O projecto melhorar a educação de infância na Guiné-Bissau

Este artigo assume-se como uma reflexão sobre um projecto visando a melhoria da educação de infância na Guiné-Bissau, país onde não existe formação em educação de infância e onde as dificuldades são várias e continuadas. Apoiar um grupo de educadores guineenses na melhoria das suas práticas, focalizando- se em orientações curriculares e na implicação e bem-estar da criança, estimulando a reflexão e valorizando o trabalho de equipa e a cultura das comunidades servidas pelo jardim de infância, revelou-se uma tarefa desafiadora, difícil mas frutífera. Estes educadores inovaram, experienciaram sentimentos de entusiasmo e orgulho nas suas práticas, sentiram-se mais capazes. Contudo, sustentar o dinamismo criado no contexto do projecto pressupõe um ambiente capacitante e encorajador. Isso implica vontade e empenho político

Characterization of threats in IoT from an MQTT protocol-oriented dataset

[EN] Nowadays, the cybersecurity of Internet of Thing (IoT) environments is a big challenge. The analysis of network traffic and the use of automated estimators built up with machine learning techniques have been useful in detecting intrusions in traditional networks. Since the IoT networks require new and particular protocols to control the communications between the different devices involved in the networks, the knowledge acquired in the study of general networks may be unuseful some times. The goal of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, we aim to obtain a consistent dataset of the network traffic of an IoT system based on the Message Queue Telemetry Transport protocol (MQTT) and undergoing certain type of attacks. On the other hand, we want to characterize each of these attacks in terms of the minimum possible number of significant variables allowed by this protocol. Obtaining the data set has been achieved by studying the MQTT protocol in depth, while its characterization has been addressed through a hybrid (filter/wrapper) feature selection algorithm based on the idea behind the minimum-redundancy maximum-relevance (mRMR) algorithm. The dataset, together with the feature selection algorithm, carries out a characterization of the different attacks which is optimal in terms of the accuracy of the machine learning models trained on it as well as in terms of the capability of explaining their underlying nature. This confirms the consistency of the datasetSIThis work is partially supported by Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad (INCIBE), Junta de Castilla y Leon–Consejería de Educación (LE078G18, UXXI2018/000149, U-220), powered by NVIDIA GPU Grant Program and developed in Research Institute of Applied Sciences in Cybersecurity (RIASC).Junta de Castilla y Leon–Consejería de Educación (LE078G18, UXXI2018/000149, U-220

A comparative study of flavour-sensitive observables in hadronic Higgs decays

Jet production from hadronic Higgs decays at future lepton colliders will have significantly different phenomenological implications than jet production via off-shell photon and $Z$-boson decays, owing to the fact that Higgs bosons decay to both pairs of quarks and gluons. We compute observables involving flavoured jets in hadronic Higgs decays to three partons at Born level including next-to-leading order corrections in QCD (i.e up to $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_\mathrm{S}^2))$. The calculation is performed in the framework of an effective theory in which the Higgs boson couples directly to gluons and massless $b$-quarks retaining a non-vanishing Yukawa coupling. For the energy of the leading and subleading flavoured jet, the angular separation and the invariant mass of the leading $b$-$\bar{b}$ pair, we contrast the results obtained in both Higgs decay categories and using either of the infrared-safe flavoured jet algorithms flavour-$k_\mathrm{T}$ and flavour-dressing.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Melhorar a educação de infância na Guiné-Bissau

