Explicit discrimination and health: development and psychometric properties of an assessment instrument

OBJECTIVE: To develop an instrument to assess discrimination effects on health outcomes and behaviors, capable of distinguishing harmful differential treatment effects from their interpretation as discriminatory events. METHODS: Successive versions of an instrument were developed based on a systematic review of instruments assessing racial discrimination, focus groups and review by a panel comprising seven experts. The instrument was refined using cognitive interviews and pilot-testing. The final version of the instrument was administered to 424 undergraduate college students in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil, in 2010. Structural dimensionality, two types of reliability and construct validity were analyzed. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis corroborated the hypothesis of the instrument's unidimensionality, and seven experts verified its face and content validity. The internal consistency was 0.8, and test-retest reliability was higher than 0.5 for 14 out of 18 items. The overall score was higher among socially disadvantaged individuals and correlated with adverse health behaviors/conditions, particularly when differential treatments were attributed to discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the validity and reliability of the instrument developed. The proposed instrument enables the investigation of novel aspects of the relationship between discrimination and health.

Psychiatric patients' return for HIV/STI test results in mental health centers

OBJECTIVE: To assess individual and/or health service factors associated with patients returning for results of HIV or sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests in mental health centers. METHODS: Cross-sectional national multicenter study among 2,080 patients randomly selected from 26 Brazilian mental health centers in 2007. Multilevel logistic regression was used to assess the effect of individual (level 1) and mental health service characteristics (level 2) on receipt of test results. RESULTS: The rate of returning HIV/STI test results was 79.6%. Among health service characteristics examined, only condom distribution was associated with receiving HIV/STI test results, whereas several individual characteristics were independently associated including living in the same city where treatment centers are; being single; not having heard of AIDS; and not having been previously HIV tested. CONCLUSIONS: It is urgent to expand HIV/STI testing in health services which provide care for patients with potentially increased vulnerability to these conditions, and to promote better integration between mental health and health services.

Identificação da combinação ótima das fontes de energia renovável de origem hídrica, eólica e fotovoltaica para a integração no sistema elétrico português

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica Ramo de Energia

Tuberculosis in indigenous children in the Brazilian Amazon

OBJECTIVE: Assess the epidemiological aspects of tuberculosis in Brazilian indigenous children and actions to control it. METHODS: An epidemiological study was performed with 356 children from 0 to 14 years of age in Rondônia State, Amazon, Brazil, during the period 1997-2006. Cases of TB reported to the Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System were divided into indigenous and non-indigenous categories and analyzed according to sex, age group, place of residence, clinical form, diagnostic tests and treatment outcome. A descriptive analysis of cases and hypothesis test (χ²) was carried out to verify if there were differences in the proportions of illness between the groups investigated. RESULTS: A total of 356 TB cases were identified (125 indigenous, 231 non-indigenous) of which 51.4% of the cases were in males. In the indigenous group, 60.8% of the cases presented in children aged 0-4 years old. The incidence mean was much higher among indigenous; in 2001, 1,047.9 cases/100,000 inhabitants were reported in children aged < 5 years. Pulmonary TB was reported in more than 80% of the cases, and in both groups over 70% of the cases were cured. Cultures and histopathological exams were performed on only 10% of the patients. There were 3 cases of TB/HIV co-infection in the non-indigenous group and none in the indigenous group. The case detection rate was classified as insufficient or fair in more than 80% of the indigenous population notifications, revealing that most of the diagnoses were performed based on chest x-ray. CONCLUSIONS: The approach used in this study proved useful in demonstrating inequalities in health between indigenous and non-indigenous populations and was superior to the conventional analyses performed by the surveillance services, drawing attention to the need to improve childhood TB diagnosis among the indigenous population.

