METODOLOGIA INOVADORA PARA MONITORIZAÇÃO DA EROSÃO COSTEIRA

O desenvolvimento de metodologias de monitorização inovadoras, aplicáveis a escalas espaciais da ordem das dezenas de quilómetros, que se caracterizem pela sua eficiência e precisão, a custos relativamente baixos, e que permitam: (i) quantificar volumes sedimentares, (ii) determinar valores de recuo de linha de costa, (iii) avaliar a morfologia da praia sub-aérea e (iv) determinar a granulometria de sedimentos, responde às actuais necessidades de quantificação das variáveis físicas em praias arenosas . No âmbito do projecto INSHORE (INtegrated System for High Operational REsolution in Shore Monitoring), foi desenvolvido um sistema de monitorização morfológica da praia emersa. Este sistema visa a monitorização morfológica da praia sub-aérea com o objectivo de gerar modelos digitais de elevação (DEM) em sectores litorais com dezenas de quilómetros. Neste mesmo projecto foi também desenvolvido um sistema de análise textural semi-automático, usando técnicas de processamento de imagem, consistindo no desenvolvimento de um algoritmo que permite a determinação de parâmetros granulométricos a partir de imagens obtidas por uma câmara fotográfica digital

Ruptura traumática do diafragma no politraumatizado grave

Trabalho final de mestrado integrado em Medicina área científica de Medicina Intensiva apresentado à Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de CoimbraEste trabalho tem como objectivo a revisão de artigos de publicações recentes sobre ruptura traumáticas do diafragma no politraumatizado grave que engloba uma revisão anatómica sobre a estrutura em questão, uma breve apreciação histórica das primeiras descrições e seriações referentes ao tema mas também aborda as suas principais características, localização anatómica, causas e os mecanismos fisiopatológicos subjacentes. Sendo uma situação cada vez menos comum mas não rara, este tipo de traumatismo abdominal tem maior incidência no sexo masculino na quarta década de vida e uma distribuição muitas vezes variável geograficamente. O diagnóstico imagiológico é difícil e, em alguns casos inconclusivo, não só pelas dificuldades técnicas existentes numa situação traumática aguda, como pelas características morfológicas do próprio órgão, mas também porque esta lesão surge com muita frequência em concomitância com outras mais evidentes, de maior ou igual gravidade clínica, que são também elas indicadores de severa morbi-mortalidade mimetizando maior atenção. Assim sendo, apesar da evolução das técnicas imagiológicas hoje conhecidas e utilizadas, o diagnóstico de ruptura traumática do diafragma é feito na maioria das situações intra-operatoriamente. A terapêutica é exclusivamente cirúrgica com uma percentagem de complicações centradas predominantemente no sistema respiratório. Tanto um diagnóstico atempado como um tratamento rápida e adequadamente instituído são fundamentais para o sucesso terapêutico, evitando temíveis complicações tardias como são as herniações de órgãos intra-abdominais para o compartimento torácico através da descontinuidade muscular. As herniações viscerais para além de provocarem fenómenos compressivos directos podem sofrer obstrução, isquémia e ruptura com consequente morbilidade. Este trabalho, pretende alertar para esta problemática fazendo também um levantamento retrospectiva de casos já exposto na literatura de Hérnias Diafragmáticas Traumáticas em doentes internados no Serviço de Medicina Intensiva dos Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra (SMI-HUC) de 1990 a 2009.Abstract: The purpose of this work is to review article from recent publications about traumatic ruptures of diaphragm in severe trauma patients. We will present the anatomical structures involved, a brief appreciation of the first descriptions and series about this theme as well as its main characteristics, anatomical location, causes and pathophysiology. The frequency of this type of injures has diminished but it is still fairly common, it has a greater incidence on males in the fourth decade of life and a variable regional distribution. Imaging methods present some limitations in this diagnostic being in some cases inconclusive, not only because of the technical difficulty presented by an acute traumatic situation as by the morphological characteristics of the organ in question, in many cases other more evident and equally severe injuries monopolize attention. Thus in spite of technical evolution in imaging methods the diagnostic of traumatic ruptures of diaphragm is still achieved during surgery. Surgery is still the only therapeutic procedure and most of its complications occur in the respiratory system. Early diagnostic and rapid treatment is crucial for therapeutic success avoiding future complications like abdominal organs herniations to the thoracic cavity via muscle discontinuity. These herniations can cause direct compressive phenomena as well as obstructions, ischaemia or organs rupture. This paper intends to alert physicians to the existence of this pathology and at the same time present a retrospective series of cases about patients admitted in the Intensive Medicine ward of the Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra from 1990 to 2009

