Uma leitura sobre o Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Funchal

Os conceitos de museu e de museologia há muito que estão em constante renovação. Os museus de hoje - particularmente aqueles que acolhem a arte contemporânea - são espaços dinâmicos, abertos a uma vasta tipologia de públicos, com variadas exigências e expetativas às quais as recentes baixas dotações e carências financeiras nem sempre possibilitam responder de forma satisfatória. Situando-se dentro das práticas museológicas atuais, esta dissertação pretende abordar os princípios fundamentais em torno dos museus de arte contemporânea como entidade institucional, dando especial atenção ao Museu de Arte Contemporânea do Funchal. Quais são as principais questões, preocupações e práticas pelo museu geridas? Que manifestações são necessárias para o desenvolvimento de infraestruturas de arte contemporânea idealizadas para uma determinada região ou plateia específica? O que é necessário para participar de forma significativa no contexto local

Biodiversity loss in the genus Artemia in the Western Mediterranean Region

Local populations extinctions depend on intrinsic factors related to the biology of species, as well as on direct threats of stochastic and/or deterministic type. The species of the genus Artemia (Branchiopoda, Anostraca), conspicuous inhabitants of hypersaline ecosystems, are suffering an important biodiversity loss. Their persistence is dramatically affected by deterministic factors threatening their biotopes. Among these deterministic factors the loss of habitats and the introduction of exotic invasive species are the most relevant. This paper aims to summarize the information available on: a) the abandonment of solar salterns in theWestern Mediterranean region; b) the present distribution of the exotic invasive species Artemia franciscana populations in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France; c) several reproductive parameters obtained from the study of life tables, performed for several autochthonous species and strains and the invasive species. These traits, linked to the quantitative and qualitative offspring output, allow an experimental approach to the understanding of the fitness superiority of the invasive species, as well as to the competitive displacement of the autochthonous Artemia species in the Western Mediterranean region.La extinción de poblaciones locales depende de factores intrínsecos que tienen que ver con la biología de las especies, así como de amenazas directas de tipo estocástico o determinístico. Las especies del género Artemia (Branchiopoda, Anostraca), conspicuos pobladores de humedales hipersalinos, están sufriendo una importante pérdida en biodiversidad. Su persistencia se ve dramáticamente afectada por factores determinísticos que amenazan a sus biotopos. De entre estos factores, la pérdida de hábitats y la introducción de especies exóticas invasoras son los más relevantes. Este trabajo pretende resumir la información disponible sobre: a) el abandono de salinas solares en la región del Mediterráneo Occidental; b) la distribución actual de poblaciones de la especie exótica invasora Artemia franciscana en España, Portugal, Italia y Francia; c) varios parámetros reproductivos obtenidos del estudio de tablas de vida, llevadas a cabo para varias especies y estirpes autóctonas y la especie invasora. Estos aspectos cuantitativos y cualitativos de la descendencia permiten una aproximación experimental a la comprensión de la superior eficacia biológica de la especie invasora, así como del desplazamiento por competencia de las especies autóctonas de Artemia en la región del Mediterráneo Occidental

Influence of sex on the exposure to isoniazid in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Isoniazid is a key component of tuberculosis treatment. Adequate exposure is a determinant for therapeutic success; however, considerable inter- and intraindividual variations in drug plasma levels can lead to unfavorable outcomes. While some predictors of isoniazid levels are well-known, others, such as sex, yield controversial results, requiring further investigation to optimize exposure. This study investigates whether the sex of patients influences the dose administered and the concentrations of isoniazid in plasma. Levels of isoniazid were associated with the N-acetyltransferase 2 phenotypes. A total of 76 male and 58 female patients were included. Isoniazid was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, and N-acetyltransferase 2 phenotypes were assessed using molecular techniques. The results show that the dose administered, expressed in mg/kg, was higher in females, but the plasma levels were similar between both sexes. Among patients, 46.2%, 38.8%, and 15% were slow, intermediate, and fast acetylators, respectively. As expected, isoniazid levels were associated with the acetylation phenotypes, with higher concentrations in the slow acetylators. Thus, sex-related difference in isoniazid levels is due to the body weight of patients, and the optimized dose regimen based on patient weight and acetylator phenotypes can improve the treatment outcomes

Avaliação da usabilidade de sites de Unidades de Informação: o caso dos websites dos SIBI’s de UFRJ e USP

Enfoca a usabilidade de sites de Sistemas de bibliotecas. Primeiramente é apresentada uma discussão a respeito da importância do uso de websites para Unidades de Informação. O estudo destaca como conceitos de usabilidade devem ser considerados durante o processo de desenvolvimento de sites, além de expor diferentes métodos de avaliação da usabilidade, com ênfase na avaliação das heurísticas de Nielsen, a saber: Visibilidade do status do sistema; Correspondência entre o sistema e o mundo real; Controle do usuário e liberdade; Consistência e padrões; Prevenção de erros; Reconhecimento em vez de recordação; Flexibilidade e eficiência de utilização; Estética e design minimalista; Auxilio aos usuários a reconhecer, diagnosticar e resolver erros; e Ajuda e documentação. Posteriormente é realizada uma avaliação heurística nos sites do SiBI UFRJ e SIBiNET USP, com base naquelas heurísticas, descrevendo as violações encontradas. Os resultados obtidos mostram que, no site do SiBI UFRJ, foram encontradas vinte e duas violações, ocorrendo mais violações na heurística “Consistência e padrões” (quatro), e a violação mais grave sendo encontrada na heurística “Prevenção de erros”. No site SIBiNET USP foram encontradas vinte e quatro violações, ocorrendo mais violações na heurística “Prevenção de erros” (oito), e a violação mais grave sendo encontrada na heurística “Suporte e documentação”. Concluindo, apesar de a criação de um site não ser uma atividade central em Unidades de informação, quando essas instituições se propõem a criá-los devem permanecer atentas para não criar um serviço que possa dificultar sua relação com os usuários

Uso do Microsoft Kinect na Saúde: Características e Limitações da Ferramenta

O uso de imagens médicas para a realização de diagnóstico auxilia no combate de diversas doenças. As empresas que tralham com aplicativos específicos para este fim têm se esforçado para não somente oferecer produtos úteis, mas também com diversos diferenciais. Com o lançamento do Microsoft Kinect, diversas possibilidades foram abertas e este artigo realiza um levantamento de estudos realizados com este aparelho, buscando saber se a utilização do mesmo traz benefícios para os profissionais da área da radiologia, tendo em vista suas longas jornadas de trabalho

Electron-scattering cross sections for collisions with tetrahydrofuran from 50 to 5000 eV

In this paper, we report on total electron tetrahydrofuran (C4H8O) scattering cross-section measurements for energies in the range from 50 to 5000 eV with experimental errors of about 5%. In addition, integral elastic and inelastic cross sections have been calculated over a broad energy range (1–10 000 eV), with an optical potential method assuming a screening-corrected independent atom representation. Partial and total ionization cross sections have been also obtained by combining simultaneous electron and ion measurements with a time-of-flight analysis of the ionic induced fragmentation. Finally, an average energy distribution of secondary electrons has been derived from these measurements in order to provide data for modeling electron-induced damage in biomolecular systems

A fabric-based soft hand exoskeleton for assistance: the ExHand Exoskeleton

INTRODUCTION: The rise of soft robotics has driven the development of devices for assistance in activities of daily living (ADL). Likewise, different types of actuation have been developed for safer human interaction. Recently, textile-based pneumatic actuation has been introduced in hand exoskeletons for features such as biocompatibility, flexibility, and durability. These devices have demonstrated their potential use in assisting ADLs, such as the degrees of freedom assisted, the force exerted, or the inclusion of sensors. However, performing ADLs requires the use of different objects, so exoskeletons must provide the ability to grasp and maintain stable contact with a variety of objects to lead to the successful development of ADLs. Although textile-based exoskeletons have demonstrated significant advancements, the ability of these devices to maintain stable contact with a variety of objects commonly used in ADLs has yet to be fully evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This paper presents the development and experimental validation in healthy users of a fabric-based soft hand exoskeleton through a grasping performance test using The Anthropomorphic Hand Assessment Protocol (AHAP), which assesses eight types of grasping with 24 objects of different shapes, sizes, textures, weights, and rigidities, and two standardized tests used in the rehabilitation processes of post- stroke patients. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 10 healthy users (45.50 ± 14.93 years old) participated in this study. The results indicate that the device can assist in developing ADLs by evaluating the eight types of grasps of the AHAP. A score of 95.76 ± 2.90% out of 100% was obtained for the Maintaining Score, indicating that the ExHand Exoskeleton can maintain stable contact with various daily living objects. In addition, the results of the user satisfaction questionnaire indicated a positive mean score of 4.27 ± 0.34 on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5

