Media Archaeology as Film Practice—The Werner Nekes Collection

The Nekes Collection of visual techniques and optical devices is an invaluable resource for scholars and filmmakers researching a wider history of film and animation comprised of early and pre cinematographic materials. Items relating to three-dimensional optical techniques such as stereoscopes, perspective theatres, peepshows, vues d’optique, and zograscopes (the bulk dating from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century) make for a significant part of the collection and reveal an interest in three-dimensional representation and binocular superimposition. The films of Dore O. (b.1946) and Werner Nekes (1944–2017) stand out in terms of the richness of experimental visual techniques in dialogue with this extensive historical archive used primarily as a source for creating new films and devising new ways of engaging with the medium. This paper presents an overview of the collection and investigates the connections between the objects found in the archive and Nekes and O.’s editing techniques, with a particular focus on three-dimensionality and spatial illusions created through transparency and dissolving effects

Deep learning model for doors detection a contribution for context awareness recognition of patients with Parkinson’s disease

Freezing of gait (FoG) is one of the most disabling motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, which is described as a symptom where walking is interrupted by a brief, episodic absence, or marked reduction, of forward progression despite the intention to continue walking. Although FoG causes are multifaceted, they often occur in response of environment triggers, as turnings and passing through narrow spaces such as a doorway. This symptom appears to be overcome using external sensory cues. The recognition of such environments has consequently become a pertinent issue for PD-affected community. This study aimed to implement a real-time DL-based door detection model to be integrated into a wearable biofeedback device for delivering on-demand proprioceptive cues. It was used transfer-learning concepts to train a MobileNet-SSD in TF environment. The model was then integrated in a RPi being converted to a faster and lighter computing power model using TensorFlow Lite settings. Model performance showed a considerable precision of 97,2%, recall of 78,9% and a good F1-score of 0,869. In real-time testing with the wearable device, DL-model showed to be temporally efficient (~2.87 fps) to detect with accuracy doors over real-life scenarios. Future work will include the integration of sensory cues with the developed model in the wearable biofeedback device aiming to validate the final solution with end-users

As formas de tratamento em cartas pessoais escritas na grande Florianópolis entre 1880 e 1940

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Lingüística, Florianópolis, 2019.O objeto de estudo desta dissertação envolve a descrição das formas de tratamento nominais e pronominais em cartas pessoais escritas por florianopolitanos entre 1880 e 1940. No período em questão, a forma você estava sendo implementada em muitas regiões do Brasil, como no Rio de Janeiro (cf. RUMEU, 2008; LOPES, MARCOTULIO, 2008; LOPES, 2011). Contudo, enquanto em alguns estados já ocorria um uso variável entre as formas tu e você no final do século XIX, dados provenientes de cartas de florianopolitanos mostram um uso categórico da forma conservadora tu nesse período, conforme atestam resultados de pesquisas anteriores, como as de Nunes de Souza (2015) e Nunes de Souza e Coelho (2015). Diante desse quadro, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é o de identificar, em cartas pessoais de missivistas com distintos perfis, quais eram as estratégias de tratamento (nominais e pronominais) utilizadas tanto nas relações de intimidade e proximidade quanto nas relações mais formais e distantes. A questão que norteia esta pesquisa é: no período investigado, quais eram as formas de tratamento ligadas às estratégias de intimidade, de respeito e de distanciamento preferidas por missivistas florianopolitanos? Nossa hipótese principal é a de que, enquanto o você na escrita de florianopolitanos se restringe a determinadas situações e o tu se reserva a contextos de maior intimidade, as formas nominais e o sujeito zero ocorrem como estratégia de tratamento em relações mais distantes e formais. Para responder à questão de pesquisa e verificar essa hipótese, 130 cartas produzidas por diversos missivistas florianopolitanos ou nascidos no litoral catarinense são analisadas, a partir dos pressupostos teóricos da Teoria de Variação e Mudança (cf. WEINREICH; LABOV; HERZOG, 1968), das orientações gerais da Teoria do poder e solidariedade (BROWN; GILMAN, 1960) e das reflexões de Conde Silvestre (2007) sobre o uso de material histórico em pesquisa sociolinguística. Para essa investigação, controlamos os contextos que favorecem as formas relacionadas a tu e as formas relacionadas a você, com base em 10 variáveis, sendo cinco linguísticas e cinco extralinguísticas. Os dados analisados mostram predomínio geral de formas associadas a tu em relação a formas associadas a você; tu é o pronome sujeito mais frequente, utilizado preferencialmente pelos missivistas que escrevem a amigos ou familiares. Entre as formas de sujeito você, zero e nominais, a estratégia de tratamento mais frequente é a forma zero, por meio da qual o missivista não se compromete com nenhum pronome ou forma de tratamento, sendo utilizada principalmente entre missivistas que se conhecem, porém não possuem intimidade. As formas nominais foram a segunda estratégia de tratamento associada a você mais utilizada, ocorrendo em todos os períodos investigados e, principalmente, em cartas de missivistas menos íntimos. Já o pronome você foi a estratégia menos produtiva na posição de sujeito, aparecendo apenas dez vezes, seis em cartas escritas por escribas entre 1887 e 1895 e quatro em uma carta de 1931 trocada entre conhecidos. Todos esses usos foram realizados em situações muito específicas. De modo geral, podemos dizer que nas cartas catarinenses investigadas encontramos um sistema quaternário de tratamento (tu, você, forma nominal e zero), utilizado na escrita de missivistas de diferentes esferas sociais, que mantinham diferentes tipos de relações com seus interlocutores (de amizade, de familiar e de conhecido).Abstract: The object of study of this dissertation involves the description of nominal and pronominal forms of treatment in personal letters written by Florianopolitans between 1880 and 1940. In the period studied, the form você was being implemented in many regions of Brazil, as in Rio de Janeiro (RUMEU, 2008; LOPES, MARCOTULIO, 2008; LOPES, 2011). However, while in some states there was already a variable use between the forms tu and você in the end of nineteenth century, data from letters written by Florianopolitans show a categorical use of the conservative form tu in this period, according to the results of previous research, such as Nunes de Souza (2015) and Nunes de Souza and Coelho (2015). In this context, the main objective of the research is to identify, in personal letters of correspondents with different profiles, which were the strategies of treatment (nominal and pronominal) used both in the relations of intimacy and proximity and in the more formal and distant relations. The question that guides this research is: during the period investigated, which were the forms of treatment connected to the strategies of intimacy, respect and detachment preferred by Florianopolitan letter writers? Our main hypothesis is that, while você in the writing from Florianopolitans is restricted to certain situations and tu is reserved to contexts of greater intimacy, the nominal forms and the zero subject occur as treatment strategy in more distant and formal relationships. In order to answer the research question and verify this hypothesis, 130 letters produced by several Florianopolitan (or born in the Santa Catarina coast) letter writers are analyzed, based on the theoretical assumptions of Theory of Variation and Change (WEINREICH; LABOV; HERZOG, 1968), on the general guidelines of the Theory of power and solidarity (BROWN; GILMAN, 1960), and on the reflections of Conde Silvestre (2007) about the use of historical material in sociolinguistic research. For this investigation, we controled the contexts that favor the forms related to tu and the forms related to the você, based on 10 variables, being five linguistic and five extralinguistic. The analyzed data show a general predominance of forms of the tu paradigm in relation to the forms of the você paradigm; tu is the most frequent subject pronoun, preferably used by the letter writers who write to friends or family. Among the forms of subject of the você paradigm, the most frequent treatment strategy is the zero form, whereby the letter writer does not commit himself to any pronoun or form of treatment. Such strategy is used mainly among letter writers who are known, although they have no intimacy. The nominal forms were the second treatment strategy most used of the você paradigm, occurring in all periods investigated and, mainly, in letters of less intimate correspondents. On the other hand, the pronoun você was the least productive strategy in the subject position, appearing only ten times, six in letters written by scribes between 1887 and 1895 and four in a letter from 1931 exchanged between acquaintances. All of these uses have been made in very specific situations. In general, we can say that in the letters of Santa Catarina investigated we found a quaternary system of treatment (tu, você, nominal form and zero), used in the writing of letter writers from different social spheres, that maintained different types of relations with their interlocutors (of friendship, familiar and as acquaintances)

Export Specialisation and Output Synchronisation in the Euro Area: The Case of Southern Countries

Abstract Business cycle synchronisation and the similarity in the sectoral structure of exports are key conditions for the successful implementation of common monetary policy, as shown by the theory of Optimum Currency Areas. This paper examines the degree of correlation between the aggregate euro area and 12 member states’ business cycles and the role of their exports specialisation dynamics vis-à-vis the euro area over the period 1981–2012, focusing in particular on Southern European countries. Overall, we find that since the inception of the European Monetary Union, the business cycles of euro area member states have been increasingly synchronised with the aggregate euro area cycle, with the exception of Greece. We also document that changes in the Greek, Portuguese, and Spanish export structures brought these countries closer to the euro area structure as a whole. Furthermore, we find a positive and significant relationship between the similarity of export structures and GDP cyclical correlations

Com que realidades se debatem os pais de crianças sobredotadas?

Projecto de investigação no âmbito da Pós-Graduação em Educação Especial - Domínio Cognitivo e Motor, da Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti.O tema sobredotação é ainda algo não muito divulgado, mesmo entre os vários intervenientes na educação. Decidimos centrar o nosso estudo nos pais, na sua perceção e dificuldades por estes encontradas no acompanhamento das crianças sobredotadas. Estas crianças por vezes são mal compreendidas, sendo confundidas com crianças hiperativas, mal comportadas, desatentas e desinteressadas. Quando afinal o que elas precisam mesmo é de atenção, estímulos, e de um currículo diferenciado de acordo com as suas necessidades e interesses. As crianças sobredotadas, relativamente aos seus colegas, são muitos mais rápidas na execução das tarefas, na compreensão das matérias e por isso por vezes perdem o interesse devido ao ritmo lento do desenrolar das matérias. As escolas não estão ainda preparadas para dar respostas adequadas a estas crianças. É notória a falta de informação e formação, dos professores, tanto a nível da deteção como do acompanhamento. Muita vezes as famílias encontram-se desamparadas não sabendo como agir com os seus filhos sobredotados. Neste trabalho adotamos uma metodologia de investigação qualitativa, tendo sido realizadas dez entrevistas. Perante os resultados verificamos que os pais destas crianças, não têm conhecimentos aprofundados sobre o tema, lamentam-se da falta de apoios, não sabendo por vezes como ajudar os seus filhos. Esperamos, com este projeto, ter contribuído para um clarificação da real situação de grande parte das famílias de crianças sobredotadas, dos seus anseios e necessidades

