Daily Dose

The project goal is to develop a medication and vitamin management device that will sort and dispense pre-configured amounts of pills at designated times . The main clientele of this device is the elderly community with a secondary client base of the general public. The entire system is designed from scratch, powered by US standard line voltage. The main functionalities of the device are the ability to store multiple types of pills and the ability to accurately handle user input and data transfer. The two engineering specifications that were not met included the desired pill pick up rate and dimensions of the device

A cerâmica de paredes finas do Castelo de Castro Marim

No Castelo de Castro Marim realizaram-se diversas intervenções arqueológicas ente 1983 e 2003, num total de 10 campanhas, que resultaram na recolha de um expressivo acervo material. O conjunto de cerâmica de paredes finas é proveniente destas escavações e encontrava-se inédito. O estudo da cerâmica de paredes finas assume-se como fundamental para caracterizar os padrões de consumo do sítio. Por ser uma categoria que abarca toda a diacronia de ocupação do período romano, permite compreender a evolução da dinâmica comercial e as alterações que se introduzem ao nível da baixela de mesa. Por se tratar de um conjunto amplo e diversificado constitui uma fonte importante para compreender as alterações dos mercados abastecedores e as mudanças morfológicas ao longo da ocupação do sítio.Between 1983 and 2003, the castle of Castro Marim was thoroughly excavated, and a significant amount of archaeological material was uncovered during the 10 seasons. Of the assemblage unearthed, the thin walled ceramics were to this date unstudied and unpublished. The analysis of thin walled wares is a fundamental part in understanding the site’s consumption pattern. Because these wares span the entirety of the roman occupation they shed valuable insight on trade dynamics and the changes related to the use of table wares. Because this assemblage constitues a large and diverse sample it is and inportant component in the understanding the changes in the provider markets and the morphological changes spanning the site’s occupation

Modelação de redes sem fios para comunicações multimédia

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçõesAs técnicas de codificação, transporte e transmissão de sinais digitais multimédia têm evoluído significativamente na última década. Têm sido publicados uma grande quantidade de estudos e normas relativos às questões acima referidas. Essencialmente, esta dissertação discute as normas da camada de transporte e apresenta resultados relativos à qualidade duma comunicação multimédia multiplexada em pacotes. Ao nível da camada de rede, o protocolo IP (Internet Protocol) tem servido não apenas para endereçamento mas também para a interligação de redes de telecomunicações, com tecnologias heterogéneas nas camadas inferiores (ligação e física). Acima da camada de rede, a informação fonte comprimida é encapsulada e transportada pelos protocolos UDP (User Datagram Protocol) e RTP (Real Time Transport Protocol). O objectivo destes protocolos de transporte/sessão é identificar a existência de erros nos dados fonte e associar informação de sincronismo e sequência. Esta informação permite o receptor minimizar os efeitos dos erros de comunicação e sincronizar diferentes conteúdos de media. Esta dissertação apresenta as técnicas de encapsulamento usadas num sistema de comunicação áudio-visual sobre um canal de onda curta HF (High Frequency). Estas técnicas foram estudadas no âmbito do projecto NAVIO (Navy Video), apoiado pela Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa. Para além disso, são apresentados alguns resultados relacionados com as perdas de pacotes que permitem avaliar a qualidade dos sinais reconstruídos na recepção. O principal objectivo do projecto é investigar e implementar um serviço de videoconferência, terra-navio. O sistema de comunicação sobre HF apresentado nesta dissertação utiliza apenas 4 kbps, dos quais 2 kbps são usados para a codificação do áudio e os outros 2 kbps para a codificação de alguns parâmetros que representam a face humana. Esta dissertação apresenta também um estudo semelhante para a rede IEEE 802.11g em resultado do trabalho realizado no projecto TRIVial (Transmissão Rádio Interactiva de Video Local) apoiado pela Philips-RCS (Remote Control System) e pela Agência de Inovação. Como resultado do conhecimento obtido, do estudo de ambas as redes em separado, é feita a análise da possibilidade de implementar um sistema constituído por duas redes locais sem fios ligadas por um canal HF. Esta análise permite prever a perda de pacotes duma comunicação multimédia caracterizada segundo o seguinte cenário: um terminal inserido numa rede local sem fios em terra a comunicar com um terminal inserido numa rede sem fios existente num navio, permanecendo ambas ligadas por um canal HF.In the last decade, the coding techniques and transmission of digital multimedia has evolved significantly. Here have been published an enormous amount of papers, reports and standards concerned with the issues mentioned above. Generally speaking, this thesis discusses some standards related to the transport layer and presents some results related to the quality of a packetized multimedia communication. At the network layer, the IP (Internet Protocol) has served, not only for routing, but also for the interconnection of diverse telecommunications networks with heterogeneous technologies at lower layers (link and physical). Above the network layer, the compressed source data is encapsulated and transported making use of UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and RTP (Real Time Transport Protocol) protocol structures. The main goal of these transport/session protocols are to signal any communications errors and to include synchronization information as well as inserting packet sequence numbers. This thesis presents the encapsulation techniques used in an audio-visual communication system over a HF (High Frequency) channel. These techniques were studied in the NAVIO (Navy Video) project framework, a project supported by the Portuguese Navy. Furthermore, this thesis presents some results related to packet loss which allow us to evaluate the quality of the reconstructed signals at the receiver. The main goal of NAVIO project is to research and develop a video conference service running on earth and war vessel stations. The communication system over HF spends 4 kbps, in which 2 kbps are used for audio encoders and the remaining 2 kbps for encoding some face animation parameters. This thesis also presents a similar detailed study for IEEE 802.11g wireless network in consequence of a research work carried out in the TRIVial (Transmissão Rádio Interactiva de Video Local) project supported by Philips- RCS (Remote Control System) and Agência de Inovação. As a result of the obtained knowledge, from both networks study, we analyse the possibility of implementing an interconnected platform thereby, two wireless local networks are connected by a HF link. This analysis allow us to estimate the multimedia packet loss under the following scenario: a terminal as part of a wireless local network in earth, connected to a terminal as part of another wireless local network in a war vessel where both networks are interconnected by a HF link