Memória prospectiva em crianças : análise do efeito da saliência da pista

Dissertação de mestrado em Psicologia (área de especialização em Ciências Cognitivas)A Memória Prospectiva é definida como a capacidade de recordar uma acção que se pretende realizar no futuro (intenção). São vários os factores que afectam este tipo de memória, nomeadamente os atributos das pistas de memória prospectiva ou as características da actividade decorrente. Neste sentido, conduzimos dois estudos, com tarefas de memória prospectiva baseadas em acontecimentos, com o objectivo de analisar o efeito da saliência da pista no desempenho da memória prospectiva de crianças com 8 anos de idade, durante a realização de uma actividade muito exigente do ponto de vista atencional (prova de interferência “palavra-cor” do teste de Stroop). Os resultados do primeiro estudo, realizado com um design experimental inter-sujeito, revelaram que, tal como nos estudos com adultos, pistas mais salientes potenciam o desempenho da memória prospectiva das crianças. Ou seja, as crianças da condição “pista muito saliente” foram capazes de realizar um maior número de intenções comparativamente às crianças da condição “pista pouco saliente”. No segundo estudo, com manipulação intra-sujeito da variável saliência da pista, as pistas mais salientes também conduziram a um melhor desempenho da memória prospectiva, isto é, todas as crianças identificaram a totalidade das pistas muito salientes, mas nem todas identificaram a totalidade das pistas pouco salientes. A ausência de custos atencionais na actividade decorrente, em ambos os estudos, sugere que as pistas foram recuperadas de forma automática, o que apoia a teoria da recuperação espontânea da memória prospectiva.Prospective Memory has been defined by many authors as the ability of a person to recall and perform an intended action in future (intention). Multiple factors influence this type of memory, such as attributes of prospective memory cues and ongoing activity characteristics. In this study we conducted two experiments, concerning event-based prospective memory, in order to analyse the cue salience effect in 8 years-old children’s prospective memory performance, during a rather difficult attentional ongoing task (third task of Stroop Test). Results from the first experiment, with an inter-subject experimental design, revealed that, as well as with adults, more salient cues increase children’s performance in prospective memory tasks. In other words, children assigned to condition “high salient cues” performed a larger number of intentions in comparison with children assigned to condition “low salient cues”. Second experiment, with an intrasubject design, consolidates first experiment results. In fact, children supported by high salient cues are more successful performing prospective memory tasks than children supported by low salient cues. In this experiment all children were able to recall the totality of the high salient cues, but only some children recalled the total number of low salient cues. The lack of attentional costs in ongoing activity (in terms of accuracy and length of time) verified in both experiments suggests that prospective memory cues were automatically recalled, and this fact supports the theory of spontaneous recovery of prospective memory

Morphodynamics of sandy embayed beaches from the Southwest Portugal rocky coast.

This study compares five embayed sandy beaches (São Torpes, Furnas, Amoreira, Monte Clérigo and Arrifana) from the southwest Portugal rocky coast, between Sines and São Vicente capes. In order to analyze morphodynamics of these beaches were studied the volumetric active sediment changes, wave climate characteristics and propagation effects to nearshore for a period of two years. Major volumetric changes were largely associated with storm effects that caused berm and foredune retreat in the Furnas and Amoreira beaches. Obtained estimations of dimensionless fall velocity of São Torpes, Furnas, Amoreira and Arrifana beaches are characteristic of an intermediate morphodynamic stage with low tide terrace (ridge and runnel system), while Monte Clérigo beach is dissipative. The wave breaking height and beach configuration is responsible for different degrees of exposure to the dominant NW wave direction. The wave breaking height reduction is differently influenced by the wave diffraction, which is insignificant in the Amoreira and Monte Clérigo beaches. Comparison between real beach planform and predicted equilibrium configurations for these beaches suggests that the Arrifana beach represents a perfect example of a fully developed parabolic bay shape while, the other four beaches are not represented by any theoretical curve approach. This study shows that studied beaches morphdynamic behaviour is function of a complex equilibrium between the subaerial beach configuration, the ridge and runnel system, the longshore sedimentary distribution, the degree of exposure to the dominant NW wave direction and the storm incidence

