Hyperspectral Imaging for Real-Time Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Maritime Target Detection

The hyperspectral cameras use has been increasing over the past years, driven by the exponential growth of the computational systems power. The capability of acquiring multiple spectre wavelengths benefits the increase of the hyperspectral systems range of applications. However, until now, most hyperspectral systems are used in posprocessing and do not allow to take full advantage of the system capabilities. There is a recent trend to be able to use hyperspectral systems in real-time. Given the recent problems in European Union borders due to irregular immigration and drug smuggling, there is the need to develop novel autonomous surveillance systems that can work on these scenarios. This thesis addresses the scenario of using hyperspectral imaging systems for maritime target detection using unmanned aerial vehicles. Specifically, by working in the creation of a hyperspectral real-time data processing system pipeline. In our work, we develop a boresight calibration method that allows to calibrate the position of the navigation sensor related to the camera imaging sensor, and improve substantially the accuracy of the target geo-reference. We also develop a novel method of distinguish targets (boats) from their dominant background. With this application our system is able to only select relevant information to send to a remote station on the ground, thus making it suitable to be installed in an actual unmanned maritime surveillance system.A utilização de câmaras hiperespectrais tem vindo a aumentar nos últimos anos, motivada pelo crescimento exponencial da capacidade de processamento dos mais recentes sistemas computacionais. A sua aptidão para observar múltiplos comprimentos de onda beneficia aplicações em diferentes campos de atividade. No entanto, a maior parte das aplicações com câmaras hiperespectrais são realizadas em pós-processamento, não aproveitando totalmente as capacidades destes sistemas. Existe uma necessidade emergente de detetar mais características sobre o cenário que está a ser observado, incentivando o desenvolvimento de sistemas hiperespectrais capazes de adquirir e processar informação em tempo-real. Face aos mais recentes problemas de emigração e contrabando ilegal na União Europeia, surge a necessidade da realização de vigilância autónoma capaz de adquirir o máximo de informação possível sobre os meios envolventes presentes num dado percurso. E neste contexto que se insere a dissertação que visa a criação é implementação de um sistema hiperespectral em tempo-real. Para construir o sistema, foi necessário dividir o problema em diferentes etapas. Iniciou-se por um estudo detalhado dos sistemas hiperespectrais, desenvolvendo um método de calibração dos ângulos de boresight, que permitiu calibrar a relação entre o sistema de posicionamento e navegação da câmara hiperespectral e o sensor imagem. Esta calibração, permite numa fase posterior geo-referenciar os alvos com maior precisão. Posteriormente, foi criada uma pipeline de processamento, que permite analisar os espectros obtidos, distinguindo os alvos do cenário onde estão inseridos. Após a deteção dos alvos, procede-se `a sua geo-referenciação, de forma a obter as coordenadas UTM do alvo. Toda a informação obtida sobre o alvo e a sua posição é enviada para uma estacão em terra, de forma a ser validada por um humano. Para tal, foi também desenvolvida a metodologia de envio, para selecionar a informação a enviar apenas à mais relevante

30 anos de literatura na Madeira: a visão panorâmica do Diário de Notícias da Madeira e do Jornal da Madeira (1989-2019)

A dissertação “30 Anos de Literatura na Madeira: a visão panorâmica do Diário de Notícias da Madeira e do Jornal da Madeira (1989-2019)” pretende analisar o modo como o jornalismo cultural emerge das suas páginas e a particular relevância que o fenómeno literário ali assume. Neste estudo, inicialmente, começa-se por fazer o enquadramento teórico do jornalismo cultural, seguindo-se uma breve história deste género no Mundo e em Portugal. Segue-se, depois, a análise das notícias recolhidas categorizando-as por géneros jornalísticos e por temáticas. Desta forma, poderemos observar as secções dedicadas à cultura e o espaço que estas ocupam nos periódicos investigados. Por último, segue-se o balanço evolutivo e a conclusão. Percebeu-se de que modo estes periódicos puderam contribuir para a divulgação do fenómeno literário e dos agentes nele envolvidos, tornando possível responder à questão: que lugar tem a Literatura nos periódicos madeirenses nos últimos trinta anos?The dissertation “30 Years of Literature in Madeira: a panoramic view of Diário de Notícias da Madeira and Jornal da Madeira (1989-2019)” aims to analyze the way in wich cultural journalism emerges from its pages and the particular relevance that the literary phenomenon there assumes. In this study, initially, we begin by making the theoretical framework of cultural journalism, followed by a brief history of this genre in the world and in Portugal. Then follows the analysis of the news collected categorizing them by journalistic genres and themes. In this way, we will be able to observe the sections dedicated to culture and the space they occupy in the investigated periodicals. Finally, the evolutionary balance and conclusion follow. It was noticed how these periodicals could contribute to the dissemination of the literary phenomenon and the agents involved in it, making it possible to answer the question: what place has Literature played in Madeiran periodicals in the last thirty years

A sequência didática e a elaboração do relatório científico: um estudo com alunos do 4º ano de escolaridade

O presente relatório tem como objetivo documentar um estudo realizado na Unidade Curricular de Estágio IV e decorreu numa turma de 4.º ano do Ensino Básico. A problemática em estudo centrou-se na elaboração do Relatório Científico. Este estudo articula a área da Língua Portuguesa com a área do Estudo do Meio com o objetivo de permitir aos alunos a aquisição de conhecimentos sobre um novo género textual, através da implementação de uma Sequência Didática (SD). O estudo é de natureza qualitativa e enquadra-se na metodologia em investigação ação. A análise de dados foi realizada com recurso às produções dos alunos. Os resultados obtidos, após a análise comparativa das Produções Iniciais e Finais dos alunos revelam que a SD se revelou uma ferramenta bastante útil para o ensino e aprendizagem deste género textual. Assim, conclui-se que, (i) a implementação das diferentes fases de uma SD construída com base nos conhecimentos prévios dos alunos permitiu a monitorização do trabalho que realizaram, de modo a adequar a prática ao contexto ao longo do desenvolvimento do projeto, o que beneficia o processo de aprendizagem dos alunos ao nível do género textual, neste caso concreto, o Relatório Científico e (ii) com base na articulação entre as disciplinas de Língua Portuguesa e de Estudo do Meio, o ensino explícito do género textual Relatório Científico possibilitou, além do desenvolvimento de competência, dar funcionalidade à escrita, o que se traduz num maior envolvimento por parte dos alunos e, por consequência, uma excelente estratégia de ensino e de aprendizagem e de partilha de conhecimentos.This report aims to document a study carried out in the Curricular Unit of Internship IV and took place in a 4th year class of primary education. The issue under study is focused on the elaboration of the Scientific Report. This study blends two subjects: the Portuguese Language with the Environmental studies area and is aiming to allow students to acquire knowledge about new textual genre, through the implementation of a Didactic Sequence (DS) This is a qualitative study and fits into the action-research methodology. Data analysis was performed using student productions. The obtained results, after a comparative analysis of the students initial and final productions, reveal that DS has proved to be a very useful tool for teaching and learning this textual genre. Thus, it is concluded that, (i) the implementation of the different phases of a DS built on the basis of a student’s prior knowledge allowed the monitoring of the work they performed, in order to adapt the practice to the context throughout the development of the project, which benefits the learning process of students in terms of the textual genre, in this specific case, the Scientific Report and (ii) based on the articulation between the subjects of Portuguese Language and Environmental studies area, the explicit teaching of the Scientific Report textual genre made possible, in addition to competence development, to give functionality to writing, which led to a bigger involvement of the students and consequently, an excellent strategy for teaching and learning and for sharing knowledg

Public perceptions, knowledge, responsibilities, and behavior intentions on marine litter: Identifying profiles of small oceanic islands inhabitants

Marine litter is a global threat, particularly on oceanic islands where the problem is exacerbated. Perceptions, knowledge, awareness, and attitudes towards the theme are crucial in its mitigation and prevention. This study assessed these points through a questionnaire to the inhabitants of a Portuguese archipelago. Data revealed that people associate marine litter with plastic and its impacts and are well informed about its sources and pathways. Yet, the degradation rates of marine items were frequently underestimated and the problem of marine litter was attributed, among others, to littering, single-use products, and excessive packaging. Some individuals did not consider themselves responsible for reducing marine litter, attributing responsibilities to third parties. The youngest group, men, and students were the ones who reported less litter-reducing intentions and behaviors. Distinct profiles were traced using the questionnaire’s answers, highlighting who needs marine litter literacy. Individuals who do not consider marine litter a current threat and live in a community that does not care about marine litter (profiles 1 and 2) were the groups that needed deeper intervention, due to their low perception and understanding of the problem. Marine litter literacy, management, and governance measures are necessary so that the public recognizes marine litter as a current threat, is worried about its impacts, avoids plastic use, and choses re-useable products (profile 4). In the studied oceanic islands, results indicated marine litter is not fully perceived by the public. A global and transformative shift in the way people are educated and behave towards waste and pollution is required, thereby highlighting the importance of increasing public perceptions assessment and marine litter literacy in the society.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

From awareness to action

ARNET [ LA/P/0069/2020 ] are also financed by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P., Portugal . Fundo Azul do Ministério do Mar funded through the project ALIMAR – Ação Lixo Marinho! ( FA_06_2017_081 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)Marine litter is a global problem. Education has been acclaimed as a potential tool to tackle this issue, yet, integrative, student-centered, and over weeks studies to raise awareness on the theme that compares pre- with post-intervention results are limited in the literature. Furthermore, almost no studies rely on the basis of previous experience on the theme and local reality. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an educational intervention to raise awareness and educate students (1st cycle to high-school) about marine litter. Different learning skills were fostered through theoretical, laboratorial, and hands-on activities and students participated in a beach clean-up to summarize the classroom's learnings in loco. Pre- and post-questionnaire results indicate that students' knowledge, perceptions, and behavioral intentions changed. Identification of marine litter estimated degradation times and observation of microplastics in local sand samples were activities highly appreciated by youngsters. This intervention positively impacted schoolchildren's literacy, contributing to advancing education in marine litter and can be further adapted to other educational areas.publishersversionpublishe

Impact of a purified blueberry extract on in vitro probiotic mucin-adhesion and its effect on probiotic/intestinal pathogen systems

Several arguments have been made to substantiate the need for natural antimicrobials for the food industry. With blueberry extracts, the most compelling are both their healthy connotation and the possibility of obtaining a multipurpose solution that can be an antioxidant, colorant, and antimicrobial. From an antimicrobial perspective, as blueberry/anthocyanin-rich extracts have been associated with a capacity to inhibit harmful bacteria while causing little to no inhibition on potential probiotic microorganisms, the study of potential benefits that come from synergies between the extract and probiotics may be of particular interest. Therefore, the present work aimed to evaluate the effect of an anthocyanin-rich extract on the adhesion of five different probiotics as well as their effect on the probiotics’ capacity to compete with or block pathogen adhesion to a mucin/BSA-treated surface. The results showed that, despite some loss of probiotic adhesion, the combined presence of extract and probiotic is more effective in reducing the overall amount of adhered viable pathogen cells than the PROBIOTIC alone, regardless of the probiotic/pathogen system considered. Furthermore, in some instances, the combination of the extract with Bifidobacterium animalis Bo allowed for almost complete inhibition of pathogen adhesioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Correlação dos achados clínicos com os parâmetros funcionais em idosos portadores de asma

AbstractIntroduction: Advanced age is a risk factor for a blunted perception of the symptoms, severity and mortality of asthma. There are only a few studies in the literature on the relationship between respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function in elderly asthmatics.Aims: To evaluate the divergence between clinical and functional classification of asthma in the elderly and to characterise subgroups of patients at greater risk of clinico-functional divergence.Material and methods: A cross-sectional study evaluating 41 elderly asthmatics (60years old or over; 33 female; mean age 68.2years old). Data on age, gender, educational level, smoking, time since diagnosis of the disease and weight were obtained. Clinical classification, peak expiratory flow measurement and spirometry were performed.Results: We found that forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) correlated positively with the other functional parameters, and FEV1 correlated negatively with time since diagnosis of the disease. The percentage of clinico-functional divergence was 73.2%. Female patients and those with lower levels of schooling had an 8.6 and 9.3 risk of clinico-functional divergence respectively.Conclusion: The great clinico-functional divergence in elderly asthmatics shows the need to establish functional measurements as markers of asthma severity.Rev Port Pneumol 2009; XV (6): 1029-104