Brincar para aprender e crescer em educação de infância

O presente relatório descreve o meu Projeto de Investigação-Ação, realizado em contexto de estágio supervisionado, no âmbito das Unidades Curriculares de Estágio I e II, pertencente ao plano de estudos do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e tem como tema “Brincar para Aprender e Crescer em Educação de Infância”. O meu principal objetivo foi compreender como as crianças aprendem através do brincar, tendo em conta as suas interações com os materiais e com os seus pares e adultos e também percecionar a forma como os materiais existentes na sala estimulavam as crianças. Em contexto de estágio pude observar e interagir com crianças de três contextos diferentes (um de creche e dois de jardim de infância), com idades compreendidas entre os 2 e os 6 anos. Este estudo permitiu registar diversas notas de campo sobre as diferentes formas de brincar e também os diversos espaços onde decorriam as brincadeiras. A presença do adulto também foi valorizada, considerando essencial a sua participação nas brincadeiras, apoiando o grupo na aquisição de conhecimentos e competências básicas fundamentais para a sua aprendizagem. Assim, e no que se refere ao estudo em questão, a metodologia utilizada baseia-se na investigação qualitativa e investigação ação, sendo a recolha da informação realizada através da observação das brincadeiras das crianças nos diferentes contextos. Para concluir considero importante referir que todas as brincadeiras vivenciadas, planeadas ou espontâneas, serviram para que as crianças pudessem aprender, tanto conteúdos matemáticos, como adquirirem outro tipo de competências essenciais ao seu crescimento, nomeadamente, a interajuda, a compreensão e o respeito pelo outro, a partilha e também o desenvolvimento da criatividade e da autonomia.This report describes my Research-Action Project, performed in the context of a supervised internship, within the scope of curricular unit “Internship I and II”, included in the plan for the Master in Pre-School Education with the theme “Play to Learn and Grow in Childhood Education”. The main objective was to understand how, through playing, children learn, taking into account their interactions with the materials, peers, adults and also how the materials in the room could stimulate the children. In the internship context, i was able to observe and interact with children from three different parts (one in a nursery school and two in a kindergarten) the ages were defined between 2 and 6 years. This study allowed me to take several notes, about the different ways of playing and also the different spaces where the games took place. The presence of adults was also an added value, considering their participation essential in games, supporting the group in the acquisition of knowledge and fundamental skills for their schooling. Therefore, the methodology used is based on Qualitative/Action Research being the information collected through observation of children’s play in different contexts. To conclude, I consider important to mention that all play experiences, planned or spontaneous, served so that children could learn, mathematical contents or acquire other types of skills essential to their growth such as, understanding and the respect for others, sharing and developing the creativity and autonomy

Long Term Results of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction versus Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction after Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Propensity Score Matching Analysis

There is no consensus as to which acute myocardial infarction subtype poses a greater risk after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We compared the early and the long term results of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) between patients with STEMI (group I, n = 83), and NSTEMI (group II, n = 237). Group I had higher EuroSCORE, prevalence of emergency surgery, preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump use, preoperative emergency percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and preoperative thrombolytic use than group II. There were no significant differences in 30-day mortality and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) between groups. Overall 8-yr survival was 93% and 87% in groups I and II, respectively. Freedom from MACCE after 8 yr was 92% and 93% in groups I and II, respectively. After propensity score matching analysis, there were no significant differences in preoperative parameters, postoperative in-hospital outcomes, and long-term clinical outcomes. Surgical results of OPCAB in patients with acute myocardial infarction show good results in terms of long-term survival and freedom from MACCE, with no significant differences in clinical outcomes between STEMI and NSTEMI groups

Prognostic value of electrocardiographic detection of unrecognized myocardial infarction in persons with stable coronary artery disease: data from the Heart and Soul Study

Unrecognized myocardial infarction (MI) carries a poor prognosis in the general population, but its prognostic value is less clear in high-risk patients. We sought to determine whether Q waves on electrocardiogram (ECG), suggestive of unrecognized MI, predict cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), but without a prior history of MI. We studied 462 patients enrolled in the Heart and Soul Study with stable CAD but without a prior history of MI. All patients had baseline ECGs. The baseline prevalence of unrecognized myocardial infarction was 36%. After a mean of 6.3 years of follow-up, there were a total of 141 cardiovascular events. The presence of Q waves in any ECG lead territory predicted cardiovascular events before (unadjusted HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.01-1.97) and after adjustment for demographics, medical history, diastolic function, and ejection fraction (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.06-2.26). This association was partly attenuated after adjustment for the presence of inducible ischemia at baseline (HR 1.43, 95% CI 0.96-2.12). When specific territories were analyzed separately, Q waves in anterior leads were predictive of cardiovascular events in both unadjusted and adjusted models (adjusted HR 1.85, 95% CI 1.14-3.00), and this association was partly attenuated after adjustment for inducible ischemia. In conclusion, in patients with CAD but no history of prior MI, the presence of any Q waves or anterior Q waves alone is independently predictive of adverse cardiovascular events

Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein C and MAP-Kinase Activating Death Domain-Containing Gene Polymorphisms and Diastolic Heart Failure

OBJECTIVE: Myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) plays a role in ventricular relaxation. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between cardiac myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) gene polymorphisms and diastolic heart failure (DHF) in a human case-control study. METHODS: A total of 352 participants of 1752 consecutive patients from the National Taiwan University Hospital and its affiliated hospital were enrolled. 176 patients diagnosed with DHF confirmed by echocardiography were recruited. Controls were matched 1-to-1 by age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, renal function and medication use. We genotyped 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) according to HapMap Han Chinese Beijing databank across a 40 kb genetic region containing the MYBPC3 gene and the neighboring DNA sequences to capture 100% of haplotype variance in all SNPs with minor allele frequencies ≥ 5%. We also analyzed associations of these tagging SNPs and haplotypes with DHF and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure of the MYBPC3 gene. RESULTS: In a single locus analysis, SNP rs2290149 was associated with DHF (allele-specific p = 0.004; permuted p = 0.031). The SNP with a minor allele frequency of 9.4%, had an odds ratio 2.14 (95% CI 1.25-3.66; p = 0.004) for the additive model and 2.06 for the autosomal dominant model (GG+GA : AA, 95% CI 1.17-3.63; p = 0.013), corresponding to a population attributable risk fraction of 12.02%. The haplotypes in a LD block of rs2290149 (C-C-G-C) was also significantly associated with DHF (odds ratio 2.10 (1.53-2.89); permuted p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: We identified a SNP (rs2290149) among the tagging SNP set that was significantly associated with early DHF in a Chinese population