Projecto de fundações e estrutura de um edifício destinado a instituição de ensino superior

A realização deste trabalho teve como principal objectivo a aplicação dos conceitos apreendidos ao longo da Licenciatura, desenvolvendo as capacidades de análise no domínio da engenharia civil associadas ao projecto de estruturas, tendo sempre em vista que o produto final seria um projecto apto para seguir para obra e ser executado. Tendo como base as características arquitectónicas e geotécnicas, foi elaborado um projecto de um edifício com estrutura em betão armado, utilizando pré-esforço em elementos em consola e em grandes vãos. Para tal, foram aplicados conhecimentos adquiridos no âmbito do estudo do betão estrutural, da mecânica dos materiais, da engenharia sísmica, da dinâmica de estruturas e do dimensionamento de fundações. Foi utilizado o programa de cálculo automático SAP2000 para modelar todo o edifício, fazer a sua análise dinâmica e obter áreas de armaduras. Foi efectuado um vasto trabalho, quer na agregação de elementos teóricos de base para o projecto, tais como regulamentos, eurocódigos e bibliografia diversa, quer na comparação com construções similares. As hipóteses de dimensionamento que foram sendo encontradas tiveram sempre o objectivo de obter a melhor solução, traduzida na melhor relação economia/exequibilidade

Biogas production and purification using membrane processes

In this master thesis, a single-stage anaerobic co-digestion system was operated treating a mixture of leachate and tannery wastewater, increasing salinity from 5 to 15 g Na+ L-1. Biogas production (1.6 ± 0.3 – 3.0 ± 0.3 L d-1) increased as salinity increased up to 10 g Na+ L-1 as well as CH4 yield (0.29 ± 0.03 – 0.33 ± 0.03 L CH4 g-1 COD). At 15 g Na+ L-1, a decrease in biogas production and granules fragmentation were observed. Overall, the results showed that the microbial community was able to withstand salinities up to 15 g Na+ L-1, presenting a good performance on the co-treatment of leachate and tannery wastewater. The second part of this master thesis was focused on the effect of combining metal organic frameworks (MOF-5), with high adsorption properties towards CO2 when compared with CH4, with a combination of different poly(ionic liquid)/ionic liquid (PIL/IL) membranes for biogas upgrading. The MOF-5 was incorporated at different loadings (10, 20 and 30 wt%), and mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared by solvent evaporation method. The results showed that MOF-5 particles were uniformly dispersed into the PIL/IL matrix, except for PIL C(CN)3/40 [C2MIM][C(CN)3]. The prepared PIL/IL/MOF-5 membranes revealed suitable thermal stability (Tonset up to 300-380ºC) for biogas upgrading, but a loss of mechanical stability was found after the incorporation of MOF-5. Nevertheless, increasing MOF-5 content in the MMMs resulted in an improvement on CO2 permeability, which increased 133% for PIL Tf2N/40 [C2MIM][BETi]/30 MOF-5 when compared to PIL Tf2N/40 [C2MIM][BETi]. It was therefore possible to demonstrate the improvement of CO2/CH4 separation performance of this MMMs system using MOF-5, which opens the perspective of using these materials for biogas upgrading

Anna Seward and the Poetics of Sensibility and Control

Review of Anna Seward and the End of the Eighteenth Century by Claudia Thomas Kairoff. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012. Pp. 328. $58 cloth

HOW FAR FROM THE PREMISE; A META-ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF LITERATURE ON CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING

Background: Although there are numerous success records of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) implementation in educational settings and its principles have been found effective, the impact of the whole educational methodology may be overrated. Method: A comprehensive search conducted to retrieve articles published between August 2005 and July 2016 using the scholarly databases. Results: We identified 102 potentially relevant articles of which only 6 met the inclusion criteria. Positive effect sizes in 5 studies indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group. These effect sizes were analyzed separately to provide an interpretative context for the main results. High heterogeneity was observed (Q = 5, P < .001). The Chi-squared significance test shows that the distribution of effect sizes has heterogeneity. Likewise, I-squared statistic quantifies the heterogeneity on the data. Conclusion: Despite the positive feedbacks reported by researchers on the efficiency of such methodology applied in primary and secondary schools, it is occasionally admitted that the results of the study are in doubt as the participants of CLIL and non-CLIL groups do not have equal exposure to the foreign language. To compare both groups in the same conditions, it is necessary for both to receive the same number of instruction hours in L2.  Article visualizations

