring environment, namely Multiagent Systems, Neural Networks, Constraint-based Modeling, Intelligent Planning, Knowledge Representation, Expert Systems, User Modeling, and Intelligent User Interfaces.

Cyber-ambient intelligent training of operators in power systems control centres

Cyber-Physical Systems and Ambient Intelligence are two of the most important and emerging paradigms of our days. The introduction of renewable sources gave origin to a completely different dimension of the distribution generation problem. On the other hand, Electricity Markets introduced a different dimension in the complexity, the economic dimension. Our goal is to study how to proceed with the Intelligent Training of Operators in Power Systems Control Centres, considering the new reality of Renewable Sources, Distributed Generation, and Electricity Markets, under the emerging paradigms of Cyber-Physical Systems and Ambient Intelligence. We propose Intelligent Tutoring Systems as the approach to deal with the intelligent training of operators in these new circumstances.

Literary translation and quality assessment analysis – its significance in translation training

This paper aims to highlight the role of translation quality assessment in translation training so as to develop students’ translation competence and skills to face translation problems. An analysis to assess literary translation quality is proposed before proceeding to discuss its pedagogical implementation.

Metacognitive and social cognition training (MSCT) in schizophrenia: a preliminary efficacy study

Psychosocial interventions have proven to be effective in treating social cognition in people with psychotic disorders. The current study aimed to determine the effects of a metacognitive and social cognition training (MSCT) program, designed to both remediate deficits and correct biases in social cognition. Thirty-five clinically stable outpatients were recruited and assigned to the MSCT program (n = 19) for 10 weeks (18 sessions) or to the TAU group (n = 16), and they all completed pre- and post-treatment assessments of social cognition, cognitive biases, functioning and symptoms. The MSCT group demonstrated a significant improvement in theory of mind, social perception, emotion recognition and social functioning. Additionally, the tendency to jump to conclusions was significantly reduced among the MSCT group after training. There were no differential benefits regarding clinical symptoms except for one trend group effect for general psychopathology. The results support the efficacy of the MSCT format, but further development of the training program is required to increase the benefits related to attributional style.

Lean learning academy: an innovative framework for lean manufacturing training

Worldwide competitiveness poses enormous challenges on managers, demanding a continuous quest to increase rationality in the use of resources. As a management philosophy, Lean Manufacturing focuses on the elimination of activities that do not create any type of value and therefore are considered waste. For companies to successfully implement the Lean Manufacturing philosophy it is crucial that the human resources of the organization have the necessary training, for which proper tools are required. At the same time, higher education institutions need innovative tools to increase the attractiveness of engineering curricula and develop a higher level of knowledge among students, improving their employability. This paper describes how Lean Learning Academy, an international collaboration project between five EU universities and five companies, from SME to Multinational/Global companies, developed and applied an innovative training programme for Engineers on Lean Manufacturing, a successful alternative to the traditional teaching methods in engineering courses.

Digital serious games and simulation games - comparison of two approaches to lean training

In an increasingly competitive and globalized world, companies need effective training methodologies and tools for their employees. However, selecting the most suitable ones is not an easy task. It depends on the requirements of the target group (namely time restrictions), on the specificities of the contents, etc. This is typically the case for training in Lean, the waste elimination manufacturing philosophy. This paper presents and compares two different approaches to lean training methodologies and tools: a simulation game based on a single realistic manufacturing platform, involving production and assembly operations that allows learning by playing; and a digital game that helps understand lean tools. This paper shows that both tools have advantages in terms of trainee motivation and knowledge acquisition. Furthermore, they can be used in a complementary way, reinforcing the acquired knowledge.

Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks Training Through Charged System Search and its Application for Non-Technical Losses Detection

The non-technical loss is not a problem with trivial solution or regional character and its minimization represents the guarantee of investments in product quality and maintenance of power systems, introduced by a competitive environment after the period of privatization in the national scene. In this paper, we show how to improve the training phase of a neural network-based classifier using a recently proposed meta-heuristic technique called Charged System Search, which is based on the interactions between electrically charged particles. The experiments were carried out in the context of non-technical loss in power distribution systems in a dataset obtained from a Brazilian electrical power company, and have demonstrated the robustness of the proposed technique against with several others natureinspired optimization techniques for training neural networks. Thus, it is possible to improve some applications on Smart Grids.

Environmental impact assessment in higher education and training in Portugal

Journal of Cleaner Production, nº 16, p. 639-645

Effects of dual-task training on balance and executive functions in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study

The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of cognitive-motor dual-task training compared with single-task training on balance and executive functions in individuals with Parkinson's disease. Fifteen subjects, aged between 39 and 75 years old, were randomly assigned to the dual-task training group (n = 8) and single-task training group (n = 7). The training was run twice a week for 6 weeks. The single-task group received balance training and the dual-task group performed cognitive tasks simultaneously with the balance training. There were no significant differences between the two groups at baseline. After the intervention, the results for mediolateral sway with eyes closed were significantly better for the dual-task group and anteroposterior sway with eyes closed was significantly better for the single-task group. The results suggest superior outcomes for the dual-task training compared to the single-task training for static postural control, except in anteroposterior sway with eyes closed.

A Communication Intervention for Training Southern European Oncologists to Recognize Psychosocial Morbidity in Cancer. I - Development of the Model and Preliminary Results on Physicians' Satisfaction

BACKGROUND: The detection of psychosocial distress is a significant communication problem in Southern Europe and other countries. Work in this area is hampered by a lack of data. Because not much is known about training aimed at improving the recognition of psychosocial disorders in cancer patients, we developed a basic course model for medical oncology professionals. METHODS: A specific educational and experiential model (12 hours divided into 2 modules) involving formal teaching (ie, journal articles, large-group presentations), practice in small groups (ie, small-group exercises and role playing), and discussion in large groups was developed with the aim of improving the ability of oncologists to detect emotional disturbances in cancer patients (ie, depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders). RESULTS: A total of 30 oncologists from 3 Southern European countries (Italy, Portugal, and Spain) participated in the workshop. The training course was well accepted by most participants who expressed general satisfaction and a positive subjective perception of the utility of the course for clinical practice. Of the total participants, 28 physicians (93.3%) thought that had they been exposed to this material sooner, they would have incorporated the techniques received in the workshop into their practices; 2 participants stated they would likely have done so. Half of the doctors (n = 15) believed that their clinical communication techniques were improved by participating in the workshop, and the remaining half thought that their abilities to communicate with cancer patients had improved. CONCLUSIONS: This model is a feasible approach for oncologists and is easily applicable to various oncology settings. Further studies will demonstrate the effectiveness of this method for improving oncologists skills in recognizing emotional disorders in their patients with cancer.

How training evaluation can be used to potentiate employee development in an organization

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Money for nothing?: The net costs of medical training

A Masters Thesis, presented as part of the requirements for the award of a Research Masters Degree in Economics from NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Firing and training costs and labour market segmentation

This dissertation consists of three essays on the labour market impact of firing and training costs. The modelling framework resorts to the search and matching literature. The first chapter introduces firing costs, both liner and non-linear, in a new Keynesian model, analysing business cycle effects for different wage rigidity degrees. The second chapter adds training costs in a model of a segmented labour market, accessing the interaction between these two features and the skill composition of the labour force. Finally, the third chapter analyses empirically some of the issues raised in the second chapter.