457 research outputs found

    Working in a tourism company: experience at Dixo´s Oporto Apartments

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    The present report is part of the curricular internship of the Master’s degree in Intercultural Studies for Business, from the Porto Accounting and Business School (Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto). This internship took place at the tourism field related company, Dixo’s Oporto Apartments. Globalization has been increasing at unprecedented rates and with that, the limits and the borders between countries and nations have been reducing. As a result, there has been a marked increase in the need for intercultural communication as it becomes reality and people depend more on this type of communication. The tourism sector is no exception from the inevitable changes imposed by globalization, and it too depends on intercultural communication. Cities such as Porto with a great flux of tourism rely on the finest quality services delivered by leading professionals. High standards can only be achieved by those who are used to intercultural communication and are familiarized with concepts such as globalization and interculturality. The purpose of this report is to describe and understand, at the most precise level the activities carried out during the internship based on the concepts and knowledge learnt during the master’s degree.O presente relatório insere-se no âmbito do estágio curricular do Mestrado em Estudos Interculturais para Negócio, no Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto (ISCAP). O estágio decorreu na empresa Dixo’s Oporto Apartments que se insere na área do Turismo. A globalização tem vindo a crescer a níveis nunca previstos e, com isso, os limites e as fronteiras entre países e nações vêm diminuindo. Com isso, a comunicação intercultural tem crescido assim como o crescimento da comunicação entre diferentes culturas, uma constante e as pessoas dependem cada vez mais desse tipo de comunicação sendo uma realidade óbvia atualmente. O turismo vive desse tipo de comunicação e da globalização. Cidades como o Porto, com grande fluxo turístico, contam com serviços de qualidade prestados por profissionais formados por excelência. Padrões elevados só podem ser alcançados por aqueles que estão acostumados a comunicação intercultural e familiarizados com conceitos como globalização e interculturalidade. O objetivo deste relatório é descrever e compreender da forma mais precisa as atividades desenvolvidas durante o estágio com base nos conceitos e conhecimentos aprendidos durante o mestrado

    Critical Reflectance Derived from MODIS: Application for the Retrieval of Aerosol Absorption over Desert Regions

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    Aerosols are tiny suspended particles in the atmosphere that scatter and absorb sunlight. Smoke particles are aerosols, as are sea salt, particulate pollution and airborne dust. When you look down at the earth from space sometimes you can see vast palls of whitish smoke or brownish dust being transported by winds. The reason that you can see these aerosols is because they are reflecting incoming sunlight back to the view in space. The reason for the difference in color between the different types of aerosol is that the particles arc also absorbing sunlight at different wavelengths. Dust appears brownish or reddish because it absorbs light in the blue wavelengths and scatters more reddish light to space, Knowing how much light is scattered versus how much is absorbed, and knowin~ that as a function of wavelength is essential to being able to quantify the role aerosols play in the energy balance of the earth and in climate change. It is not easy measuring the absorption properties of aerosols when they are suspended in the atmosphere. People have been doing this one substance at a time in the laboratory, but substances mix when they are in the atmosphere and the net absorption effect of all the particles in a column of air is a goal of remote sensing that has not yet been completely successful. In this paper we use a technique based on observing the point at which aerosols change from brightening the surface beneath to darkening it. If aerosols brighten a surface. they must scatter more light to space. If they darken the surface. they must be absorbing more. That cross over point is called the critical reflectance and in this paper we show that critical reflectance is a monotonic function of the intrinsic absorption properties of the particles. This parameter we call the single scattering albedo. We apply the technique to MODIS imagery over the Sahara and Sahel regions to retrieve the single scattering albedo in seven wavelengths, compare these retrievals to ground-based retrievals from AERONET instruments and compute error bars on each retrieval. The results show that we can retrieve single scattering albedo for pure dust to within +/-0.02 and mixtures of dust and smoke to within +/-0.03. No other space based instrument has achieved a retrieval of single scattering albedo that spans the spectrum from 0.47 microns to 2.13 microns and produces regional maps of aerosol absorption showing gradients and changes. Applied in a more operational fashion, such information will narrow uncertainties in estimating aerosol forcing on climate

    Efeitos do treinamento aeróbio e resistido combinados na variabilidade da frequência cardíaca em mulheres na menopausa

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    Modelo de Estudo: Ensaio clínico controlado. Objetivo: Verificar a resposta de 16 semanas do treinamento aeróbio e resistido combinado sobre a modulação autonômica em mulheres na menopausa.Métodos: 17 mulheres foram divididas em dois grupos: grupo treino (GT: n=11) e grupo controle (GC:n=6). As variáveis de composição corporal foram estimadas pela absorptiometria radiológica de dupla energia. A modulação autonômica foi avaliada pela variabilidade da frequência cardíaca usando índices lineares. O protocolo de treinamento consistiu em 16 semanas, por 50 minutos de treinamento resistido e 30 minutos de treinamento aeróbio. Resultados: Para o GT houve incremento do índice rMSSD(ms)(pre:17,4±3,7 e pos:24,8±13,1, p<0,045), aumento dos intervalos entre batimentos cardíacos consecutivos (pre:891,2±80,2 e pos:974,1±71,4, p<0,003) e dos valores de frequência cardíaca(bpm) (pre:68,1±6,4 e pos:62,0±4,7, p<0,003), para os índices espectrais em unidades normalizadas, houve redução de LF(pre:52,2±13,1 e pos:44,5±12,4, p<0,025) e incremento de HF (pre:47,8±13,3 e pos:55,5±12,4, p<0,025).Não houve diferenças significantes para o GC. Conclusão: o treinamento aeróbio e resistido combinado promoveu benefícios sobre a modulação autonômica em mulheres na menopausa.Model of the study: Controlled clinical trial. Objective: To verify the effects of 16 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance training on cardiac autonomic modulation in menopausal women. Methods: 17 menopausal women were divided into two groups: the training group (TG: n=11) and control group (CG:n=6). The body composition variables were estimated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The cardiac autonomic modulation was evaluated by heart rate variability using linear indexes. The training protocol consisted of 16 weeks of 50 minutes of resistance training and 30 minutes of aerobic training. Results: For the TG there was an increase in the rMSSD(ms) index (pre:17,4±3,7 and post:24,8±13,1,p<0,045), an increase in the duration of the intervals between the cardiac beats(ms) (pre:891,2±80,2 and post:974,1±71,4, p<0,003) and in the values of heart rate(bpm) (pre:68,1±6,4 and post:62,0±4,7, p<0,003), additionally for the spectral indexes in normalized units, changes for LF (pre:52,2±13,1 and post:44,5±12,4, p<0,025) and HF (pre:47,8±13,3 and post:55,5±12,4, p<0,025) were noticed, demonstrating increased parasympathetic and reduced sympathetic. There were no significant differences to CG. Conclusion: combined aerobic and resistance training promoted benefits to the autonomic modulation in menopausal women

    Musical Auditory Stimulation and Cardiac Autonomic Regulation

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    Previous studies have already demonstrated that auditory stimulation with music influences the cardiovascular system. In this study, we described the relationship between musical auditory stimulation and heart rate variability. Searches were performed with the Medline, SciELO, Lilacs and Cochrane databases using the following keywords: “auditory stimulation”, “autonomic nervous system”, “music” and “heart rate variability”. The selected studies indicated that there is a strong correlation between noise intensity and vagal-sympathetic balance. Additionally, it was reported that music therapy improved heart rate variability in anthracycline-treated breast cancer patients. It was hypothesized that dopamine release in the striatal system induced by pleasurable songs is involved in cardiac autonomic regulation. Musical auditory stimulation influences heart rate variability through a neural mechanism that is not well understood. Further studies are necessary to develop new therapies to treat cardiovascular disorders

    The effects of auditory stimulation with music on heart rate variability in healthy women

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    OBJECTIVES: There are no data in the literature with regard to the acute effects of different styles of music on the geometric indices of heart rate variability. In this study, we evaluated the acute effects of relaxant baroque and excitatory heavy metal music on the geometric indices of heart rate variability in women. METHODS: We conducted this study in 21 healthy women ranging in age from 18 to 35 years. We excluded persons with previous experience with musical instruments and persons who had an affinity for the song styles. We evaluated two groups: Group 1 (n = 21), who were exposed to relaxant classical baroque musical and excitatory heavy metal auditory stimulation; and Group 2 (n = 19), who were exposed to both styles of music and white noise auditory stimulation. Using earphones, the volunteers were exposed to baroque or heavy metal music for five minutes. After the first music exposure to baroque or heavy metal music, they remained at rest for five minutes; subsequently, they were re-exposed to the opposite music (70-80 dB). A different group of women were exposed to the same music styles plus white noise auditory stimulation (90 dB). The sequence of the songs was randomized for each individual. We analyzed the following indices: triangular index, triangular interpolation of RR intervals and Poincaré plot (standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability, standard deviation of the long-term RR interval, standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability and standard deviation of the long-term RR interval ratio), low frequency, high frequency, low frequency/high frequency ratio, standard deviation of all the normal RR intervals, root-mean square of differences between the adjacent normal RR intervals and the percentage of adjacent RR intervals with a difference of duration greater than 50 ms. Heart rate variability was recorded at rest for 10 minutes. RESULTS: The triangular index and the standard deviation of the long-term RR interval indices were reduced during exposure to both music styles in the first group and tended to decrease in the second group whereas the white noise exposure decreased the high frequency index. We observed no changes regarding the triangular interpolation of RR intervals, standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability and standard deviation of instantaneous beat-by-beat variability/standard deviation in the long-term RR interval ratio. CONCLUSION: We suggest that relaxant baroque and excitatory heavy metal music slightly decrease global heart rate variability because of the equivalent sound level

    Remote sensing the vertical profile of cloud droplet effective radius, thermodynamic phase, and temperature

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    International audienceCloud-aerosol interaction is no longer simply a radiative problem, but one affecting the water cycle, the weather, and the total energy balance including the spatial and temporal distribution of latent heat release. Information on the vertical distribution of cloud droplet microphysics and thermodynamic phase as a function of temperature or height, can be correlated with details of the aerosol field to provide insight on how these particles are affecting cloud properties and its consequences to cloud lifetime, precipitation, water cycle, and general energy balance. Unfortunately, today's experimental methods still lack the observational tools that can characterize the true evolution of the cloud microphysical, spatial and temporal structure in the cloud droplet scale, and then link these characteristics to environmental factors and properties of the cloud condensation nuclei. Here we propose and demonstrate a new experimental approach (the cloud scanner instrument) that provides the microphysical information missed in current experiments and remote sensing options. Cloud scanner measurements can be performed from aircraft, ground, or satellite by scanning the side of the clouds from the base to the top, providing us with the unique opportunity of obtaining snapshots of the cloud droplet microphysical and thermodynamic states as a function of height and brightness temperature in clouds at several development stages. The brightness temperature profile of the cloud side can be directly associated with the thermodynamic phase of the droplets to provide information on the glaciation temperature as a function of different ambient conditions, aerosol concentration, and type. An aircraft prototype of the cloud scanner was built and flew in a field campaign in Brazil. The CLAIM-3D (3-Dimensional Cloud Aerosol Interaction Mission) satellite concept proposed here combines several techniques to simultaneously measure the vertical profile of cloud microphysics, thermodynamic phase, brightness temperature, and aerosol amount and type in the neighborhood of the clouds. The wide wavelength range, and the use of mutli-angle polarization measurements proposed for this mission allow us to estimate the availability and characteristics of aerosol particles acting as cloud condensation nuclei, and their effects on the cloud microphysical structure. These results can provide unprecedented details on the response of cloud droplet microphysics to natural and anthropogenic aerosols in the size scale where the interaction really happens

    Auditory stimulation and cardiac autonomic regulation

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    Previous studies have already demonstrated that auditory stimulation with music influences the cardiovascular system. In this study, we described the relationship between musical auditory stimulation and heart rate variability. Searches were performed with the Medline, SciELO, Lilacs and Cochrane databases using the following keywords: "auditory stimulation", "autonomic nervous system", "music" and "heart rate variability". The selected studies indicated that there is a strong correlation between noise intensity and vagal-sympathetic balance. Additionally, it was reported that music therapy improved heart rate variability in anthracycline-treated breast cancer patients. It was hypothesized that dopamine release in the striatal system induced by pleasurable songs is involved in cardiac autonomic regulation. Musical auditory stimulation influences heart rate variability through a neural mechanism that is not well understood. Further studies are necessary to develop new therapies to treat cardiovascular disorders

    Characteristics and identification of sites of chagasic ventricular tachycardia by endocardial mapping

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    OBJECTIVE: To study electrophysiological characteristics that enable the identification and ablation of sites of chagasic tachycardia. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with chronic Chagas' heart disease and sustained ventricular tachycardia (SVT) underwent electrophysiological study to map and ablate that arrhythmia. Fifteen patients had hemodinamically stable SVT reproducible by programmed ventricular stimulation, 9 men and 6 women with ages ranging from 37 to 67 years and ejection fraction varying from 0.17 to 0.64. Endocardial mapping was performed during SVT in all patients. Radiofrequency (RF) current was applied to sites of presystolic activity of at least 30 ms. Entrainment was used to identify reentrant circuits. In both successful and unsuccessful sites of RF current application, electrogram and entrainment were analyzed. RESULTS: Entrainment was obtained during all mapped SVT. In 70.5% of the sites we observed concealed entrainment and ventricular tachycardia termination in the first 15 seconds of RF current application. In the unsuccessful sites, significantly earlier electrical activity was seen than in the successful ones. Concealed entrainment was significantly associated with ventricular tachycardia termination. Bystander areas were not observed. CONCLUSION: The reentrant mechanism was responsible for the genesis of all tachycardias. In 70.5% of the studied sites, the endocardial participation of the slow conducting zone of reentrant circuits was shown. Concealed entrainment was the main electrophysiological parameter associated with successful RF current application. There was no electrophysiological evidence of bystander regions in the mapped circuits of SVT.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

    Castro Lusitano Virtual: Software Livre e Património Virtual

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    O presente texto apresenta os objetivos e atual estado de desenvolvimento do projeto Castro Lusitano Virtual, um ambiente tridimensional interativo representativo de um povoado da Idade do Ferro da região Centro de Portugal, juntamente com a descrição de alguns conceitos que constituem o respetivo enquadramento e fundamentos do projeto. A Arqueologia e o Património Virtual são convocados nesse sentido, assim como a ecologia de conceitos e práticas em torno do Software Livre, incluindo cultura livre. O Castro Lusitano Virtual pode ser considerado como um recurso educacional aberto (Open Educational Resource), discutindo-se ideias sobre a sua utilização, nomeadamente distinguindo o aluno como explorador e como criador de ambiente tridimensionais. A utilização do projeto é focada, neste artigo, no contexto escolar, nomeadamente no ensino da História
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