DEVELOPMENT OF LOW COST AND HIGH PRECISION PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS FOR MORPHOLOGICAL AND SEDIMENTARY DATA ACQUISITION IN SANDY SHORES

In the scope of the INSHORE project (INtegrated System for High Operational REsolution in Shore Monitorisation), a low cost and high efficiency monitoring system is under development, being adequate for sandy shore surveying (from the foreshore to backshore), which integrates two prototype systems for morphological and sedimentary data survey. The first prototype system is a high resolution GPS based system incorporated on a four-wheel motor quad. This system allows the morphological survey of sandy beaches stretches with tens of kilometres in just a few hours, resulting on the production of 3D digital elevation models and respective characterisation of the main morphological features. The second prototype system is a digital image system for an automatic sand textural analysis, using image processing techniques. This system, when integrated with the former, allows a geo-referenced and real-time grain size textural analysis of a great number of samples along the sector under study

Between hard covers and the ‘cloud’. Is a canon to be found?

Participação no seminário Feminist Scholars Digital Workshop, promovido por Humanities, Arts, Science, and Techonology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC): http://www.hastac.org

Between hard covers and the “cloud”: Is a canon to be found?

The essay sums up the results also of a query, once it refers to a work in progress, developed over two years, in the scope of the World Cultures in English. Digital Humanities, Libraries, Schools, Social Development research project, of ULICES. Although the emerging field of Digital Humanities seems to be mostly dedicated to the possibilities of analysing big data located in the “cloud”, for producing knowledge from that standing point and the analysis of those data, I have wondered in a different direction, even though still taking advantage from the growing field that is offered to Victorianists by digital access and databases. My starting point was the University of Lisbon School of Arts and Humanities Library and the critical issue the process of canon formation. It is unquestionable that this process is closely connected with libraries, in the sense that these are sites where choices are made resulting from policies of books acquisition and donation acceptance, and where librarians feel the pressure of space management. The current research project I am involved in aims at inquiring if one can define a University of Lisbon School of Arts and Humanities Library’s canon, concerning the collections in English, within the framework of British Victorian women writers. The research process included the access to the online and manual catalogues, and the Library’s deposit fund, the so-called “Ancient Book”. At this stage, the Digital Humanities research tools proved to be useful. It was fair to ask if, in a contemporary library, print is the sole content to be approached, when a vast digital content is available to the reader. Growing access to digital databases, e-books, audio-books and academic journals from the Library, or, for that matter, accessed at a distance, has to be taken into account, as well as its inclusion in nets of knowledge created to connect similar institutions, once they expand the scope of the information at reader’s community disposal, challenging the traditional concept of literary canon. On a second level, my essay aims at inquiring if Digital Humanities will reveal researchers a different Victorian Era women writing than the one we have known till now. Although an unstable environment, the essay stresses the fact that digital sources replicate the paper-based canon, frustrating expectations of researchers that they might broaden it.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Equilibrium configuration of sandy embayed beaches from the

The planform of five embayed sandy beaches (São Torpes, Furnas, Amoreira, Monte Clérigo and Arrifana), from the Southwest Portuguese rocky coast were compared to theoretical equilibrium curves (logarithmic spiral and parabolic). The beach planform configurations were defined based on aerial photography and the 2 m (MSL) contour extracted from DGPS field surveys (Furnas and Amoreira beaches). In order to analyse beaches morphodynamic, the volumetric active sediment changes, wave climate characteristics and wave propagation effects to nearshore were characterized. The wave breaking height and beach configuration is responsible for different degrees of exposure to the dominant NW wave direction. Major volumetric changes were largely associated with storm incidence. Comparison between real beach planform and predicted static equilibrium configurations suggests that the Arrifana beach represents a perfect example of a fully developed parabolic bay shape while, the other four beaches are not represented by any theoretical curve approach. In fact, the 2 m (MSL) contour at the Amoreira beach describes a convex beach planform tendency. The effect of the wave direction over the diffraction point was tested but the results points to a low diffraction effect. The Furnas beach revealed a high width variation at the northern extreme related with a more energetic wave climate, dominant from West, with lower diffraction. This study shows that the studied beaches presents a complex dynamic equilibrium that is a function of the subaerial beach configuration, the intertidal bar system variation, the degree of exposure to the dominant NW wave direction and the storm incidence