Mestrado em Activação do Desenvolvimento PsicológicoO presente estudo inscreve-se no Projecto “Melhorar a Educação de Infância na Guiné-Bissau” (com desenvolvimento previsto entre 2003 e 2007), que consubstancia o estipulado no Protocolo de Cooperação celebrado entre a Universidade de Aveiro e a Fundação Educação e Desenvolvimento da Guiné- Bissau em 2003, procurando, nesse contexto, contribuir para a melhoria das práticas e superação de lacunas identificadas no âmbito da educação de infância daquele país. Para além da insuficiente cobertura nacional do sistema educativo pré-escolar na Guiné-Bissau, também foi sinalizada a ausência de fundamentação teórica e filosófica subjacente à intervenção, bem como a de um guia orientador de suporte às práticas desenvolvidas neste sector. A esta caracterização adiciona-se a existência de uma situação precária ao nível dos equipamentos e recursos humanos e materiais, do que resultou a selecção de um conjunto de estruturas formais de educação para a faixa etária dos três aos seis anos e respectivos profissionais, como primeiros destinatários do Projecto que foi delineado, sendo estes, simultaneamente, parceiros envolvidos na sua prossecução. Nesta medida, e com integração no Projecto referido, procura apoiar-se 1) a concepção de orientações curriculares para a educação pré-escolar da Guiné- Bissau (tendo em consideração a realidade sócio-cultural guineense) e 2) a dinamização de uma acção de intervenção pedagógica que inclui a formação em exercício de profissionais de educação e a constituição e incrementação do funcionamento de uma equipa local de supervisão técnica que, no terreno, acompanhe e apoie a implementação do Projecto e avalie o seu impacte. A proposta educacional da Activação do Desenvolvimento Psicológico e o modelo Educação Experiencial, concebido e desenvolvido sob a orientação de Ferre Laevers, que aponta o bem-estar emocional e a implicação das crianças no desempenho das tarefas como indicadores de qualidade do contexto educativo em que se inserem, constituíram o enquadramento teórico do estudo que se apresenta. No contexto deste encaixe teórico foi estabelecido o confronto do trabalho efectuado com intervenções correspondentes, desenvolvidas na mesma linha ideológica e processual, designadamente com o suporte do Centro de Educação Experiencial de Leuven, Bélgica, ou no âmbito do Projecto “Desenvolvendo a Qualidade em Parcerias”, versão portuguesa adaptada do programa de avaliação da qualidade do contexto de educação de infância, desenvolvido pela professora Christine Pascal, no Reino Unido. A investigação-acção foi a linha metodológica adoptada no Projecto MEI-GB e no estudo que se apresenta, que contou com a investigadora como elemento interveniente no processo desenvolvido entre o ano lectivo de 2003/2004 e o momento actual, incluindo o que concerne ao capítulo da sua avaliação parcelar e global. A conjugação entre a intervenção efectiva (concretizada na realização de acções de formação e de criação e dinamização de um sistema de supervisão, que assegure o desenvolvimento contínuo de um processo de reflexão e avaliação desenvolvido pelos técnicos guineenses) e a reflexão que sobre ela é desencadeada, e contando como base para avaliação dos resultados, com 1) a informação acerca dos níveis de bem-estar e de implicação das crianças em situação de actividade em jardim-de-infância, obtida pelos profissionais com suporte na utilização de instrumentos adaptados do modelo educação experiencial, 2) a opinião dos elementos envolvidos no Projecto acerca do processo vivido e do seu impacte na melhoria de qualidade da intervenção educativa desenvolvida, colhida em espaços formais e/ou informais de avaliação e 3) a verificação da evolução da situação educativa, através da observação efectuada nos jardins-de-infância, permite afirmar como positiva, a acção delineada e desenvolvida na Guiné-Bissau no âmbito do Projecto MEIGB.This study is enrolled in the Project "To improve Children’s Education in Guinea-Bissau" (with development foreseen between 2003 and 2007), according to the stipulated in the Protocol of Cooperation between the University of Aveiro and the Foundation Education and Development of Guinea-Bissau in 2003, looking for, in this context, to contribute for the improvement of practices and the overcoming of gaps identified in the scope of the children’s education of that country. Besides the insufficient national coverage of the pre-primary educational system in Guinea-Bissau, one has also noticed the absence of theoretical and philosophical basis inherent to the intervention, as well as an orientation guide of support to the practices developed in this field. In addition there’s the existence of a precarious situation at the level of the equipment, human resources and material, from which resulted the selection of a set of formal structures of education for children aged between three to the six years and the respective professionals, as first addressees of the outlined Project, being these, simultaneously, partners involved in its achievement. In this measure, and with integration in the referred Project, one intends to provide support to 1) the conception of curricular orientations for the preprimary education of Guinea-Bissau (bearing in mind the socio-cultural reality of the Guinean) and 2) the dynamisation of a pedagogical intervention action including training in exercise of professionals of education and the constitution and implementation of the functioning of a technical supervision local team that, in the ground, accompanies and supports the implementation of the Project and evaluates its impact. The theoretical framework of this study comprises the educational proposal of the Activation of the Psychological Development and the Experiential Education model, conceived and developed under the orientation of Ferre Laevers, that points emotional well-being and the involvement of the children in the performance of the tasks as indicators of quality in their educational context. In the context of this theoretical dovetail the confrontation of the work developed with corresponding interventions was established and developed in the same ideological and procedural guideline, namely with the support of the Centre of Experiential Education of Leuven, Belgium, or in the scope of the Project "Developing the Quality in Partnerships", adapted Portuguese version of the program of evaluation of the quality of the context of children’s education, developed by professor Christine Pascal, in the United Kingdom. The investigation-action was the methodological guideline adopted both in the Project MEI-GB and this study, which counted on the investigator as intervening element in the process developed between the school year 2003/2004 and the present date, including on what concerns to the chapter of its partial and global evaluation. Based on the conjunction between the effective intervention (achieved in the attainment of training actions and creation and dynamisation of a supervision system, that assures the continuous development of a reflection and evaluation process developed by Guinean technicians) and the reflection it provokes, and counting as base for evaluation of the results, with 1) the information concerning the levels of well-being and involvement of the children active in the day nursery, obtained by the professionals with support in the use of instruments adapted from the experiential education model, 2) the opinion of the elements involved in the Project concerning the process experienced and its impact in the improvement of quality of the developed educational intervention, gathered in formal and/or informal spaces of evaluation and 3) the verification of the evolution of the educational situation, through the observation achieved in day nurseries, allows to affirm as positive, the action outlined and developed in the Guinea-Bissau in the scope of the Project MEI-GB

A inteligência emocional o desempenho e a satisfação laboral em funções comerciais

O objetivo central da presente investigação é a análise da relação entre a Inteligência Emocional o Desempenho no Trabalho e a Satisfação Laboral em funções comerciais. No presente estudo, utilizou-se uma amostra, não-probabilística por conveniência, de 60 participantes em funções comerciais. A avaliação da Inteligência emocional foi feita pelo EQ-I,- Emotional Quotient Inventory- (Bar-On, 1997). A Satisfação Laboral foi avaliada com recurso à versão reduzida do Satisfacción Laboral (S10/12) – (Meliá & Peiró (1998) e para avaliar o Desempenho no Trabalho recorreu-se a um critério de avaliação definido previamente pela organização onde foi conduzida a recolha de dados. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que existe uma relação positiva entre a inteligência emocional e a satisfação laboral, não tendo sido observada qualquer relação entre IE e a variável desempenho no trabalho.The central objective of this research is to examine the relationship between Emotional Intelligence on Job Performance and on Job Satisfaction in commercial functions. In the present study, we used a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 60 participants in commercial functions. The assessment of Emotional Intelligence was taken by EQ-I - Emotional Quotient-Inventory (Bar-On, 1997). The job satisfaction was assessed using the short version of Job Satisfaction (S10/12) built by Meliá and Peiro (1998) and to evaluate the Job Performance resorted to an evaluation criteria previously defined by the organization where the collection was conducted data. The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction, although it wasn’t observed any relation between IE and the variable job performance

Neuropeptide Y Enhances Progerin Clearance and Ameliorates the Senescent Phenotype of Human Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome Cells

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS, or classical progeria) is a rare genetic disorder, characterized by premature aging, and caused by a de novo point mutation (C608G) within the lamin A/C gene (LMNA), producing an abnormal lamin A protein, termed progerin. Accumulation of progerin causes nuclear abnormalities and cell cycle arrest ultimately leading to cellular senescence. Autophagy impairment is a hallmark of cellular aging, and the rescue of this proteostasis mechanism delays aging progression in HGPS cells. We have previously shown that the endogenous Neuropeptide Y (NPY) increases autophagy in hypothalamus, a brain area already identified as a central regulator of whole-body aging. We also showed that NPY mediates caloric restriction-induced autophagy. These results are in accordance with other studies suggesting that NPY may act as a caloric restriction mimetic and plays a role as a lifespan and aging regulator. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to investigate if NPY could delay HGPS premature aging phenotype. Herein, we report that NPY increases autophagic flux and progerin clearance in primary cultures of human dermal fibroblasts from HGPS patients. NPY also rescues nuclear morphology and decreases the number of dysmorphic nuclei, a hallmark of HGPS cells. In addition, NPY decreases other hallmarks of aging as DNA damage and cellular senescence. Altogether, these results show that NPY rescues several hallmarks of cellular aging in HGPS cells, suggesting that NPY can be considered a promising strategy to delay or block the premature aging of HGPS

Heart disease risk prediction using deep learning techniques with feature augmentation

[EN] Cardiovascular diseases state as one of the greatest risks of death for the general population. Late detection in heart diseases highly conditions the chances of survival for patients. Age, sex, cholesterol level, sugar level, heart rate, among other factors, are known to have an influence on life-threatening heart problems, but, due to the high amount of variables, it is often difficult for an expert to evaluate each patient taking this information into account. In this manuscript, the authors propose using deep learning methods, combined with feature augmentation techniques for evaluating whether patients are at risk of suffering cardiovascular disease. The results of the proposed methods outperform other state of the art methods by 4.4%, leading to a precision of a 90%, which presents a significant improvement, even more so when it comes to an affliction that affects a large population.SIPublicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCL

TEDNet: Twin Encoder Decoder Neural Network for 2D Camera and LiDAR Road Detection

[EN] Robust road surface estimation is required for autonomous ground vehicles to navigate safely. Despite it becoming one of the main targets for autonomous mobility researchers in recent years, it is still an open problem in which cameras and LiDAR sensors have demonstrated to be adequate to predict the position, size and shape of the road a vehicle is driving on in different environments. In this work, a novel Convolutional Neural Network model is proposed for the accurate estimation of the roadway surface. Furthermore, an ablation study has been conducted to investigate how different encoding strategies affect model performance, testing 6 slightly different neural network architectures. Our model is based on the use of a Twin Encoder-Decoder Neural Network (TEDNet) for independent camera and LiDAR feature extraction, and has been trained and evaluated on the Kitti-Road dataset. Bird’s Eye View projections of the camera and LiDAR data are used in this model to perform semantic segmentation on whether each pixel belongs to the road surface. The proposed method performs among other state-of-the-art methods and operates at the same frame-rate as the LiDAR and cameras, so it is adequate for its use in real-time applications.SIThis work is partially supported by Universidad de León, under the ”Programa Propio de Investigación de la Universidad de León 2021” grant

Determining the severity of Parkinson’s disease in patients using a multi task neural network

[EN] Parkinson’s disease is easy to diagnose when it is advanced, but it is very difficult to diagnose in its early stages. Early diagnosis is essential to be able to treat the symptoms. It impacts on daily activities and reduces the quality of life of both the patients and their families and it is also the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer in people over the age of 60. Most current studies on the prediction of Parkinson’s severity are carried out in advanced stages of the disease. In this work, the study analyzes a set of variables that can be easily extracted from voice analysis, making it a very non-intrusive technique. In this paper, a method based on different deep learning techniques is proposed with two purposes. On the one hand, to find out if a person has severe or non-severe Parkinson’s disease, and on the other hand, to determine by means of regression techniques the degree of evolution of the disease in a given patient. The UPDRS (Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale) has been used by taking into account both the motor and total labels, and the best results have been obtained using a mixed multi-layer perceptron (MLP) that classifies and regresses at the same time and the most important features of the data obtained are taken as input, using an autoencoder. A success rate of 99.15% has been achieved in the problem of predicting whether a person suffers from severe Parkinson’s disease or non-severe Parkinson’s disease. In the degree of disease involvement prediction problem case, a MSE (Mean Squared Error) of 0.15 has been obtained. Using a full deep learning pipeline for data preprocessing and classification has proven to be very promising in the field Parkinson’s outperforming the state-of-the-art proposals.SIPublicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCL