Performance assessment of electrically small antennas for implantable microsystems with wireless power and communications

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Eletrónica Médica)

Reengenharia do sistema de armazenamento duma empresa do setor da metalomecânica

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Industrial

Seguros Income Protection: análise segundo o sexo e a classe profissional dos segurados

Dissertação de mestrado em Economia Monetária, Bancária e Financeira

Seguros Income Protection com um período máximo de recebimento de benefícios

Dissertação de mestrado em Economia Monetária, Bancária e Financeira

Predation of bat (Molossus molossus: Molossidae) by the centipede Scolopendra viridicornis (Scolopendridae) in Southern Amazonia

Centipedes are opportunistic carnivore predators, and large species can feed on a wide variety of vertebrates, including bats. The aim of this study was to report the third record of bat predation by centipedes worldwide, the first record in the Amazon region, while covering aspects of foraging, capture and handling of prey. We observed the occurence in a fortuitous encounter at Cristalino State Park, located in the Amazon region of the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The attack took place in a small wooden structure, at about three meters from the floor, and was observed for 20 minutes. During the observation, the centipede stung the neck and abdominal region of the bat several times, grabbing the prey with its 15 pairs of front legs while hanging from the ceiling with its hind legs. This type of observation suggests that vertebrates can be important preys for invertebrates such as giant centipedes, both for its nutritional composition and for the amount of energy available in a single prey.

Processamento e caracterização de compósitos de Ti-HAP para aplicações biomédicas

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia de Materiais

Holistic approach, tourism

Holistic refers to something that emphasizes the whole and the interdependence of its parts. It can be conceptualized as interdisciplinary: the claim that most social and economic phenomena cannot be fully understood or explained without adopting an approach that goes beyond the aims of a single scientific discipline.

A linear algebra approach to OLAP

Inspired by the relational algebra of data processing, this paper addresses the foundations of data analytical processing from a linear algebra perspective. The paper investigates, in particular, how aggregation operations such as cross tabulations and data cubes essential to quantitative analysis of data can be expressed solely in terms of matrix multiplication, transposition and the Khatri–Rao variant of the Kronecker product. The approach offers a basis for deriving an algebraic theory of data consolidation, handling the quantitative as well as qualitative sides of data science in a natural, elegant and typed way. It also shows potential for parallel analytical processing, as the parallelization theory of such matrix operations is well acknowledged.

Three-dimensional technology facilitates surgical performance of novice laparoscopy surgeons: a quantitative assessment on a porcine kidney model

Objective To determine whether the use of 3-dimensional (3D) imaging translates into a better surgical performance of naïve urologic laparoscopic surgeons during pyeloplasty (PY) and partial nephrectomy (PN) procedures. Materials and Methods Eighteen surgeons without any previous laparoscopic experience were randomly assigned to perform PY and PN in a porcine model using initially 2-dimensional (2D) and 3D laparoscopy. A surgical performance score was rated by an "expert" tutor through a modified 5-item global rating scale contemplating operative field view, bimanual dexterity, efficiency, tissue handling, and autonomy. Overall surgical time, complications, subjective perception of participating surgeons, and inconveniences related to the 3D vision were recorded. Results No difference in terms if operative time was found between 2D or 3D laparoscopy for both the PY (P =.51) and the PN (P =.28) procedures. A better rate in terms of surgical performance score was noted by the tutors when the study participants were using 3D vs 2D, for both PY (3.6 [0.8] vs 3.0 [0.4]; P =.034) and PN (3.6 [0.51] vs 3.15 [0.63]; P =.001). No complications occurred in any of the procedures. Most (77.2%) of the participating na??ve laparoscopic surgeons had the perception that 3D laparoscopy was overall easier than 2D. Headache (18.1%), nausea (18.1%), and visual disturbance (18.1%) were the most common issues reported by the surgeons during 3D procedures. Conclusion Despite the absence of translation in a shorter operative time, the use of 3D technology seems to facilitate the surgical performance of naive surgeons during laparoscopic kidney procedures on a porcine model.

O livro na revista: como revistas semanais brasileiras e portuguesas abordam livros e literatura

Dissertação de mestrado em Comunicação, Arte e Cultura

Sistema de apoio à aprendizagem na área da discalculia em menores

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Informática Médica)

Safety management of cranes on construction sites in Portugal: Critical factors of safety

The evolution of the construction caused a need to use more effective equipments, capable of meeting the increasingly demanding deadlines for the completion of works. In this context, the safety and efficiency of equipment have become key aspects in order to optimize the execution time of the works, as well as reducing labor costs and loss of materials. With the evolution of construction and construction processes, cranes have come to represent a signal of the construction of buildings, revealing to be, in most of the cases, the main equipment of construction sites. Currently, some engineers revels some apprehension regarding the use and handling of cranes which is natural and acceptable, since an equipment failure can lead to serious or fatal accidents. The factors affecting safety management of the cranes in construction sites were investigated, identified, classified and evaluated according to their degree of importance, through interviews with representatives of the general contractors of a set of selected construction sites.

Invasive hemodynamic monitoring in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery

OBJETIVE: To assess the hemodynamic profile of cardiac surgery patients with circulatory instability in the early postoperative period (POP). METHODS: Over a two-year period, 306 patients underwent cardiac surgery. Thirty had hemodynamic instability in the early POP and were monitored with the Swan-Ganz catheter. The following parameters were evaluated: cardiac index (CI), systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, pulmonary shunt, central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), oxygen delivery and consumption, use of vasoactive drugs and of circulatory support. RESULTS: Twenty patients had low cardiac index (CI), and 10 had normal or high CI. Systemic vascular resistance was decreased in 11 patients. There was no correlation between oxygen delivery (DO2) and consumption (VO2), p=0.42, and no correlation between CVP and PCWP, p=0.065. Pulmonary vascular resistance was decreased in 15 patients and the pulmonary shunt was increased in 19. Two patients with CI < 2L/min/m² received circulatory support. CONCLUSION: Patients in the POP of cardiac surgery frequently have a mixed shock due to the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Therefore, invasive hemodynamic monitoring is useful in handling blood volume, choice of vasoactive drugs, and indication for circulatory support.

Production and extraction of polysaccharides and oligosaccharides and their use as new food additives

Polysaccharides and oligosaccharides can improve quality and enhance nutritional value of final food products due to their technological and nutritional features ranging from their capacity to improve texture to their effect as dietary fibers. For this reason, they are among the most studied ingredients in the food industry. The use of natural polysaccharides and oligosaccharides as food additives has been a reality since the food industry understood their potential technological and nutritional applications. Currently, the replacement of traditional ingredients and/or the synergy between traditional ingredients and polysaccharides and oligosaccharides are perceived as promising approaches by the food industry. Traditionally, polysaccharides have been used as thickening, emulsifying, and stabilizing agents, however, at this moment polysaccharides and oligosaccharides claim health and nutritional advantages, thus opening a new market of nutritional and functional foods. Indeed, their use as nutritional food ingredients enabled the food industry to develop a countless number of applications, e.g., fat replacers, prebiotics, dietary fiber, and antiulcer agents. Based on this, among the scientific community and food industry, in the last years many research studies and commercial products showed the possibility of using either new or already used sources (though with changed properties) of polysaccharides for the production of food additives with new and enhanced properties. The increasing interest in such products is clearly illustrated by the market figures and consumption trends. As an example, the sole market of hydrocolloids is estimated to reach $7 billion in 2018. Moreover, oligosaccharides can be found in more than 500 food products resulting in a significant daily consumption. A recent study from the Transparency Market Research on Prebiotic Ingredients Market reported that prebiotics' demand was worth $2.3 billion in 2012 and it is estimated to reach $4.5 billion in 2018, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 11.4% between 2012 and 2018. The entrance of this new generation of food additives in the market, often claiming health and nutritional benefits, imposes an impartial analysis by the legal authorities regarding the accomplishment of requirements that have been established for introducing novel ingredients/food, including new poly- and oligosaccharides. This chapter deals with the potential use of polysaccharides and oligosaccharides as food additives, as well as alternative sources of these compounds and their possible applications in food products. Moreover, the regulation process to introduce novel polysaccharides and oligosaccharides in the market as food additives and to assign them health claims is discussed.

Microfluidic based on aqueous two-phase system for plasmidic DNA purification

Dissertação de mestrado em Bioquímica Aplicada (área de especialização em Biotecnologia)