Development of visual noise mask for human point-light displays

Since the 1970’s Point-Light Display (PLD) stimuli have been widely used in investigations regarding how humans process and recognize human movement. Because humans have a great ability to recognize human motion even in the absence of pictorial information, several studies introduce visual noise in order to make stimuli recognition more challenging. The usual approach is to introduce extra moving dots of similar size that move along to the actual human PLD. To construct such a noise mask, often researchers must develop algorithms that generate random moving dots. Although some authors made platforms allowing manipulations within the algorithmic possibilities available, most of the developed and available ways of visual dot noise masks production rely on paid softwares, have file format restrictions and require the researcher to have extensive programming skills. In this regard, we herein propose to build the noise mask on Blender, a free open source software, with a graphical interface that reads and exports many file formats and enables the manipulation of videos both in 2D and 3D. Therefore, we present a user- friendly step-by-step guide on how to develop visual noise for masking PLD. Specifically, we explain how to set a dynamic movement in a 2D environment that relies mainly on changing an object position on the ‘x' and ‘y' axis. Additionally, we also present how to build the dots and how they can be manipulated to create the desired movement. The herein presented guideline can also be easily translated and applied in the 3D option. Furthermore, we made available the environment of the software with some directions and the set of noise videos developed by our group. Finally, as normally the combination of videos with the mask is crucial, the process of combination of the videos and the mask in Blender is also explained. In sum, the main advantages of the presented methodology are the non-expensiveness and no need of programming experience; thus having no prerequisites to be applied. In particular, this step-by-step guide might be appealing to students engaged in this research topic but who are still novice in programming skills usually required to build visual dot noise masks

Avaliação da dor em crianças submetidas ao transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas : uma pesquisa convergente assistencial

Orientadora: Profª Drª Nen Nalú Alves das MercêsDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação Mestrado Profissional em Enfermagem. Defesa: Curitiba, 11/03/2016Inclui referências : f.113-134Linha de pesquisa: Processo de cuidar em saúde e enfermagemResumo: A dor na criança é uma experiência desafiadora para os profissionais de enfermagem, pois exige conhecimento das fases de desenvolvimento e crescimento infantil e métodos específicos adequados para seu desenvolvimento cognitivo. Trata-se de uma Pesquisa Convergente Assistencial, desenvolvida no serviço de transplante de células- tronco hematopoéticas de um hospital de ensino, no período de outubro de 2014 a julho de 2015. Objetivou desenvolver a avaliação da dor das crianças submetidas ao transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas. Os participantes foram 11 crianças transplantadas e 36 profissionais de enfermagem, lotados na Unidade de internação. O estudo foi submetido e aprovado no Comitê de Ética do hospital de ensino, com o CAAE nº 34666314000000096 e parecer de nº 784.683. A coleta de dados foi desenvolvida em cinco etapas: 1ª sondagem do conhecimento dos profissionais de enfermagem; 2ª capacitação participante com os profissionais de enfermagem; 3ª aplicação das escalas de avaliação da dor unidimensional Faces Pain Scale Revised, e comportamental Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability, com as crianças internadas; 4ª supervisão capacitante com os profissionais de enfermagem; e, 5ª grupo de discussão. A análise dos dados coletados foi realizada com base nos quatro processos da Pesquisa Convergente Assistencial: apreensão, síntese, teorização e transferência, na síntese temática por estatística descritiva simples. Resultados: Evidenciou-se durante a sondagem do conhecimento que os profissionais de enfermagem desconhecem os mecanismos da dor na criança; na capacitação participante, os profissionais identificam as principais causas de dor durante o transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas e, os métodos não farmacológicos utilizados durante este processo; na avaliação da dor, destacou-se a subestimação da dor pelos profissionais nos escores autorrelatados pelas crianças e, a falta de registro das avaliações no formulário da avaliação da dor pelos profissionais de enfermagem; na supervisão capacitante ocorreu a troca de informações entre a pesquisadora e profissionais sobre as particularidades da criança e sua dor e esclarecimento das dúvidas na prática da avaliação da dor na criança; e nos grupos de discussão ressaltou a importância da avaliação da dor. Considerou-se como potencialidades: os profissionais de enfermagem reconheceram as principais causas de dor e métodos não farmacológicos utilizados para a dor na criança no transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas; a utilização da pesquisa convergente assistencial fortaleceu a união da prática com a cientificidade; os profissionais de enfermagem compreenderam e aplicaram as escalas de avaliação de dor nas crianças durante o processo de transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas. As principais fragilidades encontradas no decorrer da pesquisa foram a falta de registro da avaliação da dor pelos profissionais de enfermagem, além do julgamento e questionamento sobre a dor na criança, o uso de placebo, a submedicação referida e, a não inclusão do acompanhante familiar no processo de avaliação da dor da criança. Os profissionais de enfermagem apesar de reconhecerem a dor na criança, necessitam de constante educação em serviço para o melhor manejo e tratamento desta dor. Palavras-chave: Dor. Avaliação de sintomas. Transplante de células-tronco hematopoéticas. Criança. Enfermagem.Abstract: Pain in children is a challenging experience for nursing professionals, since it requires knowledge of the stages of development and child growth, and appropriate specific methods for their cognitive development. It is a Convergent Care Research, developed in the service of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation of a teaching hospital from October 2014 to July 2015. It objectified to carry out the assessment of pain in children undergoing the transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells. Participants were 11 transplanted children and 36 nursing professionals, working at the Hospital Unit. The study was submitted and approved by the Ethics Committee, under number 34666314000000096, and opinion n. 784.683. Data collection was developed in five steps, as follows: 1st nursing professionals' knowledge survey; 2nd participant training with nursing professionals; 3rd application of the unidimensional Faces Pain Scale Revised, and behavioral Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability Pain Scale to the hospitalized children; 4th supervised training with nursing professionals; and 5th discussion group. Analysis of the collected data was carried out grounded in the four processes of the Convergent Care Research: apprehension, synthesis, theorization and transference, in the thematic analysis by simple descriptive statistics. Results: During knowledge survey, it was evidenced that nursing professionals did not acknowledge pain in children; in the participant training, professionals identify the main causes of pain during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as well as the non-pharmacological methods used during this process; in the pain assessment, it is pointed out the underestimation of the pain by the professionals from the children's self-reported scores, and lack of assessment records by the nursing professionals in the assessment formulary of pain; in the supervised training, there was information exchange between the researcher and the professionals on children's singularities and their pain, as well as the clarification of doubts on the practice of children's pain assessment; in addition, the importance of pain assessment was pointed out in the discussion groups. It was considered as potentialities: nursing professionals recognize the main causes of pain and non-pharmacological methods used for children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; the use of the convergent care research strengthened the union of practice and scientific approach; nursing professionals understood and applied the pain assessment scales to the children during the process of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The main fragilities found along the research were the lack of pain assessment records by nursing professionals, besides the judgement and questioning of the pain in children, the use of placebo, the reported under-medication, and non-inclusion of the family companies in the process of pain assessment in children. In spite of recognizing the pain in children, nursing professionals need ongoing in-service education for better management and treatment of this pain. Keywords: Pain. Symptoms assessment. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Child. Nursing

The impact of COVID-19 hygienic measures on food choice and eating behaviour

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to several changes that have affected not only emotional and psychological well-being but also eating behavior. Herein, we sought to evaluate if depicting pandemic-related sanitary measures in a food consumption video would impact food appraisal, decreasing food attractiveness and the desire to eat. Participants performed, on two different days, an online protocol in which foods presented in a video, and following, in pictures, were evaluated regarding visual aspect, expected smell and taste, and desire to eat. The videos presented each day differed only regarding the presence/absence of sanitary elements adopted during the pandemic, composing COVID/non-COVID conditions. For both conditions, sweet and high-calorie foods were better evaluated when compared to salty and low-calorie foods, with the sweet food evaluation higher for the non-COVID condition when compared to the COVID-condition. Only for the non-COVID condition was the reported desire to eat higher immediately after the video, and for both conditions, it was higher at the end of the task when compared to the baseline. Correlation analysis suggests that depression and anxiety symptoms may reduce the smell appreciation of foods presented in the pandemic scenario. We conclude that food perception is affected by the presence of the sanitary measures adopted during the pandemic by reducing the desire to eat and food hedonic appreciation and, further, that depression and anxiety symptoms may be related to a higher negative impact of the pandemic on eating behavior.O.M.L. is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through the national funds, within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of the Decree No. 57/2016, of 29th of August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July (Ref.: SFRH/BPD/72710/2010). This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (Ref.: UIDB/PSI/01662/2020)

The combined effects of motor and social goals on the kinematics of object-directed motor action

Voluntary actions towards manipulable objects are usually performed with a particular motor goal (i.e., a task-specific object-target-effector interaction) and in a particular social context (i.e., who would benefit from these actions), but the mutual influence of these two constraints has not yet been properly studied. For this purpose, we asked participants to grasp an object and place it on either a small or large target in relation to Fitts' law (motor goal). This first action prepared them for a second grasp-to-place action which was performed under temporal constraints, either by the participants themselves or by a confederate (social goal). Kinematic analysis of the first preparatory grasp-to-place action showed that, while deceleration time was impacted by the motor goal, peak velocity was influenced by the social goal. Movement duration and trajectory height were modulated by both goals, the effect of the social goal being attenuated by the effect of the motor goal. Overall, these results suggest that both motor and social constraints influence the characteristics of object-oriented actions, with effects that combine in a hierarchical way.- This work was funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR-11-EQPX-0023) and also supported by European funds through the program FEDER SCV-IrDIVE. MFG was financed by the Region Hauts-de-France and the University of Lille. We are grateful to Anya Attou for her contribution to the data collection, Laurent Ott for his support in the computer programming of the study and Celia Moreira (mathematical researcher at FCUP-CMUP, University of Porto) for her helpful suggestions for statistical analysis

Impacts of COVID-19 sanitary cues on hedonic appreciation of foods

The COVID-19 pandemic led to several lifestyle changes, including eating behavior. Herein, we aimed to evaluate how pandemic-related sanitary cues presented in food videos impact food appraisal and desire to eat, and their priming after-effects on subsequent food pictures presented without such cues. In two online sessions, separated by 4 to 7 days, participants watched either a Non-Pandemic or a Pandemic video of a woman eating, the latter containing sanitary elements adopted during the pandemic. The order of the videos was counterbalanced across participants over the two experimental sessions. Videos were followed by images of food from different categories. After observing both videos and each picture, participants were instructed to evaluate the visual aspect, expected smell and flavor, and rate their desire to eat. Our study demonstrated (1) higher hedonic responses to the Non-Pandemic compared to the Pandemic video, (2) a priming effect showing higher appreciation for sweet foods after the Non-Pandemic compared to the Pandemic video, (3) that food exposure gradually increases one’s desire to eat, but such effects are impacted by pandemic sanitary cues, and (4) greater hedonic responses are given for sweet and high-calorie foods compared to salty and low-calorie ones, irrespective of pandemic priming. Finally, depression and anxiety symptoms were associated with lower smell evaluations only in the Pandemic condition.O.M.L. is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through the national funds, within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of the Decree No. 57/2016, of 29 August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July (Ref.: SFRH/BPD/72710/2010). This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology through the Portuguese State Budget (Ref.: UIDB/PSI/01662/2020)

The impact of COVID-19 hygienic measures on food choice and eating behaviour

[Excerpt] The COVID-19 pandemic has led to several changes that have affected not only emotional and psychological well-being but also eating behavior. Herein, we sought to evaluate if depicting pandemic-related sanitary measures in a food consumption video would impact food appraisal, decreasing food attractiveness and the desire to eat. Participants performed, on two different days, an online protocol in which foods presented in a video, and following, in pictures, were evaluated regarding visual aspect, expected smell and taste, and desire to eat. The videos presented each day differed only regarding the presence/absence of sanitary elements adopted during the pandemic, composing COVID/non-COVID conditions. [...