Relatório de estágio

I - As minhas expectativas eram elevadas pois este regresso à Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa permitia-me voltar a trabalhar com os professores que me formaram como músico e professor e com eles poder actualizar-me sobre vários temas ligados à pedagogia. Este aspecto é muito importante pois chego à conclusão que o tempo por vezes provoca-nos excesso de confiança que parece “cegar-nos” não nos deixando ver erros pedagógicos muitas vezes evitáveis. Quando ingressei neste estágio sentia-me confiante e seguro quanto às minhas capacidades como professor. O momento de viragem na minha perspectiva do estágio dá-se quando surgem as observações/gravações e respectivas análises e reflexões das aulas. Procurei trabalhar nessas aulas da forma mais natural possível pois o meu objectivo era observar o meu trabalho diário. A primeira observação das aulas permitiu-me anotar algumas coisas menos boas. Contudo, quando essa observação foi feita com o professor de didática os aspectos menos positivos ganharam uma enorme proporção: (1) falhas ao nível da instrução: demasiado longo, (2) feedback de pouca qualidade ou eficácia , (3) pouca percentagem de alunos que atingiam os objectivos., (4) ritmo de aula por vezes baixo devido a períodos longos de instrução ou devido a uma má gestão do espaço. Todos estes problemas eram mais visíveis quando as turmas eram maiores. Ao longo do estágio, e após a detecção destas falhas, fui procurando evitar estas práticas em todas as turmas onde leccionava. Senti que o ritmo de aula aumentou substancialmente não apenas à custa da energia do professor e de boas estratégias mas porque sobretudo se “falava menos e trabalhava-se mais”. Os erros dos alunos passaram a ser corrigos enquanto trabalhavam (feedback corretivo próximo do momento positivo ou negativo), o feedback positivo passou a ser mais destacado, a disposição da sala alterou-se de forma aos alunos estarem mais perto do professor, e este procurou ser menos “criativo” no momento de alterar o plano de aula devido a ideias momentâneas o que provocou mais tempo para cada estratégia e para que mais alunos fossem atingindo os objectivos. Apesar da evolução no sentido de proporcionar aos alunos aulas mais rentáveis e de ainda melhor qualidade, existe a consciência que alguns dos erros cometidos eram hábitos e como tal poderão levar algum tempo a ser corrigidos. Contudo, existe a consciência e a vontade em debelá-los da minha prática docente.

Controlo fotogramétrico da condição de estruturas quebra-mar

Dissertação de natureza Científica para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil

PV system modeling by five parameters and in situ test

This paper focuses on a novel formalization for assessing the five parameter modeling of a photovoltaic cell. An optimization procedure is used as a feasibility problem to find the parameters tuned at the open circuit, maximum power, and short circuit points in order to assess the data needed for plotting the I-V curve. A comparison with experimental results is presented for two monocrystalline PV modules.

Incorporação de resíduo da indústria petrolífera em argamassas de cal hidráulica para a reabilitação de edifícios

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização de Edificações

A promoção da flexibilidade com alunos do 1º ano da Escola de Dança do Orfeão de Leiria

Relatório Final de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Dança com vista à obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Ensino de Dança.

Does 6-minutes walk test predict functional capacity in elderly people?

Portugal has an accentuated aging tendency, presenting an elderly population (individuals with more than 65 years old) of 19.2%. The average life expectancy is 79.2 years. Thus, it’s important to maintain autonomy and independency as long as possible. Functional ability concept rises from the need to evaluate the capacity to conduct daily activities in an independent way. It can be estimated with the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and other validated test. This test is simple, reliable, valid and consists in a daily activity (walk). The goals of this study was to verify associations between functional capacity measured with two different instruments (6MWT and Composite Physical Function (CPF) scale) and between those results and characterization variables.

HIV risk practices by female sex workers according to workplace

OBJECTIVE To investigate differences in HIV infection- related risk practices by Female Sex Workers according to workplace and the effects of homophily on estimating HIV prevalence. METHODS Data from 2,523 women, recruited using Respondent-Driven Sampling, were used for the study carried out in 10 Brazilian cities in 2008-2009. The study included female sex workers aged 18 and over. The questionnaire was completed by the subjects and included questions on characteristics of professional activity, sexual practices, use of drugs, HIV testing, and access to health services. HIV quick tests were conducted. The participants were classified in two groups according to place of work: on the street or indoor venues, like nightclubs and saunas. To compare variable distributions by place of work, we used Chi-square homogeneity tests, taking into consideration unequal selection probabilities as well as the structure of dependence between observations. We tested the effect of homophily by workplace on estimated HIV prevalence. RESULTS The highest HIV risk practices were associated with: working on the streets, lower socioeconomic status, low regular smear test coverage, higher levels of crack use and higher levels of syphilis serological scars as well as higher prevalence of HIV infection. The effect of homophily was higher among sex workers in indoor venues. However, it did not affect the estimated prevalence of HIV, even after using a post-stratification by workplace procedure. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that strategies should focus on extending access to, and utilization of, health services. Prevention policies should be specifically aimed at street workers. Regarding the application of Respondent-Driven Sampling, the sample should be sufficient to estimate transition probabilities, as the network develops more quickly among sex workers in indoor venues.

Assessing the behaviour of RC beams subject to significant gravity loads under cyclic loads

Gravity loads can affect a reinforced concrete structure's response to seismic actions, however, traditional procedures for testing the beam behaviour do not take this effect into consideration. An experimental campaign was carried out in order to assess the influence of the gravity load on RC beam connection to the column subjected to cyclic loading. The experiments included the imposition of a conventional quasi-static test protocol based on the imposition of a reverse cyclic displacement history and of an alternative cyclic test procedure starting from the gravity load effects. The test results are presented, compared and analysed in this paper. The imposition of a cyclic test procedure that included the gravity loads effects on the RC beam ends reproduces the demands on the beams' critical zones more realistically than the traditional procedure. The consideration of the vertical load effects in the test procedure led to an accumulation of negative (hogging) deformation. This phenomenon is sustained with the behaviour of a portal frame system under cyclic loads subject to a significant level of the vertical load, leading to the formation of unidirectional plastic hinges. In addition, the hysteretic behaviour of the RC beam ends tested was simulated numerically using the nonlinear structural analysis software - OpenSees. The beam-column model simulates the global element behaviour very well, as there is a reasonable approximation to the hysteretic loops obtained experimentally. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Collision-free prioritized medium access in the presence of hidden nodes without relying on out-of-band signaling

Consider the problem of sharing a wireless channel between a set of computer nodes. Hidden nodes exist and there is no base station. Each computer node hosts a set of sporadic message streams where a message stream releases messages with real-time deadlines. We propose a collision-free wireless medium access control (MAC) protocol which implements staticpriority scheduling. The MAC protocol allows multiple masters and is fully distributed. It neither relies on synchronized clocks nor out-of-band signaling; it is an adaptation to a wireless channel of the dominance protocol used in the CAN bus. But unlike that protocol, our protocol does not require a node having the ability to receive an incoming bit from the channel while transmitting to the channel. Our protocol has the key feature of not only being prioritized and collision-free but also dealing successfully with hidden nodes. This key feature enables schedulability analysis of sporadic message streams in multihop networks.

On a test-bed application for the ART-WiSe framework

This report describes the development of a Test-bed Application for the ART-WiSe Framework with the aim of providing a means of access, validate and demonstrate that architecture. The chosen application is a kind of pursuit-evasion game where a remote controlled robot, navigating through an area covered by wireless sensor network (WSN), is detected and continuously tracked by the WSN. Then a centralized control station takes the appropriate actions for a pursuit robot to chase and “capture” the intruder one. This kind of application imposes stringent timing requirements to the underlying communication infrastructure. It also involves interesting research problems in WSNs like tracking, localization, cooperation between nodes, energy concerns and mobility. Additionally, it can be easily ported into a real-world application. Surveillance or search and rescue operations are two examples where this kind of functionality can be applied. This is still a first approach on the test-bed application and this development effort will be continuously pushed forward until all the envisaged objectives for the Art-WiSe architecture become accomplished.

Mechanical and tribological characterization of TiB2 thin films

Titanium Diboride (TiB2) presents high mechanical and physical properties. Some wear studies were also carried out in order to evaluate its tribological properties. One of the most popular wear tests for thin films is the ball-cratering configuration. This work was focused on the study of the tribological properties of TiB2 thin films using micro-abrasion tests and following the BS EN 1071-6: 2007 standard. Due to high hardness usually patented by these films, diamond was selected as abrasive on micro-abrasion tests. Micro-abrasion wear tests were performed under five different durations, using the same normal load, speed rotation and ball. Films were deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) technique using TiB2 targets. TiB2 films were characterized using different methods as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Electron Probe Micro-Analyser (EPMA), Ultra Micro Hardness and Scratch-test Analysis, allowing to confirm that TiB2 presents adequate mechanical and physical properties. Ratio between hardness (coating and abrasive particles), wear resistance and wear coefficient were studied, showing that TiB2 films shows excellent properties for tribological applications.