Spectroscopic Analysis in the Virtual Observatory Environment with SPLAT-VO

SPLAT-VO is a powerful graphical tool for displaying, comparing, modifying and analyzing astronomical spectra, as well as searching and retrieving spectra from services around the world using Virtual Observatory (VO) protocols and services. The development of SPLAT-VO started in 1999, as part of the Starlink StarJava initiative, sometime before that of the VO, so initial support for the VO was necessarily added once VO standards and services became available. Further developments were supported by the Joint Astronomy Centre, Hawaii until 2009. Since end of 2011 development of SPLAT-VO has been continued by the German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory, and the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. From this time several new features have been added, including support for the latest VO protocols, along with new visualization and spectra storing capabilities. This paper presents the history of SPLAT-VO, it's capabilities, recent additions and future plans, as well as a discussion on the motivations and lessons learned up to now.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Computin

Relação do edificado na reabilitação do espaço público

Orientação: Isabel Maria da Cruz Batista MatiasEsta dissertação do Mestrado Integrado em Arquitetura, realizada na Universidade Lusófona do Porto (ULP), decorre de uma proposta no âmbito da unidade curricular de Projeto do 5º Ano. Com este trabalho aborda-se o conceito do projeto, baseado nos parâmetros da relação do edificado com a forma urbana, ou seja, a implantação em frente urbana como forma de preenchimento do vazio. Para melhor compreensão do espaço da intervenção, é feito estudo sobre a Morfologia Urbana e as relações do edificado com os vazios na cidade. O contexto evolutivo da Forma da cidade e da Área de Intervenção derivavam, numa abordagem do desenvolvimento urbano da zona histórica da cidade do Porto, sendo assim possível observar melhor o desenvolvimento do edificado e a sua inserção no Tecido da Cidade. Auxiliando as ilações sobre a temática, são apresentados três casos de estudo que demonstram o papel do arquiteto na cidade como protagonista da requalificação do Tecido Urbano em pontos diferentes da zona Histórica do Porto: a proposta de requalificação da Avenida D. Afonso Henriques de 1968 e de 2000 por parte do Arquiteto Álvaro Siza Vieira; a proposta de requalificação urbana da zona da Batalha dentro da Baixa do cidade do Porto, para o concurso do Porto 2001, pelo arquiteto Adalberto Dias; e, por fim, a execução do edificado do Passeio dos Clérigos em 2013 por parte dos Arquitetos Balonas & Menano na antiga Praça de Lisboa. Este exemplos auxiliam na compreensão de métodos de intervenção no espaço público que auxiliaram no desenvolver da Proposta. Seguidamente, é apresentada a Proposta conceptual trabalhada na cadeira de Projeto do 5º ano, como resultado do pensamento crítico apoiado pelas conclusões retiradas de todo o processo de estudo realizado. Por fim, são feitas as considerações finais sobre o trabalho, realçando os aspetos relevantes retirados desta investigação e de que forma o processo do desenvolvimento auxiliou na conclusão do papel do Arquiteto como entidade requalificadora que reequilibra a harmonia da forma da cidade e que a respeita sem descurar das suas necessidade humanas e urbanas.This paper on the Master‟s Degree Integrated in Architecture, is made at Universidade Lusófona do Porto (ULP), and is the comes along because of the project developed in the class of Project of the 5th year. This dissertation addresses the project, based on the parameters that classify the relationship of the edification with the urban for, demeaning, the placement of the urban front as solution of the Empty Space. For a better understanding of the relationship of the space of intervention, a study is conducted about Urban Morphology and its relationship with the Full Spaces and the Empty Spaces. The evolutionary context of the urban form of the city and of the Intervention Site come along, according to the approach to the development of the urban historical area of Porto, being possible to identify the development of the building and it‟s insertion in the City Mesh. To achieve some conclusions about the theme, it‟s presented three different study cases to show the place of the architect in the city and the protagonist of the requalification of the Urban Mesh in different sections of the historical center of the Porto: the proposition on requalification of the Avenida D. Afonso Henriques from 1968 and 2000 by the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, the proposition of rehabilitation of the urban area of Batalha, for the contest Porto 2001, by the architect Adalberto Dias; and lastly, the execution of the building of the Passeio dos Clérigos in 2013 by the Balonas & Menano architects in the old Lisboa Square. These examples help on the understanding of interventional methods on the public space that assist on the development of the Proposition. Next, it‟s presented the conceptual Proposition by the author, worked for the discipline of the 5th year, as a result of logical and critical thinking supported by the conclusion taken from this study. Lastly, it‟s done some final considerations about the work, with enhancements on the aspects taken from this investigation and in which way it helped with determination of the role of the Architect as an entity that requalifies and rebalances the harmony of the city form and that respects without forgetting its humans and urban needs

Human features detection in video surveillance

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e ComputadoresHuman activity recognition algorithms have been studied actively from decades using a sequence of 2D and 3D images from a video surveillance. This new surveillance solutions and the areas of image processing and analysis have been receiving special attention and interest from the scientific community. Thus, it became possible to witness the appearance of new video compression techniques, the transmission of audio and video in real-time, targeting identification and tracking objects in with complex environments. Traffic monitoring, automotive safety, people counting and activity recognition applications are examples. With the development of sensors, new opportunities arose to expand and advance this field. This dissertation presents an activity recognition system to recognize human motion. The system does not need optical markers or motion sensors. This human activity recognition system is divided in three stages: human segmentation, in an outside and inside environment; extraction of the human features; and classification models to detect the human actions. Therefore, the main objective in this work is to develop an algorithm to extract human features. This algorithm aims to develop a new representation and extraction method using a sequence of features in a skeleton silhouette. Mainly, the segmentation of humans is based on a previous work, centered on background subtraction. An algorithm is applied to convert the object captured in the video surveillance to a binary image using a skeleton algorithm. Afterwards, and based on the physical parameters of the human motion, it becomes possible to discover the principal features of the human skeleton, called physical features, head, hands and feet. The viability of using features detection in a human recognition system was tested and compared with other existing systems. The results point out that the system has good performance (8.96% of perfect match and the average rate was 68.65%). Nevertheless, in images where the features of the human body are covered, with umbrella or heavy coats for example, the system presents certain limitations. This process has a high execution speed and a low cost computational processing: average of 5910 µs with a standard deviation of 5650 µs. In the near future, classification models to detect the human actions will be included.Algoritmos de reconhecimento de atividade humana foram estudados ativamente durante décadas, usando sequências de imagens em 2D e 3D de vídeo vigilância. Estas novas soluções de vídeo vigilância e as áreas de processamento e análise de imagens têm recebido especial atenção e interesse por parte da comunidade científica. Assim, tornou-se possível testemunhar a aparência de novas técnicas de compressão de vídeo, a transmissão de áudio e vídeo em tempo real, identificação de segmentação e rastreamento de objetos em ambientes complexos. Monitoramento de tráfego, segurança automóvel, contagem de pessoas e aplicações de reconhecimento de atividade são exemplos. Com o desenvolvimento de sensores, novas oportunidades surgiram para expandir e avançar neste campo. Esta dissertação apresenta um sistema de reconhecimento de atividade para reconhecer o movimento humano. O sistema não precisa de marcadores óticos ou sensores de movimento. Este sistema de reconhecimento de atividade humana divide-se em três fases: segmentação humana, num ambiente exterior e interior; Extração das características humanas; E modelos de classificação para detetar as ações humanas. Portanto, o objetivo principal deste trabalho trata-se de desenvolver um algoritmo para extrair características humanas. Este algoritmo tem como objetivo desenvolver uma nova representação e método de extração de características humanas, através do uso de uma silhueta em forma de esqueleto. A segmentação de seres humanos é baseada num trabalho anterior, centrado na subtração do plano de fundo. Um algoritmo é aplicado para converter o objeto capturado na vídeo vigilância, para uma imagem binária usando um algoritmo em forma de esqueleto. Posteriormente, e com base nos parâmetros físicos do movimento humano, torna-se possível descobrir as principais características do esqueleto humano, denominadas características físicas, cabeça, mãos e pés. A viabilidade do uso de deteção de características em um sistema de reconhecimento humano foi testada e comparada com outros sistemas. Os resultados indicam que o sistema tem bom desempenho (8.96% de correspondência exata e 68.65% de correspondência intermédia). No entanto, em imagens onde as características do corpo humano são cobertas, com guarda-chuva ou casacos pesados, por exemplo, o sistema apresenta certas limitações. Este processo tem uma alta velocidade de execução e um processamento computacional de baixo custo: média de 5910 μs com desvio padrão de 5650 μs. Num futuro próximo, serão incluídos modelos de classificação para detetar as ações humanas

Proteolytic systems and AMP-activated protein kinase are critical targets of acute myeloid leukemia therapeutic approaches

The therapeutic strategies against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have hardly been modified over four decades. Although resulting in a favorable outcome in young patients, older individuals, the most affected population, do not respond adequately to therapy. Intriguingly, the mechanisms responsible for AML cells chemoresistance/ susceptibility are still elusive. Mounting evidence has shed light on the relevance of proteolytic systems (autophagy and ubiquitin-proteasome system, UPS), as well as the AMPK pathway, in AML biology and treatment, but their exact role is still controversial. Herein, two AML cell lines (HL-60 and KG-1) were exposed to conventional chemotherapeutic agents (cytarabine and/or doxorubicin) to assess the relevance of autophagy and UPS on AML cells’ response to antileukemia drugs. Our results clearly showed that the antileukemia agents target both proteolytic systems and the AMPK pathway. Doxorubicin enhanced UPS activity while drugs’ combination blocked autophagy specifically on HL-60 cells. In contrast, KG-1 cells responded in a more subtle manner to the drugs tested consistent with the higher UPS activity of these cells. In addition, the data demonstrates that autophagy may play a protective role depending on AML subtype. Specific modulators of autophagy and UPS are, therefore, promising targets for combining with standard therapeutic interventions in some AML subtypes.We would like to acknowledge Dr. Agostinho Carvalho and Dr. Manuel Guerreiro (Hospital da Arrabida, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal) for the critical review and discussion of the manuscript and for the work support. This work was supported by FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (PTDC/BIA-MIC/114116/2009). A.F., O.P. and B.S.M. have fellowships from FCT (SFRH/BD/51991/2012, SFRH/BD/52292/2013, and SFRH/BPD/90533/2012, respectively). M.M.A. was supported by CCDR-N (QREN) in the scope of the project "Integration of cutting-edge health science research and ground-breaking technologies for the development of new clinically useful therapies, tissue regeneration strategies, advanced prophylactic measures and diagnosis methods - (N-01-01-01-24-01-07) - RL5" (UMINHO/BI/245/2013)

Site para apoio ao plano contingência para a gripe A (H1N1)v do Centro Regional do Porto da Universidade Católica Portuguesa

O Centro Regional do Porto da Universidade Católica Portuguesa (CRP-UCP) criou o seu plano de contingência para a Gripe A (H1N1) e decidiu divulgá-lo articulando-o com um site. Site este construído de raiz (Julho 2009) para conter diversas informações actualizadas, formulários de comunicação de ausência por Gripe e associado a todo este processo de divulgação surgiu uma newsletter. São apresentados resultados intercalares.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

L-asparaginase recovery through supported ionic liquid materials based on silica

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts with approximately 6500 new cases in the United States each year [1]. The first-line biopharmaceutical being used to treat ALL, Oncaspar, is based on L-asparaginase (LA), with annual sales of approximately USD $100 million [2]. The main problem related to the therapeutic use of LA is the difficulty in its purification, accounting for up to 80% of total production costs [3]. Therefore, it is crucial to find new strategies to purify LA in order to decrease its current cost and allow its routinely use by a widespread population. Supported ionic liquid materials based on silica (SILs) are reported in the literature for the separation of natural compounds from vegetable biomass [4]. Although SILs represent a class of materials with high potential in protein purification, this specific application has been scarcely considered [5]. In this work, the search for SILs able to establish (non-covalent) specific interactions with LA, which subsequently allow its purification from the fermentation broth in which it is produced, was studied. In a first set of experiments, commercial LA was used in order to understand the adsorption behaviour of the enzyme onto SILs. Experimental conditions, such as pH, contact time and SILs/LA ratio were evaluated and optimized in what concerns the LA recovery yield. LA activity was assessed by the Nessler reaction, which quantifies the amount of ammonium released after the enzymatic reaction [6]. The results show that the ideal conditions for LA are pH 8 and a contact time with SILs of 30 min. With the envisioned strategy, process costs, energy consumed, and waste generated, can be considerably reduced, which can lead to the LA cost decrease and wider application. Further investigations on the purification of LA from the fermentation broth are ongoing.publishe

High-resolution structure of an atypical α-phosphoglucomutase related to eukaryotic phosphomannomutases

The first structure of a bacterial α-phosphoglucomutase with an overall fold similar to eukaryotic phosphomannomutases is reported. Unlike most α-phosphoglucomutases within the α-D-phosphohexomutase superfamily, it belongs to subclass IIb of the haloacid dehalogenase superfamily (HADSF). It catalyzes the reversible conversion of α-glucose 1-phosphate to glucose 6-phosphate. The crystal structure of α-phosphoglucomutase from Lactococcus lactis (APGM) was determined at 1.5 Å resolution and contains a sulfate and a glycerol bound at the enzyme active site that partially mimic the substrate. A dimeric form of APGM is present in the crystal and in solution, an arrangement that may be functionally relevant. The catalytic mechanism of APGM and its strict specificity towards α-glucose 1-phosphate are discussed.Diamond Light Source

IL-10 modulates depressive-like behavior

The role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in psychiatric disorders has been the focus of great research attention in recent years. Para- doxically, the same is not true for anti-inflammatory cytokines. In the present study, we assessed the behavioral profile of animals with altered expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. We performed a battery of tests to assess anxiety, depressive-like and cognitive behaviors in mice overexpressing IL-10 (PMT10) and IL-10-/- animals; in the later mice we also tested the behavioral effect of IL-10 administration. In the forced-swimming test, IL-10 / females displayed increased depressive-like behavior; importantly, this phenotype was reverted by the injection of IL-10. Moreover, mice overexpressing IL-10 presented a decreased depressive-like behavior. Despite the presence of a similar trend, male animals did not reach significant differences in depressive-like behavior. Assessment in the open-field showed that the absence of IL-10 decreased the percentage of time spent in the center of the arena in both male and female mice, while male animals overexpressing IL-10 revealed an opposite behavior. For both sexes, imbalance in IL-10 levels did not affect spatial reference memory. In conclusion, variations in IL-10 expression are associated with an altered depressive-like behavior, but do not influence cognitive performance. Interestingly, IL-10 imbalance produced more profound behavioral changes in females than in male animals. This is in accordance with clinical data demonstrating an increased susceptibility of women to mood disorders, suggesting an interplay between anti-inflammatory cytokines and sexual steroids.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) - AR (SFRH/BD/11838/2003)