Reducing social vulnerability to environmental change : building trust through social collaboration on environmental monitoring

ABSTRACT: The occurrence of natural and socially driven catastrophic events has increased in the last few decades in response to global environmental changes. One of the most societally relevant challenges in managing the effects of these events is the establishment of risk management strategies that focus on managing vulnerability, particularly in disfavored countries, and communities among them. Most cases of enhanced vulnerability occur in, but are not limited to, developing countries, where the combination of social inequity, inappropriate use of natural resources, population displacement, and institutional mistrust, among other factors, make risk management particularly challenging. This paper presents a vulnerability-centered risk management framework based on social cohesion and integration principles that, combined with scientific, technical, and popular knowledge, lead to the development of social networks of risk reduction. This framework is intended as a strategy to strengthen early warning systems (EWS), where the human-related factor is among their most challenging components. Using water-related hazards as a case study, this paper describes the experience of the conformation of a social network for environmental monitoring using this model example on vulnerability reduction in the rural areas of the central Andes in Colombia. This experience allowed the effective conformation of a social network for environmental monitoring in 80 municipalities of Colombia, where communities developed a sense of ownership with the instrumentation and the network, strengthening links with local authorities and contributing to more efficient EWS. More generally, the authors highlight the need to develop vulnerability-centered risk management via community-building strategies, particularly for areas where little can be done to decrease the occurrence of catastrophic events

Individual tree attribute estimation and uniformity assessment in fast-growing Eucalyptus spp. forest plantations using lidar and linear mixed-effects models

Fast-growing Eucalyptus spp. forest plantations and their resultant wood products are economically important and may provide a low-cost means to sequester carbon for greenhouse gas reduction. The development of advanced and optimized frameworks for estimating forest plantation attributes from lidar remote sensing data combined with statistical modeling approaches is a step towards forest inventory operationalization and might improve industry e ciency in monitoring and managing forest resources. In this study, we first developed and tested a framework for modeling individual tree attributes in fast-growing Eucalyptus forest plantation using airborne lidar data and linear mixed-e ect models (LME) and assessed the gain in accuracy compared to a conventional linear fixed-e ects model (LFE). Second, we evaluated the potential of using the tree-level estimates for determining tree attribute uniformity across di erent stand ages. In the field, tree measurements, such as tree geolocation, species, genotype, age, height (Ht), and diameter at breast height (dbh) were collected through conventional forest inventory practices, and tree-level aboveground carbon (AGC) was estimated using allometric equations. Individual trees were detected and delineated from lidar-derived canopy height models (CHM), and crown-level metrics (e.g., crown volume and crown projected area) were computed from the lidar 3-D point cloud. Field and lidar-derived crown metrics were combined for ht, dbh, and AGC modeling using an LME. We fitted a varying intercept and slope model, setting species, genotype, and stand (alone and nested) as random e ects. For comparison, we also modeled the same attributes using a conventional LFE model. The tree attribute estimates derived from the best LME model were used for assessing forest uniformity at the tree level using the Lorenz curves and Gini coe cient (GC).We successfully detected 96.6% of the trees from the lidar-derived CHM. The best LME model for estimating the tree attributes was composed of the stand as a random e ect variable, and canopy height, crown volume, and crown projected area as fixed e ects. The %RMSE values for tree-level height, dbh, and AGC were 8.9%, 12.1%, and 23.7% for the LFE model and improved to 7.3%, 7.1%, and 13.6%, respectively, for the LME model. Tree attributes uniformity was assessed with the Lorenz curves and tree-level estimations, especially for the older stands. All stands showed a high level of tree uniformity with GC values approximately 0.2. This study demonstrates that accurate detection of individual trees and their associated crown metrics can be used to estimate Ht, dbh, and AGC stocks as well as forest uniformity in fast-growing Eucalyptus plantations forests using lidar data as inputs to LME models. This further underscores the high potential of our proposed approach to monitor standing stock and growth in Eucalyptus—and similar forest plantations for carbon dynamics and forest product planninginfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio