Bridges and barriers in intercultural relationships : exploring the encounters of ethnic Norwegians from two charismatic churches in Oslo with immigrants

Master's thesis in global studies. VID Specialized University, Stavanger, May 2018Norway as a host society in Scandinavia has experienced an unprecedented growth of immigrants in the last few years. This dramatic change accompanies various challenges that involve both the host nationals and immigrants as they encounter each other in daily life. This study focuses on the perspectives of ethnic Norwegians on how they relate and interact with new members of society, as they meet them in their daily lives. The study discusses three major perspectives that shed some light on the attitudes, perceptions and concrete steps that certain host nationals have undertaken in relation to immigrants which show the impact that their values and perspectives have on their relationships. The different perspectives signify both the barriers and bridges in the intercultural relationships.submittedVersionMV 17 S

Multifractality and autoregressive processes of dry spell lengths in Europe: an approach to their complexity and predictability

Dry spell lengths, DSL, defined as the number of consecutive days with daily rain amounts below a given threshold, may provide relevant information about drought regimes. Taking advantage of a daily pluviometric database covering a great extension of Europe, a detailed analysis of the multifractality of the dry spell regimes is achieved. At the same time, an autoregressive process is applied with the aim of predicting DSL. A set of parameters, namely Hurst exponent, H, estimated from multifractal spectrum, f(a), critical Hölder exponent, a0, for which f(a) reaches its maximum value, spectral width, W, and spectral asymmetry, B, permits a first clustering of European rain gauges in terms of the complexity of their DSL series. This set of parameters also allows distinguishing between time series describing fine- or smooth-structure of the DSL regime by using the complexity index, CI. Results of previous monofractal analyses also permits establishing comparisons between smooth-structures, relatively low correlation dimensions, notable predictive instability and anti-persistence of DSL for European areas, sometimes submitted to long droughts. Relationships are also found between the CI and the mean absolute deviation, MAD, and the optimum autoregressive order, OAO, of an ARIMA(p,d,0) autoregressive process applied to the DSL series. The detailed analysis of the discrepancies between empiric and predicted DSL underlines the uncertainty over predictability of long DSL, particularly for the Mediterranean region.Postprint (author's final draft

Extraordinary transmission through arrays of slits: A circuit theory model

Extraordinary transmission and other interesting related phenomena for 1-D periodic arrays of slits (compound diffraction gratings) have recently been the object of intense research in the optics and solid state physics communities. This case should be differentiated from the extraordinary transmission through arrays of small apertures on metal screens since small holes only support below-cutoff modes, whereas slits can also support transverse electromagnetic modes without cutoff frequency. In this paper, an equivalent-circuit approach is proposed to account for the most relevant details of the behavior of slit-based periodic structures: extraordinary transmission peaks, FabryProt resonances, and transmission dips observed in compound structures. The proposed equivalent-circuit model, based on well-established concepts of waveguide and circuit theory, provides a simple and accurate description of the phenomenon that is appropriate for educational purposes, as well as for the design of potential devices based on the behavior of the structures under study.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2007-65376, CSD2008-00066Junta de Andalucía TIC-25

Analytical modeling of compound metallic reflection gratings

The transmission and reflection of electromagnetic waves impinging on metallic surfaces with periodically distributed slits (diffraction gratings) have been the subject of thorough studies using numerical and experimental approaches. Of special interest are the properties of the so-called compound gratings, which are periodic arrays of slits whose unit cell contains several of them. The transmission properties of such diffraction gratings have been studied along the last few years both theoretically (D.C. Skigin and R.A. Depine, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 217402, 2005) and experimentally (A.P. Hibbins et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 96, 257402, 2006; M. Navarro-Ca et al., App. Phys. Lett., 94, 091107, 2009). However, analytical models are very useful for design purposes and, moreover, they provide physical insight that is not obvious from numerical approaches. For compound transmission gratings, the authors of this contribution recently developed a circuit-model-based analytical approach (F. Medina, F. Mesa and D.C. Skigin, IEEE Trans. on Mic. Theory Tech., 58, 105-115, 2010) that captures the essential physics of these optical systems. Thus, compound transmission gratings are now well understood, and numerical or analytical design tools are available

Fetopatia por exposição a ARA II : caso clínico e revisão teórica

Trabalho Final do Curso de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2020A hipertensão arterial é uma doença muito prevalente, sendo os antagonistas dos recetores de angiotensina II (ARA II) fármacos de primeira linha, utilizados muitas vezes em mulheres em idade fértil, sabendo que estes estão classificados pela FDA como categoria D na gravidez. A fetopatia a ARA II consiste no conjunto de lesões fetais e neonatais provocada pela exposição intrauterina a estes fármacos e caracteriza-se por oligoâmnios/aniâmnios, doença renal de gravidade variável e defeitos tubulares renais, hipoplasia pulmonar, hipoplasia calvária, contraturas dos membros, hipotensão neonatal refratária, restrição do crescimento fetal e, por vezes, morte fetal ou neonatal. Apresenta-se o caso clínico de uma criança, cuja mãe foi medicada com azilsartan até às 30 semanas de gestação, tendo-se verificado um importante oligoâmnios não reversível com a cessação do fármaco e necessidade de parto prematuro. A recém-nascida apresentou hipoplasia pulmonar com síndrome de dificuldade respiratória e necessidade de ventilação mecânica, hipoplasia calvária e anquilose dos membros, bem como doença renal grave com necessidade de diálise peritoneal. Embora com importantes fatores de mau prognóstico, esta bebé esteve hemodinamicamente estável e com diurese mantida desde o nascimento, tendo sido possível suspender a diálise peritoneal. Atualmente, aos 16 meses de vida, os principais problemas da lactente são a má progressão estaturo-ponderal e a doença renal crónica que, no entanto, não necessita presentemente de qualquer terapêutica. Embora os efeitos fetotóxicos dos ARA II sejam bem conhecidos e o seu uso seja totalmente contraindicado na gravidez, esta situação continua a ocorrer. Este caso alerta para as graves implicações da administração de ARA II durante a gravidez, sobretudo nos dois últimos trimestres, reforçando a importante consciencialização de médicos e doentes para este risco. É muito importante uma monitorização interdisciplinar consistente de todas as crianças com exposição fetal a ARA II, com particular foco no desenvolvimento neurológico e na função renal. Continuam a ser necessários mais estudos para analisar as consequências a longo prazo da exposição intrauterina a ARA II.Arterial hypertension is a highly prevalent disease and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARB) are first-line drugs, often used in women of childbearing age, knowing that these are classified by the FDA as category D in pregnancy. ARB fetopathy consists of a set of fetal and neonatal lesions caused by intrauterine exposure to these drugs and is characterized by oligohydramnios/anhydramnios, kidney disease of variable severity and renal tubular defects, pulmonary hypoplasia, hypocalvaria, limb contractures, refractory neonatal hypotension, fetal growth restriction and sometimes fetal or neonatal death. This is the case report of a child, whose mother was medicated with azilsartan during pregnancy. She presented an important non-reversible oligohydramnios and the need for premature delivery. The newborn had pulmonary hypoplasia with respiratory distress syndrome requiring mechanical ventilation, hypocalvaria and ankylosis of the limbs, as well as severe kidney disease requiring peritoneal dialysis. Despite the initial bad prognosis factors, this baby was hemodynamically stable and with diuresis maintained since birth, and it was possible to suspend peritoneal dialysis. Currently, at 16 months of age, the main problems of the infant are poor height-weight progression and chronic kidney disease, which doesn’t require any therapy at the moment. Although the fetotoxic effects of ARB are well known and their use is totally contraindicated in pregnancy, this situation continues to occur. This case warns about the serious implications of administering ARB during pregnancy, especially in the last two trimesters, reinforcing the importance of the awareness of doctors and patients about this risk. Consistent interdisciplinary monitoring of all children with fetal exposure to ARB is very important, with a particular focus on neurological development and renal function. Further studies are still needed to analyze the long-term consequences of intrauterine exposure to ARB

Guidelines for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Open Education Centering on Africa and Latin America Contexts

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) has been a topic of recent debate within the Open Education (OE) community, and some would argue that it has underpinned the OE discourse since the beginning. However, access to free and online resources alone, such as Open Educational Resources (OER) cannot be considered equitable, diverse, and inclusive. In fact, the large majority of OER are only available in English, which limits access and reach for many learners around the world (Bossu et al., 2023). The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) is a network of PhD candidates around the world whose research projects include a focus on open education. These doctoral researchers are at the core of the network; around them, over two hundred experts, supervisors, mentors and interested parties connect to form a community of practice. EDI has been driving the GO-GN agenda since its foundation in 2013, but it was only in 2018 when its first projects directly related to EDI was developed; the first one had a focus on EDI in Open Education in Africa, followed by a second project which focused on Latin America. One of the aims of these projects was to increase representation from these communities within GO-GN, as despite attempts, most of GO-GN participants are from Global North/developed countries. Another aim was to reach those who could potentially benefit the most from being part of this network (Rodés & Iniesto, 2021). In this presentation, we will briefly explore key aspects of these two EDI projects. We will also present, the GO-GN EDI Guidelines, which is an evidenced-based document that contains set of guiding principles that prompts questions and raises issues to be considered by higher education institutions, individuals, and in particular for GO-GN, and other similar initiatives wishing to create a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive open education environment so that it can benefit those who need it the most. Although the EDI guidelines were informed and contextualised by some of the regions of the Global South, it can be changed and adapted to suit different EDI and open educational contexts

Aplicación del Cannabidiol en afecciones dermatológicas

Introducción: Las afecciones dermatológicas como la psoriasis y la dermatitis atópica tiene en común su componente autoinmune que las provocas. A día de hoy existen tratamientos farmacológicos para ambas patologías. Sin embargo, los medicamentos indicados para el tratamiento tienen ciertas limitaciones. Entre ellas, interacciones con otros medicamentos o efectos secundarios. Es por ello que, en los últimos años, se ha aumentado la búsqueda e investigación de nuevos tratamientos farmacológicos. Dentro de esas líneas de investigación se encuentra el cannabidiol. Se sabe que los dos principios activos más estudiados de la planta Cannabis sativa son el delta-9-tetrahidrocannabinol y el cannabidiol, siendo este último el principio activo que tiene propiedades terapéuticas. Objetivo: El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una revisión sistemática de la aplicación del CBD en las afecciones dermatológicas de la psoriasis y la dermatitis atópica en humanos. Material y métodos: Se realizó una revisión sistemática para estudiar los últimos artículos disponibles en las bases de datos relacionadas con el ámbito de la salud como son: Pubmed y Embase Resultados: Tras la búsqueda se recopilaron 150 artículos de los cuales, aplicando unos criterios de inclusión y exclusión, se escogieron 6 para su evaluación. Conclusión: Los distintos estudios expuestos muestran la eficacia que ha tenido el CBD por vía tópica tanto en la patología de la psoriasis como en la dermatitis atópica. Confirmando ser una terapia prometedora para dichas afecciones dermatológicas pues que podría mejorar la calidad de vida de los pacientes gracias a sus propiedades antinflamatorias y antioxidante

Equity, diversity, and inclusion in open education: A systematic literature review

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and open education are key areas in the current development of educational systems internationally. However, little is known about the general perspective of what has been addressed about EDI in open educational contexts to date. To address this gap, this paper presents a systematic literature review of 15 papers where we examined the current state of the art and the main suggestions for EDI implementation. Results indicate that practitioners should involve all stakeholders, including institutions, faculty members, and students, in EDI development to enhance open educational practices as well as in the cocreation of open educational resources which need to consider culture, language, and location, among others. This review of literature contributes an evidence base to support the future development and adoption of EDI in open educational contexts by organizing relevant literature into coherent themes that can inform future research

Roteiro metodológico para o estudo dos moinhos e aproveitamentos hidráulicos no concelho de Lousada

A Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente é possuidora de um valioso arquivo, resultante da atividade centenária desenvolvida pelos diferentes organismos com tutela sobre a gestão da água e o planeamento dos recursos hídricos, que importa conhecer e divulgar. O Arquivo Histórico dos Serviços Hidráulicos é um dos mais ricos acervos locais do País, reunindo um conjunto de milhares de documentos, que vão do século XIX à atualidade, constituindo um repositório documental com características ímpares e um testemunho da identidade, memória e história dos Serviços Hidráulicos. Os processos arquivados contam casos de estudo que percorrem os usos das águas públicas para diferentes fins e as modalidades da sua utilização, das quais queremos destacar os aproveitamentos hidráulicos e a laboração de moinhos. Com este artigo, pretendemos apresentar um roteiro metodológico para o estudo das formas de organização dos processos existentes no arquivo sobre os moinhos e aproveitamentos hidráulicos, no concelho de Lousada, no que respeita aos documentos e peças anexas, bem como aos modelos administrativos subjacentes.The Portuguese Environment Agency is in possession of a valuable resulting file of the centennial activities carried out by different agencies with supervising responsibilities over water management and planning of water resources which is important to know and publicize. The Historical Archives of Hydraulic Services is one of the richest local collections in the Country, bringing together a set of thousands of documents ranging from the 19th century to the present, constituting a document repository with unique features and a testimony of identity, memory and history of Hydraulic Services. The archived files include case studies that run through the uses of public waters for different purposes and their methods of use, of which we highlight the hydroelectric plants and the working of mills. With this article, we aim to provide a methodological guide for the study of organizational forms of the existing processes about the hydraulic mills and exploitations in the municipality of Lousada, regarding documents and attached pieces as well as the underlying administrative template

Genome Sequence of the Native Apiculate Wine Yeast Hanseniaspora vineae T02/19AF

The use of novel yeast strains for winemaking improves quality and provides variety including subtle characteristic differences in fine wines. Here we report the first genome of a yeast strain native to Uruguay, Hanseniaspora vineae T02/19AF, which has been shown to positively contribute to aroma and wine quality.Fil: Giorello, Facundo M.. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Berná, Luisa. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Greif, Gonzalo. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Camesasca, Laura. Inst. de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable; UruguayFil: Salzman, Valentina. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; Uruguay. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Medina, Karina. Universidad de la Republica. Facultad de Química; UruguayFil: Robello, Carlos. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Gaggero, Carina. Inst. de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable; UruguayFil: Aguilar, Pablo S.. Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Carrau, Francisco. Sección Enología; Urugua