El conocimiento de las poblaciones del pasado a través de los restos óseos: estudio de los restos óseos humanos exhumados en la iglesia de San Juan Bautista, Plaza de Ramales (Madrid)

Proyecto fin de carrera en Biología Evolutiva y Biodiversida

Primera aproximación a las características demográficas del cementerio hispanomusulmán de San Nicolás. Ávila (S. XII-XVI)

Proyecto fin de máster en "Antropología física: evolución y biodiversidad humanas

Bovine mastitis due to coagulase-negative staphylococci and the role of minor pathogens on mastitis

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Veterinárias. Especialidade de Sanidade AnimalBovine mastitis is the most common disease of dairy cows. To implement efficient control measures, it is generally necessary to diagnose the relevant aetiologic agents. Coagulasenegative staphylococci (CNS) and Corynebacterium spp. are considered minor mastitis pathogens because of the mild impact they have on udder health. Despite that, they are the most common agents isolated from milk samples in several large scale surveys worldwide. The objectives of this study were to evaluate if there were differences in pathogenicity between individual CNS species, to evaluate if alternative sampling or diagnostic techniques could more accurately determine in which cases the aforementioned minor pathogens were responsible for mastitis, and to determine if treatment of CNS infected quarters was a costeffective control measure. We followed 111 intramammary infections due to CNS for up to 48 weeks in four commercial dairy farms. Duration of infection had a mean of 188 days and was not significantly different between CNS species; geometric mean quarter somatic cell count (SCC) overall was 132,000 cells/ml and was also not significantly different between CNS species. There were differences in diversity between CNS species, with Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus simulans showing less diversity than Staphylococcus haemolyticus, the epidemiological significance of which is debated. Freezing milk samples overnight at -20ºC did not increase detection of intramammary bacteria in milk samples. Use of a real-time PCR-based test allowed for detection of udder pathogens beyond the ones identified using conventional bacteriology in milk samples with a high SCC that were culture negative or that yielded CNS or Corynebacterium bovis shown by conventional bacteriology. Single quarter milk samples were collected in duplicate from 132 dairy cows in a commercial dairy farm, with the standard technique and by use of a cannula surpassing the teat canal. There was a significant difference between the two sampling techniques for recovery of Corynebacterium spp. and for culture-negative samples. The observed difference could not be attributed to a particular sampling order and no significant change was observed in quarter SCC between the sampling day and seven days later, indicating iatrogenic IMI following use of the alternative technique was not an issue. Use of a deterministic economic model allowed to determine that in most situations lactational treatment of subclinical mastitis due to CNS would result in a net financial loss, on average of €38.74 per treated quarter. Taken together, these results indicate that CNS have a low impact in terms of udder health, with little differences between individual species. Treating CNS subclinical mastitis during the lactation is not cost-efficient and should therefore not be advised. Using a RTPCR and sampling with a teat cannula might improve diagnosis of mastitis etiology.RESUMO: MASTITE BOVINA POR STAPHYLOCOCCI COAGULASE-NEGATIVOS E O PAPEL DE AGENTES PATOGÉNICOS MENORES NA MASTITE - A mastite bovina é a doença mais comum das vacas leiteiras. Para implementar medidas de controlo eficientes, é geralmente necessário identificar os agentes etiológicos relevantes. Os staphylococci coagulase-negativos (SCN) e Corynebacterium spp. são considerados agentes patogénicos menores porque têm um impacto ligeiro na saúde do úbere. Apesar disso, são os agentes mais frequentemente isolados a partir de amostras de leite em vários estudos de larga escala, em diversos pontos do mundo. Os objectivos deste estudo foram avaliar se havia diferenças em termos de patogenicidade entre espécies individuais de SCN, avaliar se um método de colheita e de diagnóstico alternativos podiam determinar mais precisamente em que casos os agentes mencionados acima eram responsáveis por mastite, e determinar se o tratamento antimicrobiano durante a lactação de quartos infectados com SCN era uma medida de controlo eficiente em termos de custos. Acompanhámos 111 infecções intramamárias por SCN durante até 48 semanas em quatro explorações leiteiras comerciais. A duração média de infecção foi de 188 dias e não foi significativamente diferente entre espécies de SCN; a média geométrica de contagens de células somáticas (CCS) global foi de 132.000 células/ml de leite e também não foi significativamente diferente entre espécies de SCN. Houve diferenças na diversidade entre espécies de SCN, tendo Staphylococcus epidermidis e Staphylococcus simulans mostrando menor diversidade do que Staphylococcus haemolyticus, sendo discutida o possível significado epidemiológico destas observações. A congelação de amostras de leite durante a noite a -20ºC não permitiu o aumento da detecção de bactérias em amostras de infecções intramamárias. A utilização de um PCR em tempo real permitiu a detecção de agentes patogénicos mamários para além dos identificados após utilização de técnicas bacteriológicas convencionais em amostras de leite com CCS elevadas que se mostraram negativas após cultura ou que levaram ao isolamento de SCN ou Corynebacterium bovis. Foram colhidas amostras de leite de quartos individuais em duplicado de 132 vacas leiteiras numa vacaria comercial, com a técnica convencional e com a utilização de uma cânula permitindo ultrapassar o canal do teto. Observou-se uma diferença significativa entre as duas técnicas de colheita para a recolha de Corynebacterium spp. e para amostras sem crescimento após cultura. A diferença observada não era atribuível a uma ordem de colheita particular e não foram observadas alterações significativas na CCS dos quartos entre o dia de colheita e sete dias mais tarde, indicando que a infecção intramamária iatrogénica após a utilização da técnica alternativa não constituiu um problema. A utilização de um modelo económico determinístico permitiu determinar que na maioria das situações o tratamento durante a lactação de mastites subclínicas por SCN resultaria numa perda finaceira líquida, em média de €38.74 por quarto tratado. Considerados em conjunto, estes resultados indicam que os SCN têm um impacto baixo em termos de saúde do úbere, com poucas diferenças entre espécies individuais. Tratar mastites subclínicas por SCN durante a lactação não é eficiente em termos de custos e não deve portanto ser aconselhado. A utilização de um RT-PCR e a colheita de amostras com uma cânula de tetos pode melhorar o diagnóstico das causas de mastite

Mobile applications approaches using near field communication support

Nowadays, the society is constantly evolving technologically and new products and technologies appears every day. These technologies allow the well-being of societies and their populations. Mobile gadgets evolution, mainly the smartphones, has always been at the forefront, everyday new devices appear and with them, more recent technologies. These technologies provide a better quality of life of everybody who uses them. People need to have at their disposal a whole array of new features that make their life increasingly more easily. The use of gadgets to simplify the day-to-day is growing and for this people use all disposal types of devices, such as computers, laptops, file servers, smartphones, tablets, and among of others. With the need to use all these devices a problem appears, the data synchronization and a way to simplify the usage of smartphones. What is the advantage of having so much technology available if we need to concern about the interoperability between all devices? There are some solutions to overcome these problems, but most often the advantage brought by these technologies has associated some setup configurations and time is money. Near field communication (NFC) appeared in 2004 but only now has gained the market dominance and visibility, everybody wants to have a NFC based solution, like Google, Apple, Microsoft and other IT giants. NFC is the best solution to overcome some problems like, file synchronization, content sharing, pairing devices, and launch applications without user interaction. NFC arises as a technology that was forgotten, but it has everything to win in every global solutions and markets. In this dissertation two based solutions are presented, an application to transfer money using NFC and an application launcher. Both solutions are an innovation in market because there are nothing like these. A prototype of each application was build and tested. NFC Launcher is already in Android Market. NFC Launcher and Credit Transfer were built, evaluated and are ready for use

Closing the Gap Between Designers and Developers in a Low-Code Ecosystem

Digital systems play an important role in the strategy of companies nowadays as they are crucial to achieve their business goals as well as gain a competitive advantage. This is particularly true for systems designed for the end-users market. Not only has the number of such systems been growing steadily but the requirements and expectations of users regarding usability and performance have also increased. Developing software systems is a complex process that comprises several stages and involves multiple professionals responsible for different tasks. Two stages of the process are the design and implementation of User Interfaces. UX and UI designers produce artifacts such as mockups and prototypes using design tools describing what should be the systems behavior, interactivity and look and feel. Next, Front-end and Back-end developers implement the system according to the specifications defined by designers. Designers and developers use different methodologies, languages, and tools. This introduces a communication gap between both groups, and hence collaboration between them is not always smooth. This ends up causing less efficient processes, rework and loss of information. Developers sometimes overlook the importance of User Experience and Front-end De velopment. The corresponding project stages suffer when collaboration between groups is not optimal. Problems are particularly striking during the transition from design arti facts to front-end code. The procedures for doing this are often manual, very error-prone, and time-consuming for developers that end-up completely re-doing the designers’ work in the target web technology. The aim of this dissertation is to improve the efficiency of collaboration between de signers and front-end developers in the OutSystems ecosystem. This was carried out by developing a tool that transforms UX/UI design artefacts into low-code web-technology using model transformation and meta-modelling techniques. The approach has been evaluated in practice by a team of professional designers and front-end developers. Re sults show savings between 20 and 75% according to the project complexity in the effort invested by development teams in the above mentioned process.Os sistemas digitais têm um papel muito importante hoje em dia na estratégia das empresas, uma vez que as ajudam a atingir os seus objetivos de negócios assim como a ganhar vantagem competitiva face às demais. Isto é particularmente verdade para os sistemas destinados ao mercado dos utilizadores finais. Não só aumentou significativamente o número de tais sistemas como aumentaram também os requisitos e expectativas dos seus utilizadores. O desenvolvimento de sistemas de software é um processo complexo que envolve um número alargado de profissionais com diferentes perfis. Duas das fases são o design de interfaces e a sua implementação. Os UI e UX designers produzem um conjunto de ficheiros utilizando ferramentas de design descrevendo o comportamento, interação e aparência do sistema. Os Front-end e Back-end developers implementam as funcionalidades do sistema com base nas especificações dos designers. Designers e developers trabalham utilizando diferentes metodologias, linguagens e ferramentas. Isto introduz uma lacuna entre os grupos e dificulta a sua colaboração, originando processos menos eficientes, trabalho refeito e perda de informação. Os engenheiros de software por vezes negligenciam disciplinas tais como a Experi ência do Utilizador e o Front-end. Estas fases dos projetos são prejudicadas quando a colaboração entre os grupos não é ótima. Os problemas são particularmente evidentes durante a transição entre design e Front-end. Os procedimentos são manuais, altamente propensos a erros e demorados para os developers, que acabam por refazer o trabalho dos designers na tecnologia web desejada. O objetivo desta dissertação é melhorar a eficiência da colaboração entre designers e front-end developers no ecossistema OutSystems. Isto foi levado a cabo desenvolvendo uma ferramenta capaz de transformar artefactos de UX/UI em low-code utilizando transformações de modelos e técnicas de meta-modeling. A abordagem foi avaliada em prática por uma equipa profissional de designers e front-end developers. Os resultados obtidos mostram poupanças entre os 20 e os 75% de acordo com a complexidade do projeto no esforço investido pelas equipas de desenvolvimento no processo mencionado acima

Bimodal milk flow and overmilking in dairy cattle : risk factors and consequences

Research Areas: Agriculture ; Veterinary SciencesTo maximise the return on capital invested in the milking parlour, the largest number of cows should be milked gently and completely in the shortest possible time. Bimodal milk flow and overmilking negatively influence the efficiency of the milk removal process and teat health. This observational study had the objective of investigating the prevalence of bimodal milk flow and overmilking, determining which individual and farm-related variables are associated with these occurrences, and determining the association of overmilking and bimodal milk flow with milk yield and with short- and long-term teat changes. Twenty-one farms were visited once during the study period, wherein the milking routine was timed, the teat condition was assessed, and dynamic evaluation of the milking vacuum was performed. A total of 606 vacuum graphic records were obtained, with an average of 29 ± 3 records per farm, in order to indirectly evaluate the milk flow and thus determine the occurrence of bimodal milking and overmilking time. The average percentage of bimodality per farm was 41.7%. The median overmilking time was 59 seconds, and on average, 78.3% of the cows in a herd were overmilked longer than 30 seconds. An association was found at cow level between the occurrence of bimodal milk flow and days in milk, the total stimulation time, parity, and the preparation lag time. The increase in the mean total stimulation time and the number of passes during preparation were associated with a decrease in the proportion of bimodality in the herd. Parity, reattachment of the milking unit and milking in manual mode were associated with an increase in overmilking time of an individual cow. The presence of a clogged air bleed hole in the claw and the reduction of the cluster removal milk flow threshold were associated with an increase in the herd’s median overmilking time. The average milk flow decreased with the increase in overmilking time and with the occurrence of bimodal milk flow. An association was also found between the occurrence of bimodal milk flow and decreased milk yield. A mean of 78.4% of cows per farm had shortterm teat changes in at least one teat, and 33.6% of evaluated cows per farm displayed at least one teat with hyperkeratosis. These results emphasise the association of bimodality and overmilking on milking efficiency and reinforce the importance of the milkers’ actions and the functioning of the milking parlour for its preventioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Deterministic model to evaluate the impact of lactational treatment of subclinical mastitis due to coagulase-negative staphylococci

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are the most frequently isolated bacteria from milk samples in several studies worldwide. Despite their relative frequency, specific measures aiming at their control are not well established. One possible measure to include in a control programme is lactational antimicrobial treatment. The decision to perform such treatment, as well as other actions on farm, should be based on the likelihood of financial return. A deterministic model was used to evaluate whether performing an antimicrobial treatment during the lactation for quarters infected with CNS was financially justifiable. Input variables for the impact of CNS on udder health were based on a previous study by the same authors and on available literature on the subject. Prices included in the model were based on 2009/2010 conditions in Portugal. The average result per antimicrobial treated quarter was a net loss of (sic)38.74. Performing a sensitivity analysis to evaluate how systematic variation of the input variables of the model would lead to outcome changes showed that variation in input variables nearly always led to a negative outcome, with the greatest variation in losses observed for variation in the length of treatment and milk withdrawal period (-(sic)46.26 to -(sic)28.49). The situations in which a net benefit was to be expected included the bulk tank somatic cell count decreasing to a level corresponding to a premium payment or to penalties being avoided, and the prevention of transmission of CNS in the milking parlour when the possibility of transmission was at its highest level. For most situations, lactational treatment of CNS subclinical mastitis was not financially justifiable

Neonatal Diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome

A síndrome de Prader-Willi tem uma prevalência aproximada de 1:25000 nascimentos. No período neonatal há hipotonia severa, atraso de crescimento e dificuldade alimentar que persistem durante o primeiro ano de vida. O quadro clínico inicial contrasta com a bulimia que se evidencia mais tarde e que, não controlada, pode conduzir à obesidade mórbida. Descrevem-se as características clínicas, o diagnóstico genético e os cuidados específicos a ter na promoção da saúde a propósito de cinco crianças com síndrome de Prader Willi, cujo diagnóstico foi feito no período neonatal

The port, a point of entry : the design of a new cruise liner terminal at the point, for Durban.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.This research examines the complex factors that influence the design of a new cruise liner terminal for Durban. Secondary and primary data collection methods will be used in the research. Secondary data collection forms the majority of the information gathered. This method will focus on precedent and case studies from which conclusions will be drawn and a design brief for the cruise terminal derived. Cruise liners typically spend periods of less than a week in port, during which time passengers will visit local tourist attractions. Durban's cruise season lasts from mid-November till mid-April. The local cruise industry has seen a steady increase in passenger numbers over the years. This has seen the MSC Melody cruise ship being procured to meet the demands of the industry. As a consequence of this increase the current cruise liner terminal, the N-Shed, has been placed under increasing pressure to provide a world class facility and service experience, expectations which it is ill equipped to deliver. Through this study key aspects, specific to the cruise liner terminal design, are investigated. These include passenger movement optimisation, response to local conditions, form development, waterfront regeneration and the concept of the terminal as a gateway to the city of Durban. In developing the architecture of the cruise terminal, the understanding of these factors is vital if the designer is to make a meaningful contribution to society though his building . With the cruise liner terminal being a unique building typology, in the context of Durban, an opportunity arises to reconnect the city with its harbour edge

Sickle cell disease

Female patient with past medical history of anaemia associated with multiple painful crises, characterized by severe skeletal pain and fever