Leveraging context-awareness to better support the IoT cloud-edge continuum

Novel Internet of Things (IoT) requirements derived from a broader interconnection of heterogeneous devices have pushed the horizons of Cloud computing and are giving rise to a wider decentralisation of applications and data centers. An answer to the underlying network concerns, such as the need to lower the resulting latency due to heavy computation needs, or safety aspects, gave rise to Edge/Fog computing, where IoT functionality can be also supported closer to data sources. While it is today feasible to perform some IoT functionality on the Edge, the orchestration of operations between Edge and Cloud requires an automated support, where context-awareness plays a key role in assisting the network in deciding when and where to store data and to perform computation. This work is focused on the application of context-awareness to support a smoother operation of the Edge to Cloud operation, aiming at lowering latency, in particular when real-time or close-to-real-time data exchange is present.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integration of biomass functions of genome-scale metabolic models with experimental data reveals universally essential cofactors in prokaryotes

Knowledge of the core biochemical composition of the cell is critical for genome-scale metabolic modelling. In order to identify the universal core organic cofactors for prokaryotes, we performed a detailed analysis of biomass objective functions (BOFs) of 71 manually curated genome-scale prokaryotic models. These were then compared and integrated with the ModelSEED framework for biomass composition, experimental data on gene essentiality, curated enzyme-cofactor association data and a comprehensive survey of the literature. Surprisingly, no cofactor was present in all the BOFs analysed, including the important redox cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) or its derivatives. Our results indicate not only the redox cofactors but also others such as coenzyme A, flavins and thiamin as universally essential for prokaryotes and therefore as important to include in the BOFs of future genome-scale models of prokaryotic organisms

Standardization and comparison of the biomass objective functions of manually curated genome-scale metabolic models

The biomass objective function (BOF) is an abstractive equation used in genome-scale constraint-based modelling (GS-CBM) to predict growth phenotypes. The BOF represents all the growth requirements upon cell division, which stoichiometric representation is ideally based on experimental measurements for cells growing in log phase (1). For growth rate calculations it is sufficient to know the macromolecular content of the cell, its detailed composition (amino acids, nucleotides and fatty acids.) and energetic costs of growth (2). However, to examine network essentiality another level of detail is required, which includes cofactors and ions and the analysis of which are the minimally essential biomass components (2) often called the core biomass (3, 4). There is no defined strategy in the literature for choosing which components are to be parts of a detailed BOF and the core BOF. In order to obtain a universal core prokaryotic BOF, we integrated BOFs of 71 genome-scale manually curated prokaryotic models, the ModelSEED framework for biomass composition (5) and data from the literature. We used a semi-automatic process to standardize the nomenclature of metabolites in the 71 BOFs, as there is still not a norm for the terminology of metabolites in GS- CBM. We found that the clustering of these 71 models based on their BOFs fails to represent the phylogenetic relationship of the modelled prokaryotes. No cofactor was present in all the BOFs analysed, including the important redox cofactors nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) or NADPhosphate. Both the ModelSEED framework and other literature indicate some cofactors and many ions as universally essential. We conclude that not only the redox cofactors but also others as coenzyme A, flavins and thiamin might need to be added to the BOFs for improving future essentiality studies. We present a proposal of a set of cofactors for a universal core prokaryotic BOF

Caracterização da relação entre maus-tratos e delinquência e das crenças sobre a violência em jovens do concelho de Moura

Dissertação para obtenção de grau de Mestre em Psicologia Forense e CriminalO presente estudo empírico tem como principais objetivos verificar se a relação entre maus-tratos e delinquência (e.g. Brezina, 1998; Falshaw, 2005) se replica no concelho de Moura (Baixo Alentejo) e caracterizar as crenças sobre a violência em crianças e jovens deste concelho.Para cumprir estes objetivos foram realizados dois estudos. O Estudo 1 visa concretizar os objetivos relativos aos maus-tratos e delinquência e a amostra (N=102) foi obtida a partir da consulta de processos de promoção e proteção da CPCJ de Moura, em execução desde 2012.O Estudo 2 com o objetivo de verificar se as crenças que legitimam o recurso à violência sobre crianças e jovens se encontram nos jovens da presente amostra (N=13) à qual foi aplicada a Escala de Crenças da Criança sobre a Violência (ECCV) (Sani,2003).Verificou-se que os tipos de maus-tratos mais comuns em crianças e jovens do concelho de Moura são a negligência, seguida da exposição a modelos de comportamento desviante, sendo que a negligência se encontra mais associada ao sexo masculino e a exposição a modelos de comportamento desviante ao sexo feminino. Relativamente à relação entre maus-tratos e comportamentos delinquentes, esta não se replicou pois a maioria das vítimas de maus-tratos não apresenta comportamentos delinquentes.Quanto às crenças sobre a violência, estas prendem-se principalmente com a etiologia da violência e os determinantes individuais, sendo que o sexo masculino apresenta médias superiores ao sexo feminino em todos os fatores da ECCV. Conclui-se então que as crianças e jovens de Moura manifestam algumas das crenças encontradas em estudos anteriores (e.g. a violência ocorrida em casa tem de ser resolvida em casa; a forma como os pais tratam os filhos só a eles lhe diz respeito)

University Students’ Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Parenting and Gay and Lesbian Rights in Portugal

The purpose of this study was to explore university students' attitudes toward same-sex parenting and toward gay and lesbian rights. A total of 292 participants, aged between 18 and 27 (M = 21) responded to a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward parenting by gay men and lesbians, gay and lesbian rights, and beliefs about the etiology of homosexuality. Results revealed that the majority of students were against gay and lesbian parenting, gay and lesbian equal rights, and believed that homosexuality has a social/environmental basis. It was found that sexual prejudice is highly prevalent in Portuguese university students, and implications of these findings are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sitting Time and Body Mass Index, in a Portuguese Sample of Men: Results from the Azorean Physical Activity and Health Study (APAHS)

The aim of this study was to verify the relation between body mass index (BMI) and sitting time in a sample of 4,091 Azorean men. BMI was calculated from self-reported weight and height. Total physical activity (PA) time and total sitting time were assessed with the IPAQ (short version). Linear Regression analysis showed that total sitting time (hours/day) was positively associated with BMI (B = 0.078; p < 0.001) after adjustments for age, meal frequency, alcohol and tobacco consumptions, island of residence, education level and total PA time. Although the cross sectional design precludes us from establishing causality, our findings emphasize the importance of reducing sedentary behavior to decrease the risk of obesity

A proposed adaptation of the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model to physical activity programmes for the elderly - development of a quality self-assessment tool using a modified Delphi process

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There has been a growing concern in designing physical activity (PA) programmes for elderly people, since evidence suggests that such health promotion interventions may reduce the deleterious effects of the ageing process. Complete programme evaluations are a necessary prerequisite to continuous quality improvements. Being able to refine, adapt and create tools that are suited to the realities and contexts of PA programmes for the elderly in order to support its continuous improvement is, therefore, crucial. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a self-assessment tool for PA programmes for the elderly.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A 3-round Delphi process was conducted via the Internet with 43 national experts in PA for the elderly, management and delivery of PA programmes for the elderly, sports management, quality management and gerontology, asking experts to identify the propositions that they considered relevant for inclusion in the self-assessment tool. Experts reviewed a list of proposed statements, based on the criteria and sub-criteria from the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model (EFQM) and PA guidelines for older adults and rated each proposition from 1 to 8 (disagree to agree) and modified and/or added propositions. Propositions receiving either bottom or top scores of greater than 70% were considered to have achieved consensus to drop or retain, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In round 1, of the 196 originally-proposed statements (best practice principles), the experts modified 41, added 1 and achieved consensus on 93. In round 2, a total of 104 propositions were presented, of which experts modified 39 and achieved consensus on 53. In the last round, of 51 proposed statements, the experts achieved consensus on 19. After 3 rounds of rating, experts had not achieved consensus on 32 propositions. The resulting tool consisted of 165 statements that assess nine management areas involved in the development of PA programmes for the elderly.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Based on experts' opinions, a self-assessment tool was found in order to access quality of PA programmes for the elderly. Information obtained with evaluations would be useful to organizations seeking to improve their services, customer satisfaction and, consequently, adherence to PA programmes, targeting the ageing population.</p

Efficacy of adaptive cognitive training through desktop virtual reality and paper-and-pencil in the treatment of mental and behavioral disorders

Cognitive defcits are a core feature of mental and behavioral disorders, leading to poor treatment adherence and functional ity. Virtual reality (VR) methodologies are promising solutions for cognitive interventions in psychiatry once they provide greater ecological validity. This study assessed and compared two content-equivalent cognitive training (CT) interventions, delivered in desktop VR (Reh@City v2.0) and paper-and-pencil (Task Generator (TG)) formats, in patients with mental and behavioral disorders. 30 patients were randomly assigned to the Reh@City v2.0 group and the TG group. Both groups of patients underwent a time-matched 24-sessions intervention. Neuropsychological assessments were performed at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. A within-groups analysis revealed signifcant improvements in visual memory and depres sive symptomatology after the Reh@City intervention. The TG group improved in processing speed, verbal memory, and quality of life (social relationships and environmental domains). Between groups, Reh@City led to a greater reduction in depressive symptomatology, whereas the TG group showed higher improvements in social relationships aspects of quality of life. At follow-up, previous gains were maintained and new improvements found in the Reh@City (global cognitive func tion, language, visuospatial and executive functions) and the TG groups (attention). The Reh@City signifcantly reduced depressive symptomatology, and the TG led to greater improvements in processing speed, abstraction, and social relationships domain of quality of life at follow-up. Both interventions were associated with important cognitive, emotional, and quality of life benefts, which were maintained after two months. Reh@City and TG should be considered as complementary CT methods for patients with mental and behavioral disorders. Trial registration The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT04291586.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ability of Different Measures of Adiposity to Identify High Metabolic Risk in Adolescents

Introduction. This study aimed to evaluate the screening performance of different measures of adiposity: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) for high metabolic risk in a sample of adolescents. Methods. A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted on 517 adolescents aged 15–18, from the Azorean Islands, Portugal. We measured fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure. HOMA and TC/HDL-C ratio were calculated. For each of these variables, a Z-score was computed by age and sex. A metabolic risk score (MRS) was constructed by summing the Z-scores of all individual risk factors. High risk was considered when the individual had ≥1SD of this score. Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) were used. Results. Linear regression analyses showed that, after adjusting for age and pubertal stage, all different measures of adiposity are positively and significantly associated with MRS in both sexes, with exception of WHtR for boys. BMI, WC, and WHtR performed well in detecting high MRS, indicated by areas under the curve (AUC), with slightly greater AUC for BMI than for WC and WHtR in both sexes. Conclusion. All measures of adiposity were significantly associated with metabolic risk factors in a sample of Portuguese adolescents

Insulin resistance and its relation to adiposity, cardiorespiratory fitness and dietary intake among Azorean adolescents

Insulin resistance is an important compo nent in the development of metabolic syndrome and lifestyle-related diseases. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between insulin resistance (IR), adiposity, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and dietary intake among Azorean adolescents.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio