The life-history of objects: memories for a history of computer science (1968-2008)

Este artigo apresenta os resultados de um projeto de musealização no Departamento de Engenharia da Computação da Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), que teve como objetivo reunir a história da computação no contexto académico da cidade, entre os anos sessenta do século XX e a primeira década do século XXI. Esta pesquisa partiu da memória subjetiva e naturalmente falível (Pollack, 1992) das pessoas-chave entrevistadas que, através de seu testemunho, descreveram o impacto das transformações tecnológicas na sua experiência profissional e pessoal. Durante a investigação, não tentamos encontrar a história dos grandes momentos e seus "heróis", mas as narrativas pequenas, fragmentadas e diversas de pessoas-chave. O nosso objetivo foi criar uma narrativa rico nos desvios, falhas e imperfeições que distinguem o Homem da Máquina. Acumulamos histórias (Kopytoff, 1988) através de objetos que usamos como gatilhos de memória (Simon, 2010) para estabelecer uma história social da computação no Porto. Ao perceber que também estávamos interessados ​​em capturar a “memória processual”, os participantes começaram a descrever com entusiasmo momentos marcantes, imitando o som de máquinas e identificando amigos e colegas em documentos e fotografias. No entanto, o mais recorrente foi aceder à memória "episódica" e "histórica" ​​(David Manier e William Hirst 2010). Podemos dizer que esta é uma estória escrita por homens e anotada por mulheres. O património imaterial que este projeto registou na forma de entrevistas apoia e atribui valor ao património material (objetos, máquinas, utensílios, livros e documentos) existentes no museu da FEUP e atesta a pluralidade dos seus contextos de uso e agentes.This article presents the results of a musealization project at the Computer Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Oporto (FEUP), which aimed to bring together the history of computing in the academic context of the city, between the sixties of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first century. This research was rooted in the subjective and naturally fallible memory (Pollack, 1992) of the key people interviewed who, through their testimony, described the impact of technological transformations on their professional and personal experience. During the investigation, we did not try to find the history of the great moments and their "heroes", but rather the small, fragmented and diverse narratives of key persons. Our aim was thus to create a narrative rich in the deviations, flaws, and imperfections that distinguish Man from Machine. We accumulated stories (Kopytoff, 1988) through objects that we used as memory triggers (Simon, 2010) to set a social history of computing in Oporto. Upon realizing that we were also interested in capturing the “procedural memory” the participants then began to enthusiastically describe striking moments, mimicking the sound of machines and identifying friends and colleagues in documents and photographs. However, the most recurrent was the access to “episodic” and “historical” memory (David Manier and William Hirst 2010). We may say that this is a male-written story annotated by women. The immaterial heritage that this project recorded in the form of interviews supports and attributes values to the material heritage (objects, machines, utensils, books and documents) existing at FEUP museum, and attests to the plurality of its contexts of use and agents

Synaptic dysfunction in early encephalopathies : from genes to function

Tese de doutoramento, Medicina (Neurologia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, 2015The synapse is the functional unit for neuronal communication. Mutations in genes that encode relevant proteins for synaptic functions are being increasingly identified in neuropediatric disorders. The present work is focused on synaptic dysfunction in Rett Syndrome, which is caused by mutation in the MECP2 gene. This encodes for methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2), an essential epigenetic regulator in mammalian brain development. Rett syndrome is characterized by a period of cognitive decline, hand stereotypies, autistic traits and seizures, following an apparently normal early infancy. This disease can be classified as a synaptopathy, since it comprises simultaneously impairments in synaptogenesis, synaptic maturation and synaptic plasticity. There is evidence for the possibility of phenotypical rescue in Mecp2 deficient mice models, but current treatments for Rett Syndrome are primarily symptomatic therapies for epilepsy or behavioral disturbances, and not for correction of the underlying brain abnormalities. The molecule γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory (hyperpolarizing) neurotransmitter in the adult brain, but has excitatory (depolarizing) action in the developing brain, when it binds to GABA A receptors. This functional shift is dependent of neuronal maturational changes that include differences in the expression of cation chloride cotransporters, which regulate intracellular chloride concentration. One of the key molecular changes for this process is a perinatal neuronal membrane upregulation of potassium chloride cotransporter 2 (KCC2), an ion cotransporter that extrudes chloride form the cell, together with sodium potassium chloride cotransporter 1 (NKCC1), which transports choride into the cell. Deregulation of cation chloride cotransporters’ expression or function has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders like neonatal seizures, fragile X, tuberous sclerosis, Down syndrome, underpinning the relevance of this balance for an adequate central nervous system postnatal development. In the present thesis, I describe a disturbed GABAergic maturational process in Rett Syndrome, regarding intracellular chloride regulation. Starting from the clinic, we searched for a method to detect synaptic proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid of pediatric patients. The earlier postnatal period is characterized by intense synaptogenesis and synaptic pruning, allowing the detection of these proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, using immunoblot analysis. Since we were interested in GABAergic function maturation, and this process was dependent on the expression of NKCC1 and KCC2, abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid levels of these proteins were searched in Rett Syndrome patients and a decrease in KCC2 was observed. In order to obtain a model to understand the impact of this reduction of KCC2 in neuronal function, human iPSCs were reprogramed from Rett patients’ fibroblasts. Human skin biopsies were collected in accordance with European and National ethical regulation and induced pluripotent stem cells were generated from fibroblasts upon infection with a retroviral vector expressing the four canonical transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and Myc). Neural commitment of patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells was induced under defined conditions. Neuronal cortical populations were then derived in a monolayer culture system using a protocol that mimicks human cortical development in vitro. Perforated patch recordings were performed in these neurons, and GABA-evoked postsynaptic currents were measured to evaluate GABA A receptor equilibrium potencial. Our preliminary data indicates that recordings from MECP2 mutant cells exhibit a GABA A receptor equilibrium potential that is more positive than in recordings from control cells, suggesting pathologic changes in chloride gradient, characteristic of an immature state. These results were complemented with experiments in the extensively characterized Mecp2 knock out mouse model (Mecp2tm1.1Bird/J). The level of KCC2 protein expression is lower in Mecp2-KO mice, when compared to control littermates, as addressed by western blot analysis of 6 week old hippocampi. Moreover, hippocampal electrophysiological recordings show reduction of membrane resting potential and threshold potential in the Mecp2 knock-out model, where synaptic transmission evaluated by Input/Output curves reveals an increased excitatory synaptic transmission. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin relevant for synaptic function, neuronal maturation and neuronal survival. Several groups have reproduced experiments that consistently support a regulatory role of MeCP2 upon BDNF expression. There is also evidence supporting the interference of BDNF upon KCC2 expression. Since BDNF is highly relevant in Rett Syndrome pathology, several pre-clinical and clinical strategies are being designed and tested to improve Rett Syndrome, restoring BDNF levels and physiological actions. Based on the knowledge about a facilitatory effect of adenosine on BDNF actions, we hypothesized that the modulation of BDNF with adenosine receptor agonists would have a positive effect in synaptic function in the Rett Syndrome mouse model. Long-term potentiation (LTP) is accepted as a neurophysiological paradigm to test synaptic plasticity, the basic process underlying learning and memory. Adenosine is a neuromodulator that acts mainly through A1 and A2A receptors. The activation of A2A receptors (A2ARs) potentiates BDNF synaptic actions in healthy animals. Therefore, we explored whether the activation of A2ARs in the Rett Syndrome animal model facilitates BDNF action upon LTP. We found that BDNF facilitatory actions upon LTP are absent in the Rett Syndrome animal model, suggesting that, in addition to BDNF reduction, there is also impairment in its actions, even when it is administered exogenously. This dysfunction could be explained by a reduction in the levels of the main BDNF receptor (the full length tropomyosin-related kinase B), which we describe for the first time in the present study. When BDNF was combined with the selective A2AR agonist, CGS2168, the BDNF effect upon LTP was restored, similar to what was observed in hippocampal slices from wild type animals with BDNF alone. Together these data highlight A2ARs as new possible therapeutic targets to increase BDNF actions in Rett Syndrome. In conclusion, this work contributes to elucidate two significant downstream effects of MeCP2 impairment. The first is the abnormality of GABA postsynaptic actions upon GABAA receptors, suggested by a cerebrospinal fluid proteomic change and corroborated by findings in the Mecp2 knock out animal model and in human neurons, derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of Rett Syndrome patients. This system is now available for pharmacological screening of compounds that target the detected disturbances with direct evaluation of phenotypical rescue, at a cellular level. KCC2 reduction or impaired function appears to have also impact on synaptic structure and plasticity, and is a pathophysiological mechanism that contributes to several neurodevelopmental disorders. The second is the reduction of the main BDNF receptors in the hippocampi of the Rett Syndrome animal model. We have also shown that, using an adenosine A2ARs agonist, it is possible to restore BDNF actions upon LTP, a paradigm for synaptic plasticity. Adenosine, through A2ARs, positively modulates the intracellular signaling cascades activated by BDNF, bypassing the BDNFtropomyosin-related kinase B receptor impairment that occurs in Rett Syndrome.Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian - "The Programme for Advanced Medical Education

Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome: how long are we going to go on researching?]

Rev Neurol. 2002 Aug 16-31;35(4):322-5. [Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome: how long are we going to go on researching?] [Article in Spanish] Ramos S, Temudo T. Interna complementar de Pediatria. Serviço de Pediatria. Hospital Geral de Santo Antonio, Porto, Portugal. [email protected] Abstract INTRODUCTION: Opsoclonus myoclonus is a rare neurological syndrome affecting children and adults, and which is characterised by a sudden onset of chaotic eye movements and myoclonias. In children it generally appears before the age of three as a parainfectious or paraneoplasic process; the type of tumour most frequently associated with this syndrome is the neuroblastoma. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 22 month old girl who, after a febrile syndrome probably caused by a virus, began to present myoclonias in the upper and lower limbs, opsoclonus, a marked ataxic gait and extreme irritability. After ruling out neoplasia, oral corticotherapy was started and the neurological picture gradually improved. CONCLUSION: By reporting this clinical picture, our intention is to make the particular aspects of this neurological condition known, and highlight the need for neoplasias to be detected in time and for early treatment in order to prevent sequelae, especially when it appears as a paraneoplasic syndrome. PMID: 12235560 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Questions about evaluation methodologies in rural development projects - Case studies from Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are major actors in rural development interventions in Africa. However evaluations of their activities seldom follow the same procedures as government-to-government projects. Self-evaluations using participatory methods, complemented by financial evaluations of the projects budgets by donors tend to be the rule. In these case studies we show how evaluations fail to understand reality behind the scenarios created by development agents and the “hidden transcripts” used by peasants to protect themselves from outsiders. To overcome this problem and introduce a general procedure in development evaluations we propose the use of socio-anthropological methods. The evaluations would be supported by the analyses of the organizational landscape in the target region and of the organizational culture of the implementing organization, and by the study of the target rural society’s perceptions, needs, potentials for self-organization and forms of resistance to undesired external interventions through an ethnographic approach with an actors-oriented perspective. This will imply a coordination of efforts and a political will from the part of the donor agencies and of the recipient countries. The main result would be the creation of an international databank organized by recipient country of organizational landscapes and cultures, of former projects evaluations and of socio-anthropological and ethnoagronomic case studies of rural societies. Meta-analyses of this data would also permit the construction of a typology of organizational settings prone to failure or success of development interventions under given rural societies. That new approach would introduce a learning process on development evaluations and policy decision-making towards NGOs

Dynamics of change in a ‘female farming system’, Mbanza Kongo/ Northern Angola

The inhabitants of the Zaire Province of northern Angola, belonging to different subgroups of the Bakongo, offer an interesting case to study social and agricultural change in what Boserup would call a traditional ‘female farming system’. Since the 1930s, several factors have produced multiple dynamics of change – sometimes abrupt and other times gradual – in both livelihoods and the gender relations of agricultural production. Of these, the paper is going to highlight late colonial intervention, the anticolonial war, the long civil war, the economic boom after the end of the war and the recent economic crisis. While colonial interventions reinforced women’s role as food producers, the wars acted in the opposite direction by increasing the participation of (non-conscripted into the military) men in agriculture for those who took refuge in the then Republic of Congo. The economic boom that followed the end of the civil war opened income-earning opportunities out of agriculture for young men, but the recent fall in the international oil price reversed this trend, and agriculture – as a sole occupation or combined with casual off-farm jobs – became again a way out of hunger and povertyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exactusensu: Marketing plan

The object of study of this project was the company Exactusensu headquartered in Boavista, in the Porto area. Having been in the safety market for over 20 years, it has a wide range of services, from developing self-protection measures, consulting and training. The objective of this professional project was to create a Marketing Plan to improve the company’s internal communication, as well as to create differentiation to make the company stand out from the competiton. To accomplish that, the first stage was the external macroenvironment understanding by using a PESTEL tool and the analysis of the external microenvironment and the company itself (done through a SWOT analysis). As a result, it is believed that the investment in communication, design, and new technologies, not only for content, is the starting point for Exactusensu to differentiate itself from its competitors. In addition, some promotional actions were suggested for the manual “Segurança Contra Incêndio em Edifícios - Volume 2”, and an implementation schedule was drawn up to publish these actions weekly to reach the target audience

Status epilepticus in the childhood. A Review of seven years

Rev Neurol. 2000 Mar 1-15;30(5):414-8. [Status epilepticus in the childhood. A review of seven years] [Article in Spanish] Oliveira D, Oliveira MJ, Alves V, Temudo T. Hospital Geral de Santo António, Porto, Portugal. Abstract INTRODUCTION: Status epilepticus is a neurological emergency that requires early and prompt treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study includes 32 children treated for status epilepticus at Hospital Geral de Santo António, from January 1992 to December 1998. We evaluated the clinical features, duration, aetiology and prognostic. RESULTS: Symptomatic or criptogenetic aetiology was present in 53% of children and idiopathic in 47%. 27% of episodes of status epilepticus were induced by fever. The most common neurological sequel was epilepsy (onset of new epilepsy in 20%; aggravated in 25%). Two children (10%) had major neurological sequelae after status epilepticus. CONCLUSION: In our study the duration of status epilepticus and sequelae seems to be related with aetiology. PMID: 10775965 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

O peso relativo da imagem no processo de tomada de compra

Neste trabalho procurou-se explicar de que forma o consumidor Português lida com os novos conceitos de vinhos existentes em Portugal. Percebendo o tipo de consumidor, usando a idade como variável importante de decisão e, por último, através de três tipos de vinhos diferentes detetar qual o impacto das características pertencentes ao mundo dos vinhos no processo de tomada de compra do consumidor. “Quais as principais variáveis que influenciam a compra de vinhos, por parte dos portugueses?“ e “Qual o valor, com base nas características: preço, cor, imagem, região e marca, que o consumidor de vinho atribui aos vinhos da Herdade da Malhadinha, Fitapreta e Adega Mayor?”. O processo de decisão do consumidor está relacionado com os diversos atributos que o vinho e o seu packaging detêm. Desta forma, o estudo revela que o vinho que reúne maior consenso é o Monte Mayor quando comparado com o Monte da Peceguina e o SEXY, pois obteve a nota média mais alta à escala de Likert de 5,1ponto. O estudo foi realizado com base num questionário aplicado a uma amostra de 131 indivíduos (consumidores e não consumidores de vinho em Portugal) e em três entrevistas com responsáveis da área dos vinhos. Para as análises foram considerandos 110 consumidores de vinho e 21 não consumidores de vinho, separados por uma pergunta de exclusão sobre o consumo de vinho. Os resultados obtidos realçam a importância de fazer corresponder a imagem ao preço e ao valor da marca, colocando de lado caraterísticas racionais como fatores de decisão na compra de vinho. Este estudo mostra a qualquer empresa no mercado dos vinhos, os aspetos em que o setor de marketing deve centrar as suas atividades de forma a desencadear maior interesse e confiança no produto, utilizando fatores sensoriais como a visão e ajudando, assim, o consumidor a tomar uma decisão de forma mais assertiva