Secure Abstractions for Trusted Cloud Computation

Cloud computing is adopted by most organizations due to its characteristics, namely offering on-demand resources and services that can quickly be provisioned with minimal management effort and maintenance expenses for its users. However it still suffers from security incidents which have lead to many data security concerns and reluctance in further adherence. With the advent of these incidents, cryptographic technologies such as homomorphic and searchable encryption schemes were leveraged to provide solutions that mitigated data security concerns. The goal of this thesis is to provide a set of secure abstractions to serve as a tool for programmers to develop their own distributed applications. Furthermore, these abstractions can also be used to support trusted cloud computations in the context of NoSQL data stores. For this purpose we leveraged conflict-free replicated data types (CRDTs) as they provide a mechanism to ensure data consistency when replicated that has no need for synchronization, which aligns well with the distributed and replicated nature of the cloud, and the aforementioned cryptographic technologies to comply with the security requirements. The main challenge of this thesis consisted in combining the cryptographic technologies with the CRDTs in such way that it was possible to support all of the data structures functionalities over ciphertext while striving to attain the best security and performance possible. To evaluate our abstractions we conducted an experiment to compare each secure abstraction with their non secure counterpart performance wise. Additionally, we also analysed the security level provided by each of the structures in light of the cryptographic scheme used to support it. The results of our experiment shows that our abstractions provide the intended data security with an acceptable performance overhead, showing that it has potential to be used to build solutions for trusted cloud computation

Prevenção no Pé Diabético e autocuidados: o que sabem e o que fazem os nossos doentes?

Mestrado Integrado em MedicinaMaster Degree in Medicin

Organização e gestão do processo de ensino e aprendizagem na hora das novidades: uma experiência de auto-observação

Mestrado em Ensino do 1º e 2º Ciclos do Ensino BásicoO presente Relatório Final de Estágio dá conta do projeto de intervenção e de investigação que desenvolvemos no âmbito da componente de formação de Prática Pedagógica Supervisionada (PPS) em articulação com a componente de formação de Seminário de Investigação Educacional (SIE) e tem como finalidade a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino do 1.º e 2.º Ciclos do Ensino Básico. O referido projeto de intervenção e de investigação desenvolveu-se numa turma do 3.º ano do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico e teve como objetivo perceber como é que nós enquanto futuras professoras organizávamos e geríamos o processo de ensino e de aprendizagem num momento em específico da nossa intervenção, a Hora das Novidades. Consideramos que estamos perante um estudo de natureza qualitativa e exploratória com características de investigação-ação e também com algumas características de estudo de caso. Para uma melhor e fidedigna análise e interpretação dos dados recolhidos, recorremos a três fontes de dados que consideramos imprescindíveis: as planificações das sessões em análise, as transcrições das vídeo-gravações das mesmas e ainda os registos reflexivos realizados de forma individual e colaborativa no final de cada sessão. Com a realização deste projeto de intervenção e de investigação conseguimos perceber a importância de nos estudarmos a nós próprios enquanto futuros professores e às nossas práticas para nos desenvolvermos pessoal e profissionalmente, melhorando a forma como organizamos e gerimos o processo de ensino e de aprendizagem e, consequentemente, as aprendizagens dos nossos alunos.This Final Report of Internship was carried out following an intervention and research project in the scope of the Pedagogical Supervised Practice (PPS) training component in articulation with the training component of an Educational Research Seminar (SIE) and its purpose is to obtain the Master's Degree in Teaching of the 1st and 2nd Cycles of Basic Education. This intervention and research project was developed in a class of the 3rd year of the 1st Cycle of Basic Education and aimed to understand how we as future teachers organize and manage the process of teaching and learning at a time in particular, the novelty time. We consider that this is a qualitative and exploratory study with research-action characteristics, but also with some case study characteristics. For a better and reliable analysis and interpretation of the collected data, we used three sources of data that we consider indispensable: the planning of the sessions under analysis, the transcriptions of the video-recordings of the same ones and also the reflective records realized in an individual and collaborative way in the end of each session. With this intervention and research project we have realized the importance of studying ourselves as future teachers and our practices in order to develop ourselves personally and professionally, improving the way we organize and manage the teaching and learning process and, consequently, the learning of our students

Webquests : um instrumento didáctico inovador

A comunicação, o trabalho em equipa, a resolução de problemas e as capacidades críticas e criativas são cada vez mais importantes na sociedade da informação. Por esse motivo, o construtivismo tem tomado um papel cada vez mais relevante no ensino, que privilegia agora as capacidades e os processos mentais dos alunos e não tanto a memória.Os webquests apresentam uma boa solução de apoio a este método de ensino: requerem esforços de procura, análise e síntese, desenvolvendo processos cognitivos simultâneos à aquisição de conhecimento. Por outro lado, a sua relevância reside também no facto de ser construído e talhado especialmente para cobrir áreas curriculares relativamente às quais os professores geralmente sentem lacunas em termos de material didáctico auxiliar.Neste artigo pretende-se demonstrar as potencialidades desta ferramenta, quer no ensino presencial quer no ensino à distância

Host Cell Phenotypic Variability Induced by Trypanosomatid-Parasite-Released Immunomodulatory Factors: Physiopathological Implications

The parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania sp release a variety of molecules into their mammalian hosts (ESA: excretory-secretory products). The effects of these ESA on the host cell function may participate in the establishment of a successful infection, in which the parasite persists for a sufficient period of time to complete its life cycle. A number of regulatory components or processes originating from the parasite that control or regulate the metabolism and the growth of host cell have been identified. The purpose of the present review is to analyze some of the current data related to the parasite ESA that interfere with the host cell physiology. Special attention is given to members of conserved protein families demonstrating remarkable diversity and plasticity of function (ie, glutathione S-transferases and related molecules; members of the trans-sialidase and mucin family; and members of the ribosomal protein family). The identification of parasite target molecules and the elucidation of their mode of action toward the host cell represents a step forward in efforts aimed at an immunotherapeutic or pharmacological control of parasitic infection

Immune Response Regulation by Leishmania Secreted and Nonsecreted Antigens

Leishmania infection consists in two sequential events, the host cell colonization followed by the proliferation/dissemination of the parasite. In this review, we discuss the importance of two distinct sets of molecules, the secreted and/or surface and the nonsecreted antigens. The importance of the immune response against secreted and surface antigens is noted in the establishment of the infection and we dissect the contribution of the nonsecreted antigens in the immunopathology associated with leishmaniasis, showing the importance of these panantigens during the course of the infection. As a further example of proteins belonging to these two different groups, we include several laboratorial observations on Leishmania Sir2 and LicTXNPx as excreted/secreted proteins and LmS3arp and LimTXNPx as nonsecreted/panantigens. The role of these two groups of antigens in the immune response observed during the infection is discussed

Uma jornada com rasaboxes - Entrevista com Michele Minnick

Michele Minnick aborda sua experiência com o rasaboxes, prática visceral do ator, cuja investigação data dos anos 1960, com o diretor Richard Schechner e The Performance Group – nos Estados Unidos. O contato com o rasaboxes revelou que o mais importante não se trata de sentir as emoções, mas sim de compartilhá-las com o espectador. O conceito de rasa definiria, portanto, o ambiente e o relacionamento entre o performer e o espectador, que pode saborear as rasas junto com o performer. Michele relata, entre outras, sua experiência com o Performance Workshop e o rasaboxes como diretora em um projeto de immersive theatre (teatro imersivo), espaço de relação one-on-one - de troca íntima e direta com a plateia. Através do rasaboxes abre-se um campo de trabalho que propõe limites claros e, dentro desses limites, possibilidades sem limite. Palavras-chave Richard Schechner, Performance Workshop, Rasaboxes, Teatro Imersiv

A Dança Negra de Mercedes Baptista e o gesto cênico

Este artigo apresenta alguns aspectos da trajetória e da técnica de dança de Mercedes Baptista. Em seguida, descreve duas experiências de transmissão de sua técnica em âmbito universitário, respectivamente, na Escola de Teatro da Unirio e no coletivo de teatro Panela Teatral, voltadas para a aplicação do estilo de dança negra de Mercedes Baptista na preparação corporal e criação do gesto cênico

Evaluation of the immune response following a short oral vaccination schedule with hepatitis B antigen encapsulated into alginate-coated chitosan nanoparticles

The purpose of this work was to assess the ability of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine, encapsulated in alginate-coated chitosan nanoparticles, to induce local and systemic immune responses following oral vaccination. The antigen was administered either alone or in combination with the immunopotentiator, synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide containing immunostimulatory CpG motif (CpG ODN) as adjuvant, and associated or not with the alginate-coated chitosan nanoparticles. After two immunizations the group I (HBsAg associated with nanoparticles) and the group VI (HBsAg and CpG, both associated with nanoparticles) showed enhanced immune responses. Both groups showed significant higher values of the CD69 expression in CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes and lower values of this marker in B lymphocytes. Moreover, a strongest proliferative response of the splenocytes, ex vivo stimulated with concanavalin A, was observed in the same groups. Although with a presence of non-responder mice within the groups, only mice of the groups I and VI elicited the generation of anti-HBsAg antibodies detected in serum (IgG) and in the intestinal washings (sIgA). The results demonstrated that coated chitosan nanoparticles might have potential for being used as a deliver system for oral vaccination with the recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T25-4PF1WCM-2/1/3fe2a6633c054a684fa0fafa7bb4a8b