Hear what you feel, feel what you hear: The effect of musical sequences on emotional processing

Music has a unique ability to access affective and motivational systems of the brain. However, there is a gap in research on the association between musical stimuli and their impact on emotional processing, a crucial component for the success of the therapeutic process. The present study thus sought to explore both the capacity of music to access the affective system, to induce emotions, and to change emotional states, as well as to facilitate emotional processing leading to the resolution of emotional distress. Pascual-Leone and Greenberg’s validated sequential model of emotional processing in psychotherapy, was used to test this dual capacity. Three musical sequences with distinct components were developed and presented in an online platform. One musical sequence followed the order of the sequential model (first experimental sequence), another musical sequence inverted that same order (second experimental sequence), and the last musical sequence was intended to serve as a baseline (control sequence). All musical sequences, not only led to alterations in participant’s emotional states, but also led to an increase of participant’s emotional resolution. Some of the results were surprising, since the control sequence also led to an increase of emotional resolution and the first experimental sequence didn’t present itself as the winning candidate by leading to a higher emotional resolution. Nevertheless, these surprising results demonstrated that emotional processing could occur under different experiences of music and allow future studies to keep exploring this relationship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automatic generation of a Portuguese land cover map with machine learning

The application of machine learning techniques to satellite imagery has been the subject of interest in recent years. The increase in quality and quantity of images, made available by Earth observation programs, such as the Copernicus program, led to the generation of large amounts of data. Among the various applications of this data is the creation of land cover maps. The present work aimed to create machine learning models capable of accurately segmenting and classifying satellite images to automatically generate a land cover map of the Portuguese territory. Several experiments were carried out with the spectral bands of the Sentinel-2 satellite, with vegetation indices, and with several sets of land cover classes. Three machine learning architectures were evaluated, which adopt two different techniques for image classification. One of the classification techniques follows an object-oriented approach, and in this case the architecture adopted in our models was a U-Net artificial neural network. The other classification technique is pixel-oriented, and the machine learning models tested were random forest and support vector machine. The overall accuracy of the results obtained ranged from 68.6% to 94.75%, depending strongly on the number of classes into which the land cover is classified. The result of 94.75% was obtained when classifying the land cover only into five classes. However, a very interesting accuracy of 92.37% was achieved by the model when trained to classify eight classes. These results are superior to those reported in the related bibliography.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Predisposition assessment modelling

Dissertation submitted for obtaining the degree of Master in Environmental EngineeringOver the last decades outbreaks of the bark beetle Ips typographus (L.) assumed a high importance in forestry due to the economic losses caused, amounting to 3 million m3 the volume of wood damaged in 2009 in Austria. In natural systems, such events result from a dynamic interaction among several factors, the integrated analysis of which can depict the predisposition level of a stand, or site, to I. typographus outbreaks. The objective of this thesis was the development of a Predisposition Model for Rosalia Forest, located in the state (Land) of Vienna in Austria. Wind and snow storms are two of the main factors that lead to a higher level of risk, as high quantities of fallen timber become available, constituting a favourable breeding habitat for I. typographus communities to proliferate. Terrain and stand related data can be translated into parameters that are registered and studied using Geographic Information Systems, in order to obtain predisposition results to wind and snow damage and ultimately overall predisposition assessments to insect infestations. Stand and site related parameters from spatial and inventory data were analysed and scored according to an Assessment System previously formulated. In order to allow for different analysis and adjustments the Model was developed in a mask-like structure. Results on predisposition for the Rosalia Forest were spatially analysed and statistically processed. It was concluded that the majority of the stand area fell in the Medium predisposition class. This was due to the diversified age structure of the stand as well as to a relatively low proportion of the host species Picea abies present in this site. The model developed not only allows for the assessment of bark beetle predisposition according to an Assessment System based on an extensive compilation of literature, but can also be used as a working tool for further sites and scenarios by entities aiming at the management of the risk of I. typographus infestations

Pleistocene hunter-gatherer coastal adaptations in Atlantic Iberia

Coastal prehistoric hunter-gatherers in Atlantic Iberia were particularly important to understanding Paleolithic human innovation and resilience. This study will focus on Middle and Upper Paleolithic adaptations to the Iberian Atlantic border. Elements such as intensity and diversity of marine foods, site location, distance to shore, submerged platform, and bathymetry are discussed for the region between Gibraltar and the Gulf of Biscayinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The dynamics of pro-outsider reform in Southern Europe

The insider-outsider theory of politics proposes that while centre-left parties will ally with unions to increase and maintain protections for insiders, the workers with permanent contracts, and adopt a position of flexibility at the margins, centre-right parties will focus more on across-the-board liberalization and take protections away from both insiders and outsiders, those that are unemployed or in fixed-term contracts. However, the years following the 2008 Financial Crisis saw several Southern European countries with centre-right governments approving pro-outsider reforms, such as Spain in 2012, Portugal in 2015, and Italy in 2018. To unfold these events, this dissertation analyses the social, political, and economic context to uncover which factors played role in the lead-up to the increase in regulation for fixed-term contracts. It seems that the existence of a large number of outsiders, especially if that number continues to grow, can motivate centre-right parties to adopt pro-outsider positions, as excessive segmentation and outsiderness could undermine their electoral chances in future elections. However, even when adopting these reforms, governments formed exclusively of right-leaning parties tend to limit their scope and magnitude.A teoria insider-outsider da política propõe que enquanto os partidos de centro-esquerda se vão aliar aos sindicatos para manter as protecções para os insiders, os trabalhadores em contracto permanente, e adoptando uma posição de flexibilização das relações de trabalho temporário, os partidos de centro-direita preferem focar-se em liberalização geral do mercado de trabalho e retirar protecções tanto aos insiders como aos outsiders, trabalhadores desempregado ou em contracto a termo certo. No entanto, nos anos após a crise financeira de 2008, vários países do Sul da Europa com governos de centro-direita aprovaram reformas laborais pró-outsider, como foi o caso de Espanha em 2012, Portugal em 2015, e Itália em 2018. Para estudar estes eventos esta dissertação analisa o contexto social, político, e económico de cada país para desvendar os factores que conduziram às maior regulação de contractos a termo fixo. Esta análise levou à conclusão de que a existência de um grande número de outsiders, especialmente quando esse número está em crescimento, pode motivar partidos de centro-direita a adoptar posições pró-outsider, visto que uma segmentação excessiva do mercado de trabalho pode prejudicar o seu sucesso eleitoral no futuro. No entanto, mesmo quando medidas pró-outsider são implementadas, governos compostos somente por partidos de centro-direita tendem a limitar a magnitude dessas mudanças

Implementação de um compressor JPEG em FPGA

Este documento descreve a implementação com pipeline de um compressor JPEG em FPGA. Para isso, apresenta-se a funcionalidade e implementação dos blocos principais da arquitectura do compressor. O destaque vai para a DCT 2-D, implementada com 2 blocos DCT 1-D e um buffer de transposição. O componente mais crítico em termos de espaço e desempenho é o multiplicador da DCT 1-D, que por ser usado para multiplicar um inteiro por uma de 4 constantes reais possui uma arquitectura baseada em 4 barrel shifters, e é aqui apresentado em maior detalhe

Synthesis and biological evaluation of furfural carbocycles derivatives

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2017Furfural, a natural product present in the agricultural wastes of bagasse and bran. Cyclopentenones have seen a great development since 1800’s to 1900’s and are still opening ways in organic synthesis as they are a type of building block present in various natural molecules. In this work we present a new methodology of synthesising trans-4,5diamino-cyclopent-2-enones, with the use of Cu(OTf)2 in water in 5 minutes, paving the way for a wide range of reactivity to be explored. In continuity with this work we also propose an initial study of disubstituted cyclopentenones derived from an activated furfural with the purpose of studying their interaction with diverse nucleophiles and their possible integration in biological systems.Furfural, um produto presente nos resíduos agrícolas do bagaço e do farelo, e o seu derivado ciclopentenonas, esta classe de moléculas remetem à década de 50 com um grande desenvolvimento na década de 70, no entanto continuam a abrir caminhos na química orgânica de síntese devido á sua presença em diversas moléculas naturais. Neste trabalho apresentamos uma maneira nova e dinâmica de sintetizar ciclopentenonas através do uso de Cu(OTf)2 em água e em menos de 5 minutos, abrindo caminho para um grande leque de reatividade por ser explorada. A outra parte do nosso trabalho é um estudo inicial sobre a síntese de ciclopentenonas disubstituidas, partindo de uma molécula ativada de furfural, cujo objetivo será estudar a sua interação com diversos nucleófilos e a sua possível integração em sistemas biológicos

Kering equity research: from catwalk to cashflow - tailoring success in luxury

This report is an integral component of an Equity Research Field Lab focused on Kering S.A, a noticeable French conglomerate specializing in luxury goods. Commencing with a company overview, highlighting the huge transformation from retail conglomerate to a luxury group, our objective is to scrutinize how the group has been able to establish itself as a leader in the luxury goods industry. This involves an in-depth analysis of the competitive landscape of the global luxury goods industry, in which the group competes with other players that strive to capture the attention of affluent consumers. Furthermore, we delved our analysis in describing how the M&A activity within this industry has been evolving overtime. Bearing in mind the dynamic nature of the luxury sector, it was no surprise the significant wave of mergers and acquisitions witnessed in recent times. Moreover, the report focuses on a comparative valuation of Kering S.A within the luxury goods industry, benchmarking against its peers. Two key multiples, the forward P/E ratio and forward EV/EBIT ratio are employed, to assess Kering’s standings. Our findings reveal that Kering exhibits lower multiples compared to a group of peers, suggesting a potential discount in market perceptions

SalivaPrint as a non-invasive diagnostic tool

Currently, the molecular diagnosis is based on the quantification of RNA, proteins and metabolites because they present changes in their quantity related to clinical situations. The same molecules are not generally suitable for early diagnosis or to follow clinical evolution, making necessary strategies to evaluate the complete molecular scenario. There are already experimental strategies that allow the determination of total protein profiles from saliva samples (the SalivaPrint). The goal of this work is to identify a profile of saliva proteins (similar to a fingerprint) and, using computational methods, identify how this profiles changes with age and gender. So far it has been possible to collect 79 samples as well as the metadata associated with each sample using an electronic questionnaire developed by us. A total protein profile was obtained and their association with gender was verified using statistical methods. Currently we are developing the Python scripts for automatic data acquiring and normalization. Total protein profiles annotation on a database (SalivaPrintDB) and their integration with the factors that affects them using machine learning strategies can empower the use of the approach proposed on this work as a tool for monitoring the individual's health status.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio