Gades and the Mediterranean: a Process of Integration

The impetus for this paper is to present possible contributions of the Network Theory approach to the analysis of the Roman presence in Turdetania by the end of the 1st millennium BC. Firstly, we discuss how some written sources, such as Strabo’s Geography, describe this region and how the countryside and coastal areas are mentioned. Secondly, we present how contemporary historiography makes use of Network Theory to investigate numerous issues of Ancient History. Finally, we point out a proposal for Social Network Analysis (SNA) to questions regarding Turdetania before and after Roman occupation

Contesting the reservoir : Guarani-Mbya criticisms of zoonosis, race, and dirt in the Jaraguá indigenous land, Brazil

Research leading to this article was funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP [Grant number 19/03297-0] and by the Wellcome Trust [Grant number 223327/Z/21/Z].In Brazil, epidemiological understandings of zoonosis have historically articulated with race and class hierarchies, placing so-called non-modern bodies at the core of etiological theories and sanitary interventions. I describe how the Guarani-Mbya people living in the Jaraguá Indigenous Land in the city of São Paulo question the racialized narratives that human-rat contact is a major driver of infections such as leptospirosis. By analyzing Indigenous concepts of body, disease, and dirt, I suggest that the Guarani-Mbya disease ontology reflects a criticism of urbanization, in that it is considered to have pathogenic effects on the lives of Indigenous peoples and rats.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

LGMD based neural network for automatic collision detection

Real-time collision detection in dynamic scenarios is a hard task if the algorithms used are based on conventional techniques of computer vision, since these are computationally complex and, consequently, time-consuming. On the other hand, bio-inspired visual sensors are suitable candidates for mobile robot navigation in unknown environments, due to their computational simplicity. The Lobula Giant Movement Detector (LGMD) neuron, located in the locust optic lobe, responds selectively to approaching objects. This neuron has been used to develop bio-inspired neural networks for collision avoidance. In this work, we propose a new LGMD model based on two previous models, in order to improve over them by incorporating other algorithms. To assess the real-time properties of the proposed model, it was applied to a real robot. Results shown that the LGMD neuron model can robustly support collision avoidance in complex visual scenarios.(undefined

Functional and metabolic dichotomy of murine γδ T cell subsets in cancer immunity

© 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Immunology published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.γδ T cells can display a plethora of immune functions, but recent studies have highlighted their importance, in multiple disease models, as sources of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-17A (IL-17), and IFN-γ. These are produced by distinct murine effector γδ T cell subsets that diverge during thymic γδ T cell development. Among the multiple roles these subsets play in peripheral tissues, a striking dichotomy has emerged at tumor sites: whereas IFN-γ+ γδ T cells inhibit tumor cell growth, IL-17+ γδ T cells promote tumor progression and metastasis formation. In this review, we discuss the main lines of evidence, mostly from preclinical studies in mouse models, for this functional dichotomy in cancer immunity. We further highlight very recent advances in our understanding how metabolic sources and pathways can impact on the balance between IFN-γ+ and IL-17+ γδ T cells in the tumor microenvironment, which opens a new exciting avenue to explore toward the application of γδ T cells in cancer immunotherapy.Our work is supported by “la Caixa” Foundation’s Health Research Program, project HR18-00069; PAC-PRECISE LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-016394, co-funded by FEDER (POR Lisboa 2020) and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal); and N.L. received an EMBO long term fellowship (ALTF 752–2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automated acoustic identification of bat species

Automated acoustic identification of bat species Recent improvements in bat survey methods in Portugal, especially automatic recording stations, have led to an analysis problem due to the amount of data obtained. In this thesis we propose to develop an automated analysis and classification method for bat echolocation calls by developing a computer program based on statistical models and using a reference database of bat calls recorded in Portugal to quickly analyze and classify large amounts of recordings. We recorded 2968 calls from 748 bats of 20 (of the 25) bat species known in mainland Portugal and coded a program in R that automatically detects bat calls in a recording, isolates the calls from the background noise and measures 19 parameters from each call. A two stage hierarchical classification bat call scheme was implemented based on logistic regression models and ensembles of artificial neural networks. In the first stage calls were classified in six major groups with individual correct classification rates that varied between 93% and 100%. In the second stage calls were classified in species or groups of species with classification rates that varied between 50% and 100%; ### Identificação acústica automatizada de espécies de morcegos Desenvolvimentos recentes nas metodologias de monitorização de morcegos utilizadas em Portugal, especialmente estações de gravação automáticas, conduziram a um problema de análise devido à quantidade de dados obtida. Nesta tese propomos desenvolver um método automatizado de análise e classificação de pulsos de ecolocalização de morcegos através do desenvolvimento de um programa de computador baseado em modelos estatísticos e utilizando uma base de dados de pulsos de morcegos gravados em Portugal continental para rapidamente analisar e classificar grandes quantidades de gravações. Gravámos 2968 pulsos de 748 morcegos de 20 (das 25) espécies de morcegos conhecidas em Portugal continental e codificámos em R um programa para automaticamente detectar pulsos de morcego numa gravação, isolar os pulsos do ruído de fundo e medir 19 parâmetros de cada pulso. Foi implementado um esquema hierárquico de classificação de pulsos em duas etapas baseado em modelos de regressão logística e conjuntos de redes neuronais artificiais. Numa primeira etapa os pulsos foram classificados em seis grupos com taxas individuais de classificações correctas que variaram entre 93% e 100%. Numa segunda fase os pulsos foram classificados em espécies ou grupos de espécies com taxas de classificação correctas que variaram entre 50% e 100%

Battle of the γδ T cell subsets in the gut

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).In a study in Science, Reis et al. describe a temporal segregation of γδ T cell activities in colorectal cancer (CRC). Initially tumor surveillance is orchestrated by interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-producing and cytotoxic γδ T cell subsets, but once the tumor thrives, it becomes infiltrated by interleukin (IL)-17+ γδ T cell subsets that promote its growth.The authors acknowledge funding from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Portugal): PTDC/MED- ONC/6829/2020 (to B.S-S.) and 2021.01953. CEECIND contract (to S.M.).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A DIMENSÃO INTERVENTIVA E A FORMAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL DO ASSISTENTE SOCIAL: CONSIDERAÇÕES SOBRE OS FUNDAMENTOS PROFISSIONAIS

Resumo A preocupação central do artigo é a dimensão interventiva da profissão de assistente social e a apropriação de diferentes saberes pelos profissionais. Argumenta-se que os profissionais tendem a recorrer em seus campos sócio-ocupacionais a diferentes saberes científicos, ao senso comum profissional ou à experiências de vida no intento de qualificarem suas intervenções. Argumenta-se que hodiernamente no âmbito da formação e da produção de conhecimento em Serviço Social os aspectos macrossociais colocados no âmbito da economia política são valorizados em detrimento das dimensões microssociais dos objetos da intervenção e do exercício profissional do assistente social, tendo a profissão uma carência de conhecimentos que dêem conta da complexidade da intervenção e do tempo miúdo da profissão. Para além de representarem dificuldades dos profissionais na assimilação das perspectivas teóricas, a situação explicitada diz respeito a um elemento constitutivo (e não abarcado) do processo de formação do assistente social

Got my γδ17 T cells to keep me warm

© 2018 Nature America Inc., part of Springer Nature. All rights reservedγδ T cells accumulate with age in adipose tissue and produce the cytokine IL-17, which controls the homeostasis of regulatory T cells and adaptive thermogenesis. Thus, maintenance of core body temperature unexpectedly relies on these adipose tissue–resident γδ17 T cells.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Timed trajectory generation combined with an Extended Kalman Filter for a vision-based autonomous mobile robot

Series : Advances in intelligent systems and computing, vol. 193, ISSN 2194-5357Planning collision-free trajectories requires the combination of generation and modulation techniques. This is especially important if temporal stabilization of the generated trajectories is considered. Temporal stabilization means to conform to the planned movement time, in spite of environmental conditions or perturbations. This timing problem has not been addressed in most current robotic systems, and it is critical in several robotic tasks such as sequentially structured actions or human-robot interaction. This work focuses on generating trajectories for a mobile robot, whose goal is to reach a target within a constant time, independently of the world complexity. Trajectories are generated by nonlinear dynamical systems. Herein, we extend our previous work by including an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to estimate the target location relative to the robot. A simulated hospital environment and a Pioneer 3-AT robot are used to demonstrate the robustness and reliability of the proposed approach in cluttered, dynamic and uncontrolled scenarios. Multiple experiments confirm that the inclusion of the EKF preserves the timing properties of the overall architecture.Work supported by the Portuguese Science Foundation (grant PTDC/EEA-CRO/100655/2008), and by project FCT PEst-OE/EEI/LA0009/2011. Jorge B. Silva is supported by PhD Grant SFRH/BD/68805/2010, granted by the Portuguese Science Foundation

Developing a timed navigation architecture for hospital delivery robots

In hospitals, typical tasks of delivering goods between different locations are usually done by auxiliary staff. With the development of robotic technologies, such tasks can be performed by mobile robots releasing the staff effort to other tasks. In order to successfully complete the tasks of delivering goods inside hospitals, mobile robots should be able to generate trajectories free of collisions. In addition, including timing constraints to the generated trajectories has not been addressed in most current robotic systems, and it is critical in robotic tasks as human-robot interaction. Including timing constraints means to obey to the planned movement time, despite diversified environmental conditions or perturbations. In this paper we aim to develop a navigation architecture with timing constraints based on a mesh of nonlinear dynamical systems and feedthrough maps for wheeled mobile robots. A simulated hospital environment and a wheeled robot pioneer 3-DX are used to demonstrate the robustness and reliability of the proposed architecture in cluttered, dynamic and uncontrolled hospital scenarios