Localized Abdominal Idiopathic Lipodystrophy

Localized loss of subcutaneous tissue can occur after panniculitis, injections of corticosteroids and other drugs, or associated with infectious, autoimmune or neurologic diseases. The "idiopathic lipoatrophies" are a group of poorly characterized diseases, with focal disappearance of subcutaneous fat, and usually the thighs, abdomen or the ankles are affected. Three subtypes have been described based on clinical presentation: lipoatrophia semicircularis, annular lipoatrophy of the ankles and centrifugal lipodystrophy. We describe a 52-year-old female patient who developed a localized atrophy of the abdominal areas over a period of 3 months without any inflammatory signs over the evolution of the disease. The patient denied any previous local trauma or medication of any type. The atrophy stabilized, showing no progression over the last 6 years. The histopathological examination was normal except for the absence of subcutaneous fat, although the biopsy was taken down to the fascia. There was no clinical or serologic evidence of autoimmune diseases and laboratory testing for Borrelia burgdorferi infection was negative. Other causes of localized lipoatrophies were excluded and the final diagnosis was localized idiopathic lipodystrophy. Our patient is the second report on an abdominal lipodystrophy, with no previous inflammatory signs, absence of subcutaneous fat and no associated pathogenic factor. There is no established treatment for idiopathic lipodystrophy, and the lesions do not tend to resolve spontaneously

Wi-Fi network testing using an integrated Evil-Twin framework

This work intends to present a newly developed Wi- Fi vulnerability analysis and exploitation framework with the objective of increasing Wi-Fi security. The developed framework focuses primarily on client-side vulnerabilities, currently a weak- ness on Wi-Fi connections, but can be extended to support any type of Wi-Fi attack. The framework was designed and is in- tended to be used by security auditors when performing intrusion tests on Wi-Fi networks. It can also be used as a proof-of-concept tool meant to teach and raise awareness of the risks involved when using Wi-Fi technologies. The developed framework is based on open-source software and is also available as open- source software, allowing developers to extend its functionality.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

PISA: Models and the reality

The Programme for International Student Assessment – PISA – is the most ambitious endeavour of large-scale education systems evaluation ever implemented. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – OECD – launched this exercise for the first time in 2000, and in the 2012 edition 65 education systems were assessed. According to OECD, the programme “[…] is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students.” And, “[…] tests are designed to assess to what extent students at the end of compulsory education, can apply their knowledge to real-life situations and be equipped for full participation in society.” Albeit being a prestigious programme, entrenched in sound theoretical grounds, and notwithstanding all the efforts made by PISA experts to mitigate shortcomings, the PISA is not exempt from criticisms of various kinds. When analysing the quotes mentioned above, and taking into consideration the applied methodologies, several questions can be raised and some concerns should be pointed out. The first question arising in the process of evaluation is that any measurement always affects, direct or indirectly, the system itself, disturbing its inner workings. This fact is particularly relevant when social systems are at stake. A second difficulty results when students from very different countries in what regards culture, tradition, and beliefs are subjected to the same test. Although all items are always carefully analysed by panels of experts in order to detect cultural bias or offending interpretations, there is no complete guarantee that the final set of items is adequate to evaluate all students. Another question regarding the fairness of PISA results is the fact that a paper-and-pencil (or computer) test, limited to three disciplinary domains, cannot encompass the possibly rich, diverse, and unsuspected knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students. There are also technical criticisms regarding the adopted approaches and methodologies, from the utilization of the Rasch model to negative remarks about the way data are collected and questions are coded. Some of what could be considered advantages of PISA – the literacy based instead of a curriculum based approach, the assessment of 15-year-old students instead of a particular school year pupils, and the definition of a large set of indicators, as is the case of ESCS – have been also severely criticised. Finally, some of the criticisms reside, not in the PISA methods and characteristics themselves but on an excessive focus on country rankings, primarily promoted by media, and consequently followed by political leaders. The main objective of this research is to reframe difficulties and artefacts together with virtuous results of PISA, putting in perspective praises and criticisms to foster a better understanding of this important programme.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Major shifts at the range edge of marine forests: the combined effects of climate changes and limited dispersal

Global climate change is likely to constrain low latitude range edges across many taxa and habitats. Such is the case for NE Atlantic marine macroalgal forests, important ecosystems whose main structuring species is the annual kelp Saccorhiza polyschides. We coupled ecological niche modelling with simulations of potential dispersal and delayed development stages to infer the major forces shaping range edges and to predict their dynamics. Models indicated that the southern limit is set by high winter temperatures above the physiological tolerance of overwintering microscopic stages and reduced upwelling during recruitment. The best range predictions were achieved assuming low spatial dispersal (5 km) and delayed stages up to two years (temporal dispersal). Reconstructing distributions through time indicated losses of similar to 30% from 1986 to 2014, restricting S. polyschides to upwelling regions at the southern edge. Future predictions further restrict populations to a unique refugium in northwestern Iberia. Losses were dependent on the emissions scenario, with the most drastic one shifting similar to 38% of the current distribution by 2100. Such distributional changes might not be rescued by dispersal in space or time (as shown for the recent past) and are expected to drive major biodiversity loss and changes in ecosystem functioning.Electricity of Portugal (Fundo EDP para a Biodiversidade); FCT - Portuguese Science Foundation [PTDC/MAR-EST/6053/2014, EXTANT-EXCL/AAG-GLO/0661/2012, SFRH/BPD/111003/2015

Capim braquiaria.

bitstream/item/69612/1/IPEAN-CulturasAmazonia2.pd

HICOD2000 - Integrated system for coding, protection and trading of earth observation products in JPEG2000

This paper describes a system, called HICOD2000, derived from a project developed in collaboration between two Portuguese companies and the European Space Agency that exploited the possibilities offered by the emerging image encoding standard - JPEG2000 - and its applicability to Earth Observation Products. The work described on this paper has been completed and it's currently being integrated with ESA own systems and EO products portal. Other important characteristic of the system consists in the usage of a Digital Rights Management platform to control the access and usage of EO products coded in JPEG2000 format.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Perfil de competências éticas para gerir Unidades de Saúde

A presente investigação decorre de um estudo em curso, no âmbito do doutoramento em Bioética, no qual auscultamos a opinião de 421 profissionais de saúde que exercem a gestão em hospitais da zona Norte. Provocar a reflexão ética nos hospitais bem como contribuir para a identificação de um “Perfil de competências éticas para gerir Unidades de Saúde” revelam-se simultaneamente necessárias e atuais no sentido de recolocar o primado da Pessoa no centro de todas as decisões