Deteção dos limites navegáveis da estrada por análise da densidade de nuvens de pontos acumulados

As part of the Atlas project, this dissertation aims to identify the navigable limits of the road by analyzing the density of accumulated point clouds, obtained through laser readings from a SICK LD-MRS sensor. This sensor, installed in front of the AtlasCar2, has the purpose of identifying obstacles at road level and from it the creation of occupation grids that delimit the navigable space of the vehicle is proposed. First, the point cloud density is converted into an occupancy density grid, normalized in each frame in relation to the maximum density. Edge detection algorithms and gradient filters are subsequently applied to the density grid, in order to detect patterns that match sudden changes in density, both positive and negative. To these grids are applied thresholds in order to remove irrelevant information. Finally, a methodology for quantitative evaluation of algorithms was also developed, using KML files to define road boundaries and, relying on the accuracy of the GPS data obtained, comparing the actual navigable space with the one obtained by the methodology for detection of road boundaries and thus evaluating the performance of the work developed. In this work, the results of the different algorithms are presented, as well as several tests taking into account the influence of grid resolution, car speed, among others. In general, the work developed meets the initially proposed objectives, being able to detect both positive and negative obstacles and being minimally robust to speed and road conditions.No âmbito do projeto Atlas, esta dissertação prevê a identificação dos limites navegáveis da estrada através da análise da densidade da acumulaçao de nuvens de pontos, obtidas através de leituras laser provenientes de um sensor SICK LD-MRS. Este sensor, instalado na frente do AtlasCar2, tem como propósito a identificação de obstáculos ao nível da estrada e a partir dos seus dados prevê-se a criação de grelhas de ocupação que delimitem o espaço navegável do veículo. Em primeiro lugar, a densidade da nuvem de pontos é transformada numa grelha de densidade normalizada em cada frame em relação à densidade máxima, à qual posteriormente são aplicados algoritmos de deteção de arestas e filtros de gradiente com o objetivo de detetar padrões que correspondam a mudanças súbitas de densidade, tanto positivas como negativas. A estas grelhas são aplicados limiares de forma a eliminar informação irrelevante. Por fim, foi desenvolvida também uma metodologia de avaliação quantitativa dos algoritmos, usando ficheiros KML para deliniar limites da estrada e, contanto com a precisão dos dados de GPS obtidos, comparar o espaço navegável real com o obtido pela metodologia de deteção de limites de estrada e assim avaliar o desempenho dos algoritmos desenvolvidos. Neste trabalho são apresentados resultados dos diferentes algoritmos, bem como diversos testes tendo em conta a influência da resolução de grelha, velocidade do carro, entre outros. O trabalho desenvovido cumpre os objetivos propostos inicialmente, sendo capaz de detetar ambos obstáculos positivos e negativos e sendo minimamente robusto a velocidade e condições de estrada.Mestrado em Engenharia Mecânic

Poesia para crianças e natureza: contributo para uma reflexão sobre a transversalidade da literatura infantil

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico.O presente relatório de Estágio foi elaborado para a conclusão do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, da Escola Superior de Educação de Castelo Branco. Apresenta as atividades desenvolvidas na Prática Supervisionada do Mestrado, em particular no 1º Ciclo, com destaque para o tema de investigação “Poesia para crianças e Natureza – contributo para uma reflexão sobre a transversalidade da literatura infantil”. Com o presente estudo pretendemos relacionar a Literatura Infantil, mais especificamente a poesia para crianças, com a temática da natureza, e a área do Estudo do Meio. Assim, tentámos promover o processo de ensino-aprendizagem utilizando como elemento transversal a poesia para crianças como forma de transmissão de conhecimento. A partir da leitura de poesia para crianças e natureza pretendemos desenvolver a construção do conhecimento dos alunos acerca de outras temáticas, como a qualidade do ambiente e do ar, os tipos de poluição e as medidas para proteger o ambiente. Do ponto de vista metodológico, esta investigação tratou-se de um estudo de caso e decorrer numa turma de dezoito alunos.Abstract: This internship report was prepared as part of the conclusion of the Master in Preschool Education and Elementary Teaching from Castelo Branco’s Superior School of Education. The activities developed in the Supervised Practice Master are presented, particularly in the 1st cycle, with emphasis on the research topic "Poetry for Children and Nature - contribution to a reflection on the mainstreaming of children's literature." With this study we intend to approach children's literature, specifically poetry for children, connected with nature, within the area of environmental studies. This way we tried to promote the process of teaching and learning using poetry for children as a means of transmitting knowledge. From the reading of poetry for children and nature we intend to develop the construction of students' knowledge about other issues, such as the quality of the environment and air, the types of pollution and measures to protect the environment. From a methodological point of view, this research consisted of a case study in progress in a class of eighteen students

Racism and identity: a critical discourse analysis of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah

This paper aims to analyze racist discourses and identity aspects in the novel Americanah (2013), written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The main objectives of this research are to identify the impacts immigration brought to the protagonist’s social and personal life and to determine how her identity construction was affected by stereotypes and social structure. The methodology used in this study was a bibliographical research. The work is divided into two sections: firstly, a literature review, explaining theories on Critical Discourse Analysis, identity and racism, developed by authors such as Beale (1970), Smit (1996), Fairclough (2009) and Feagin (2014); afterwards, a critical analysis of excerpts and dialogues extracted from the book.This paper aims to analyze racist discourses and identity aspects in the novel Americanah (2013), written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The main objectives of this research are to identify the impacts immigration brought to the protagonist’s social and personal life and to determine how her identity construction was affected by stereotypes and social structure. The methodology used in this study was a bibliographical research. The work is divided into two sections: firstly, a literature review, explaining theories on Critical Discourse Analysis, identity and racism, developed by authors such as Beale (1970), Smit (1996), Fairclough (2009) and Feagin (2014); afterwards, a critical analysis of excerpts and dialogues extracted from the book

Manifestação de sintomatologia depressiva e características personalísticas em estudantes universitários de primeiro ano da Universidade da Beira Interior

O presente estudo investigou a presença de sintomatologia depressiva e características clínico-personalísticas em estudantes que frequentam o primeiro ano do ensino superior. Participaram 254 sujeitos da Universidade da Beira Interior (123 do sexo feminino e 131 do sexo masculino), com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e 45 anos, pertencentes a cursos das áreas das Ciências Sociais e Humanas e Ciências Físicas e Exactas. Por recurso a instrumentos de auto-relato, a sintomatologia depressiva foi avaliada a partir do Inventário de Avaliação Clínica de Depressão – IACLIDE, e a Personalidade através do Inventário Multifásico de Personalidade de Minesota – MMPI-2. Os resultados obtidos sugerem uma prevalência de sintomas depressivos em 28,4% da amostra. Estudantes universitários leccionados na área das Ciências Físicas e Exactas pontuam em níveis patológicos na escala clínica Paranóia (Pa) e Esquizofrenia (Sc), com indícios de pior ajustamento, por comparação com aqueles da área das Ciências Sociais e Humanas

Elaboration and sensory evaluation of ice cream flavored cream with whey / Elaboração e avaliação sensorial de gelado aromatizado com soro de leite

Whey is a by-product of the cheese industry, and generates a high cost for its correct disposal, because it is produced in large volume by companies during cheese production. It is necessary to seek alternatives for the addition of this by-product in food, in order to nutritionally improve poorly nutritious foods. The objective of the work is to add whey in an ice cream formulation. The addition of whey to ice cream becomes an option to link these concepts and nutritionally improve a product that is widely consumed in Brazil, especially by children. Thus, three formulations were developed, the standard formulation without the addition of whey, formulation two with 25% and formulation three with 50% addition of whey, respectively. Sensory analysis was also performed to assess consumer preference. The results were positive, and formulation two with the addition of 50% whey was the one with the best acceptability. Thus, it can be stated that whey can be applied to ice cream formulations, becoming an alternative for the optimization of this by-product

Preputial Reconstruction Combined with Graft in Dogs

Background: Preputial injuries are significant in the clinical routine. Traumas, conditions, and mass excision result in extensive and full-thickness defects that lead to chronic penile exposure and consequential injuries. Severe injuries may require preputial reconstructive surgery to restore function and aesthetics. The objective is to report the use of the preputial reconstruction technique using the caudal superficial epigastric axial standard flap associated with a single-stage, full-thickness oral mucosa graft in 3 dogs where the loss of the prepuce was significant. Cases: Three dogs were admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of UFMT with preputial lesions of different etiologies. All cases were referred for preventive reconstruction using a flap in the caudal axial epigastric pattern associated with a single-stage oral mucosa graft. In the 3 reported cases, changes that compromised surgical success, such as suture dehiscence, necrosis, or infection, were not observed during hospitalization. Cutaneous stitch dehiscence, however, was observed in all 3 cases. Dog 1. A small point of dehiscence and tissue necrosis was found and treated with chemical debridement and healed by second intention, which proved to be sufficient on the 30th day. Dog 2.  A half-moon rotation flap was performed, which closed the defect. Dog 3.  A new procedure using the reporting theme technique was necessary in order to cover the cranial portion of the foreskin. The dehiscence present in dogs 2 and 3 was significant. Flap retraction was observed in all 3 cases. In dogs 1 and 3, the retraction was slight, and the exposure of a small portion of the penile glans were observed, showing no changes that required intervention. In dog 2, retraction was important, leading to partial stenosis of the preputial ostium. A larger ostium was obtained by suturing the mucosa to the edge of the wedge. Considering the possibility of adhesion formation, “captons” were made in sterile silicone tubes, and sutures were placed in the dorsal and ventral aspects to prevent adherence of the oral mucosa graft located on the inside of the new foreskin. The captons were removed on the tenth post-operative day, revealing a good opening of the preputial orifice and adequate penile exposure. Discussion: The absence of a foreskin caused by trauma or surgical excision leads to chronic penile exposure, dryness, and ulcerations. The simple covering of the skin with an axial-type flap of the caudal superficial epigastric region tends to fail since only the graft edges are sutured into the abdominal skin. In these circumstances, the subcutaneous region on the penis is exposed and comes in direct contact with urine and the penile mucosa, causing the flap skin to grow to exacerbated retraction. The transplantation of a free-lip mucosa graft allows the subcutaneous region of the transposed skin flap to create adhesions in the fenestrated regions of the lip tissue through the formation of granulation tissue buds, which is performed in a single stage. The permanence of the penis protects the lower urinary system from the occurrence of infections relative to what is normally observed in cases where partial or total penile amputation is practiced in combination with adjunctive scrotal urethrostomy. Given the observations of the 3 cases described here, the technique of pre-facial reconstruction with an axial skin flap of the caudal superficial epigastric region, combined with free-labial mucosa graft, was found to be feasible for the single-stage foreskin technique, but that paraphimosis remanagement may be necessary when cutaneous portions of the penile skin caudal to the glans are removed. Keywords: prepuce, reconstruction, oral mucosa. Título: Reconstrução prepucial com uso de enxerto combinado em cães. Descritores: prepúcio, reconstrução, mucosa oral

Halochromic properties of a 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamidrazone and its application to wool

This work was funded by European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Competitiveness Program and the National Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal (FCT) under the projects UID/CTM/00264/2021, UID/QUI/00686/2020, MEDCOR PTDC/CTM-TEX/1213/2020 and Ph.D. scholarship SFRH/BD/137668/201

Halochromic properties of a 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamidrazone and its application to wool

The application of stimuli-responsive molecules in textiles is an important field due to its potential in various areas of flexible sensing technology. In particular, pH plays an important role in nature, humans, and several processes. The pH of body fluids is one of the best indicators of disturbed health conditions. Thus, the development of textiles with halochromic properties has been increasingly attractive to display in real-time pH variations. Wool is one of the most important natural fibres because of its warmth and comfort. However, the dyeing process is costly and high energy-consuming. In this work, the halochromic properties under different buffers (acetate, phosphate, Britton-Robinson, artificial sweat, and artificial wound exudate) of a previously synthesized 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamidrazone were studied. Moreover, the first attempt to dye a wool knitted fabric with this molecule at a low temperature was performed. The developed material showed interesting halochromic properties (colourless in acidic pH and blue colour in the alkaline pH), even using artificial body fluids.This work was funded by European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Competitiveness Program and the National Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal (FCT) under the projects UID/CTM/00264/2021, UID/QUI/00686/2020, MEDCOR PTDC/CTMTEX/1213/2020 and Ph.D. scholarship SFRH/BD/137668/2018