Adaptação psicossocial na obesidade pediátrica: Um estudo com pais, crianças e adolescentes

ObjetivoOs objetivos do presente estudo são 1) comparar a qualidade de vida (QdV) e os problemas psicológicos de crianças/adolescentes com obesidade, excesso de peso e peso saudável, e a QdV e sintomas de depressão e ansiedade dos seus pais; 2) averiguar se a adaptação psicossocial dos pais está associada à QdV das crianças/adolescentes através dos seus problemas psicológicos e se estas associações são moderadas pela idade da criança/adolescente.MétodoA amostra foi constituída por 264 díades pais-filhos divididas em 3 grupos (peso saudável, excesso de peso e obesidade).ResultadosAs crianças/adolescentes com obesidade reportaram pior QdV e maiores níveis de problemas psicológicos do que as crianças/adolescentes com peso saudável. Os adolescentes reportaram pior QdV do que as crianças. Os pais das crianças/adolescentes com obesidade reportaram pior QdV e mais sintomas ansiosos e depressivos comparativamente aos pais das crianças/adolescentes com peso saudável. A associação entre ansiedade dos pais e a QdV das crianças/adolescentes foi mediada pelos problemas psicológicos dos adolescentes.ConclusãoÉ fundamental a implementação de intervenções multidisciplinares focadas na família, que visem a perda de peso da criança/adolescente, mas também a promoção da saúde mental e da QdV das crianças/adolescentes e dos seus pais

Quality of life and psychological functioning in pediatric obesity: the role of body image dissatisfaction between girls and boys of different ages

Purpose: This study aims to explore the associations between weight status, body image dissatisfaction (BID), and psychosocial adjustment (quality of life, internalizing and externalizing problems) of normal-weight and obese youth. It aims to explore whether the associations between weight status and psychosocial adjustment are mediated by BID as well as the moderating role of youth's age and gender on these associations. Methods: The sample comprised 260 children and adolescents aged 8-18 years with normal weight (n=128) and obesity (n=132). All of the participants completed self-report instruments, including the KIDSCREEN-10, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and Collins Body Image scale. Results: Obese youth, regardless of gender, reported poorer QOL, more internalizing/externalizing problems, and higher rates of BID compared with their normal-weight counterparts. BID mediated the relationship between weight status and quality of life, but only for youth above 12 years old. The relationship between weight status and internalizing/externalizing problems was direct and independent of youth's age and gender. Conclusions: Pediatric obesity is associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes, which underlines the need for preventive and early interventions. An important target in psychological interventions seems to be BID, which proved to be an important mechanism linking obesity and decreased quality of life among adolescents

Synergistically enhanced stability of laccase immobilized on synthesized silver nanoparticles with water-soluble polymers

"In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 12 March 2017"Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by citrate reduction method in the presence of polymers, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan, used as stabilizing agents, and an oxidoreductase enzyme, laccase (Lac), with the goal of expanding the NPs antimicrobial action. AgNPs were characterized by UV-visible spectrometry, dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. As protecting agents, PEG and PVA promoted the formation of spherical uniformly-shaped, small-sized, monodispersed AgNPs (≈ 20 nm). High Mw polymers were established as most effective in producing small-sized NPs. Chitosan's viscosity led to the formation of aggregates. Despite the decrease in Lac activity registered for the hybrid formulation, AgNPs-polymer-Lac, a significant augment in stability over time (up to 13 days, at 50 °C) was observed. This novel formulation displays improved synergistic performance over AgNPs-Lac or polymer-Lac conjugates, since in the former the Lac activity becomes residual at the end of 3 days. By enabling many ionic interactions, chitosan restricted the mass transfer between Lac and substrate and, thus, inhibited the enzymatic activity. These hybrid nanocomposites made up of inorganic NPs, organic polymers and immobilized antimicrobial oxidoreductive enzymes represent a new class of materials with improved synergistic performance. Moreover, the Lac and the AgNPs different antimicrobial action, both in time and mechanism, may also constitute a new alternative to reduce the probability of developing resistance-associated mutations.This work was funded by Portuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyFCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) and co-financed by European funds (FEDER) through the PT2020 program, research projectM-ERA-NET/0006/2014. A. Zille and H. P. Felgueiras also acknowledge funding from FCT within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and UID/CTM/00264